Chapter Eleven

Shawn walked over to Belle, who was sitting at a table in .dotcom. He placed their drinks on the table as he sat down. "Anyway," Belle continued after Shawn took his place across from her, "there was Chloe and Princess Greta, across from us!"

"What happened next?" Shawn asked as he took a sip from his drink. He had met Belle outside the door, when she had started to fill him in on her morning.

"Well, Dad, Brady, and I were totally shocked to see who they were talking to!" Belle paused dramatically before continuing. "They were standing with Stefano DiMera!"

"You're kidding me," Shawn denied in disbelief. "I can't believe they would even acknowledge him, after the way he revealed his secret to them."

"It didn't look like a happy conversation," Belle admitted reluctantly. She rather liked shocking Shawn, but couldn't in good conscience exaggerate the meeting she had witnessed earlier. "Greta looked angry, as if she didn't want to be there. Chloe, well, she looked impassive, as if she could care less that the most infamous man in Salem was talking with her."

"Don't forget," Shawn pointed out to Belle, "that "infamous" man is their father. Of course, I don't think Princess Greta or Chloe have ever attempted to contact Stefano DiMera. It seems to me that they wanted to get as far away from that man as they could."

Belle nodded in slight agreement. "I can give Chloe that reason for leaving Salem, but I will never understand why she deserted my brother. I told her that last night, when I cornered her in the bathroom."

Shawn's eyes opened wide in surprise. He had been so preoccupied about his confrontation with his mother that he hadn't noticed Belle's agitation over her meeting with Chloe. "Did you really? What happened, Belle?"

"Oh," Belle said casually after she had sipped from her drink, "I simply told her to stay away from Brady. He doesn't need her messing with him again. She has hurt him enough."

"Brady seems to have gotten over her pretty well," Shawn responded in slight confusion to Belle's vehemence about Chloe. "And she didn't seek Brady out last night. She never even looked our way when we left the restaurant, even though Princess Greta had a full view of our departure. I'm certain she told Chloe who was leaving Tuscany."

Belle shrugged at Shawn's portrayal of Chloe. She decided not to correct Shawn's illusions about Brady "getting over" Chloe. Brady had managed to convince most of Salem, with the exception of his sister and his father. Belle wanted to preserve Brady's façade. "I hope you're right, Shawn. I wanted Princess Chloe," she said sarcastically, "to know exactly who she was dealing with. I won't let her near Brady while she is in Salem."

Belle watched Shawn's eyes as they narrowed at something behind her. She frowned at him, and then followed his eyes. Outside .dotcom she could see Hope Brady, holding onto J.T.'s hand. Then, Princess Greta joined them, carrying a large shopping bag.

"It's J.T." Shawn couldn't believe that he was seeing his little brother again, even from a distance. "He looks so big!"

"Do you want to go see him?" Belle asked, seeing this meeting as a possible bridge between Shawn and his mother. Maybe they could start bonding over J.T. "After all, he is my brother, too."

Shawn placed his hand firmly on Belle's forearm. "Not quite yet. I'm not ready to face my mom now. But, I do want to watch what's going on."

Belle turned in her seat, surprised to see her father happen onto the scene. "So do I," she said.

John's eyes were immediately drawn to his youngest son when he viewed the small group near .dotcom. His heart leaped when he recognized J.T., the child he did not have much of a relationship with. He walked up to Greta and Hope, uncaring of the reception he would receive. "Hey, buddy!" he said to J.T., while offering a slight grin of welcome to the women. "Hope, Greta." The two women smiled openly back at him.

J.T. turned from his fascination with his toy truck and looked up at the man who was bending down to greet him. He recognized him from photos that his mom had shown him. He knew exactly who he was. "Daddy!" he said happily, and hugged his father for the first time in many years.

Hope couldn't prevent the smile from crossing her face as she watched John's reaction to J.T.'s hug. She knew that J.T. was a product of "Princess Gina" and "Father John's" love, not of Hope Brady and John Black. But, John was his father, and Hope had hated the fact that living in separate countries had denied John access to his son.

John looked up at Hope, surprised delight on his face. "He knows," John said in surprise as he held onto his son tighter.

"Of course he does, John!" Hope exclaimed as she watched John wipe moisture from the corner of one eye. "I'm really glad that you happened by us. We really need to talk."

John smiled down into his son's cherubic face and held tightly to his hand. "Yes, we do, Hope. You can start."

Greta offered Hope encouragement in the form of a smile. "Well," Hope began, "I think it is really important for you and J.T. to begin a more complete relationship. Communicating through e-mail, letters, and phone calls is not enough. " She pointed to Greta as she continued, "That is the main reason why we have chosen Salem for our expansion of our magazine. This way, you will be able to see J.T. so much more."

John couldn't prevent the mile-wide grin from crossing his face. He believed in the permanence of family, and it had nearly killed his heart to not be an integral part of J.T.'s life while Hope lived in Europe. He was thankful for the cards, e-mails, and phone calls he had received from J.T., but that was not the same thing as being physically with him. "Oh, yes! That's wonderful, Hope." John caught the first thought that ran through his mind and expressed it to Hope. "Can I have J.T. tomorrow? Say, in the afternoon?"

When Hope nodded enthusiastically, smiling warmly at him, John turned his face down to J.T. and said cheerfully, "We could play together, at the park. Then get some hot chocolate! Sound good?"

J.T. nodded enthusiastically at his father. Then, J.T. looked behind John and a huge smile crossed his face. He broke away from the small group and shouted, "Aunt Choey!" He ran quickly to greet one of his favorite aunts.

Chloe bent down to await J.T.'s loving hug. She held onto him tightly after he had shot himself like a rocket into his arms, glad to be the recipient of his unconditional love. "Hey, handsome," she greeted him as she tussled his hair. Together, the two of them joined their waiting audience.

The smile that had graced John's face a few seconds earlier disappeared as the new arrival came closer to him. He eyed Chloe with extreme displeasure, but he realized now was not the time to display it. He didn't want to scare J.T. with his feelings for the woman next to him. "Chloe," he greeted her coolly. Chloe felt the ice in his replay and managed to nod simply in response to John's lukewarm greeting.

Hope felt the chill, too, and covered it up, for J.T.'s sake. "I'll, ah, meet you at the park tomorrow, John. After lunch. Then, you and J.T. can play to your heart's content."

The smile reappeared on John's face as he looked back at his son, who was gripping Chloe's hand in pure bliss. She has the heart of another one of my sons, John thought in slight dismay. Then, he shook off the depressing thought and said eagerly to Hope, "That sounds great! How about it, champ?" He directed his response to J.T. "We get to play tomorrow!"

J.T. nodded happily, and then buried his head in Chloe's stomach. John reached down and patted his son on the head in farewell. "Sounds like a plan," he said to Hope. "I'll see you then. Hope, Greta, always a pleasure to see you." He purposefully avoided using Chloe's name. Instead, John merely nodded very briefly at Chloe before he continued on down the sidewalk.

Greta chewed on her bottom lip at the nearly rude treatment John had given Chloe. "Ohhhh," Greta exclaimed lowly, so J.T. wouldn't hear. She looked at Chloe, to see how she was taking John's chilly reception. Chloe simply shrugged her shoulders in resignation.

Chloe shrugged her shoulders at both Greta's and Hope's looks of concern. "Don't worry about it," she said to them, not clarifying it because of J.T.'s presence. "Let's go home, get some lunch. I'm starving!" Chloe leaned down and tickled J.T.'s stomach, who laughed uproariously at his aunt. Chloe knew that none of the Blacks were happy about her return to Salem. She would have to adjust herself to their cold responses to her. It was hard, though, especially when she remembered the warmth and support they used to give to her freely.