I would like to thank my faithful reader who always responds. Is there anyone but RHatch89 reading this?

-d-d-d-d-

"You sure you don't want me to sit at the table with you?" Shawn asked as he and Theresa crossed the lobby of the Four Seasons on their way to the restaurant.

"We'll be fine, Shawn," Theresa smiled ruefully as she pushed the carriage. "Just sit at the bar and keep us in sight, okay? Also, make sure to signal me if Victor has company in the form of Brady."

"You got it," Shawn hung back to separate from Theresa and headed for the bar.

Meanwhile Theresa reached the hostess's stand and asked for a table, telling the hostess she was expecting one more person and describing Victor, before being seated.

After making sure Shawn could see them and that the girls were settled, she started to study her menu.

"Theresa?"

She looked up and smiled, "Hello, Victor." She started to fold her menu to rise but he laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Please don't," he took a seat. "Thank you for coming."

"I admit I was surprised by your call. I wasn't expecting it."

"It's been a few months since I've seen my great-granddaughters," Victor said. "Did they like their Christmas gifts?"

"They did," she nodded. "What's going on, Victor?"

"Straight to the point," Victor nodded.

"I've found it saves time," she said evenly, keeping eye contact with the older man. For a moment, she imagined him as the young man her grandmother had been in love with. It wasn't hard. As old as he was, Victor was still a good-looking man.

"Fair enough," Victor put his menu aside, "I think you need to come home."

"I knew this was coming," Theresa shook her head and released a deep sigh. "I'm not interested in seeing Brady anytime in the near future."

"Theresa, I know deep down you still care about my grandson."

"He's the father of my children. I'll always care about him. I just don't want to be anywhere near him," Theresa said flatly.

"I know what he planned to do with Nicole was-"

"Stupid," Theresa finished, "Insane. Pick an adjective that means crazy or ill-advised and insert it into your sentence. Victor, I know he's dating my sister. I'm also pretty sure I know why he's dating my sister. I can't save him from himself. He's a grown up. He wants to act like an ass, it's up to him."

"What about Tate?"

Theresa sighed, internally debating about whether or not to tell Victor that Tate might not be Brady's concern for much longer. Just as she opened her mouth, Victor's phone rang.

"Go ahead," Theresa nodded.

"Thank you," Victor answered his cell phone. "Hello?...Justin? He got what? From who? I see. Thank you."

Victor hung up the phone and looked at Theresa, "Brady just received papers informing him he's being sued for custody of Tate by your parents."

"They told me they were thinking about it," Theresa admitted. "I didn't know they were moving forward."

"Brady's his father."

"Brady is an alcoholic who made a spectacular leap off the wagon after he and Nicole crashed and burned. Brady is cultivating a relationship with my sister in order to regain a company. I may not be able to get Tate away from him, but if my parents can, more power to them," Theresa stood up, "Thank you for the offer of lunch, but I'm not hungry any more. Have a good trip back to Salem."

Once Theresa and the girls were outside the hotel and out of sight of the front doors, she stopped pushing the stroller and leaned against the wall of a building, trying to control her breathing.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked into Shawn's face before he pulled her into a hug, "It'll be okay."

"Can we go home before Victor gets the idea to tell Brady I'm in Chicago?"

"Absolutely," Shawn agreed and turned to get their car from the valet.

-d-d-d-d-

"No, Mom, I'm not mad. I just wish you'd have given me some warning, so I wasn't sitting at the same table as Victor when he got the news you were suing for custody of his great-grandson."

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart. We didn't realize it was going to happen so quickly. I thought it'd be another week before Brady was served," Kim explained.

Theresa sighed as she leaned against the railing of the front hall staircase, "Has Dad talked to Eve?"

"He has. She's not happy."

"She's taking Brady's side? Unbelievable," Theresa shook her head. "Are you and Dad back in Salem?"

"We got in last night," Kim confirmed.

"How's Grandma?"

"Not well, Sweetie. If you want her to meet the girls, I don't think you should wait," Kim said.

"Is she well enough to travel? Could you bring her here?"

"Her doctor said she shouldn't be taken out of her comfort zone."

"I'll see if I can sneak into town soon."

"Let me know," Kim said. "We'll talk soon, alright?"

"Okay, Mom. Love you and tell Dad the same," Theresa said.

"I will. We love you, too."

Theresa hung up and set her phone aside before massaging her temples.

"You okay?" Stephanie sat down beside her.

"Yeah, peachy," Theresa muttered.

"Talk," Stephanie bumped her.

"I have to go to Salem."

"Oh, God. Victor got to you," Stephanie assumed.

"No. Mom did," Theresa said. "Grandma's not doing so well, and I want to be able to tell the girls that their great-grandma held them once before she died."

"I'll go with you," Stephanie said.

"No," Theresa shook her head. "Too many people means a bigger chance of someone catching on."

"Let me rephrase: I'm going with you so I can see Abby."

"Yeah, I heard about her testimony," Theresa said. "What's that about?"

"I don't know, but something's going on there. Gabi didn't kill anyone."

"Are we sure about that? I mean, she's great and all, but she did kill Nick," Theresa pointed out.

"Point taken, but she's not stupid. She is not going to confess to murder in a bathroom in a courthouse during her trial. Something else is going on there," Stephanie shook her head.

"Okay," Theresa nodded. "Next Sunday? I'll spend the afternoon with Grandma. You find out what hell is wrong with Abby."

"Deal," Stephanie nodded.

-d-d-d-d-d-

Theresa sat on the steps that went from the kitchen to the apartment above the pub where her grandparents had raised her mother, uncles, and aunt looking through pictures on her phone.

"There you are," Uncle Roman said from behind her.

"Are the girls awake?" Theresa asked.

"Still sound asleep, as is Ma," Roman sat down on the step behind her. "It was good to see you all today."

"It was good to see you guys, too," Theresa nodded.

"But?" Roman nudged her.

"Every time Grandma called me 'Mama' I wondered if she'd remember this for long," Theresa admitted.

"I know," Roman nodded. "To be fair, you do look a lot like her mother."

Theresa snorted.

"I see Isabella in your girls."

"Shawn tells me that sometimes," Theresa nodded.

"I didn't know her well, but she was a good lady," Roman reminisced.

Theresa sighed, "I know one day the twins will ask about their father and his side of the family. I don't know what I'm going to tell them."

"You could do some research," Roman suggested, "Or you could tell Brady they exist."

"Nicole Walker," Theresa said. "He was going to take my son and go on the run with Nicole Walker. Forget that he would've been breaking the law and if he'd been caught, they could've tossed him in jail and put Tate in foster care. He was willing to cut every single member of both our families out of Tate's life for a woman who ended up leaving him in the end."

"Theresa-"

"When I found out I was pregnant with the girls, Dad got me out of Mexico and put me in a safe house. I couldn't get in touch with anyone. I watched television, but I couldn't use the internet. I read papers and books. The day Dad told me I could call Salem I was so happy. I dialed the mansion, hoping Brady would pick up. Victor picked up instead. He was happy to hear from me. I told him the whole story. Then he shared one of his own.

"When we hung up, I started to think. This wasn't a snap decision. It wasn't arbitrary. This isn't revenge. I'm not pouting. I know with one hundred percent certainty that if I let Brady back into my life, at the first sign of trouble, he'll use me keeping the girls from him as ammunition in a court battle. Right now, he has custody of Tate. I'm not letting him get hold of my girls so the latest love of his life can raise them, even if she is my sister."

"Alright," Roman said.

"Alright?"

"I happen to agree with you about a lot of your reasons."

"Thank you," Theresa smiled.

"I ran into Maggie," Roman admitted.

"Let me guess," Theresa nodded, "She wants you to 'talk some sense' into my mom."

"Basically," Roman nodded. "She wasn't too happy when I told her I think Kim and Shane are doing the right thing."

"I was on the fence about this at first," Theresa admitted.

"And now?"

"For the last few months, Dad's been sending me P.I. reports. Brady's spiraling in the worst of ways. I don't want Tate around that."

"Does that mean you'll come back for the trial?"

"Dad asked me the same thing the other day," Theresa admitted. "He said he won't force me to take the stand, but he'd like me around for the verdict."

"So?"

"I'm thinking about it," Theresa smiled.

"Good," Roman smiled.

"Speaking of trials, how's Arianna? This must be so confusing for her."

"It's not easy," Roman shook his head. "We're all trying to be there for her."

"And Gabi? This must be a nightmare for her."

"She lets us visit her which is more than Joey does," Roman shook his head.

"At least Joey writes to us," Theresa pointed out.

"I know, but Kay and Steve miss their kid. He keeps making their visits shorter."

"Why don't you call them and get them over here? They can have dinner with Steph in the pub while I eat upstairs with Grandma."

"Good idea," Roman nodded as he got up. "I'll bring burgers up for you guys."

"Thanks, Uncle Roman," Theresa smiled.

-d-d-d-d-

"Hey, how was the visit?" Shawn asked as Theresa entered the kitchen on Monday morning.

"It was good," Theresa nodded. "Seeing Grandma and having her meet the girls was nice. I got some great pictures. My phone's upstairs charging. It was almost dead when we got home."

"You got in later than I thought you would."

"I arranged for Steph to eat dinner with her folks while I ate with Grandma," Theresa sat down across from him.

"She say how Abby was?"

"She didn't say a whole lot about anything," Theresa shook her head. "I chalked it up to her being tired, but thinking about it, I'm wondering if Abby's relapsing."

Shawn sighed and put down his newspaper, "You're not alone in wondering that."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I had that thought when she got on the stand and accused Gabi of murder."

"I had it yesterday when she defended her new brother-in-law," Stephanie entered the kitchen and made a beeline for the coffee.

"She defended him?" Shawn asked.

"She said he wasn't as bad as we all thought, and we should give him a chance."

"Did you call Chad?" Theresa asked.

"He's as confused as we are," Stephanie sat down at the table.

"Did you meet the latest child to pop up?" Shawn asked.

"Briefly," Stephanie shook her head. "I'll say this for Stefano and Vivian; they produced one good looking kid. He's also got good taste in women."

Theresa and Shawn looked at Stephanie in confusion before their faces cleared.

"Oh, don't tell me," Shawn put his head on the table.

"He's got a thing for Abby?" Theresa finished the thought.

"Yep," Stephanie nodded.

"Okay, now it's official. He's a DiMera," Theresa shook her head. "He's got his obsession all picked out, and he's staying with your bloodline, Shawn."

"How so?" Shawn lifted his head.

"Well, it's not the same bloodline, but one of Stefano's daughters had a thing for your dad," Theresa revealed.

"I've heard this story," Stephanie nodded.

"Megan Hathaway, right?" Shawn remembered the name from stories he wasn't supposed to know about.

"Then Stefano used Hope to recreate Princess Gina," Stephanie rolled her eyes.

"Don't forget, Vivian's always wanted Victor," Theresa pointed out.

"That's another part of my bloodline," Shawn nodded.

"I'm getting a headache," Stephanie rubbed at her temples.

"You, too?" Theresa smirked.

-d-d-d-d-

Leave a message and let me know if you think Brady should use the fact that while she was suffering from DID, Kim was a prostitute in Europe.