Time: same night

Place: DiMera Compound

Alone again with the door shut securely, Tony sank down on the bed only to jump up restlessly and pace across the floor. Imagines swam in his mind, he and Marlena in bed. He could see her face flushed with pleasure, lashes a dark smudge that swept across the iridescence of her eyes as she whispered his name and her finger gently traced a path along his cheekbone searching for his mouth. He squeezed his eyes shut but still it persisted. The touch of her skin, its coolness and the sense of simplicity he felt lying next to her. How idiotic was that given the predicament the two of them were caught in…could it have been a matter of delusion or relief?

Reaching the wall, he leaned his forehead against the smooth plaster and tried to remind himself that he ought to feel relieved. Problem was, he didn't. Not relieved, or guilty, or even a sense of vindication knowing he'd had John's wife. In fact the dread permeating through every corner of his awareness from the moment he'd entered the house clung with more tenacity than before.

He'd promised her that he would keep the twins safe from his father, but obviously he'd not succeeded, or managed to get her home with her memory intact, which meant his plans had gone terribly awry and to a point that Stefano didn't want either of them to remember what had actually transpired. A nagging instinct sent him back to his encounter earlier, and the strange intuition he'd felt as he spoke to Sebastian's son. What events was this mysterious young man privy to when it came to the past?

For the first time, Tony considered the possibility that the letters had found their way to him without Stefano's knowledge, and without his approval. They revealed a history after all that he'd done everything in his power to hide and if this were the case, he would have already made certain that his gifts to Marlena awakened only the memories he sanctioned. He'd not allow her to remember anything that involved Tony…doing so would ruin his plans. It would mean John would know that Tony sent his wife back to him.

"And that is the last thing you want him to learn, eh Father?" Tony whispered at the ceiling.

Apparently, someone else out there either hoped for the truth to come out, or was working to throw a wrench into Stefano's plans, or maybe a combination of the two, which meant his theory wasn't foolproof. Still, what could it hurt if Marlena did remember it all? John would be angry but stuck and a part of Tony relished this scenario immensely, for here was a fact his brother couldn't ignore or explain away. And more delicious yet, John could do nothing but remain silent in front of his wife as sounding off would only prove he was bent on a vendetta, though on second thought it occurred to Tony that having lived so long with the habit of distrust and the need to protect Marlena, John would be none too willing to cut his lifeline. It made him feel vital. And he'd succeeded where Tony had failed.

That was a sobering admission come to think of it, especially considering he had a pretty sketchy notion of the details, but not even Stefano could prevent the screen holding back Tony's memory from unraveling now and he sensed that its momentum was beyond the point of anyone's control.

"Would you mind repeating that?" said Shane, his voice so carefully controlled that Patrick instinctively moved back a couple of steps and prepared himself for an explosion.

"He told me that he meant to set up the laboratory exactly as it was before."

"Now he wants her to remember? What the hell is going on down there," he muttered as he turned to reach for his cell phone. It wasn't in the spot where he normally kept it and he had to shuffle several stacks of papers before locating it beneath the folder he'd just set down, as he'd come in the door. "So help me, if this is some kind of test, or…Tony…" and the tone in his voice altered just slightly, though Patrick could still detect the edge of Shane's temper, and knew he was only barely keeping it under control. "Isn't this a little early in the morning for you to be worried about redecorating?"

Tony's laughter had an edge of its own. "Concerned about my sleeping habits, how thoughtful."

"No, I'm concerned with your sanity."

"You and John both."

Shane cursed under his breath but with an effort, forced himself to stay calm. "Please tell me you're doing this because you learned something constructive or at least have some reason to believe this will work. Tell me this isn't some crazy risk you've concocted thinking that you can control what she remembers."

"You honestly believe we're controlling anything at this point?" Tony asked rather mildly.

"But you're going to try it anyway."

"Well…" he heard Tony sigh, "my options seem to be dwindling."

Leaning back against his desk, Shane decided he didn't like the implication or the conclusions his mind leapt to automatically. "Why?"

An answer from Tony wasn't immediately forthcoming and Shane knew he was right but still he waited for Tony to say it. "The letters are…genuine, only I'm beginning to wonder just who is it that wanted me to have them. Not Stefano, I think."

The typical sharpness in his tone was gone and Shane swore he'd let his guard down for a moment. "So tell me what you remembered, exactly."

And Tony chuckled. "I don't think you want to hear the exact version."

"Alright," Shane growled, "then how about enough to help me understand your reasoning here."

"I'm not sure I can. It's this place as much as the details of what I know now…" his voice trailed off as though searching for a way to put his feelings into words.
"Whatever happened here, I sense it is something Stefano would bury if he could, permanently."

Confused, Shane shook his head. "Then why give Marlena the pillow? Why deliberately draw her here to the island where her memories could resurface?"

"Perhaps he's predetermined which ones she'll recover."

Shane's whistle was low but appreciative. It sounded like the kind of safeguard Stefano would keep in place and Tony's ability to crawl inside his father's psyche and read the man continued to amaze Shane who shook his head. "He's hoping she remembers the twins."

"Yes."

"Interesting theory. What if you're wrong?"

"You mean, what if she remembers everything?"

Shane felt himself holding his breath as he waited for Tony to answer his own question.

"After a few hours in this house, I'm not entirely sure I want to remember all of it," and veiled beneath his wry bemusement was a hint of the desperation that had slipped through his defenses back in Paris the summer before. "But the bottom line seems to be that I tried to send her home. I can't for the life of me imagine Stefano wants either of them learning that bit of information."

"At least not from Marlena."

Tony didn't pipe up to agree with him but Shane could still see his smile and thanked whatever God existed for his partner's ability to find humor in the worst of situations.

"So what do you need in order to pull off this little experiment?"

"I gave a list to Patrick."

Glancing up, Shane eyed Patrick who was standing on the other side of the room leaning over the window and as he felt Shane's gaze, he turned and pointed at the laptop, which lay closed on the desk. Shane raised an eyebrow and Patrick smiled back at him a bit sheepishly. "It seems," said Shane with more amusement than irritation, "that you've won over my assistant."

"Excuse me?" said Tony, sounding confused.

"The supplies are already in route."

"Oh." For a moment there was silence and then in a quiet, incredulous tone, "tell him thank you."

"I will…and Tony…"

"Yes?"

"Please try to remember that John is even more in the dark at this point than you are… I'd really like to see you get off that blasted island in one piece. John has no idea of what's going on. You do."

"I'm afraid I'm not nearly as sure of that as you are," said Tony cryptically but he didn't elaborate before he hung up and Shane was left with the uncomfortable impression that Tony's gut was leading him to some rather ugly conclusions. What if he was right? Shane had read all the letters and as much as he'd hoped they disclosed the true story, there were far too many missing pieces, especially at the end. Somehow Stefano had discovered Tony's plans and put a stop to them but Shane doubted it was so cut and dried. Having been on the receiving end of Stefano's wrath, Shane knew nothing could have been simple or pleasant for Tony if he'd crossed his father.

"You look as worried as he sounded."

Shane tossed the phone on his desk and shot a look in Patrick's direction. "I think I'd much prefer to discuss this abrupt change of attitude in regards to Count DiMera."

"Abrupt," murmured Patrick thoughtfully. "I suppose it seems that way."

"Two weeks ago you wanted me to throw the book at him after we learned what he did to Brady and now when he asks for assistance, you dispense it without even asking for my approval." Shane kept his eyes on Patrick whose profile disappeared into the morning sun as it shone through the window.

"I may have been a bit…hasty."

Two small wrinkles appeared between Shane's eyebrows. "You care to explain that?"

Patrick knew that tone. It wasn't a request but an expectation and he'd better have the right answer, or at least an honest one but that meant divulging things about his past that Patrick never discussed and did his best to ignore. "I…ah…" He shut his eyes and rubbed them. "Okay, I admit that I didn't want to believe Tony's story after you got involved with him. It was preposterous. This man has wealth I can't even imagine, so why on earth would he feel the need to come to you for help? What a convenience given your connection to John and the Brady family…"

"Even after I told you about his history with Stefano."

Patrick looked down. "Yes."

"But?"

There was a hesitation before Patrick replied. "I don't know…I guess I assumed that because he was rich, he couldn't possibly have to deal with problems in the same way as the rest of us."

Shane didn't laugh as Patrick expected him to. Instead he sat down on the couch and leaned his head against his hand, and waited patiently.

"I'm not doing much of a job of explaining this clearly…"

"You're doing fine," Shane told him, but Patrick was still agitated and turned to look out the window.

"Everything you told me about his past; the falling out with his father, his cousin's hatred, loosing his fiancé, his mother…" Patrick shrugged, "I couldn't see how those things meant much if he was willing to…well, deal with the devil so to speak," and with a strange combination of uncertainty and antagonism, he whipped back around and his eyes bored into Shane's. "To me that indicated he'd been more interested in the money, and his position in the family than he was in their memory."

Shane just nodded silently.

"What never occurred to me, until you met up with him in Montreal was that he may have had other motives, ones I didn't want to accept I guess."

"Because of his wife?" asked Shane.

"No, because of Colin."

Now Shane looked more confused than ever and Patrick swallowed with difficulty past the knot in his way. "My father…" he began, and then stalled when the words stuck in his throat. It took several moments and a deep breath before he managed to choke out, "he…was violent sometimes. He beat us." After an even longer silence, he finally glanced up at Shane who didn't appear shocked and wore a carefully guarded but still sympathetic air in his eyes. Patrick scratched his head. "The worst was when he did it to Mimi and Connor. I couldn't stop him…"

"And you though you should have."

Patrick just nodded, numbly.

"You thought because you were the eldest, it was your responsibility."

"Yes."

"Patrick…"

"Wait,' he broke in before Shane could get any further, "I'm not finished. I…" he turned away again and Shane could almost see him working up the nerve to get this thing out, whatever it was. "I left, the minute I got the chance, I took off running as far and as fast as I could from him, from Salem and my family." He exhaled a shaky breath. "I thought if I could just get away, and do something that mattered that perhaps I could make up for it somehow but that's not the way it works." The smile curling his lips as he faced Shane was wry and bitter. "The fact of the matter is, I was a coward."

Again Shane was silent but there was no disgust in his eyes, which was what Patrick had feared to see there. He merely listened without casting any judgments.

"Tony could have easily let you have your way with Colin in Montreal. You were right, it would have solved a world of problems for him but," Patrick shook his head in amazement, "he didn't, and for the first time I began to understand how much more complicated his personality…no…" Slowly, he closed his eyes. "I realized his determination to do what I'd could not."

Raising an eyebrow, Shane's lips pursed together momentarily. "But you still tried to convince me to inform John and Roman after what he did to Brady."

The wry smile popped up once more. "I didn't say realizing I could be wrong was a comfortable thought, or that I liked it."

And Shane nodded. "I see." For a fleeting instant, he felt a burst of pride and forced himself to bite his lip to keep from smiling at the young man standing in front of him. To admit one's shortcomings was difficult enough, but doing so because of someone Patrick had been raised to believe the worst of, made his behavior all the more remarkable to Shane. "What made you accept it?"

"The twins," said Patrick simply, as though it would explain everything but Shane shook his head and Patrick frowned.

"He could have used them to get his revenge on his brother, to play on Dr. Evan's memories until he tore her marriage to shreds but instead he put their welfare first. He's determined to protect them, even now…"

"Now…what do you mean, even now?"

A quirk at the corner of his mouth was the only indication of just how uncomfortable this was for him. "He protected her, or tried to and risked his father's displeasure to make sure she made it home…to his brother."

"Among other things, yes," said Shane, hiding a smirk behind his hand.

"You know what I mean."

And Shane sighed. "If that is the way it happened, Tony's ability to stick to the high road could very well be as tricky, even as difficult as the path you've been traveling all these years. Unless John learns the truth, he's not going to make this easy. In fact I think a part of him already suspects there is an invisible connection between his wife and his brother, and I'm not all that sure that even Tony's children will be enough to help him live with whatever truth he uncovers on that island."

"Why?"

The question shot at him with the inquisitiveness he'd come to treasure in his assistant and Shane answered him honestly. "Tony is afraid."

Patrick's eyebrow inched up a sliver. "I realize you're guessing, but of what exactly?"

"Learning he made the wrong choice perhaps."