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Post by mae00 on Apr 17, 2012 21:24:27 GMT -5
^^^Me thinks you are wanting to keep all the fun to yourself! ;D And with the fun being with/about Phillip, I can't say that I blame you!  |
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Post by slyn11 on Apr 18, 2012 2:12:52 GMT -5
A/N - finally the last part of chapter 6 - Sorry for the delay...work was keeping me from the good stuff...like my soaps  I had to cut a scene from this...sadly Bo and Melanie's conversation just didn't fit...so I pulled the plug on it. I will be sure to include some good stuff for them later. Now onto Philip finding out what the heck happened to him....are you excited as I am? LOL it really isn't that thrilling actually, he was in a coma because of the accident...easy peasy. Still had fun writing it though. I adore Philip, missed him bunches when he was out of commission. So glad I'm getting to play with him again. Thanks so much for all the readers and comments. I truly appreciate them and they keep me writing. Be sure to check the discussion thread. I may talk a bit about this stuff..or post a spoiler...not sure yet...but keep your eyes on it just in case. ============= Chapter 6 pt 2
“You gave us quite a scare sweetheart,” said Kate as she leaned over and stroked Philip’s cheek from her seat on the edge of his bed.
“Son, what was all this nonsense about getting out of bed?” asked Victor from his chair.
Both Kate and Victor had rushed over to the hospital when Melanie called them and told them about Philip’s attempt to get out of bed. She had hoped that having his parents around would help to keep him calm, as crazy as that seemed, considering his parents were not the calming types.
“Ask her,” said Philip pointing at Melanie as she walked further into the room. “She’s the one that started it.”
“Melanie what’s he talking about?” asked Victor.
Melanie sighed. “Philip threw a fit when I accidentally said he was in a coma for nine months.”
She hovered by the wall where the television was mounted, not wanting to set Philip off again by getting too close. A safe distance seemed the best choice. She could see everyone in the room from her spot, but was still far enough removed from Philip.
“I asked her to explain that statement and she wouldn’t. I won’t tolerate people coddling me dad.”
Philip had pushed the sleeves up on his blue pajamas. He was sitting upright again, looking very alert. That nap must have rejuvenated him. If it weren’t for his extremely thin appearance, he would’ve looked just like his old self.
“And you shouldn’t. The doctors be damned. What she said was true. You were in a coma for nine months,” stated Victor matter of factly.
“So this was because of the crash?” asked Philip looking back and forth at his parents.
“You had extensive internal injuries and head trauma,” said Melanie from her spot in the corner.
“I didn’t know I was so bad.” Philip shook his head in disbelief, staring down at his lap. “I remember being huddled under a blanket waiting to be rescued. Everything was fine besides the fact I damaged my prostheses. “
“We’ll have to get you fitted with a new one,” said Victor patting Philip’s arm reassuringly.
“Wait, what about Bo?” asked Philip suddenly. “He was in a bad state.”
“I’m fine Philip,” said Bo as he entered the room, and walked over to stand next to the chair Victor was sitting in. Melanie had called Bo too. She need all the reinforcements she could get to keep Philip calm and in bed.
“Bo, you’re okay.” A look of relief flashed over Philp’s face. It struck Melanie as odd that Philip seemed so concerned about his brother. Had he heard Bo’s guilt ridden words during his visit? “You look great actually.”
“Thank you,” said Bo with a confused smile.
“How’s Hope?” asked Philip.
“She’s good,” replied Bo still looking a bit perplexed.
“Tell me the truth and I promise I’m not making trouble, but are Claire, Belle and Shawn all right?”
Bo blinked once before responding, clearly shocked by Philip’s question. “Yes they’re good, still traveling the world together,” said Bo. “They check in with me now and again, to see how you are.”
“I’m so relieved. How are Steve and Kayla, John and Marlena?”
Bo quickly glanced at Melanie, raising his eyebrows. “All are fine.”
“Good to hear. Was I the only one hurt this badly?”
“You got the brunt of it,” answered Bo quickly, fidgeting with his collar, looking like suddenly his shirt felt too tight.
“What happened? How did things get so bad? I could’ve sworn I was feeling okay.”
“Well uh…” Bo faltered seeming not sure how to proceed. Melanie wanted to speak up for him, to shield him from this moment. It was the one thing that Bo feared most, having to tell Philip about the accident.
“We can discuss details later, son,” said Victor stepping in, saving Bo from the unpleasant explanation. “One step at a time.”
“What about Chloe?” Philip had avoided looking at her the entire time, but he deliberately looked at Melanie when he asked that question. Peering at her expectantly, as if she could offer some clues.
“What about her?” asked Victor sharply, the distaste evident in his voice.
“I just talked to her on the phone earlier and she seemed fine, a little strange but I figured that was just me not being able to speak properly and being on speaker. Is she really okay? Or was that something else that was being withheld from me?” he asked shooting a pointed look at Melanie. Melanie squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze.
“Chloe should be the last person you’re concerned about. How could you even ask about her right now?” asked Kate appalled, gesturing toward Melanie with her hand.
“She was right there with me, waiting to get rescued. If something went wrong with me I need to make sure nothing happened to her too. Maybe she was injured worse than we thought.”
“What do you mean Chloe was with you?” asked Victor looking at Philip strangely.
“At the crash site. We were in the same tent. I know you don’t like her dad, but she’s my friend and …”
“What crash site?” asked Victor cutting him off.
“Uh, the plane crash. What we’ve been talking about this whole time.”
“You weren’t in a plane crash. You were in a car accident,” said Victor.
“What in the world are you talking about?” asked Philip confusion all over his face. “Of course I was in a plane crash. We were coming from Ireland after visiting Shawn Brady’s sister…oh my God Bo.” Philip looked over at Bo, his eyes clouding with concern. “Your dad. He didn’t make it.”
“That’s right Philip. Pop passed away on that flight,” Bo said quietly.
“I’m so sorry Bo.”
“Thank you.” Bo paused cocking his head to the side. “Philip, what year is it?”
“2008. I mean I think it still is. Let me do the math,” he said physically counting on his fingers. “Nine months onto February, yeah it’s still 2008. Was that some sort of a test?” Philip asked smiling.
“In a sense,” Bo replied with barely a hint of a smile. “So you don’t remember being in a car accident?”
Melanie swayed unsteadily on her feet, holding onto the wall to keep her balance. She let herself slowly sink down to the floor, squatting in the corner, her fist balled in her mouth to keep from screaming. The whole conversation was happening in another dimension, it was playing out in front of her, but her mind kept screaming it was fiction. It just couldn’t be true. He couldn’t have forgotten it all, forgotten her.
“Why do you keep talking about a car accident? The plane went down. You were there Bo.”
“Philip, I don’t know how to tell you this.” Bo began slowly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he pulled together his words.
“Maybe we shouldn’t Bo,” interrupted Kate.
Kate had been uncharacteristically silent, sitting back against the footboard of the bed, watching it all play out. From time to time, Melanie caught Kate giving her sideways glances, monitoring her reactions. Melanie guessed everyone in the room was waiting for her to collapse, to fall apart in a puddle of tears. That wasn’t going to happen. The urge to cry had left her body, in fact she wasn’t feeling much of anything.
“He has the right to know,” stated Bo.
“But the doctors…” warned Kate.
“To hell with the doctors,” interjected Victor. “I agree with Bo. I won’t keep my son in the dark.”
“What are you guys talking about?” asked Philip looking from one person to the next trying to make sense of their little debate.
“Philip that plane crash happened in 2008,” said Bo.
Philip gave Bo an odd look. “I know. I just told you that.” Philip’s patience was starting to wear thin. Melanie could hear the annoyance creeping into his voice.
“It’s 2011,” Bo explained. The air went still, as everyone held their collective breaths, watching Philip’s reaction.
Philip’s eyes widened in shock. “What?”
“You were in a car accident nine months ago, and that’s why you were in a coma,” said Victor bluntly, revealing what everyone was so hesitant to say.
“I don’t understand. How can it be 2011?” Philip shook his head vigorously, as if he were physically trying to make things in his head fall into place. “I clearly remember the plane crash.”
“I know, but it seems like you’ve forgotten everything else,” said Victor. “Everything that has happened since.”
“You expect me to believe this?” asked Philip frowning. He shoved his hands through his hair in frustration. “I have just forgotten years of my life?”
“Three years to be exact,” Bo stated.
“This is a joke. You’re making it up.” He searched his mother’s face for some sign.
“We’re not sweetie. It’s true,” said Kate. Melanie could tell Kate was crying, the tears were choking her voice, making her words sound thick and slurred.
Melanie watched through the metal slats in the footboard as Philip recoiled from everyone in the room. He was confined to his bed, leashed by his network of catheters and tubes, but he tried his best to back away, even if he could only move a few inches. He crossed his arms over his chest, curved his legs up into his body, turning his back to them all, to stare at the wall.
“I don’t believe you. I couldn’t have lost years. Not years,” he said shaking his head, his back still turned to them.
“Philip…” said Kate reaching out to comfort him. Philip flinched away from her, not wanting to be touched.
“Where’s my little nurse?” he asked, his rough voice breaking with emotion. “I need her.”
All eyes shifted to Melanie crouched in the corner by the foot of the bed. She slowly stood up, holding onto her churning stomach, and walked over to the side of the bed, easing past Victor’s knees to stand in front of Philip. He reached behind him, opening his hand, beckoning her to grab it. Melanie tentatively placed her small hand in his, closing her fingers around his palm.
He rolled over, looking up at her, trapping her with his blue eyes. “Tell me what year it is.”
“It’s 2011, Philip. February 2011.” He squeezed her hand tightly as she said the words, as if he were trying to transfer some of his pain to her. Melanie wished she could take it all away. It was her fault this was happening. He now had not only lost months, but years because of her actions.
Philip shook his head in disbelief, tearing up as reality set in. Melanie stepped in front of him, blocking his face from the view of his family.
“I think we need to give him a moment,” said Melanie addressing the room.
“I’m not leaving him like this, after all we just told him,” declared Kate from the end of the bed. She hadn’t tried to touch Philip again but her concern registered all over her face.
“Let’s just do what she says,” urged Bo heading toward the door, Victor close behind.
Kate sighed heavily as she rose to her feet, giving Melanie one last look before glancing at her son. With another sad sigh and a toss of her hair, she turned to leave with the others.
Melanie let go of Philip’s hand and started to follow everyone out of the room.
“Wait,” Philip called out hoarsely. Melanie looked back. He had his head in his hands, covering his face. “Can you stay?”
Melanie nodded and took a seat in the chair next to his bed. They sat silently for a few minutes, Melanie on the edge of the chair, hands in her lap. Philip slouched in his bed, hands over his face.
“I’ve lost years,” he finally said glancing over at her with red rimmed eyes.
“You haven’t lost them. They’re just mixed up in your head somewhere.”
Melanie tried to think of a joke, a little quip, to lighten the mood, but her mind was blank. Wasn’t much humor to be found in their situation. Philip was adrift, swimming in confusion, searching for lost memories. And Melanie was just plain wrecked, abandoned and alone, forgotten on some deserted shore in his mind.
“They feel gone, like they’re never coming back.” He leaned his head back into his pillow, closing his eyes. He looked so young in that instant, like a scared little boy wandering lost in the dark.
“You felt gone while you were in a coma, and you came back.” Philip opened his eyes, attempting to smile.
She had worried he would wake up and not feel the same about her, that somewhere in the abyss of his coma, the love he felt would disappear. Melanie had hoped against it, trying to believe in the promise of second chances, but deep down she knew she had lost the right to be with him the night of the accident, when she let him think she didn’t want him anymore. She clung to her anger, ignoring his pained pleading, his declarations of love. She had killed his hopes that night, so it seemed only fitting that that he killed her from his memory, erasing every trace of her and all the pain she had caused.
Once again she was nothing and Melanie stepped back into that role with surprising ease. It had always been waiting for her anyway, this place for the discarded. Philip would have eventually come to his senses and moved on to a more worthy mate. She was kicking herself for even thinking it would end up any other way, for letting herself believe that their love was something special, something solid, something that would last. Nothing good every lasted, not for her.
Melanie could see the tears in his eyes, the slight quiver of his lower lip, he was barely holding it together. He looked like she felt. Like a sudden earthquake had hit, knocking everything off balance. Nothing seemed right. Everything was leveled, leaving them destroyed, staring at the wreckage.
“What do you need me to do?” she asked. If nothing else, she still was his nurse.
Philip shook his head, unable to answer. Melanie got up from her chair and moved toward the bed, tentatively at first, as if she were approaching a scared animal. He looked up at her, almost seeming startled to find her standing so close. Melanie’s heart twisted as she watched him fight back the tears that were trying to fall.
“It’s going to be okay,” she said wrapping her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. “I swear it is going to be okay.” At first he remained stiff in her arms, allowing her to hold him, but not touching her back. Then she felt Philip shift closer, his arms spanning around her waist, pulling her in tighter, burying his face into her neck. She felt the warmth of his tears as they dampened her skin. She rested her head on his shoulder as she continued to hold him, finally letting her own tears fall.
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Post by MrsM on Apr 18, 2012 7:54:05 GMT -5
Oh man my heart is broke for both Philip and Melanie.  |
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Post by mae00 on Apr 18, 2012 8:51:12 GMT -5
Wow slyn!!! Very powerful chapter!! I'm trying my best not to cry for both of them over here.
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Post by fluffysmom on Apr 18, 2012 9:14:37 GMT -5
Wow Slyn! He's forgotton even more than I thought. I suspect Melanie will completely lose it when she is alone. It is heartbreaking to see Philip so devastated. I can't wait for more. Fantastic chapter Slyn.
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Post by Kpatch on Apr 18, 2012 11:37:22 GMT -5
I was dancing all around this with my guesses, wasn't I? I didn't think about the plane crash, but it makes sense that his mind would draw the parallel between the two events.
But poor Melanie. This completely erases her from the picture. And how that must make her feel. On the other hand, Philip likely blocked it out because the end of the relationship was too painful for him to handle.
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Post by jc20886 on Apr 18, 2012 11:41:37 GMT -5
question 1 will Philip see Chloe soon ?
question 2 when will the next chapter be up ?
it is so good to have Philip back even if something is missing
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Post by slyn11 on Apr 18, 2012 12:04:54 GMT -5
question 1 will Philip see Chloe soon ? question 2 when will the next chapter be up ? it is so good to have Philip back even if something is missing 1- not soon...but not long...their reunion will be emotional and filled with anticipation. They do have contact before then. Feb has a big event...sweet for one pair bittersweet for the other...about 2 chapters away. 2- will post another chapter Friday. It flows directly from ch6. It is good having PK back! |
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Post by slyn11 on Apr 18, 2012 17:26:47 GMT -5
Wow...you never cease to amaze. seriously, amazing. Thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed it. |
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Post by slyn11 on Apr 18, 2012 17:27:46 GMT -5
Wow slyn!!! Very powerful chapter!! I'm trying my best not to cry for both of them over here. Thank you. It did get a little sad huh? But it will get better. Philip is going to find out about his new son. |
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Post by slyn11 on Apr 18, 2012 17:30:50 GMT -5
Wow Slyn! He's forgotton even more than I thought. I suspect Melanie will completely lose it when she is alone. It is heartbreaking to see Philip so devastated. I can't wait for more. Fantastic chapter Slyn. Thank you. I know poor Philip. It must feel like he slept his life away. Wait until he finds out all that he missed. At least Parker is really young, so he still has time to be a real father to him. |
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Post by slyn11 on Apr 18, 2012 17:31:43 GMT -5
I was dancing all around this with my guesses, wasn't I? I didn't think about the plane crash, but it makes sense that his mind would draw the parallel between the two events. But poor Melanie. This completely erases her from the picture. And how that must make her feel. On the other hand, Philip likely blocked it out because the end of the relationship was too painful for him to handle. Interesting you went right to Philip blocking Melanie out and not to it being a result of a head injury...  |
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Post by Kpatch on Apr 18, 2012 19:59:44 GMT -5
Yes darling, of course it's the head injury, but it's also emotional. Otherwise, why go back to 2008 in his mind? Why not March 2010 before the ONS?
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Post by slyn11 on Apr 18, 2012 20:25:12 GMT -5
Yes darling, of course it's the head injury, but it's also emotional. Otherwise, why go back to 2008 in his mind? Why not March 2010 before the ONS? Are you trying to put Dr. Hill out of a job? LOL |
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