Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 240,816 times)

[André DiMera]

Well, that’s an interesting idea. I wonder if Eric will decide to ask Julie if she’d be okay with him officiating the funeral.

Glad Paige agreed to have Mariposa be the flower girl.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 485 - 3
Claire and Allie were walking through the Square. Claire said, “It’s been so sad, between Pop-Pop dying and now Doug. There has to be something we can do to cheer everyone up.”

“Yeah.” Allie sighed. “I’m not good with this sort of thing. My anxiety’s been way up since I heard about Doug’s death. You know how I used to be afraid of choking and eat next to nothing because I thought things would get stuck in my throat? That’s sort of… happening again.”

Claire patted her hand. “It’s probably all the talk of funerals. I mean, we’re young and we should have all the time in the world, but after seeing two people I love die within a year of each other… I know Pop-Pop and Doug were both really old, but still. It makes me think that I’d better start doing something really great with my life before it’s too late.”

Allie’s phone buzzed, but she ignored it. “Like what?”

“I don’t know,” Claire said. “That’s the problem. We’re graduating high school next year and I have no idea what I’m going to be doing with my life after that.”

Allie pushed her hair behind her ear. “Are we supposed to know? Cause I don’t know either, and I don’t think any of our friends do. Except maybe Vicki. She’s been talking about being a forensic detective as long as we’ve known her.”

“Yeah.” Claire sighed deeply. “I’m kind of jealous, honestly. It must be nice to have it all figured out.”

“I’m sure we have time,” Allie said. “A-as long as we don’t get hit by a car or anything crossing the street.”

“Don’t even joke about that.” Claire frowned as Allie hit the button to ignore her phone buzzing again. “Who is that? It’s not your mom, is it?”

“No, nothing like that,” Allie said. “Um, some weirdo has been bothering me on PalPage, that’s all.”

“There’s a block button for a reason, you know,” Claire said.

“Yeah. I probably will when I get home. But for right now, I’m ignoring them.” Allie gave Claire her best smile. “Maybe we should go to the guidance thing at school about figuring out college applications.”

“I guess.” Claire sighed. “I’ll probably just go to Salem U and that’ll be that. I mean, a lot of people do, so why not me?”

“I don’t know,” Allie said. “I kind of want to go out of town. Living somewhere my mom isn’t seems like a great idea.”

“Is Aunt Sami really that bad?” Claire asked as Allie’s phone buzzed a third time.

“Let’s put it this way,” Allie said. “The chances are 50-50 that this weirdo is her trying to keep tabs on me.”

“What are they saying?”

“Not things my mom would say. I was just joking about that.” Allie sat down on the bench beside Alice and Tom’s plaque. “He’s not quite as bad as that loser that was bothering Johnny, but I feel like he may be cut from the same cloth, you know?” She took out her phone and showed it to Claire.

Message from: Wudntja LyketoNo
We have a mutual enemy.

I hate to see your beautiful face frowning and crying.

I know how to solve your problem with a certain someone.

Meet me in the park after dark and I’ll explain everything.

“You’re not going to, are you?” Claire said nervously. “That sounds like another person like Romeo, trying to lure you to the park to do God knows what to you.”

“No, of course not,” Allie said. “I’m just debating whether to report this to the cops or just ignore it.”

Claire turned and looked her up and down, hoping Allie was telling the truth.


Stephanie hurried into the kitchen, where Steve was making dinner.

“Hey, Little Sweetness,” he said, not looking up from where he had his hands full of dough, as he was making garlic breadsticks. “Don’t worry, your mom knows I’m taking over the kitchen.”

“I didn’t think otherwise,” Stephanie said, throwing her purse on the table.

Steve frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Stephanie sighed. “Having to share this town with Jeremy Horton, that’s what. I stayed away from Salem for years because I didn’t want to face him, and the second I moved back, so did he.”

Steve wiped his hands off. “That creep better not be bothering you. He may be Jennifer’s nephew, but if he’s messing with you I’m not about to hold back.”

“He’s not.” Stephanie threw herself into a chair. “Everything would probably be fine if I would just ignore him, but I can’t. When I see him, I have this compulsive need to warn whoever he’s with that he’ll snap and hurt them the way he did when I was with him. But of course, no one listens and everyone thinks he’s a changed man, like it doesn’t matter that he once held my head underwater for long enough that I nearly drowned. I don’t know why I waste my breath trying to warn people.”

“I don’t either. Who you trying to warn?”

“First, his new girlfriend, but that was a total waste, and for all I know she’s as much a loser as he is. But worse, today I saw him sitting with JJ. JJ was telling him what to do to get everything he’s done off his record, can you believe that?”

Steve crossed his arms. “Happy Junior’s had a rough go of it. Ever since he sobered up a few years back, he thinks everyone’s like him, that they went off track for a little bit and then got themselves straightened out. He doesn’t seem to get that some people don’t deserve second chances.”

“Exactly,” Stephanie said. “Well, if Jeremy does go ahead and apply for a Certificate of Good Conduct, I guess I need to tell the judge what kind of man he is so he doesn’t get one.”

“I don’t know that that’s the best idea. No use poking the hornet’s nest.” Steve patted Stephanie’s shoulder. “Tell you what. I’ll have a little talk with my nephew and make sure he has his head on straight when it comes to Jeremy Horton and then we’ll take it from there.”

[André DiMera]

I hope Allie’s telling the truth, too! She needs to report that!

Glad Steve plans to talk to J.J. I get Stephanie being upset about Jeremy, and I’m glad she told Steve about it.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 485 - 4

Harris sighed. “I don’t like this,” he said to Abe. “It’s bad enough that both my nieces ended up in the system, but if I let Jade do this and she ends up in the morgue…”

“It’d be no big loss,” Jade said flatly. “My whole life’s been a waste anyway.”

“Don’t say that,” Harris told her firmly. “Don’t ever say that. Yeah, you made mistakes. Bad ones that hurt people. But you’re here and you’re alive and you can still make something out of your life, and I for one am grateful for that.” He turned toward Abe. “This is why I don’t want her doing this. She thinks her life’s not worth anything and she’s gonna take stupid risks and get herself killed.” He ran his hands through his hair. “You really think this is the best way to get the bastards who are messing with Ruby?”

"The Fire Lions are more likely to trust someone with Jade’s history than an undercover cop they’ve never seen before,” Abe said, “though I daresay we’re putting the cart before the horse. The first step is to stake out the park. Maybe we can catch the person placing the information if we hurry. But if we’re too late, we will have to come up with a plan B.” His phone buzzed. “Excuse me a second.”

Abe glanced at his phone.

Text from: Shawn Brady
Just got a text from Claire. Keep it quiet that she told, but some weirdo is anonymously texting Allie & pressuring her to sneak out to the park to learn how to get revenge on Ruby Michaels.

“Another piece of the puzzle has just fallen into place,” Abe said, showing the text to Harris.

Harris frowned. “Who is this Allie and why does she want revenge?”

“She’s the girl I messed with at school,” Ruby said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I didn’t think she was a Fire Lion, though. When I got shot it was cause these two Fire Lions tried to kidnap her and she got the gun away from them. I-I was trying to make them stop and I guess I got in the middle cause the next thing I remember is waking up handcuffed to a hospital bed.”

Harris put his hand on her shoulder. “So there’s been bad blood between the two of you a while, then.” He turned toward Abe. “Any chance the Fire Lions could recruit this girl?”

“Hopefully not,” Abe said. “She’s a good kid, but she’s been through a lot.”

Harris nodded. “We need to end this feud between her and my niece. But first we need to make sure the Fire Lions don’t get their claws into either of them.” He paced back and forth. “We’re wasting time talking about it. Get those cops on the park and get an undercover down there to pick up the info in Ruby’s place so we know what they’re planning.”

“I said I want to do it!” Jade said. “And I’m over 18 so you can’t stop me.” She crossed her arms. “Or are you gonna kick me out if I don’t do what I’m told?”

“Never.” Harris’ voice was soft. “Look, you’re right. Technically I can’t stop you. All I can do is pray for you, hope that you come back in one piece. But I am begging you. Do not do this. Let the police handle it.”

Ruby’s eyes were wide. “Don’t do it, Jade! I-if they kill you I don’t know what I’d do.”

“Yeah,” Harris said. “Stay here, Jade. You’re safe here and we can all sit down together for dinner like the family you should have had all along.”

Jade’s face trembled. “It’s really tempting,” she said.

Abe said, “Tell you what. You guys go ahead and eat while I get the rest of this in place. If we can’t make headway and we need you, I’ll reach out.”

“K,” Jade said, her eyes darting around nervously. She hugged herself as Abe got up, hoping she’d made the right choice.


In the hall, Abe called Horowitz. “How close are you to starting the presentation?” he asked.

“Officer Wesley’s setting up the laptop with a projector now,” Horowitz said. “We should be underway shortly.”

“I see.” Abe pressed his phone against his ear. “You think Wesley’s equipped to handle the presentation herself? Something urgent’s come up and I need your help.”

[André DiMera]

Glad Harris and Ruby finally convinced Jade to stay. Hopefully Horowitz will be able to help!

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

I hope this all works out.

[heroicmuse]

Week 485 - 5
Dani stared as Horowitz whispered something to Joy. Joy’s eyes widened and the two were talking for a while, but Dani couldn’t hear what was going on.

Emily elbowed her. “Don’t make it so obvious you have a crush on that cop.”

“I wasn’t,” Dani said, her cheeks turning as red as Joy’s hair. “I was just trying to figure out what was going on. That other cop said something to her and she didn’t look happy.”

“This isn’t a soap opera, you know,” Emily said. “It’s not exactly our business.”

“You’re a reporter, aren’t you?” Dani said, crossing her arms.

“She has a point,” Alison said, “but so do you. If I had tro guess, there was some sort of change of plans. The other cop is leaving.”

Dani frowned. “Sure hope it’s that they caught whoever it is that’s got everyone all scared and then they can cancel this and we can go home.”

“Yeah, me too,” Emily said, “but I doubt it. Your crush isn’t going anywhere.”

Dani reddened again. “Shush,” she hissed. “What if she hears?”

Samira announced just then, “Attention everyone, if you could please take your seats and silence your phones we can get started.” Dani hurried to make sure her phone was set on vibrate so that it wouldn’t ring during the meeting; she bit her lip to stop herself from giggling when she thought about the idea of the phone vibrating in her pocket while she was looking at that redheaded cop. She told herself sternly to cut it out; she was supposed to be a college freshman, not a middle schooler, and she didn’t want to embarrass herself acting like an idiot.

As Dani put her phone away, Samira said, “As I told everyone when we called this meeting, we’re currently dealing with some security concerns. But there’s no need to panic. We are taking new measures to keep you all safe. I could stand up here and explain it myself but why do that when we have a campus police officer ready and waiting to talk to us about what the threats are and how to best protect yourself? Please give a warm welcome to Officer Joy Wesley of the Campus Police Squad.”

Joy Wesley. Dani said the name to herself over and over so she wouldn’t forget it. So that was the redhead’s name that she’d been crushing on for the last few months. She liked the way it rolled off her tongue and had to bite her lip from laughing inappropriately, for the second time in as many minutes.

As Joy took the microphone, Dani looked her up and down, trying to guess how old she was and figure out if she was too old for her. The girl didn’t look much older than Dani and Emily, and they were seniors, so Joy was probably in her early 20s. Dani guessed that the age gap wasn’t unacceptably big between her and Joy. Not that she had any chance. She was just lucky that Joy hadn’t been the cop who arrested her when she’d tried to use that fake ID to buy wine coolers. Though she had to admit, she wouldn’t have minded Joy putting her in handcuffs…

Alison tapped her on the shoulder and whispered, “This is super important. Stay focused on what she’s saying, not how pretty she is, okay?”

Dani’s cheeks got hot. She took out a notebook to try to take notes on what Joy was saying, hoping that would force her to concentrate.


A little while later, Horowitz had changed into street clothes and was pretending to be a random jogger going through the park. As she jogged toward the southern side of the park, someone was watching her and following her.

Horowitz looked over her shoulder, then continued toward the area where the Fire Lions had supposedly left instructions for Ruby. She doubted anyone had done anything yet -- if Ruby wasn’t supposed to sneak out until 11, that’s likely when the person would be placing the items. Still, Abe had told her to check now, so that’s what she was doing.

As she reached the bench, the person following her came closer.

Horowitz grabbed her gun, which was hidden in its holster under her tank top, and spun around. “Don’t move!” she snapped at someone. “Hands where I can see them. Now!”


Eric had come back to Julie’s to give her the news. “Father Joe is willing to work with us, but it would take time to get a meeting with the higher-ups in the church hierarchy,” he explained, “but he did think of a workaround.” He crossed his arms. “I don’t know if you will like this, though.”

“What is it?” Julie said. “Don’t keep me in suspense, Doug will tell -- um, would have told you how much I hate that.”

Eric sighed. “He said since I’m still in good standing with the church despite having given up my vocation a long time ago, he wouldn’t have to get special permission to use the grounds if I were the one leading the service instead of Father Louis.”

Julie raised her eyebrows. “You? Would you really be leading the service or did he say it with a wink and a smile, like let’s pretend Eric is leading the service and ignore that Father Louis is there?”

“He didn’t specify,” Eric said, “but I imagine he is too much of a straight shooter to be playing those kinds of games.”

“Right,” Julie said. “So, if I want Doug’s memorial service to be anywhere near the church he loved so much, I have to give up the idea of his favorite priest leading the service.”

Eric nodded. “I’m afraid so. I need to give Father Joe an answer as soon as possible so that he can reserve the grounds for us if that’s what you decide.”

Julie swallowed hard. “I-I don’t know what Doug would have wanted. He didn’t leave a provision in his will stating what to do if his favorite priest was ex-communicated before he passed away.” She looked up at Eric. “Oh, Eric, what do you think I should do?”

Eric took her hands in his. “I think you should look into your heart and see what feels right to you. I would be honored to lead the service if that is what you want, but I will not be offended if you decide to have it elsewhere so that Father Louis can officiate.”

Julie closed her eyes and said, “Doug, I don’t know if you can hear me up there in Heaven, but if you can… give me a sign. Tell me how you want us to do this. Because I can do your memorial service in the park instead, if that’s what you want. But only if it’s what you want, my darling, because this is your funeral and I want to honor you the way you wanted to be honored.”

She squeezed her eyes shut tighter and waited, then opened them slowly. “All right,” she said. “I know where Doug’s funeral should take place.”

[André DiMera]

While Dani’s crush on Joy is cute, I hope she’s able to concentrate on what Joy’s saying.

I really hope Horowitz caught the person Ruby was supposed to meet.

Wonder what Julie’s decided.

Can we please have previews, heroicmuse?

[heroicmuse]

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

Looking forward to next week as the cops work to close in on the Fire Lions but suffer some setbacks. Read on for spoilers.

Coming Up on Breaking Ties...

One concerned citizen gets a shock when their attempt to help Horowitz nearly results in their arrest. Horowitz hopes they haven't scared off the people she's actually trying to catch, but so far the attempt to find the person or people who are bothering Ruby is a bust. And later in the week, Horowitz arrives at Shawn's to look into the mysterious texts that Claire reported, but is she too late to stop Allie and Ciara from doing something stupid?

Dani manages to push her attraction to Joy aside for long enough to ask whether it's safe to go downtown, while Alison goes into reporte rmode and asks Joy a bunch of questions that Joy can't answer.

Harris sits down to dinner with the girls, but it's clear that Ruby is still traumatized from her experience with her father as well as the danger she may be in now. Harris wants to help her understand that she's now in a place where she's loved and safe, but can he get through to her?

Elsewhere in Salem, Steve shows up at JJ's to warn him about Jeremy and Julie makes her decision about Doug's funeral.

[André DiMera]

Wonder who the concerned citizen is. Hope they don’t screw things up, And that Allie and Ciara don’t do something stupid.

The questions for Joy should be interesting.

I really hope Harris can get through to Ruby!

Wonder what J.J. will think after talking to Steve. Can’t wait for Julie’s decision!

Thanks for the previews, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

Those girls are so lucky to have Harris. I like your version of him better than the one on air.

Thanks for the previews.

[heroicmuse]

Week 486 - 1
Brady put his hands in the air as Horowitz pulled her gun out. “Whoa, whoa,” he said. “You have it all wrong. I’m not trying to hurt you.”

“You’ve been following me,” Horowitz said. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t being watched before quickly flashing her badge and saying under her breath, “Give me one good reason we shouldn’t have this conversation with you in cuffs.”

“It’d blow your cover, for one thing,” Brady said, his voice equally quiet. “And for another, if you’d let me speak… the reason I was following you was that I was concerned. I didn’t recognize you and I happen to know this area of the park far better than I wish I did. I used to do drugs, all right, and this is where I got them. And one time, I got mugged over here. Yeah. I was stupid enough to hang out here waiting for my dealer and some guy pulled a knife on me and demanded my watch. So when I saw someone jogging this way who didn’t look like an addict, I figured, I’d better keep an eye out in case the mugger or anyone else is hanging around here.”

“Pro tip,” Horowitz said. “Don’t follow a woman jogging alone cause you’re worried she’s going to get into a bad situation. You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you.”

“Point taken,” Brady said. “Am I free to go now? My girlfriend’s gonna be worried about me.”

“Answer a couple more questions for me and we’re good,” Horowitz said. “You ever been affiliated with a gang called the Fire Lions?”

Brady shook his head slightly. “If I had to guess, probably some of the dealers I got my crap from were gang-affiliated but one thing I can say I’m proud of is that as far down as I spiraled, I had the sense not to let a gang jump me or whatever the hell they do when you want to be one of them.”

“Good. Keep it that way.” Horowitz’s eyes narrowed. “You weren’t here looking to score, were you?”

Brady’s jaw tightened with annoyance but he said, “Just out for a run. The days of destructive behavior are long behind me, thank God. So if you want to search me, if that’s what it’s gonna take to satisfy you, go for it. I’m clean so I have nothing to worry about.”

“I’ll take your word for it, mostly cause I don’t want to scare away the people I’m actually looking for.” Horowitz put her gun away. “Get the hell out of here. And remember what I said. Do not follow women because you think you need to protect them. That’s a good way to get yourself arrested or killed.”

“Point taken,” Brady said. “I’m sorry I scared you.” He turned and walked away.

Horowitz let her breath out slowly. “Let’s hope he didn’t scare the Fire Lions away,” she said to herself. “If being stupid were against the law, that guy would be serving a life sentence.” She ducked behind a bush and said something into her radio, letting Prescott know what had happened.


Eric raised his eyebrows. “If you need time to think or to pray…”

“No,” Julie said. “Doug always teased me about the way I made decisions with a snap of my fingers. He wouldn’t expect anything less from me when it comes to his funeral.” She patted Eric’s hand. “You were always a good priest. If certain people who shall remain nameless hadn’t interfered, you probably would still be wearing that collar today.”

“I appreciate your kind words,” Eric said, “though it all happened the way it was meant to. Counseling young people at the Horton Center is more fulfilling than I can put into words, and in a few months’ time I will be marrying the woman of my dreams.”

“If you mean Eve Donovan…” Julie began, then cut herself off. “Never mind. I was about to bite the hand that feeds me, and that just won’t do. You see, what I’m trying to say, Eric, is that even though Doug adored Father Louis, I know he also adored you. And I would be more than honored if you were to lead us in prayer for his final goodbye.”


Paige was looking online for dresses for Mariposa when JJ came in. JJ kissed the back of her neck. “Hey, baby,” he said. He frowned. “Whatcha got there?”

“Wedding dresses,” Paige said. “My mom asked if Mariposa could be her flower girl. I’m going to be her maid of honor, but I wanted to get Mariposa’s dress first.”

“Cool,” JJ said. He grinned. “Our kid’s gonna be so cute walking down the aisle. Bet Mom and Daniel copy Eve’s idea.” His smile faded. “Your mom doesn’t expect her to be able to do it totally on her own, does she?”

“Of course not,” Paige said, her eyes narrow. “Erica’s going to walk with her.” She turned toward JJ, who had a faraway look in his eyes. “You are comfortable with that, aren’t you?”

There was a knock on the door before JJ could respond. “Happy Junior?” Steve called. “You and the Mrs at home?”

JJ and Paige exchanged glances, surprised.

[André DiMera]

Well, that wasn’t very smart of Brady to do. Hopefully he didn’t scare off the person Horowitz is waiting to meet.

So glad Julie chose to have Eric lead the service for Doug!

I’m guessing Steve’s here to talk to J.J. about Jeremy.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

I'm glad Julie said yes to Eric.

[sevenna92]

I'm glad Julie accepted Eric's offer to preside over Doug's funeral.

I'm not surprised that Brady almost got himself shot or arrested. He's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.