Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 252,305 times)

[heroicmuse]

Week 511 - 4

Marlena looked away. “Never mind,” she said. “Of course you wouldn’t want that. I’ll tell you what. I’ll find a bench next to the fitting room and if Paige would be so kind as to find some items that are suitable for me…”

“But looking through racks of dresses you would neve ruby is half the fun,” Eve said. She patted Marlena’s hand. “OF course if you need a wheelchair, you should have one. I know there was a time where I would have been selfish enough to worry more about what it would look like than what you need, but those days are long gone. Ever since I met your son, I’ve wanted to be the woman he mistook me for and I’ve worked hard to actually become her.”

Except for right now, Paige thought, but she didn’t think pointing that out was a good idea. “I think my mom means that she invited you because she wanted you to participate, so she’ll wait for you to do whateve ryou need to do, just like Eric would. Right, Mom?”

Eve blushed. “Of course,” she said. “Paige knows me too well, you see, she can tell just what I’m thinking even if I fall all over myself trying to say it.”

“You’re just fine,” Marlena said. “All right. Now, I wonder where in the mall it is I would have to go to arrange for the wheelchair.”

“I know exactly where it is,” Paige said.”I told you, when I was pregnant I needed one too. Come on.”

Eve frowned as Paige walked off with Marlena. “I do hope everything’s all right,” she said to herself. “Eric would be devastated if something happened to his mother.”


Saxon straightened his tie as he walked up to the monitor. “I’m sorry for the ordeal you went through. It sounds very scary. But I have to ask, why do you blame Natalie Simmons and not her brother for it?”

Kenneth said, “I don’t get what you’re asking me. I’m sorry.”

“Well,” Saxon said, “by your own testimony, it was Marcel Simmons that held your family hostage and who tied you up and took you to a warehouse, and Marcel Simmons who held the phone to your ear and made you talk to your girlfriend. The only thing you saw was Marcel Simmons passed out on the floor after the police removed the blindfold he’d put around your eyes. Isn’t that correct?”

“I still had ears,” Kenneth said, “and I heard Natalie Simmons’ voice.”

“But you didn’t see her. How do you know that she wasn’t trying to get her brother to let you go?”

“Oh, she was,” Kenneth said evenly, “in exchange for making Hannah her prisoner.”

“You heard her say that?”

“I heard Hannah on the phone making the arrangements with her,” Kenneth said, “and when I was in the hospital afterward, Hannah told me the rest of it, all the meetings she had begging Nat to let me go and everything.”

“I’ll give you that, I suppose. But how do you know this plan was Nat’s and not Marcel’s?”

Kenneth crossed his arms. “Does it matter? She went along with it, didn’t she?”

“How do you know she wasn’t being forced by Marcel?”

Rubin stood. “Your Honor, this sounds to me like the same question asked three different ways. Can we move on?”

“I agree,” the judge said. “You made your point, Mr. Saxon.”

Saxon ran his hands through his hair, knowing what he had to do next. It was easy to destroy this witness. All he had to do was make the jury aware of how many laws Kenneth Hansen had broken himself before Marcel’s shooting and make them dislike that he hadn’t been punished for it. But could he really do that? Did he really want to try to make the jury hate and distrust someone who had been through what this witness had? Swallowing hard, he said, “Mr. Hansen, you mentioned that you bought a gun for self-defense after your abduction from a gun shop. Did the shop impose a 7-day waiting period while they checked your background?”

“No,” Kenneth said, making himself sit up and stare straight into the camera when he wanted to look away in shame. “He gave it to me right away.”

“Were you aware at the time that that was a violation of the law?”

Rubin stood. “Your Honor, do you have any idea what this has to do with the witness’ testimony against Natalie Simmons? It seems ocmpletely irrelevant to me.”

“It goes to the witness’ credibility, your Honor.”

“I know where you’re going with this,” the judge said, “and it’s distasteful, but it’s allowed. However, I am giving you only a short leash, and if you make anything that sounds like a false accusation against the witness, that will be the end of your cross-examination.”

“I-I wouldn’t do such a thing,” Saxon stammered. He turned toward Kenneth again. “The question again, Mr. Hansen. Were you aware you were breaking the law when you bought the gun you used for self-defense?”

Kenneth said, “He was breaking the law, not me. I figured, if he was willing to give me a gun right away, who was I to argue?”

“So you accepted the gun knowing the shop owner was not following proper procedure, is that your testimony?”

Rubin stood. Judge Hildebrand said, “Sit back down, Ms. Rubin, I’m aware he’s badgering. Cut it out, Mr. Saxon.”

“Did it ever occur to you,” Saxon said, “that the gun might have been stolen?”

Kenneth shook his head. “I didn’t think of that. All I knew was, I’d been kidnapped once and I couldn’t let it happen again, especially cause this time, they might get ahold of my sister.”

“I see,” Saxon said. “After Marcel Simmons was shot, did the police question you about how you came into possession of a gun?”

“Yes,” Kenneth said.

“You’d been Mirandized and all that at that point, meaning you knew your rights?”

“Yes,” Kenneth said “Why?”

“Because,” Saxon said, “if you admitted to buying that gun illegally,you incriminated yourself, and I’m trying to understand why you were not arrested for that crime. Did the police offer you a deal in which you would be given immunity if you agreed to testify against Natalie Simmons?”

“No, sir,” Kenneth said. “Abe Carver said he didn’t see any need to hold me on those charges after everything I’d been through. The gun wasn’t the one used in the shooting and he had more important things to do than fill out paperwork on my stupid…. Decision.”

“I see. So to sum up, you were kidnapped by Marcel Simmons, bought a gun illegally, were forced to admit to that illegal possession of a firearm after Marcel Simmons was shot in the back while walking into court, and were detained but not arrested in connection with that shooting, yet somehow you blame Natalie Simmons for the entire ordeal. Is that right?”

“Your Honor!” Rubin said.

“Withdrawn,” Saxon said, smirking cause he knew the damage was done. “Nothing further for this… witness.” He threw himself back into his seat, triumphantly.

[André DiMera]

So glad Eve didn’t make a big deal about Marlena needing a wheelchair, even if she had a slightly awkward way of saying it.

Ugh. Whether he had doubts about doing that or not, Saxon is still a creep.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

Paige should have let Marlena sit where she was and went to get the wheelchair for her. Whether Eve likes it or not, it's Marlena's call. I'm glad Marlena admitted she needs help.

[heroicmuse]

Week 511 - 5

“That’s that,” Kenneth said to the others in the safe house. They were all sitting around the kitchen table eating burgers and fries out of takeout boxes, as Andrew and Paul had gotten food for them. “The prosecution rested after my testimony so now all that’s got to happen is Nat’s attorney making a fool out of himself trying some stupid defense, and then the jury finds her guilty and we get to go home.”

“I sure hope it’s that easy.” Hannah dipped a fry in ranch dressing. “I keep feeling like Nat’s got another trick up her sleeve. LIke she’s gonna get to a juror somehow and get herself a hung jury and we’ll have to do this all over again.”

“I know how you feel,” Brianna said as Kenneth put his arm around Hannah. “That time my testimony was delayed cause she was going for a mistrial…” She shuddered. “Would you do it again if you had to?”

“There’s no point even discussing it,” Kenneth said, “cause it’s not happening. We just gotta have some faith. What kind of defense do they even have?”

“I don’t know anything about it,” Jeremy added, “but from what Brianna’s told me, the only thing they can do is put Nat on the stand to tell a bunch of lies that the prosecutor lady will easily debunk.”

“I hope so,” Hannah said. “She can be persuasive. Look at me and Brianna. She and Marcel had us thinking up was down and black is white and if I hadn’t been locked up a year I don’t know if the spell would have ever been broken.” She swallowed hard.

“It would have sooner or later, baby,” Kenneth said. “God knew your heart, and he knew you weren’t a low level criminal or whatever it was she was trying to make you into.”

“Only thing I did was get her and Marcel drugs,” Hannah said, “but that was bad enough.”

“They had me delivering them all around East Salem,” Brianna said. She shook her head sadly. “At least I wasn’t shoving guns in people’s faces and robbing them, but still.” She bit her lip. “I’m surprised they didn’t have that little girl who got messed with in j uvie when she turned against the Fire Lions testify.”

“Who?” Hannah said.

“I think she means the one who held up my cousin Ciara,” Jeremy said. “I guess they figured they had enough remorseful ex-Fire Lions testifying.”

“Yeah, I’m kind of glad she didn’t have to,” Hannah said. “It was bad enough for us, but she’s still a kid. Not so little all these years later, but still.”

Kenneth patted her hand. “Let’s talk about something happier. What are you guys gonna do first thing when you get out of here?”

“Listen to him talking like a jailbird,” Hannah said, grinning. “Just kidding.” She squeezed Kenneth’s hand. “First thing is go buy a huge piece of cake just cause I can. Second is have that alone time you and I pretended we were gonna get when the cops took us here.”

“Mmm,” Brianna said to Jeremy. “Some of that sounds good for us too.”

“The cake or the alone time?” Jeremy said.

“Both. Duh.” Brianna leaned on him. “Though maybe we could have a little freedom party for all of us too. I could even try baking us a cake. I always used to do things like that at the halfway house.” She swallowed hard. “Um, Hannah? We’re talking like we’re friends now, so I’m just wondering… do you still want to have that meeting so I can face what I did to you and Kenneth when I framed him, or are we good now?”


Meanwhile, at the Michaels household, Ruby was staring at her phone.

Notification: We’re looking forward to welcoming you to Salem High! Don’t forget that orientation is one week from today.

She gulped loudly enough that Jade looked up from her computer.

“Hey,” Jade said. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Ruby said. “Just stupid back-to-school butterflies.” She sighed. “I have to go to some dumb orientation next week.”

“I did that,” Jade said. “I can’t tell you too much about it since I was stoned at the time, but I went.” She sighed. “I kind of wish I could do it all over again and pay attention this time, but I guess the best I can do is get my GED.”

“Too bad you can’t go in my place,” Ruby said flatly.

Jade got up and put her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Hey. It won’t be that bad. Eighth grade wasn’t, right?”

“Yeah, but now it’s a brand new school and probably twice as many people who know that I used to hold people up at gunpoint and that I’ve been in juvie.”

“Or,” Jade said brightly, “maybe a lot more people who don’t know anything about you so you can make a fresh start.”

“Yeah, and when they find out I’m in ninth when I’m supposed to be in tenth, then what? They’ll think I”m stupid and then if they find out the real reason I’m a year behind they’ll back away slowly and never talk to me again.”

“Says who? Why are you being so negative?” Jade crossed her arms. “Is someone messing with you? Do I need to beat someone up, is that what you’re saying?”

“No. I’m just nervous, okay? I mean, last year there was only one girl that was nice to me. So if I don’t see her, I’m doomed.” Her phone beeped again. “And what the hell is this?”

She showed Jade the notification:

From: Salem High
Subject: Your Internships
Dear Student:
We’re pleased to present our brand new internship program. Please fill out your form indicating your three preferred interests before the first day of school.

The form is attached to this email or you can also access it on the Salem High Portal.

“Internships?” she said. “Forms? I haven’t even started yet and there’s all this stuff I don’t understand.”

She flopped back on the couch, her eyes wide with fear.

[André DiMera]

Hopefully Kenneth’s right and they won’t have to go through all this again. I like that they’re talking about their plans for once they’re free. Wonder what Hannah will say.

It makes sense that Ruby is overwhelmed by all this.

Can we please have previews, heroicmuse?

[Kpatch]

Hopefully the forms will give Ruby the info she needs. I think she's panicking.

[heroicmuse]

Thank you André DiMera and Kpatch for your comments this week! I'm so excited for the start of school story I have coming up for our teens. Before we know it, it'll be the holidays, too.

Read on for spoilers.

Coming Up on Breaking Ties...
At the safe house, Hannah and Brianna have an honest and emotional conversation that will hopefully allow them to move forward. Meanwhile, at ISA headquarters, we get a hint about why the ISA bugged Kenneth's tie but not much of one, yet.

Elsewhere, it's almost back to school time and Philip and Chloe take the kids out to dinner to celebrate their return from camp. Surprisingly, Parker is the one who is quiet while Charley has a lot to say, especially about her new friend Izzy. Philip and Chloe try in vain to get a sense from Parker about how his summer went, but are interrupted by Lucas, who wants to talk to Philip privately about Kate. Will Philip's advice help Lucas more than it hurts?

While Lucas is out, Sydney worries about asking Sami to sign her internship form and gets some support from Allie. After, Sydney asks Allie a question that surprises her.

Finally, the next day dawns and the teens go back to school. Ruby is especially nervous and waiting in a crowd of strangers to go inside triggers an unpleasant memory of her time in juvie, but she soon meets a potential new friend. And elsewhere, it's also a new day in court but has Nat learned her lesson from being held in contempt for 24 hours?

[André DiMera]

Can’t wait for Hannah and Brianna’s talk! Wonder what the ISA is up to.

Glad the kids had a good t8me, though I’m curious as to why Parker’s so quiet. Philip’s advice should be interesting.

Wonder what Sydney’s question is.

Hopefully the first day of school goes well and Ruby makes a friend. I doubt Nat will have learned anything.

Thanks for the previews, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

Oh my gosh. What happened to Parker at camp? I'm glad to see the family together again, and Philip + Lucas makes me happy.

[heroicmuse]

Week 512 - 1
Chloe and Philip had taken the kids out to dinner to celebrate their first night home from camp. At the Pub, Charley was talking a mile a minute.

“...and then Sydney took care of the mean girl and after that it was fun. And I chose archery instead of horseback riding and Izzy did too and I was more natural than her but we both got bullseye a lot and at the end of camp we both got trophies. And she lives in Brookville but she said I could visit her sometime. And also…”

“Whoa,” Philip said. “Take a breath and eat some of your pasta while you’re at it so we can give your brother a chance to talk about his camp experience.”

“But I want to know if I can hang out with Izzy in Brookville,” Charley said.

“We’ll discuss that later,” Chloe said firmly. “Daddy’s right. It’s Parker’s turn to talk.” She turned toward him. “It seems like you guys have switched places since camp. You’re quiet and your sister doesn’t stop talking. So tell us, what was your camp experience like?”

Parker shrugged. “It was okay, I guess. I mean, you know, it was the same as it is every year, with swimming and activities. Nothing special.”

“Really?” Philip said. “So you didn’t meet any girls you’d like to get know better?” He winked.

“Philip!” Chloe said. “He’s only thirteen.”

“And we weren’t that much older when we first met,” Philip said.

“There’s a big difference between 13 and 16,” Chloe replied, “and anyway, he’s too young to date. So let’s not push it, okay?”

“I want to know,” Charley said. “Did you have a crush? And was it on a girl?”

Parker’s eyes narrowed. Chloe said, “What did I just say, Charley? Talk about something else.”

“Tell me when we’re supposed to be asleep,” Charley whispered to Parker. Parker crossed his arms but said nothing.


Meanwhile, Allie and Sydney were at the food court in the mall. Allie said to Sydney, “Did you hear about the new program Mr. Woods is starting?”

“The internship thing, you mean?” Sydney said. “I got an email saying I had to fill out this form before orientation but I didn’t understand what it meant.”

“Let me see,” Allie said.

Sydney handed Allie her phone. Allie opened the email and looked. “Oh, okay,” she said. “Mr. Woods wants to know who wants what, so you have to look at this list of interests and choose your top five and put them from best to worst on your form. That way, you get an internship in something you’re interested in.”

“Oh, cool!” Sydney said. “I’m really going to get one, or is it so they’re ready when I’m your age?”

“He said he wants everyone to be part of the program,” Allie said. “I don’t have any more details than that.”

Sydney glanced at the list. “Ooh,” she said. “Imagine if… nah, Mom would never allow it.”

“Why?” Allie said. “What is it?”

Sydney showed her.


Eric looked up as Eve came into the house. He closed his computer and said, “Hey. How was the dress shopping? Or am I not allowed to ask?”

Eve, Paige, Theresa, and Marlena sat around a table at the Penthouse Grill. Marlena was still using a wheelchair,

“Are you sure you’re going to be able to get your dress on time if you order it from one of those online stores?” Eve said. “You know some of those companies ship from the other side of the world and take months.”

“It’ll be fine, Mom,” Paige said. “There’s still plenty of time.”

“But — “

Paige took a deep breath. “I’m going to the bathroom.” She got up and left.

“Don’t fret,” Marlena said to Eve. “I know as the bride, you want everything to be perfect. But I’m sure Paige will be able to get her dress one way or the other.”

“I just wish she’d listen to me,” Eve said. She turned toward Theresa. “You’re awfully quiet, Jeannie.”

“That’s because I was hoping you wouldn’t call me that.” Theresa smirked. “You want me to go try to talk some sense into her?”

“If you wouldn’t mind,” Eve said.

Theresa slid off her seat. Eve turned toward Marlena and said, “I’d bet anything she was just looking for an excuse to get away from me.” She held up her hand as Marlena started to respond. “You don’t have to say anything. I’m grateful you came along event hough I know it was harder for you than either of us bargained for.”

“My pleasure,” Marlena said, “though I do hope this is resolved before your wedding day.” She sighed deeply “If I’m not able to dance the mother-son dance with Eric at your wedding, it’ll just break his heart.”

“This shouldn’t take this much thought,” Eric said to Eve now. “Either you don’t want to tell me about your dress shopping day out of an abundance of respect for superstition or you do.”

“Sorry,” Eve said. “It’s not that. It’s just…” She swallowed hard, not sure if she should say anything to Eric about Marlena. “Oh, Eric, Paige is insisting on buying her dress online and I just don’t know if it’ll get here on time.”

Eric raised his eyebrows and Eve wondered if he believed that that was really what she was worried about.

[André DiMera]

Wonder what’s up with Parker being so quiet. Glad Charley had a good time.

So curious what Sydney wants to do, and why Sami wouldn’t approve.

I doubt Eric believes that that’s what’s worrying Eve.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

I think Eve should tell Eric about his mom. No reason to hide it.

Speaking of hiding, I wonder what Parker doesn't want anyone to know. We didn't see his experience at camp so I'm a little worried about what might have happened.

[krw627]

Eric will find out sooner or later, so Eve might as well tell him about Marlena.

I wonder why Paige is insisting on ordering her dress online. I would be more concerned about the quality of the material and fit than if it would arrive on time.

[heroicmuse]

Week 512 - 2
Hannah fidgeted with her hair, not sure what to say. “I gotta admit, you’re not the monster I thought you were before we got stuck here together,” she said. “And what right do I have to judge you anyway? It’s not like I didn’t spend a year behind bars for the one thing I didn’t do while knowing real well it could have been worse if I’d been caught helping Nat get drugs.”

“Yeah,” Brianna said flatly. “She did a number on both of us. N-not that I’m not to blame for the boneheaded things I did.” She looked away, shyly. “So about this forgiveness thing…”

Hannah bit her lip, “I have to think about it. It’s not that I don’t forgive you, not really. But I still feel like you need to know the full extent of what you did.”

“What for?” Jeremy interjected. “She’s sorry, you’re forgiving her, why can’t that be the end of it?” He put his arm around Brianna, protectively.

“I guess cause I’m in two minds about it,” Hannah said. “I know that Nat was way up in her head, messing with her and making her scared for her life after years of abuse. I get it, I really do. And like I said the other day, I don’t care that she shot Marcel. I know that sounds cold, not caring that she took out the life of another human being. But this man went after girls who are barely in their teens. He went after me like that, playing with my mind and my heart when I was only 14, and besides that he was a grown man and had no business being in my bed. And he did the same thing to Brianna so I can’t fault her for jumping at the chance to be rid of him. She did us a favor. But the other part…” Hannah swallowed hard. “Being here’s brought back so many memories of being locked up for something I didn’t do. And the thing I didn’t do, it wsa small potatoes and it’s not hurting my future as much as being locked up made me think it would. But murder? That’s another thing altogether and even if Kenneth’s name had been cleared… Brianna, if he’d gone to jail behind what you did, there’d be all sorts of people who assumed he got away with it somehow when the cops admitted they made a mistake and let him go.”

Brianna stared at the ground. “I know,” she said. “I’ve been in jail too, remember? And like you, it was small potatoes… well, medium-sized potatoes, I guess, cause running drugs for Nat, selling them to kids and getting the next generation as messed up as I was… that’s way worse than an open container of beer. But there’s not a day that goes by that I’m not grateful I only did one night in a holding cell behind shooting Marcel, and now to learn that I actually was supposed to be part of a real family and that family includes the man I almost sent away…” She blinked back tears. “You didn’t deserve that, Kenneth, and I am truly sorry that I was such a coward that I let Nat push me into framing you rather than risk going to jail myself for the other things she made me do.” Her voice shook. “You’re my cousin and your girlfriend is someone who, if things were different, could be my best friend. And I almost ruined your lives. So I understand if you two never want to talk to me again once we get out of here. It’ll break my heart, but I will understand it.”

Jeremy squeezed her shoulder. “That enough of an apology for you?” he said. “Think she gets it now?”

“Yeah, I do.” Hannah swallowed hard. “I didn’t mean to make you cry, Brianna. I believe you’re sorry and I totally get how trapped you felt. Nat does that to people.”

Brianna nodded slightly.

Hannah handed her a tissue. “Look, I don’t know about best friends, not yet anyway. I want to know what else we have in common besides Nat trying to ruin our lives when we were teenagers. But I’d like to be friends. So yes, I forgive you.” She held out her arms.

Brianna sniffed hard. She meant to hold her head up high and walk in a dignified manner over to Hannah, but her legs moved on their own and she ran to her.


Shane was listening in on this conversation with headphones, as Kenneth was still wearing the bugged tie. “Interesting,” he said to himself, “but I’ve my doubts it will make an impression upon our newest prisoner, at least not enough of one to get her to talk.”

A door opened behind him and Kelsey came through a secret passage. “Agent Scott,” Shane said, taking off his headphones. “Did you have any luck getting her to talk?”

“No sir,” Kelsey said. “I don’t think she ever plans to tell us why she went rogue in the first place.”

“They rarely do,” Shane said. “Perhaps it’s time we brought a very special visitor in to see her. What do you think?”

[André DiMera]

That was a really powerful scene between Hannah and Brianna!

Hmm. What are Shane and Kelsey up to?

Great chapter, heroicmuse!