AN: I'm sure you can tell by the preview that I wrote this story shortly after the shooting. I was VERY upset with Sami, and the way the show dealt with the entire situation. Writing this story helped me work through their issues and mine, and get to remember who they were and why i liked them to begin with.
This story is complete and i'll be posting when i can until i get it all up, and if you read at Forbidden Love you may have already seen this one (it's posted there). Someone suggested posting it here also and i thought that sounded like a good idea :)
Comments, constructive criticism, and feedback are more than welcome! I'm very interested to hear your thoughts!
Chapter One: Hoodwinked
This wasn't where he wanted to be and definitely not what he wanted to be doing. Sleep eluded him, again. Working out some of the excess energy seemed like a good idea at the time, but so far it had just wound him up even more. He wasn't tired, and his brain wasn't tired, he couldn't stop running through scenarios—every possible outcome…
His feet connected with the wall, and he pushed off it, starting another lap. His arm cut through the warm water with ease; there came a vague memory of being 8 years old again, and nanny telling him he'd been born part fish. He pushed the thought away and focused on developing his plan.
The only solution he could come up with was leaving. Leaving father, leaving Salem, leaving Samantha—he would go. And, he would take his children with him!
It wouldn't be easy, but then it never was when it came to Samantha. He wouldn't let her get the better of him, not this time. She and her smug, self-righteous, hypocritical husband de jour would not keep his children from him; god knows what they were up to. Brainwashing Johnny and Sydney against him. They were DiMera's and would be raised as such, as he saw fit.
EJ swam back toward the shallow end of the pool and came up out of the water. He stood there for a moment, water barely waist high, and ran his fingers through his wet hair.
"Not this time, Samantha." He flicked the water from his fingers, "not this time."
He wanted the children to have some semblance of normalcy, if that were possible, and they deserved to be raised by their father—not this substitute. They would not be raised by this anthropoid, cro-mag, Neanderthal, dodgy ex-FBI twat. Thinking about that bastard being around his children, around Samantha, made his blood boil. The bloody wanker paraded around as if he were god's personal gift to the not-so-good people of Salem. Well, EJ smirked, they were about to find out it was quite the opposite. In fact, they were about to find out Mr. perfect had more than a few skeletons in his closet, and a serious snag in his super tights.
It would hurt Samantha. All of it would hurt her.
He grabbed the bar and climbed up the stairs, out of the water. C'est la vie… she certainly hadn't given any pause to his feelings when she shot him in the head and left him for dead, now hadn't she? The woman had the gall to actually claim she wished she'd completed the job! How did that make her any better than him? How did that make her fit to raise their children? She kept claiming he was the one who was unfit to be around them, they would be better off with him around. Really? She all but threatened to slit his throat and then happily watch a movie and eat popcorn afterward…?
Why should he give a toss if it hurt her? Fuck her. His children could grow up and become serial murderers following in their mother's footsteps, her violent tendencies had become out of control! Starting with shooting him, the things she'd done to keep Arianna quiet, and knocking Nicole bloody unconscious …okay, he had to give her that one. There were plenty of times he wanted to knock that woman unconscious as well.
He sighed; perhaps he was being too harsh? Sure, he wasn't really any better… he went along with his father's cockamamie scheme to extract Rafael from their lives for good, he was so infuriated at the thought of them, but he hadn't killed anyone, or even tried to kill anyone. In fact, he'd saved the bloody duffer's life—TWICE.
EJ growled at the thought, picking up the towel. No, she deserved this… her and that bloody asshole. He convinced himself, it was entirely her fault their lives were in the shambolic state they were in. Original sin, he remembered, they were her words, and if she took two minutes to pry her head out of the bastard's ass, she might remember it too.
He pushed the towel down his muscled torso, his mind drifted with the memory of that day… the day she said yes. The day she agreed to marry him. The swell of love that curled around his heart had been unexpected; he'd worked very hard to keep those feelings buried as deep as he could get them.
That time was over now, he didn't feel those things for her anymore, and he wouldn't feel it ever again. Never.
EJ hadn't figured out where he'd go just yet, he couldn't take them to England or Italy—father would find him instantly, and in all likely hood, so would Samantha. He couldn't go to the island either, but he would as a last resort. While he didn't really want to add parental child abduction to his list of offences, he also felt he had no choice. If he didn't do something, he'd never see those children again, and they meant everything to him.
He'd done his homework, ran through the countries with little or no extradition treaty with the United States, and was leaning toward South America. Even if they did find him, the processes took so long it would be tied up in the political red tape for years, and surely he'd be able to quietly slip away with the children once again.
Marco had been keeping tabs on Samantha and the children, so he had a fairly good idea of their routine. He liked Marco, no questions, no conscious, he just did as he was told, and reported back promptly-a proper DiMera soldier.
The way he planned to take the children was probably unnecessarily cruel, abduction in broad daylight, ripping them right out from under her, but he wouldn't be there to actually see the aftermath, so what should he care?
Leaving Salem really seemed like his only option. He'd be away from the smug wonder twins, away from the constant harassment of the inept Salem Police Dept., away from that money grubbing, alcoholic, cheating, scheming ex-wife of his, and her bloody sister, away from father, away from the word DiMera.
EJ made his way into the mansion, sliding through the glass patio doors. His eyes scanned the empty room, and landed on the portrait of his father…
He stepped in front of it, whispering, "I'll never be under your thumb again." EJ started into his father's image, "I'll never be like you… I'll never be you."
He turned on his heel and made his way over to the large desk, he pulled the drawer handle, and rifled through it until he found what he was looking for… three newly acquired passports. He flipped one of the dark blue books open, Johnny's happy little face stared back at him—what would he tell him? Johnny would surely ask questions… he'd start with telling him they were going on holiday, but that would only serve for a few weeks… ah well; he'd come up with something. He looked at the assumed name, Joseph Medici… how would he explain to his four year old that daddy wanted to change his name? He closed the book and flipped open Sydney's, or more correctly, Serena Ann Medici… he hoped the names didn't sound ridiculous, figuring it would be easier on them if they sounded similar to their own names.
EJ clutched the passports in his hands and made his way up the stairs to his room. He had plans to make and this time, he would follow through—no thoughts of Samantha's reaction, no worries about law enforcement, no second-guessing, no more weakness.
Monster. That's what she liked to call him now. "Well, darling," He whispered to himself as he slid into his room, "you're about to find out exactly what kind of monster I can be."
He'd have to brush up on his Spanish and Portuguese, EJ looked at the paperwork spread across his desk. La Paz, Caracas, Rio, or Morocco… the places he'd narrowed his options to. Morocco had been the only one of his choices that had no extradition treaty of any kind with the US, and if by some chance they'd found him—short of stealing the children back from him-there wouldn't be a damn thing they could do to him. He had no current ties to any of the locations he'd been perusing, so he assumed it wouldn't matter which place he chose, he'd be hard to find.
La Paz would be the last place he'd go, Mexico would be the first bright idea Mr. perfect would come up with, because it was the most predictable and least creative option. He could disappear easily in both Rio and Caracas, and he'd moved enough funds into his offshore accounts to do pretty much anything he pleased. EJ lay down on his bed, two days from now life as Samantha and her circus monkey knew it would be over, he'd have his children, and he'd be well on his way out of the country before they even had a clue…
He closed his eyes, two days from now, and Elvis John DiMera would be gone forever.
There had been a slight change in plan, EJ smiled at the little, bright-eyed sprite sitting in the seat across from him. She played happily with the new dolly 'daddy EJ' had given her this morning.
He watched from the Lincoln town car, watching that poser play house with his family. The park bustled with activity, busy for a Friday morning. He hoped his little brother had enough DiMera in him to pull this off, the last thing he needed was for him to suddenly grow a conscience. All he had to do was run distraction…
EJ watched Rafe play with his innocent children, what the hell did he want with them anyway? The ire that rolled through him scared him, if he had his chance he would kill that son of a bitch with his bare hands. Another reason he had to leave Salem.
Impeccably timed, Chad cut through the park on his way from the Java Café. Johnny ran toward his uncle with his arms wide. EJ smiled. Watching them interact caused a tightening in his chest and he regretted taking the children away from that relationship, Chad and Johnny had developed quite the bond. Once they were settled, maybe it'd be possible to continue contact with Chad?
Rafael said his goodbyes and left the park, while Marco moved into position.
Chad talked up Samantha and, just as he knew she would, she turned her back on Sydney's swing. Johnny ran around playing the airplane game with another little boy. Samantha looked over her shoulder, one time, and then walked with Chad toward the little ice cream cart. He watched Marco pull his hood down and smile at Sydney, recognizing him, her little arms reached out. He quietly took her from the swing and stealthily brought her to the car.
Sydney's face lit up when she saw him, and she immediately reached out for daddy.
"Hello, sweetheart." EJ collected her.
Marco grunted, "Two down, one to go."
"Quickly please."
"Daddeee!" Sydney chirped. "Allllie!"
"I've missed you, my darling." He kissed her chubby little cheek. "Daddy's not going to let you out of his sight ever again."
"Sydney!" Allie giggled excitedly, "Daddy EJ, everybody's going?"
"Yes, sweetheart, Johnny, Sydney, you, and I, would you like that?"
She nodded.
Several minutes later, Johnny came bounding up to the car. "Daddy!"
"Hey kiddo." He said, "How would you like to go for a little ride with daddy?"
"I like that a lot!" He said, excitedly climbing into the town car, and promptly hitting his twin sister. "Where did you go daddy? I was missing you so much!"
EJ strapped both children into the car; Marco closed and locked the door and disappeared. He pressed the button for the divider, the black shield separating the driver from them rolled down.
"What about mommy?" Johnny asked. "Can she come too?"
"Raoul, Salem International." He said, "The jet is waiting."
"Yes, Mr. DiMera."
EJ hit the button again, and the screen closed.
"Daddy…?" Johnny looked at him.
"Listen, Johnny, Daddy is going to take you, Allie, and Sydney on a little trip… but mummy isn't coming with us. Mummy knows all about it," He lied. "And I'm sure she'll want you to tell her all about how much fun you had later."
"A twip?"
"Yes, daddy's taking his favorite little bugs on holiday to the tropics… nice and sunny and warm with lots of sandy beaches to build castles, and warm water to swim in, would you like that?"
Johnny and Allie nodded emphatically.
"Now…" EJ bent toward Johnny, "You two and I are going to play a little game… you like games, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" They both sang.
"Alright…" EJ said, "It's a pretend game."
"Betend what?"
"You two and I, and Sydney, are going to pretend we have different names… and the person who can pretend the longest wins."
"Who will I be, daddy?"
"Hmm," EJ said, pretending to think, "how about… you pretend to be 'Joseph', and Sydney will be 'Serena'—"
"Who are you gonna betend to be?"
"I'll be Edward." He said, "And Allie is going to be Angela, alright?"
"Oh, I like those names." Said Allie.
"So, starting now… until we get to the hotel, if anyone asks you what your name is, what will you tell them?"
"Joseph!"
"Right, and if they ask about Sydney?"
"Sewena."
"Good…" EJ smiled, "I don't know how I'm gonna beat you at this game," He said, "you're already so good at it."
"I'n gonna win." Allie declared.
"No silly…" Johnny laughed, "I'n gonna win!" He looked at EJ very seriously, "What do I get when I win?"
EJ sat back in the car seat; once they were in Caracas he would explain the rest. "How about the biggest banana split you've ever seen?"
Johnny's eyes widened and he nodded again, "Okay, daddy."
As planned, the DiMera jet idled on the tarmac, awaiting their arrival. They passed through security and customs without incident, thanks to a conveniently planted DiMera employee. EJ carried Sydney on board, and Johnny and Allie tailed behind them.
"Oh no!" Johnny exclaimed.
"What? What's the matter, love?"
"I can't go without Nigel!"
Who the bloody hell—Oh, that goddamned penguin, pfft that thing had seen it's last days. "I'm sorry sweetheart, but the plane is ready to leave… we just don't have time to go and collect him."
"But daddy…"
"Johnny listen, he'll be there when you get back." EJ tried not to roll his eyes, "Right where you left him, at mummy's house."
Johnny pouted for a moment, and then his face split into the biggest grin. "You lose, daddy!"
"What?"
"You lose the betend game!" Johnny hopped around the plane cabin. "I win'd, I win'd, I win'd!"
Allie made a face, Johnny climbed onto one of the seats and their stewardess, Maria, buckled him in. The blasted penguin was forgotten.
"Oh, well… looks like I owe you a banana spilt!"
"Yep, daddy," Johnny nodded. "A big, big one!" Johnny motioned with his arms. "Can we play again?"
"I'n gonna win this time!" Allie shouted.
"Alright." EJ smiled. "Starting…" he pretended to set his watch, "NOW!"