Like clockwork, JJ's eyes opened at exactly 5:30am, his usual wake up time that allowed him time to put in at least an hour of community service in Horton Town Square before going to school if he felt like it. For a few seconds he was disoriented, wondering why he wasn't in his bed. He glanced to his left and saw Parker sleeping soundly in the sleeping bag beside him and it came rushing back. He sat up and looked around the room. All of the children were still asleep and likely would be for another hour, according to what EJ had told him about their usual morning routine. It would give him time to go upstairs to shower and brush his teeth.

Being careful not to disturb any of the slumbering guests JJ shimmied out of his sleeping bag and then crept out of the living room. He headed upstairs, intending to shower and get ready in his mom's bathroom. While he might not have minded the early mornings, he knew that Abby loved sleeping in as long as she could. And lately, with the stomach virus that she was still trying to shake, she'd been extra tired, so the last thing he wanted was to disturb her. And of course he knew that EJ would be asleep in his bedroom and didn't want to wake him up either.

As he reached the hallway outside of the door of the bathroom that connected his bedroom with Abby's he realized that he'd forgotten to grab his toothbrush and clothes the night before. "Well." He said to himself. "I guess I can sneak in and get everything." Knowing his way around with his eyes closed, he stealthily collected what he needed from the dark bathroom. He looked at the closed door that led to his bedroom and pondered just how much he needed clean clothes. Waking EJ DiMera was not something he relished doing. He couldn't help it; the man intimidated him, more than a little. He envied the ease with which Abby seemed to handle him. He supposed that comfort level came from the time she spent around him when she was dating his younger brother Chad.

He internally debated the need for clean clothes versus the risk of annoying a DiMera. Finally, the need to impress Paige Larson won out. He was already on pretty shaky ground with her. The last thing he wanted was to show up in clothes covered in flour, leftover from the cupcake baking the night before. He took a deep breath and opened the door to his bedroom.

"What?" Right away he could tell something was wrong. EJ's bag was on the bed, but the bed itself hadn't been slept in, and a glance around the room confirmed that EJ wasn't even in the room.

JJ was confused. Instinctively he headed back into the bathroom and paused outside of the door leading to Abby's bedroom. He was hesitant to wake her, but if EJ had left during the night for some reason, then he needed to know so that he could figure out how they were going to get all of the kids to school. He hoped that EJ had let her know what was going on before leaving.

He turned the handle and pushed open the door. "Oh my god!" He breathed as he looked at her bed. EJ hadn't left. In fact, as far as JJ could tell, EJ had made himself right at home.

JJ backed up and carefully reclosed the bathroom door. He fully intended to ask Abby what the hell was going on, but not with EJ there. He waited a few seconds to see if they'd heard him. When no one stirred, he crept out of the bathroom, grabbed his clothes and headed down the hall to his mom's room, his head spinning from what he'd just seen.


Abby could hear the sound of someone making breakfast downstairs. She inhaled the aroma of bacon and was amazed that for the first time in weeks it didn't instantly make her nauseous. Suddenly she realized what time it must be. "Oh my god!"

EJ was immediately awake. "What's wrong? Are you okay? Is it the baby?" His hand slid to cover her abdomen protectively.

She shook her head. "We forgot to set the alarm. Oh my god EJ, you have to get out of here and back into JJ's room before anyone comes upstairs and finds you here."

EJ laughed and gave her a kiss on the side of her head. "It's okay. I'm sure those rugrats have kept JJ far too busy to venture up here."

"I'm not kidding, EJ!" Abby pulled away and sat up. "Any one of them could decide to come up here at any minute. You were supposed to be out of my bed two hours ago!"

EJ sat up behind Abby and moved her hair off the back of her neck before peppering it with kisses. "Mmm, I have no regrets. Last night was more than worth the risk."

"EJ—" Abby warned, though it was taking all of her strength to resist his touch. "We can't. You promised JJ you'd help with breakfast, and I can already hear him downstairs."

"Alright." He sighed. "Raincheck?"

Abby grinned. "Of course! Now get out of here!"

EJ reluctantly climbed out of the bed. "You know I feel like a horny teenage boy sneaking around like this."

Abby licked her lips as she watched his naked form cross the room. He was breathtaking. The sight of him nude never failed to remind her of some of the beautiful sculptures she'd seen on her trips to the museums in Paris with her dad once upon a time. His body was a work of art. "Oh you're much better than a horny teenage boy, Mr. DiMera. Much, much better."


"Good morning everyone." EJ smiled as he walked into the kitchen, pausing at the table to give both Johnny and Sydney kisses and ruffling Allie's and Theo's hair. He gave Parker a huge grin and then glanced nervously at Ciara.

The small brunette returned his look with a knowing smile. "Good morning Mr. DiMera. Did you sleep well?"

EJ blinked rapidly and stuttered. "Of – of course."

JJ's eyes narrowed as he watched the exchange. From what JJ had observed in the time he'd been back in Salem, EJ was normally unflappable, yet a simple good morning from Ciara seemed to have created something JJ never thought he'd see: an embarrassed DiMera. He glanced back at Ciara who was now smirking. Obviously she knew what was up with EJ and Abby too, not that JJ was the least bit surprised by that. Ciara's observation skills rivaled those of an ISA agent. JJ decided to play along. "Yeah EJ, I hope my bed was comfortable enough for you?"

"It was fine. Quite lovely, indeed. Best night I've had in ages."

"I'll bet." JJ mumbled to himself.

"What was that?"

"Oh sorry, I meant to say can I get you a cup of coffee?"

"Thank you, but I think I'll start with some ginger tea. If you'll point me in the direction of the kettle, I'll make it myself." EJ glanced at the stove. "I see you have the bacon and eggs underway. Would you like me to make the pancakes?"

"Sure." JJ replied. "Do you know if Abby's coming down for breakfast?"

EJ shook his head. "I think I heard her stirring just as I was leaving the bedroom. I'm sure she'll be down shortly."


"Something sure smells delicious." Abby said as she walked into the room ten minutes later.

"Daddy's made pancakes. And they're shaped like Mickey Mouse™!" Johnny immediately piped up.

"And JJ made bacon and scrambled eggs." His twin chimed in.

"Want some Abs?" JJ asked, holding a plate of bacon in one hand and a bowl of eggs in his other.

Abby took one look at the eggs and had to cover her mouth. She'd hoped that the morning sickness was beginning to pass, but no such luck. She shook her head and before she could say anything EJ sensed her distress and passed her a plate of toast.

"I made you some toast. And I've got a pot of ginger tea ready."

Abby smiled gratefully. "That's perfect. Thanks." She took the plate of food and sat down to eat, being careful to not look at the eggs again.

Half a minute later EJ sat down beside her, and turned so that he was effectively blocking the rest of the food from her sight. He handed her a steaming cup of tea. "Thank you." She mouthed.

He winked.

"So my driver will be here soon. We'll take the twins, Sydney, Theo and Ciara and drop them off at the school."

"What about Parker?" Johnny asked.

"Parker gets to spend the day with his grandmother." Abby looked at JJ. "Are you sure you don't mind dropping him off with Aunt Maggie in the square?"

"I have to stop by there anyway to meet Paige. We have a quiz to study for before first period."

"Okay then. Good luck." She finished nibbling at her toast and sipping her tea, being careful not to consume too much at a time. She hoped today would be the first time she got through a morning without vomiting.


"So children." EJ announced once everyone had finished breakfast and JJ had taken Parker upstairs to change. "Bring your dishes to the sink and then go brush your teeth and change for school. Gather your belongings and be ready by the front door in twenty minutes."

Abby watched in amazement, while sipping her second cup of tea, as all of the kids including Ciara, followed EJ's instructions with little fuss.

He caught her admiring stare. "What?"

"That was impressive."

EJ chuckled. "Children thrive on routine. Mine know the rules."

"You're a good father."

"Thank you."

"No I mean it, EJ. You're hands-on. I mean, you have an entire staff at your disposal, yet you make Mickey Mouse™ pancakes for your kids and you take them to school. Granted, you have a driver and you take them to school in a car that probably cost more than my entire university tuition—"

"Half."

"What?"

"It couldn't have cost more than half of your tuition." EJ said with a twinkle in his eye.

Abby rolled her eyes. "My point is you're involved. You don't have to be, but you are."

"I don't know how else to be." EJ said candidly. "I grew up craving parental attention and affection and I made a promise to myself that my children would never have reason to doubt my love for them." He reached over and rubbed her belly. "Any of my children."

Abby grabbed his hand with hers and held it for a moment. "I don't know what the future is going to bring. You're still engaged to Sami after all, but whatever happens, I do know that our baby is very lucky to have you."

"Abigail, I promise you, I will figure out a plan soon."

"I hope so, because as wonderful as last night was, we can't keep sneaking around like this. People will notice. Look at Ciara. She was on to us almost immediately." Abby bit her lip with worry. "It's just a matter of time before others follow suit."

EJ shrugged. "Ciara Brady is likely smarter than the entire Salem P.D. and ISA combined. She's the exception, not the rule. Nobody else noticed anything. You're worrying for nothing."

Abby disagreed, but with everyone else still around, now was neither the time nor the place to continue the discussion, so she let it drop. "I'm going to go check on the girls and make sure they're ready."

EJ took that as his cue. "And I'll go check on the boys."


Abby opened the door to her mother's office and headed for Jennifer's desk. Jennifer wasn't going to be in until later, so she asked Abby to check over the pamphlet proofs that she'd printed out for the upcoming hospital Fun Run. If Abby thought they were okay she was instructed to let the printer know by noon that they could go ahead and print them. Abby spotted the proofs on the corner of Jennifer's desk and grabbed them to take back to her own office. As she walked back into the corridor she promptly collided with someone, sending the proofs scattering across the floor.

"Oh I'm sorry! I should watch where I'm going." She apologized and then realized who she'd run into. "Liam?"

"Oh hello Abigail. I'm sorry about that. I'm a bit of a clutz sometimes."

"Oh it's fine, no harm, no foul."

"Let me help you pick up everything."

"You don't have to. I can get everything myself." Abby said anxiously. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something about the pharmaceutical rep that made her nervous.

"I insist." Liam said, bending down to scoop up the papers. Once he had retrieved them all, he tapped them back into an orderly pile before handing them back to Abby.

"Thanks." She said.

"So is your mother working today?"

Abby shook her head. "Not til later. She took the morning off to recover from the dinner party that she and Daniel hosted last night."

Liam plastered a smile on his face, but not before Abby caught a glimpse of something much darker in his eyes. "Oh. Well I'm sorry that I missed her. Be sure to tell her I said hello." He turned and started to walk away.

"Yeah." Abby said as a chill ran down her spine. Maybe it was just her pregnancy hormones going into overdrive, but something about the man just didn't feel right. She made a mental note to mention it to EJ later. There were certain advantages to being close to a DiMera, and one of those was the investigators on his payroll. If Liam had something to hide, it wouldn't stay hidden for long.