Days of our Haiden
Season 1 Episode 11:
It was Aiden's birthday, and Chase was eager to celebrate it with him. They were going out to dinner together that night, and then they would hang out the rest of the night.
Ciara had actually agreed to go shopping with him since Aiden had saved her from being attacked.
"Thank you for not saying I told you so," Ciara said to Chase as they walked around the mall, looking for the perfect gift.
"I figured you've been through enough already. I'm sure you learned your lesson without me having to say it," Chase said. He eyed a nice winter coat in the store window and walked in to look at the price tag.
Ciara followed him in.
"This is kind of pricey, but I've been saving up my allowance. You know, we really need jobs," Chase said with a sigh. If I had a job, I wouldn't have to be such a cheapskate."
"Doesn't he already have a winter coat?" Ciara asked.
Chase nodded. "Yes but it's so old. I'd like to get him a nicer one. I'm just glad Mom let me keep all his clothes in storage until I was ready to part with them. Now he still has them."
"And it's a good thing you were never able to part with them!" Ciara smirked at him.
Chase hung the coat back on the rack. "I don't know. It might be lame to give him a coat for his birthday."
"Why would it be? He needs to say warm and stylish, right?" Ciara asked.
Chase shrugged. "I guess." He looked through the other coats. "I kind of like this one." He picked it up and examined it. "It looks like something he'd wear." He looked at the price tag. "But it's twenty bucks more. Maybe I better stick with the first one."
Ciara took the coat from him. "What size does he wear?" she asked.
Chase shrugged. "I don't know."
"We'll go with medium. You can keep the receipt in case he needs to go up a size," Ciara said.
"But I told you, I can't afford to go that high," Chase reminded her.
Ciara shrugged. "I'll chip in the extra twenty. After all, the guy did save me from being raped. I'm still not thrilled with him, but the least I can do to thank him is get him a birthday present, right?"
Chase nodded. "I'm sure he'll appreciate it." He followed Ciara to the checkout counter. He knew Ciara hadn't fully forgiven Aiden, but she was at least starting to soften toward him a bit. Chase could work with that.
*This love came back to me.*
"Are you sure you wanna eat here?" Aiden asked reluctantly as he and Chase headed into the Brady Pub later that evening.
Chase nodded. "I have a craving for one of their burgers. I know this place is known for the chowder, but I personally think they have the best burgers in town."
Aiden sighed as they got in and he saw Caroline greeting the guests who were already seated. "Great! Caroline's here."
Chase looked at him in surprise. "Don't you like Caroline?"
Aiden nodded. "I like her just fine, but I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me any longer. Not after what I did to her ex-daughter-in-law."
Chase suddenly felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't think about it. She is always nice to me, so I just figured—"
Chase was cut off as Caroline spotted them and headed over to them.
"Hello, Caroline," Aiden said kindly, though he knew his kindness wouldn't be reciprocated.
Caroline's eyes flashed with anger. "How dare you come into my pub after what you tried to do to my daughter-in-law?"
"We don't want to cause any trouble! It's his birthday and we just wanted to have dinner together. I was in the mood for a Brady Pub Burger. You guys make the best ones," Chase said. He felt bad that his father was being treated this way. He also felt slightly embarrassed, for people were starting to stare.
Caroline turned her attention to Chase. "You're always welcome here." She looked at Aiden. "You, however, are not."
Aiden nodded. "I understand. I'm so sorry to have intruded." He turned to Chase. "If you want a burger, go ahead. I can wait for you at the hotel. I'll just get room service or something."
Chase shook his head. "No. I wanted to take my dad out to dinner for his birthday, and that is exactly what I'm going to do." He turned to Caroline. "My dad only did what he did because he was blackmailed into it. The Dimeras would have killed me if he hadn't. I know you have lots of kids that I'm sure you would do anything to protect. Also, doesn't saving Ciara your granddaughter from being kidnapped and raped count for anything?"
Caroline put a hand to her heart. "What about Ciara?" her eyes got big.
Chase winced, realizing she didn't know yet. He guessed maybe no one had wanted to worry her, and that is why they hadn't told her about the incident. "She met some guy online who was going to sell her this sold out video game she wanted for Theo. She met him alone in the park, he turned out to be a creep who was only there to kidnap and rape her. My dad happened to be walking in the park on the way home from his community service. He heard her screams then attacked the guy. He stabbed him with a stick and tossed hot coffee in the guy's face before getting Ciara to safety and calling the cops. If it weren't for my dad, Ciara would have more than likely been kidnapped and raped."
Caroline looked shaken. She then cleared her throat. She looked at Aiden. "I suppose you can stay for one meal since you saved my granddaughter. But after that, I'd rather you get your meals elsewhere."
Chase shook his head. "Forget it. It will be too awkward now." He nodded at Aiden. "Come on, Dad. We'll just find somewhere else to eat."
Aiden nodded at Caroline. "Have a good night. Again, I'm sorry to have intruded."
As they left the pub, the door shutting behind them," Chase apologized. "I'm sorry, Dad. I guess I should have known better."
Aiden placed an arm over Chase's shoulders. "Don't even worry about it. Thanks for sticking up for me."
Chase smiled up at him. "You're my dad. I'll always stick up for you."
Aiden hugged his son tightly. "So, what do you say we go a little out of town to eat? There's a place about twenty minutes away called The Cornucopia. Hope and I used to go there when we wanted to get away from it all. It may not have burgers as good as The Brady Pub's, but they do give them a good run for their money."
Chase grinned. "Sounds good, Dad."
They then headed to the bus stop together to catch a bus downtown. Lucky for them, the buses ran every fifteen minutes, and they had just enough time to get there before the next bus came.
*This love came back to me.*
Hope had texted Chase asking where he and his father were. She didn't want to intrude on their celebration, but she had just gotten the call from Victor that everything was set, and she felt it would be a nice birthday surprise for Aiden. She knew Rafe most certainly wouldn't approve of what she had done, but she didn't need his permission. She never needed anyone's permission to do anything. Anyway, he was at work, so he didn't have to know about this.
As she drove, she thought about her conversation with Victor the evening before.
"Hello, Victor! How's my handsome ex-father-in-law?" Hope had asked upon her arrival at the mansion the day before. She kissed his cheek.
"I'm a very busy man and I have a lot of things to attend to today, so why don't we skip the flattery, true as it might be, and get right to the matter at hand? What exactly is this favor you want from me, Hope?" Victor asked.
Hope blushed, and pushed some hair behind her ear. "Well, I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not, but Aiden isn't really dead," she began.
Victor nodded. "I heard about that. The Dimeras saved his life and then held him captive. Chad then took a turn saving Aiden's ass the second time and set him free. Then Aiden got away with no jail time for trying to kill you." He shook his head. "The so called justice system these days… Go figure!" he walked over to the alcohol and poured himself a drink. He offered one to Hope. "You want one?"
Hope shook her head. "No thanks, I'm good."
"So, what is it you wanted to ask me?" Victor asked before taking a sip of his drink, then facing her.
Hope sighed. "I actually wanted to know if you could sign out a check to Aiden to pay off his dept. He owes the Dimeras a lot of money. They paid off a gambling debt for him, and have threatened Chase's life if he didn't pay it back. That is why he tried to kill me—it was the only way he could get the money to save his son's life."
"I think I need to go to the doctor and get my ears checked." Victor stuck his finger in his right ear and moved it around as if he were trying to clean it out. "I could have sworn you just asked me to pay off the debt of the scum who tried to kill you—money that will go to the Dimeras nonetheless!"
"We can do the best we can to protect Chase, but it still worries me. You know that even though they don't need it, the Dimeras will stop at nothing until they get their money. We both know the Dimeras don't abide with the law when it comes to getting what they want." Hope sat down on the couch. "Heck, let's face it, they never abide with the law, period!"
"I'm still not getting why I should help that scum," Victor grumbled before taking another sip of his drink.
"You like Chase, don't you?" Hope asked.
Victor nodded. "He's a nice…for a teenager anyway."
"Well, don't you want to help me protect him?" Hope asked. "Aiden promises he's changed. You yourself should know better than anyone that a person can change. After all, you changed for Maggie."
"I never tried to strangle the life out of her!" Victor snapped.
"Well, I know you'd do anything to protect your sons. And don't even try to tell me you never had a hit put out on anyone before." Hope crossed her arms over her chest.
Victor shrugged. "Some scum of the earth just have bad karma is all. It's not my fault if some unfortunate karma comes their way." He took another drink.
Hope rolled her eyes. "Well, Chase loves his dad, and Aiden loves him. Chase doesn't deserve to lose his dad for the second time. Anyway, Aiden saved Ciara's life."
Victor was intrigued now. He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How so?"
Hope explained the whole story to him.
Victor listened, not speaking until Hope was finished. Finally, he spoke. "How do you know Aiden didn't purposely have that guy attack Ciara so that he could play the hero?"
Hope raised an eyebrow at him. "How would he know Ciara wanted the video game, or that she would look on Craig's List for it? Why would the guy agree to being stabbed and having hot coffee splashed in his face? Aiden couldn't afford to pay him, nor world Aiden want to risk being put in jail again. Also, he would never put Ciara in danger like that. I know he tried to kill me, but he was just desperate to save his son. It doesn't mean that he would—"
Victor cut Hope off. "All right, all right, I get it! How much does he owe?"
Hope shrugged. "I'm not sure exactly. I was kind of hoping you'd sign a blank check out to the Dimeras. I'll make sure that Aiden tells me how much he owes before he knows why I need to know. Also, I'll be the one to fill out the check and give it to the Dimeras."
Victor was silent for a moment as he thought about it. Finally, he spoke. "I'll let you know by tomorrow."
Victor had called today just after noon and told her he would give her the money. Now, here Hope was, blank check in purse, ready to give Aiden his birthday surprise.
She pulled into the parking lot of The Cornucopia, remembering the times she and Aiden would go there to unwind. They'd have dinner, do a little dancing, then head back to the Salem Inn or, home if the kids weren't home, and then they'd…
Hope shook the thought from her mind and parked the car. She then headed into the restaurant and scanned it for Aiden and Chase. She saw them sitting at a corner table in the back.
She headed over to their table.
"Hey," she said, putting on a smile when they looked up at her. She then looked at Aiden. "Happy birthday."
Aiden looked surprised to say the least. "Thanks. I didn't expect to see you here." He looked past her. "Are you here with Rafe?" He looked a little pained.
Hope shook her head. "No, actually, I came alone. I texted Chase to see where you guys were."
Aiden looked at Chase, an eyebrow raised. "Oh?" he didn't mention it to me.
Chase shrugged.
Hope glanced from Aiden to Chase to back to Aiden. "I told him not to tell you. I wanted it to be a surprise."
"Well, it's a very nice surprise!" Aiden stood up and held out the empty chair between him and Chase. "Please, have a seat."
Hope hesitated for a moment before nodding her head in agreement. "All right. Thank you." She sat down, and Aiden pushed her chair in for her before sitting back down.
"I just dropped by to give you a birthday present," Hope explained.
"Hope, really, you didn't have to give me a darn thing. Not after…" Aiden trailed off, his eyes dropping to his menu. "You just really didn't have to."
Hope nodded. "I know. It's not really from me per se anyway. It's from Victor."
Aiden looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Hope opened her purse then ran her thumb over the envelope that Victor had given her. "I'll tell you, but first, I want you to be honest with me. Don't lie to me like you did last time. If you really want to prove to me you've changed, you need to tell me the truth."
"What is it you want to know? I'll tell you anything," Aiden asked, staring into her eyes.
Hope looked away, for looking into his eyes was bringing up old feelings she did not want to be feeling. However, she quickly changed her mind and looked into his eyes again so that she could tell better if he was being honest with her or not. "How much money do you really owe the Dimeras?"
Aiden sucked in a breath and slowly let it out. "Why?"
Hope sighed. "Just tell me, Aiden. I trusted you and you tried to kill me. There's nothing you can say that will make things any worse."
Aiden sighed as well. "I owe six hundred thousand dollars," he said, looking her in the eyes.
"Even?" Hope asked.
Aiden nodded. "The hundred thousand you gave me before covered the interest."
Hope nodded. She could tell he was telling the truth this time. She then took out the envelope and a pen from her purse. She then took the check out of the envelope and filled it out.
Aiden and Chase both watched her in curiosity.
"Baby, I mean Hope, what are you doing?" Aiden asked.
"Mom, you don't have that kind of money, do you? If you do, what do you say I get a raise on my allowance?" Chase joked.
Hope smirked at him. "Nice try. It's from Victor." She turned her attention to Aiden. "For your birthday present, and to thank you for saving Ciara, I talked Victor into paying off your debt. Granted he's still not your biggest fan, but he is grateful that you saved his granddaughter. This isn't a loan; it's a gift from him. My gift to you is talking him into this."
Aiden was silent for a moment. "I don't know what to say. Are you sure? Is Victor sure?"
Hope nodded. "Yes and yes. It's a gift. You don't owe either of us anything."
Aiden jumped out of his chair and hugged a surprised Hope, who still sat in her chair. "I promise you won't regret this! Thank you so much!"
Hope smiled weakly, and placed her hands over his arms. "Yeah, well thank you for saving my daughter. Anyway, at least now we can be rest assured that Chase will be safe."
Aiden smiled, and gave her one last squeeze before sitting back in his chair.
"Stay and join us?" Chase asked.
Hope hesitated. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."
Chase shrugged. "Why not? You're already here, and I know Ciara is out with Theo tonight. Rafe is working. You have to eat."
"Plus, you came all the way out here. Why not stay?" Aiden asked.
Hope sighed. "I'm going to bring something to the station for Rafe and eat with him. You two enjoy your meal though." She quickly stood up, then turned her attention to Aiden. "I'll deliver this check to the Dimeras tomorrow. Victor doesn't quite trust you yet, and wants to make sure it goes to them. He also wants to make sure that you don't try to tack on anything extra."
"I would never do that," Aiden said.
Hope nodded. "I know, but this will just make Victor feel better."
"Thanks again," Aiden said, looking a little sad. "And please, thank Victor for me."
Hope nodded. "You're welcome, and I will. Thank you for saving my daughter."
"I'd do it again in a heartbeat," Aiden said.
Hope smiled weakly, trying to ignore the pounding in her heart. "Again, Happy birthday."
"Thanks," Aiden said.
Hope turned her attention to Chase. "I'll see you at home later, ok?"
Chase nodded. "Thanks for helping my dad out."
Hope nodded at him and smiled weakly, then left, feeling good about helping Aiden, but bad about the way her heart still raced whenever she looked into his gorgeous blue eyes.
*This love came back to me*
"Thanks again for the coat. "I love it!" Aiden said as he and Chase entered Aiden's hotel room.
"I hope it's the right size," Chase said.
"It is. It fits perfectly! Thank you," Aiden said as he shut the door behind them. "So, what should we do now?" he asked.
Chase shrugged. "I don't know. Wanna watch a DVD?"
Aiden nodded. "We can do that. What should we watch?"
"You pick! I picked last time. There's a Red Box down at the Lucky Aid across the street. Wanna go pick something out while I raid the vending machines?" Chase asked.
Aiden laughed. "Sounds like a plan. Do you have a genera preference?"
Chase shook his head. "We have the same taste in movies. It's your birthday! Get what you want."
"All right. I'll be right back. Don't get any spicy chips this time. They did not digest well last time if you know what I mean," Aiden said, patting his gut.
Chase made a face. "Gross, Dad." He grinned nonetheless.
Aiden grinned too. "I'll be right back." He then left the Inn, and headed across the street to the Lucky Aid.
Chase then left the room, and prepared to do a floor-to-floor raid of the snack and soda vending machines.
*This love came back to me.*
Aiden rented a DVD he thought sounded good. He was feeling in a really good mood. Yes, he was thrilled that he would finally be out of debt with the Dimeras. However, that wasn't what had put him in such a good mood. What was giving him the walking on air feeling was the fact that Hope had gone out of her way to do this for him. Sure she said it was to thank him for saving her daughter, but he knew it was more than that. He could see it in her eyes. She still loved him. She was starting to forgive and trust him again. And now that he knew he had a chance with her, he was even more determined than ever to win her heart away from Rafe. This time, he was going to do right by her like she deserved.
He headed out of the Lucky Aid, and was about to head across the street when a lottery ticket caught his eye. It was just lying on the ground. He had seen stories of people who had won on scratchers and dropped the ticket. Someone else would come along and find the ticket and it would be a five dollar winner.
Aiden bent down and picked the ticket up. Chances were, this was just a junk ticket that some jerk was too lazy to toss into a trash bin, but five bucks was five bucks. Heck, even if it was just a chance of winning a buck, a dollar was a dollar. He stood back up and looked over the ticket. To his surprise, only two of the numbers were scratched off. There was still fifteen spots left to scratch.
"A twenty dollar ticket!" Aiden said, noticing the price. "That's insane to spend that much money on a ticket, especially if you're not going to make sure you scratch off everything." He sat down on a bench outside of the Lucky Aid and began to finish scratching it off. Of course he kept getting mismatched numbers. Nothing matched any of his lucky numbers. He scratched the final spot on his ticket, revealing a 5X symbol, meaning he won five times the prize shown.
"Yeah, I'll probably win twenty dollars," he said. "If even that." He scratched off the amount, and his heart nearly stopped when he saw the $200,000. "Yeah, right! I must be reading that wrong," he mumbled. He reread the instructions and the number three times before jumping off the bench. He did the math in his head. "A million dollars. I won a million dollars! Oh my gosh I just won a million dollars! I gotta tell Chase!"
Aiden ran across the street, almost forgetting to make sure no cars were coming. He ran through the lobby, ignoring the stares from the front desk clerks and fellow hotel guests.
He took the elevator up to his floor, ran down the hallway, and then pounded on the door frantically.
Chase opened the door. "Dad, what the heck?"
Aiden quickly pushed his way through the room and shut the door. "I just won a million dollars!" he said.
Chase laughed. "Yeah right!"
"No really, look!" Aiden shoved the ticket in his face.
"You must have read it wrong." Chase took the ticket from him and looked it over. Suddenly, his eyes got wide, and his mouth dropped open. He looked up at Aiden. "Oh. My. Gosh. You just won a million dollars!" he exclaimed.
"I told you!" Aiden said.
"You just won a million dollars!" Chase screamed. He slammed the ticket down on the TV stand, then got up on the bed and began jumping up and down with excitement.
Aiden didn't care that he was a forty-six-year-old man who should no longer be jumping on beds. He got on the bed with Chase, and together they held both hands and jumped up and down.
"A million dollars, baby!" Aiden said to no one in particular.
"Woooh!" Chase yelled.
They continued literally jumping for joy, not even caring if they were disturbing the peace.
