This Love…

Season 2 Episode 10: Trouble in Paradise

"I thought I told you I wanted you to stay in separate rooms," Hope said calmly.

Ciara and Skylar quickly broke apart.

"Miss. Brady!" Skylar quickly jumped out of bed and searched the floor until she found her shirt. She found it, and slipped it on. She already had a pair of pajama bottoms on. "At the risk of sounding clichéd, this isn't what it looks like!"

"Mom, before you blow a gasket, she fully intended on sleeping in the spare bedroom. However, we wanted to watch a movie in bed together first, and we decided to watch it in my room. We ended up falling asleep during it. I woke up and she was still sleeping. She is a heavy sleeper, and I felt bad waking her, so I just turned off the TV and let her sleep. True, I could have gotten up and gone to the spare bedroom myself, but I figured it didn't matter since we were only sleeping," Ciara explained.

Skylar nodded. "Not that we would be doing anything else in your house anyway. I would never disrespect you or your house like that."

"How did you end up kissing in your bras?" Hope couldn't help but ask. She had been listening to the explanations with her arms crossed over her chest; not sure if she was buying any of this or not.

Ciara blushed. "We paused for a kissing break between getting ready."

"Well, Aiden has made us all breakfast. Please hurry up and get dressed before breakfast gets cold," Hope said. She nodded at Skylar. "I'm assuming you'll be dressing in the spare bedroom?"

Ciara rolled her eyes.

Skyla nodded. "Yes, Miss. Brady. Of course!" She then headed out of the room with Hope watching closely to make sure she was actually leaving.

Once Hope saw Skylar go into the spare bedroom and shut the door, she turned her attention back to Ciara. "Please hurry. I don't want Aiden to feel bad, which he will if the food gets cold."

"I'll be right down, Mom," Ciara said quietly.

Hope nodded, then shut Ciara's bedroom door. Then, she headed downstairs to have breakfast.

~*came back to me*~

"Thank you for breakfast, my Love." Hope pulled Aiden close and kissed him softly on the lips, then rested her forehead against his. "It was delicious! The babies and I thank you."

He pulled her close by the waist and hungrily kissed her. "You're very welcome! Do you want to meet me at the office for lunch? We can go out. Say around noon?"

She nodded. "Whatever gets me to see you."

They kissed some more.

"I gotta go, or I'm going to be late for a meeting with a client. But I'll see you at lunchtime." He kissed her once more. "Try to be nice to Skylar for Ciara's sake. All right?"

Hope rolled her eyes. "I'll try."

"I'm proud of you for not going off on them after finding them in bed together." He kissed her lips one more time. "See you later."

"I love you," Hope said to him.

"I love you too, Baby." He then kissed her stomach. "And Daddy loves you!"

Hope grinned, feeling like the luckiest woman on earth.

Aiden then left.

"So, we wanted to check out the mall today and maybe go ice skating," Ciara said to Hope. "You're welcome to come if you want."

Hope shook her head. "That's okay. I'll let you two go and have your fun. We can get together tonight. We'll do dinner together and maybe have a game night?"

Ciara smirked. "As long as you're not cooking!"

Hope smirked. "Don't worry, poisoning the family is not on my to-do list today," she teased. Though Skylar, maybe, she thought to herself with a smirk.

"I just got to grab my purse upstairs," Ciara said, going up to get it.

Skylar sat on the couch, looking as if she felt awkward.

Hope sat down next to her. "So, did you enjoy your breakfast?" She smiled.

Skylar smiled too. "Very much so! Your boyfriend's a great cook!"

"He can cook the basics anyway," Hope said with a nod. "Though he's a gourmet chef compared to me!"

Skylar laughed. "I'm sure you're not that bad."

"Trust me, I am." Hope pushed some hair behind her ear. "So Skylar, do you really love my daughter as much as you say you do?"

Skylar nodded. "Yes, Ma'am! I know she and I haven't known each other for very long, but still… I love her. I just feel it in my bones, you know?"

"That's the thing. I do know. I've been lucky enough to have love three times in my life. Therefore, I know what love is and I also know that what you have with my daughter is not love. It is more infatuation than anything. I also know my daughter isn't really gay; she's just experimenting."

"With all due respect, Miss Brady, but I beg to differ. You daughter and I are very much in love, and she isn't just experimenting; trust me."

"Ciara has dated guys before. She has never liked women until you came along. Let's be honest here. You fell for my daughter, or at least, felt like you fell for her, so you made her believe she is in love with you too. She just wanted a friend, but you convinced her that she is in love with you," Hope stated.

Skylar laughed. "Oh, Miss Brady, you know absolutely nothing about being gay, do you? You can't talk someone into being gay. They either are or they aren't!"

Hope shook her head. "All I know is that Ciara has always been into boys until you came along. She is confused, and doesn't know what she wants. Look, you seem like a nice girl, and I'm sure you can get any actual lesbian you want. But my daughter isn't a lesbian."

"Yes, she is! I think you need to talk to your daughter Miss Brady, and get to know her a little better, because you clearly don't know her as well as you thought," Skylar said calmly.

Hope was ticked now. "How dare you try to say you know my daughter better than I do?"

Skylar's mouth dropped open in surprise. "I didn't, I—"

Hope cut her off. "Look, I have a lot of money—enough to pay off any student loans you might have. I can even pay for the remainder of your college tuition. All you have to do is pack your bags and go home. Then you transfer to a different medical school and never see or talk to my daughter again."

Skylar laughed. "That's not going to happen! I love that school. It's the best veterinary school around. I'm not leaving."

"Well, you can stay, but still refuse to talk to my daughter outside of school, and you can stop seeing her," Hope reasoned.

"I can't be bought. I not only love the school, but I love your daughter even more," Skylar told her. "I can't believe you'd even offer me such a thing!"

Hope shook her head. "Everyone has a price. What's yours? A hundred grand, plus all of your college expenses? And paying off your loans still stands as well?"

Skylar stood up, and clenched her fists at her sides. "Miss Brady, you are way out of line! I don't even have any student loans! I get by just fine on my own financially, thank you! Even if I couldn't, I'd never let you bribe me with money just so I'd stop seeing the woman I love!"

"Excuse me?" Ciara asked, suddenly appearing at the bottom of the stairs now. She looked at Hope, her eyes narrowed with anger. "Mom, what the hell did you just do?"

Hope stood up as well, and pushed some hair behind her ear. She blushed. "Ciara!" She blushed even more. She guessed she had some explaining to do…

~*came back to me.*~

"Skylar, what did my mom just do? Cuz she clearly isn't going to answer me," Ciara asked Skylar.

"She offered to pay off all my student loans, pay of the rest of my college tuition, and give me a hundred thousand dollars on top of that in exchange for me transferring schools and breaking up with you. When I refused to, she suggested I stay, but still cut off all ties with you," Skylar explained. "I told her no way even if I had student loans!"

Ciara shook her head, and glared at her mother, her arms crossed over her chest. "Unbelievable!" She then looked at Skylar. "Can you please give me a moment alone with my mom?"

Skylar nodded. "Sure. Take your time. I promised my mom I'd call her today anyway." She took out her cell phone. "I'll be in the spare bedroom if you need me." She then headed upstairs.

Ciara then turned to Hope. "What the hell was that all about, Mom?"

"Watch your language when you're in my house please. And when you're around me period. The twins don't need to hear that kind of language—especially when they aren't even out of the womb yet!" Hope placed her hands over her stomach.

Ciara rolled her eyes. "Stop changing the subject!"

Hope sighed, and sat down. Her head was beginning to hurt, as was her back.

Ciara sat down next to her. "Mom, you had no right to talk to my girlfriend like that. Are you trying to hurt me?"

Hope took Ciara's hands in hers. "Baby, you know I would never do anything to hurt you! Everything I do for you is for your own good!"

Ciara pulled her hands away. "How could trying to pay my girlfriend off so that she cuts off all ties with me be for my own good?"

"Ciara, trust me. You're not a lesbian. I know Skylar may have brainwashed you into thinking you are one, but you're not. You've liked boys ever since you were old enough to have crushes."

Ciara raised an eyebrow at her. "I know you're not insinuating that you know better than I do how I feel. That would be crazy!"

Hope shrugged. "Sometimes a mother just knows these things."

Ciara stood up. "Well, you don't know who I love! What? You've never heard of someone loving both genders before?"

Hope nodded. "I have, but like you, those are just confused people."

"I can't believe my own mother is taking like this! Unbelievable," Ciara said, shaking her head.

"Well, it's true! You either like men, or you like women. There is no in between," Hope said, standing up and crossing her arms over her chest.

Ciara shook her head. "It's not cut and dry like that, Mom. I can't help who I fall for. I just fall. I fell for Skylar and it isn't because of anything she tried to force upon me!"

"Skylar is a bad influence on you. She dresses like a punk, she listens to weird music. She has tattoos. You were never interested in any of that stuff before you met her. You also were never the type to lie half naked in your bed, making out in my house!" Hope snapped.

"You know nothing about Skylar, and you know nothing about me!" Ciara said, staring coldly into her mother's eyes. "I do things because I want to; not because anyone else wants to. And as for making out, you're not one to really talk, are you mother?"

Hope raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"You really have to ask? You're living with Aiden without even being engaged to him. And don't think that just because you're quiet, you won't be heard. Skylar and I could hear you two going at it last night. What a hypocrite you are, not even wanting my girlfriend and I to sleep in the same bed, yet at the same time you're screwing your boyfriend in your bedroom for all to hear!" Ciara snapped.

Hope held her head high. She wasn't going to let her own daughter put her in her place! "I'm sorry you had to hear that, but I'm not sorry for sharing my love with my boyfriend. Aiden and I are very much in love, and have two babies on the way. You and Skylar have nothing but adolescent infatuation between you!"

"Save it, Mom! In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a child anymore. I am a fully grown adult. Skylar and I are in love and we don't need your confirmation or your permission to be in love. By the way, what's with you making her call you Miss Brady? Yo didn't like Mrs. Williams because it reminds you of Julie, but, hello, I'm Miss Brady! Talk about weird! Anyone else you let call you Hope, but you're so homophobic that you can't even let my girlfriend call you by your actual name. She has been nothing but kind and respectful to you and you still treat her like trash!" Ciara yelled.

"Well, it's what she deserves for brainwashing you into thinking you're gay!" Hope snapped.

Ciara laughed bitterly and shook her head. "Again with the brainwashing…" She shook her head in disbelief. "This is so ridiculous!" She looked Hope in the eyes. "Being gay doesn't define Skylar. At least she didn't have sex with three guys in less than a year. You jumped from Aiden to Dad, then Rafe. Dad wasn't even cold for a year before you slept with Rafe. Then you couldn't contain yourself and slept with Aiden again, and got yourself pregnant with twins. At least Skylar's not a slut like you!"

Hope didn't know what got into her. It happened so fast; almost like an involuntary muscle spasm. She slapped Ciara hard across the face.

Ciara, mouth dropped open in shock, placed a hand to the cheek where Hope had just slapped her. "You've never hit me before in your life!"

Hope was shocked herself, but she was still so angry, it didn't faze her too much. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hit you," she said quietly. "But you shouldn't have said what you just said."

Ciara shrugged. "Why not? It's true. Don't worry. Skylar and I will find a hotel for tonight then head back home tomorrow."

Hope was too upset to protest.

Ciara then headed upstairs to pack and get Skylar.

Hope sighed, and threw herself down onto the couch. She placed her hands over her stomach. "Oh, babies, what am I going to do with your sister?" she asked to her unborn children. Though she knew that they didn't know any more than she did.

~*came back to me.*~

Hope and Aiden arrived at the pub, and sat down to eat.

"I'm glad Caroline isn't working. I still don't think she likes me very much. In fact, I'm willing to bet money on it that she is only nice to me because I'm the father to the twins," Aiden said as they looked over the specials.

"She'll come around. She's just very protective of me," Hope said, smiling weakly. She was sad, and Aiden could tell.

He took her menu and set it down, then took her hands in his. "Baby, but give her a call."

Hope looked at him in confusion. "Caroline?"

Aiden shook his head. "Ciara. I know it's killing you how you left things with her." Ciara and Skylar had packed up and left directly following Ciara and Hope's fight. They had stayed at a hotel for the night and left the next morning without saying goodbye to her. That had been a few days ago. Hope hadn't talked to Ciara since.

Hope shook her head. "I can't face her. I should not have slapped her. I had no right. I just couldn't believe the way she was talking to me! My own daughter called me a slut. She never would have called me such a name before getting involved with Skylar!"

"Well, sometimes we can't control what our kids do. We may not like it, but they sure as heck aren't going to listen to us—parents or not!" Aiden said.

Hope raised an eyebrow. "Say the twins grow up and they want to date a guy or girl you don't approve of. Wouldn't you try to stop them from dating said person?"

Aiden sighed. "Truth be told, yes. But I'd also keep in mind that I can't force it. You really shouldn't have bribed Skylar to break it off with Ciara. Can't you see how that would upset Ciara?" Aiden asked.

Hope nodded. "I suppose so."

"And can you see why she'd think you were a hypocrite, not letting her share a bed with Skylar, but sleeping with me?" Aiden asked next.

Hope raised an eyebrow. "So you think I really am a slut and a hypocrite?"

Aiden held his hands up in the air. "Woah. "Baby, now you're just putting words in my mouth. You only sleep with people you love. Though the Rafe thing, I will never understand. Even so, I don't think that makes you a slut. You're nor hypocrite either. I'm just trying to think like a twenty-year-old being told no by her mother would think; that's all."

"Well, I'm not ready to apologize to her. She should apologize to me!" Hope said.

Aiden nodded. "That's fine. Just remember, arguments aren't worth losing the time you could be spending with each other."

Hope picked up her menu again. "I don't want to think about her right now." She looked at Aiden. "I just want to have the corned beef and cabbage and maybe a green beer out of tradition!"

"Sounds good except for the beer," Aiden said. "Remember, you're not the only one drinking now."

Hope rolled her eyes. "Relax! Ciara already thinks I'm a bad mother. I don't need you thinking it too. They have non-alcoholic beer here too now. It obviously doesn't taste as good as the real thing, but it will do."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that you're a bad mother. I just thought you forgot you were pregnant," Aiden said.

Hope laughed. "As if I could ever forget!"

Aiden laughed too. "All right. I'm just dumb I guess."

Hope took his hand and kissed it. "Never dumb. Just a good daddy looking out for his babies before they're even born."

"And they couldn't have a better mommy than you," Aiden said, kissing her hand in return.

Hope smiled at him, once again, feeling like the luckiest woman on earth.

~*came back to me*~

"Happy St. Patrick's Day!" Aiden said to Hope as he held out his mug of non-alcoholic beer.

Hope held out her mug as well. "Happy St. Patrick's Day!"

They toasted, then drank up.

They then began to eat their meals. They had both ordered the corned beef and cabbage.

They made small talk as they had their lunch, then the topic got back onto Ciara.

"I was thinking about how you said no argument was worth losing time spent with your loved one," Hope began.

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? You actually listened to something I said?"

Hope laughed. "Shut up and let me finish!" She grinned. "I was thinking, I really should apologize to Ciara. I think I'm going to call her. No matter what she said to me, I had no right to slap her. Also, I'm thinking that maybe it was kind of silly after all to think that Skylar brainwashed her into being gay."

Aiden was relieved. "I don't think anyone can be brainwashed into loving someone. I couldn't brainwash you when I came back to Salem the last time."

Hope nodded. "That is true. Though, even though I didn't want to admit it at the time, I already loved you anyway."

"Really? Cuz you seemed pretty happy with Rafe," Aiden said; surprised.

Hope nodded. "I was, but… To be perfectly truthful, I still had lingering feelings for you even though I did my best to suppress them."

"Well, it's good to know you never stopped loving me because I never stopped loving you!" Aiden told her.

Hope smiled at him then her expression turned serious again. "The more I think about it, the more I know the real reason why Ciara turned gay."

Aiden finished his meal and wiped his mouth. "Why's that?" he asked hesitantly. He didn't think anyone could just "turn gay", but he was willing to humor her.

Hope looked at him. "It's because Chase raped her. That screwed her up mentally. I'm sure that is what turned her off from men."

Aiden nearly choked on the rest of his green beer. "Wait, so now you're blaming my dead son?"

Hope shrugged. "I'm just saying, he raped her. He was her first sexual experience. She hadn't even really had a serious boyfriend before that. I can see how she would easily be turned off from men because of it. Your son warped her mind on what love really is."

"Okay, I supported you despite your deluded theories before, Hope, but I'm sorry, this time I cannot support you!" Aiden slammed his napkin down.

"Aiden, I don't know why you're so upset with me. I'm only stating facts. Heck, if anyone should be angry with anyone, I should be angry with you. Had you not been involved with the Dimeras, you never would have been locked up, and therefore you would have actually been here for your son so that he didn't turn into a monster!" Hope snapped.

"Oh, so now my son's a monster, is he?" Aiden asked, so angry he was shaking now.

Hope nodded. "He raped my daughter. I'd say that qualifies him as a monster!"

Aiden stood up then. "I have to get back to work!" he said coldly.

Hope stood up as well. "Aiden, don't be like that. How I feel about Chase in no way reflects on how I feel about you!" Hope said, calming down a bit.

Aiden looked at her. "You just blamed me by saying that had I been there for Chase, the rape wouldn't have happened. Anyway, when you call my child a monster, I do take it as a personal attack. See you at home. You can pay the bill. You have the money. After all, you were going to pay off student loans and a college tuition, right?" he said sarcastically. He then left the pub, slamming the door behind him.

"Aiden!" Hope called, out, looking at the closed door in disbelief.

She then sighed, and plopped herself back down into her chair. She then took a long swig of her green beer, whishing so badly it had alcohol in it. "This week has not been a good week to be Hope!" she muttered to herself before motioning the waiter for another non-alcoholic green beer.