Stolen Moments (Read 15,271 times)

[fluffysmom]

Poor Chloe must feel so isolated. She can't talk to anyone from home and doesn't even have a photo of Parker.

I wonder how group therapy will go.

[gapeach]

So far I like Dr. Steve. Hope Chloe gets to talk to Phillip soon.

[terry]

Well with therapy maybe Chloe will get back to being herself, well she will end up becoming much more stronger and much more sane again considering as of late she hasn't always been herself now has she? She has basically lost it being what's left of her sanity but here is hoping she gains back her mental faculties and that she is in control of them again and she ends up becoming "the Chloe of old" like early to mid 2000s Chloe

But as for Parker I am sure he misses his mother

And same goes for Philip I am sure he misses Chloe and if he does then Philip needs to do something about this, the truth needs to come out in the sense that Philip he knows that Parker is his son but yet he is not speaking up.

[Kpatch]

Philip needs proof that he is Parker's father before he can tell anyone. He does not have proof yet.

[terry]

Well did he ever think about having another DNA test ran, maybe this time at an independent lab outside of Salem, a lab where no one can tamper with the results because maybe if he were to do that then maybe just maybe Philip can finally have the proof that he is Parker's father and show everyone including Daniel who will have no choice but to give Parker back to him

[Kpatch]

Mar 7, 2014 12:29:16 GMT -5 terry said:

Well did he ever think about having another DNA test ran, maybe this time at an independent lab outside of Salem, a lab where no one can tamper with the results ….

Yes, that's in Chapter 3

[terry]

Well I remember he had a confrontation with E.J. DiMera of all people who pretty much admitted to Philip that he was the mastermind behind the whole DNA test fiasco with Parker, but I can understand EJ's motive for doing that, but at the same time that just intensifies the DiMera/Kiriakis feud now

[MrsM]

Something seems fishy to me with this retreat. Not sure why.

[Kpatch]

Chapter 6


Driving down the Salem streets with a perpetual knot in his stomach, Philip was aware he wasn’t in the best of moods these days. His temper was short, and his patience even shorter. He was ruder to Jennifer than he needed to be and he was sorry about that. Well, sort of sorry. With Chloe being in a sanitarium and Parker’s paternity up in the air, his anxiety was to the moon.

As for Daniel, Philip knew he shouldn’t have picked a fight with Daniel yesterday. For Daniel, it must have seemed to come out of left field, but for Philip, it’s been building for decades.

Sure, Philip knew that his dislike of Daniel wasn’t completely rational. Daniel wasn’t a bad guy. He treated Parker really well, no worries there. Philip also knew that between cheating on Daniel’s daughter and sleeping with Daniel’s wife, Daniel had far more reasons to dislike Philip than Philip had to dislike Daniel. That fact was not lost on Philip. But, bottom line, he was jealous of Daniel.

He was jealous of Daniel’s position in the Kiriakis family. Philip had known Daniel from the time he was small, but they were never friends. Daniel was nearly 15 years older than Philip and he used to visit from California regularly, sometimes with his parents, sometimes alone. When he visited alone, he’d stay for weeks at a time.

As a kid, Philip would hang back and watch his father and Daniel interact. Victor had a calm patience around Daniel that he never had with Philip. His father treated Daniel with more respect than he ever showed his real son. He put Daniel on a pedestal and, even as a child, Philip wanted to knock him off his perch.

When Daniel moved to Salem as a renowned surgeon, he brought his pedestal with him. Everyone treated him like a god. Here he was, this brilliant, accomplished doctor who could do no wrong; meanwhile Philip was struggling to learn the ropes at Titan and, according to Victor, his heir apparent could do no right.

Daniel swooped into town and saved Bo’s life, then Chelsea’s life, then his mother’s life and dozens of other patients whose names Philip didn’t know. Then he proceeded to romance Philip’s niece who was 20 years Daniel’s junior. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he was sleeping with Philip’s mother who was 10 years his senior. And then he turned his attention to Chloe, who was also 15 years younger than Daniel.

Philip was pretty disgusted that Daniel went after women who were so much younger than him -- that is, until Philip met Melanie. Melanie was almost 10 years younger than Philip, so he no longer had the right to throw stones in Daniel’s direction over the age issue.

These days, Philip had to endure watching Daniel play father to Parker. He was jealous that Daniel was forging such an easy relationship with Parker. Okay okay, he thought to himself, as Melanie’s words played in his head: “Father or not, it’s okay to love Parker. The more people who love him, the better.” She was right about that. Still, right now Daniel was getting to do things with Parker that Philip wanted to do. At this point, Philip really didn’t care if Daniel’s world came crashing in when the truth is revealed that he’s not Parker’s father after all. He was desperate to slide in and reclaim his rightful role as Parker’s father -- if, indeed, he really was Parker’s father.

Philip briefly considered staying at a hotel instead of the mansion, as Daniel had suggested, but he didn’t want to be away from Parker, especially when Parker was missing his Mommy so much.

His Mommy. ... Chloe. And therein lies the real issue.

Philip thought about Chloe pretty much all the time. She was like a cloak he wore around his body wherever he went. She was always with him. God, he missed her so much. He ached to hold her, the same way he ached for her when they were teenagers; all the nights he spent tossing and turning and longing to hold Chloe in his arms, anxious for the sunrise to come so he could be near her again. Now, just like back in high school, Philip didn’t feel whole when Chloe was out of reach. It may sound trite, but she completed him and she always had. She was definitely his better half. She kept him grounded. She kept him from flying off the handle when he should take the higher road, like with Daniel. She made him happy and whole, which made it easier for him to be benevolent.

If Philip were completely honest with himself, he would have to admit that the biggest reason for his hostility toward Daniel was directly related to Chloe. Daniel was once the love of her life. She married Daniel. She even tried to kill herself because she didn’t want to live if she had to live without Daniel. And Daniel was the man Chloe turned to when Philip turned away from her.

As much as Philip loved Chloe, and as much as she claimed to love him, it was painfully clear that they never made it down the aisle. He wanted to marry her since he was 16 years old. He wondered if it would have just ended up a disaster, not unlike the mess they were in now.

But he always loved Chloe, from the first angst-filled strains of teenage love through their sophomoric friends-with-benefits pact, all the way to today. He loved her and his lifelong dream was always to be married to Chloe and raise a family with her. But she married three other men in the interim, never Philip. All that off-again, on-again only led to more off-again, on-again. In his most introspective moments, Philip wondered why they never got married. Philip remembered arguing with Chloe about that very subject. 

Chloe: Why don’t you have any pictures of me on your desk? And ... why am I the only woman you’ve never proposed to?
Philip laughed.
Philip: You’re joking, right?
Chloe looked at Philip and shook her head no.
Philip: Wow.
Philip rubbed his face roughly and he felt himself getting angry. He took his iPhone out of his pocket and scrolled to his pictures.
Philip: You don’t think I have pictures of you? Look at this. [He showed her his iPhone screen.] These pictures are with me all the time. Picture after picture after picture of you. Of Parker. You again. You and Parker. Oh, wait.
He reached inside the collar of his shirt and pulled out the chain around his neck.
Philip: I stopped wearing my dog tags until you engraved one of them with the words “I love you Philip.” Now I wear this next to my heart all the time. Because that’s where I keep you.
Chloe: Philip ....
Philip: And I guess your memory isn’t very good, because I can remember telling you I wanted to marry you at least a dozen times. Let’s see. There was the time we were on your parents’ porch, then there was the time we were outside the Dimera mansion, then there was the day we graduated from high school and, I think, a few times while you were undergoing cancer treatments. A guy can get a little tired of being rejected. Is any of this ringing a bell yet? Because now I have a question for you. Why am I the only man you’ve never said “yes” to?

Chloe responded by getting down on one knee and proposing to him. Wow. That was one of the best moments of his life. They were so close to realizing his dream. But now, now he felt like that dream couldn’t be farther away. Chloe was out of his reach, as if she were in a prison or on another planet. He couldn’t even talk to her by phone. He was glad that he at least got the chance to sit with her and tell her he still loves her before she got whisked away to The Oaks.

Back to the task at hand. Today, Philip was hopping from pharmacy to pharmacy, buying paternity test kits. He needed to make sure that none of the kits were tampered with, so he figured the odds would be best if he bought different brand names at different drug stores. He went to the local, independently owned Salem Drug Store and bought a test kit, then he bought one at Eckerd Drugs, one at Walgreens, one at Osco, another at Target, and one at WalMart. Six kits in all.

Basically the process was the same no matter the brand. Swab, seal, and send. He hated putting Parker through this, but he had to. And he had to find a time to do it when Daniel was working. He would tell Maggie that he’d like to spend some time with Parker and hopefully she wouldn’t get suspicious when he takes Parker to his room. Parker was old enough now that he told people things. Philip just hoped he wouldn’t blab about Daddy Philip sticking long Q-tips into his mouth over and over.

[MrsM]

I really hope that the tests give Philip the answer that he wants.

[jc20886]

Loved the chapter going to be great when Philip confronts Daniel with the results and be
glad when he sees Chloe again

[fluffysmom]

I really like Philip feeling like Chloe is always with him. I hope he is able to see her soon.

Good idea to do multiple paternity tests to make sure the results are accurate.

I really liked the conversation from Philip's memory. It was a very honest and real conversation.

[gapeach]

I can't wait (but know I will have to ) to see the test results!

[kathyj]

Liked the way Philip could see things from Daniel's point of view -- hard as it would be to do in that situation. His assessment of his relationship with Victor was sad but probably very accurate. Victor always expects so much from Philip and doesn't seem able to balance it with a respect for who Philip really is.

OK -- Dr. Paul Newman, Dr. Steven Kiley -- are Dr. Kildare and Ben Casey going to show up next?

Enjoying this story very much.

[Kpatch]

Chapter 7


Philip returned home and immediately went to his bedroom to put his purchases there. All he needed now was some time alone with Parker.

When he came back downstairs, he found Victor and Parker in the living room. He scanned the room as he approached Parker, crouching down and mussing the boy’s hair. “Where’s everyone,” Philip asked Victor, wondering if this was his big chance.

“Everyone? Who’s everyone?”

“Daniel? Maggie?”

“Daniel’s at the hospital. Maggie’s at a sponsor’s meeting. Why do you ask?”

“Hmmm. Mind if I borrow Parker for a few minutes?”

“Borrow Parker? That’s an odd turn of phrase. Is he a library book?” Victor was amusing himself with his own humor. “Shall I lend him to you?”

“Thanks Dad,” Philip said, disregarding Victor’s questions. “Hey big guy. Want to come upstairs with me for a few minutes?” He scooped Parker up and headed for the staircase. Philip was between the third and fourth riser when Victor called after him.

“Philip! You come back here!”

Philip closed his eyes tightly. He really needed to do this, this was maybe his only shot at performing the DNA testing in private. Now he was caught like a kid who broke a window with a baseball. Damn.

Philip turned back around and walked down the steps. He looked at his father who was standing near his favorite chair, hands on his hips, waiting for an answer. “Well? Explain yourself.”

Philip nodded and looked at Parker in his arms. “I’ll do better than that. Follow me.” Philip cocked his head toward the staircase, turned around and went upstairs to his bedroom. Within a few minutes, Victor came into the room. “Close the door, Dad.”

Victor walked into Philip’s bedroom and squinted at the bed which was strewn with half a dozen paternity test kits. “Pregnancy test kits? What’s the meaning of this, Philip? Who’d you knock up this time?”

Philip put Parker on the floor and shook his head. He lowered his voice. “Not pregnancy tests, Dad. Look again. They’re paternity tests.”

Victor picked up a package and looked at the label, then he looked at Philip and put his hand on Philip’s shoulder. “I understand how difficult this has been for you, son, but all the paternity tests in the world aren’t going to change the facts. Have you thought about seeing a psychiatrist?”

Philip rolled his eyes. “Geez. I’m not crazy, Dad. Listen, I’m going to tell you something but you have to promise me you won’t tell a soul, especially not Maggie. I need your word.”

Victor thought for a minute. “Maggie and I don’t keep secrets from each other.”

Philip laughed. “If I ever said that to you about me and Belle, or me and Melanie, or me and Chloe, or me and anybody, you would have asked me what kind of fairytale world I was living in.”

“That’s true. I would have. But things are different now.”

“Well, I’m happy for you Dad.” Philip walked to the door and opened it. “Thanks for coming,” he said as he gestured for his father to exit.

Victor walked to the door and closed it again, but from the inside. “Fine. What’s your big secret?”

“I need your word first.”

Victor nodded. “I’ll keep your confidence. You have my word.”

“Okay good. ... The other day in the hospital, EJ Dimera told me that he paid Stephanie’s technician friend to tell her he switched the paternity test results. It was all a lie. He didn’t switch them. The only switch was the time Caroline did it. So I really am Parker’s father.”

Victor scowled. “Didn’t you have a paternity test done at Cook County Hospital?”

“I did,” Philip nodded. “But you know the Dimeras. They’re always one step ahead of us mortals. The test was rigged.”

Victor looked askance at Philip. “And you believe this cockamaimie story that Dimera told you? Philip, where are your street smarts? Didn’t I teach you anything? I thought you were smarter than a fifth grader. I know you want Parker to be yours, but your gullibility is beyond belief. Don’t you realize you’re just prolonging the pain.”

Philip allowed his father to have his little tirade, but as soon as Victor paused for a breath, Philip said, “Let me finish, would you? You haven’t given me a chance to tell you the reason Dimera pulled a bait and switch on us.”

“Wait. Don’t tell me,” Victor said sarcastically, “It was revenge. Righting some wrong or wronging some right.”

“Go ahead and mock all you want, but it makes sense to me.”

“Pray tell what did you do to EJ Dimera to warrant his vengeance?”

“Me?” Philip shrugged. “Not much. Killed his brother,” Philip said matter-of-factly. “I guess EJ still isn’t over that minor infraction, but I actually wasn’t the target of Dimera’s revenge this time.”

Victor’s brow knit. “Then who? Me? Chloe?”

“Nope. Daniel.”

“Daniel?” Victor was shocked. “Daniel’s done nothing to deserve Dimera’s wrath.”

Philip shook his head. “Of course not. Daniel can do no wrong. Me, yes. But Daniel?”

“Well you said it yourself. You killed Tony.”

“Nevermind that,” Philip said dismissively. “Look. Daniel helped Nicole hide her baby’s paternity from EJ. So EJ wants to hurt Daniel the same way, and take Daniel’s child away from him.”

“Are you saying he arranged this charade only to undo it again later? That’s the most twisted thing I’ve ever heard. If this is true ... oh dear. Poor Daniel.”

Philip turned to look at his father. “Poor Daniel? What about ‘great news, Philip. I hope for your sake it’s true.’”

Victor shook his head slowly. “I just know the kind of pain you’ve been enduring and I hate to see Daniel go through that as well.”

“I get that, Dad. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Not even Daniel.” Philip caught sight of Parker sifting through one of the lower drawers in Philip’s chest of drawers. He was pulling socks out and dropping them on the floor. Philip quickly snatched Parker up in his arms. He sat down on the bed with Parker on his lap and looked up at Victor. “But I have to find out if it’s true, Dad. Because if it is ....” his voice cracked as Philip held Parker’s head against his chest. “If it’s true, and Parker’s my son, well that’s all I want. All I want is to be Parker’s dad again.”

“And Chloe,” Victor asked. “What about Chloe?”

“You’re right, I want her too. When she's well again I'm going to marry her if she'll still have me,” Philip said.

“Now there’s a plan I’d like to undo.”

“Dad,” Philip tried to cut Victor off before he went on another tirade.

Victor thought for a moment. “Son,” he said softly, “suppose it turns out you're not Parker's father?”

“Then I’ll deal with that. But it doesn’t change my feelings for Parker. Or Chloe. I love her, Dad. I still love her. You know that.”

Victor was about to say something when they heard the doorbell ring downstairs. Victor walked over to the bedroom window and looked downward. “That’s your mother’s car in the driveway. Wonder what she’s doing here. I hope Henderson doesn’t let her in.”

Philip stood up holding Parker. “Dad, I need a half hour. Give me a half hour alone with Parker. Please.”

Victor walked toward the bedroom door and opened it. “Take your time, son.” He looked at Parker and said to Philip, “Good luck.”