A Silver Thread A Golden Needle

by laurensnana

The end of the Wells Family Chronicles..the twins are all grown, finding their own way to love, romance, and also tragedy..this is the story of a family and how they relate to one another in good times and bad.

1. Chapter 1

A Silver Thread, A Golden Needle

Prologue: Samantha and EJ are approaching the date of their 25th wedding anniversary. Each of their children have a date with their own destiny heading towards that date. It is going to be romantic, suspenseful, and tragic for the Wells family.

Chapter I

"Ok EJ, I swear! I am flying out to Hollywood and I am personally going to fire that man! Look at these ratings? They have never been this low in the history of "Our Lives, Our Days! What are they doing? How could they have taken a top rated show and just ruined it! All my characters are being destroyed! Sabrina has been turned into some kind of wimpering rescue me clinging vine every third episode! This is not who I ..I mean Sabrina is..it won't work, and it has to change!" Sami had the latest copies of Variety, as well as Soap Opera Weekly and Soap Opera Digest in her lap, while the latest Nielsens looked as bad as they possibly could.

"Darling," EJ was attempting to be soothing to her, but he was going to have to admit she had a point, "now look, he had to clean up the prior writers mess as well, so this may take a bit of time!"

"We do not have that kind of time EJ! Look, a lot of peoples livelihoods' depend on this show..what gave him the balls to come in and think he knew it all! Hell, even Logan Sheffler finally listened to me! I wish he had survived the earthquake..why do the good die young?"

"Ok, ok, don't upset yourself! Go to Hollywood, but make sure you have it all set up just how you want to do these changes..part of the problem has been the show seems to have lost its sense of direction..I agree with you there, but since you are the heart of this show, in Sabrina, I think you can make it work again! Take one of the Mythic Jets, and if I can break free, I may join you for a couple of days. You know how much I love Las Angeles!" The grin she gave him let him know how much she understood him, as really, there was no place he detested more.

"And maybe while we are out there, we can make it up to San Francisco and pop in on Kacie. You know, surprise her!"

He looked at her, and grinned. "Surprise her?"

"Ok, I will call her and let her know that of course she is right, we will be coming by!"

Kacie was now part of a study going on at the University of California in Berkeley, on the reasons and why fores of extra sensory perception. Her abilities had been doubted, but after much study and analyzing, her department heads were beginning to understand why she felt this was just an area of the mind that everyone had to ability to access, just not the opportunity. Her work was now zeroing in on what was needed to sharpen this skill for the general population!

At this moment, she had been busily entering data into a computer program when she got the thought, and nodded happily. Yes, it would be so nice to see Mom and Dad for a day or so if they came into the City. When the phone at her desk buzzed her, she did not bother to look at the caller i.d., just picked it up to cheerily say, "Hi Mom!"

"Hi sweetie, how did you know it was me?" but as soon as she asked the question Sami laughed at herself. Kacie was a natural wonder. "Never mind, don't answer that! I am coming out to ..

"Hollywood?" finishing her mother's sentence.

"Stop that please!"

"Oh, Mom, come on, I have been taping the show and knew you would not be happy with what they have done lately!"

"Well can you blame me? I mean how can they make you out to be some kind of evil scientist out to steal your sisters boyfriend?"

Giggling, Kacie interceded once more, "Mom, if I have to be a character in your soap, I would rather be the mean one, I mean how can my character end up as a Diva like Sabrina unless she gets to be bad!"

"Well, in that case, if you want to be the bad one, I will see that you are my sweetie! But at least you can be a bad one with good writing, good hair, and a better wardrobe!"talking with Kacie had restored her mother's good humor. The little girl who once cut off her pigtails and got the family chased into a lake by a bear was now a college professor, having been a child prodigy growing up. She had graduated from University at the age of fourteen, eight years ahead of her older brother and sister. They had both sat proudly with their parents at her commencement along with her own twin brother Ace, and the other members of the household. Tippin, Lorene, and Nanny all had places of honor, with Nanny now being in charge of making sure Roman was comfortable in his wheelchair, and that he could see everything going on, whether or not he understood it all.

"Is Boseph here?"In the midst of all the noise, and the crowd of the commencement crowd Roman had been confused, and mixed up his younger brothers name a bit. Nanny took it all in stride, never letting her patient have a moment of worry, she would reassure him that Bo was indeed coming, and would be sitting right next to him. After that, he had contentedly listened to the music, smiling at his daughter and grandchildren.

Both her mother and Kacie were now looking at the identical picture, Kacie had it on her desk, and Sami had it on the wall. It was the picture of her graduation. She had been so young, and not even as tall as her mother in the picture. Her hair was still cut in a no nonsense wedge, long hair had been a bother to her, but the confidence she exuded came out in the picture. Sami and EJ had stood with her, the rest of the family and household members surrounding them like a cohesive halo.

Justin was as tall as his father, with the same aristocratically handsome face. His choice of career had worried his mother, but delighted his father, and he was even now in Argentina racing in a professional circuit. Jessica was of course a stunning blonde, her hair falling to her waist in waves of wheat colored beauty, but her life was now far away from Salem as well, as a pilot for British Airways. She had achieved her dream as well. Ace was still the family nee'r do well. He had taken out three years ago to explore the world on his own, and except for the occasional letter and even rarer phone call, he was on his own adventure. A nineteen year old had left to the wails of protest of his mother, but the complete understanding of his father.

Sami looked at the picture long after she had hung up from Kacie. This was the family she had dreamed of having for so many years when she had been growing up. When EJ came over to place his arms around her, gazing at the picture as well they both knew a sense of contentment in a life that had not gone stale, just well aged like fine wine!

Authors note: last one of this series, and I hope it concludes with finally what we all want,,an EJami love story starting!

For fun, as I had to go back through these stories to look up stuff, I am going to put a quiz in here for those of you who have read them all..each chapter will have a little question or two from prior installments..see if you remember..I mean this has been a year long journey!

1. what was the name of the first book Sami authored?

2. what horrid food does EJ like?

Chapter II

Ace slung the backpack over his shoulder as he climbed into the bus. In about six hours he would arrive in Buenos Aires, and give Justin a surprise. Looking at the program in his hand, he was proud to see his brothers' picture in a winner's circle photograph from the prior years Gran Premiro De La Republica Argentina! As he read details from the race, he saw that it was fifty three laps for about one hundred ninety seven miles, and the course was a twisty series of turns through the city along with a couple of straight aways where he knew Justin was never beaten.

Figuring he would get in too late to disturb Justin and his girlfriend, Ace decided he would find a hostel, and lay out his sleeping bag for the night. It was also time to take a shower, as he looked down at his clothes and rubbed the growth on his cheeks. It had been a few days, but he had jumped into that mountain spring yesterday, January was warm down here, and the water had been inviting and refreshing after his long day of hitchhiking with local famers. By now he spoke pretty fair Spanish, and could get by in Portuguese, as well as German, and when he looked up to see who he was sitting beside, a pair of beautiful green eyes looked back at him, which pleased him no end until her heard her whisper "voce cheira como pexes rotted".

He looked at her in surprise, but as he saw her eyes on his backpack with the flag of both American and Britain on it, he figured she probably took him for someone with no other language skills but English, and decided for her rudeness he deserved to have a bit of fun with her.

She was a redhead, her hair braided and coiled in a bun on top of her head. She was dressed like she was a country girl headed to the big city, a dress of flowered prints, with a big white collar. Her feet were encased in a pair of comfortable but yet serviceable sandals. When he looked at her hands, he saw she was not manicured, the nails looked as though they were accustomed to work. She was not one of the daughters of the wealthy who bought cheap land in Bolivia and Argentina, she was of working class stock. However, she seemed to feel she could look down on someone else who looked a bit worse for wear, and for that Ace was going to make her uncomfortable as well.

"Pardon, me ma'am, but I just have to get these socks changed!" as he said the words in English, he reached into his rucksack and pulled out a change of socks, while taking his old ones off slowly and deliberately, knowing they were exactly as she described, they did smell like rotting fish! He dropped them on the floor next to her feet, smirking as she quickly tucked her daintly clunky sandals under her seat, away from the pungent clothing. Seeing as he had not bothered her enough, he then pulled out a somewhat cleaner t-shirt than the one he had on. He put it to his nose, sniffed a moment, but decided to turn it inside out for a better presentation. The one he had on was removed, and he put the new one on, turning to her and asking in Portuguese, "est gua algum melhor fait?

Her face turned several shades of pink then blushed to complete rose as she realized he had understood her rude remark.

Her English was good, but heavily accented with the flavors of both Portuguese and German, as she stammered out, "I am so sorry..I have not been feeling well..I should not have been so rude, and I did not think that you would understand me of course, but that was another bad supposition on my part.."every word she was able to get out was stammered, and totally given over to embarrassment.

It was really a waste of breath. She did not need to say anything at all really, for Ace was now looking into her eyes, seeing them as so green that he compared them to some of the jade he had seen being mined in Bolivia, with lashes not coated with mascara, framed only with a fringe of the same auburn color that crowned her head. Her complexion had a smattering of freckles, but set against a skin tone that was almost translucent with its clarity and ivory tint. Once he focused on the movement of her lips as she talked, finally he heard what she was saying. It was an effort for him to refrain from putting a finger to her lips to see if they were as soft as they looked,

"I have been a little nauseated since yesterday morning, and I did not have time to find something to eat at the last stop..again, please do not mind me, I know how hard it is when you are traveling as you are, we get many students in this area, please accept my apology!"

Ace reached once more into his rucksack, bringing out a zippered bag which he set on the tray table from the seat. He winked at her, then brought forth some fruit, mango, grapes, and a couple of oranges. Rummaging a bit more, he produced three sandwiches of meat and cheese which did not smell like rotted fish to her at all. Her hunger rose up with the glands in her mouth, and she turned away. It would be impolite to stare at him as he ate.

"My name is Ace Wells, and if I am going to have lunch with you, I really would like to know your name."He began to divvy up the food, putting a sandwich and two fruits on her side, and the same on his. The third sandwich was put back with the other fruit. It might be awhile before they would get another chance to get off and find anything else. He also had a large bottle of water, which he poured into a metal mug. He gave her the bottle and kept the mug for himself.

"I cannot accept, you will need this for your journey..I will provision myself at the next stop.."

"Which the map says is three hours away, and has no services..just eat ok, I would not feel right eating in front of you anyway..all I want in exchange is your name and maybe some conversation to pass the time on the ride..is that too much to ask?" His smile twinkled at her, and for the first time she noticed how nice looking he was. He was tall, at least six feet, with blonde hair that was bleached almost white by the sun. The blue eyes that he used to wink at her were enhanced by the long dark brown lashes. Tanned, and wearing khaki shorts that showed the length of his long legs, he was like a lot of the American or British tourists she had seen pass through, but the hunger overruled her reticence and she gave in.

"My name is Eva, and yes, I would like to share your lunch, if you allow me to repay you with a lunch when we get to Buenos Aires then?'

"Deal, Eva, now do you want turkey or roast beef?"

Authors note: those questions were so much fun, I want to ask more! And they will be harder!

1. name of first person to die in the series? Who killed him?

2. name Sami's designer? Her publishing agent?

3. what did Samis engagement ring from EJ look like-what series did he give it to her in?

4. what feature does EJ like Sami's clothes to have and why?

5. where were Justin and Jessica born?

Chapter III

"What was the average running speed on that lap?" Justin removed his helmet, looking to his crew manager. When the number was flashed at him, he groaned. It seemed to slow down each time he ran it again. The course was one long straightaway uphill, one down hill, and those were where he was losing it. The curves were where he gained speed again, and nothing he tried seemed to work. They were going to have to reevaluate the race strategy.

"We have to eliminate one of these pit stops, that will make it up", Lou had been checking out the other cars who were getting faster times, and the only difference seemed to be they had gone to one fewer stop.

"Ok, put the harder tire on, I will give up the speed, let's try it and see if we get a better result." Justin walked around to shake the hand of his crew, and to thank them for the way they had hung around.

"Guys, we are gonna take this, and I don't want any of you to have any doubts, by the way where is Lorenzo? His eyes searched the crew to find one of his teams engine mechanics, but all of the crew looked at him sheepishly, before Lou stepped up.

"He quit on us today, but I have his replacement already, in fact she is already in the garage getting the back up tuned and ready."

Justin had been having problems with his lead machinic, but he was not prepared for the words "she" to come out of Lou's mouth, and even less prepared for the grease stained brunette who came bounding over to him, her eyes full of the admiration she had long held for the son of EJ Wells! He was almost as good as his Dad, and she had heard the stories from her father about how great he had been, to land this position was her dream come true!

Her hand was out in greeting, and her exuberance was out from her mouth and grating on his nerves before he had a chance to collect himself.

"Justin Wells, this is such an honor! And let me tell you that back up engine is on! If you need it, it is sooo ready..in fact I think maybe you might think about putting it in and letting us do a once over on this one before the race, I thought I heard a little something in this one that just does not sound quite right! I saw you in Hungary! But that track is so narrow and dusty, you may have gotten a little engine plug from the dust, so say the word and we can get it pulled and checked out..I would work overnight if needed, you just say the word! I mean this is such an honor..I told Lou my dad worked on your Dad's cars..you just ask your Dad..ask him about Stanley Schoefeld! He taught me everything he knew, and what he didn't know, I went to the Ferrari School..graduated top in my class.." as she kept explaining her Curriculum Vitae, his frown grew deeper in annoyance.

"Justin, this is Phaedra Schoefeld, and I have just put her on the crew, she has had some pretty good experience, and as she said, her father worked for your Dad in his day. I vouch for her work so far", Lou was not backing down from his choice as he saw the look on Justins face go from doubt to sheer irritation.

"How old are you?..uh..Phay..what was that again?"

Now it was her turn to be irritated. "Same age as you, I am twenty five, I started in the garages when I was twelve. It was where I wanted to be. So my Da' let me hang out and he taught me most of it, but then when I left grammar school I went into the Tech school for Ferrari. Tops in my class there..as I said..and the name is Phaedra. My mom was into mythology, but don't go looking it up and searching for similarities, it is just a name after all." Her accent was English, probably he guessed from the Midlands, no posh London accent like his present girlfriend, Jillian.

As she talked, her hands went up to redo the pony tail that held back her

mane of chestnut hair. Somehow this gesture made Justin even more upset, and he threw his helmet into the seat of his car and walked away.

Lou had watched this exchange with a bemused smile. Phaedra had come on to him just as strong, but when he set her the task of retuning the backup engine, as he watched her every move, he had to admire her skill, and just general ease and love of what she was doing. No nick or blemish on any part escaped her notice, and that was what was needed in this business, the eye for the small unnoticeable detail. She had convinced him, and it was his job to keep the crew slots full with the most competent people he could find. She filled the bill, and Justin would have to come around to his way of thinking, there just were not that many mechanics around. Lorenzo had not been reliable, his love of the late nights and the women had finally taken its' toll, his work had become sloppy. That was a way to kill someone in this business.

"Hey, you did great, and he is gonna see that soon, don't worry kid!" he put his arm around her shoulders and both of them watched as Justin made his way up to the young woman waving to him from the stands. Phaedra looked at her, a beautiful platinum blonde, she was wearing all white, her tight shirt ending in a knot on her tanned and toned midriff. When Justin had reached to hug and kiss her, she had pushed him away, then brushed off her white Capri outfit, the gesture said a lot, and Lou grimaced. "I have yet to see what he sees in that little bitch!"

Phaedra looked down at her greasy overalls, then to her hands with the blackened nails. She did not wonder what Justin saw in the woman at all..she had been used to seeing that type of woman around the tracks of the world all her life. Luckily, her father had married her mother loving her for the person she was, not some beauty queen, and his values were the ones Phaedra had listened to, so she had never been jealous of the track groupies, her sense of herself was strong.

Authors note: sorry for rushing this along, but I am kind of behind..if I am going to get this done by Mid Sept.

1. Name Tony's evil sidekick/henchman (note, this may have been Andres..lol just never revealed )

2. Name Lucas love interest in Africa

3. What country were Ace and Kacie born in?

4. What was the name of the revolutionary militant who captured EJ, Harris, Chandler, and Kate in Africa?

5. What was the country they were captured in?

Chapter IV

"Get up sleepy head!" Grant was pulling at the covers on Jessica's head, which made her burrow even deeper under. In this above all things she was her mothers daughter, and hated rising early. Her alarm clock was always set for three settings, the preliminary send off, the best get up now if you do not want to have to break speed limits getting to work, or now, what was going off and known as "the death alarm"!

When he saw nothing else was going to do it, he grabbed for the water glass by her bedside and dribbled it onto her face, then waited for the sputtering wake up that would mean he had to run for it.

"Grant, damn you! Why can't you just let the alarm do the work for you, I will get up when it finishes and you know it!" she reached for the cloth he was handing to her to wipe the damp from her face and hair, grabbing hold of her robe at the same time. Taking the cup of coffee he was handing over to her, she gulped the liquid then looked at the clock once again before gasping and running for the bath to shower and get ready. She was due out of Heathrow in two hours, and knew it would be close in the traffic this morning.

"We seem to be on the same schedule for the whole week, I am first cabin once more, but no layover for me, I turn right around. Looks like you get to spend another two nights in San Francisco..your sister will like that I bet."

"Grant, see if you can get someone to switch, we can take Kacie out on the town with us. Poor girl never has any fun, always doing that research stuff. She is way too serious."

"Jess, you know she doesn't do the club scene..what will we take her out to do?" Grant was not in favor of the idea, but laying over in San Francisco did have its' perks. He could taste the seafood and sourdough bread already. Pulling out his blackberry, he began calling other attendants who might take over for him. Success was his on the third try, as his friend and co worker Rowan had a wife who was expecting, and he liked the idea of coming home to her without having to stay in San Francisco.

He listened to the familiar sounds of Jess as she finished off her grooming routine in the bathroom. After two years, he knew how long she would spend in the shower, how long drying her hair and arranging it into the neat French twist at the base of her neck, as well as how long she would take to apply the bit of mascara, and lip gloss which were the only make up she would wear. Her blonde good looks did not need too much dressing up, and she would quickly don her captains uniform, putting on her hat last thing before grabbing her overnite case to be on her way out the door. It was considered bad tone for her to be seen with him in the area of the crews lounge, she was an officer, he a flight attendant, and the old rules of engagement were in strict force for British Airways.

It might have been nice to have woken a bit early and made love, it seemed as though it had been awhile now. Grant thought back a bit, until he looked at the calendar and saw it had been three weeks.

"Damn," he thought, "bad as married folks! I better talk to her about that, hell, wonder why she hasn't talked to me about it? He slipped his shoes on , and after a respectable amount of time to insure she would make it into Heathrow enough ahead of him to make it seem plausible that they did not live together, he went down to the garage to pull out his car and make his way in to work.

Jessica left her car with the attendant, and made her way into the airport faculty tunnel. Her brisk walk, and her trim attractive figure was not lost on many of the males, but she was unaware of all their stares. Her Dad was on the phone with her as she trotted along, and once again trying to make her an offer she could not refuse.

"But why Jess? You can be here and fly the company jets and make the same money as there..come home, your mom misses you! I miss you!" she smiled at the plaintive tone in his voice, but there was one person who he had not mentioned. Matthew, one of her fathers right hand men, and once upon a time her body guard and her hero was also man she had loved since she had been a child. Each time she returned home for visits and he would walk into a room, she had to fight to keep her eyes off of him. She knew hey would never even think about her that way since he was eighteen years older than her, but her heart could not stop what it felt. Matthew was someone it hurt to even look at, so she avoided the entanglement and the pain by just not going back to Salem very often.

There was a picture of the two of them on the wall, taken at a birthday party, when she was eight years old, he was holding her hands, while letting her feet rest on his shoes as he moved and let her dance with him. The look in her eyes was complete adoration, and if she could have lived forever in that moment, she would have been forever content. Then as it happened, he married Chelsea Brady, and she had even been in the wedding party as a junior bridemaid. Her fourteen year old heart had been broken, but only her sister had heard her crying herself to sleep that night.

"Dad, I am happy here, Grant and I are probably going to get married next year, or the year after, not sure really, and then we will buy a house, then give you and Mom some grandkids!"

"You know your mother will hate long distance grandmothering!"

"Ok, ok, on the grandmothering thing, we will have to work something out I know! Now I have to get onboard and do pre flight..so chill ok, and Kacie is having dinner with Grant and I tonight, so try and get to San Francisco with Mom, we can make it a fivesome!"

"Ok Trouble, that is a date. I will give Kace a call, and arrange to pick all of you up, one Limo with a sun roof..remember that in Las Vegas? How does that sound?"

"Daddy, I love you! Ok, call me at around five your time in California, Grant and I will check into the hotel and get a nap, you get Kacie, and pick us up at the Fairmont!"Crisply, she snapped her phone shut and gave a jaunty little salute to the attendant as she made her way down the jetway and into the cockpit.

"Authors note: So Kacie is a psychologist, Justin a race car driver, Jessica a airline pilot, and Ace is a world traveler. Sami is still involved in her books and the long running soap opera based on her first novel, and EJ is in charge of a lot of corporate entities, which may or may not be completely free of any dark and dangerous underpinnings ...

1. Name the families pet's names (both found in hearts and diamonds)

2. what were the names of the wives of Mondu? (rains of redemption)

3. How did Lexie and Kate kill Mondu?

4. Name the family household help (hint..there are 4 named)

5. Name the woman Austin cheated on Carrie with (Quality of Mercy)

I will give all answers when this is finished!

Chapter V

"Yes, put me through to his voice mail, and I will now leave the seventh message that he has not bothered to return." Sami was gritting her teeth, while EJ sat across from her, his long legs crossed while he smiled at her quiet determination. The car was waiting for them, but he had to feel sorry for the executive producer who had not taken or answered her calls. Two years ago, she had asked for and been given title to the ownership of "Our Days, Our Lives" from Mythic, but until this year, when another new writer had been hired, and his work had made the show noticed, but for so many wrong reasons, she had more or less let the show run itself. For over twenty years it had sailed along, winning emmys, among the top ten in daytime programming, with good sponsorship revenue going to both her and the network. Now it was next to last, hanging by a thread in the ratings over a show, "Impassioned" which was already on the cancellation list, and Sami was bound and determined to keep her show on the air!

"Samantha, I know you are angry, but are you sure you should terminate him until you have found a replacement?" when she looked at him, her eyes blazing he regretted introducing logical argument at this moment, for she was not going to hear it. EJ sighed, and went back to pulling the files he had to work on out of his folio.

"I have the meeting scheduled with HR as soon as I get there, if the bastard does not even want to take my calls, then I do not feel I owe him anything other than to buy out his contract!"

"Ok Darling, your call of course, but who do you think should take over his job until you do find a replacement?"

The look that came over her face did not make EJ feel exactly calm, her lips pursed, the red coating on them making tiny little folds, as her red tipped nails folded in an almost angelic way in her lap. Not good. He waited a moment, but knew beforehand what she was going to say, and tried in his own mind to line up the defensive arguments, or passionate consultation he would need to change her mind. Then she brought out the big guns.

"EJ, love," her body settled down upon his lap, as her arms went round his neck while her nose and mouth nuzzled into his ear, "It will probably take a lot of re writes on the show to bring it round, I have a lot of ideas, and I was forwarding them to Dryman, but he just was not listening to me..so how about we arrange to stay out here in L.A. for a few weeks, after he cleans out his desk, I can get with the writing staff, and the production crew, then I just know we can turn this around.." then she turned the smile on him that she knew he had never been able to resist in twenty five years of marriage..

"No". EJ stood, and steadied her so she would not fall. Then he walked to the window to look out on the window on the haze that was hanging over this city. He hated this town, the smog, the freeways, there was no way he would want to spend several weeks here, and he had even less desire to let her stay out here without him. After more than twenty five years, he found he could not sleep unless she was next to him, which was not easy for him to admit.

"EJ, I know you don't like it here, but we could go home on weekends, and your office can keep in touch with you here..we can see Kacie more easily..and I ..."she saw the stubborn set of his jaw, and slowed down her movements to capitalize on the fact that that at fifty five, he was still a man of tremendous sexual appetites. He was no longer looking at her face, his eyes had moved lower to the sway of her hips as she took his hand and placed it on the top button of her dress. "would be willing to bet we could find lots of things to do out here..I mean you have never been to Disneyland..and that is a shame..you have never seen Frontierland,"her hand moved his to her breast, and when he involuntarily caressed it, she closed her eyes in pleasure.

"And there are the other sites you need to see once in your life as well, I mean there is the Hollywood Bowl," she move his hand to the roundness of her buttocks as she gave him a tour of all he would see if he would only agree to this one little wish of hers"

As they began to dress once more, she was calling the house to arrange for some more clothing to be sent out on another plane. Blowing a kiss at EJ, she skipped out to the elevator for her meeting with HR at the studio to fire her excutive producer Stanley Dryman, and take over from him. This was going to be so much fun!

EJ ran a comb through his tousled hair, straightened his tie, and called Harris to arrange his teleconference meeting. Then since he was going to be forced to stay in this hell hole of a city, he made some more calls. If he had to be here, he wanted to be able to breath without inhaling this chewable air, so he wanted to be on the waterfront. Looking up the brokers for some livable vessels took more time than concluding the deal on the one he was going to move them into that very day. If Samantha could make demands, then so could he. For the time they were going to be in Southern California, they would live on the very comfortable looking mid sized yacht that was moored in Santa Monica Pier. He was certain she was going to love it!

Chapter VI

Her message light was blinking when she got home, so after she meticulously hung her jacket, fixed a cup of tea, and opened her mail, Kacie pushed the button so she could verify what she already knew.

"Hey, Sis, Grant and I are in town for a two day layover, staying in 423 at the Fairmont, give us a call, we want to meet for dinner tomorrow night..you know Grant and his seafood fixes..plus Mom and Dad are on there way here as well, they have to go back to L.A. the same night though, but they wanted to have dinner with us as well..so call me!"

Sighing, Kacie knew it would not be a good evening out for her now. It would be lovely to see her sister, and her mother and dad, but Grant was another story. From the moment she had first met him he had made her uneasy. He was someone she had not been able to read, and that bothered her for some inexplicable reason. It seemed to her that he was not right for her sister, and the feeling went in both directions. Jess had even once accused her of snobbery, "Do you dislike him because he works as a flight attendant, and I am a pilot?"

"To tell the truth, I never even thought about his work, but does it bother you, I mean you brought it up, not me?" and when she looked at her sister, it was plain to see, it was something that bothered Jess. "If I were you, Jess, I would not let that worry you. Grant will do alright in life, of that I am sure." Kacie had no basis for this from what she could read about him, but she still had the feeling. Her sister had looked at her puzzled when she said this, but it had hit a nerve.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Sis, I love Grant just the way he is!" and quickly the subject had been changed. Kacie had wondered then what exactly her sister did feel for Grant. Something strongly told her it was not a love that could sustain her, or make her feel alive like the love they saw with their parents.

"Oh man, this is the best bread in the world!" EJ smiled as he slathered his slice with another cube of butter. Both EJ and Grant had asked the waiter to bring a second, and then a third basket of the San Francisco specialty. Sami looked at the two of them with envy. EJ still was the same weight he had been when he married her, seemingly with no effort at all, and Grant just naturally was built trim. The five of them were dining al fresco at the Wharf, and about to be served the first bottle of wine when the cell phone in Jess's purse began to ring. "Oh, no! Yes, of course, just let me get a cab over there now!"

Grant knew the look well, and offered to ride with her to the airport, it was a case of another pilot taking ill, and Jess was the only one in the area. It was her job, and her duty to get there as quickly as possible!

"No, you have to stay here and get Kacie back to Oakland, and Mom and Dad to their plane, I will take a cab to the Fairmont and then on to SFO! Man what perfect timing!" Jessica was dependable to a fault, and in forty five minutes she was in the cockpit, doing pre flight.

It put a damper on the night, but the meal was still wonderful. Kacie had ordered up a full king crab, lustily going after the crustacean delight, and had not noticed the little dribble of butter that traced its way down her chin. Grant did, and picked up a linen, without thinking about it and wiped it off. Her eyes had met his and for the first time he saw how gentle she looked when her lashes swooped down to shadow her cheeks. It was so sudden, the little tingle he felt, and he quickly removed his hand from her chin, uncertain of why he should feel this spark.

What gave him a tingle, was something else entirely for Kacie. She had felt it down to her toes, and the fluttery feeling in her stomach was something she had never felt before. Kacie never even thought about men, it was her work, her parakeet, and that about summed up her life. She had never even really dated before. Her time in college was full of studying, and she was too young to be considered by the men at Berkeley. Now she was aware that a man could awaken feelings within her, but why did it have to be her own sisters boyfriend that had done this to her.

Several bottles of wine later, both of them had seemed to have forgotten the moment. When the check was presented, EJ had looked at the time, and cursed! "Damn, this was fun, but we need to get back..look..Grant..can you see Kacie home, and Samantha and I will just get to the airport on our own!"

And that was how another soap opera story began. It was so totally innocent, Grant hailed a cab to see Kacie back to her apartment in Berkeley, and in the darkness of the cab they had started a conversation. It took only a few minutes for Kacie to know what Grant wanted out of life, and where he was headed. He could not believe how easy she was to talk to, and he opened up about how his dream was to start his own restaurant, as cooking and food were a passion for him. This was something he had never talked about with Jess, but for Kacie he was laying it all in the space of a twenty minute ride. Which should have been all it took, until the unfortunate accident on the bridge that stretched it out to two hours.

"Well, maybe we should not have anymore, but I did save the last of the wine from dinner," Kacie had rummaged in her large handbag to bring out the last bottle of Pouilly Fouisse which had been opened, but not consumed. She handed it over to him and he removed the cork, taking a big swig, before giving it back to her. Once again, she dribbled, and once again, he had his handkerchief out to wipe it up. Except he did not use it, instead he kissed the spot where the wine was glistening on her chin, and she was lost. Her experiences with kissing had mostly been on her wrist! That was how her young friends had told her was how to practice. But this was not her wrist, and the heat melted her insides. Her hands found themselves clutching at him, and his hands found places that increased the heat as well as made her mind shut down as to what she was doing..when the cab reached her building, Grant had thrown several bills at the driver, and pulled her out, kissing her to him once more.

It took only a few minutes to get inside, and after that, no other thoughts entered either of their minds except to fufill this ache that was rapidly killing both of them

If she had been able to think, Kacie would have been shocked to admit that as she enjoyed her first time making love, the fact that it was with her sisters fiancé was blanked out from her mind!

Authors note:

Oh dear, not many perfect scores so far on the tests lol..

1. What was the pet that Ace wanted his parents to acquire for him (meas for the crown)

2. What was the outfit Sami wore in Germany that EJ loved ?

3. Where was the prison that they had to break Kristen out of for
Stefano?

4. Where does old man Brady die?

5. How did Caroline die?

Now these are easy!

Chapter VII

Eva had fallen asleep, but Ace had not minded that her head had fallen to rest upon his shoulder. He surmised she must have gotten more used to his smell by now, and he held still enough for her to rest as he read the book he had started the day before. The bus was on a stretch of road that was fairly smooth, she seemed to have finally relaxed a bit after she had a bit of food in her ,and to him it was as though her face became more softly defined as it went in and out of the shadows of the trees lining the highway.

The dress she was wearing opened up a bit at the collar, and it slid a bit under her collarbone. When it did, Ace could see the huge bruise it had covered up. The injury was mottled, purple, yellow, as well as green while mixed with a vivid red as well. Someone had obviously beat her quite severely, since as he looked at the inside of her arm, the imprints of a hand, with fingers that had dug into her flesh was visible as well. Now his interest was piqued, so he began a more thorough assessment of her while she softly sighed in her sleep. He looked to the floor and saw that she carried with her only a small rather worn looking handbag, and a bundled and twine tied cardboard box that carried her belongings. Whatever she did own seemed to be in that box, and it was not much. Just before the bus pulled into the Buenos Aires station, she started and awoke with his eyes still upon her, and she felt his stare falling upon the exposed flesh of her collarbone. She quickly adjusted the dress, and bent to arrange her belongings so she could get off the bus and find a way to get away from his probing stare.

"How did that happen?" his voice was soft, waiting for the lie he knew she was thinking up even at that moment.

"Umm..I was working on the dairy, and a cow kicked me!" That was believable enough she figured, what would he know of cows?

"Nice try, but did the cow have an opposable thumb as well?"he was looking pointedly at the marks on her underarm area.

The angry look she shot at him was punctuated by her sharp cry of pain as she bent to retrieve her box as the bus hit a bump, and she was forced to move her arm to steady herself.

"Are you alright?" he was now more concerned about what else she was covering up, as he saw the bright sheen of painful tears brimming up in her eyes. Physical pain was not her only problem, he could see real fear in her face as well.

"Just let me be, I will be fine!" The bus had pulled up into the terminal, and now all the passengers were trying to be the first ones off, Eva was trying as well, but Ace decided he would just as soon wait for everyone else to alight, and by not moving from her way, he decided the same thing for her. His actions were plain to her, so she just sat back in the seat, she would wait as well, but she was not looking or speaking to him again/

"Where are you going to be staying?" his question was answered by silence. Once again he looked at her, and decided she probably had not the money to stay anywhere.

"Do you have some relatives picking you up?" he looked past her out the windows of the bus, and could easily make out that no one seemed to be waiting for anyone to get off this bus now.

She was trembling as he kept probing and probing, not letting her catch up to his questions as he asked them,but would figure out the answer for himself as her reactions would register. Finally he seemed to put it all together, after looking at her hands and seeing the small white line where her wedding band had been removed, and the tan of her skin had stopped.

"Was it your husband who did that to you?" he pointed to the collar area, and the bruised skin on her arms. "Come with me, it should be looked at by a doctor, let me help you, something might be broken!" It was still his choice to move or not move and let her out of the bus without a scene, and she gave up, nodded, and let him lift her things out with him.

The little clinic office was not much, but the doctore was kind and gentle. When he came out to Ace he told him that with a few days rest, she would likely be fine. The collar bone was not broken, just badly bruised, although one rib was cracked and he had bandaged it up. The bill took almost all the cash Ace had on him, and he could see he would not have access to his ATM as he had used up his whole allowance for the day.

"Justin? Ace here..yes I made it in..look I am in a bit of a pickle here, I planned on staying at a hostel, but something has happened..any chance me and a friend can bunk with you tonight? But I really need a bed, not a bed roll situation, I can explain when I get there. Now for the other favor, can you send someone to pick us up? " when he gave him the address, Justin had shook his head..trust Ace to end up in a part of Buenos Aires where you could lose your life along with the contents of your backpack.

"Look, stay inside at the restaurant and bar on the corner, that is not a good place to hang out..I will be there in half an hour!"

Ace looked around him, and for the first time he noticed what his brother was talking about. Eva had been given a couple of pain killers by the doctore, and she was finally smiling again. When a couple of the local youths began to walk towards them, Ace placed his hand on the small of her back and walked her quickly to the restaurant door.

"Umm order what you like, but when it gets here, eat really slow until my brother gets here and can pay for it..understand?"

"Thash a lovely offer Ash..I am really hungry..can I have something to drink as well..I would love a beer! Or two maybe..I have not had a beer in like a year.."

Ace gave the order to the waiter who promptly brought back two mugs of beer, but found once he went to the restroom and came back, she had drank both of them down.

"You should slow down on those..especially with the pain killer the doc gave you.." but the waiter was arriving with another set of mugs. Her hand had already reached over and she was taking a healthy swig before he could stop her.

He ordered Empanadas for both of them, admiring the efficient dispatch she made of the food. Once done, she licked her fingers, before looking at him shamefacedly.

"If I had not given you that sandwich today, can you please let me know how long it has been since you have eaten? You seem like this is your first meal in a week!"

"About that yes, um is that man your brother? You don't look much alike, but he seems to be heading for us!" When Ace turned, she quickly took hold of his mug and drained it.

The brothers embraced each other, Ace whispering into his ear, and turning to introduce his brother to his traveling companion. Justin picked up the tab, at the same time Eva stood to offer her hand. Ace saw the direction she was falling in, and not skipping a beat, he was ready as she fell into his arms, with her eyes closed.

"Ok, brother, I see you still keep your women on the edge of their seats with excitement!" Justin waited for the change from the waiter, putting the tip on the table, and motioning for Ace to follow him out the door to the waiting car.

"This is not like you think, she may have had a couple of beers too many along with the pain meds.

"Wonderful..she is drunk and drugged..Good work Ace! Mom would be proud of you!"

"Shut up..just get us to a bed..I am beat."

"No problem, bed coming up!"

Authors note:

Sorry I did say these would be multiple choice:

1. What is the machines name that keeps people alive a. Eagle b. phoenix c. turtle

2. what disease did EJ maybe cause to happen in Chez Rouge a. chickenpox b. herpes c. e coli

3. Who took Lexie to Tony a. Abe b. Tek c. Theo

4. Where did Sami and EJ have a family holiday in England which included a beach picnic a. St. Ives b. Southhampton c. Blackpool

5. How did Sami kill the last member of the council she was ordered to:

a. gunshot, b. knife...c. poison tipped horse crop

Chapter VIII

"I have had it! What is this? A flophouse for people you pick up off the street Justin? I swear if you don't get in there and get that man out of my bathroom I am leaving you right this minute!" Jillian stood with the towel she had wrapped around her before stepping into the bathroom to find Ace just stepping out. He was naturally uninhibited, it came from having to share showers with lots of people of both sexes as he had traveled around. He has stood there, not covering his nakedness, just smiling at her in a form of greeting. His main interest in showering was to remove the travel grime and all he had done when he saw her enter, was ask if she liked the water really hot, as he would leave it on in that case!

Justin surveyed the scene, glad that Ace had decided it was time to pull a towel off the rack and pull it around the lower part of his body. However Jillian was not going to be placated. This was her personal bathroom in the house, and even the servants asked her permission to enter to clean it. Justin had indulged the womans petty little quirks, since she had a few other qualities that he found quite pleasing. Today, though, he was not quite as patient with her, since his brother was a guest in his house Jillian did not own it, as she seemed to act like, and along with a couple of other reasons, Justin was as willing for her to leave as she was to threaten it.

"WELL?" her dainty little foot tapped in agitation as she waited for Justin to just do her bidding. Ace looked down, not giving even a glance as he seamlessly slipped on a softly tailored pair of jeans, and a white button down shirt.

"Where will you go Jillian? I can have your things sent over..perhaps call Kyle? I think at the last race you and he seemed to be getting along pretty well.." Justin was not kidding, and neither was she, as she snatched the cell phone from his hand and in minutes was making arrangements to have Kyle pick her up. To her, it was time to move on, and Kyle Brandter was the new star of the tracks. Jillian was the trophy all of them aspired to as well.

Turning in a huffy way, she made for the end of the hall to the room she shared with Justin..Ace of course was enjoying the whole spectacle, not resisting the urge to put a part of his foot on her towel and bringing the whole thing down to the floor. To her credit, she was non plussed, her grey eyes just glared at the two brothers as she deliberately picked it up, facing them frontally as she re wrapped the bath sheet and continued on her way.

"You are a bastard! I guess we both are too much like our Dad! Really, she was getting to be a pain..so I am glad you decided you liked her bathroom best..however is there something wrong with your in your room?"

At that moment, Eva emerged from the bedroom, her hair still a bit damp, as her fingers deftly redid the braids she had been wearing. She was again wearing the same dress she had traveled in, and both Justin and Ace noticed it. She saw them inspect her, as she could tell that Ace had changed into more fashionable clothing. The jeans he was Her slight embarrassment was not lost on either of the brothers.

"Eva, we met last night, but you may have been to..uh..tired to recall. I am Justin Wells, Ace and I are brothers. Welcome to our home, this house does belong to Ace as well, he just spends most of his time elsewhere..Did you sleep well?" Justin had the natural grace of his father in times like these, and Ace was almost in awe of how well his brother was doing to make Eva comfortable. Then Justin slipped in his coup de grat..."I am sorry, but we seem to have left your luggage behind..and in Buenos Aires, the thieves are all around..so I have taken the liberty of having some clothing sent over from one of the stores. It was of course Ace's idea.." Justin covered up for his brother and Ace let him do it while agreeing with everything said.

Eva was not saying anything, but the night in a bed, along with a shower and the medicine for her pain had lightened her mood considerably. She had some time to think about her situation, and for now, it was as if she had landed in a butter crock. All she wanted now was...

"Breakfast? Listen, the clothes are in the closet in your room, please change and the servants will get yours and see that they are laundered. You and Ace go eat, I have to get going to the track and see what my mechanics have managed to hash up with my number two engine!"

When Justin walked in to the garage, Lou was head to head with his newest mechanic, but the sight of her rounded bottom as she bent to the task at hand was another irritation to Justin. The morning breakup had his attitude towards all women tending to mysoginistic, and her natural perkiness was not helping matters!

"There you are! Lou and I have been waiting for hours! We wanted you to hear this..come here!" her smile was wide, with even white teeth. Some of her dark hair had escaped from the triangle scarf she had secured it with. Justin scowled, after the morning he had just gone through, perky was not what he wanted. Ignoring her completely, he turned his attention to Lou.

"Will number two be ready for action?"

"I just told you, listen to it, come here". She was jumping up and down in her excitement, when he coldly turned to her.

"When I address you, I assure you, there will be no doubt of it, right now, I want to hear from my lead man. When you are lead man, I will let you know, but lead man usually connotates a man is involved." His voice was flat, but cold..leaving no doubt as to his disdain for her abilities.

Her face became still, but she calmly took a rag to wipe her hands after dipping them into the degreasing goop. She took her time, swiping each and every finger while Lou looked at her saying nothing. Justin took it in, close to admiring the dignified way she was handling it, but still glad he had shown her what her place was.

"You know how to reach me Lou, if you have questions." With that, she picked up her handbag and walked out, not looking back for a moment.

Lou released the hood catch, covering the engine housing with a slam.

Then he faced Justin to let him know the why and wherefore of what had just happened.

"I sure hope we can convince her to come back, since she is the one who put this damn thing together. She knows every nut and bolt in this thing, she machined each one, she put it together, she stayed up all night making sure it would purr like a kitty. Justin, if she walks, you may have some big problems if number one fails".

The man who Justin trusted with his life and his livelihood was now disgusted with his boss, he had chosen Phaedra, only to find out that his judgement was being called into question. Justin had never doubted him before, and it hurt.

Justin heard the slam of the door as she had left the building, and common sense returned to him. He ran out, seeing her get into her car, as she roared her engine to life, screeching out of the parking lot, and Justin saw his only recourse was to run to his own car and catch her up! Within seconds, as they both weaved in and out of the city traffic onto the mountain road ringing the city, he saw it would not be as easy as he had imagined.