Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 240,944 times)

[André DiMera]

I’m excited for what Hope and Aiden are gonna find out from this woman!

So glad Hannah talked to her parents about all of that, and that she told them about the plan if she ever has those thoughts again. Having time for just her and David is a great idea. I have a feeling, based on her reaction to the wind rattling the window, that she may have some PTSD.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

It will be interesting to learn more about Aiden's heritage.

I hope that was just the wind and rain and not a gunshot!

[lumiforeverandalways]

Great few chapters!!!!
Glad Claire and Vicki are staying with Lucas,Sami&Allie.

[heroicmuse]

Week 318 - 5

“What kind of pan you want me to use?” Johnny asked Sydney, who was standing on a step stool to get the maple syrup out of the cabinet over the stove.

“I don’t know. A pan.” Sydney grabbed the maple syrup and handed Johnny the bottle. “Hold this for me while I get down.” Johnny put it on the counter and Sydney climbed down. “Not too deep,” she said. “In all the pictures it looks like the kind of pan people used to use to mine gold. You know, small, round, kind of flat.”

Johnny rolled his eyes. “Maybe I should wait,” he said. “You don’t even know what you’re doing, and anyway the snow’s going to melt if I bring it in here.”

Sydney scowled. “But I need the snow,” she said. “Once the maple boils I’m supposed to pour it on right away so it freezes. Can’t you get a pan full and put it in the freezer or something?”

“This is an awful lot of work,” Johnny complained.

“It’ll be worth it, I promise. Once the snow freezes the candy you can eat it first and it’ll be so good.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Johnny said. “You know how I said you owed me before? It’s double now.”

“Whatever. Just find a way to get the snow while I start boiling the maple syrup.” Sydney took the top off the syrup and began pouring it into a pasta pan.

“Whoa,” Johnny said. “That’s enough. It’ll never boil and there won’t be enough snow.”

Sydney rolled her eyes but she stopped pouring the syrup and turned the stove on. “Go get the snow. This won’t take long to boil.”

Johnny grabbed one of the glass bowls Sami used for mac and cheese and things like that. “Be quick as I can,” he said. “I gotta be cause Mom’s gonna be home any minute.” He threw his coat on and his gloves too, then opened the back door.

“Wait!” Sydney said, shouting over the sound of the wind. “You need ear muffs.”

“I don’t care if my ears freeze,” Johnny said. “Then I wouldn’t have to hear you anymore.” But he put on his ear muffs anyway and went out.

The wind was blowing super hard and he wasn’t sure this was a great idea. But he’d promised Sydney and he had big plans for what he was going to make her do in return for this stupid favor. He knelt down in the snow and began shoveling it with his hands into the bowl.



“You sure we’ll be able to make it home in this?” Allie asked Sami as she put on her seatbelt. “You can barely see anything!”

“Of course we’ll make it home,” Sami said. “If anyone can drive safely in this, it’s me.”

“Then why is Dad driving?” Allie asked.

“Don’t talk back,” Sami told her. “You’re embarrassing yourself in front of your friends.”

“Nope,” Vicki interjected. “I heard worse from my mom.”

Claire put her finger on her lips. Vicki looked away, embarrassed, as Sami said, “Your mom sounds like the kind of person I’d like to meet. Maybe we can compare notes on how to deal with rude, inconsiderate teenagers.”

“Sami,” Lucas said under his breath. “Don’t pick fights with Allie’s friends, okay? Save that for our own kids when we’re in private.” He started the car, but before he could pull out, a policeman came up and knocked on the window.

Lucas rolled the window down, which let snow and wind into the car. “What can I do for you, Officer?”

“Sorry, sir,” Prescott said, “but roads are closed til further notice.”

“But I have three girls in the back seat,” Sami said. “What am I supposed to do with them, have them camp out in the car and hope the heat doesn’t conk out?”

“You know Brady Pub?” Prescott asked.

Sami scowled. “Of course I know Brady Pub. My father only runs it now that my grandmother’s passed away. Why?”

“Good,” Prescott said. “It happens Roman Brady offered the Pub as free shelter for anyone caught in the storm. We’ve got ropes set up for everyone to hang onto while they’re walking so they don’t get lost or knocked over. Let me help you guys out of the vehicle and get you safely on your way.”

Sami hesitated. “It’s better than nothing,” she said. “But I have two other kids at home and I really need to get back to them.”

“How old?” Prescott asked.

“15 and 12,” Sami said. “We were only going to be gone a few minutes to get the girls.”

“Tell you what,” Prescott said. “You give me the address, I’ll radio for someone in the area to go get the other kids and take them to the Pub to meet you.”

“You can drive and we can’t?” Sami objected. “That’s hardly fair.”

“Sami,” Lucas said quietly. “Soccer mom mode, all right?” He turned the car off and put his keys away. “Lead the way, Officer, and have someone come get Johnny and Sydney. We’re at 1412 Oakwood Street.”

Prescott nodded as he helped Lucas out of the car and guided him onto a rope he had tied to one of the lampposts in the parking lot. Lucas held out his hand for Sami to take. She scowled but she got out and held onto the car til she could get to Lucas to take his hand while Prescott helped the girls.

“Bundle up,” Lucas called. “This wind is harsh.”

“We got everyone,” Prescott said. “Three girls, two blondes and one African American.”

“That’s us,” Lucas said.

“How are we supposed to see?” Allie said. “I’m getting snow in my face.”

“We gotta go by feel,” Vicki said. “I saw this on a television series about the way farmers did things in the 1800s. The cows still needed to be milked even during blizzards, you know, and…” She couldn’t tell if anyone was listening so she trailed off just in case.

“I’ll help walk you over,” Prescott said. “Everyone hold onto a rope and to someone else’s hand.”

Vicki bit her lip, ignoring how much she hated being touched, as Claire grabbed her hand and they began making their way through the snow toward the Brady Pub.


Malcolm was setting the table for dinner. “Doesn’t look like we’ll be able to order in Chinese tonight,” he said, “but how about a good, home cooked meal?”

Kenneth shrugged. “Whatever. You don’t need to make a big deal for me.” He bit his lip. “Where’s Vicki at during this storm? You’d think she’d be right here with a minute by minute weather report.”

Nan and Malcolm exchanged glances. “She was out when the storm began,” Malcolm explained. “Her friend’s mom thought it best she stay the night there instead of trying to get her home during this.”

“That poor woman,” Kenneth joked. Nan bit her lip and he said, “Lighten up, Ma, you know I didn’t mean it.”

“It’s not you,” Nan said. “I just had a bad feeling about letting her go to the Square. And now it’s been half an hour since she last texted and I can’t help thinking something happened. You’d think even that child would have the sense to let us know she made it safely to where she’s going.”

“Tell me where she was last at. I’ll go get her,” Kenneth said, standing.

“You will do no such thing,” Nan said firmly. “It’s bad enough having one child lost in the snow. I won’t be losing both my babies. Not tonight.”

“Besides, I’m sure she is fine,” Malcolm said. “Phone service has been spotty due to the storm. I tried to call her a few moments ago and got her voicemail.” He glanced at Kenneth. “You two both put your feet up and I’ll start dinner. I’m sure that by the time I have something together, we’ll hear good news.”

He disappeared into the kitchen. “Yeah, right,” Nan said. “He expects us to relax while your sister’s out there somewhere?”

“I said I could go find her,” Kenneth said. “You didn’t want me to.”

“And I still don’t. You wandering around in the snow looking for her when she could be anywhere doesn’t do anyone a bit of good.”

“Right,” Kenneth said. “So I’m useless just like I was when Marcel grabbed me.”

Nan put her hand on his shoulder. “Baby, no, that’s not what I meant. It’s just, this isn’t any way to help, that’s all.”

“If you say so.” Kenneth crossed his arms. “And I guess you’re with Uncle Malcolm about not wanting me to get a gun to protect this house too, huh?”

“A what?” Nan rubbed her temples. “What in the world are you talking about?”

“Dad had me get a permit before he died. He told me I had to be the one to protect my sister if anything happened. But I didn’t get a gun and Vicki ended up hiding in a closet while I got dragged away. He got the better of me the one time and I don’t want to let it happen twice, but Uncle Malcolm says me with a gun’s a bad idea, especially with Vicki in the house.”

“He’s right about that, baby,” Nan said. “Your sister doesn’t have a lick of sense or gun safety training either. It’s bad enough I lost your father, I’m not losing her to a gun accident.”

“I’d teach her,” Kenneth said.

“Stop this foolishness,” Nan told him, “and tell me, how is it for you being back in the house where it happened?”

Kenneth turned his back on her so she wouldn’t see his jaw tremble. “It’s all right, I guess,” he said. “I’d feel better if there was something I could do to protect you and Vicki but it is what it is.” He started toward the stairs. “I’ll be in my room. Let me know when dinner’s ready.”

Nan watched him go, her eyes full of worry.

[André DiMera]

Wonder what Johnny plans to make Sydney do in return for this. Either way, I’m not sure this is a good idea.

Glad Prescott was there to help. Hopefully he can get everyone safely to the Pub.

Kenneth’s clearly not as okay as he claims to be. Hopefully they’ll hear something from Vicki once she gets to the Brady Pub.

Can we please have previews, heroicmuse?

[heroicmuse]

Thanks André DiMera , Kpatch , and lumiforeverandalways for your comments this week!

As the storm continues to hit the Salem/Chicago area, our friends in Salem continue to have storm related drama. Check out the spoilers below.


Coming Up on Breaking Ties...
Sami and the kids make it safely to the Pub, where Roman is happy to see them but overwhelmed with all the people taking shelter there. After letting Sami know she and her family are welcome to stay upstairs in the apartment with Eric, he puts the girls to work helping cook and wait tables -- even Vicki, who lacks confidence in her ability to do any of it.

VIcki is finally able to call home, where Nan is equally shocked to hear that her normally uncooperative daughter is eager to assist in the Pub kitchen and relieved that Vicki is all right. That doesn’t stop her from worrying about Kenneth’s out-of-character behavior, though. Malcolm does his best to comfort her before going to talk to Kenneth himself. Kenneth confides him a little bit about what’s going on with him but still insists he doesn’t need help. Will he give up his pride before it’s too late?  

Elsewhere, Allie may be safe, but Johnny and Sydney may be another matter. Johnny has some frostbite symptoms when he comes in, though he insists it’s nothing to worry about, and he certainly hasn’t left his attitude towards his sister outside when he gets back to the house. Later, Abe shows up to check on them just as the syrup boils, and Johnny isn’t happy to see Theo is with him, though he manages to avoid being quite as rude as he wants to be. And while Johnny’s dealing with Abe, Sydney gets impatient enough to try to pour the boiling syrup herself… could she get seriously hurt?

Meanwhile, in Chicago JJ and Paige manage to get out of the grocery store unscathed as the storm starts to pick up, but Paige’s sympathy for a homeless man outside triggers a PTSD episode after the man repays her kindness with a crude attempt to flirt with her and by the time she and JJ get back to the hotel she’s a nervous wreck. And it doesn’t help her anxiety any when she realizes JJ might run out of his ADHD medication if they’re stuck for long enough. After almost getting into an argument for no good reason, Paige decides to go get the rest of the groceries from the trunk to clear her head, but will having to be alone in an underground garage make her anxiety worse?

And Paige is not the only one dealing with PTSD, as David and Valerie have to convince Hannah she’s not getting shot at again. Later, a concerned David talks to Hannah privately about what’s going on with her, but can he comfort her sufficiently while also dealing with a power failure?

Finally, Will is disappointed by how slow Sonny wants to take things after he makes a move toward him, while in Wales Aiden and Hope learn some disturbing information about Thomas.

[André DiMera]

So glad Sami, Lucas and the girls make it to the Pub, and that Vicki is willing to help out. It’s good that Kenneth confides in Malcolm, at least a little bit.

I hope neither Johnny or Sydney get hurt! This was not a good idea. Hopefully Abe will be able to help while he’s there.

Hopefully J.J. won’t run out of his meds, and nothing bad will happen while Paige is in the parking garage.

Not surprising that Hannah has PTSD. Hope David can comfort her whilst dealing with the power outage.

Personally, I think it’s best that Sonny and Will do move slowly, for the moment. Wonder what Hope and Aiden find out.

Thanks for the previews, heroicmuse!

[lumiforeverandalways]

Great chapter,
Glad Sami,Lucas and the girls are safe at the Brady Pub.
It is great Vicki is willing to help.
Thanks for previews.

[heroicmuse]

Week 319 - 1

Roman greeted Sami, Lucas, and the girls as they came into the Pub. “Come in, come in!” he said. “Have a seat if you can find one and - “ He paused. “Oh. Sami. Thank God above you made it here in one piece instead of getting caught out in the storm. What in the hell were you all doing out anyway?”

“Allie,” Sami said, “didn’t have the sense to call me for a ride before Salem started looking like a ski resort.”

Allie rolled her eyes. Roman said, “Well, no matter, you’re all here now. You and Lucas, Allie, Claire, and… son of a gun, you got Vicki with you. How you doin’, Vicki?”

Vicki shrugged. “We have approximately 35 hours before the storm moves off, but I’d rather be observing it from inside Theo’s living room so I could be with him.”

“I’m sure you would,” Roman said, “but I’m glad you made it here. Your mom know you’re safe?”

“My phone isn’t working,” Vicki said, “so she’s probably guessed all wrong.”

“We’ll try the landline in just a little bit,” Roman promised her. Turning toward Sami, he said, “Eric is upstairs and I would bet anything he wouldn’t mind putting you guys up for the night. But first, I could use a little help with all these people coming in from the storm.” He frowned. “Where’s Johnny? I was hoping to teach him the value of an honest day’s work.”

“He and Sydney are still at home,” Sami said, “hopefully not getting into trouble. We were only supposed to be gone 10 minutes. We went to get Allie but by the time we had all these girls loaded into the car, some cop was telling us the roads were closed.”

“We had to hold onto a rope and walk like this was 1867,” Vicki added.

“I don’t know what they did or didn’t do in 1867,” Roman said, “but I’ll take your word for it.” He turned toward Sami. “Tell you what. All I gotta do is call Abe and he’ll get someone over to check on Johnny and Sydney.”

“The uniformed officer said he was going to do that,” Vicki interjected.

“She’s right,” Claire said. “He told us the roads were closed and then when Aunt Sami asked he said he’d have someone check on Sydney and Johnny.”

“I’d rather call Abe to make sure,” Roman said. “But as I was saying, I need some extra hands helping me cook up enough food for all these people and bringing it out to everyone. Which of you girls is gonna help with that, by which I mean, who’s gonna cook and who’s gonna serve?”

Vicki pulled on one of her pigtails nervously. Lucas noticed and said under his breath, “Don't do that. It's making snow drip onto the floor.” She looked away, embarrassed.

Claire said, “I’ll cook.”

“And I’ll serve,” Allie said. “What are you going to do, Vicki?”

Vicki bit her lip. “I’ll help cook, I guess. I make dinner every other night at my house so I guess I won’t mess this up.”

“Of course not,” Claire said. “Come on, I’ll show you where the aprons are.”

Vicki dragged her feet as she followed Claire, wishing she had her guitar so she could volunteer to entertain everyone instead.


“There you are!” JJ said as Paige headed toward him. They each had a hand cart full of stuff. “I tried texting you but it wouldn’t go through so I figured we’d have to meet at the car.”

“Yeah, the signal’s terrible in here,” Paige said, “not that I could get to my phone easily.” She frowned. “I’d ask you if you’re sure you didn’t overbuy, but I’d be a hypocrite if I did. I grabbed the last thing of eggs and the last container of milk. They should fit in the mini-fridge, as long as we don’t lose power. And I changed my mind and got bread. We need something to put peanut butter and jelly or cheese on.”

“I went a little crazy with microwave stuff,” JJ said. “They had these instant mac and cheeses and stuff, I figured if worst comes to worst we could eat them cold.”

“The noodles need to be boiled,” Paige said. “But if we don’t lose power, we can do that tonight and then put them in containers or something. You want to grab some Tupperwares?”

JJ frowned, but he said, “This line’s not going anywhere any time soon, so I guess.”

“Don’t get another 100 things along the way,” Paige said, smiling slightly. “And hurry back. I’ll miss you til you do.”

They kissed and then JJ left. The line inched forward slightly. Paige looked out the window in front of the store as she inched up. She couldn’t tell if it was her or if it was snowing harder than before.


“What the - “ David said.

Valerie put her finger on her lips and squatted down next to Hannah. “It’s okay, baby,” she said. “It was just the wind, that’s all, shaking and rattling the windows like no one’s business. Go ahead and get up.”

Hannah lifted her head. “You’re sure?”

“Would I lie to you?” Valerie said. She rubbed Hannah’s back. “There’s nothing to be scared of, baby girl, I promise.”

Hannah sat up slowly. She looked away from Valerie, not wanting to see her mom’s eyes so big and full of worry. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m too old to be scared of a little wind.”

“You’ve been through a lot, sweetheart,” Valerie said. “It must have sounded to you just like the gunshots that night, like Darren was out there all over again. But he’s not. He’s in jail - “

“Reform school,” Hannah said flatly. “They gave him a slap on the wrist cause he turned on Marcel.”

Valerie shrugged. “The point is, he’s locked up and so is Marcel. They can’t hurt you anymore.”

“I know that. When I’m sane, anyway.” The lights flickered. Hannah’s eyes widened and she said, “What if the power goes out at the jail? When I was locked up at Salem City, all the locks and everything were electric and people used to joke about getting their freedom if the lights went out.”

“I’m sure they have better security than that,” David said. “This isn’t the first storm Salem’s ever had and you don’t hear about prisoners escaping every time the wind knocks out a power line.”

“Daddy’s right,” Valerie said. “They probably have back-up generators just like we do at the hospital. Stop worrying. You’re perfectly safe.”

Hannah stared at her feet. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m in some kind of bad way or something tonight.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. Daddy and I just wish we knew what to say to make you feel better, that’s all. It’s like when you were a little girl and nothing could convince you there wasn’t a monster living in your closet. You remember that?”

“A little,” Hannah said. “But now I’m all grown up and should know better.” She sighed as she picked up her phone. “The signal’s real weak but if I can I want to call Kenneth. He’s probably freaking out just as bad.” She got up and walked away without another word.

David whispered to Valerie, “What do you make of that?”

“I’m no psychiatrist,” Valerie said, “but looks to me like she was flashing back to what that boy did to her.” She shook her head. “I hope Eric Brady can help her get through this cause after all the hard work we all put into putting our family back together after she got out of jail, I don’t want to lose her again to this damn fear.”

[André DiMera]

So glad that Sami, Lucas and the girls made it to the Pub, and that the girls are gonna help out.

Glad Paige and J.J. are getting enough food. Hopefully it’s not too much. And I hope they make it back to the hotel before the snow gets much worse.

Hannah definitely has PTSD! Glad David and Valerie were able to comfort her.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[lumiforeverandalways]

So glad that Lucas,Sami&the girls made it.
cant wait for the rest of the week.

[Kpatch]

Methinks JJ and Paige are definitely overbuying. LOL.

I think Johnny is going to have a hard time getting back to the house in a white-out. He's not going to know which way is home.

[heroicmuse]

Week 319 - 2

"You sure I can't help you with the cooking?" Nan asked as Malcolm threw some vegetables into a pan.

"Not tonight," Malcolm said. "After everything you've been through, you deserve to relax."

"Relaxing's not on the table. Not with Kenneth so upset and Vicki God knows where." Nan checked her phone. "No signal. Can't get ahold of one baby and the other one's in some crazy mood."

Malcolm sighed. "What exactly happened with Kenneth?"

"That boy…" Nan shook her head. "The doctor said he'd be testy a while but I wasn't prepared for this. Instead of the level headed child he's been all his life, I got some hotheaded boy who was all mad I wouldn't let him go running out into the middle of a storm to find his sister. And then somehow he got to the subject of how you won't let him have a gun and neither will I. According to him we want him to be useless. And I thought that he was the one with sense, the one I didn't ever have to worry about. And now… now he’s the one to fly off the handle, to want to do things that make no sense. That horrible man took my boy and we got him back, but it’s like we didn’t because he is not himself and I don’t know if he ever will be.”

“He will.” Malcolm flipped the vegetables in the pan. “It will take time… and it will take help, support. Right now he isn’t ready to admit he needs it, but when he gets tired of fighting with us all the time over nonsense, he’ll come around.”

“I hope so.” Nan glanced up at the ceiling. “If I lose my boy on top of losing his father, I don’t know what I’ll do.” Her phone rang. She frowned. “Now what is this number?” She rolled her eyes as she answered. “Nanette Hansen.”

“It’s me,” Vicki said. “My phone won’t work so I had to borrow the one at the Brady Pub.”

“The Pub?” Nan said, confused. “What in the world are you doing there? Didn’t Allie’s mom have the sense to take you straight home?”

“You two could be twins,” Vicki said. “Not scientifically but behavior wise. Anyway, the storm got too bad and they closed the roads so we have to stay at the Pub until it clears up. But don’t worry, we won’t be sleeping at the tables. Allie’s uncle lives upstairs and we’re going to stay with him.”

“All right then. You’re safe, that’s the most important thing.”

“I am,” Vicki said. “I have to help Claire with the cooking now. Allie's uncle Roman had a ton of people come to wait out the storm so he put us to work.”

“And you’re doing it without a second thought?” Nan said, surprised. “Tell that Roman Brady I want him to bottle up whatever it is he has so next time it’s your turn to cook I don’t hear all that complaining and making excuses.”

“Mom!” Vicki said. “That was when I was 14. It’s a new year now." Claire called her in the background and she said, "I gotta go now. Bye." 

She hung up before Nan could say another word. Nan said, “If that child isn’t full of surprises, I don’t know what is.”

“She’s safe, I assume?” Malcolm asked.

“Except she’s not the girl who came out here last summer. She told me she has to help with the cooking and she was so eager to get back to it she rushed right off the phone.”

Malcolm smiled slightly. “I guess all that time I made her spend with me in the kitchen paid off.”

“I suppose so,” Nan agreed. She shook her head. “The world’s upside down,” she said softly. “Vicki’s growing up and Kenneth…” She sighed deeply.

Malcolm squeezed her shoulder while she blinked back tears.


Johnny rushed into the house. “Here’s your stupid snow.” he said, putting the bowl down. “It better be enough. It’s so cold out there I can’t feel my hands.”

“That’s cause you took a super long time,” Sydney said. “How hard is it to fill a bowl with snow?”

“Way to be grateful. It’s windy and cold, I could have died out there.” Johnny peeled his gloves off and tossed them on the chair, then came up to the stove. Holding his hands out, he said, “This should warm them up.”

Sydney frowned. “Your hands look funny. They’re kind of red.”

“I told you, it was really cold out there. I can barely feel them.”

“Oh no. You didn’t get frostbite, did you?”

“Course not. I’m not dumb. I’d have come inside if it was that bad.” Johnny smiled. “My fingers are coming back to life already. They’re tingling and everything.”

Sydney stared down at the stove. “Maybe we should call a doctor.”

“That’s a waste of time and money. I’m fine. But you’d better get that maple syrup onto the snow before it melts. I don’t want to think I risked losing my fingers for nothing.”

“Well, I’m waiting for you. I can’t pour boiling syrup on the snow by myself.”

Johnny rolled his eyes. “Just take a spoon and see what happens. Geez.”

The boiling syrup splattered. Sydney jumped back just in time. Johnny said, “Turn off the stove before you kill yourself. God, I gotta do everything around here.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Johnny and Sydney exchanged glances as Abe called, “Johnny? Sydney? It’s Abe Carver. Your mother is stuck at the Brady Pub because of the storm and she asked me to come check on you.”


Paige let her breath out slowly as she and JJ came through the automatic door at the front of the store. “Finally,” she said. “Thank goodness. Between the people and the storm I was beginning to panic.”

“Nah,” JJ said. “Long as we’re together, things are always gonna turn out all right.”

Paige shuddered and JJ frowned. “You cold?”

“A little,” she said. “But worse than that, I just had the weirdest feeling like someone was watching us and I know nobody is.”

JJ looked over his shoulder. “No one’s around except some homeless dude that everyone keeps walking around.” He gestured and Paige saw a man sitting under the awning. The man’s coat was tattered and looked like it was falling apart and his sneakers weren’t much better. He had a knit cap but no gloves. He was hugging himself, trying to stay warm.

“That poor man,” Paige said. “He’s going to freeze to death out here.” She put her bags down so she could open her purse, struggling to do it with her gloves on.

“You’re not giving him money, are you?” JJ said.

“I can’t just ignore him,” Paige answered. “I mean, everyone else is, but it’s wrong. He barely has anything to protect him from the cold and he’s stuck out here in the middle of a blizzard.”

“I love you for caring so much,” JJ said, “but there’s nothing we can do for him. Not like we can bring him back to the bed and breakfast with us. Besides, how do you know he’s on the up-and-up? Maybe he’s sitting out here hoping to scam people out of money.”

“In this weather? I don’t think so.” Paige took out two twenties. “Do you think he could get a cheap hotel room for forty bucks?”

“Probably,” JJ said, “but remember what happened the last time you gave a homeless person money?”

Paige scowled, remembering the woman outside the Hudson Street Diner who’d kidnapped Joey later. “That’s different,” she said. “This guy can’t hurt us just because I give him a few dollars. And we’re wasting time standing out in the snow arguing about it.”

The snow had started to stick and she had to walk carefully so she didn’t slip, but she made her way over to the man and handed him the bills. “Here,” she said. “Find yourself someplace to stay tonight so you can get out of the cold.”

“I doubt there’s many places’ll take me,” the man said, “but sure wouldn’t mind a pretty thing like you taking me home.” He laughed.

Paige bit her lip, feeling like recoiling in disgust. “I’m sure you can find someplace,” she said. “My fiance’s waiting for me so I can’t stay and talk.” She turned and hurried away.

“Don’t say I told you so,” she said to JJ under her breath, “and don’t go punch him in the face either. He tried to flirt his way into me taking him home. Ugh.”

JJ scowled, but he said, “I’m sorry, baby. How about I take you home myself and help you forget all about him?”

“It’s a good thing I’m already yours, because that was awful,” Paige said. “But cause I love you I’ll go with you anyway.”

She hoped she was just imagining the homeless guy’s eyes on her as she and JJ made their way to the car.

[André DiMera]

It’s gotta be so hard for Nan to see her son like this. Hopefully they can get Kenneth some help. Glad she heard from Vicki.

Uh oh, I have a feeling Johnny might, indeed, have frostbite. Glad Abe is checking up on them before either gets hurt.

Getting a bad feeling about that homeless guy. I hope J.J. and Paige don’t come to regret that later.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 319 - 3
"Heat feels good, huh?" JJ said as he and Paige came into their hotel room. He rubbed his hands together.

“Yeah,” Paige said, her voice flat. She put the grocery bags she was holding down on the bed and glanced out the window. It was snowing harder now but there were still a few people walking down the street. She shuddered, hoping that homeless man wasn’t one of them.

“What’s wrong?” JJ asked.

“Nothing.” Paige bit her lip. “It’s coming down harder. We’d better get the rest of the groceries out of the trunk before it’s too dangerous to be outside.”

“I’ll get them,” JJ said. “You stay here and start putting stuff away.” Paige frowned and he said, “Please, Paige? I know me, okay, if we don’t start unpacking til we got a ton of bags in I’m gonna be so freaking overwhelmed I can’t do anything. It’s a stupid ADHD thing, but that’s how it is.”

“At least you’re managing it,” Paige said. “Okay, I’ll put things away while you get the rest of the groceries.” She smiled slightly, then froze. “You brought your whole pill bottle, right? You didn’t just pack enough for the weekend, did you?”

“Uh uh,” JJ said. “I didn’t wanna risk losing all my meds if the bottle’s misplaced. I put a couple extras in my pill case in case we ended up here a few days longer but that’s it.” Paige’s lips were a thin line. JJ said, “Don’t worry, okay? We’ll be out of here before I run out. I got like four extra.”

“You should have taken the whole bottle!” Paige said. “We knew it might snow.”

“It wasn’t supposed to til after we were long gone!” JJ said. He made himself breathe. The guy he most wanted to be wouldn’t get sucked into an argument like that. “Look, the world won’t end if I miss a dose, okay? I’ll call the doctor to find out what to do and when we get home I’ll get back on track.”

“That can be dangerous though,” Paige said. “If it was just that you’d be extra impulsive and hyper, I could deal with it. I did before you got on meds. But with the meds you’re on, if you stop all of a sudden, you can get sick. Some people get flu-like symptoms if they quit it cold turkey.”

“So then you’ll have to nurse me back to health,” JJ said. “I’ve survived worse, baby, don’t worry, okay?”

“I’ll try. Sorry. I’m just on edge.” Paige made herself smile. “Maybe I should get the groceries and you should stay here. Getting some fresh air will help me clear my head.”

“You sure?” JJ asked. “I don’t mind dragging everything in.”

“I want to do it,” Paige said. She checked to make sure she had her room key. “Be right back, okay?”

JJ kissed her. “Stay safe and warm,” he said.

“I will,” Paige promised.

She left the room. Someone was coming down the hall and for a second she thought it was the homeless guy. She made herself flat against the wall til he passed. He got closer and she saw it wasn’t him. It was a well-dressed man who looked nothing like him really. She let her breath out slowly and said to herself, “Get it together, Paige. This is no time to get freaked out about ghosts.” Then she headed toward the elevator.


Will came out of Ari’s room. “She’s finally asleep,” he whispered to Sonny. “She nodded off in the middle of the fourth story she insisted on hearing.”

“Good job,” Sonny said. “I have to say, I’m amazed by how good you are with her.”

“You’re not half bad yourself,” Will said. “All that singing and campfire making.” He smiled. “Kind of turned me on.”

“Same here. I like a man who can take care of his daughter.” Sonny smiled. He leaned forward to kiss Will.

Will kissed him back, running his hands through Sonny’s hair. Then he said, “Um, now that Ari’s asleep, how about some grown-up time?”

Sonny hesitated.

Will said, “What? You’re not afraid she’ll wake up again, are you? Because I can tell you that she’s down for the count. She wore herself out getting so upset earlier.”

“No, it’s not that,” Sonny said. “It’s just… we just got back together, Will. I don’t want us to race to the bedroom.”

Will’s face fell. “We wouldn’t be, though. It’s not like we weren’t together before. So it’s not too fast. We’ve been apart for years and I just thought…”

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Sonny said. “I just want to take it slow, okay?”

“Right,” Will said sadly. “So… I guess it’s the guest room for me again tonight.”

Sonny stroked his cheek. “Be patient, okay? I love you.”

“Love you too,” Will said, but he was all hunched over as he walked away. Sonny sighed, wondering if he was making the right decision.


The woman who owned the house had invited Hope and Aiden in for tea, which turned out to include croissants and cheese.

“I’ll never get used to the European concept of tea,” Hope said. “It’s a nice tradition. Maybe we’ll adopt it when we get home.”

“Ah, so you’re American, you are,” the woman said. “I thought I’d pegged your accent.” She took a sip of her tea. “So what can I do for you?”

“I don’t know,” Aiden said. “Maybe nothing, but here goes. About 100 years ago, this house used to be a hospital. My great-great uncle Thomas Jennings lived here for some reason we don’t know. I know it’s a long shot, but do you know anything about that?”

The woman was quiet for a minute. Then she said, “It was a hospital, yes. My grandfather, God rest his soul, felt it was a blight upon the community. He bought this property and had it torn down straight away.”

“Weren’t there patients living there?” Hope asked. “What happened to them?”

“That I don’t know. I believe it was abandoned when he bought it, but perhaps it’s that I don’t believe he could be so cruel as to turn ill people out into the street, especially considering the types of patients this hospital once housed.”

“What does that mean?” Hope asked.

The woman steeped her tea bag. “Ah, so you don’t know. This was a hospital for mentally ill children.”

Aiden froze. “So my great-great uncle was…”

“I imagine so, yes. Part of the reason my grandfather wanted it torn down was the shame of it all. There were children here at one time who were meant to be at home. Children with mild impairments, children whose odd behaviour no doubt brought shame to their families but who weren’t in the slightest bit uneducatable or incapable of taking care of themselves. Grandfather presumed that some people dumped their children here because they just didn’t want to deal with them.”

Aiden rubbed his temples. Hope asked, “Did he preserve the records by any chance?”

“Actually, yes. He wanted that reminder of how cruel a place the world could be. He gave me a book full of papers when I came of age, not that I ever once looked inside. Give me a moment to find it.” The woman got up. She opened a cabinet and took out a large book. “This is full of records. Perhaps your uncle’s name is in it. What was it again?”

“Thomas Jennings,” Aiden said.

“Jennings. Jennings.” The woman flipped through pages. “Ah, here it is. Thomas Jennings, aged 5.” She shook her head. “The poor child was sent here so young.” She scanned the page with her eyes, frowning as she saw what else his record had to say.