January Rain

Chapter 29

EJ held onto Nicole's elbow as he continued to lead her away from Samantha's room. She halfheartedly tried to jerk loose, but his grip was firm. After they had walked through the corridor with EJ tightly smiling if they came across anyone he found an empty waiting room and took Nicole in there so they could talk privately without everyone hearing their conversation.

"I can't fucking believe you," Nicole started off as soon as he let her go, hell EJ hadn't even tried to hold her hand while they had walked to this dreary looking room.

"Nicole, don't even start with me," EJ warned, his eyes narrowing at her.

"Oh so it's all right for you to be lying in bed with the woman I hate more than anyone else?"

"There's no reason for you to hate Samantha. She's not a threat to you."

If he only knew, Nicole instantly thought and then tried to push the fear that came along with the statement because Sami coming back into town was threatening everything she had tried to build with EJ ever since she had met him.

Nicole snorted her displeasure, "Trying to deflect from the real reason why I'm upset?"

"You've seemed to have a myriad array of anything triggering your temper lately, so what could be the real reason Nicole?"

"You don't get it do you? You were in bed with Sami!"

"In a completely innocent fashion, you act as if you opened the door to her hospital room and saw that we were having sex with one another."

Nicole realized EJ would do her in a heartbeat if Sami would let him. Did he think she was blind?

"What exactly was going on between the two of you EJ? I can barely get you to look my way, you won't even get close enough to lie beside me on a bed, much less have sex with me."

"There was nothing sexual in what you saw. I was comforting Samantha. For god's sake, she'd been in a wreck; she was extremely upset and confused."

"And of course you had to be the one to immediately run to her rescue, her savior."

"I'm hardly anyone's savior," EJ replied with a tad of bitterness in his tone.

"But you'd love to be hers," Nicole spat out. "Speaking of which why in the world would you have Chance picking up Will and Allie to bring them to the mansion?"

"How did you know about that?"

"I called Harold needing a ride to the mansion," Nicole answered.

"I thought you were with Chloe trying to pick out a wedding dress."

"I was, but we had spent too long in Chicago and Chloe had to get back to Lucas. He needed her."

"What his mummy wasn't able to take care of him if Chloe couldn't be there with him 24/7?"

Nicole paused, this was just another example of how much EJ resented Lucas and it all came back to Sami, damn her. Why were all these men such idiots when it came to that tramp?

"I told Chloe to just drop me off at Salem Place and I'd have Chance pick me up. Imagine my surprise to find out he was busy taking your ex-wife's children back to our home."

It's not your home yet, EJ immediately thought but luckily he didn't say that aloud or there would have been world war three between them.

"Why was that exactly?" Nicole asked when EJ hadn't responded to her.

"William had called to inform me Samantha had been in a car accident, he didn't know the extent of her injuries and I didn't think he and Allie needed to be alone."

"I don't see why you thought they needed to come to the mansion. They have plenty of family to take care of them…"

"They are my family," EJ stated heatedly. "I love those children as if they were my own."

"Ones you wished you had with Sami too, no doubt."

"Nicole this jealousy you have over Samantha is ridiculous. We are trying to do our best to get along with one another and be friends, just friends, nothing more. Nothing is going to change the fact that she is the mother of my children."

Nicole's breath caught and for a brief moment she thought she might throw up, even though EJ apparently didn't even realize his verbal slip up."Well since you are here for her as a friend, I think I'll go check on my friend Brady. I mean since we are just friends like you and your good friend Sami, it shouldn't be a big deal."

EJ's face immediately went into a frown over the mention of Brady's name, but unless he wanted Nicole to start all over again raising hell about him being there for Samantha he had to let it slide.

"Whatever you wish to do is fine with me," EJ said as he turned to leave her alone in the room. "I need to call William to inform him his mother is all right beyond a few cuts and a minor concussion since he was kind enough to inform me she was hurt in the first place."

Nicole slumped down the moment he was gone. It was apparent EJ didn't care what she did. It made her want to cry, she was losing EJ all over again.

Then she straightened up, she needed to stop letting her conscience bother her, EJ didn't know what she had done regarding Sydney and she'd die before she ever let Sami take Sydney away from her. Sami wasn't going to win no matter what she had to do to prevent it.

~ January Rain ~

"Daddy, there isn't anything going on with EJ and me," Sami explained once more after her father had questioned her as to why EJ would be in her hospital room.

"Are you sure? I mean it looked like something was happening."

"We're just friends Daddy. We need to get along for Johnny's sake. You and mom always tried to get along with one another for our sake."

"You know I'll always care for Marlena."

"But I can't care for EJ?"

"It's not the same honey."

"I don't want to argue with you about this daddy."

"I don't want EJ to ever hurt you again."

If you only knew what I've done to hurt him this time, Sami thought to herself as thoughts of Grace immediately came into her mind.

Rafe stood outside the door to Sami's room listening to every word she was saying to her father. He had to make sure she wasn't going to tell Roman the truth about Grace either. If she did, everything he had been working on to bring down the DiMera's would begin to fall apart.

Luckily they didn't speak long after that, Roman informing his daughter he needed to check on Hope and Ciara and he also had to work on the accident investigation. Rafe took a few steps back and acted like he was only returning to Sami's room when Roman opened the door to head out in the hallway.

"So do you think Sami's all right?" Rafe asked with such concern in his voice that Roman took a hand and placed it on his shoulder.

"I believe she will be fine. Thank you Rafe for staying with her while I was with Bo. I just wish I could make DiMera stay away from her, but Sami is stubborn and the more I try to push this issue that they need to stay away from one another, the harder she will dig in her heels about it."

"I'm going to do everything in my power to show her what kind of man DiMera truly is and maybe one day she won't have to ever have anything else to do with him."

Roman smiled, "Maybe between the both of us we can make her see the light."

"I'm sure of it. I'll just go back into her room and stay with her until they let us know when she can be released."

"I'll check back later," Roman told Rafe as he walked away.

"I'll be here," Rafe said with a smile of his own and then he pushed open Sami's hospital door. He was going to make sure he was there for Sami in each and every way possible.

~ January Rain ~

EJ had just finished talking to Cameron about Samantha even though the doctor wasn't too happy to let him know about her prognosis EJ had pressed him telling he wanted to let her son William what was going on with his mother. After leaving Cameron he then called Will, informing him that his mother would be fine. She was just shaken up about the wreck, but beyond a few stitches where her head had hit the windshield, they would be releasing her sometime later on tonight.

EJ told Will to not worry, Chance would take them all to school in the morning and he would personally make sure Samantha was looked after until he could be with his mother again. After ending the call with Will he headed straight back to Samantha's room since he needed to tell her about the kids so she wouldn't upset.

He was about to open the door to her room when he heard that jerk Rafe's voice again.

"You just need to keep your wits about you," he was telling Sami.

"You don't have to remind me of the absolute worse time of my life. I won't ever forget everything that happened to me while I was in witness protection."

"No need to get defensive Sami."

"Just leave me alone. I don't want to think about it. My heart was broken…"

EJ wasn't sure whether or not he should stay outside the door. He wanted to know what had happened, but Sami sounded as if she was on the verge of tears and he didn't want that jackass bothering her anymore than he already had this evening. Knowing he shouldn't eavesdrop on her conversation anymore than he already had he decided if Samantha wanted to tell him what had happened during her time away while she was in witness protection he would wait until she was ready to tell him personally.

If he ever wanted Samantha to trust him again, he would have to prove himself trustworthy and that meant not sneaking around trying listening to her conversations with others. If she wanted to tell him what was going on with her, given time she would.

So he gently pushed open the door to her room and as soon as he walked inside the conversation between she and Rafe abruptly ended.