Stolen Moments (Read 15,837 times)

[Kpatch]

Thanks so much for reading and your continued interest. Here are some highlights from the week ahead…



Chloe has an appointment with the doctor

Philip figures out a way to visit Chloe

The doctor reports on Chloe’s progress

[fluffysmom]

Thanks for the previews Kpatch. So glad Philip figures out a way to see Chloe.

[gapeach]

So glad that Phillip is going to see Chloe... I hope it goes well for them!

[Kpatch]

Chapter 17


The door opened to Dr. Newman’s office and the nurse waved Chloe in.

“Where’s Dr. Newman?” Chloe wondered.

“He’ll be back in a minute,” the nurse said without any emotion. Not friendly, not unfriendly. “You know the drill. Change into the gown, then up on the examining table.”

Chloe nodded as the nurse left her in the room alone. The knot in her stomach tightened as she dutifully changed into the hospital gown, leaving the opening in the back, and she scooted up on the table. The odd smell of ether and burnt rubber filled Chloe’s nostrils and made her feel nauseous.

She usually had a couple of appointments a week with the doctor and she dreaded these exams. She couldn’t really say if they were helping or not because she simply couldn’t remember what happened during each appointment. It was very odd.

She wondered if Dr. Newman thought she was making any progress. The last time she was in this exam room, she vaguely remembered asking to see Parker, but she very clearly recalled the doctor telling her she wouldn’t be able to see Parker unless she cooperates.

Well, Chloe thought she was cooperating just fine. In fact, she considered herself a model patient, believing if she was a good girl, she’d get to go home to Parker sooner. The only thing she hadn’t done was to speak up during her group therapy sessions, but other than that, she did everything that was asked of her. She took her medication, showed up for appointments on time and read the articles she was given. The articles were supposed to give her a clearer picture of her disorder.

Funny how she didn’t even have a very clear picture of Dr. Newman in her mind. She guessed it was because he became this faceless sounding-board when she spoke to him. He usually dimmed the lights when he entered the room too. He said the low lighting would help keep her calm.

The nurse re-entered the room. “Good, you changed. Now lie down,” she told Chloe, and as Chloe lowered her back onto the examining table, the nurse pulled out the extension for her legs to rest on.

Then she took two sets of straps from each side of the table and buckled them securely around Chloe’s torso, locking her arms inside.

“What are you doing,” Chloe asked in a panic.

“Now, Chloe, we’ve been through this before. It’s just the same as last time. Just a little electro-convulsive therapy to help reset your brainwaves.” The nurse attached sensors to Chloe’s forehead as she spoke. Then she injected a needle in Chloe’s arm and a solution began to flow into Chloe’s veins.

Oh god oh god oh god. “Please don’t do this,” Chloe begged. “It hurts.”

The nurse shook her head. “You only think it hurts. There’s no pain involved.”

“How do you know? Did you ever have it?”

“Shhhh,” the nurse said, as she pushed a mouth guard between Chloe’s upper and lower teeth and into her mouth.

Chloe’s eyes widened. She had no recollection of ever having this procedure before. Her chest was heaving from fear and tears were rolling down her cheeks.

The door opened and the doctor entered. He tapped Chloe’s hand. “How are we doing today, Chloe?”

Chloe whimpered and hoped the doctor would know she was begging him to release her from her bondage, but she couldn’t form any words because of the mouth guard.

“Good girl,” Dr. Newman said. He looked at the nurse. “We’re going to raise the voltage up a bit from last time. Let’s do 45.”

No. Oh god please no. Don’t let them do this to me. It’s going to hurt. I’m afraid. I’m so afraid. I’ll be good. I’ll be a better person, I promise. What’s that? What’s that noise? Make it stop. Please make it stop.

Chloe heard a faint buzzing sound behind her before everything went black.

[MrsM]

Whoa. What are they doing to her??!?!?!?!?

[jc20886]

Who is doing this to Chloe and why Philip needs to get to her real soon

[fluffysmom]

Poor Chloe. How frightening! I suspect this is what is making Chloe even more confused. I hope someone helps her soon.

[wendylou]

Whoa, this is going from love story to creepy scary. Sounds like Chloe is trapped in a nightmare. Can't figur out how she will get out of this.

[melly]

Ok...so who is this Dr. Newman character, anyway??? Is he on someone's payroll who hates Chloe? Does he have a history with her but with a different name/face/occupation? Does he hate Daniel or Philip? What is up here???

[Kpatch]

Chapter 18


The next morning, Philip was walking down the staircase when he heard voices coming from the living room. It was Daniel. He was discussing Chloe with Brady. This may be one of Philip’s rare chances to hear the truth about Chloe, since Daniel refused to tell him anything directly. The only thing he told him yesterday was that he and Chloe were back together, but he didn’t tell Philip anything about her condition. So Philip stood outside the living room, behind the door and out of sight.

“To be honest, Brady, I’m worried about her,” Daniel said. “She’s been at The Oaks for nearly a month. I thought she’d be doing better.”

“But she’s not?”

“No, and I don’t know why. I visit with her almost daily, and even I can see she’s doing worse, going downhill.”

“Downhill how?”

“When I first started visiting her, she was much more animated. We talked. We laughed. I showed her videos of Parker. But she’s gotten lethargic, more depressed instead of less.”

“Oh my god,” Brady agreed. “That doesn’t sound good at all.”

“Not only that. Paul tells me she’s had several seizures in the past week.”

“Damn. What are they going to do?”

“Not sure,” Daniel answered. “If she continues to be unresponsive to her current therapy, Paul said he’s considering an experimental treatment.”

“Experimental? What kind of treatment?”

“I’m not sure. I need to meet with him and get more specifics. But hey, if it works, it’ll be worth it. Anything to bring Chloe back to us, right?”

“Us? Um. ... Daniel ....”

“I meant back to Parker.”

“Oh no.” Brady eyed Daniel suspiciously. “Don’t tell me.”

“Tell ... you ... what?”

“Oh my god,” Brady pointed at Daniel. “I can see it. I can see it written all over your face. You’re in love with her again.”

Daniel didn’t try to hide his smile. “Yeah. Wild, right? Life works in mysterious ways.”

“And Chloe? Does she know how you feel.”

Daniel nodded. “Pretty much. And she feels the same way. She told me she never stopped loving me.”

“Wow, Philip will be....”

“I don’t want to hear about how Philip feels,” Daniel said, cutting him off. “Philip never worries about how anyone else feels. Everything that man has ever done has been self-motivated. My daughter and I have the scars to prove it.”

“I know Philip pretty well, and I’m not going to defend him to you. That would be pointless. But I wouldn’t call him selfish,” Brady explained. “Reckless, sure. But he’s usually the one who gets hurt the most. ... Okay, subject change. What about you and Jennifer?”

“Hey, I tried. I really did. I gave it my best shot, but she kept jerking me around. I just couldn’t do it anymore.”

“I understand. ... Listen, Daniel, I’d like to visit Chloe. You think that would be okay?”

“I don’t see why not. You’d need to get on an approved list of visitors. I’ll talk to Paul.”

[fluffysmom]

I'm glad that Philip knows how poorly Chloe is doing. He needs to see her. It must be painful to hear Daniel saying that Chloe never stopped loving Daniel.

I'm glad that Brady wants to visit Chloe.

Looks like Daniel doesn't know that Chloe is already receiving the ECT.

[MrsM]

So Brady can go visit but Philip can't? I wonder if Victor is behind this...

[melly]

Go, Brady!!! I suspect he'll be more perceptive than old Dr Dan...

[Kpatch]

Chapter 19


Philip kept glancing at the dashboard clock as he drove out of Salem. Philip knew that Brady’s appointment to see Chloe was at 11:00, but Philip’s plan was to get there an hour ahead of schedule, just in case Brady blew off his other appointment.

Ten minutes ago, he called Brady and told him he needed him to cover a business meeting at 11:00. Brady protested, saying he had plans. Philip was sympathetic but told Brady it was vitally important. In reality, it was just a meeting to discuss a change in strategy with the media buyer.

Maybe Philip should have confided in Brady and asked -- no, begged -- to see Chloe in Brady’s place. Brady and Philip were fairly close now, closer than they’d been in years. But where Chloe was concerned, Philip had a hard time trusting Brady. There was a rivalry there that ran long and deep, and Philip just didn’t know whether Brady would be supportive of Philip, protective of Chloe, or defensive of Daniel. So Philip took the path of least resistance. He lied. If that means got him to his desired end, then the risk would be worth it.

The Oaks was on a 25-acre piece of property in Salem Heights, just outside of Salem city limits. He found the facility thanks to his trusty GPS and pulled the car into the visitors parking lot. Upon entering the lobby, he signed the visitor’s book.

The woman behind the counter turned the book around. “Here to see Chloe Lane?”

Philip nodded.

“You’re early, Mr. Black.”

“Am I? I was told my appointment was for 10:00.”

“Says here 11:00.”

“Really?” Philip glanced at his watch. “Well, I have another appointment at 11:00 and I can’t miss it.” He glanced at the receptionist’s name tag, flashed his sexiest smile at the woman, leaned on the counter, and lowered his voice as if he was sharing a secret with her. “If there’s anything you can do for me, Luisa, I’d be eternally grateful.”

Luisa smiled back. “I’ll see if she’s available now. Why don’t you wait for her in the solarium,” she said, indicating a room at the opposite end of the lobby.

“Thank you.” Philip’s heart rate was rising rapidly walking toward the solarium. This will be the first time he’s seen Chloe in a month. He was told repeatedly by the Oaks staff that she didn’t want to see or speak to Philip Kiriakis. Maybe that was true, maybe it wasn’t. At any rate, today he was Brady Black.

He entered the large empty solarium and walked across the room to the wall of windows. Pastel-colored wicker furniture decorated the room. It was a bright cheerful room that made Philip wonder what the patient’s rooms were like. Was this just the face they showed to guests and benefactors?

He took off his coat and put it on a chair, feeling his apprehension rising. Soon she’d be walking through that door. The question in his mind was, would she be happy to see him.

Happy or not, he just had to see her, talk to her, find out what was going on. The last time he saw her at University General, she was sedated, calm. But before that, on New Year’s Day in the Kiriakis dining room, it was a whole different picture. She spewed venom at him. She was angry and hurt and confused. She had a seizure before his very eyes. She hated him because she thought he abandoned her.

He needed to make things right with her. Daniel told him that he and Chloe were in love. Well Philip found that pill a little tough to swallow. No way did he accept Daniel’s word. He needed to hear it from Chloe’s lips. He needed her to look into his eyes and tell him herself if it was over between them.

The door to the solarium opened and Chloe stepped inside. His chest constricted at the sight of her. Chloe was always so careful about her appearance. She was a natural beauty but she never left home with a hair out of place or without a full face of makeup. She stood in the doorway with stringy hair, no makeup, and a loose-fitting shirt and pants. She looked like she lost quite a bit of weight already.

“Go on in, Chloe,” Luisa said. “Your friend Brady is here to see you.”

Chloe squinted. “That’s not Brady.”

Oh no, Philip thought. Don’t do this to me, Chloe. Don’t blow my cover baby.

Luisa looked at Philip and said, “She gets confused sometimes.” She turned to Chloe. “Have a nice visit.” Then the receptionist left the room, closing the door behind her. Philip exhaled.

He was dying to rush to Chloe, take her in his arms and make everything okay. But her body language was closed off and he was at a bit of a loss as to what to do. So he gestured toward a wicker sofa near where he was standing, and waited for her to approach.

[fluffysmom]

Judging by her appearance Philip must realize something isn't right. Looking forward to their conversation.