Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 248,971 times)

[André DiMera]

I’m glad Genieva stressed that Paige should go slowly, whether she wants to or not. Hope it goes well. Can’t wait for this party!

I have a feeling Steve’s right, that Hilliard was so hard on Hannah due to racism. Glad Steve got the unsealed version of Paula’s record.

So glad Rafe is onto Thorpe. Or at least suspects he’s not telling the whole truth.

Oh man! Bev’s now in the middle of a messed up situation! Wonder what’s gonna happen next?

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 237 - 4
The sun was shining so brightly as Hannah and her parents came out of the police station that she had to put on her sunglasses. “How do you guys not need sunglasses?” she asked her parents as she took them out of her purse. “It’s so bright.”

“It… isn’t, really,” Valerie said. “It’s just a normal summer day, that’s all.” She frowned. “They must have kept it so dark in that jail, baby, you haven’t seen sunlight in almost a year. And that’s because of me.”

Hannah swallowed hard, not sure what to say. David said, “Well, at least she’s out in the world again now. How does it feel to be free, darling?”

“It’d be better if I didn’t have a hundred and one rules to follow,” Hannah said, “but it still beats jail by a mile.” She tilted her head up. “I want to taste the wind blowing!” she said, holding her arms out like she was a bird or an airplane. “I want to run down these steps just because I can. I want to DANCE!”

“All right, all right,” Valerie said. She was smiling slightly, but Hannah could feel her disapproval. “But first let’s get away from this damn police station for once and for all.”

Hannah skipped down the steps, ignoring her mother’s frown. As her feet hit the sidewalk, a car honked. She turned her head slightly as Julie called. “David! Valerie! Come bring your daughter over here so we can be introduced properly.”

David set his jaw and said under his breath to Valerie, “It’s been a long day for all of us. How about I go over there and explain - “

“No,” Valerie said. “I mean, we have a lot to talk about and I’d rather not make any detours, but come on. Julie just learned she has a granddaughter. Of course she wants to say hello, especially after she put her neck on the line to try to get that judge to see the light.”

“Yeah,” Hannah said, “I ought to thank her. Besides, I want to know her. Please, Daddy, can’t we go over there for just a minute?”

“I guess,” David said. “I need to tell her I’m moving to Salem anyway, though I’d rather have done that by phone.”

He squared his shoulders as Hannah hurried excitedly over to the car. “Grandma Julie!” she said, then paused. “I… I can call you Grandma, can’t I?”

“Of course you can, darling,” Julie said softly. She had tears in her eyes. “So you’re Hannah,” she said. “My granddaughter. And I guess you know who I am.”

“You were kind of hard to miss,” Hannah said, “putting that judge in her place when you barely even know me.”

Julie laughed. “That was just a small taste of what I’m like. I don’t let anyone get away with anything, especially not when it comes to my family. That judge was treating you like you were the worst criminal in the history of the world and I wasn’t about to let her get away with it.” She brushed Hannah’s fingertips. “I guess your father hasn’t explained to you what it means to be a Horton. That’s my side of the family, the Hortons. We’re a very big family, darling, our tree has roots all over Salem and probably all over the world, and many of us are very different from each other. But there’s one thing we have in common and that’s that we have each other’s backs, always.”

Hannah’s face trembled, remembering her mom refusing to come to the police station when she was arrested. “I wish I’d known it all along,” she said. “Being locked up so far away from home wore on me after a while, sometimes I was real hopeless and if I at least knew I had a whole big family waiting on me getting out…”

“I know,” Julie said. “I know. But you’re home now and we are going to make up for lost time. Every Christmas we have a huge party, you and your parents will come next year, of course, and in the meantime… well, next week your Grandpa Doug -- that’s my husband -- and I are going to have a barbecue to welcome you into the family. How does that sound?”

Hannah turned her head over her shoulder to look at her parents, who were standing behind her, being uncharacteristically silent. “Can we?” she asked. “Please?”

“It’s a lovely invitation,” Valerie said. “But it’ll have to be on the early side of dinner. Hannah’s not allowed on the streets after 9 PM.”

“It’s the probation department’s rule, not ours,” David added, seeing Julie frown.

Julie’s lips thinned, but she said, “How about mid-afternoon, then? That’ll give everyone plenty of time to get to know Hannah, and if she’s having too much fun to leave, well, she can stay over one night, can’t she?”

Hannah’s eyes widened. “Staying over’s not living with someone,” she said. “I can do that, can’t I, Mom?”

“We’d better check with your lawyer,” Valerie said. “And we’ll talk about it later. I’m sorry, Julie, I don’t want to be rude, but we haven’t been able to be with our daughter for eight long months and we’d like to spend some time with her, just the three of us.”

“Of course,” Julie said, “but since there’s plenty of time before her curfew, how about you all come over for tea and cookies first? Doug’s at the house with Rory, and I know Rory would love to get to know this family he hasn’t met before either.”

“Rory?” Valerie asked.

“I didn’t get to tell you,” David said. “My mother adopted a boy, that was that long-haired kid sitting with them in court.”

“Oh,” Valerie said. “Well. We would love to meet Rory, but really I think - “

“I want to go to Grandma’s,” Hannah interrupted. “Please, Mom? We only have to stay an hour but I want to see where she lives and all the pictures of everybody that I haven’t met yet and I want to meet Doug and Rory and anyone else who happens to be there.”

Valerie and David exchanged glances. Valerie said, “We need to get you settled but all right, I suppose an hour won’t hurt. We’ll follow behind you, Julie.”

“Nonsense,” Julie said. “Hannah can ride with me. That way she and I can get to know each other and you and David can have some time to talk about whatever it is you want to say that’s not meant for my ears.”

“Mom,” David said, “I understand you’re excited, but stop trying to take over. Valerie wants Hannah to ride with us so that’s what’s going to happen.”

“Oh, would you stop?” Julie said. “This isn’t a plot to take over your lives, I just want to get to know my granddaughter.”

“And I want to get to know her,” Hannah added, putting her hand on the door handle.

David held up his hands. “I guess I’m outnumbered, then. Don’t let Grandma push you around, Hannah. You’re not in jail anymore, you can tell her to her face if she’s bothering you.”

Hannah’s eyes narrowed but she said quietly, “Okay.” She pulled her door open while David and Valerie watched. “See you at Grandma’s,” she said weakly as she pulled it shut and put on her seatbelt.

David shook his head sadly as Julie pulled off. “You see that?” he said to Valerie. “You see what we have to put up with the second she’s back in our lives?”

“I think,” Valerie said, “that you’re overreacting.” She put her hand on David’s wrist. “Hannah’s probably grateful for the break from me. I’m sure she’ll be fine.” She rattled her keys. “Come on, let’s go before Julie calls you to see where you are.”

“Right,” David said, but he didn’t look happy as he followed Valerie to the parking lot.


Johnny’s eyes darted back and forth. “Whatever you think I did, you’re wrong! I was stopping Sydney from stealing the mints at the restaurant and - “

“We’re not talking about the restaurant and you know it. Not that you’re telling the truth about anything. Now, you might be a good enough liar to fool ordinary people but it doesn’t work on me. See, I’m the champion when it comes to lying and scheming and generally causing trouble. It might not seem like it because now I’m a wife and mother who has to act like a grown-up most of the time, but back in the day I did things you probably have never even dreamed of. I kidnapped your Aunt Belle when she was a baby and sold her on the underground market. I switched DNA test results without batting an eye. I even did things to your Uncle Austin that you’re not old enough to hear about. But you know what I never did? I never tried to poison my friends, only my enemies.” She came closer to Johnny. “I know what happened at camp. I don’t want to see either of my children go to juvenile hall over it. Breaking you out would be too much trouble. So we’re not calling the cops in on this. But you, young man, are going to come with me and we’re going to talk about what to do about your part in this.”

“But it wasn’t me!” Johnny said. “It was all Allie’s idea, I swear!”

“It was not!” Allie said.

“Lying again,” Sami said, grabbing Johnny’s arm. “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll wish you’d been sent to juvie.” She dragged him out of the room.

Allie let her breath out slowly, but Lucas came in as Sami and Johnny went out. “You’re not quite off the hook yet,” he told Allie. “While your mother is bullying the truth out of Johnny, you can tell me what it was he was trying to make you do when she came in here.”

Allie gulped as Lucas sat down next to her.


In the hospital waiting area, Victor was holding a tablet. “I don’t know what’s wrong with using a telephone,” he said to himself as it buzzed, telling him that Philip was video calling. “It’s bad enough I have to waste time on inane pleasantries without having to look someone in the eye while doing it.” He answered the call anyway.

“Philip,” he said as Philip’s image came into focus. “How is everything with Charlotte?”

“CHARLEY,” Philip said, “is in with the doctor and Chloe getting her pre-ops.” He frowned. “It seems I’m not the only one waiting around in the hospital. Maggie’s all right, isn’t she?”

“That’s a relative term,” Victor said, “but she’s not the one in the hospital. Sarah is. Apparently she’s inherited the gene for drinking yourself into oblivion and the doctor has whisked Maggie off for a top-secret conversation about her chances of living a long and happy life.”

“I’m so sorry.” Philip sighed. “I hate to be selfish at a time like this, but does that mean you’re not going to be able to fly back for Charley’s surgery tomorrow?”


JJ scanned the file with his eyes. “Just as I thought. Thorpe let her off easy. 30 days rehab and 10 days community service. Seriously? This is the same dude who wouldn’t give Paige bail and sent Hannah away for a year over an open beer?” He crossed his arms. “Think this Paula’s got something on him?”

“Could be,” Steve said. “We just gotta figure out what the connection is, something tells me everything’ll fall into place once we got that.” His phone and JJ’s both rang at the same time. “Look at that,” Steve said, grinning. “Maybe the dude upstairs heard us talking.”

[André DiMera]

I’m so glad Hannah is finally out of jail, and that she wants to get to know the Hortons! Can’t wait to see more of her and Julie getting to know each other!

Can’t wait to see how Sami and Lucas get the truth out of Johnny and Allie. Or, at least, I hope they do.

Wonder what Victor’s gonna say.

So glad J.J. and Steve are working out the connection with Paula!

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

I don't think anything is wrong with Victor calling Charley "Charlotte" if he wants to. I don't think Victor will be home in time.

[heroicmuse]

Week 237 - 5

“Mine’s Julie,” JJ said. “I can call her back.”

“Nah,” Steve said. “Go for it. Maybe by the time you get back I’ll have good news for you, looks like FBI Dude has something to say to me.” He answered the phone as JJ walked off. “Steve Johnson. Hey, Hernandez. What’s up?”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, JJ said to Julie, “Hey Julie. Did you and Paige have a good talk?”

“Did we ever,” Julie said. “In fact, Paige agreed to let us celebrate her birthday. We’re going to be having a barbecue next Sunday, with some very special guests. Doug is expecting you to bring your guitar and I hope he won’t be disappointed.”

“He can count on me,” JJ said. “Anything for Paige. But listen, I’d better let you go for now, I’m in the middle of working on a story.”

“I hope you have another minute,” Julie said, “because there’s someone who I think you need to say hello to.” She called to someone in the distance. “Come here, darling. This is your cousin JJ on the phone, he is a reporter who has been working tirelessly to help shed light on the narrow-minded attitudes that landed you behind bars when you didn’t deserve it.”

The other person said something JJ couldn’t hear. Then a voice he hadn’t heard before, a young voice with just a hint of a California accent, said, “H-hello?”

“Squeaky, right?” JJ said, not sure which name Hannah was more comfortable with.

“You know my other name?” Hannah said. “Of course you do, you’re a reporter. Anyway, thanks for trying to help me.”

“Glad to do it,” JJ told her. “Paige -- that’s my girlfriend -- told me all about you, she was totally convinced you got a raw deal and she wasn’t gonna let it stand once she got out and could do something about it.”

“Oh, you’re Tweener’s boyfriend!” Hannah’s voice brightened all of a sudden. “Oh my gosh. I saw the thing in the TV you did for her when we were in jail together, I thought she was the luckiest girl in the world to have someone like you to fight for her. And all the time you were my cousin and I never knew it.”

“I didn’t either,” JJ said. “Paige’s dad dug it up after she got out.” He sighed. “One thing you’ll learn about this family, some of us do stupid crap that ends up hurting the people we love cause we think it’s best for them, keeping stuff to ourselves is just the tip of the iceberg.”

“I get that,” Hannah said, forcing herself to stare straight ahead when she wanted to twist her head over her shoulder and give her mom a look. “You coming Sunday?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Meeting my new cousin and celebrating Paige’s birthday all at once, what’s better than that?”

“Aww. Hey, does Tweener know we’re celebrating her birthday or is it a surprise?”

“No, she knows,” JJ said, “but I’m sure we can cook up a surprise or two for her anyway.”

“Me too,” Hannah pressed the phone against her ear as a key turned in the lock at Julie’s house. “Oh. More people are coming for me to meet, I guess I’d better get off the phone.”

“Cool.” JJ said. “Don’t let Julie overwhelm you, half the town’s related to us and she has them all on speed dial.”

“I won’t. Bye for now.”

Squeaky hung up the phone and turned as Doug came in. “There you are,” Julie said, kissing Doug. “Mission accomplished. Our granddaughter is free like she’s supposed to be, at least until 9 PM.” She beckoned Squeaky over. “This,” she said to Doug, “is David’s daughter Hannah.” She squeezed Hannah’s shoulder. “And this is the man who lights up my world and has for over 30 years, your grandpa Doug.”

“Hannah,” Doug said. “A beautiful name for a beautiful young woman. Welcome to the family, my dear.”

“Her parents are here too,” Julie added as Doug gave Hannah a hug. “Both of them.”

“And I have news,” David added as he came over to shake hands with Doug. “I just managed to sub-let my apartment over the phone, so I am officially a Salem resident without having to go back to California at all."

Julie’s mouth dropped open as David put his phone away.


Meanwhile, JJ came back to Steve’s desk. “Sorry about that. I miss something good?”

“You did, actually,” Steve said. “FBI dude came through for us in a big way. He had reason to go pay Judge Thorpe a visit earlier and he noticed an extra car in the driveway and no matchin’ person in the house. Once he ran the plates he figured he could use an extra set of eyes trying to figure out what the hell’s going on here.”

“The car must have belonged to someone who had no business visiting Thorpe, then,” JJ said. “Who was it? Paula Jefferson?”

“Close. Her mama. Wanda Jefferson, warden of the Women’s Detention Center section of Salem City Jail. So now the only question is, what the hell is she doin’ there and where was she hiding when Rafe was talkin’ to Thorpe?”


A few protesters stepped back.  Most didn’t, instead chanting, “NO RACISM IN SALEM! OUR MONEY IS JUST AS GREEN!”

“I said back off her and get on your knees!” one of the cops said, pulling out his gun. “Now I”m telling you. All of you are under arrest. Back up and drop to your knees. NOW!"

Cole picked up the gun while Bev struggled to free herself. He stood still, then pointed it at Jeff.  "Let her go," he said, his voice coming from far away, and Jeff's answering, "Come on man, she's nothing but trouble, get rid of her..."

Bev stared at the barrel of the gun. She heard the bang as it went off and then she fell backwards on the bed, clutching her shoulder...

Bev put her hands up, her eyes wide with fear, and stared at the barrel of the gun.

Everything was blurry and moving too fast. All of a sudden the woman who started all the trouble was running and a bunch of cops were after her and the rest of the protesters were on their knees, their hands behind their heads, and the cops were cuffing them. Bev didn't know exactly how it all had happened because she'd been so freaked out that she hadn't been able to pay attention.

The protesters were dragged away, chanting the whole time.

Horowitz and Duncan pushed through the crowd of cops and arrested people to get to Bev. “You all right?” Horowitz asked her.

Bev was gasping for air. “Y-yeah. I think so. Did you get the girl who started with me?”

“Not sure,” Horowitz admitted. “There was a lot of chaos and a lot of cops picking people up.” She put her hand on Bev’s shoulder. “Come tell me what happened, okay? If we didn’t get her we will soon.”

 “I’m supposed to be on my way to meet the principal of this preschool Mason applied to, can we make it quick so I won’t be late?”

“We’ll be fast as we can,” Horowitz promised. ‘But first let’s let you catch your breath.” She put her arm around Bev and led her a little way away.


Meanwhile, Paula zigzagged through a maze of alleys, aware the cops were on her tail. She managed to make it all the way through three or four alleys and into a wooded area, where she knew she could lose them. She ducked behind a tree and hid while two cops ran after her and stood in the middle of the woods, looking around and trying to figure out where she’d gone...



Hope and Aiden had called a family meeting when they came home. Chase asked, “Is this about the wedding?”

“Not exactly,” Aiden said, “though we did add three more people to the invitation list. Valerie Martin, her husband David, her daughter Hannah.”

“Who are they?” Chase asked.

“Some client of Aiden’s,” Ciara said, her arms crossed, “a girl a little older than us who’s a bigger loser than either of us and got caught with an open beer, plus her parents who are probably super grateful that Aiden got her stupid daughter off.”

“Hey!” Hope said. “First of all, Hannah is Julie's granddaughter. And that’s not how we talk about people anyway, especially not after the trouble you got into.”

“Whatever,” Ciara said. “My suspension’s over tomorrow, maybe then I’ll be back to normal.”

“Sit up straight,” Aiden told her. “It happens that Hannah Martin got a raw deal, while you actually got off easy thanks to your mom. So if I were you, I’d lose the attitude.” He turned towards Chase. “Now. The real reason we called this meeting is to talk about what happened in court today. Hope took Ciara because she thought it would be instructive for her, and since you were in school, I thought you could learn about it second-hand. So Ciara, you ready to tell Chase what you learned from watching Hannah’s hearing?”


Theo was sitting at his desk, reading a book, when Abe knocked, then came in.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Abe said.

“Technically, you are because I can’t read and talk to you at the same time,” Theo said. “But for some reason my teachers all think because there are only 5 days left of school, there is no need to assign homework so I suppose it is less of a priority for me to read than before.”

“I suppose so. I’ll only be a minute and then you can get back to your book.” Abe sat down on the edge of Theo’s bed. “Son, do you remember the other day I told you about my friend’s daughter who was arrested?”

“Yes. Why do you bring it up?”

“Because she is out of jail, and in fact Julie is having a party to welcome her home.”

“Julie? What does she have to do with your ex-girlfriend’s daughter?”

“Hannah is Julie’s granddaughter. Her father is someone I used to know very well, Julie’s son David. Anyway, the point is that Valerie called and invited us both to the party and I accepted, so you’ll get to meet Hannah on Sunday.”

Theo bit his lip. “I dislike parties.”

“I know. But I feel it’s important for us to go to this. I’d like you to meet Hannah and her parents, and it’ll give you the opportunity to spend time with Chase and Ciara.”

“I doubt Ciara is coming. She is still being punished.” Theo looked away. “Do I have to come? Can’t you go by yourself?”

“Julie will be expecting us both,” Abe said firmly, “and it will not kill you to spend a few hours at a barbecue.”

“Of course not. No one has died from going to a party unless the food was poisoned or they had too much alcohol.” Theo crossed his arms. “But I do not want to go to a party and I am not going.”

“Theo - “

“I SAID I AM NOT GOING!” Theo began to rock back and forth. “You should not either. Valerie is married to Hannah’s father, he is not dead like my mother.”

“So that’s what this is about,” Abe said softly. “Theo, I have no interest in Valerie other than as a friend, and even if I did, no one can replace your mother.”

“We should not be going to her party,” Theo said again, “and I will not go.” He picked up his book and hunched over it while Abe stared at him, not sure what to do.

[André DiMera]

I can’t wait for this party! So glad Hannah is meeting her family! And that David is staying in Salem! Glad Rafe told Steve what he saw. Hope they can figure this out soon.

Ah, so Paula was among the women protesting at the S-Mart. That’s interesting. I hope Bev is okay!

I doubt Ciara’s learned anything from her suspension, or going to court with Hope. She certainly doesn’t seem like it.

I hope Abe somehow convinces Theo to go to the party, but I’m not sure how he would.

Can we please have previews, heroicmuse?

[Kpatch]

Julie's party should be great, especially with JJ bringing his guitar.

[heroicmuse]

Thank you André DiMera and Kpatch for your comments this week!

I'm looking forward to Julie's party too but before we get there, there's some more stuff coming up next week that I'm equally excited for. Here's a sneak peek.

Coming Up on Breaking Ties...



Note to readers: Since in my story Claire and Ciara are 14, I have chosen to use Victoria Konefal as Kelsey and Olivia Rose Keegan as Alison.

Ciara is played by Lauren Boles and Claire is played by Shree Crooks. Here are their photos.

Ciara

Claire

---

Alison gets frustrated when Kelsey again pushes her away in order to meet a work contact. Kelsey insists it’s not because she’s afraid her co-workers will disapprove of a same-sex relationship, but she won’t give Alison a reasonable explanation either. Alison wonders if Kelsey is cheating on her. She doubts that’s the case but decides to spy on her to see, and gets a shock when she overhears Kelsey telling Rubin that she’s worried that having to push Alison away for her own protection will hurt the relationship. A stunned Alison wonders what Kelsey is trying to protect her from and whether she’s the next person at risk of being arrested to keep her quiet about what’s going on.

Later, Alison returns home, where an anxious Emily has just made a decision about her life that she hopes will help her get past Alison spending most of her time with Kelsey instead of her. However, Alison wants Emily’s advice about this Kelsey situation -- can Emily remain objective?

Meanwhile, across town Horowitz interviews a very shaken Bev, who admits that she flashed back to Cole shooting her when she saw the police with their guns drawn. Bev is able to give Horowitz a description of the woman who started with her but is still unable to place where she saw her. However, later Horowitz tells Prescott that Bev’s description plus body cam footage has led her to identify the mystery attacker as Paula -- but can they find her?

Horowitz is upset, aware that the racial tensions between East Salem residents and some people in Salem proper caused this entire situation. Prescott offers to take her out to get her mind off of it and they head out on a date.

Over at Julie and Doug’s, Julie is ecstatic that David is staying in Salem. However, things soon get tense because Julie thinks David and his family should move in with her and Hannah fuels the flames by suggesting that Valerie’s apartment is too small for David to join them comfortably, something which Valerie does not agree with.

Doug suggests the family go out for ice cream to try to diffuse the tension and to celebrate David and Hannah’s return to their lives. Hannah enthusiastically agrees and Valerie takes her to meet Paige, who is still working on her Salem U application in Kayla’s office, so that they can all go together.

Paige is stressed out by her application because she’ll have to write several essays -- including a short statement explaining her recent conviction, since her record will not be sealed until she finishes fulfilling her 12-month therapy obligation. She is thrilled to see Hannah but not sure going out is a good idea, since she can’t start her internship til she presents proof she applied to school.

Hannah is shaken by the realization that she, too, will have to explain her conviction on her school applications but offers to help Paige anyway. However, Valerie nixes the idea of Hannah writing the statement for Paige, irritating Hannah further, and it doesn’t help that Valerie praises Paige’s work ethic while simultaneously putting down Hannah’s friend who got her in trouble.

In any case, Paige feels comfortable hanging out with Hannah once she finishes this statement, but Valerie inadvertently causes still more tension when she puts her foot down about Paige and Hannah calling each other by their prison nicknames. Hannah is ready to ask JJ for a ride just to avoid spending time with her mother, but Paige talks her out of that and they head to the Square to pick up David, who is visiting Alice and Tom’s memorial with Rory.

At the memorial, David and Rory’s conversation leads Rory to give some advice to his much older brother about Julie, based on his own miserable life experiences before he met her.

At the ice cream shop, Hannah begins to feel overwhelmed by her big family, something which JJ and Paige can relate to and support her with. She starts to have a good time anyway, but while her parents and grandparents are getting everyone ice cream, Horowitz and Prescott show up. Hannah thinks they are here to arrest her and it triggers a panic attack.

JJ goes to see if he can get a statement from Horowitz about the incident at the S-Mart, thinking that will keep her away from Hannah, but Hannah freaks out worse when she hears that there was a violent protest there, afraid she will be accused of orchestrating it. Paige comforts her while they are alone together and Hannah gets ahold of herself, but she is adamant that her family not know about the anxiety attack she just had, especially not her mom and Julie -- and Valerie returns just in time to overhear that the girls have a secret!

And someone else may have a reason to panic, as Rafe not only delivers some news to Thorpe, but plants a bug that allows him to overhear Thorpe’s latest conversation with Wanda -- will it be enough to get the once-honorable judge in major trouble?

Elsewhere in Salem, Agent Maxwell is not willing to let Roman off the hook any too easily for his role in both Hannah and Paige’s unfair incarcerations, while across town Sydney spies on Sami’s attempt to get through to Johnny and Bev waits anxiously for Mrs. Lockridge’s decision about Mason. And in Nashville, Philip is upset with Victor’s answer to his question, while Sarah is still in denial when Melissa visits her --- can Maggie and Melissa both insisting she really is sick actually get through to her?

[André DiMera]

I understand Alison being upset that Kelsey is pushing her away, whether she thinks she’s doing it for good reasons or not. I hope Kelsey thinks it’s worth it in the end. Wonder what Emily’s gonna say.

Hopefully they’ll be able to find Paula. And Horowitz will accept Jamie’s offer of a date.

Glad David is staying in Salem. Hopefully he and Julie can make peace with each other. So glad Paige and Hannah get to see each other again! I don’t really get what’s wrong with them calling each other by their prison nicknames. Can’t wait to see David and Rory bonding! It makes sense that Hannah would have a panic attack when she sees the police, considering what happened the last time she saw some cops. Hope she’ll be okay!

So glad Rafe listens in on what Thorpe and Wanda say! I hope that leads to them going away!

Glad Maxwell is pressing Roman. Can’t wait to see what happens with the twins, and Bev. Wonder what Victor’s gonna say. I figured Sarah wouldn’t listen.

Thanks for the previews, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 238 - 1

Alison was at the cafe going over her notes when the door chimed. She looked up and saw Kelsey walking in. She looked even more beautiful than usual, with her hair piled on top of her head and a gray skirt and white blouse on.

“Kelsey!” Alison called.

Kelsey came over to her table, but she didn’t sit down. “Alison. Hey.”

Alison kissed her lightly but Kelsey pulled away and said, “I can’t… not right now.”

Alison crossed her arms. “Why?”

“Because,” Kelsey said, “I’m meeting someone here for work.”

“So that DA’s office is homophobic on top of everything else.” Alison crossed her arms. “And you insist on working there.”

“It’s not like that! It’s… look, I can’t explain right now, my contact is going to walk through the door any second.” Kelsey hurried away.

Alison slammed her menu down on the table. “Contact my ass. Either she’s afraid of being outed or…” Her eyes widened. “Or she’s cheating on me with some other girl.” She let her breath out slowly. “No. Get ahold of yourself, Alison, that can’t be it. Remember what it did to Paige to start getting paranoid? Don’t go down the same road.”

She got up anyway and moved closer to Kelsey’s table so she could see what was going on.

An older woman came in, wearing sunglasses and a long trench coat. It was obviously supposed to be a disguise, but it wasn’t a very good one, because Alison could tell almost immediately that it was former ADA Rubin.

She silently moved across the table to the other seat so that she was right across from Rubin and Kelsey.

Kelsey was speaking in a low voice. “How’s this for opposition research?” She handed Rubin a flash drive under the table. “Spota had some secret meeting the other day but I was able to record the audio. Not quite sure what it was about but I know who he was talking to. The warden at Salem City Jail.”

“He could have a legitimate reason to be talking to her,” Rubin said. “If he’s trying to prosecute a prisoner…”

“Right,” Kelsey whispered, “but this had something to do with Hannah Martin, that girl that was arrested for racist reasons. Besides, he clearly didn’t want me to know who he was meeting with.”

Rubin nodded and said something Alison couldn’t hear. Then Kelsey said, “I hope this works. Alison is getting tired of me pushing her away for her own good and as much as I want to help you win, if I lose her there’s no point.”

Alison’s eyes widened. Rubin said, “Just hang in there another few months. As soon as I take office, I’ll make sure she’s protected.”

Protected from what? Alison asked herself, rubbing her wrists. Did Spota have some plan to get her locked up so she couldn’t report on him? She pretended to be studying the menu, but really she was straining her ears to try to hear more.



“I thought you already decided that,” Hannah said. “You said you were staying with me and Mom.”

“I did, darling,” David said, “but I might have had to go back to California for a few days to take care of some loose ends. As it turns out, the landlord was eager to fill the vacancy and is letting me fax over the sub-letting paperwork so that I can take care of things without having to leave you for another minute.” He put his hand on Hannah’s shoulder.

“Or Mom either,” Hannah added cautiously.

“Or her either,” David agreed. He reached for Valerie’s hand.

“Tell me,” Julie said. “Where do the three of you plan to live? We have two extra rooms if you'd like to stay here.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Valerie said, “but there’s room for David at our apartment. Besides, Hannah’s not allowed to change her address without permission from the court.”

“That’s not exactly what they said, Mom,” Hannah said, irritated. “Mr. Jennings said I have to fill out a new form if I move.”

“And it’ll look funny if you do that 30 seconds after you submitted the old one,” Valerie said firmly. “And anyway, there is no reason to move. Daddy can stay with us.”

“He won’t like it,” Hannah said. “It’s a dump compared to his apartment in San Fran.”

“Hannah!” Valerie said. “What kind of way is that to talk?”

“Mom’s right,” David said. “No matter how small your apartment is, it’s home. And it’s better than jail, right?”

“Not by much,” Hannah mumbled. She didn’t know why, but all of a sudden she hated her house and didn’t want to live there anymore. “Grandma’s is nicer.”

“Well, we’re not living here,” David said. He turned towards Julie. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m afraid if you and I spend too much time together… I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but it’s not a good idea, Mom.”

“Nonsense,” Julie said. “We’re all adults, we can learn to get along. Now tell me, do all these rules and restrictions bar Hannah from staying over here once in a while, say every other weekend?”

David’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think she’s allowed, and even if the court would be okay with it, Valerie and I wouldn’t be. Our family is in shambles, Mom. My daughter has been in jail for almost a year and I’ve been absent for far longer than that. We need to put the pieces back together and we can’t do that if Hannah’s not with us.”

“I don’t see that one or two Saturdays a month is going to make a difference,” Julie objected. “And you’re not the only one trying to make up for lost time here, David. You’ve at least had summers with your daughter since you decided to run away to San Francisco. I didn’t even know she existed, I’ve lost 18 years with her.”

“And if you want to know why that is, look in the mirror!” David snapped.

Valerie put her hand on his wrist at the same time as Doug put his on Julie’s. “Let’s not fight,” Valerie said. “The whole point of coming here this afternoon was to allow Julie the place in Hannah’s life, and in ours, that we should have allowed her all along.”

“Valerie’s right,” Doug said. “Hannah’s in our life now and she and her parents are perfectly willing to come to our barbecue on Sunday. Let’s not ask for the impossible on top of what we are lucky enough to have.” He turned towards Hannah. “It’s a beautiful summer day and I have never met a young person who doesn’t like ice cream. Now I’m sure you’re eager to see Paige again now that both of you are free. Why don’t you call her and invite her to come to the Salem Ice Cream Shoppe with us to celebrate your return not only to society but to our family?”

“Only if Daddy and Grandma are going to behave. I’m already sick of hearing people fight with each other.”

“I think that can be arranged.” Doug squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll go get Rory while you call Paige and then we’ll be off.”


“Whoa!” JJ said. “So we got proof positive that Thorpe’s got a connection to the warden.” He grabbed his phone. “Let me update Nicole, she’s gonna wanna run this.”

Steve held his hand up. “Don’t you think you’re a little short on details there, dude? This is just the beginning. We still gotta find out what the hell the warden was doing there and why she was hiding from Rafe.”

“The second half’s obvious. If Rafe caught her he’d get out of her what she gets out of Thorpe sending innocent people her way.” JJ’s eyes widened. “A long time ago some source told me that there’s money in getting people locked up. So maybe the warden gets some kind of kickback for everyone who’s locked up and she splits it with Thorpe if he sends people there.”

“Not a bad thought,” Steve said. “We’ll get right on lookin’ into Thorpe’s financials and see what we can dig up.”

“How do you do that?” JJ asked. “Nicole and I gotta rely on a source dropping it, so far we’ve had no luck.”

“We PIs have our ways,” Steve grinned. “I just gotta make a call, we’ll have what we need by the end of the day.” He frowned as he picked up his phone. “One thing’s missin’ from your theory.”

“What?”

“Paula.” Steve tapped his fingers on the desk. “Warden’s daughter that Thorpe let off easy. How’s she figure into this?”

JJ thought for a sec. “You think maybe Thorpe let her off as a favor to his partner in crime?”

“Could be. Or maybe the warden blackmailed him into it and that’s why they’re hanging around each other all the time. Time’ll tell.” Steve made a call. “John! Glad I caught you, dude. Listen, I need you to look into something for me…”

JJ’s phone buzzed just as Steve hung up. Steve said, “Aren’t you popular today?”

“It’s Rory,” JJ said. “He says Julie’s taking everyone out for ice cream to celebrate Hannah being home.”

“You’d better go, then,” Steve said. “No point in hanging around here when the person you’re doing all this for is right down the block. Get ahold of Mrs. Junior and go have some fun.”

[André DiMera]

It makes sense that Alison’s upset. While I’m glad Kelsey is trying to help bring down Spota, it sucks that she’s doing it this way. I hope it’s worth it.

Glad Doug and Valerie stopped the argument. I hope David and Julie eventually get past what happened between them.

So glad Steve and J.J. are looking into this! I hope they figure out the truth soon!

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 238 - 2

Paige glared at the computer screen, which was giving her an error message:

Too much time has elapsed since your leave of absence. If you wish to resume your studies, please start the application process all over again.

She groaned and clicked the mouse button hard. “This is going to take forever,” she said to herself. “It took me two weeks to write my application essays the first time.” She sighed deeply, remembering how excited she had been when she got her acceptance letter and she could tell JJ she wasn’t moving to California to go to Stanford after all. The future had felt so bright and she had felt so full of hope. If anyone had told her then that six years later she’d be sitting here trying to push aside the heavy, depressed feeling in her chest so she could fill out the application all over again, she would never have believed them.

“Focus, Paige,” she told herself. “You don’t have time to feel sorry for yourself.” She opened the application and began typing. Filling out all this information was the easy part, she thought, it was just those essays that were filling her with dread. She’d never been a great writer and she had a hard time putting her thoughts into words when she had to write an essay.

Check here if you’ve been convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic infraction.

Paige hesitated, then called Mr. Berger. “It’s Paige Larson. Quick question, when I’m filling out my college application do I have to say yes to having been convicted of a crime? No, I’m not worried they won’t let me in, I just wanted to know if I had to admit to it. Thanks.”

She clicked YES and a box came up requiring her to explain herself. Great. Another essay-like thing. She hesitated, then typed something.

There was a knock on the door. Paige thought it was Kayla and called, “I”ll be done soon.”

The door creaked open and Valerie said, “I hope you don’t mind if we interrupt. My daughter didn’t want to wait another second to see you.”

“SQUEAKY!” Paige said as Hannah came in behind her mom. She got up to give Squeaky a hug. “Oh my gosh. How are you?”

“I’m okay,” Hannah said. “Better now that I’m not behind bars, that’s for sure.” She pushed her hair behind her ear. “Um, so, you ready to go out for ice cream? Grandma Julie’s treating.”

“I wish,” Paige sighed. “Kayla said I have to apply to the pre-med program at Salem U before I can start my internship and she was nice enough to lend me her computer, but this is going to take forever.”

Hannah’s face fell. “You can’t even take a break for an hour?”

Paige rubbed her temples. “I really want to but I’m afraid if I don’t do this now I’ll lose my chance at an internship.”

“I like your work ethic,” Valerie said. “This is what you need to do too, Hannah, don’t waste any more time hanging out with people who are going nowhere in life.”

Hannah crossed her arms, irritated. “Let me see what you have to do,” she said to Paige. “Maybe there’s a way to speed it up.” She looked over Paige’s shoulder, then bit her lip. “Y-you have to say you have a criminal record?”

Paige nodded. “I just asked my lawyer. He said until my case is closed, my record can’t be sealed, and I still have 9 months of court-mandated therapy to go.” She sighed. “They want me to explain what I was convicted of. How do you say you pled guilty to concealing evidence so that they’d drop a false murder charge without freaking out the admissions committee?”

“Maybe leave that part out?” Hannah’s voice was flat and Paige could tell she was thinking about what would happen when she applied to school too. “Remember that time you told me not to worry cause this stupid little conviction wasn’t going to get in the way of me getting my education when I get out? Maybe you just need to channel that.” She squeezed Paige’s shoulder. “Here, let me try it.”

“I don't think that's allowed."

“It’s not like I’m doing your application for you. I’m just writing a rough draft to get you past this, that’s all.” Hannah glanced over her shoulder at her mom. “That’s all right, isn’t it?”

Valerie was frowning. “You really shouldn’t write it for her, baby. How about you just give her some ideas?”

“I don’t see what’s the difference between me telling her what to write and typing it in, but whatever,” Hannah said. “Just say something like the judge wanted me to say in the court today, tell them you made a mistake or something.”

“Right,” Paige said. She bit her lip, not sure how much detail to go into. Finally, she typed, reading aloud as she went along, “I had a scarf that looked like one the police were looking for. I knew I hadn’t committed a crime, but I was scared to turn it over to them. By the time I worked up the courage, the police already had a search warrant for my purse and found it. I was arrested for concealing evidence and I pled guilty to interfering in a police investigation because I knew I should have given it to them and I didn’t.”

“How’s that?” she asked.

“Sounds just like the kind of thing the judge wanted out of me,” Hannah said. “All full of explanations about why you were wrong even though you weren’t.”

“I was, though.” Paige bit her lip. “Kind of, anyway. I mean, I was having panic attacks about giving up that scarf and it had nothing to do with Jill’s death, but I should have given it to my lawyer the second I heard the cops were looking for it no matter how convinced I was that I was about to die.” She let her breath out slowly. “Anyway, it’s over now. I’m out of jail and so are you. Let’s just save this and I’ll write the essays at home when we get back, otherwise we’ll be here til after the ice cream parlor closes.” Paige’s phone buzzed. She glanced at it.

Text from JJ:
Hey, where are u? Rory just invited me to hang out at the ice cream place, Julie’s treat. Squeaky’s coming too.

“Oh,” she said. “JJ wants to come hang out with us at the ice cream parlor. That’s my boyfriend, he’s your cousin too.”

“I know,” Squeaky said. “Grandma put me on the phone with him earlier.” She turned towards her mom. “We have room for Tweener in our car?”

“If the two of you will call each other by your proper names,” Valerie said. “I don’t like hearing these prison nicknames, especially when both of you should be doing everything you can to put having been to jail behind you.”

Squeaky’s eyes narrowed. She said to Paige, “You think JJ’ll mind me riding with you guys then?”

Paige frowned. “That’s silly, Squea - um, Hannah. JJ won’t mind meeting us over there so we don’t have to wait for him. Besides, I want to meet your dad too if he’s around.”

“Rory wanted to show him something in the Horton Town Square,” Hannah said. “Something about some people who are our ancestors, he said Julie told him all about them when she adopted him.”

“Tom and Alice Horton, you mean?” Paige asked. “They were JJ’s great-grandparents. His mom and Julie are cousins. I think. Anyway, they were really important to JJ’s mom and to Julie too, and there’s a memorial to them in the Square. Your dad never mentioned them?”

“I’m sure he must have,” Valerie said. “He doesn’t talk much about Julie, but Tom and Alice… when we were first dating, he talked them up so much, said that even if the whole rest of the world wanted to tear us apart because of who we were, you could trust those two didn’t have an ounce of hate in their hearts.”

“Did you ever meet them?” Hannah asked.

Valerie nodded. “We were all at your grandmother’s wedding to Doug. They made me feel like part of the family in a way no one else did.” She smiled sadly. “You know, I think your father took it harder than he admits when they passed on, especially Alice. That’s around when we reconnected and he’d stay in San Francisco when I came to visit my mother. She was real old and she could barely see, and she was never a fan of him and me being together, so I didn’t push him to come with me even though seeing her that way broke my heart and I could have used him by my side. But now that I think about it, I wonder if he just couldn’t bear the loss.” Valerie sighed deeply. “Anyway, let’s not keep everyone waiting. Paige, you’re welcome to come with us if you’d like.”

“Let me just text JJ,” Paige said. “I’m so glad you’re out so you can finally meet him!” She sent JJ a quick text and then grabbed her purse.


Eve’s eyes snapped. “Well, there’s a simple answer to that, isn’t there? Just keep your damn mouth shut about Erica!” Eduardo frowned. Eve said, “Please, Eddie! They never gave a damn about Jill when she was alive, or Erica either. They kicked her out when she came to them pregnant, they told her she got herself that way and she could damn well fend for herself and her child now. So tell me, why the hell should they get a chance to rip Erica from my arms now? I was more mother to Jill than her own mother ever was. I took her in, gave her and her child a safe place to stay, provided food and shelter and the love that should have been her birthright, and after some worthless piece of trash choked the life out of her I jumped through every damn hoop they wanted me to so that I could keep that sweet little baby of hers with me instead of letting the foster care system swallow her whole and spit her out broken! They lost any right to as much as know her name five years ago when they threw her mama out into the cold and slammed the door in her face!”

Eduardo sighed. “You’re sure this is the story?  I do not mean to doubt you, but Erica’s mother is another story. I learned her history when our Nina was in jail awaiting trial on charges of killing her. I thought perhaps that would give me the clue I needed to begin to uncover the truth. And so I learned this girl was a liar, that she manipulated you to give her a space in your home and half the case against Nina was based on the conjecture that she perhaps turned violent out of jealousy because this Jill had took Nina’s place in your life after ruining your relationship with your real daughter.”

“That was a damn lie!” Eve snapped. “Paige had no ill will towards Jill, none at all. She babysat Erica whenever I asked her to, because that’s the sweet, beautiful girl that I raised.”

“I am aware. It is not Nina that concerns me, it is Jill. She blackmailed you to let her stay with you and she manipulated you to take care of her baby while she was out on the street selling her body for cash. How is it you can know this story of the parents who abandoned her is the truth and not a made-up tale meant to tug at the heart so you feel sorry for her?”

“Oh, it wasn’t.” Eve’s eyes were blazing. “Jill was more my little girl than anyone knew.” She put her hand over her stomach. “I didn’t give birth to her, but in spirit… she was exactly what I was when I first came to Salem and let Nick Corelli force me into prostitution. I lived the life she lived, Eddie, I knew fear and desperation and heartbreak and I know she felt the exact same way for the exact same reasons. And yes, I let her blackmail me but that was my own damn fault because if I hadn’t tried to ruin things between my daughter and the boy she was convinced she loved, Jill would have had nothing to hang over my head. But that’s not why I took her in. I took her in because there were too damn many nights that I lay awake sobbing that someone, anyone, would care enough to take me in and no one ever did.”

Eve’s face trembled. She put her hand in her mouth and bit her knuckles, trying to control the tears.

Eric took her free hand and said, softly, “No one suffered more than Eve when Jill died, but God saw fit to allow her to raise Jill’s daughter and that has brought both of them peace and comfort. Please, Eduardo, if Erica’s sister is alive… don’t allow that miracle to turn into a tragedy. Don’t let her grandparents take Erica from Eve, from us.”

“What is it you want me to do?” Eduardo asked. “You agree I should keep it quiet Erica exists?”

Eric bit his lip. “I don’t know what the right thing to do is. The Lord commands us not to lie either by commission or omission and yet there are some times when a lie is the only moral choice. And in this case, giving Erica’s grandparents the opportunity to sue for custody… that is immoral. And not just for Eve. For Erica. Eve is the only caretaker she has known for almost four years. Eve has been there for her since birth, she has been there every time Jill took to the streets, sometimes for days at a time. And she has been there for her since Jill’s death. So to take her from Eve now and give her to these grandparents who may not even want her… that seems to me more like what you’re going to Kentucky to put a stop to than anything resembling justice.”

“I understand,” Eduardo said. “I will do my best to protect Erica, but I cannot promise…” He sighed. “I must go now but I will be in touch.”

Eduardo left. Eve put her hands to her mouth, crying. “Oh, Eric,” she said. “Do you really think Eddie’ll have the sense to keep his damn mouth shut about Erica to her grandparents?”

“Not at all,” Eric said. He pulled out his phone. “That’s why we need to stay a step ahead. I’m calling Aiden and getting a name of a custody lawyer in case we need to go to court.”

[André DiMera]

I’m sure writing the essays is gonna be hard, as was admitting that Paige has been to jail, even though it was for something she didn’t do. So glad Paige and Hannah have been reunited! I don’t really see any harm in them calling each other by their nicknames, but okay. I can’t wait for the family to get together at the ice cream parlor!

This is a very difficult situation, and I completely understand why Eve wouldn’t want Jill’s parents raising Erica. Like Eric, I’m not sure what the right answer is, for the moment. But I can’t wait to see what’s gonna happen!

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[krw627]

I think Valerie is so against the girls using their prison nicknames out of guilt for letting Squeaky sit in jail instead of helping her at her trial.

[Kpatch]

I kind of feel bad for Erica's grandparents.

I missed a chapter, but I'm guessing JJ's text has to do with getting Paige and Hannah to the surprise party.