Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 251,892 times)

[heroicmuse]

Week 518 - 4
Nat stood. She put her hands behind her back and looked down at the ground, hoping she looked contrite enough to convince the judge she was going to behave.

“I had to consider various factors when making this decision,” Judge Hildebrand said. “This trial is almost over, and if you are found ugilty, you will be sentenced to an appropriate facility at that time. Thus, wherever I send you right now will likely be temporary. However, I wanted to be fair to both you and to the people who have accused you of crimes against them and their families. Ms. Rubin makes a good point that placing you in the same facility that one of the witnesses against you lives in guarantees conflicts that could impact both of your lives. In addition, we are getting close to the holidays,which means there will be times this court is not open. Thus, you may be held pre-trial for longer than anticipated.

“Finally, there is the issue of your behavior throughout this trial. I initially revoked your bail because you saw fit to attempt to make it look like an officer of this court was engaging in improper conduct. It was something that should have been done before this trial began, to be honest, considering that the three witnesses against you, all of whom accused you of masterminding acts of extreme violence against them, are currently being housed in an unknown location and are surrounded by armed guards to keep them safe from you and anyone you may be associated with who would do them harm. I have seen few, if any, indications during this trial that you have changed your ways, even after being held in contempt for 48 hours. In fact, I daresay that while I am making this ruling, you have been quiet for longer than you have ever been before, which is not impressive considering so far we are under two minutes.”

Nat scowled, but Saxon whispered, “Let her insult you. More fodder for our appeal.”

Nat nodded, though she doubted she was going to keep working with Saxon if she were convicted at trial. That would just prove he was as weak as she suspected and she’d hire someone else while working on getting revenge.

“However,” Judge Hildebrand went on, “I do not want to think that you are a lost cause. No human being ever is, as long as they are alive, and I sincerely believe that change is possible even for someone like you who has not shown any interest thus far in doing so. Therefore, while I am ordering you remanded to Salem City Jail for the duration of this trial, I am also ordering that you be given mandatory therapy while you are there. The warden will be setting that up for you.”

Nat’s eyes narrowed. Therapy? Really?

“The defendant is therefore remanded to Salem City Jail for the duration of trial, with the additional requirement that she be enrolled in mandatory mental health services while she is a ward of the state.” Judge Hildebrand said. “She has no further business before the court today so I ask she be remanded immediately, and attorneys, you are to be ready to deliver closing arguments tomorrow.” As Judge Hildebrand banged her gavel, she added, “Ms. Rubin, please see me in chambers about an unrelated matter.”

“Unrealted?” Saxon stood. “Your Honor, this is highly irregular and looks like an ex parte communication.”

Hildebrand turned and stared at him. {“I am aware how it looks,” she said quietly. “But I can assure you it is not. Now your business with the court is concluded for the moment, so please leave the courtroom.” She nodded at Rubin. “Ms. Rubin, come, please.”

Saxon scowled as Rubin followed the judge into her chambers.



Johnny was pacing back and forth in front of the football field, trying to keep warm. It seemed like it was twice as cold as it had been before he got the news about his grandfather.

Ciara came running up. He froze. “Ciara?” he said. “What… what are you doing here?”

“Belle’s parking. She’s afraid to stop here because it’s a red zone.” Ciara rolled her eyes. “But I wasn’t going to wait another minute to let you know you’re not alone.”

“Thank God for that.” Johnny hugged Ciara tight. “I don’t think I could do this without you by my side,” he said, his voice cracking. “Grandpa John is gone just like that?”

“Yep,” Ciara said. “It’s hard for me too and my mother didn’t disappear into thin air when she was supposed to come get me.”

“Yeah,” Johnny said. “What’s up with that?”

“What’s up with that,” Belle said, coming up to them. “Is that everyone grieves in their own way. And your mom is on her way to Grandma’s. I just got a text. Anyway, we’re the last people unaccounted for, so let’s go. We’re delaying the service.”

“Service?” Johnny whispered to Ciara. “I thought it was just random people stopping by.”

“Me too,” Ciara whispered back/ “BUt I guess we’d better go pay our respects to whatever it is.”

[André DiMera]

Thank goodness! I’m so glad Nat won’t be getting out of jail! Wonder what Judge Hildebrand wants to talk to Rubin about.

Glad Ciara let Johnny know he’s not alone.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

I'm glad Belle and Ciara came to Johnny's rescue. It's unfortunate that his mother is the most selfish person in the world.

[heroicmuse]

Week 518 - 5
Now that everyone who wanted to pay their respects had made it to Marlena’s house, Eric stood in front of them all.

He blinked hard as he said, “This is the hardest speech I’ve ever had to make. I… John was not my biological father, as we all know. But my sister Sami and I were blessed to have two, maybe more than we knew.” He glanced at Sami, who looked away, her eyes wet with tears. “Now we’re back down to one and… well, God give me the strength to speak because I am so incredibly heartbroken. Heaven’s gain is our huge loss. God couldn’t ask for a better angel than John Black but he leaves a huge hole down here in this world, and while I generally don’t want to speak for everybody, I am comfortable saying we are all broken hearted.” He blinked hard. “I don’t know what else to say. I could tell you so many stories about John, about his kindness and love, and I am sure that everyone in this room could give me one that’s even better. So I will just say that John’s legacy is all of us, sitting together. I know this is a sad day in our lives, that we are heartbroken, that we can’t believe that he was so suddenly taken from us. For us, the whole world has ended. But the fact that John was so loved is a testament to the type of life he led.”

Eric looked around the room at everyone nodding and wiping their eyes, before he went on, “I’d like to say a little prayer for my stepfather and for all of us who are left behind and then I’d like to invite us all to say a few words about John, starting with my mother.”

He closed his eyes and said, “Father God, I know you are watching over John’s soul and that he is in heaven with you, at your right hand, as he deserves to be. But I humbly ask that you bring comfort to all those who are suffering as a result of that sudden loss. We down here are heartbroken and in need of your loving guidance. Please guide us through this grief, this pain, and help us see You in all your glory as we come out on the other side of it.”

Everyone said “amen” and then Eric called on Marlena to come up to the front.

Marlena came up slowly. “Oh, my,” she said. “I didn’t think this day would come quite so soon.” She sighed deeply. “You know, John spent much of his life not knowing who his parents were. When he first came to Salem, he was a mystery man wrapped in bandages and of course we all know what Stefano Dimera tried to do to him.

“I’m not going to dwell on that, though, because John never did. Although he longed to know where he had come from, who he once was, he understood that it was more important to become who he wanted to become than to fill in those gaps, that they didn’t matter anymore. And he was too humble to see it, but what he became… well, he added so much light to the world and he never even realized it.” Marlena blinked hard. “John was a wonderful and attentive husband, and there are so many things I will miss about him. BUt I think the things I will miss the most are the everyday, mundane things. His smile when we woke up in the morning. Every time he dropped by the office just to surprise me with lunch or check on me. E-even the last thing he said to me… I was going out and he said, ‘Call me if you need me.’ And I only wish that I haf called him, that I’d heard his voice one last time…” Marlena swallowed hard. “He always had my back and I hope he knew that I had his. I will miss that silver-haired, handsome secret agent of mine, more than words can say.”

Marlena suddenly felt woozy. She took a deep breath and it passed. Eric saw and got up to help her back to her seat.

“I’m fine, sweetheart,” she whispered.

“No, you’re not,” Eric said. “John would have helped you if he were here. So now let me do it.” He put his arm around her and led her back to her seat.

Everyone looked around at each other. Steve stood, slowly, and said, “Mind if I say a few words?”

“Of course,” Eric said. “Please, come up.”

“I think I’ll speak from right here,” Steve said. “The thing is, this is gonna be a very few words cause I’m at a loss for what to say. John was, um, the dude was my best friend, all right, and him and me cheated death so many times that I’m finding it hard to believe that this time it’s really the end. I guess it’s a good thing I only got one eye cause if I had two they’d both be so full of tears right now I wouldn’t be able to see at all.” Steve shook his head. “Rest well, my friend. Rest well. We’ll see each other again someday.”

After Steve, a lot of people spoke.

Brady said, “Wow… like Steve, I just don’t know what to say. My dad stood by me no matter what. Every time I relapsed, every time I broke his heart, even when I insisted hooking up with Kristen Dimera was a good idea… he was always there to pick up the pieces.”

Abe said, “He was the best partner I could ever have.”

Paul said, “I wish I’d had the chance to know him sooner but I’m grateful for the time we did have together. I’ll be swinging for the fences, Dad.”

Belle said, “I really wish you’d been able to grow up with me and Brady. Dad was… well, he was one of a kind. I’ll really miss him calling me Izzy B. I know that sounds silly and superficial but when he used that nickname for me, his voice was always so full of love.”

Roman said, “Him and I had the weirdest history anyone ever heard of. He came into Salem believin’ he was me til I showed up and turned the world upside down. It takes a strong man to get through something like that, but John was that kind of man.”

JJ said, “He barely knew me, but no one was happier than him that I straightened myself out. Every time he saw me, he’d say, ‘Lookin’ good, kid. Keep on keepin’ on.’”

Ciara said, “He used to take me for these nature walks. That’s what he called them, but it really meant walking around the backyard and pretending it was some exotic, faraway land.He’d point out the trees in the yard like they were something no one ever saw before. Then he’d get serious and tell me not to give my mom a hard time and I’d want to listen to please him cause he was so… gentle.” Her voice cracked and she leaned against Johnny, unhappily.

“Johnny said, “I’m honored to be named after him. I don’t know what else to say, except I hope I live up to his name when I grow up.”

Allie said, “Grandpa John didn’t judge me when I was having trouble eating. Or about anything else. I’ll never forget how patient he was with me. Ever..”

Sydney said, “Grandpa John didn’t care that I was a Dimera. I was always just as much part of his family as everyone else.”

They all turned toward Sami, waiting for her to say something. She stood and said, “Well. I know half of you were probably hoping I’d keep my mouth shut. What will Hurricane Sami say, right ?Don’t worry, I’m not going to go into that horrible day when I was sixteen. That was a long time ago, and I gave John a lot of grief for a lot of years because I thought he stole my mom from my dad, but the truth was, we were the perfect family. I just didn’t want to see it.” She blinked hard. “I’m sorry, John,” she whispered. “I hope you know I loved you so much.”

“He loved you so too,” Marlena said, “and I’m sure he knew how you felt about him. In fact, I know he did, because he’d always talk about ‘our Samantha.’ with nothing but pride and affection in his voice.”

“You’re probably making that up,” Sami said, “but I’ll take it.”

Marlena reached over and put her hand on Sami’s knee.

Claire nodded at JJ then and he took out his guitar. “Claire and I wanted to play something in honor of John,” JJ said.

“Grandpa John always believed in me and said I’m going to make it big as a singer someday,” Claire said. “So h-he won’t be here to see me on my first tour but in the meantime, this song is for him.”

JJ began playing and Claire sang:

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?

When they were finished, everyone had tears in their eyes. Marlena turned toward a photo of John on her mantel. “I love you forever,” she whispered, looking at it.

This chapter is dedicated to the memory of Drake Hogestyn.

[Kpatch]

Typical Sami made the moment more about herself than John.

Beautiful tribute to John and Drake. I love the graphic too.

[André DiMera]

That was beautiful! I loved everyone's eulogies, they were perfect! John touched so many lives, and it's incredibly sad that he won't be around anymore. This was a fantastic tribute to him!

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

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

I'm glad you. enjoyed the tribute to John. He will be very missed. Read on to see what's happening next.

Coming Up on Breaking Ties...
It's almost Thanksgiving, and Julie has an idea to help Marlena through what will be a difficult holiday for her. The only thing is, it requires her cooperation... will she do it? Julie thinks she has a way to convince her, but Maggie isn't so sure. Who's right?

Meanwhile, Abe comes to the safe house with good news for Brianna, though Hannah is worried that their nightmare will never end, as she doesn't have faith that 12 people on a jury will do the right thing.

Elsewhere, now that the memorial is over, Rafe heads to court and Eve returns to JJ and Paige's to pick up Erica, while Joy makes arrangements for Dani to stay with one Salemite who could use some company.

[André DiMera]

Wonder what Julie’s plan is, and if Maggie and Marlena will agree.

Hopefully the people in the safe house will be able to go home soon.

Hope court goes well for Rafe. Wonder who Joy wants Dani to stay with.

Thanks for the previews, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 518 - 1
Maggie was sitting in her living room looking at photos of VIctor. “It’s been almost a year since we lost you,” she said, “and now two more people I love are gone. I certainly hope you’re being nice to John and Doug up there. None of that acidic tongue of yours.” She sighed deeply.

Julie walked in. “I hope I”m not interrupting,” she said. “Henderson wanted to announce me, but you know me, I can’t stand being treated like I’m the Queen of England, or like I’m visiting her, whichever applies. So I let myself in instead.”

“No, it’s fine. I was just thinking about Victor, how we lost him last Thanksgiving.”

“I know.” Julie sighed. “The first Thanksgiving without Doug is going to be hard for me too. And Marlena… poor Marlena, losing John just two weeks before the holiday season begins. I don’t know how she’s going to get through it.”

“I’m worried about that too,” Maggie said. “I wish I knew what to do for her.”

“Well, I have an idea,” Julie said, “but I’m not sure she’ll go along with it. Tell me what you think of this.”


In the judge’s chambers, Judge Hildebrand said to Rubin, “I wanted to thank you, first of all, for putting up with Natalie Simmons and her lawyer’s nonsense. I would say more about that, but I don’t want to cross the line into ex parte communication. As it is, I have no doubt Natalie Simmons will look to tie her sentence up with appeals for the next decade, and I do not want to give her any legitmate reason to do so.

“I appreciate that, your Honor,” Rubin said, “though I somehow doubt that is the full reason you asked to talk to me.”

“It is not,” Judge Hildebrand said. “First of all, I was curious why you abandoned your bid to run for District Attorney.”

“That’s simple,” Rubin said. “I prefer practicing to politics. The District Attorney’s role is more of a supervisory or administrative role, deciding which cases the ADAs should bring, endless meetings with the mayor, dealing with department budgets… besides, to get elected requires a lot of campaigning and convincing people you’re tough on crime but not so tough that innocent people will be locked up for long periods of time.”

“I can understand that,” Judge Hildebrand said. “It’s just that I would love for someone with passion for justice to be the district attorney, and I wanted to let you know that if you were to choose to run, you would have my support.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that. I don’t think it’s in the cards, but if that changes, I will let you know.”

“Please do.” Judge Hildebrand smiled slightly. “Now, there was one more thing I wanted to run by you, This is tangentially related to the case at hand, but not so much so that I run any risk of bias by bringing it to you outside of Mr. Saxon’s presence. I spoke with Edwina MacGregor, you see. Mrs. MacGregor sang Chanel Dupree’s praises. I hated having to lie to her, having to pretend that Ms. Dupree had been re-arrested for drug possession when the truth is, she was whisked away to a safe house to protect her from Natalie Simmons’ threats and intimidation.”

“It’s almost over,” Rubin said. “ONce the jury returns a verdict, if Ms. Simmons is convicted, the girls should be safe to go home and then Mrs. MacGregor will be able to know the truth.”

Judge Hildebrand nodded. “I’m aware of that. But what I wanted to run by you is… I know that you made a plea bargain with Ms. Dupree which required her to remain at the Second Chance Home For Women for five years and she’s only served three. But in your opinion, given that she cooperated so fully with this case despite the personal danger and, according Mrs. MacGregor, has been doing quite well, having even gotten her GED while enrolled… would you support the early termination of her sentence?”

“Let me call Abe Carver,” Joy said. “He’s the police commissioner so he can advise me on the best way to handle this.” She bit her lip to stop herself from laughing at how ridiculous she sounded, being all formal. “I mean, I’d like to put you up in a hotel at the department’s expense, but what I’d really like is for you to have a guard on the door in case whoever did this comes after you.”

Dani hugged herself. “You really think that could happen?”

“It’s not likely. They were probably looking for stuff. But until we know you weren’t targeted personally, I’d rather you be safe than sorry, you know?” Joy patted Dani’s shoulder again. “Be right back.”

Dani stood in the doorway while Joy went to make her phone call, hugging herself. “What were they looking for?” she said to herself. “I only started looking into Josh a couple hours ago, so they had to know I didn’t have a lot of evidence yet.

Her phone buzzed, making her flinch. She saw it was Alison.

“Hey,” she said, answering the phone. “It’s not a good time. Someone — “

“Robbed your room. I know.” Alison’s voice was loud and clear coming through the phone. “They sent me pictures and told me to back off. I don’t think they ever meant to take anything or to hurt you. I think they’re threatening you to scare me cause intimidating Emily didn’t work.”

Dani gulped, not sure what to say. She didn’t see a tiny black microphone attached to the underside of her desk, its red light blinking to show it was recording what she was saying.

[André DiMera]

Wonder what Julie’s plan is, and if Maggie will go along with it.

Hopefully Rubin will be supportive of that! Breanna really has changed her ways.

Glad Joy’s looking into things. Hopefully someone will find the microphone sooner rather than later.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

I think Julie is distracting herself from her own problems by focusing on Marlena.

[heroicmuse]

Week 518 - 2
Andrew’s phone buzzed. “Give me one second,” he said to the safe house residents. He went over to the front door.

“Someone’s here?” Hannah said to the others. She hugged herself. “I sure hope it isn’t someone that Andrew has to chase away.”

“He didn’t seem scared,” Brianna said.

“Yeah, but he can’t show fear. It’s trained out of him.”

Kenneth put his arm around Hannah. “Don’t go jumping to negative conclusions just yet. Whatever’s happening, we can trust Andrew to keep us safe. And Brianna’s right. He doesn’t seem worried.”

Hannah nodded, but her eyes were wide with fear as Andrew opened the door. He wasn’t drawing his weapon, so she guessed it was all right.

“Come on in,” Andrew said. He closed the door behind the visitor and walked with him back into the living area. “We have company,” he said, “the first visitor that’s been approved all these months.

“Oh my gosh,” Hannah said, getting up. “Abe?” She ran to him and gave him a hug.

“It’s good to see you too,” Abe said. He shook hands with Kenneth and Jeremy, and added, “You must be Chanel.”

“It’s Brianna, actually,” Brianna said.

“Bri… you changed your name back?”

Brianna nodded, smiling. “One of the reasons I can’t wait to get out of here is so I can tell my mom.” Her smile faded. “So… are we going home? Is that why you’re here? Is it over?”

“Soon,” Abe said. “The lawyers are giving closing arguments now and then the jury has to decide, and if I were a betting man, which I really am not, I would bet that Nat is found guilty. Her behavior got her bail revoked and she was held in contempt for 48 hours and had to watch the proceedings from behind bars. I doubt that will play well with a jury.”

“I sure hope you’re not thinking too highly of people’s intelligence,” Hannah said. “Nat’s got a way of slithering out of things.”

“Well, I have faith that she’s finally met her match,” Abe said. “I do have some good news for Cha - I’m sorry, for Brianna. That’s why I’m here.”

“For me?” Brianna’s eyes widened. “That’ll be a first. Usually what I get is news that things are getting worse.”

“I don’t think that’s been true for a long time,” Abe said, “and it certainly is not true now. ADA Rubin has agreed with the judge in Nat’s case that your good behavior at the second Chances Home has merited an early termination of your sentence.”

Brianna’s mouth moved silently. “An early… wait, in plain English does that mean that I don’t have to go back to the Second Chance Home?”

“That’s right,” Abe said. “You’re free, or will be as soon as you’re all released from protective custody. Now, Mrs. MacGregor is happy for you to stay as long as you’d like but if you want to get an apartment of your own or move in with your mother, nothing is stopping you.”

“Except money,” Brianna said. “When we get out of here, Jeremy and I need to find jobs.” She smiled. “But, we’re gonna get to go home soon.”

“Sure hope so,” Hannah said. “If we gotta trust 12 strangers to do the right thing, I just don’t know.” She swallowed hard.


“Thanks so much.” Joy hung up the phone. She turned to Dani. “We have a solution for you. Deputy Commissioner Jennings is happy to put you up for a few days. That way, you get a cop protecting you and a place to stay all at once.”

“Really?” Dani asked. “She knows I have a record, right?”

“She doesn’t care about that. You’re the victim, and besides what you did wasn’t all that bad. Stupid, but not terrible. Trust me. On my last assignment I had to get close to a girl who was robbing people at gunpoint to get into a gang. Now, if she can get a second chance, I see no reason why someone whose only crime was trying to get alcohol two years early shouldn’t get one.”

Dani blushed slightly. “So, um, this cop… is it just me and her?”

Joy shook her head. “She has a husband and two kids in high school.”

“And she’s sure I’m not intruding?”

“Dani. It’s her job. Besides, I think she could use the company. Her dad died about a year ago and a close friend just passed away so…”

“Got it,” Dani said. “Okay, I’ll stop objecting.”

“Good, cause it’s a done deal. Come on. I’ll take you over to her house now.” Joy smiled at Dani and her smile was so beautiful that Dani felt as if she was going to faint from looking at it.

[André DiMera]

So glad Abe told Brianna that she gets to go home after this is all over!

Nice that Hope is letting Dani stay with her.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 518 - 3
“So?” Julie said to Maggie. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Maggie said. “I know that having your company helps me not think about it being so close to the anniversary of Victor’s death.”

“And spending the holiday with you helps me not sit around staring into space and thinking about Doug,” Julie said. She sighed. “Doug did so love the holidays. Say, do you think JJ would mind if I spoke to him about Christmas? Doug did ask hi a long time ago to take over when we weren’t here anymore and, well, I’m still here but…”

“So is Jennifer,” Maggie pointed out, “so let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Anyway, we need to focus on Thanksgiving first. We can worry about Christmas afterward.”

“As long as I have advance notice of any new Christmas ornaments. I was going to get one for that girl of Jeremy’s, but she got them both in trouble so now…”

Maggie said. “Julie! Focus.” She crossed her arms. “Like I said, I think us spending Thanksgiving together is a wonderful idea. I think it would be terrific for Marlena, too. The problem is, with it so close to John’s death…”

“...she might not want to celebrate at all,” Julie said. “Just leave that to me.”

“Why? What are you going to do?”

“Nothing nefarious, don’t worry. Now that I have a few white hairs myself, I no longer give them to other people.” Julie smirked. “No, the way to get Marlena to cooperate is through Eric. So I’ll just give him a call and see what he can do about convincing his mother to join the Widows Thanksgiving Club.”


Rage sighed as he straightened his tie. “Thanks for comin’ to John… I mean to Marlena’s with me,” he said to Nicole. “Man, I still can’t believe John is gone.”

“Me either,” Nicole said. “I also can’t believe that Eve and Sami managed to memorialize him in a way that didn’t involve killing each other. Did you see those dirty looks they were giving each other throughout the entire thing?”

“Hard not to notice. I think the phrase ‘if looks could kill’ was coined for the two of them.” Rafe laughed.

His phone rang just then. His smile faded as he picked it up. “It’s Justin.” He answered. “Hey, Justin, what’s up? Yeah, it just finished a little while ago. Um… yeah, I guess I could do that. Thanks.”
He hung up the phone.

“What was that about, or do I want to know?” Nicole asked.

“Pre-trial conference is back on,” Rafe said. “Sloan came up with some dumbass offer she can’t wait to shove in my face, and the judge wanted to know if I could possibly come to court this afternoon to try to settle this.”


Everyone had come back to JJ and Paige’s so that Eve could pick up Ericka. When they came in, Mariposa came running up to them. “Card!” she said excitedly, holding out a playing card that had the number 3 in four corners and three purple pandas. “Give… Erica.”

“You have that backward, love,” Harlow said, coming out of the other room. “You mean Erica gave that to you.”

“Either way, that’s way cool,” JJ said, picking up Mariposa to give her a hug.

“Where is my little angel?” Eve asked. “I was so sure she’d be eager to come home.”

“She’s just finishing a drawing,” Harlow said. “Your little one is quite the artist.”

Eve smiled, but Paige could tell she was upset.

[André DiMera]

Hopefully Julie will be able to convince Marlena to come for Thanksgiving!

Wonder what Sloan’s offer is. Probably something not worth Rafe coming down to the court house for.

Interesting that Eve thought Erica would instantly come running.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!