The Rest of Our Lives (Read 101,406 times)

[Kpatch]

Chapter 21

The next morning, Philip sat out on the lanai, sipping his coffee and staring into the olympic-sized pool. It was Saturday and it was hard to believe that only one week ago today was his wedding day, the day he and Chloe said “I do.”

Philip and Chloe were tangled in each other’s arms when the alarm clock went off. Philip lifted his head partway and looked at the clock. He reached over and shut the alarm. He plopped back onto the pillow and it took a minute for his eyes to widen. “It’s Saturday,” he whispered.

He looked at Chloe lying in his arms and pulled her closer. She made a sound. “Mmm. Five more minutes.”

Philip kissed her cheek. “Oh baby, we have the rest of our lives.”

Chloe lifted her chin to look at Philip. Her lips parted. “Oh my god. It’s today!”

“It’s today,” he said, half laughing.

Chloe pulled back the covers and slipped on her satin bathrobe. “I have so much to do. I need to take a shower before Lori gets here with the hair stylist and makeup artist. They’re coming at 9:00. I need to get Parker washed up and fed and dressed.” She glanced at Philip who had his head resting on his palm as he watched her. She smiled and climbed back on the bed and crawled in his direction. “But first, I have to do this.” She pushed her hair behind her ear and leaned over to kiss his lips. “Happy wedding day, Mr. Kiriakis.”

“Happy wedding day, Miss Lane.” He raked her hair with his fingertips. “By this time tomorrow, I’ll be calling you Mrs. Kiriakis.” He looked her up and down and his face fell. “Isn’t it bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?”

Chloe rolled her eyes and climbed back off the bed. “Stupid superstition. And no. It’s bad luck to see the bride in her wedding gown before the wedding. And that’s stupid too.”

He dangled his legs off the bed and secured his prosthetic. “I thought it was bad luck just to see her.”

“Depends on who you talk to. Everyone’s got a different theory. I’m a lot of things, but superstitious isn’t one of them. Besides, I don’t believe in bad luck. All our bad luck is in the past.”

He came up behind her and put his arms around her. “Now that I believe.” Kissing her ear, he whispered, “I like the way you think.” He gently touched her stomach. “I’ve been thinking too. With our family growing, we might outgrow this condo.”

She rubbed his hand. “Time to move to the suburbs?”

“Maybe. But first things first. Tell you what.” He kissed her ear. “I’m quicker than you are, so if you let me shower first, I’ll get Parker ready and take him to Crystal Gardens with me while you and your wedding planner and stylists do your thing.”

She closed her eyes and smiled as his warm breath bathed her ear. “Mmm. You’re giving me naughty thoughts of showering together, but we should save something for the honeymoon.”

Philip licked his lips. “Now you’ve put those thoughts in my head too.” He whirled her around and held her face while kissing her. “And don’t worry about the honeymoon,” he told her between kisses. “I promise there’ll be plenty left for that.”

“Whatcha doin’?” Nicole asked, snapping him out of his reverie. She joined him at the patio table. “Did you think about what I said yesterday? About Chloe?”

Philip shook his head no. “Dad’s coming home today. I don’t have the bandwidth to think about much else right now.”

A minute later, Daniel brought two coffees out and set one in front of Nicole. He took a seat next to her.

“You giving up your day job for this?” Philip asked.

“No,” Daniel said slowly. “I’m still Chief Surgeon at University Hospital, but Mom wants to make sure Victor’s care team is treating him appropriately, so, you might say I’ll be looking over their shoulders, monitoring Victor’s condition in the background. It’ll make her feel more comfortable.”

“In that case, it’s good you’re here,” Philip said, echoing the words everyone said to him the day he got here.

“Never thought I’d hear those words from you,” Daniel said, but before Philip could respond, he said, “Nicole tells me Chloe didn’t accompany you to Salem.”

“Right,” Philip said. He wasn’t in an expansive mood today.

Daniel put his arm around Nicole and smiled at her. “I couldn’t imagine being separated from my woman for any length of time.”

Nicole leaned over and kissed Daniel. “Me either.” She turned back toward Philip. “Daniel says Victor’s coming home at around 10:00.”

“Yeah.” Daniel rose from his seat. “I’m going to sign his release papers and accompany him in the ambulance, so I need to get going.” He leaned over and kissed Nicole again before leaving.

[André DiMera]

That was a nice flashback to the morning before Philip and Chloe’s wedding. Glad Daniel is making sure Victor will get the best care possible.

[mae00]

Just got caught up.

Philip going to see Victor was so emotional. His stress level is through the roof right now.

I understand that they want to shield Parker, but at some point, he has to know. He's already wanted to come and see his sick grandpa, and I'm sure having some "young life" running around the mansion will help to brighten things up a bit.

[heroicmuse]

I'm glad Daniel and Philip are being civil, though it was not necessary for Daniel to show off that his wife is with him.

Nice flashback.

[doolfan4life]

That was a nice flashback and also ironic how she said the bad times were behind and she didn’t believe in superstition etc
I’m glad Philip and Daniel were civil but I don’t know why Daniel thought to give his opinion about Chloe
Him and Philip aren’t friends
It’s neither his or Nicole’s business why she’s not there cuz at the end of the day Philip and Chloe made the decision as a couple to have Philip go first
It’s only been a few days
Give them a chance to regroup before deciding further
It’s their own decision and I hope they agree to have Chloe and Parker join them, it should be something they decide because they agree it’s time not because nosy Nicole and her annoying partner said so
Sorry I’m not a Daniel fan for any other readers here so I found that extra obnoxious

[meemz]

I miss phloe happier times, i didnt mind the nicole and daniel part ( even though i hate him) maybe because ari and shawn just got engaged irl and i can imagine daniel and nicole happy together.
Times ticking and victor is not getting any better, how can philip think of anything else. This is so daunting and worst kind of suspense , id be a walking mess.

[fluffysmom]

I enjoyed the sweet flashback.

I'm glad Philip is trying to get along with Daniel. Of course Daniel had to make a comment.

[Kpatch]

Chapter 22

It was raining on Saturday in Chicagoland, so instead of going out, Chloe and Parker were cuddled on the sofa in the condo and he was reading a book to her. He pointed at a spot on the page.

“V— Um. Mommy, how do you say this word?”

She leaned over to see which word he was pointing at. “Vow. It means the same thing as a promise.” The answer to Parker’s question triggered a memory for Chloe, a memory of their wedding day just one week ago.

“Philip and Chloe have prepared vows they would like to recite,” the minister told the guests. “Chloe, please go ahead.”

Facing Philip, Chloe exhaled. “What took us so long,” she said on a laugh. Taking Philip’s hands, she looked down at their joined hands and said, “You make me so happy. You always have.” She looked up into his eyes. “In case you didn’t know it, I adore you, Philip Kiriakis. Even after all this time, you can still make my heart skip a beat, and there’s nothing I want more than to make you as happy as you make me.” She looked upward for a moment. “For as long as I can remember, it’s been Philip and Chloe and Chloe and Philip.” She looked into his eyes again. “It’s been you and me since the beginning of time, and now, now it will be you and me until the end of time, the way it was always meant to be.” She pressed her lips together as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Thank you for never giving up on us.”

“I told you I’d never give up,” Philip told her before bringing her hands to his lips. “This is the moment I’ve been waiting for half my life. And yet, while I’ve been waiting, there’ve been a million other moments, and every moment I’ve spent with you feels like a gift, a gift I thank God for every day.” He saw she was fighting back tears, so he squeezed her hands. “I’ve loved you since the beginning of time too, Chloe Lane, and I will be the one who loves you until the end of time.” 

Parker interrupted Chloe’s thoughts when he looked up at his mom and asked, “When is Daddy coming home?”

He’d been asking that same question several times a day and Chloe always did her best to answer, even though there was no answer. “We're not sure, angel. Your dad has a lot to do in Salem.”

“You mean a’cause of his new job.”

“Well, yes, but he’s also busy taking care of his own father.”

“Is he gonna die?”

“Your grandfather? We hope not, angel.”

Parker set his book aside. “I kicked him.”

Chloe sat up straighter. “What??”

“A long time ago he was sayin' bad things 'bout you and I kicked him.”

Chloe nodded her understanding. “I remember hearing about that.”

“Think he’s still mad at me?”

She squeezed Parker closer. “No angel, I’m certain he’s not still mad. Grandparents tend to be very forgiving because they love their grandsons so much. So, don’t give it another thought, okay?”

“And he fired daddy and had a fight with you over the loudspeaker.”

Chloe grimaced. She wished Parker didn’t remember those incidents. She wished he had more positive memories of Victor, but she didn’t have many warm and fuzzy memories of Victor either. “That’s all in the past, honey. Besides, he rehired us and made sure we can’t be fired again.” Changing the subject, she said, “What would you say if I told you I’ve been thinking that maybe we should pay Daddy a visit?”

“In Salem?”

“Ya. I mean he’s really busy so we wouldn’t stay long, but I'm sure he’d be happy to see us. And I know we’d be happy to see him.”

Parker scooted off the couch. “When? When can we go? Today?”

She knew Victor was being moved from the hospital to the mansion today, so she said, “No, it can’t be today. And you have Derek’s birthday party to go to tomorrow. So, I was thinking we’d go on Monday.”

Parker started jumping up and down and clapping. “We’re going to see daddy! We’re going to see daddy!”

She loved seeing Parker so gleeful. “Why don’t we surprise him, Parker?”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. So when you speak to Daddy this weekend, don’t say anything, okay? Do you think you can keep it a secret?”

“Course I can.”

She rubbed his hair and kissed his head. “That’s my angel!”

[heroicmuse]

I'm glad Chloe is going to take Parker to see Philip. I have my doubts that Parker will keep the secret though. He's too excited.

[André DiMera]

Glad Chloe will be taking Parker to Salem.

[doolfan4life]

I’m glad they’re going
I wish she’d tell him first
What if he decides to take a quick trip back to Chicago at the same time
It’s sad that parker has such bad memories of Victor

[meemz]

I think im as excited as parker
Is it monday yet?

Hope he will appreciate the thought, by monday victor would have settled in and philip got in a momentum with the whole ordeal. He needs chloe and parker, doubt hed be mad after seeing them.

[mae00]

I understand that Chloe wants to surprise him, but in this instance, that may not be the best way to go. She has no idea what she will be walking into when she gets there. I think she's going to get her feelings hurt and feel even more like the back burner item. Moving someone from the hospital to home is not an overnight or easy transition. And Victor's condition is going to make it even more complicated.

but I do think it would be good for Parker to see Victor so he can tell him he's sorry...especially since kicking him is weighing on his mind. Hopefully Victor will be able to squeeze his little hand as a way to say it's ok.

[Kpatch]

Chapter 23

A private ambulance brought Victor home from the hospital. A team of men hoisted him up the staircase with Daniel supervising. Philip hung back and watched from the doorway of the living room to avoid getting in the way. If all this jostling and tumult didn’t wake his father up, nothing would. He looked down at his shoes for a moment, then walked into the living and poured himself a brandy.

It took about three hours to get Victor situated in his hospital bed in the East wing and hooked up to all the medical equipment. The monitors transmitted information directly to the hospital, as well as to an app on Daniel’s phone.

Maggie stood at the doorway to Victor’s room with a morose look on her face. “Can I see him now?”

Daniel stretched out an arm. “Mom. Come.” She took his hand and he motioned to the chair. “You’ll find this much more comfortable than those hard metal chairs at the hospital.

She slid into the cushioned easy chair that had been placed next to Victor’s bed. The lights were low instead of the garishly bright fluorescents at the hospital. Taking Victor’s hand, she kissed it gently, taking care not to disturb the wires and tubes. “He looks the same as he looked in the hospital.”

“Same condition, different setting,” Daniel said softly. Maggie didn’t take her eyes off Victor. “Why don’t I leave you alone. I’ll be downstairs if you have any questions.” Daniel closed the door most of the way, leaving it open a crack.

Maggie held Victor’s hand in hers and stroked the top of it with her other hand. “Victor, my love. You’re home. You’re home among the people who love you. This was Philip’s idea, you know. He wanted you to live with dignity.” She rubbed her nose and sniffled. “Oh my love. If only you could tell me that everything would be alright, that you were going to wake up before 30 days was over.” She was about to get emotional, but got angry instead. “Why on earth didn’t you tell me about that damned directive! I don’t like it and I would never have agreed to it—like that would have stopped you anyway.” Her tone softened. “In case you don’t know it, I adore you. I never imagined I could love another man after Mickey, but you surprised me.” She laughed a little. “We surprised everyone. The most unlikely couple in Salem. But it worked, didn’t it? There were times you made me so mad, I thought I’d never forgive you. I’d had it. But I always took you back because I loved you. I love you, Victor Kiriakis. Don’t you dare leave me like Mickey did. If you do, I swear, I will never forgive you and you know I can hold a grudge with the best of them.” Weeping, she lowered her head onto his stomach. “I couldn’t bear it this time.”

Philip stood in the doorway watching from the barely-open door. He knew Maggie loved his father, but until this moment, he didn’t realize how deeply. She loved Victor as much as he loved Chloe. He suddenly wondered if it was such a good idea to bring Victor home, or if it only gave everyone false hope.

[heroicmuse]

This was such an emotional scene! Maggie loves Victor so forcefully.

I don't think Philip made a mistake. The situation would be the same if Victor was still in the hospital.