True Love Once One is Removed
Chapter 17: Scandalous






Is it in your mind that you dream of some moments to last forever. To savor every drop of the sweet parts of it, and throw aside anything bitter of the memory. How the wind blew that particular evening and the way her hair would dance in the breeze, lapping against each blow as it danced to the nighttime shifts. A smile that would appear on the face when looking onto quiet lips of little color. Sealed lids which hid the untold story's of her blue eyes that may never be seen again.

Chris looked at AJ's motionless body and let out a slow whimper. Upon having pulling over to the side of the road, it had taken him a quick minute before he left from the driver seat and raced with to the other side of the car while he was blinded by the headlights. His hand found the handle while his eyes took a moment to become readjusted to the scenery, and as if he were in a movie, the startling truth all came back to him, she still lie there. Dead? Not quite sure. Her hands were cold, but something about her posture screamed, 'I'm not dead!'

Yet facts were facts and Chris picked AJ up and sat in the seat as he rocked her body tenderly. Rubbing her finger and blowing his own hot air to quicken the procedure. Lacing her face with butterfly kisses to stimulate a response, anything, then when he didn't get that he touched her. First in a friendly manner but he caressed the sides of her cheek more lovingly and passionately as his need for her to live became more of an urgency.

And for a second, he thought he saw her index finger lift then fall as his hands trailed past her neck…

*************

"You think you know, but you really don't know. Behind reason lay actual fact to why this all happened and how it all happened…." the voice said in the dark. A voice that came from the opened door of the cabin that still had not came in. The woman was that of a females, familiar but strange to how they spoke.

Brady was the first to stand up as he seemed a little bit shocked to who he believed he might be hearing. The voice possessed the poise and manner of a powerful woman.

Phillip slowly back Brady as John took the lead into stepping toward the door, "What exactly are you talking about?" John questioned as his one eyebrow took on it's familiar take.

"I'm talking about what you think you know, but what you really don't know. I didn't even know until recently and that is why I'm here, and if we don't find Chloe quickly, the drugs she drank plus that were fed to her will make her sleep permanently"

"Wait, fed by whom to her?" Brady said as he pushed John aside to step further to the door.

"Didn't you notice anything funny about that bullet that was supposedly for you? You were never the target, but she was. Then when you two got here, it was suppose to be her and her partner that was to drink the cider. But it still worked to their advantage because in the end, he road off with her, right into the trap."

"Wait your talking in circles, I'm not following, I mean I get the point of that. But are you actually confirming that this was something that Chloe and Chris didn't know?" Brady asked.

"No, Chloe knew, but the girl, AJ didn't. See Chloe and AJ, both the same girl, just one has the false life that's been given to her by Stefano…" as she stopped by the intrusion of Brady.

"Okay how do you know about that and who are you?"

Slow paced steps as her shoes clicked across the pavement. And into the light she was finally revealed to several surprised faces.

"Mrs. Wesley?" Phillip said as her red hair was no longer and it had been died a darker color and she wore shades even in the night.

"Yes, Phillip, it's me but we have no time for why it I know this much or how it possible. What I can tell you is that what you think is all Stefano's doing it isn't. There was plan from the beginning and now because of it Chloe might die if their plan doesn't succeed."

"What's going on? What's the big secret?" John asked as curiosity perked his ears to how the story just got a bit deeper.

"Narcolepsy, Chloe was given some type of similar drug that has that effect but is a wee bit stronger," Nancy began.

"What do you mean by 'a wee bit stronger'?" Brady questioned. For some reason the appearance of Nancy gave him hope that all hadn't been lost and something would change about tonight. He'd either be closer to Chloe or closer to the truth. And at the time, either would due.

"Well, she's able to just fall out and go to sleep as you all know BUT Craig gave her something…"

"WHOA! Did you just say Craig gave her something?" John said backing his hands in utter shock as Nancy heads fell down.

"See that's the part I was telling you, this scandal travels deeper than what meets the eye and until recently I was left in the dark until he made a boo-boo and I found out more than what was planned for. I was pawn to his secret and so was him being chief of staff apart of it. You can truly never know, because what I would tell you would take a lot of time. But it doesn't matter since Craig is working for Stefano, and not only that, their closer than what you think as in blood ties."

"So this whole thing started with Craig?"

"No, your still not grasping the concept, we really DON'T have time for this John, Chloe's life is hanging on a line and this whole thing begins with the fact that Stefano really did know Chloe's father and for some reasons he feels responsible for her yet he uses her to his advantage in his sick way."

Brady had sat quietly after Phillip had moved from behind him to take it all in and form his own theories which wouldn't have mattered since the conflict had been more deeply rooted that first anticipated. Yet one question troubled Brady and he needed an answer, "Mrs. Wesley, earlier you said, Chloe knew but AJ didn't. What did you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I meant. You were the key the whole time Brady, no offense to you Phillip."

"None taken" Phillip said as he sat on the sofa along with John who had to sit down himself while Nancy stood and told what it was she knew about the key.

"AJ's only weakness was probably Chloe, and Chloe's weakness lied within love. If whenever her past should come to light then it would spark something in AJ and maybe cause her to malfunction a bit. So with tonight, she saw you again, you two interacted and now because of the fact they knew all along, they had to do some underhanded work to get her. They knew this would happen all along, that was why Greta was here. She would be the backup plan but either they came up with something else or it didn't work they threw it out and left but kept a close eye on when Chris came here and took Chloe out the bedroom. So they followed her. I was hiding when Chris pulled off, when Stefano pulled off 5 minutes afterwards, and I was here when Phillip came racing up here. I saw everything. Any more questions or can we go now?" Nancy said a little bit more tired and ready to find her daughter.

"So she did remember…" Brady said aloud to himself as he trailed off to nothing when Phillip spoke up.

"Then that means their already out to get Chloe if they followed Chris a bit, trailing them I would imagine so it wouldn't be to suspicious, right" Phillip questioned as Nancy nodded her head agreeing to what he was saying.

"But we won't get to them in time, it's been a half a hour plus, the probably have her now," John said standing up once again.

"True, but the won't have Chris, and I'm sure he'd help us out," Nancy said as she restrained a bit as she said AJ's partner name. She saw the roll of the eye to Brady's answer. "But then again, he might not be to willing to let her go since I'm sure the phone call he had on his cell phone gave him a heads up about what was going on."

Then Phillip eyes went wide as he remember his encounter with the fellow earlier that night when at the ball and how he had dropped his cell phone. Picking it up and having someone talk his ear off about some plan, "That was you Mrs. Wesley that said you and AJ are in danger?"

Nancy eyes went wide in terror as she slowly shook her head in disbelief then sighed heavily, "Phillip! That wasn't you on the phone just breathing hard? Damn! Now we really got to go, my car is parked to the side and if we speed along quickly enough we might reach them in time, but only if time is on our side and something happened to Stefano along the way…."

Brady was the first one up and atom out the door as he snatched Nancy keys right out her hand as she had only jiggled them a second once they were out her purse.

"Closer to the truth it is" Brady thought as he had grown to have a lead foot this night on the empty road..
********************

Brady slowed down Nancy speeding Lexus as they saw a truck up ahead pulled over and it sat in park with the passenger door wide open, though a foot lie outside it. Quickly arriving, he pulled over in a instant and ran out the driver seat in a sprint as he ran nearing the other car closer than before now.

At what he saw at first caused a tear to weld up in his eye, then he realized the switch that had taken place, they did use Greta in the end. Because she now lay in the arms of one knocked out Chris and then that's when Brady saw it. He saw why his tear had weld up in his eye. Chloe's cast lay under the car with dried blood contained on it's white cloth. Picking it up, it held little heat. They had arrived late but now nothing would never be too late since the truth was finally being revealed.

Chris muttered some incoherent things before Brady found himself feeling an urge of payback. His arms extended back as his hands balled up to fist and he felt a warm smile spread across his face. Then he felt the grasp of strong hands…

"No Brady," John whispered, "He's not worth it."

Yanking his arm away, he'd become frustrated again, why? He hadn't understood until he heard Chris mutter a little bit louder which could only be made out to him saying, "I loved you to AJ"

Brady gave him one mighty strike before the sleeping beauty arose from his dream with another beauty in his arms, an actual dead one this time.
*****************

"How's everything coming along Craig?" Stefano questioned as they sat in the limo and he watched him and Rolf work hurriedly on AJ.

"She'll be working like a gem in no time and even better now that she's one step closer to having a past that never existed," Craig answered as he stitched her arm up a bit and placed her own a fresh cast to set anything that may be unbalance.

"Good, good, aw this is lovely. Everything is coming along great, and I have you to thank for that."

"It was no problem at all, Mr. DiMera, none at all," said Craig grinning widely, "None at all"


TBC…..