Part 1

Carly closed the front door behind her and leaned on it. It can't be true. He wouldn't do this she thought. It was just something they made up to sensationalize the story. But even as Carly thought this, she knew in her heart it was true. She wasn't aware of the tears streaming down her cheeks as she stood in the entrance to the dark, silent house. After a few minutes she slowly began climbing the stairs. She knew what she had to do.

This feeling in the pit of her stomach had been nagging at her for weeks. She had just tried to ignore it because she knew what it would mean to listen to that feeling, but here she was anyway, alone with her heart shattered. When she walked into the bedroom the tears started once again. She was still in such a state of shock that she was barely aware of her movements. It was as if she was on auto-pilot. She took her suitcase down from the shelf in the closet and laid it on the bed.

It didn't take her long to pack her belongings. She had once joked that was the upside to having people trying to kill you, you packed light. Now it just meant that she was on her own again. She looked around once more to make sure she had gotten everything. She wasn't going to bother leaving a note. It wasn't like he would be coming back to read it. She reached into her pocket to pull out her keys and her fingers found the slender object she had placed in there. She had intended on showing him when she got home.

Then she had heard the news report on the radio in the car. "Hope Brady, convicted of 3 counts of Attempted-Murder and 6 counts of Assault with intent to do Bodily Harm has escaped from Salem Correctional Facility. Mrs. Brady was aided in the escape by her husband Police Commissioner Bo Brady. They are now on the run and are both considered fugitives." The radio announcer had continued his report, but Carly couldn't remember anything he said after hearing that Bo was now on the run with Hope.

She removed the object from her pocket and looked at it sadly, then placed it on the dresser. Then she removed her key from the key ring and also set it down on the dresser. She wouldn't need it anymore. With one last look around Carly picked up her suitcase and walked out of the house.

Fifteen minutes later Carly walked up to the front desk of the Salem Inn and checked in. She had called from the car and asked for a room. She didn't care that her eyes were red and swollen from crying. She knew she must look awful, but there was no one for her to look good for anymore. She followed the bell hop into the elevator not even noticing the tight, enclosed space for once. They rode in silence until the bell dinged telling them they had reached their floor. Carly continued to follow the bell hop until he reached room 813 and opened the door to lead her inside. When he had set her suitcase down, Carly tipped the young man and shut the door behind him.

Neither of them had seen the man at the end of the hall when Carly had entered her room. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw her. He wondered what she was doing there and because he was burning with curiosity he decided he would find out. He closed the door to his room and walked to the room he had seen the bell hop take her into. He looked at the number and raised his hand to knock when he heard what sounded like sobbing coming from inside the room. He leaned forward and put his ear to the door and listened. From inside he could hear Carly crying.

Justin decided he would talk to her later and went back to his room wondering what had happened. He turned on the television just in time to see the breaking new report flashing on the screen and knew why Carly was crying. He knew that he had been a jerk to her for a while, but they had gotten past that and were friends again. And as her friend he felt bad for her. He knew how much she loved Bo and this must have come as a real blow, especially since Christmas was only a week away.

He looked at his watch and realized he was late picking up Adrienne. He had been distracted by seeing Carly. He got his coat and left, but his mind was trying to figure out a way to make this better and easier for Carly. She was his friend after all and he did feel the need to make it up to her for being such a jerk when she had come back to town.

Justin knocked on Adrienne's door and got no answer. He had called her when he left the hotel and she had told him she would be waiting. He had told her he had been distracted and would tell her why he was running late when he saw her. But where was she? Then he heard the door behind him open. He turned and saw Chloe smiling at him.

"If you're looking for Adrienne, she is in here." Chloe held the door open for Justin.

He walked in to see Adrienne holding Daniel and Chloe's baby. Melanie and Daniel were sitting and chatting on the couch. They all looked up at him when he entered.

"I'm glad you are all here." Justin said before anyone could speak.

"What's wrong?" Adrienne asked noticing the worried and preoccupied look on his face.

"Have any of you watched or listened to the news this afternoon?"

They all shook their heads and began to look around at each other.

"What Happened?" Daniel asked.

Justin took a deep breath before answering. "Bo broke Hope out of jail. They are on the run and have been declared fugitives."

Silence greeted his statement for a few moments.

Then Melanie said in a stunned voice, "He did what?" Before Justin could say anything else she went on. "How could he do that? Oh My God, does my mom know?"

Justin nodded and replied, "Judging by the fact that I saw her moving into a room at the Salem Inn and when I went by her room I could hear her crying, I'd say she knows."

"I have to go check on her." Melanie said getting up. "What room is she in?"

Justin paused and then thought if anyone could help Carly through this it would be Melanie.

"813"

Melanie grabbed her coat and took off to see her mother.

Daniel looked at Justin as Chloe took the baby back from Adrienne and said "You're sure it was Carly moving into the Inn?"

Justin nodded.

Chloe looked at Daniel and said, "Maybe we should ask her to stay with us. She shouldn't be alone right now."

Daniel agreed and this time it was Adrienne who spoke up.

"I think you guys should give Carly a day or two to process everything. And maybe Melanie can help her through this. But don't pressure her."

Chloe looked like she wanted to protest when Daniel spoke up. "Ok. We will give her a day or two. Let her think about what she needs to do and then we will be there for her."

Chloe nodded, but didn't look too happy with the thought. With that, Justin and Adrienne left for their date and Daniel and Chloe began to make a plan to help Carly through this latest turn of events.

Bo looked out the window at the snow falling. The trees and ground were blanketed and all around the cabin there wasn't a sound as it was too cold for any animals to be out that evening. It was midnight and it was officially Christmas Eve. He thought back to 20 years before, to the time he and Carly were stuck in a Cabin during a blizzard. He had underestimated her fishing abilities and then burned the fish she had caught. He chuckled slightly at the memory.

"What are you laughing at?" asked Hope, her voice breaking through his thoughts.

"Nothing." Bo replied shaking his head. He had never really talked to Hope about his previous relationship with Carly. All she knew was that he and Carly had been together and engaged when she was presumed dead, but she didn't know any of the details of the relationship. She thought that his feelings for Carly could never match his feelings for her. And she assumed that if he had been married to Carly when she came back, then he would have left Carly for her just as he had left Billie for her.

But Hope couldn't have been more wrong. He knew deep in his heart that he would never have left Carly for anything, not even Hope. He also knew that his love for Carly had and did run deeper than any other love he had known. He just hoped as he looked out the window that Carly knew that as well.

"Bo?"

"What?"

"Are you ok? You've been awfully quiet."

"I'm fine. Just thinking."

"About Carly?" Bo turned and faced his wife and as he looked into her eyes he saw, for the first time, acceptance. "It's ok, you know. I know you love Carly."

"Yes, I do. I do love her."

Hope smiled wistfully. She knew by looking into his eyes that Bo no longer belonged to her. He belonged to Carly now. She could also see he was uncomfortable saying these words to her. "It's ok. My therapist and I talked about this a lot. We discussed our marriage and I realized that neither of us had been happy in a very long time." Bo simply nodded at this assessment, so Hope continued.

"After a lot of very long sessions and a lot of crying, I also realized something else."

"What's that?"

"I realized that although I will always love you, I am not in love with you anymore. Just like you aren't in love with me anymore." She saw the surprised look on Bo's face as she said these words followed by relief. "You're in love with Carly. I could see it in the way you looked at her. And the way you looked whenever anyone so much as mentioned her name. I knew it wasn't just sex for you. I knew I had lost you and I think that is why I was so angry. Because I have always been able to get my way and when I saw you falling in love with her, I knew you wouldn't come back to me if I wanted you to."

She saw Bo open his mouth to say something, but she continued quickly, plowing over his attempt at speech. "It isn't an excuse. I have no excuse for doing the things I did. Yes, the medication made me act out, but it just released my inhibitions and allowed me to do what I never would have done otherwise. It allowed me to act on my anger at not getting my way. And all I can say is I'm sorry."

"I understand, Fancy Face. Really I do. I'm just sorry I hurt you."

"You didn't hurt me, Brady. I hurt myself, and you, by hanging on to you when I knew our marriage was over long ago. And I hurt Carly by not letting you fully move on. And I'm sure she's hurt that you helped me escape and took off with me."

"I'm sure she understands. She's very compassionate and understanding."

"Bo, no woman is that compassionate and understanding. Even if she doesn't show it, I'm sure this hurt her."

Bo nodded miserably, knowing Hope was right. He had hurt Carly by taking off. He had promised himself and her that he wouldn't let anyone hurt her again and he had done it himself.

"Bo, go to her."

Bo looked up at Hope and blinked. "What? Hope you know I can't leave you out here."

"Bo, I can take care of myself. There's plenty of food here. There's plenty of wood for the fire. And we have these disposable cell phones so I can call if there is a problem and you can call and let me know how Ciara is." She saw that he was about to protest so she said what she knew would make him agree.

"Bo tomorrow is Christmas. Carly shouldn't spend it hurt and alone just because you want to protect me. I will be fine. Go spend Christmas with Carly and Ciara. Ciara shouldn't miss out on Christmas with both her parents. Go, I'll be fine."

"Ok," Bo said quietly, finally agreeing. "But you will call me if anything happens or goes wrong. Or if you need anything?"

"I promise."

"Ok. I'll call in to check on you. Make sure you keep that phone on you and charged all the time." Hope nodded. "I will. Now go."

"Merry Christmas, Fancy Face."

"Merry Christmas, Brady."

Bo gathered up his things and with one last look at Hope and a quick smile he left the cabin to go back to his princess. It had been 6 days since he had seen her and he had thought of nothing else since he had left with Hope. He just prayed that she would hear him out as he tried to explain. But more than anything he prayed that she would forgive him.

It was nearly dawn when Bo walked up to the back door of his house. He had parked a couple of streets over and walked through the neighborhood's dark roads so no one would see him. He took a deep breath before unlocking the door and walking into the kitchen. The sun was just beginning to peek through the windows, illuminating the room just enough for Bo to navigate his way through it to the living room door. He knew Carly wouldn't be up yet.

I'll just sneak up there and slip into bed with her. He thought, smiling to himself, and walked through the door. He looked around the living room as the shadows slowly receded from the room. Something was different. He couldn't put his finger on it, but the house felt different. He shook these thoughts and feelings away as he silently made his way through the living room and began to creep up the stairs, making sure he skipped the fourth step. It creaked and he didn't want to wake Carly, at least not in that way.

Bo stopped just before entering the bedroom and said a silent prayer that Carly would forgive him for the events of the past week. He slowly pushed the door, which was slightly cracked, open just enough so he could slip through and he stopped short at the sight of the empty bed. Bo looked around thinking that maybe she was in the bathroom, but he was bothered by the fact that the bed didn't look as though it had been slept in. Maybe she worked late and stayed at the hospital. He thought.

Then he noticed something odd. The door to Carly's closet was slightly ajar. He knew Carly had always had a thing about leaving doors open. She liked them to stay closed. That was just one of her many quirks that he loved. So to see the closet door open worried him. He crossed the room and looked in the closet and saw that it was empty. Then he turned and saw that several of the dresser drawers were also partially open and his heart sank. She was gone. She had left.

Then Bo spotted something lying on the dresser. He walked over and he saw what it was. Sitting next to the key she had left behind was one of those home pregnancy tests, the kind with the digital read out. He picked it up and looked at the word that seemed to be flashing as bright as the lights of Broadway. PREGNANT. He walked over to the bed and slowly sank down onto it still staring at that one word. He didn't know how long he sat there looking at that pregnancy test. They were going to have a baby, he smiled.

His smile quickly faded as he realized that she was gone. I have to find her. He thought frantically. Where would she go? Melanie? No she and Philip are living at Victor's. Daniel and Chloe! He stood up and went over to his nightstand and opened the drawer and removed the small box he had hidden there. He had planned to give it to her Christmas morning and now he would give it to her when he found her. Bo made his way back down the stairs, through the living room and kitchen, across the back yard and before he had realized it, he was in his car on his way to Daniel and Chloe's.