A Feudal Marriage
Chapter 1
"Sami, I know you're dead set on ending this feud, but I really don't think this is such a good idea," Lucas said impatiently as he and his wife lingered around the docks waiting.
"Well, do you have a better idea to end the feud, Lucas?" Sami said with exasperation. "My family will never get any peace without this folio. Our twins will never get any peace until this is all resolved and this is the place Celeste said we could find the folio. Have you really looked through all those crates already?"
Sami wearily tugged at her swelling stomach. She was due with her twins any day now. She had been told most women gave birth to twins early, but she had not been so lucky. Instead, she continued to tote them around without complaint just as she had the equally heavy and cumbersome burden of ending the feud, an issue her husband seemed to have little interest in to her frustration.
Celeste had told Sami that the folio would be stowed away at the pier, but as they searched in vain turning up nothing a sneaking suspicion told her it may have been a set up.
She was just about to tell Lucas maybe they should just give up and go home, but approaching footsteps prevented her from getting out all the words.
"Lucas, do you hear that? Maybe we should…" Sami said before being interrupted with a familiar but extremely unfriendly face stepping out of the shadows.
"Maybe you should what, Samantha?" Andre asked, his nostrils flared and his arm pointing a gun at Samantha's stomach. "Maybe you should stop meddling in my affairs in your vain hope that you can end the vendetta. Oh yes, I agree with that."
Sami frowned in despair but didn't cry.
"Look, Andre, we'll give up if you just let us go, all right," Lucas blurted.
"Lucas," Sami said through clenched teeth, "we can't give up."
"Shut up, Sami," Lucas said with a scowl while Andre laughed.
"Oh, it's no use, Lucas," Andre said with a grin. "Even, if Sami had been cunning enough to lie to me just now I know that she wouldn't give up. That's why I need to eliminate her. And you."
Sami watched in horror as Andre quickly pulled the trigger and Lucas collapsed in a heap on the ground clutching his lower abdomen with his hand, red liquid oozing over his fingers.
Sami cowered over him.
"No, no, Lucas," Sami screamed then turned her attention to Andre. "He isn't even a Brady. Why did you do this? Why did you shoot him and not me?"
"Oh, don't worry, Sami," Andre said chuckling. "I fully intend to shoot you as well."
Sami stared in horror at the barrel of Andre's gun extended toward her, and she rubbed her swelled belly with her hand bracing for the incoming blast. When she heard the gun blast, she blinked hard.
But to her surprise, when her eyes reopened, she had not been hit. She looked down and saw no blood but watched instead as Andre gasped and collapsed into the water beneath the pier and a leather folio fell out of his left hand and onto the ground.
Sami clutched her heart trying to make sense of what happened when out of the shadows stepped E.J. holding a gun and looking wild. He reached down and picked up the folio and stuck it inside his suit.
"Are you all right, Samantha?" E.J. screamed with desperation. "Did he hurt you? Are the babies O.K.?"
Sami suddenly felt very faint as the shock of everything that had happened set in.
"Yes, E.J., I'm all right. The babies are all right," Sami mumbled, before looking down at Lucas and beginning to cry. "But Lucas isn't."
E.J. raced toward her and wrapped his arms around the sobbing heap in front of him, clutching the back of her head and pressing it into his chest with one hand while the other hand fished in his pocket and retrieved a cell phone.
Sami heaved with sobs but somehow felt safe in those arms as E.J. called the authorities to let them know what happened and then flipped his phone shut before kissing the crown of her head.
Sami didn't know how many minutes elapsed as she stood there crying, soaking his shirt with her tears, but E.J. never stopped trying to calm her with both hands stroking her head lovingly and him whispering reassurances in her ears.
Suddenly, Sami looked up and there were even more guns, and she thought to herself she had seen more guns that night than she ever cared to see in her whole life.
"Salem P.D." Sami's father screamed. "Get your hands off my daughter if you want to live."
As E.J. backed away slowly, Sami shrieked that E.J. was just there to help her.
"Leave, E.J. alone," Sami screamed. "E.J. is just trying to help. He's just trying to calm me down so that I… I… I don't…"
But before Sami could finish the thought she looked down and realized her water had broke and she kneeled down to the ground with a piercing stab in her stomach.
"Sami, are you all right?" Roman said putting his gun away.
Ignoring the police, E.J. walked back toward Sami putting his arms around her face.
"Roman, I think she's going into labor," E.J. said as the two men stared at each other with fear and silent uncertainty.
Sami collapsed into a ball beside Lucas's unconscious and bleeding body and began to cry harder.
"Well, even so, Wells, I need to arrest you," Roman said.
"Arrest me for what?" E.J. asked angrily. "I just saved your daughter's life tonight."
"Maybe so," Roman said scowling. "But that doesn't change the fact I need to bring you in for the attempted murder of Lucas Roberts."
Sami saw them talking but couldn't really comprehend their conversation. All she could understand was the visceral pain in her abdomen and the emotional pain as she looked at her husband in a pool of blood beside her.
"Oh, what good will arresting me do, eh, Roman?" E.J. screamed as he bent down to caress Sami's face. "Your daughter needs me right now with these babies and all you Bradys need me if you ever want to end this damn feud."
"You have the folio?" Roman asked nervously.
"Yes, I have the folio, Roman," E.J. said angrily as two whirring ambulances pulled up to the pier. "And I'll gladly give it to you just as soon as I see that Sami and the twins make it through this birth alive."
As the paramedics strapped Lucas into a stretcher and began wheeling him away, Kate showed up on the pier imploring Roman to tell her what happened.
"I don't know, Kate," Roman said sighing. "But I think you should go with him. I need to take care of my own daughter. She's having the twins."
"The twins? Now?" Kate said in shock, but was quickly distracted by the sight of her bloody son being carted away and trailed after the gurney climbing into the ambulance behind the paramedics.
"Oh, E.J.," Sami cried as Lucas's ambulance drove away and another stabbing pain set in and she clutched at the lapel of his suit coat. "I don't know what I'm going to do. And I don't know what I'd do with out you."
E.J. continued soothing her and caressing the back of her head.
"I'm here for you, Samantha. Everything will be all right," he whispered before turning his attention to her father. "So what is it, Roman? Is your hatred for me and your desire to bring me to justice greater than your love for your daughter and your family?"
Roman scratched his chin with the barrel of his gun as he reluctantly realized he had no choice but to allow E.J. to accompany Sami to the hospital and waved Sami and E.J. into the second ambulance.
"Dammit," Roman said slamming the back door of the ambulance shut.
Chapter 2
Sami looked up at the lights above her head and realized she was lying in a hospital bed. She didn't remember when she had been moved from that ambulance that had caused her stomach to jumble with each sudden start and stop, but she did recall E.J.'s face staring at her with concern and his firm hand wrapped around hers, just as those same things were with her in the hospital room, too.
Still, Sami couldn't get the image of Lucas and the pool of blood out of her head and just as she remembered the blood spurting out of his torso, salty tears spurted out of her eye sockets in a similar gush as she cried hysterically.
E.J. tried desperately to calm her while the nurses frantically screamed about her blood pressure.
In the haze of her despair Sami thought she heard them all yelling about her need to concentrate or she would miscarry and E.J. imploring her to focus and thought she saw the nurses rushing around her as machines buzzed and flashed in warning, but none of it penetrated the fog of doom she felt about everything in her life as she laid in that hospital bed in excruciating pain.
At least not until she looked up and saw E.J.'s concerned face bend down suddenly and plant a deep and passionate kiss on her lips, one she reciprocated just as passionately before she realized what was happening and pushed him away.
"E.J.!" Sami screamed. "What are you doing? You have no right to kiss me like that! You know I hate you!"
"Yes, Samantha," E.J. said with a wild look in his eyes. "You hate me. I know you do. But now I've got your attention. And you need to focus on that right now. Put everything else out of her head except your hatred for me, darling. You need to focus. For these babies, you need to concentrate."
Sami sighed not fully understanding and laid her head back on the bed as more tears fell from her face and she grimaced as another stabbing pain reverberated through her lower abdomen.
"O.K. Listen. Shhh. Samantha, hey, look at me. Look at me. I want you to breathe with me. O.K.? Relax. No talking," E.J. said putting his right index finger up to his lips and leaning toward her as she sat up in the bed. "Breathe."
Sami's tears began to dry up as she locked eyes with E.J. once more.
"Deep breaths. Come on. Come on," E.J. said cupping the sides of her face with his large hands as the two of them breathed together and Sami calmed down. "It's O.K. It's O.K. Deep breaths. It's O.K. It's O.K. It's O.K…"
Sami complied and began to push as E.J. and the nurses instructed. E.J. held out his hand for Sami to squeeze when she got another contraction and some minutes later she did so, clamping down with more energy and strength than E.J. realized Sami could muster.
As the contraction subsided, E.J. pulled his hand back and shook off the tingling sensation.
"I don't think I'm going to be wrapping that hand around a steering wheel for a while," E.J. muttered to himself.
"What was that, E.J.?" Sami asked, her eyes shut with weariness.
"Nothing, sweetheart," E.J. said. "You're doing a great job."
Despite the twinge of pain, E.J. smiled with admiration as he really did believe Sami was doing a great job bearing those twins. And even though he had begrudgingly begun to accept they weren't his, he also knew a part of them were still her and he was thrilled to be a part of the moment in welcoming them to the world.
Following several hours of intense labor, the babies finally were born. After a few minutes of cleaning the babies and doing a few quick tests, one nurse walked in with a swaddled bundle of warmth to present Sami with her new son whom she lovingly took into her arms. And less than thirty seconds later, another nurse walked in with another precious package wrapped in cloth and extended it to E.J.
"Here's your daughter," the nurse said.
"Oh," E.J. said staring at the small infant and gripping his face with embarrassment. "She's not mine. I don't think I should hold her."
"E.J., it's fine," Sami said smiling widely. "She needs to be held. And I trust you to take care of her. You really took care of me today."
E.J. sighed and beamed looking first at Sami and then down at the little girl in his arms with the pink bow fastened around the tiny bit of brown hair she had around her head.
"She's beautiful," E.J. said smiling. "What are you going to name her?"
Sami had thought a lot about baby names but she hadn't ever reached a decision with Lucas before she went into labor. Yet when she saw her a few feet away, she knew.
"Sofia," Sami said. "I always liked that name."
"Sofia. It is a great name," E.J. said with a smile. "Sofia and Samantha."
Sami watched E.J. smiling at the child in his arms and for the first time realized how seriously he cared for it, how much he had wanted to be a father to her children. She stared at him coddling the cooing baby and a part of her wished the children had been his, if only she could see this side of E.J. in this moment again. But when E.J. seemed to notice her gaze and glanced back at her she turned her attention back to the boy in her own arms.
"So have you settled on a name for the boy?" E.J. asked.
"Oh, well, I was wanting something of a family name for him," Sami said, swaying him lightly in her arms. "I was thinking Eric Roman would be a good name."
"Eric Roman?" E.J. asked.
"Yes, Eric Roman," Sami said perturbed. "Is it so terrible if I want to name my son after my twin brother and my dad?"
"Well, no, it's not that Samantha," E.J. said delicately. "It's just while I'm sure he'll come to appreciate hospitals one day, are you sure your son will want to go around the rest of his life as E.R.?"
"I guess you have a point," Sami said. "Well what about Eric John? I mean John did raise me as a father for a number of years."
"E.J.?" E.J. laughed. "I don't think your family would go for that… even if the name really has nothing to do with me."
"Well, who says it would have nothing to do with you?" Sami said suddenly. "I mean you did rescue me tonight and you did help me get through this and if it wasn't for you, well who knows if my daughter and my son would even…"
E.J. slid in the bed next to Sami as she started to cry and put one arm around her while the other still cradled Sofia.
"Shhhh. Don't say that," E.J. said. "Don't even think about that."
"Well, it's the truth," Sami said with water squirting from her eyes. "I don't know what I'd have done without you. I don't know what Sofia and Eric John would have done without you. And if my family has a problem with it they'll just have to get over it."
E.J. grinned at Sami's stubborn expression and kissed the crown of her head. The two of them looked at each other and laughed and smiled as they marveled with wonder at the tiny people in front of them.
But their merriment did not last long before they were interrupted.
"Ahem," Kate said bitterly as she and Roman walked into the hospital room. "I see my grandchildren are born. Well, I just wanted you to know that my son is out of intensive care – that is if his wife even cares."
"Lucas," Sami said for the first time in hours reliving the horror at the pier and staring in shock.
"Yes, Lucas," Kate said. "The father of your children unlike that murderous bastard you seem content to share your bed with."
"Hey!" Sami screamed. "You can't talk to him like that. E.J.'s a hero. He saved me and Lucas tonight by taking out Andre. You did catch Andre didn't you, dad?"
"Well, we searched the harbor but we didn't turn up anything," Roman said with frustration. "Hopefully we'll find something tomorrow. But in the meantime I think E.J. should hand over that baby to her grandma while he and I go down to the station."
"What?" Sami said with concern. "Why? Why does he have to go?"
"Because he tried to kill my son," Kate screamed as she took Sofia from E.J.'s arms while E.J. cringed but said nothing.
"But he saved your son, Kate," Sami said with confusion. "E.J. was the one who broke through that lock so we could get him out of the ice truck. Dad?"
"And E.J. is the one who put him in that ice truck," Roman said sternly.
"Sami, I ran into E.J. on the pier just a few days before Lucas was locked in that truck," Kate said excitedly. "And E.J. was drunk as a skunk crying over you and these babies that aren't his and he told me he was going to see to it that Lucas was dead so he could have you for his own. I didn't want to believe he'd be so stupid to act on it after he sobered up, but you sure do have a way of making men do stupid things, don't you, Sami?"
"Enough," Roman said interrupting while a shocked Sami covered her mouth and E.J. said nothing. "It's time to go down to the station."
"Yes, Roman, it's time to arrest me before I cause Samantha any more pain," E.J. finally said with resignation looking back at Sami before turning toward Kate. "I really do wish Lucas a speedy recovery from Andre's shooting. Samantha's going to need all the help she can get with those twins."
Sami began to cry as she watched E.J. willingly walk out the door with her father pushing him from behind. Then suddenly E.J. stopped and turned back around to come back to Sami's bed side.
"I almost forgot," E.J. said. "Sorry, Roman, but remember I promised I would do this if you let me help Samantha with the birth."
E.J. removed the folio from inside his suit coat and laid it in Sami's lap on the bed.
"I hope this gives you the peace and security you desperately crave, Samantha," E.J. said before walking out the door of the hospital room with Roman.
Sami cried once more at the sight of him walking out of the room, but it was more than that causing the tears to flood her face. It was the thought of seeing him walk out of her life. For good.
Chapter 3
After several hours of restless sleep with the leather folio clutched inside her arms, Sami awoke and found her mother sitting at her bedside telling her she wanted to escort her up to Lucas's hospital room.
Unable to put it down for fear she might lose it, Sami clutched the folio tightly desperately wondering what was inside, yet another part of her was afraid at what she might find. She had wanted to open it as soon as she woke up but Marlena had told Sami it could wait.
"But what about the twins, Mom?" Sami asked with fright as she looked down at her stomach and remembered she no longer carried them inside her. "Where are they?"
"They are perfectly fine being watched by your Aunt Kayla and Uncle Steve, right now," Marlena said. "Come on. It's time to see your husband. He needs you."
"Lucas always needs me," Sami thought with some bitterness as they shuffled toward the elevator with Sami toting the folio.
Sami had always been an extremely self-reliant if sometimes self-destructive person, but ever since she rekindled her relationship with Lucas he always seemed to be pulling her down like an anchor to keep her from causing too much trouble, which may have been a good thing, but also keeping her from having hardly any excitement or fun. There was also the annoying fact she always had to rescue him or worse, get E.J. to help rescue him, while at the same time he was so helpless she had to constantly soothe his insecurities and walk on eggshells to protect his fragile ego. It had all grown so tiring, so draining, Sami thought as she looked down on his sleeping body attached to tubes connected to beeping machines and flashing monitors nearby and she wondered how she would manage to take care of him and her three children.
"He looks so weak," Sami said finally.
"Well, he lost a lot of blood," Marlena said. "He's very lucky to be alive. If the ambulance hadn't been called when it was, the doctors said he wouldn't have made it."
"Well, thank God E.J. was there to call the paramedics so quickly," Sami said excitedly then hung her down in shame.
Marlena eyed her daughter with a bit of skepticism.
"But too bad his crazy family had to shoot him, Sami," Marlena said. "And too bad E.J. had to shoot John. You know, Roman told me yesterday about how he found out Andre was in Ireland at the time of Lucas's attack and E.J. had purchased gloves identical to the ones found in a dumpster near the ice truck so that was how they brought him in. I'm so glad that man is finally behind bars where he belongs, especially after he raped you."
"Mom, don't… not now," Sami said rubbing her head as if she had a headache.
"Sorry, I know you've been through a lot and you don't need me dragging up the past," Marlena said. "But I'm just so glad you and Lucas will finally be free of him and can move on in your new life together and you'll never have to see E.J. Wells again."
Sami sighed and wondered why that sounded so depressing. Then she remembered how relieved she had been to see him when he saved her from Andre, all the times he had saved her, and she remembered how safe she felt in EJ's strong arms waiting for the ambulance to arrive. She remembered his soothing words and smiling face as she struggled to give birth and she remembered the pure joy on his face as he held her baby girl in his arms. Then Sami looked at Lucas's arms, lifeless and filled with IVs and realized it would be quite a while before those arms would be holding her daughter.
"I'm just glad that no matter what has happened that Lucas is going to come out of all of this completely healthy and as good as new," Sami said with hope that by feigning optimism she might be able to feel it.
"Well, I don't know about all that, Sami. I think you should really speak to the doctor when he comes back so he can explain…" Marlena said with hesitation.
"Explain what, Mom?" Sami said impatiently. "Tell me. Is Lucas going to die?"
"No, he'll live, Sami. It's not that," Marlena said uncomfortably. "It's just that after this shooting his life… and your life… may never be the same."
"What do you mean?" Sami asked. "Is it brain damage? Is he paralyzed? Oh God."
"No, no, no," Marlena said laughing. "Oh I guess I should just blurt it out so I don't worry you any more than need be, but I'm trying to put this delicately. You see, the shot hit him in the lower abdomen and while he should be able to walk and talk fine and hold a job just fine in the future it's just that the injury has rendered him permanently… impotent."
"Impotent?" Sami asked.
Even though a part of her had been growing more and more tired of his advances even as she was nearing the final weeks of her pregnancy, she wasn't expecting or hoping for this. Sami sat down in a chair and covered her face with her hands in shock.
"But you two can get through this, Sami," Marlena said. "It's not the end of the world. You still have these amazing and adorable little babies together to take care of."
"And I'll never have any more babies," Sami said mournfully.
"Well there's always adoption," Marlena said sitting in a chair beside Sami and wiping her bangs out of her daughter's eyes. "Oh come on, Sami. You can't sulk about this. Your husband needs you to support him. Sex isn't everything in a marriage."
"Oh that's funny coming from you, Mom," Sami snapped suddenly, "When sex with John was more important than your marriage to my dad."
Sami covered her mouth in horror at the angry words while she watched them pierce deep into her mother's heart.
"Wait… Mom… I didn't mean that," Sami said as Marlena got up to leave the room with tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"No, Sami," Marlena said stopping in the doorway of Lucas's room. "You did mean it. I know you didn't mean to hurt me. But you did mean those words. And you're right that sex does matter. I can't lie to you about that. Not again."
Sami sunk into the chair beginning to cry when a knock at the door had her quickly wiping away the corners of her eyes and sniffling as Billie entered the room.
"Hey Sami," Billie said walking over to her sister-in-law and giving her a big hug.
"He doesn't look too good, Billie," Sami said as she looked over at Lucas.
"You should have seen him last night," Billie said. "But I tell you who does look good. Those twins of yours are adorable. Sofia and Eric John, is it? Cute names."
"Thanks," Sami said. "I just wish I could have run them by Lucas, but we could never agree on anything."
"My brother can be a little stubborn at times," Billie said. "OK, maybe a lot."
They both laughed.
"Billie, thanks for coming by and cheering me up," Sami said. "It just seems like I keep getting one piece of bad news after another."
"What do you mean?" Billie said. "My mom told me E.J. Wells is in jail. That's good news, right?"
"Oh, that, yes, that's good news," Sami said scratching her head.
"You almost sound like you believe that, Sami," Billie said as her arms folded.
"Look, I just am having a really hard time understanding it all, OK?" Sami said pacing. "I mean I really thought he'd changed. It's just… he did change all right because he saved Lucas from the truck and he rescued me tonight from Andre and helped my family get the folio. He went against his own family for us, Billie. And he really did care about my children's safety even after he found out they weren't his. At least that's what it seemed like. I guess I sound pretty naïve. I suppose if E.J. planned it so he could be the hero rescuing Lucas from the ice truck even when he locked him in there, I bet he was the one blackmailing Nick Fallon all along to get him to say the paternity test showed him the father."
"But I thought my mom admitted that?" Billie said confused.
"What?" Sami asked. "Kate?"
"Lucas told me when we talked earlier this week that Kate had confessed," Billie said nonchalantly. "He didn't tell you? Oh boy…"
"No, he didn't tell me!" Sami said furiously. "So Kate was willing to throw her own grandchildren to the wolves, to the DiMeras, just so she would have something to try and cause a wedge between me and Lucas? That bitch!"
"Sami, I'm sorry, maybe you should sit and calm down," Billie said.
"No, I will not calm down!" Sami said. "These children almost died because of Kate! Stefano nearly cut open my womb and stole them from my body because of her lies and manipulations. She's just as big of a monster as Stefano in my book!"
"Now Sami," Billie said delicately. "That's hardly fair."
"What's unfair is that woman almost killed my babies and I let her hold my grandchildren!" Sami said. "And Lucas knew this?! He knew this and he didn't tell me? It's always about protecting Kate with him isn't it? She always comes first."
"Sami, I'm sure he was going to tell you in due time," Billie said. "I bet he just didn't want to upset you when you were so close to having the babies."
"No, no that's not it," Sami said touching her index finger to her lips deep in thought. "He wanted me to think it was E.J. who had the paternity tests switched. He wanted me to think that so I would keep hating E.J., because he's so damn insecure about him."
"Do you blame him for being insecure, Sami?" Billie asked with exasperation. "He's good-looking; he's charming; he's handsome; he's wealthy. I know. I've been there and had the crush on him, too. But in your case there's also the way he's always around you, always being the one to rescue you, always flirting with you and for some reason you let him even after you say he raped you."
"Hey, just what's that supposed to mean?" Sami asked angrily.
"Whatever you think it means, Sami," Billie said in a huff. "Look, I need to get some fresh air. I'll see you later."
Sami sighed as she pondered Billie's words and sat back down in the chair. She decided she didn't want to think about them and didn't want to think about her husband in the hospital bed either so she picked up the folio off the floor and opened it.
After taking several minutes to examine the folio's contents, she was shocked.
"I have to go see E.J.," Sami said.
Chapter 4
It wasn't long after reading the contents of the folio that Sami headed back to her room filled with confusion and anger and wanting nothing more than to see E.J. again and talk to him.
To her surprise and delight as she paced her hospital room, she found her mother's purse leaning against the wall on the floor, quickly reached inside to retrieve the keys and got dressed.
It wasn't hard for Sami to sneak out of the hospital. After all, it seemed like she already had so much practice doing it.
She felt a twinge of guilt as she tiptoed past the doorway of the waiting room where all her family had gathered around her twins. She felt bad not telling them she was leaving and knew when they saw her empty room and couldn't find her there or at Lucas's bedside that they'd all be sick with worry. But she couldn't let that get in her way because what she was doing was for them, even if they might not realize or appreciate it.
It wasn't a long drive before she was at the police station. She was glad that she knew both Roman and Bo were at the hospital so she wouldn't have to worry about them asking any questions when she went to see E.J.
As she walked up to the desk outside the jail, Sami was happy to find she didn't recognize the cop on duty.
"Hi, how are you, uh, Bill?" Sami said scanning his nametag and batting her eyelashes with all the charm she could muster. "I always liked that name. Anyway, I was wondering if maybe I could have a little chat with one of your inmates. I won't take very long."
"Visiting hours are over, miss," Bill said, unimpressed.
"Yes, I know that, Bill," Sami said sighing with frustration that she would have to play her trump card after all. "But don't you think you can make an exception for Roman Brady's daughter?"
"You're Commander Brady's daughter?" the man said with surprise.
"That's me. Sami Brady," Sami smiled. "So now that that's out of the way I'm sure you can fetch E.J. Wells from his cell so that I might have a word with him."
"Well, no," Bill said shaking his head. "I can't do that. Boss would get my badge for sure if I let E.J. Wells talk to you."
"Not if me talking to him gets the information my dad needs to put him away for good," Sami said. "See, I know he's worried about me and I understand that. But I just know if I talk to E.J. I'll be able to help him break this case wide open. Now of course, he'd be a little upset with both of us if he found out I had been the one to get that information from E.J. so what if I talk to him and get the scoop and fill you in afterward and then it'll just be our little secret when my dad gives you that big promotion."
"Hmmmm. I suppose I could let you speak to Wells for just a few minutes. There is a patrol sergeant opening coming up," Bill said wistfully. "And I have been stuck behind this desk for far too long."
"I'm sure that after this my dad will keep you far away from this desk," Sami said as Bill escorted her to a seat in the visiting room.
As she waited for E.J. to appear on the other side of the glass in front of her, she set the folio on the counter and reopened it.
Inside, she found a letter that to her surprise was in English penned by Santo on his deathbed and that explained how Shawn had confessed to Father Mallory about covering up Colleen's affair with Santo and the priest had taken it upon himself to warn Pete that his church could no longer have her for a nun. Pete took the news very poorly and in a rage got his gun and headed to the inn in Doolin where Santo was staying. Pete burst into Santo's room and found him in bed, alone, or so he thought. He took aim ready to shoot Santo in cold blood, but when Colleen realized what was happening she threw off the sheets and blanket covering her to plea for the life of her lover. Unfortunately, it was too late, and Pete had already pulled the trigger and the bullet intended for Santo struck his daughter instead. Colleen died in Santo's arms. And this all happened the same night she had finally told Santo she would leave her vows and marry him and Santo had presented her with a claddagh ring he had bought in a jewelry store in Galway. That ring was in the folio too, as well as another Phoenix ring bearing the DiMera family insignia that would have been their wedding rings. Though yellowed by the passing of five decades, another piece of paper in the folio showed what would have been their marriage certificate but though the Brady and DiMera names had been entered onto the document the date and the signature of the witnesses had not, because Colleen and Santo never married and instead Colleen was locked away in the church forever to be buried a sister while Santo lamented her death and plotted revenge on the Bradys swearing every last one of them would have to suffer the way that he did in losing Colleen unless another Brady wed a DiMera.
As Sami heard the shuffling footsteps approaching the other side of the glass, she quickly shoved the papers and the rings back into the folio.
When E.J. appeared walking up toward the seat on the other side of the glass in the orange jumpsuit, Sami thought she hardly recognized him.
Sure she had seen him with a scruffy beard before and she'd seen him upset, but not like this. Not with his shoulders slumped and completely without the tiniest trace of a grin anywhere within the corners of his mouth.
But Sami thought she saw E.J.'s eyes light up when they locked with hers. She smiled to herself as she watched E.J. attempt to smooth his messy hair and adjust the sleeves of the jumpsuit to make himself more presentable as he sat down.
"You look like hell," Sami said flatly.
"I'm tired," E.J. said defensively.
"I'm sorry," Sami apologized. "I shouldn't have said that. It's just that I'm so used to seeing you so well dressed and put together that…"
"No need to apologize. I certainly feel like hell so I shouldn't be surprised if you think I look it," E.J. said before he let out a big sigh. "But you, you look heavenly as always, Samantha. Especially right now."
Sami could feel herself blushing on the inside, but she refused to let E.J. know how much those words affected her.
"E.J., I did not come here to be flattered by you," Sami said impatiently.
"Well then why did you come here?" E.J. asked. "No one else has."
"You mean your father hasn't been here to see you?" Sami asked with pity in her heart and concern in her eyes.
"No, he's not big on jails. For some reason he has this fear of coming to visit them but be locked up himself. I have no idea why," E.J. said chuckling. "Plus, I think Stefano might be a little angry with me over the whole Andre thing. I have a sneaking suspicion that one got me disinherited."
"I'm sorry, E.J. I really do appreciate you doing that and doing all you did to go against your family to save my life, to save my children's lives," Sami said putting her right hand against the glass.
"It was nothing," E.J. said pressing his left hand in the same place. "It doesn't take away all the things I've done to hurt you or those that you care about. I'm just glad that you're safe. By the way, that reminds me of that folio. Did that give you what your family needed to end the vendetta?"
Sami bit her lip and sighed.
"Sort of," Sami said. "It explained how Colleen died. I guess Colleen's father, Pete, found out she wanted to leave the church for Santo and he went to kill him but wound up shooting Colleen instead."
The thought of such a tragedy tore at Sami's heart as she imagined what it must've been like for Colleen in those final moments as she went from such bliss with the man that she loved with all her heart and soul to dying in his arms at the hand of her own family. E.J. seemed to notice the sorrow that she had thought she had well concealed as he offered his condolences.
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," E.J. sighed. "If only we could end all this pointless suffering once and for all. If only I could end the suffering and die for you now."
Sami had been staring into space when she first heard him start speaking, but when he uttered the words "die for you now" she was snapped back to reality.
"You can't talk like that, E.J.!" Sami screamed. "You need to end the suffering by marrying me!"
"What?" E.J. asked with shock. "Did you say you want me to marry you, Samantha?"
"No, I don't want you to marry me, E.J. You are marrying me. End of discussion," Sami said abruptly. "According to what's in this folio, the only way this feud will end is if the two of us get married."
"But Sami, what about Lucas?" E.J. asked. "You're already married to him. He loves you."
"Pffft. Don't pretend you care about Lucas," Sami scoffed. "You tried to kill him, remember?"
E.J. cleared his throat rather than responding so as not to incriminate himself with an admission and he changed the subject.
"Sami, if you marry me you'll be miserable. You love Lucas and you hate me. You've made that abundantly clear," E.J. said with resignation. "As much as I want more than anything for you to be my wife, I can't marry you when I know that peace for your family isn't worth the misery that a marriage to me would cause you. I love you too much for that to happen."
Sami rolled her eyes at E.J.'s chivalry.
"Give me a break. You have proven time and again that you can and will do anything to get me. You will lie, you will manipulate, you will blackmail..." Sami said furiously before leaning into whisper. "And you will even try to kill to have me for yourself. So spare me this nobility crap. After everything you've done, you don't get to be noble."
"I suppose you're right, Samantha," E.J. said folding his hands on the counter. "I am and have done many horrible, unforgivable things. I have no right to refuse anything you ask of me, sweetheart. So if you think marrying me will help you get what you want then I will gladly be your husband."
"O.K. But don't get any ideas," Sami said suddenly. "This is purely about ending the feud. It's not about love. It's not about romance. It's not about…"
Sami knew she meant to say "sex" but for some reason the word got stuck in her throat.
"You were saying?" E.J. said with a curious grin on his face.
"Never mind," Sami said shaking her head. "Anyway, the first thing we have to do is find a way of getting you out of this jail."
"Just what do you have in mind, darling?" E.J. asked. "I know Salem police officers aren't all that bright, but I don't think even they would fall for the whole cake with a file in it routine and…"
"Oh, shut up," Sami said. "I'll take care of it. Don't you worry."