By the time Nicole entered the mansion, the sun was beginning to set and a light cramping pain made itself known in her tummy. It had been so easy, so painless and yet so devastating.

The sound of childish giggles invaded her ears and she turned the corner to see Sami-fucking- Brady playing happy families with EJ. She drew back, taking a breath, propping herself up against the wall. That woman always got everything. Sami already had three children, and yet was pregnant again. While she suffered had once more, the glimpse of a future with her baby and EJ as a family slid through her grasp. She was never pregnant, or at least that was what Dr. Baker had said. She had finally learned the man's name on the second go around. It wasn't hard to remember someone who had shattered your world.

"Partial what? What does that mean?"

"Partial molar pregnancy," his face was sympathetic. "There is a problem at fertilization. In order to make a baby, you need half of the genes from the father in the sperm and half of the genes from the mother in the egg."

"Of course I know that I'm not stupid!" Nicole shouted agitated, "If you're some quack, I'll have your license. My baby's father is EJ Dimera and if you…"

She saw a flare of fear in his eyes as she said the name Dimera before he interrupted. "Of, course Ms. Walker. You are entitled to a second opinion, as I hear it, Dr. Carver at the University Hospital is the daughter of Stefano Dimera and she can, of course, examine you, but I am sorry to say she will have the same diagnosis I do."

"And that is?"

"If you will permit me to explain," he asked her permission and she nodded, "In normal fertilization, the egg meets the sperm, but with a partial molar pregnancy either two sperm fertilize one egg or one sperm with the full set of genes from the father fertilize the egg and so there isn't a viable pregnancy."

"So I never really had a baby?"

"I'm afraid not."

She looked away for a moment to wipe away the tears coming from her eyes, "So what do I do?"

"You need to have a procedure we call Dilation and Curettage, so we can remove non-viable tissue. That is what's causing the bleeding. It's a relatively painless procedure, we can do here or you can have done at the hospital."

"I need a minute, Dr..." Nicole looked at him questioningly. He didn't even look offended that he had to repeat it.

"My name is Dr. Richard Baker."

Nicole had sat in that office crying her eyes out, looking at her phone wondering if there was someone she could call, but there wasn't. As usual, she was on her own.

Blinking away the tears that came to her eyes as she thought about everything she had been through, she went back to the door just in time to catch Sami's kid, the one in the pink dress call out 'Dada' to EJ.

"The kid calls you dad too?" Nicole snarked, "That's not going to be confusing when she grows up."

Sami's eyes narrowed in her direction and Nicole sent her a death glare as she took in the woman's prominent baby bump proudly on display. The only consolation was that if she was that big this early she would be a cow later on.

"Nicole," EJ chided and she sent him a look of fake innocence. She turned her head in the direction of the door as Will and John came in from the outside.

"That was so awesome!" Sami's eldest said excitedly.

"I told you an ostrich race was the height of entertainment. The porcupine made things a little bloody there at the end."

"Can we…" the young man stopped as he saw her.

"Hey Will. It's me Nicole. Do you remember me?"

She saw him set up his face, "Huh, you no longer smell like a brewery, must have confused me."

"Will!" Sami chided, but Nicole could hear the amusement in her voice as her son sent her a 'What?' look. The boy had obviously spent too much time in the company of his mother. John at least had the excuse of brain damage to explain his impoliteness.

"I see your mother has been filling your head with lies!"

"My mother didn't have to tell me anything, it's basically public knowledge that you can be bought if the price is high enough."

"William Horton!" Sami scolded and even EJ joined in this time and for a moment the boy looked contrite, not that he apologized or anything.

"Anyway," she continued, ignoring how it felt as she stood alone on one side while Will and John took up positions next to Sami and EJ, "I was trying to reach you this morning EJ. I had a doctor's appointment."

She saw a flash of guilt in his eyes and Nicole knew she was right on the money that he had spent the entire night and this morning with Sami. The only consolation was that with so many brats, they probably spent it covered in spit up and poo.

"How was the appointment?" He moved toward her, concerned. Nicole knew that concern would melt away in relief if he knew she wasn't pregnant and really never had been. Looking Sami's way to gloat, she realized her nemesis wasn't paying attention… at all. Samantha Brady was backing them looking for all the world like she had not a care, having a conversation with her son and John. It was then Nicole got a glimpse of the ring on her finger.

Of course that bitch wasn't worried. EJ had bought her a damn boulder!

"It was great. No problems," she lied through her teeth.

She definitely couldn't tell him now, that she spent the day waiting first for blood test results and then sat in a chair all alone while a doctor by the name of Baker scraped away her hopes and dreams of a baby with something that resembled a flag pole.

So instead she wove a tale, "I went apartment hunting after, so if you don't mind, I'll stay here just one more night so I can move into an apartment tomorrow. It's just better for me and the baby that I only move once."

"That's fine," EJ said. "I'd like to join you at the doctor next time, if that's okay."

"It's okay." She spoke through gritted teeth, "I'll be upstairs resting."

And trying to figure out a way to get a baby for EJ.

Sami was pretty sure there was something wrong with her. She had spent the last few days having the best sex of her life at a frequency that should have her walking bow-legged for a while and yet, seeing her fiancé (she loved that she got to call him that now), as he was playing with the twins, she wanted him. Hell, she wasn't sure she had stopped wanting since that day when he dropped the towel, exposing his frame. Now he was even more delicious, his shoulders wider, chest broader. It was no wonder the garden wasn't the end of their time together last night.

Sami shivered a bit in the night air, despite the heat of EJ's naked body against her.

"Come sweetheart. Let's take this inside," he said, realizing the chill was getting to her.

It had always been that way, EJ had always been in tune with her, so much so that Sami didn't know how she fought their bond for so long. He rose wrapping her up in the thin sheet before gathering their clothes, unashamed in his nakedness as he walked beside her.

She took the time to admire him, the dips and valleys of his body, the bulging muscles she had yet taken time to explore and felt desire stirring again. She felt insatiable. As though by some sixth sense he could tell where her mind was going, he looked at her with that damnable smirk. She truly couldn't begrudge him the knowledge that she wanted him all the time, hell she didn't know how she had hidden it for so long, since all EJ had to do was breathe in her direction.

EJ led them to the kitchen, the dim light, causing his skin to take on an ethereal cast. He smiled at her, slowly tugging away the cover from her body, letting it fall to the floor.

"Bend over," he motioned to the island and Sami eyes flared in realization. She didn't hesitate, turning to the counter and bending her body over it. She hissed as the cold marble made contact with the tips of her breast, the sensation trailing the line of pain and pleasure.

EJ came up behind her, wrapping his arm around her tummy as he plastered himself against her back, sliding first one leg and then the other between hers.

Sami gasped as he widened his stance, spreading her legs until she was no longer holding herself up, but was completely dependent on him, pressed against the cold counter, and his arm banded across their baby protecting her tummy from the hard surface.

She could feel him hard as a rock, against her.

"Samantha."

She snapped back to the here and now and she knew EJ had caught her. There was no doubt where her mind was with the blush that colored her cheeks and her rapid exhalations. EJ leaned forward walking his fingers from her collar to her chest until he just grazed the tip of her breasts as he whispered, "Later."

He drew back as Allie called 'Dada' and Sami was equal parts relieved and disappointed, but the promise of later rang in her ears. At least until that 'woman' put in an appearance. Sami kept quiet despite Nicole's jabs because she didn't want to make things difficult for EJ. His children were important to him and she knew she couldn't be the one that cost him more time with his kid, even if it was with Nicole and after last night she knew she had nothing to worry about. She was going to be EJ's wife and there was nothing that bitch could do about it.

As she spoke to John and Will she learned that they too had reservations about Nicole and she wondered if they were all just being paranoid or it was a premonition of things to come.

EJ wasn't surprised to hear William and John express their distrust of Nicole. He had his own trust issues with that woman. It was why he had set Marco to follow her, he trusted no one else to report to him on this, and in many ways they thought exactly alike. If there was something fishy going on with Nicole, Marco would find out about it.

"I don't trust her either," the trio swung toward him in surprise.

"You have someone following her," his Uncle spoke and EJ swore he saw a hint of pride in the man's eyes.

"I do and I will keep you all posted," EJ said before turning to Samantha. "Now how about you take William and the twins shopping for the house."

"A house?" William asked, as EJ reached into his pocket to hand Samantha a credit card.

As soon as she saw what it was he handed her, Samantha exclaimed, "This is a black card!"

It was a 'black' card with her name on it.

EJ knew as soon as they were remarried, he would need to get another, that time saying Mrs. Dimera.

To William he said, "Yes, your mum will tell you all about it." EJ then said to Samantha, "I'll have Mary and Mrs. Pearson meet you at the house so you can have some help."

Sami nodded, gingerly holding the card as they gathered the twins and their stuff to pack in the car. Once they were on their way, with an excited William bombarding his mother with questions, he went back inside to his uncle.

"I think you just gave her the keys to the Kingdom." John remarked drily.

"Well, short of actually buying a kingdom, I can manage."

"Who needs a kingdom when you've got an island?"

"You know about that, eh?"

"I think the only person who believed you were actually poor when Stefano cut you off was Sami."

"What can I say racing cars was lucrative and I invested well…" John gave him a look as he shrugged, "very well."

"You ready to tell me why you really sent Sami and Will shopping?"

EJ took a breath before sitting, "I want to talk about my father and make sure he doesn't come anywhere near my family."

"I figured it was something like that," John remarked, but it wasn't meant to be.

For as soon as EJ opened his mouth the first explosion rocked the mansion and mere seconds later, another explosion sent rubble careening down on their heads.