Chapter One

"I'll pick you up at 4:00 so we can go get the kids from the airport, then." Brady smiled at Chloe, trying to hide the fact that although he wanted to see Belle, he wasn't too crazy about the idea of seeing Philip.

"Ok! Thanks Brady." Chloe kissed him on the cheek and headed out the door, leaving Brady happily staring after her.

"You really like her don't you?" Brady turned to find that Marlena had asked him the question. He debated whether to tell her to shut the hell up or to answer, deciding that he might as well keep his somewhat good mood intact.

"Yeah, we've gotten to be good friends, I guess."

"No, I mean, you REALLY like her, don't you." Marlena smiled her 'hey, I'm a shrink, and I know everything' smile.

'Well. She's a shrink, and she knows everything. Might as well tell the truth.' Brady hesitated, trying to put how he felt into words. "I…I guess I do. I won't even admit that to dad, so feel very privileged. It feels good to tell someone, though. I like her. A lot."

"So why don't you tell her?"

"Believe me, I've tried. But every time I do, she starts talking about how glad she is that we're such great 'friends' or how much Philip loves her, no matter how he treats her." Brady sat on the couch, dejected. "Fear of rejection, I guess. Not something you would expect from me, huh?"

"I don't think she would reject you. I see the way she looks at you." Marlena put her hand on Brady's shoulder and sat next to him. "Tell her, Brady."

"I will. Eventually. But you have to promise not to tell anyone, especially Belle." Brady pleaded with her. "I don't want Chloe finding out before I have a chance to tell her."

"What about your father?"

"Oh, I don't care if you tell him what I said. He knew I liked her before I did." Brady laughed, "I just realized that. He teased me about it before I had even admitted it to myself."

"John is a very observant man. Sometimes I think he should take my job!" Marlena chuckled to herself.

Brady smirked, and laughed a little, even though the joke wasn't at all funny. 'Hey, she's old, and a little strange. What do I expect?'

"Yeah, well, I have to go get ready to go, so I'll see you later." Brady stood up and walked up the stairs.

"Sure thing, dude!" Marlena gave Brady a thumbs up.

Brady rolled his eyes at her pathetic attempt to be cool. 'Marlena trying to be a surfer? Or…something. Next thing you know, Martha Stewart will be talking ghetto…'

Marlena stayed on the couch, satisfied with her successful venture into the teenage mind. 'I think I'll mosey on up to the master bedroom and put on my Coolio record.'


Chloe walked into her bedroom, thinking about Brady. 'We've had so much fun together during these past two weeks, I almost don't want Belle, Shawn, and Philip to come home.'

Chloe picked up the framed picture of herself and Philip at the Last Blast from two years ago. "Philip," she said to herself. "What am I going to do when he comes home? Do I want to be with him or not? I guess I'll know when I see him. I love…or loved…him. But he probably won't even let me see Brady if we do get back together, and I wouldn't be able to stand that. Brady and I have this connection…it makes me think about him all the time. I don't want anything standing in the way of our friendship. Maybe Philip will come back a changed man, with less jealousy and more understanding. No. That's not likely at all."

She heard a knock at her door. "Chloe?"

"Come in."

Nancy walked through the door, smiling timidly, intimidated as always by her daughter. "I made a cake, and I was just wondering if you wanted to come downstairs with me and have a piece."

"What kind of cake?"

"Chocolate."

"Okay." Chloe followed Nancy down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Can I ask you something, Nancy?"

"Anything, sweetheart." Nancy smiled, hopeful that Chloe might want to open up to her about something.

"It's about Philip. I don't know if I should take him back when he gets back to Salem. I miss him, a lot. But I don't know if I can forgive him." A tear ran down Chloe's face, making Nancy want to cry herself.

"If you think he deserves another chance, go for it. But I don't know if that boy will ever change. Maybe you two should take a break. Above all, do what your heart tells you, Chloe. When you see him, you will know what to do."

Chloe hugged Nancy. "Thanks for the advice. I have to go, Brady going to be here any minute."

Chloe walked to the living room and peeked out the window, seeing that Brady was just pulling up. 'Thanks for telling me what I already know, Nancy. That helped." She rolled her eyes. 'At least Brady is here to brighten my day!'

"Hey," she said, opening the door and wrapping him in a big hug before he had a chance to knock. "I missed you."

"You just saw me a couple of hours ago," Brady told her, surprised but happy.

"That's okay. Did you miss me?" Chloe looked up at him laughing, her arms still around his neck.

"Um, yeah, I did." Brady had a sincere look in his eyes. Chloe stared into them, thinking about the amazing connection they had.

"Well. We better go." She broke his gaze awkwardly and walked past him to the jeep. "We wouldn't want to be late picking up Belle and Shawn."

"And Philip." Brady tried not to let the bitterness enter his voice, but he hated that kid. Philip didn't DESERVE Chloe. And he had her. Brady didn't even get a chance.

"Yes, and Philip. Are we giving him a ride home?"

"Fuck no! I mean…I don't think I have enough room. Plus, he'll probably get a limo out there or something."

Chloe laughed. "You don't like him very much do you?"

"No comment. Let's go." They got in the jeep and headed for the airport.