EJ's car

"So, I'm only capable of love if the guy is unattainable."

Despite her misgivings and the fact she'd apparently underestimated the depth of EJ's commitment, Sami sat on her side of the car, vacillating. She wanted to believe him…desperately. But they'd been in this spot only a few months ago, and wanting to see things a certain way hadn't panned out exactly. Or maybe, her reactions had been a mite too hasty and if she'd offered him the benefit of the doubt it all would have led them here sooner…without all the pain or dealing with his father, or Nicole.

A few feet away, EJ could sense how close she was to grasping the truth of their connection. And he reminded himself not to get his hopes up because nothing pained him at this point as much as the memory of how many times she'd come this close only to back away again.

"Let's just say I think you're more in love with the chase than you are its object."
"And look who's talking."
"Oh no, sweetheart," came EJ's voice with a touch of a drawl, "we're not dissecting me at the moment."
Sami snorted. "The hell we aren't. You're the one who started this fucking…" she gestured impatiently with her hand, first in his direction and then back at herself, "marathon, so if you think you're off the hook just because I'm so screwed up, think again, dearest."
"How is it you can make a word meant to signify affection sound so humiliating?"
"Practice. Lots and LOTS of practice."
"Well there, you see? You were meant to fall in love with a DiMera."
"You just said I wasn't capable of falling in love with anyone other than myself."
"No…" He shook his head vigorously. "No, I said the implication terrifies you."
"I'd have to be an imbecile not to be terrified of whole…DiMera package deal…hell, look at Anna."

EJ bit his lip. "If you'd brought up Benji's wife as an example, I'd have to agree, but Anna?" and as he said her name, laughter echoed through the car.

"The woman has complaining down to an art form," sniffed Sami.
"I'll give you that, and I'll even go so far as to agree she's not overly fond of her father-in-law but if anyone was born to fit into this family other than you, it's Anna Fredricks."

Sami didn't find the comparison complimentary but refused to argue the point. Still her response was classic Sami at her vindictive best and he wanted to cheer out loud when he saw her smile at him like a hungry lioness.

"Face it, Samantha. You belong in this family and if nothing else, you could teach us what fools we are."
"That's not my idea of a marriage."
"Why?"
"Because..." her voice trailed off.
"Because you've been brainwashed into thinking that marriage is some sort of religious experience."

Now she looked at him as though he were on crack. "Excuse me?"
"Alright, not exactly the analogy I was looking for but you don't want the chase to end, so why should it just because we promise not to go chasing after anyone else?"
"That sounds like a round-about way of admitting life with you will never be safe."
EJ flashed a broad grin. "Exactly."
She stared.
"Oh, you don't want safe, darling." He ignored the snort of disgust he heard as she tried to turn away, but he wasn't going to allow that and caught her chin gently to make certain she focused on his words. "You and I…we're not normal people. We need that adrenalin rush that comes from never quite knowing what is life will deliver in the next moment and that's what we supply each other; a lifetime devoted to intrigue."
"Well, that ought to sound just dandy in the wedding vows."
He let go, letting his fingers caress her skin as he did so and then sat back, still smiling. "Isn't that expected at this point?
Furious, she leaned over and whacked him on the chest. "This isn't funny."
"Samantha, please. I can't see you settling for a wedding event that would bore all of Salem with its tedious and mundane sentiment. I thought you had more pride than your sisters."

She couldn't help herself. Just envisioning the potential antics such a wedding would provide made her laugh in spite of how pissed she was at him. "EJ…"
"You know I'm right."
"Even if I thought you weren't delusional, I'm be an idiot to tell you so. You'd become even more insufferable than you are right now."
"Well, seeing as you've spent the last two years shoving that particular opinion down my throat, hoping I'd choke on it presumably, I'm not likely to forget it and I have no reason to think you ever plan on quitting either."
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Let me get this straight…I'm shallow, unable to commit, psychologically scared to the point no sane guy would want to spent ten minutes with me, let alone ten years…and yet…" her voice lowered itself and he could hear the insecurities that she finally did him the honor of displaying openly. "You still want me?"

At first, he just sat and savored the moment, one he'd begun to think would never, ever fucking happen. "From the second I laid eyes on you, woman," he admitted in a shaky, fervent voice of his own.

Silence took over the inside of the car…a strange sort of companionable silence that Sami had never experienced in EJ's company before. She had no more proof of his intentions than she had when they'd left the mansion and the things he had said to her were hardly flattering and yet it all made sense, in a twisted, convoluted way that made her want to laugh and cry simultaneously because he was right.

She was so screwed up, only a DiMera could make her happy.

Only this DiMera.

London

Shane hung up the phone after speaking to Caroline.

Brady hadn't arrived. According to Harold, who'd finally called and checked in, the younger Black had left the DiMera mansion about thirty minutes before the butler had discovered Rafe's body. Harold said Brady had Sydney with him, but he'd not returned or arrived at Samantha's.

And he didn't answer his phone either.

This situation got stickier by the minute and as he considered Tony's revelations regarding Victor, Shane's intuition was feeding him bad vibes. The last thing he'd wanted right now was to involve anyone else in this operation. It was already too complicated but with Sydney missing, and possibly on her way to the Kiriakis mansion, it didn't' seem he had much choice. It was either contact someone he trusted, or wait until EJ arrived to find his daughter missing at which point all hell would break lose.

As he dialed Bo's number, he wondered if he could get away with just having Elvis locked up until all this was over. At least that way, whatever Stefano had planned would be taken care of, but even while he listened to Bo's cell ringing, he knew what Tony's reaction would be…one he didn't want to think about.

"Gov'ner."
"Sorry to disturb you in the middle of dinner, Bo."
"Not a problem."
"Well, this might be with your new position, and the ah, situation earlier today…the one with Philip."

Seated at the pub with his daughter plucked from the childseat and nestled on his lap, Bo eyed his wife across the table. She perked up once she realized it was Shane on the other end of the line.

"You heard about that," Bo observed, not particularly surprised.
"Are you at the office, or at home, by any chance?"
He paused before answering and glanced around the pub, which was about half full with the tail end of the dinner rush. "No."
"Okay, than I'd like you do me a favor. Once you're done, could you head over to Steve's place and call me back. And the sooner, the better."
"What the hell is going on? Is this about Philip?"
"No. At least I hope he's not involved."
"Involved in what? Shane…"
"I can't explain all it to you now. Just trust me, it's important."
Bo frowned as he gazed over at Hope. "In other words, you need me to check out something to do with Vic and not ask any questions."
"Yes."
As usual, the answer Shane gave him was succinct and dry to the point that not even Bo could decipher anything out of it. "You do realize that I got myself in a mess already with the department last summer because of Victor and Philip and if…"
"I don't like the idea of sending Steve over there by himself," said Shane hurriedly, feeling the tiniest bit guilty for playing on Bo's feelings this way.

Bo didn't like the idea either. In fact, he didn't like the notion of Steve coming along at all as he had a sneaking suspicion that Stephanie might be at the mansion comforting Philip and he already knew how Steve felt about that.

"Let me guess. Steve contacted you and offered his services to get the goods on Vic if you were still so inclined," suggested Bo, feeding Ciara another bite of his Neapolitan ice cream, "and you're taking him up on it."
"I wouldn't be sending anyone over there, especially tonight if I didn't have sufficient reason to believe…"
"Vic was up to something. Yes, I know."

The idea bothered Bo so much, he didn't even pay attention to Ciara when she grew impatient and took the spoon out of his hand. He didn't like the implications being made here, not with the imagine still so fresh in his mind of Stefano and Vic snarling at each other back the hospital earlier and though he had little reason to doubt Philip's story, the undercurrents between all the players remained complicated. He'd witnessed some rather peculiar behavior this evening, starting with Stefano himself. Victor on the other hand, had for the most part kept his cool, and it was certainly possible that his willingness to forgive Philip was due to the shock it could have been his son dying instead of Tony…or it could have been due to an entirely different set of circumstances…such as being responsible himself for what happened to Tony in some manner.

The reminder he was still on the phone came from Ciara who started banging the spoon against the table. Bo diverted her attention with more ice cream.

"I'll be at Steve's place in about ten minutes," he told Shane and shut the phone one handed, shoveling a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth, and then turned another one about the same size in his wife's direction.
Hope didn't look pleased. "I thought we had this all sorted out."
Bo shrugged. "So did I but frankly, I'm not surprised with the way Nicole was acting, especially refusing to talk to you until she was certain Tony was dead and who was it that was going on during dinner about Brady's comments?"

He was still holding spoon and the ice cream was beginning to drip onto the table, so he ate half of it and gave the rest to Ciara.

"By the time you're done, she'll have eaten more of what's in that bowl than you," Hope admonished him, though she couldn't help herself from smiling at her daughter, "and as for Brady's comment, it was in reference to Nicole, not Victor."
"Victor fired Philip for losing that stupid project, the one he and Tony were fighting over."
"So?"
Bo looked at his wife. "This is Victor we're talking about…"
"Who doesn't do business like Stefano."
"Since when?" snorted Bo. "And you're the last person I expected to be arguing with when it comes to Victor after what happened last summer."
"Me? How about you Brady…first you destroy evidence when the man asks you and now when Shane calls, you agree to…."
"I haven't agreed to anything yet. I'm just going to Steve's place..."
"And after Shane calls and tells the two of you that Victor is up to something, you'll both go sneaking into the mansion."

Wearing half a grin, Bo leaned back in the booth. "I think you're just jealous because you weren't invited."
"And I think you're all crazy."
Bo laid the spoon on the table and when Ciara tried to reach for it, he picked her up and swung her as high over his head as his arms would reach and held her there until she was giggling. "Yes," Bo told her, "Mommy doesn't like missing out on these little adventures but your grandma is already babysitting tonight." With that, he brought her back down and hugged her, gazing over her dark curls at his very perturbed wife. "Sorry Fancy Face."

Hope smiled, and it was the feisty one that Bo was all too familiar with. She wasn't going to let him off the hook.

"So I'm in trouble, eh?"
"Not necessarily," she told him, enjoying his discomfort. "Unless of course Kayla is working and can't watch Ciara…"

The Convent

"My love, we've got it!"

Anna practically burst into the chapel, and the excitement and glee in her voice was contagious. Even Lexie, trailing along behind her wore a smile and once they reached the front where Tony was waiting, his sister almost threw herself into his arms.

"You ever do that to me again and you'll regret it," she warned as she kissed him on both cheeks and then squeezed him again, doing her best to convince herself this was real. Every time she shut her eyes, she saw the pale lifeless face that mirrored the one in front of her so exactly.
Tony held her close, and the strength of his arms was comforting. "You think there'd be anything left of me once Anna got finished?" he whispered in a conspiratorial voice.
"I think you'd have more luck with Father."
"Or Lucifer."
That got a laugh out her and then, "Speaking of the devil…"
"Ah yes," he said, taking a deep breath and letting his eyes wander over to meet those of his wife. "Is the bastard in hell once and for all this time?"

Anna's smile beamed back at him and she held up a plain, hardwood box. "Ashes to ashes…"
He grinned at her but still shook his head, bemused at her choice of a quote. "What, no Shakespeare for cousin?"
The smile on her lips twisted. "If I'd bothered, the Marquise de Sade would have been more appropriate, don't you think?"
"Appropriate," laughed Tony, "but depressing. How about we compromise and use Machiavelli?"
"Is it really going to matter?" she said, wrinkling her nose at the box. "Once they all get a load of who these ashes belong to, the only thing this group of mourners are going to care about is celebrating."
"Sounds like what we're really going to need is a jute box," said Lexie, "and an open bar."
"That would be a pretty unique funeral for Salem."
"Maybe we ought to just hold a parade."

"Well, before the two of you start planning an event here, remember those ashes officially belong to Tony DiMera, or as far as Father is concerned, some poor unsuspecting bloke…"
"So, he got the text?"
Tony grinned. "Harold said, he practically turned purple when he read the damn thing. You are a genius, my darling." He was already walking over and took the box. "Here…" he held it out for Lexie, and once it was out of his hands, slid them around his wife and before she could object and remind him they were standing in the middle of a church, she found herself dipped backwards.
"Tony!"
The twilight and candles in the chapel lent an inviting warmth to his dark eyes. "It's been four days…four bloody interminable days that dragged along like an hour in purgatory and you know," he whispered, "how that affects me."
Anna couldn't help but giggle, and she was more than a willing participant when he kissed her soundly.

Standing to the side, Lexie rolled her eyes and when they didn't stop after a few seconds, looked down at the box in her hands. It seemed so small to hold the remains of someone who'd spent all his time and energy trying to drive them mad for how many years now? This day got more surreal by the second…and embarrassing.

"I'd love to know how anyone who had to witness this in the past ever mistook Andre for you," she grumbled.
They were both standing upright now at least.
"I've been curious on that score myself," remarked her brother. He still had his hands all over Anna and from the looks of him, wasn't thrilled at the prospect of behaving himself. Maybe she just needed to be blunt.
"So, what now?"

Not sure what she'd been expecting…perhaps a snotty remark or a glare from Anna, she had to settle for a wan smile. She watched Tony trace Anna's mouth, as though to memorize it with his finger and then with one more peck on her lips, stepped back. Pointing at the box, Anna asked, "did you want to take that with you?"
"Take it where," asked Lexie, still in the dark about what was going on between the two of them, besides the obvious.

Tony and Anna looked at each other and she shook her head with a chuckle "Sorry, I've done my fill of explaining for one night. It's your turn."

His eyes traveled from his wife's face to his sister's and then to the box. "Well, my cousin and I are going on a little excursion."

Lexie had never in her life experienced any of her mother's dreaded premonitions and she sure as hell didn't want to start, but the instant she heard the words fly out of Tony's mouth, she knew what he was talking about and she didn't like it.

"You're going to the mansion."
Instead of answering, he held his hand out to take the box.
"Are you nuts?" she fumed at him.
For once he didn't laugh, not even sarcastically. "This isn't over yet, Alexandra and I know what I'm doing. I told you that last fall at the pub."
"Why?" She held onto the box and stepped out of his reach.
And he didn't make a move to grab it but stood and suddenly he looked tired. "You don't honestly need an answer to that question, do you? For Christ's sake, I just went ten rounds with Elvis and now I need to convince you too?
Instead of answering him, she stared down at the box and he could see her brow furrow in confusion.
He let out a sigh in response was plainly audible. "Is it that you don't trust me, or that you don't trust Father?"
"How about both."
That made him chuckle in amusement. "Okay, that was honest enough…"
"Tony…" but she didn't get any further.

He reached over and gently lifted her chin until he could see all the misery and frustration in her eyes, accusing him and after what her day had consisted of, he couldn't really blame her.

On the other hand, this was as much for her as it was for any of the rest of them.

"You want Father's antics to continue?"
"NO."
But still she clung to the box and remarkably, Anna hadn't uttered a single word so far, or even choked back anything that could be mistaken for a snort of laughter.

Damn it, why did everyone in this family have to be so infernally pig-headed?

"Is this your way of telling me you expect to come along?" he asked his sister more out of irritation than anything else and that finally got a rise out of his wife.
"If she's coming along, so am I."
Tony glared at her. "Well hell, why don't see just call up Roman and Abe and invite the whole bloody police department along too, and, oh I don't know, maybe Victor and…"

"Alright," snapped Lexie, shoving the box in his direction. "It's not like any of you ever listen to me anyway but if you think I'm going to patch you up if something happens…or bur…" at that point she bit off the rest of her tirade but still she quivered, furious with the both of them.

Tony merely took the box from her and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. "The only grave digging conducted this evening will be me and Harold unearthing a little surprise for the old man…" Tony smiled only he wasn't looking at her anymore, but at the box containing his cousin's ashes, and his smile was twisted. "…a ghost he'll be certain is me."