TITLE: DAYS Fairy Tale: Eric & Greta: Chapters 56-60
WRITTEN BY: Heather Ferguson (fergus80)
EMAIL: hferguso@niu.edu
WEBSITE: http://eric_greta.tripod.com (from when Jensen was on days)
Rating: If you can watch DAYS, you can read this. If there is a rating change, a link to the chap. will be provided.
Disclaimer: Days of Our Lives and all of their characters are property of Corday Productions and NBC.
My Rant: Okay, I'm finally putting this up on FanFiction.net. Mostly to free up my website space. This was started way back in Oct. of 1999, and I haven't decided if it's finished yet or not. Reviews are always welcome!
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Chapter 56
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Greta turned over and looked at him, "What?"
Eric looked at her, worrying what her answer could be, "If you are pregnant, are you going to get rid of it?"
She looked at him in shock, "How can you even ask me something like that?" She looked him in the eyes, "Why? Do you want me too?"
"No," he said shaking his head.
"Good, because I could never do that. No, I'm not ready to be a mother or anything right now. But I still could never do that. It is still our baby."
He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He reached out and laid a had on her stomach, "Greta it won't be that bad. You know that right?" He said and laid down next to her. She curled up on her side, facing him, and wrapped one leg around him. "I mean, even if you don't want to get married right now, which really wouldn't be that much different that what we do now, by the way." He said with a smile, which also produced one on her as well. "I will be there for you, through the whole thing, I mean, you'd be having My Baby." He shook his head, "Do you have any idea what that means to me?"
She smiled at him slightly, "No, we haven't really talked about it."
He looked at her, and then realized she was right, they hadn't talked about getting married, or kids, or anything like that. *No wonder she was freaking out so much, and didn't want to tell me.* He thought. "Why haven't we talked about it? It's not like I haven't thought about it. You have, haven't you?"
"Sometimes, just tried not too. Guess I didn't want to get my hopes up to much."
Eric pulled her over to him, and held onto her, "Greta, I should have told you. I should have told you about all the wonderful things I see in our future. Because I have thought about it a lot."
She smiled, "Eric.." she said quietly, "Could you tell me some?"
He smiled when she wrapped and arm around him and cuddled up to him closer. He could tell she was slowly calming down. "Well.... I have thought about lots of things. How I would ask you to marry me.." He felt her lightly squeeze him, and his smile widened. "When and where we would get married. Wondering what your wedding dress would look like. And of course," He chuckled slightly, "I did think a lot about the honeymoon." He felt a light thump on his chest and laughed, "Hey, I can't help it, I am I guy after all. And I did honestly think we were going to wait until then. But anyway... then there was always the nice and cute images."
Greta looked up at him, "What our honeymoon wasn't nice and cute?"
He laughed, "Ummm... welll.......," he laughed, and she hit him lightly again, "Sometimes."
"Why you little..." she said, tickling him.
He kissed her, and she relented. He pulled her back to him, and he continued. "As I was saying... Then I thought of us buying a nice three bedroom house, in the suburbs, with a white picket fence. Maybe a garden out back."
She grinned, "Sounds wonderful."
"Then of course, there are the other thoughts. The thoughts I would have when I saw you with Will, like at christmas. Or I see you talking to Hope right now. Greta... you are so wonderful with kids, and I can just picture us together." He looked down at her, "Greta, we will be fine, more than fine. Everything will work out perfectly. Think about it. If Sami can have a wonderful boy, almost basically by herself, with all the problems she has been having. Just think about how much easier it will be for us. Two people that love each other, and are doing it all together."
She leaned up, a tear running down her face, and kissed him. "I love you."
"I love you too." He said, and gave her another kiss. "Are you okay now?"
"Yes and no." She said truthfully. "I don't know if I am ready. But I know that together we will make it work." She smiled up at him, and kissed him again. "So I guess tomorrow I will go into the doctor and get tested."
"No, we will go into the doctor tomorrow and find out together." He corrected her.
"But you have to work tomorrow."
"I will call in and say I have something more important to take care of."
She smiled up at him, "But Nicole is not going to like that very much."
"I don't care if she likes it or not." He said, putting her head on his chest and lightly caressing her hair and the back of her head, resting his chin on her head.
She wrapped her arms around him, and held on tight. They talked awhile longer about everything, until they both fell asleep in each others arms.
Greta slept soundly that night, unlike the previous few. No more worry filled her mind, she knew he was okay with it, and that she would actually survive. She dreamed about the little white house, and the white picket fence with the kids and the dog playing in the backyard. She envisioned all the family dinners, christmas's together, picnics, vacations, all the things that she never had as a kid. It was perfect, it was a perfect dream. A perfect dream that was happening a little too fast, but she knew they would deal with it. And she finally believed that they would deal with it together.
Eric had much of the same dream. He would be happy, and have what he always wanted. And he knew that no matter how much Greta fought him on the subject, her would get her to marry him, and before the baby was born if he had anything to say about it. As far as he was concerned the only real thing they had to do was tell the family, and he knew that they would all be thrilled.
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They woke the next morning and got dressed, Eric called in and was happy to get Nicole's secretary and not her. They called the doctor, but there was no openings until afternoon. They decided not to wait and went to the hospital. Soon they were walking out of the elevator and over to the desk, then decided to take a detour and not let Sami see them. They weren't ready for any questions, at least not until knowing for sure. They rounded the corner, and almost ran into Lexi.
"Hey guys, what are you doing here?" She asked them, then looked at Greta, "Are you okay?"
"Well Lexi, actually, could we talk?" Greta asked her.
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Chapter 57
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Lexi looked at them, nodded her head and then took them back to her office. She let them in, closed the door, then went and set at her desk. She looked across at them, "Okay, what can I help you with?"
Eric and Greta looked at each other, then back at Lexi, and Greta continued. "Well... how can I say this? Umm... well... I'm late."
"Late for what?" Lexi said looking at them, then to Eric and back to Greta, then she figured it out from the slight embarrassed look on their faces. "Ohhh.." then she smiled. "Let me guess... Colorado." She looked at her calendar, "Which was a little over three and half weeks ago."
They nodded at her, "But we aren't sure, and we want to be."
Lexi smiled, "Okay, well how about we get a blood test, and then we can go from there." They agreed, and Lexi went and got stuff ready, and came back and took Greta's blood personally, then took it to the lab.
Eric looked at Greta, and smiled, "Well we will know for sure, soon." He said and reached out and grabbed her hand, she took it, and smiled back at him.
Lexi came back a few minutes later, and told them, that the lab was a little bit backed up, and they may want to get some brunch, and that she would call Greta's cell phone when the lab results were ready. They agreed, and headed to the cafeteria. They got some milk and donuts and headed for a quite table in the corner.
"Well these are nothing like Mrs. Horton's," Eric said with a smile at he ate his doughnut.
Greta smiled at him, and agreed. She then looked around the cafeteria seeing many other people there. Some worked there and were obviously on their breaks, but others were there who had been visiting people. One table caught her attention more than the others. It was a father with two of his kids, they were having breakfast together. She saw the gifts and flowers sitting on the table next to them, from the gift shop and could figure out what happened. After breakfast it looked like they were going to go up and see their mom, surprise her with the gifts and see their new baby brother. At least that's what the balloon that said "It's a boy," told her.
Eric saw her staring and followed her eyes over to the same table, and smiled. He but his hand across the table and took her hand. She looked over at him, and he picked up her hand and kissed it. She smiled, and then jumped. Her cell phone rang. Eric let her hand go, so she could answer her phone. "Hello?" she asked. She nodded a few times, even though the person on the phone couldn't see her, and then said, "Okay, we'll be there soon."
She closed her phone, and put it back in her purse. "Lexi?" Eric asked.
Greta nodded, and they picked up their trash, dumped it out, and then headed back to Lexi's office.
They got there just as she did, with a folder in her hand, she let them in, and again closed the door behind them. They all sat down, "Well?" Eric asked her.
"I haven't looked at them yet," She told them, and then set the folder on the table and opened it. She read the contents and then looked up at them. Not sure what they would think of the news.
"Well?" Greta asked, her voice slightly shaking.
Lexi looked at her, "Well, Greta... you are not pregnant." She told them.
"But?" She said in confusion.
"You are not pregnant. And all the other tests were just fine. The reason that you have missed your period is because of the traumatic experience that your body went through. You were in an avalanche for a week, and then went through emergency surgery. You're body basically didn't know which way was up or down. You more than like will not have one this month, and it might be late next month. If it is still a problem after that, then we will do a few more tests, and figure things out. But everything should return to normal eventually."
She looked at the two of them, and then stood up. "Do you have any other questions?" They both shook their head no. "Well... I guess that it was not planned. So I do recommend, that next time you may want to use birth control." She smiled at them "But I know that it wasn't readily available at the time." Eric smiled at her slightly. "There are many choices out there, and if you ever want to talk about it, you can come to me." Greta nodded. Lexi looked at the two of them, "You know what... I do have a few rounds to take, and I won't be back for awhile. So if you want to talk... you can use my office." She said, and then left quietly.
Eric looked over at Greta and hoped his face didn't show the disappointment that he felt. He knew she would be relieved, but when he looked at her, his first reaction was to get up and just hold her. She stood up, and he reached out and pulled her to him. Her tears started to fall, slowly, and then she began to sob against him. At first he didn't understand her reaction, but then it started to become clear.
She had started to look forward to it, she had began to actually want it. And now it wasn't going to happen. But that wasn't all Greta was feeling, she also felt guilty. Like she had actually asked for it, and she had. How many times had she said she wasn't ready for it? How many times did she wish that she wasn't? And now, when she actually wished that she was, her other wish came true. She felt guilty for not wanting something so absolutely wonderful. And she also felt like that beautiful, perfect dream with the white picket fence was gone.
Eric held onto her, and she held onto them. He leaned against the desk, bringing them at eye level. They leaned their foreheads against each other. Tears streaming down Greta's face, as one slowly fell from his eyes as well. "I love you," he told her softly.
She smiled slightly, "I love you too."
"We we get through this." He told her, "One day, when we are ready, we will have that dream we talked about, and one day Lexi will be telling us that we will be having a baby."
She nodded slowly, "I hope so."
"Know so," he told her, and kissed her forehead.
"I'm sorry," she said softly.
He looked at her confused, "Sorry for what?"
"For lots of things. I'm sorry I'm such a mess right now, heck I'm the one that wasn't ready for it, and I'm taking it much worse than you are. And I'm also sorry that I'm not pregnant, because... I know you were actually happy and looking forward to it."
He smiled softly at her, "It's not your fault, you have nothing to be sorry for. And I understand why you are upset." They held onto each other for a little while longer. Eric whipped away her tears, and they tried to make themselves look okay enough to leave. Greta wrote a small thank you note to Lexi, and they then left.
They made it back to the apartment a little bit later, and curled up on the couch together. And they talked, just talked. About the future, their future, and about their disappointment. But they knew they would get through this, with everything they had been through they knew they could get through just about anything.
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Chapter 58
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A week had passed since Lexi told them the test results, and it took them both awhile to get over the sense of loss. But after a lot of talking, they thought about what Lexi had told them and decided that it was the best thing to do. Greta went in and got an appointment with Lexi, some more blood tests, and one other test Greta wasn't to happy about, but knew it was necessary. Finally she had come back home, and Eric was there, cooking dinner when she walked through the door.
He smiled at her, "Hope stir fry sounds good cause that's what I'm making," he told her.
"Sounds great, and smells wonderful too." She said as she walked over to him and gave him a big hug.
"What's in the bag?" He asked as he stirred the food.
"Oh... well... it's a prescription."
He smiled, "So you seen Lexi today."
"Yeah." She said walking back into her bedroom, and opening the bag. Eric took the pan off the burner and followed her into her room. Greta sat on the bed and opened the bag, she looked up at Eric, "What?"
He smiled, "How did it go?"
Greta looked at him, "It wasn't.... pleasant." He nodded and sat down next to her "Men are so lucky they don't have to go through everything women do."
"That's true. But just look at all the wonderful things your body can do that mine can't." He said and kissed her.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He smiled again. She took the package out of the box, "Well these little things..." she said holding them up... "Will make sure that oh so wonderful thing you were talking about won't happen."
He kissed her, "Until we are ready for it to happen." She smiled too.
She put them in the night stand, and turned back to him. "But Lexi told me something, which you might not like very much."
"Oh no, what?" He said with a worried look on his face.
She laughed, "Well they don't really start taking effect for about a month."
"So that means... no Green Mountain for a month." He laughed, "It's always something isn't it?" He said laying back on the bed.
"Well... we don't have to. I mean... there are other ways." She laid down on her side next to him, with her hand on his chest.
"Yes, I know that." He winked at her, "Why are you saying you don't want to wait?"
She blushed, "....No, just saying we don't have too."
"Well, since it's not that big of deal to you, I don't see why we can't wait."
"What?" She said in shock, and sat up, "What do you mean it's not a big deal to me?"
"Well, I mean you don't seem to want to be with me that much." He said with a smirk.
She moved closer to him, and straddled his waist, leaned in and kissed him, her hands lacing through his hair, "You know I want to be with you, so just stop teasing me." She grinned, "I mean, if I'm not showing it enough, then you aren't doing a very good job either."
He flipped her over quickly, "Oh, you can't tell huh?" He said putting more of his weight onto her.
She grinned seductively up at him, "Well, maybe I can now." She wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him down to kiss her. Their lips met in passion, tongues dueling each other. Eric broke away to kiss down her neck, and she let out a slight moan. Greta wrapped her legs around him, and ran hers over his back.
He pulled away to look at her, "Greta..."
"Yes.." she asked breathless.
"Not here." He said closing his eyes, not believing himself that he said that.
She shook her head, "What? Why?"
He pulled away and stood up, and put out his hand to her. She took it, and he pulled her to his feet, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You know why. We can wait, we can, we have waited this long, and we waited much longer before. We can wait one month. And then..." He lifted her hand to his lips, "Like before, we can have nothing between us."
She smiled at him, "I'd like that too." They kissed again, and both took a deep breath. She kissed him lightly.
"We can do this," he told her, and himself. They then went back out and finished cooking dinner.
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Eric worked, like always, and Greta studied for finals. But while she studied, old thoughts started to plague her once again. She finally made a decision. Once finals were over she was going to figure out who her father was. With that determination in her mind, she studied harder, and Eric could tell that there was a difference in her mood, yet he wasn't sure what it was exactly.
The night after her last final they went out on the town, to celebrate. They went to dinner and then dancing. They came home very late, and tried to remember that they were actually going to wait that one month, now only three weeks to go. The next morning, Greta decided to start with her plan to figure out who her father was. She just had to get the DNA from the two sources without them knowing about it. It would be easy to get John's DNA but Stephano was another story. She looked over at Eric, and bushed the stray hair from his forehead. She knew he wouldn't like her seeing Stephano, but she had too. But whoever it turned out to be her real father, she wasn't exactly sure how Eric would take it. She moved over to him, and laid her head on his chest, and thought, *Now how am I supposed to get close to Stephano to get his DNA?*
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Chapter 59
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Greta thought out a plan, she just hoped it would go okay. She was sure she didn't want to tell Eric about it, and she didn't want Stephano to figure out what she was doing. She reached out, and she knocked on the large door in front of her, she took a deep breath and waited for the door to open.
"Hello, may I help you?" The maid asked her.
"Yes, I would like to speak to Stephano," Greta replied.
The lady opened the door for her, and led her into the living room. "I'll go get him." She told her and then she was gone. Greta crossed her arms, in a defensive posture, she couldn't believe she was actually doing this.
"Greta," she heard from behind her, and turned around to face him. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
Just the sight of him, sent a shiver through her. How she despised this man, *God help me if he is my father.* She told herself. "I just have a few questions, that only you can answer about my mother."
Stephano gave her a questioning look, but then motioned for her to sit down, "I'll answer what I can."
"You mean what you chose too."
He laughed, "My dear, you are the one that came to me. Now what questions do you have?"
She had a few planned out, some that she already knew the answer too, just so that she knew if he was really telling her the truth or not.
"How long did you know my mother? When did you meet her?"
"Well I can't recall the exact date, but it was a few years before you were born."
She silently cursed to herself, she was hoping that wouldn't have been true, and then she wouldn't have had to get the DNA. "Why did you tell me she died, when she hadn't?"
He stood up, "Greta, I did not know that she was alive, I thought she was dead."
She stood up as well, "Don't lie to me."
"I'm not," he told her and was about to go on, when the maid came back in. "Mr. Dimeria, there is an important call for you."
"Thank you, I'll be right there." He turned to Greta, "If you will excuse me."
She saw her chance, "May I use your bathroom while you are gone?"
"Yes, of course, this shouldn't take to long." Then he went out the room.
She waited a minute, and walked into the foyer, she looked around, and didn't spot anyone, and quickly ran up the stairs. As she got to the top, she looked around the corner, and headed towards the biggest bedroom. She thought her heart was beating so fast that she was sure anyone on the other side of the house would be able to hear it. She got to the door, and slowly turned the handle, she walked in, and was sure she had picked the right room. She looked around quickly, and found the other door leading into the bathroom. She walked in and closed the door behind her. The sink was almost totally bare, she started to open the drawers, one by one, nothing. "Where is it?" she asked quietly. Then she tried the medicine cabinet, and opened the little door with the mirror, "Bingo." She took out the hair brush. There wasn't much, but there was enough of the black hair to work. She took the small plastic bag out of her pocket of her jeans that was labeled with Stephano's name on it. She removed as many of the hairs as she could and placed them in the bag, she then sealed the bag, and put it back in her pocket. She put the brush back, and closed the cabinet.
She then slowly opened the bathroom door, and the ran to the bedroom door, she slowly turned the knob and peeked out into the hallway. The coast was clear and she headed for the stairs after shutting the door behind her. She let out the breath she didn't know she was holding as she started down the stairs. Then she just about jumped out of her skin, "What were you doing up there?" Stephano's voice rang up to her, making her freeze in her steps.
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Eric moved the plant slightly closer to the background, then slightly tilted the light source to get the effect he wanted. "There we go," he said happily to himself, it had effectively blended the background and plant together. When he was finally happy with the set, he went and called the models in. He always liked doing these types of shoots, and these where some of his favorite models, even though they could be a major challenge to photograph.
A woman came walking out, carrying two toddlers, one on each hip, followed by another with a baby and a preschooler. All dressed in matching outfits, the ladies got them all in their places, and after much persistence, and patience, the shoot when wonderfully. As the shoot was wrapping up, the studio door opened, and the little hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, he knew it was her, and he closed his eyes. *Why? Why does she always have to be here?* He asked himself, *Because she is your boss.* He shook his head, took the last picture, then stood and faced her. The two women then got the kids and took them back to the changing room. "What can I help you with Nicole?" He asked her, winding up the film and then taking out the roll.
"Was just seeing how the shoot was doing." She said.
"Well as you can see we are all done, and I'm about to go develop the pictures."
Nicole smiled, and moved closer to him, "I could help you."
He looked at her, "You don't know how to develop pictures."
"Well, no. But you could show me, there is a lot you could show me."
He looked at her, and shook his head, "There is nothing I want to show you."
She straightened her back, "Eric why are you like this?" She moved closer to him, "Why do you keep pushing me away?" She put a hand on his shoulder, "We were so good together, and we can be again." She moved even closer, "I can give you something, Greta won't."
He looked at her and laughed, "Oh really, and what would that be? More lies?" He took her hand off him and moved back to the camera.
She wouldn't quit, "No, I can give you something you have longed for since we broke up, something we were both so good at. I know you miss making love, making love to me." She said seductively into his ear.
He laughed out loud, and went and put the camera and tripod into the case on the table. "I don't miss it."
"Oh please!" She basically yelled. "No matter what people say, men have needs, I know that, I accept that." She put both of her hands on each side of his shoulders and leaned into his ear, "And you know that I can take care of those needs."
He turned towards her, and took her arms in his hands, and shook her slightly, "When will I get it through your head that I don't want you anymore. That I don't need you, or anything that you have or want to give me. I love Greta, NOT you!" He shoved her out of the way, and put the camera case away.
She looked in shock at him, "But she can't make you happy like I can."
He looked at her, "That's true. She makes me much happier that you ever could."
But she wouldn't give up, "But I won't make you wait forever to be with me, I won't make you wait till a wedding night or who knows how much longer to have me."
He laughed and smiled, then shook his head, "Yeah I know, I could have you when ever I wanted, just like any other man out there."
She stared at him, "How dare you say that to me."
"What the truth? At least I know who Greta has been with."
"Yeah, nobody."
"That's not true." He said with a smile.
Nicole looked at him questioning, "What?"
He picked up the rolls of film, and went back to the red room, he opened the door, and with a smiled replied. "No she hasn't been with nobody, she has been with me." And with that he walked in the room and closed the door on a shocked Nicole.
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Chapter 60
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"What?" she asked in a panic.
"What where you doing upstairs?" Stephano asked her again.
Greta thought fast, "I went to the bathroom. Like I asked."
"Why didn't you use the one in the foyer?"
"There's one in the foyer?" she asked, trying to sound convincing. She said walking back down the stairs, slowly.
He shook his head, "Yes, there is a half bath right there." He said pointing to the door.
"I didn't know, I'm sorry."
"That's okay, now what other questions do you have for me?" He said as they walked back into the living room.
"Oh, ummm, my last question was, why did you take John away from my mother? Why was it so important that you had to bring him to Salem?"
"Greta, the only thing I will tell you, and this is the truth. I had no idea how close your mother and John really were. I had no clue that having him leave her would devastate her so much. And once he was gone, there was no way that I could bring him back to her."
"Well, if that is all you will tell me, then I'm done here, thank you." And with that she walked to the door and left. Leaving Stephano there, with a curious look on his face.
She left and got into her car, a green mustang, and drove away. She took the bag out of her pocket, and put it in the glove compartment, "One down, and one to go." She told herself as she drove to Marlena's apartment.
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Eric got done developing the pictures, and put them in a large envelope, and walked out of the studio. He walked over to Nicole's office, and gave the envelope to the secretary. He was about ready to walk away, when she spoke.
"Mrs. Roberts said that she would like to speak to you about an upcoming shoot."
Eric sighed, and went to the door, knocked and then opened it. "You wanted to see me?" He said.
Nicole smiled, "Yes, the shoot tomorrow, there has been a slight change."
Eric remembered that he had a lingerie shoot the next day, "And that would be?"
"Well Tonya can't do it, she sprained her ankle or something, so we are getting someone to fill in."
"And who would that be?"
Nicole smiled, "Me."
"You have to be kidding."
"Nope, we couldn't get anyone else at the last minute like this."
"Last minute? You have about a day before the shoot, there are a ton of other models that could do it. Besides, what does Lucas have to say about this?"
"I haven't had a chance to tell him about it, but I'm sure he won't mind."
"Then I have developed a sudden cold, and I won't be in tomorrow."
She walked closer to him, "What afraid you won't be able to keep you desires in check?"
"You just don't give up do you?"
"Not when there is something I want."
"I'm not afraid of my desires, because they aren't for you, I'm just afraid I may be sick."
She looked offended, "May I remind you that I am your boss."
"And may I remind you, that if you keep this up, I will tell your husband. And there is a little thing called sexual harassment."
"A man filing sexual harassment, that's a joke." She turned back to her desk, got a few pieces of paper, "These are the plans for the shoot, it will start at noon tomorrow. And you will be there, or you will find yourself out of a job."
"Fine." He said and walked out of the office.
"I'll get him right where I want him." She said to herself with a smile on her face.
Eric just kept shaking his head, and then he had a thought and a smile crossed his face. He walked down the hall, and knocked on Lucas's office door.
"Come in." He heard and walked into the room. "Eric, what can I help you with."
"Well, I just wanted to let you know that the model for the shoot tomorrow can't come in, and so Nicole is taking her place. It's a lingerie shoot, and I thought you might want to come to it. Maybe surprise her or something."
Lucas smiled, "Well thank you for telling me, Eric. That sounds like a good idea."
"The shoot shouldn't take to long, you could be alone afterwards if you wanted."
"That sounds like a good surprise for her, thanks man. I'll be there. What time?"
"It starts at noon." And with that he left, with a smile on his face. *I got you now Nicole.*
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To Be Continued
WRITTEN BY: Heather Ferguson (fergus80)
EMAIL: hferguso@niu.edu
WEBSITE: http://eric_greta.tripod.com (from when Jensen was on days)
Rating: If you can watch DAYS, you can read this. If there is a rating change, a link to the chap. will be provided.
Disclaimer: Days of Our Lives and all of their characters are property of Corday Productions and NBC.
My Rant: Okay, I'm finally putting this up on FanFiction.net. Mostly to free up my website space. This was started way back in Oct. of 1999, and I haven't decided if it's finished yet or not. Reviews are always welcome!
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Chapter 56
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Greta turned over and looked at him, "What?"
Eric looked at her, worrying what her answer could be, "If you are pregnant, are you going to get rid of it?"
She looked at him in shock, "How can you even ask me something like that?" She looked him in the eyes, "Why? Do you want me too?"
"No," he said shaking his head.
"Good, because I could never do that. No, I'm not ready to be a mother or anything right now. But I still could never do that. It is still our baby."
He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He reached out and laid a had on her stomach, "Greta it won't be that bad. You know that right?" He said and laid down next to her. She curled up on her side, facing him, and wrapped one leg around him. "I mean, even if you don't want to get married right now, which really wouldn't be that much different that what we do now, by the way." He said with a smile, which also produced one on her as well. "I will be there for you, through the whole thing, I mean, you'd be having My Baby." He shook his head, "Do you have any idea what that means to me?"
She smiled at him slightly, "No, we haven't really talked about it."
He looked at her, and then realized she was right, they hadn't talked about getting married, or kids, or anything like that. *No wonder she was freaking out so much, and didn't want to tell me.* He thought. "Why haven't we talked about it? It's not like I haven't thought about it. You have, haven't you?"
"Sometimes, just tried not too. Guess I didn't want to get my hopes up to much."
Eric pulled her over to him, and held onto her, "Greta, I should have told you. I should have told you about all the wonderful things I see in our future. Because I have thought about it a lot."
She smiled, "Eric.." she said quietly, "Could you tell me some?"
He smiled when she wrapped and arm around him and cuddled up to him closer. He could tell she was slowly calming down. "Well.... I have thought about lots of things. How I would ask you to marry me.." He felt her lightly squeeze him, and his smile widened. "When and where we would get married. Wondering what your wedding dress would look like. And of course," He chuckled slightly, "I did think a lot about the honeymoon." He felt a light thump on his chest and laughed, "Hey, I can't help it, I am I guy after all. And I did honestly think we were going to wait until then. But anyway... then there was always the nice and cute images."
Greta looked up at him, "What our honeymoon wasn't nice and cute?"
He laughed, "Ummm... welll.......," he laughed, and she hit him lightly again, "Sometimes."
"Why you little..." she said, tickling him.
He kissed her, and she relented. He pulled her back to him, and he continued. "As I was saying... Then I thought of us buying a nice three bedroom house, in the suburbs, with a white picket fence. Maybe a garden out back."
She grinned, "Sounds wonderful."
"Then of course, there are the other thoughts. The thoughts I would have when I saw you with Will, like at christmas. Or I see you talking to Hope right now. Greta... you are so wonderful with kids, and I can just picture us together." He looked down at her, "Greta, we will be fine, more than fine. Everything will work out perfectly. Think about it. If Sami can have a wonderful boy, almost basically by herself, with all the problems she has been having. Just think about how much easier it will be for us. Two people that love each other, and are doing it all together."
She leaned up, a tear running down her face, and kissed him. "I love you."
"I love you too." He said, and gave her another kiss. "Are you okay now?"
"Yes and no." She said truthfully. "I don't know if I am ready. But I know that together we will make it work." She smiled up at him, and kissed him again. "So I guess tomorrow I will go into the doctor and get tested."
"No, we will go into the doctor tomorrow and find out together." He corrected her.
"But you have to work tomorrow."
"I will call in and say I have something more important to take care of."
She smiled up at him, "But Nicole is not going to like that very much."
"I don't care if she likes it or not." He said, putting her head on his chest and lightly caressing her hair and the back of her head, resting his chin on her head.
She wrapped her arms around him, and held on tight. They talked awhile longer about everything, until they both fell asleep in each others arms.
Greta slept soundly that night, unlike the previous few. No more worry filled her mind, she knew he was okay with it, and that she would actually survive. She dreamed about the little white house, and the white picket fence with the kids and the dog playing in the backyard. She envisioned all the family dinners, christmas's together, picnics, vacations, all the things that she never had as a kid. It was perfect, it was a perfect dream. A perfect dream that was happening a little too fast, but she knew they would deal with it. And she finally believed that they would deal with it together.
Eric had much of the same dream. He would be happy, and have what he always wanted. And he knew that no matter how much Greta fought him on the subject, her would get her to marry him, and before the baby was born if he had anything to say about it. As far as he was concerned the only real thing they had to do was tell the family, and he knew that they would all be thrilled.
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They woke the next morning and got dressed, Eric called in and was happy to get Nicole's secretary and not her. They called the doctor, but there was no openings until afternoon. They decided not to wait and went to the hospital. Soon they were walking out of the elevator and over to the desk, then decided to take a detour and not let Sami see them. They weren't ready for any questions, at least not until knowing for sure. They rounded the corner, and almost ran into Lexi.
"Hey guys, what are you doing here?" She asked them, then looked at Greta, "Are you okay?"
"Well Lexi, actually, could we talk?" Greta asked her.
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Chapter 57
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Lexi looked at them, nodded her head and then took them back to her office. She let them in, closed the door, then went and set at her desk. She looked across at them, "Okay, what can I help you with?"
Eric and Greta looked at each other, then back at Lexi, and Greta continued. "Well... how can I say this? Umm... well... I'm late."
"Late for what?" Lexi said looking at them, then to Eric and back to Greta, then she figured it out from the slight embarrassed look on their faces. "Ohhh.." then she smiled. "Let me guess... Colorado." She looked at her calendar, "Which was a little over three and half weeks ago."
They nodded at her, "But we aren't sure, and we want to be."
Lexi smiled, "Okay, well how about we get a blood test, and then we can go from there." They agreed, and Lexi went and got stuff ready, and came back and took Greta's blood personally, then took it to the lab.
Eric looked at Greta, and smiled, "Well we will know for sure, soon." He said and reached out and grabbed her hand, she took it, and smiled back at him.
Lexi came back a few minutes later, and told them, that the lab was a little bit backed up, and they may want to get some brunch, and that she would call Greta's cell phone when the lab results were ready. They agreed, and headed to the cafeteria. They got some milk and donuts and headed for a quite table in the corner.
"Well these are nothing like Mrs. Horton's," Eric said with a smile at he ate his doughnut.
Greta smiled at him, and agreed. She then looked around the cafeteria seeing many other people there. Some worked there and were obviously on their breaks, but others were there who had been visiting people. One table caught her attention more than the others. It was a father with two of his kids, they were having breakfast together. She saw the gifts and flowers sitting on the table next to them, from the gift shop and could figure out what happened. After breakfast it looked like they were going to go up and see their mom, surprise her with the gifts and see their new baby brother. At least that's what the balloon that said "It's a boy," told her.
Eric saw her staring and followed her eyes over to the same table, and smiled. He but his hand across the table and took her hand. She looked over at him, and he picked up her hand and kissed it. She smiled, and then jumped. Her cell phone rang. Eric let her hand go, so she could answer her phone. "Hello?" she asked. She nodded a few times, even though the person on the phone couldn't see her, and then said, "Okay, we'll be there soon."
She closed her phone, and put it back in her purse. "Lexi?" Eric asked.
Greta nodded, and they picked up their trash, dumped it out, and then headed back to Lexi's office.
They got there just as she did, with a folder in her hand, she let them in, and again closed the door behind them. They all sat down, "Well?" Eric asked her.
"I haven't looked at them yet," She told them, and then set the folder on the table and opened it. She read the contents and then looked up at them. Not sure what they would think of the news.
"Well?" Greta asked, her voice slightly shaking.
Lexi looked at her, "Well, Greta... you are not pregnant." She told them.
"But?" She said in confusion.
"You are not pregnant. And all the other tests were just fine. The reason that you have missed your period is because of the traumatic experience that your body went through. You were in an avalanche for a week, and then went through emergency surgery. You're body basically didn't know which way was up or down. You more than like will not have one this month, and it might be late next month. If it is still a problem after that, then we will do a few more tests, and figure things out. But everything should return to normal eventually."
She looked at the two of them, and then stood up. "Do you have any other questions?" They both shook their head no. "Well... I guess that it was not planned. So I do recommend, that next time you may want to use birth control." She smiled at them "But I know that it wasn't readily available at the time." Eric smiled at her slightly. "There are many choices out there, and if you ever want to talk about it, you can come to me." Greta nodded. Lexi looked at the two of them, "You know what... I do have a few rounds to take, and I won't be back for awhile. So if you want to talk... you can use my office." She said, and then left quietly.
Eric looked over at Greta and hoped his face didn't show the disappointment that he felt. He knew she would be relieved, but when he looked at her, his first reaction was to get up and just hold her. She stood up, and he reached out and pulled her to him. Her tears started to fall, slowly, and then she began to sob against him. At first he didn't understand her reaction, but then it started to become clear.
She had started to look forward to it, she had began to actually want it. And now it wasn't going to happen. But that wasn't all Greta was feeling, she also felt guilty. Like she had actually asked for it, and she had. How many times had she said she wasn't ready for it? How many times did she wish that she wasn't? And now, when she actually wished that she was, her other wish came true. She felt guilty for not wanting something so absolutely wonderful. And she also felt like that beautiful, perfect dream with the white picket fence was gone.
Eric held onto her, and she held onto them. He leaned against the desk, bringing them at eye level. They leaned their foreheads against each other. Tears streaming down Greta's face, as one slowly fell from his eyes as well. "I love you," he told her softly.
She smiled slightly, "I love you too."
"We we get through this." He told her, "One day, when we are ready, we will have that dream we talked about, and one day Lexi will be telling us that we will be having a baby."
She nodded slowly, "I hope so."
"Know so," he told her, and kissed her forehead.
"I'm sorry," she said softly.
He looked at her confused, "Sorry for what?"
"For lots of things. I'm sorry I'm such a mess right now, heck I'm the one that wasn't ready for it, and I'm taking it much worse than you are. And I'm also sorry that I'm not pregnant, because... I know you were actually happy and looking forward to it."
He smiled softly at her, "It's not your fault, you have nothing to be sorry for. And I understand why you are upset." They held onto each other for a little while longer. Eric whipped away her tears, and they tried to make themselves look okay enough to leave. Greta wrote a small thank you note to Lexi, and they then left.
They made it back to the apartment a little bit later, and curled up on the couch together. And they talked, just talked. About the future, their future, and about their disappointment. But they knew they would get through this, with everything they had been through they knew they could get through just about anything.
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Chapter 58
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A week had passed since Lexi told them the test results, and it took them both awhile to get over the sense of loss. But after a lot of talking, they thought about what Lexi had told them and decided that it was the best thing to do. Greta went in and got an appointment with Lexi, some more blood tests, and one other test Greta wasn't to happy about, but knew it was necessary. Finally she had come back home, and Eric was there, cooking dinner when she walked through the door.
He smiled at her, "Hope stir fry sounds good cause that's what I'm making," he told her.
"Sounds great, and smells wonderful too." She said as she walked over to him and gave him a big hug.
"What's in the bag?" He asked as he stirred the food.
"Oh... well... it's a prescription."
He smiled, "So you seen Lexi today."
"Yeah." She said walking back into her bedroom, and opening the bag. Eric took the pan off the burner and followed her into her room. Greta sat on the bed and opened the bag, she looked up at Eric, "What?"
He smiled, "How did it go?"
Greta looked at him, "It wasn't.... pleasant." He nodded and sat down next to her "Men are so lucky they don't have to go through everything women do."
"That's true. But just look at all the wonderful things your body can do that mine can't." He said and kissed her.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He smiled again. She took the package out of the box, "Well these little things..." she said holding them up... "Will make sure that oh so wonderful thing you were talking about won't happen."
He kissed her, "Until we are ready for it to happen." She smiled too.
She put them in the night stand, and turned back to him. "But Lexi told me something, which you might not like very much."
"Oh no, what?" He said with a worried look on his face.
She laughed, "Well they don't really start taking effect for about a month."
"So that means... no Green Mountain for a month." He laughed, "It's always something isn't it?" He said laying back on the bed.
"Well... we don't have to. I mean... there are other ways." She laid down on her side next to him, with her hand on his chest.
"Yes, I know that." He winked at her, "Why are you saying you don't want to wait?"
She blushed, "....No, just saying we don't have too."
"Well, since it's not that big of deal to you, I don't see why we can't wait."
"What?" She said in shock, and sat up, "What do you mean it's not a big deal to me?"
"Well, I mean you don't seem to want to be with me that much." He said with a smirk.
She moved closer to him, and straddled his waist, leaned in and kissed him, her hands lacing through his hair, "You know I want to be with you, so just stop teasing me." She grinned, "I mean, if I'm not showing it enough, then you aren't doing a very good job either."
He flipped her over quickly, "Oh, you can't tell huh?" He said putting more of his weight onto her.
She grinned seductively up at him, "Well, maybe I can now." She wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him down to kiss her. Their lips met in passion, tongues dueling each other. Eric broke away to kiss down her neck, and she let out a slight moan. Greta wrapped her legs around him, and ran hers over his back.
He pulled away to look at her, "Greta..."
"Yes.." she asked breathless.
"Not here." He said closing his eyes, not believing himself that he said that.
She shook her head, "What? Why?"
He pulled away and stood up, and put out his hand to her. She took it, and he pulled her to his feet, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You know why. We can wait, we can, we have waited this long, and we waited much longer before. We can wait one month. And then..." He lifted her hand to his lips, "Like before, we can have nothing between us."
She smiled at him, "I'd like that too." They kissed again, and both took a deep breath. She kissed him lightly.
"We can do this," he told her, and himself. They then went back out and finished cooking dinner.
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Eric worked, like always, and Greta studied for finals. But while she studied, old thoughts started to plague her once again. She finally made a decision. Once finals were over she was going to figure out who her father was. With that determination in her mind, she studied harder, and Eric could tell that there was a difference in her mood, yet he wasn't sure what it was exactly.
The night after her last final they went out on the town, to celebrate. They went to dinner and then dancing. They came home very late, and tried to remember that they were actually going to wait that one month, now only three weeks to go. The next morning, Greta decided to start with her plan to figure out who her father was. She just had to get the DNA from the two sources without them knowing about it. It would be easy to get John's DNA but Stephano was another story. She looked over at Eric, and bushed the stray hair from his forehead. She knew he wouldn't like her seeing Stephano, but she had too. But whoever it turned out to be her real father, she wasn't exactly sure how Eric would take it. She moved over to him, and laid her head on his chest, and thought, *Now how am I supposed to get close to Stephano to get his DNA?*
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Chapter 59
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Greta thought out a plan, she just hoped it would go okay. She was sure she didn't want to tell Eric about it, and she didn't want Stephano to figure out what she was doing. She reached out, and she knocked on the large door in front of her, she took a deep breath and waited for the door to open.
"Hello, may I help you?" The maid asked her.
"Yes, I would like to speak to Stephano," Greta replied.
The lady opened the door for her, and led her into the living room. "I'll go get him." She told her and then she was gone. Greta crossed her arms, in a defensive posture, she couldn't believe she was actually doing this.
"Greta," she heard from behind her, and turned around to face him. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
Just the sight of him, sent a shiver through her. How she despised this man, *God help me if he is my father.* She told herself. "I just have a few questions, that only you can answer about my mother."
Stephano gave her a questioning look, but then motioned for her to sit down, "I'll answer what I can."
"You mean what you chose too."
He laughed, "My dear, you are the one that came to me. Now what questions do you have?"
She had a few planned out, some that she already knew the answer too, just so that she knew if he was really telling her the truth or not.
"How long did you know my mother? When did you meet her?"
"Well I can't recall the exact date, but it was a few years before you were born."
She silently cursed to herself, she was hoping that wouldn't have been true, and then she wouldn't have had to get the DNA. "Why did you tell me she died, when she hadn't?"
He stood up, "Greta, I did not know that she was alive, I thought she was dead."
She stood up as well, "Don't lie to me."
"I'm not," he told her and was about to go on, when the maid came back in. "Mr. Dimeria, there is an important call for you."
"Thank you, I'll be right there." He turned to Greta, "If you will excuse me."
She saw her chance, "May I use your bathroom while you are gone?"
"Yes, of course, this shouldn't take to long." Then he went out the room.
She waited a minute, and walked into the foyer, she looked around, and didn't spot anyone, and quickly ran up the stairs. As she got to the top, she looked around the corner, and headed towards the biggest bedroom. She thought her heart was beating so fast that she was sure anyone on the other side of the house would be able to hear it. She got to the door, and slowly turned the handle, she walked in, and was sure she had picked the right room. She looked around quickly, and found the other door leading into the bathroom. She walked in and closed the door behind her. The sink was almost totally bare, she started to open the drawers, one by one, nothing. "Where is it?" she asked quietly. Then she tried the medicine cabinet, and opened the little door with the mirror, "Bingo." She took out the hair brush. There wasn't much, but there was enough of the black hair to work. She took the small plastic bag out of her pocket of her jeans that was labeled with Stephano's name on it. She removed as many of the hairs as she could and placed them in the bag, she then sealed the bag, and put it back in her pocket. She put the brush back, and closed the cabinet.
She then slowly opened the bathroom door, and the ran to the bedroom door, she slowly turned the knob and peeked out into the hallway. The coast was clear and she headed for the stairs after shutting the door behind her. She let out the breath she didn't know she was holding as she started down the stairs. Then she just about jumped out of her skin, "What were you doing up there?" Stephano's voice rang up to her, making her freeze in her steps.
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Eric moved the plant slightly closer to the background, then slightly tilted the light source to get the effect he wanted. "There we go," he said happily to himself, it had effectively blended the background and plant together. When he was finally happy with the set, he went and called the models in. He always liked doing these types of shoots, and these where some of his favorite models, even though they could be a major challenge to photograph.
A woman came walking out, carrying two toddlers, one on each hip, followed by another with a baby and a preschooler. All dressed in matching outfits, the ladies got them all in their places, and after much persistence, and patience, the shoot when wonderfully. As the shoot was wrapping up, the studio door opened, and the little hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, he knew it was her, and he closed his eyes. *Why? Why does she always have to be here?* He asked himself, *Because she is your boss.* He shook his head, took the last picture, then stood and faced her. The two women then got the kids and took them back to the changing room. "What can I help you with Nicole?" He asked her, winding up the film and then taking out the roll.
"Was just seeing how the shoot was doing." She said.
"Well as you can see we are all done, and I'm about to go develop the pictures."
Nicole smiled, and moved closer to him, "I could help you."
He looked at her, "You don't know how to develop pictures."
"Well, no. But you could show me, there is a lot you could show me."
He looked at her, and shook his head, "There is nothing I want to show you."
She straightened her back, "Eric why are you like this?" She moved closer to him, "Why do you keep pushing me away?" She put a hand on his shoulder, "We were so good together, and we can be again." She moved even closer, "I can give you something, Greta won't."
He looked at her and laughed, "Oh really, and what would that be? More lies?" He took her hand off him and moved back to the camera.
She wouldn't quit, "No, I can give you something you have longed for since we broke up, something we were both so good at. I know you miss making love, making love to me." She said seductively into his ear.
He laughed out loud, and went and put the camera and tripod into the case on the table. "I don't miss it."
"Oh please!" She basically yelled. "No matter what people say, men have needs, I know that, I accept that." She put both of her hands on each side of his shoulders and leaned into his ear, "And you know that I can take care of those needs."
He turned towards her, and took her arms in his hands, and shook her slightly, "When will I get it through your head that I don't want you anymore. That I don't need you, or anything that you have or want to give me. I love Greta, NOT you!" He shoved her out of the way, and put the camera case away.
She looked in shock at him, "But she can't make you happy like I can."
He looked at her, "That's true. She makes me much happier that you ever could."
But she wouldn't give up, "But I won't make you wait forever to be with me, I won't make you wait till a wedding night or who knows how much longer to have me."
He laughed and smiled, then shook his head, "Yeah I know, I could have you when ever I wanted, just like any other man out there."
She stared at him, "How dare you say that to me."
"What the truth? At least I know who Greta has been with."
"Yeah, nobody."
"That's not true." He said with a smile.
Nicole looked at him questioning, "What?"
He picked up the rolls of film, and went back to the red room, he opened the door, and with a smiled replied. "No she hasn't been with nobody, she has been with me." And with that he walked in the room and closed the door on a shocked Nicole.
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Chapter 60
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"What?" she asked in a panic.
"What where you doing upstairs?" Stephano asked her again.
Greta thought fast, "I went to the bathroom. Like I asked."
"Why didn't you use the one in the foyer?"
"There's one in the foyer?" she asked, trying to sound convincing. She said walking back down the stairs, slowly.
He shook his head, "Yes, there is a half bath right there." He said pointing to the door.
"I didn't know, I'm sorry."
"That's okay, now what other questions do you have for me?" He said as they walked back into the living room.
"Oh, ummm, my last question was, why did you take John away from my mother? Why was it so important that you had to bring him to Salem?"
"Greta, the only thing I will tell you, and this is the truth. I had no idea how close your mother and John really were. I had no clue that having him leave her would devastate her so much. And once he was gone, there was no way that I could bring him back to her."
"Well, if that is all you will tell me, then I'm done here, thank you." And with that she walked to the door and left. Leaving Stephano there, with a curious look on his face.
She left and got into her car, a green mustang, and drove away. She took the bag out of her pocket, and put it in the glove compartment, "One down, and one to go." She told herself as she drove to Marlena's apartment.
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Eric got done developing the pictures, and put them in a large envelope, and walked out of the studio. He walked over to Nicole's office, and gave the envelope to the secretary. He was about ready to walk away, when she spoke.
"Mrs. Roberts said that she would like to speak to you about an upcoming shoot."
Eric sighed, and went to the door, knocked and then opened it. "You wanted to see me?" He said.
Nicole smiled, "Yes, the shoot tomorrow, there has been a slight change."
Eric remembered that he had a lingerie shoot the next day, "And that would be?"
"Well Tonya can't do it, she sprained her ankle or something, so we are getting someone to fill in."
"And who would that be?"
Nicole smiled, "Me."
"You have to be kidding."
"Nope, we couldn't get anyone else at the last minute like this."
"Last minute? You have about a day before the shoot, there are a ton of other models that could do it. Besides, what does Lucas have to say about this?"
"I haven't had a chance to tell him about it, but I'm sure he won't mind."
"Then I have developed a sudden cold, and I won't be in tomorrow."
She walked closer to him, "What afraid you won't be able to keep you desires in check?"
"You just don't give up do you?"
"Not when there is something I want."
"I'm not afraid of my desires, because they aren't for you, I'm just afraid I may be sick."
She looked offended, "May I remind you that I am your boss."
"And may I remind you, that if you keep this up, I will tell your husband. And there is a little thing called sexual harassment."
"A man filing sexual harassment, that's a joke." She turned back to her desk, got a few pieces of paper, "These are the plans for the shoot, it will start at noon tomorrow. And you will be there, or you will find yourself out of a job."
"Fine." He said and walked out of the office.
"I'll get him right where I want him." She said to herself with a smile on her face.
Eric just kept shaking his head, and then he had a thought and a smile crossed his face. He walked down the hall, and knocked on Lucas's office door.
"Come in." He heard and walked into the room. "Eric, what can I help you with."
"Well, I just wanted to let you know that the model for the shoot tomorrow can't come in, and so Nicole is taking her place. It's a lingerie shoot, and I thought you might want to come to it. Maybe surprise her or something."
Lucas smiled, "Well thank you for telling me, Eric. That sounds like a good idea."
"The shoot shouldn't take to long, you could be alone afterwards if you wanted."
"That sounds like a good surprise for her, thanks man. I'll be there. What time?"
"It starts at noon." And with that he left, with a smile on his face. *I got you now Nicole.*
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To Be Continued