Banshee Song
Book One
Chapter Sixteen
A little later that evening…
"Here you go, Mr. Brady."
"Thanks." Bo ripped open the sealed envelope and shuffled through the papers, until he found what he was looking for. The results of J.T's paternity test.
His heart stopped. Probability of match 99%
"There must be some mistake." He breathed in denial. The lab technician looked on him with pity. She'd seen this reaction many times.
"I'm afraid it is not. We always run the tests twice just to make sure. The test is highly accurate."
Bo stumbled away from the lab, reeling in shock. {John is J.T's father. JOHN IS J.T.'S FATHER! John made love to my wife .} He collapsed in a waiting room chair. In just one day he had lost his son.
It was one thing when the father was someone Bo didn't know. He could simply pretend that the other guy didn't exist, that he was J.T.'s father. But now, the father was someone he did know – his best friend, for Pete's sake! He can't undo this knowledge; pretend that J.T. isn't John's.
Images whirled in Bo's mind. He saw John kissing Hope, saw his lips trailing her naked body. He could see them make passionate love.
{That wasn't your wife. It was Gina. And her mercenary.} Bo reminded himself. Stefano's taunting words echoed in his head. "Gina has only really loved one man." Bo found himself wondering how much of Gina was inside of Hope. He was fooled once before. He married the real Princess Gina believing her to be his beloved Hope. What if, there is a part of Hope that's in love with John? G*d! They created a child together! Those kinds of feelings just don't go away.
A thousand moments replayed in his mind as everything became clear. The clandestine meetings at night. "I'm going out for ice cream" Hope says, even though it's midnight in the dead of winter. He recalled the secretive glances. John's protectiveness of Hope both at Lexie's party, and more recently, two nights ago.
{No. Hope is faithful to me. She's only guilty of lying to me. She isn't in love with John. I'd know if she were Gina, if even a tiny part of Gina lived in her. But John is another story. Hope still doesn't remember her life as Gina. But he remembers his time as the mercenary; in fact, the mercenary persona has been known to take over John's personality in times of crisis.}
{So the real question is: when John looks at my wife, does he see Hope? Or Gina?}
Bo sighed heavily. He jumped to feel a firm touch on his shoulder. He looked up to see…
"John." Bo said softly.
John took in Bo's disheveled appearance with worry. He saw the anguish on the other man's face. "God, Bo. What's wrong? Is it Hope? Or Lord no. J.T.? Please tell me it's not J.T." John said quickly, as his heart began to pound. {Please, Lord, let the boy be okay.}
A sudden fear gripped Bo's heart. John had a claim on his son. John could take J.T. away from him. The fear combined with the already present anger to create a powerful rage that surged through Bo. Bo looked at the worried man in front of him and saw the man who had made love to his wife, created a child with her, and lied to him for the past two years. Lies. Betrayal.
Bo's fist connected with John's face, knocking the stunned man's head sideways. John had yet to process the attack when Bo struck again, this time in the stomach.
"MY son is fine!" Bo yelled as he launched himself at John.
John threw his hands up to block, bewildered by Bo's attack. He successfully dodged the jab. "Bo, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong?!" Bo screamed, throwing blow after blow at John. "My wife and my best friend have been lying to me for two years!"
Ice began to settle in John's stomach. "What are you talking about?"
Marlena had heard their noise from her office down the hall. She ran into the waiting room to see Bo trying to pound on John. From the look of John's face, he had already suffered a few blows. She ran up to the two men and was able to separate them.
"Bo, John. What is the meaning of this? Bo, what's wrong?"
Bo seethed in rage as he sought to control himself. He looked at John coldly. "How many times did I ask you? How many times did I tell you that I was looking for J.T.'s father? And you knew who it was all along."
Blood drained from Marlena's face, and John's features settled into a cold mask.
Bo picked up the test papers. "You know what this is? It's a paternity test. I took samples from J.T. and from the coffee mug that YOU drank out of the other night. Wanna know what the test says? 99% match. You are J.T.'s father. But then, you already knew that, didn't you?"
John closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The moment that he had dreaded for two years had finally come. The truth was out. How would this affect his family?
Bo just continued to stare at John. "I asked you, man. I asked you if there was even a chance that you were the father. I understood the circumstances, that Hope had been brainwashed into believing that she was Gina. I knew that at times you thought you were the mercenary. Did you think I wouldn't understand that Stefano was to blame for all of this? Who do you think told me? I know that the bastard's playing a game with all of us.
But it doesn't change the fact that you lied to me. You fathered a child with my wife and you lied to me." Bo briefly glanced at Marlena. "You don't seem too surprised by this. Let me guess. You knew too. I see. The three of you teamed up to keep me in the dark."
Marlena spoke up. "We sought only to protect Shawn and Belle from this horrible situation."
Bo whirled on her. "But you still should have told me. Shawn's my son. Do you think I would have done anything to hurt him? Dammit! I had a right to know the truth about J.T. You didn't have the right to keep it from me."
John spoke gently. "Hope and I, we didn't want to hurt you with the knowledge of something that happened once, and we couldn't even control."
Bo looked at John and replied quietly. "If you had told me that when you first found out, I would have believed you. But now that you have been lying to me for two years, working together with my wife to keep the truth from me – I can't believe a word you say. I look at you and see the man who had sex with my wife, and I can't help but wonder, 'how many times have they made love?'"
He turned to Marlena, his sadness audible in his voice. "Do you know what I'm talking about? Do you wonder? When John's working late at night, do you wonder if that's where he really is? When he goes out to run errands, do you wonder if he's stopping by my place for a quickie with my wife? God help me, that's what I'm wondering."
Bo took one last look at the two co-conspirators, and turned and left for home.
The windows of Shawn's pickup truck were completely fogged over. Which was a pretty neat trick given the fact that it wasn't that cold outside. The two teenagers inside reluctantly pulled away from each other.
Belle smiled shyly. "We should probably get inside before your parents start to wonder what we're doing out here."
Shawn lightly nuzzled her neck. "Nothing they haven't done many times before." He murmured.
"Talk about a mood killer. Future reference, when we're making out, can we NOT talk about your parents' sex life?"
Shawn grinned sheepishly. "Sorry." He looked deeply into Belle's eyes. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"
"Not within the last two minutes, no."
"Oh, sorry. I was…distracted."
"I'll say. C'mon, let's get inside. Oh, and I love you too." Belle grazed Shawn's lips lightly with hers.
They entered the kitchen and immediately noticed the raised voices from the living room. They weren't shouting, but it was obvious they were upset about something. Shawn looked at Belle questioningly. Belle shrugged her shoulders.
The two silently entered the living room. The occupants of the room were facing away from the teens, and their heated conversation prevented them from noticing their arrival.
Shawn was about to ask what was wrong when he and Belle got the shock of their young lives.
Bo stared at Hope, feeling pain in his heart and tears in his eyes. "How long have known? How long have you known that John was J.T.'s father?"
"What?!" came the shocked voices from behind.
Book One
Chapter Sixteen
A little later that evening…
"Here you go, Mr. Brady."
"Thanks." Bo ripped open the sealed envelope and shuffled through the papers, until he found what he was looking for. The results of J.T's paternity test.
His heart stopped. Probability of match 99%
"There must be some mistake." He breathed in denial. The lab technician looked on him with pity. She'd seen this reaction many times.
"I'm afraid it is not. We always run the tests twice just to make sure. The test is highly accurate."
Bo stumbled away from the lab, reeling in shock. {John is J.T's father. JOHN IS J.T.'S FATHER! John made love to my wife .} He collapsed in a waiting room chair. In just one day he had lost his son.
It was one thing when the father was someone Bo didn't know. He could simply pretend that the other guy didn't exist, that he was J.T.'s father. But now, the father was someone he did know – his best friend, for Pete's sake! He can't undo this knowledge; pretend that J.T. isn't John's.
Images whirled in Bo's mind. He saw John kissing Hope, saw his lips trailing her naked body. He could see them make passionate love.
{That wasn't your wife. It was Gina. And her mercenary.} Bo reminded himself. Stefano's taunting words echoed in his head. "Gina has only really loved one man." Bo found himself wondering how much of Gina was inside of Hope. He was fooled once before. He married the real Princess Gina believing her to be his beloved Hope. What if, there is a part of Hope that's in love with John? G*d! They created a child together! Those kinds of feelings just don't go away.
A thousand moments replayed in his mind as everything became clear. The clandestine meetings at night. "I'm going out for ice cream" Hope says, even though it's midnight in the dead of winter. He recalled the secretive glances. John's protectiveness of Hope both at Lexie's party, and more recently, two nights ago.
{No. Hope is faithful to me. She's only guilty of lying to me. She isn't in love with John. I'd know if she were Gina, if even a tiny part of Gina lived in her. But John is another story. Hope still doesn't remember her life as Gina. But he remembers his time as the mercenary; in fact, the mercenary persona has been known to take over John's personality in times of crisis.}
{So the real question is: when John looks at my wife, does he see Hope? Or Gina?}
Bo sighed heavily. He jumped to feel a firm touch on his shoulder. He looked up to see…
"John." Bo said softly.
John took in Bo's disheveled appearance with worry. He saw the anguish on the other man's face. "God, Bo. What's wrong? Is it Hope? Or Lord no. J.T.? Please tell me it's not J.T." John said quickly, as his heart began to pound. {Please, Lord, let the boy be okay.}
A sudden fear gripped Bo's heart. John had a claim on his son. John could take J.T. away from him. The fear combined with the already present anger to create a powerful rage that surged through Bo. Bo looked at the worried man in front of him and saw the man who had made love to his wife, created a child with her, and lied to him for the past two years. Lies. Betrayal.
Bo's fist connected with John's face, knocking the stunned man's head sideways. John had yet to process the attack when Bo struck again, this time in the stomach.
"MY son is fine!" Bo yelled as he launched himself at John.
John threw his hands up to block, bewildered by Bo's attack. He successfully dodged the jab. "Bo, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong?!" Bo screamed, throwing blow after blow at John. "My wife and my best friend have been lying to me for two years!"
Ice began to settle in John's stomach. "What are you talking about?"
Marlena had heard their noise from her office down the hall. She ran into the waiting room to see Bo trying to pound on John. From the look of John's face, he had already suffered a few blows. She ran up to the two men and was able to separate them.
"Bo, John. What is the meaning of this? Bo, what's wrong?"
Bo seethed in rage as he sought to control himself. He looked at John coldly. "How many times did I ask you? How many times did I tell you that I was looking for J.T.'s father? And you knew who it was all along."
Blood drained from Marlena's face, and John's features settled into a cold mask.
Bo picked up the test papers. "You know what this is? It's a paternity test. I took samples from J.T. and from the coffee mug that YOU drank out of the other night. Wanna know what the test says? 99% match. You are J.T.'s father. But then, you already knew that, didn't you?"
John closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The moment that he had dreaded for two years had finally come. The truth was out. How would this affect his family?
Bo just continued to stare at John. "I asked you, man. I asked you if there was even a chance that you were the father. I understood the circumstances, that Hope had been brainwashed into believing that she was Gina. I knew that at times you thought you were the mercenary. Did you think I wouldn't understand that Stefano was to blame for all of this? Who do you think told me? I know that the bastard's playing a game with all of us.
But it doesn't change the fact that you lied to me. You fathered a child with my wife and you lied to me." Bo briefly glanced at Marlena. "You don't seem too surprised by this. Let me guess. You knew too. I see. The three of you teamed up to keep me in the dark."
Marlena spoke up. "We sought only to protect Shawn and Belle from this horrible situation."
Bo whirled on her. "But you still should have told me. Shawn's my son. Do you think I would have done anything to hurt him? Dammit! I had a right to know the truth about J.T. You didn't have the right to keep it from me."
John spoke gently. "Hope and I, we didn't want to hurt you with the knowledge of something that happened once, and we couldn't even control."
Bo looked at John and replied quietly. "If you had told me that when you first found out, I would have believed you. But now that you have been lying to me for two years, working together with my wife to keep the truth from me – I can't believe a word you say. I look at you and see the man who had sex with my wife, and I can't help but wonder, 'how many times have they made love?'"
He turned to Marlena, his sadness audible in his voice. "Do you know what I'm talking about? Do you wonder? When John's working late at night, do you wonder if that's where he really is? When he goes out to run errands, do you wonder if he's stopping by my place for a quickie with my wife? God help me, that's what I'm wondering."
Bo took one last look at the two co-conspirators, and turned and left for home.
The windows of Shawn's pickup truck were completely fogged over. Which was a pretty neat trick given the fact that it wasn't that cold outside. The two teenagers inside reluctantly pulled away from each other.
Belle smiled shyly. "We should probably get inside before your parents start to wonder what we're doing out here."
Shawn lightly nuzzled her neck. "Nothing they haven't done many times before." He murmured.
"Talk about a mood killer. Future reference, when we're making out, can we NOT talk about your parents' sex life?"
Shawn grinned sheepishly. "Sorry." He looked deeply into Belle's eyes. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"
"Not within the last two minutes, no."
"Oh, sorry. I was…distracted."
"I'll say. C'mon, let's get inside. Oh, and I love you too." Belle grazed Shawn's lips lightly with hers.
They entered the kitchen and immediately noticed the raised voices from the living room. They weren't shouting, but it was obvious they were upset about something. Shawn looked at Belle questioningly. Belle shrugged her shoulders.
The two silently entered the living room. The occupants of the room were facing away from the teens, and their heated conversation prevented them from noticing their arrival.
Shawn was about to ask what was wrong when he and Belle got the shock of their young lives.
Bo stared at Hope, feeling pain in his heart and tears in his eyes. "How long have known? How long have you known that John was J.T.'s father?"
"What?!" came the shocked voices from behind.
