Banshee Song

Book One

Chapter Twenty

"What's your story, Ariel?" Marlena wondered aloud. She was in her home office at the penthouse. She had decided to take her mind off of the upcoming meeting with Belle and Brady by reviewing the files of her newest patient. Upon closer examination of the mysterious young woman, they had discovered that she is totally mute. She simply has no vocal cords. The doctors had found no evidence of surgical removal; it was like she had never had them.

Marlena had also done some preliminary research on the symbols they found etched on Ariel's wrists. She discovered that the marks were Celtic in origin, but she didn't have a clue what they meant.

{At least this gives us a place to start. I'm willing to bet that Ariel's Irish; she probably came from Ireland. Hmmm. I wonder if Shawn Brady (Sr.) can help with these symbols.} Marlena glanced at the Spectator lying in the wastebasket beside her desk. {Of course, I'm probably not his favorite person right now. I'm sure the news has hit the Bradys hard. Learning that their little grandson is not Bo's son, but John's. Best to give them all some space.}

She glanced at her watch. Belle and Brady would be here soon. Her heart ached for her little girl. The look in Belle's eyes two days ago continued to haunt her. It killed her to see the shock, the pain, the anger in her daughter's blue eyes. Belle hadn't even given them the chance to explain – she had just stormed out. Marlena sighed. Hopefully today they'd be able to explain what happened and why they chose to hide the truth.

Marlena's gaze fell on a picture on her desk. It was of the four of them; she, John, Belle and Brady. It had been taken years ago, when the kids were still kids. She gently traced Brady's young face and smiled tenderly. {I wonder how Brady's doing. He's probably so busy trying to comfort his sister that he's ignoring his own needs.} Marlena smiled wryly. {Just like his father.} She prayed that this wouldn't ruin their relationship. It had taken them so long to work through the anger and the pain of the past. They were finally close again. Like when he was a little boy. She firmly put her anxious thoughts out of her mind. They will get through this. Somehow.

She joined her husband in the living room where he sat on the couch glaring angrily at the Spectator held in his hands. She gently laid her hand on his shoulder and kissed his temple.

"Can you believe this?" he asked angrily, motioning to the trash magazine's lurid cover. "What do you want to bet that Stefano's behind this? It's not enough for him to tell Bo, he has to leak the story to some…tabloid?! Damn him!" John cursed violently. He stood up and quickly paced the room.

"It's all my fault." He murmured, guilt racking his body. "This is revenge for our earlier confrontation."

Marlena tried to soothe her upset husband. "You don't know that."

"Oh what, it's just coincidence that mere hours after I stormed into his mansion and unsuccessfully planted a bug there, he just decided to tell Bo that I was J.T.'s father?" He stopped his pacing and sighed deeply. "No, I was foolish enough to take on the lion in his den, and now everyone I love is paying the price for my arrogance."

"Stop this! This is not your fault!" Marlena cried while she cupped his face with her hands. "Stefano is just playing his sick, sadistic game with us. You know that he would have eventually revealed the truth. John, he orchestrated the events that led to the boy's conception in the first place! Stefano is to blame – for all of it!"

She gazed firmly into John's eyes. "We are going to get through this. Our family is tough. We will come out of this even stronger than before."

John returned her gaze sadly. "I can't forget the look in her eyes. She hates me, Marlena. I know it. And, Oh God, Brady. I haven't even thought about how he's handling it."

He dropped back down on the couch, his shoulders slumped. "When I decided to give up my rights to J.T., I was only thinking about me. It didn't occur to me that I was depriving Belle and Brady of the chance to know their baby brother." He exhaled lowly. "My God. What have I done?"

Marlena hugged him closely. She hated to see the man she loved beat himself up like this. "You did what you felt was right. We all did."

The penthouse door clicked and they both turned to see it slowly open. Belle and Brady stood framed in the doorway, wary expressions on their stone faces.

Belle was still very upset, so Brady spoke up instead. He looked at his father and said simply, "We need to talk."

John looked at his grown up son and replied with a deep sigh.

"Yes, Yes we do."



Bo hugged his amazingly beautiful wife to him and kissed her temple. "I love you, Fancy Face." He murmured in her hair. Hope simply sighed and smiled contentedly. She wondered what she had done to deserve such a wonderful husband. Not even three days after finding out that she had lied to him about J.T.'s father, Bo had already forgiven her completely. And he had just proved it to her by making sweet, tender love to her.

Granted, the last couple of days had been rough. Not only was Bo still dealing with the feelings of betrayal; but their son Shawn had also learned the truth and was taking the news hard. Shawn. He was still hurting, still so angry, so confused. Maybe that was why Bo had forgiven her so readily. By defending her to Shawn, he was reminded that it wasn't her fault. That Stefano was to blame for everything.

Bo gently caressed his wife's shoulder. He had been so angry, so hurt by Hope's lies. But over time he came to understand her reasons. He still didn't agree with them, but he could understand. It had been a terrible shock for her, after everything she had already endured that year, to learn that her son wasn't Bo's.

Bo remembered that horrible year and shuddered. Stefano had activated a long hidden microchip in Hope's brain, causing her to believe that she was another person, Princess Gina. Bo had fought long and hard to win Hope's personality back only to lose her when the real Princess Gina abducted Hope and locked her in a castle in Europe. Gina then returned to Salem masquerading as Hope; he even married her, he was so fooled by her. But then Gina died and his heart died with her. Once again, he had lost his Hope. It was many long and painful months before he finally found her alive in the castle. He had vowed then that he would never lose her again.

That's why he had forgiven her. He had remembered what life was like without her, and he knew that he could never do anything to jeopardize what they have. Of course, Hope had also reminded him of all the hell she had suffered on account of his old flame, Billie. Bo was reminded that he wasn't perfect himself.

He smiled down at his love and kissed her lips softly. Stefano wasn't going to tear their family apart.

Hope stretched and yawned happily. "I better check on J.T."

Bo watched Hope wrap herself in a silk robe and head into J.T.'s room. {What did I do to deserve such a wonderful wife?} he asked himself with a smile.

His smile vanished with Hope's plaintive cry.

"Bo! Get in here!"



The three of them stood anxiously in the waiting room at Salem University Hospital. Hope had frantically called Bo when she found that J.T. wasn't breathing. Her son had been nearly blue and nothing she tried worked. He did begin breathing again, but it was painfully obvious that something was wrong with their little boy. The two of them and Shawn raced to the hospital where Craig and Colin immediately began treating him. Craig had come out once to say that J.T. appeared to be suffering from a serious complication due to his FAS. He had then rushed back into the emergency room to try to save the boy's life.

Bo hugged Hope to his chest. "He'll be alright. We've been through this before. He's going to be fine." He said soothingly. Hope merely whimpered helplessly.

Shawn had collapsed in a chair, his face a stoic mask. J.T. was his everything. He couldn't imagine life without his baby brother. Without thinking, he pulled out his cell phone and automatically dialed her number.

Bo led Hope to a chair and handed her a cup of coffee. He debated internally for a brief second before realizing what he had to do.

"I'm going to call John."



John looked at his two children before him. "And that's everything." He and Marlena had just spent the last thirty minutes giving Belle and Brady all the details behind J.T.'s conception. Everything. His previous life as Stefano's mercenary, and Hope's life as Princess Gina, the microchips that had been implanted in their minds controlling their thoughts and actions. Everything.

Belle and Brady just sat there while they tried to absorb it all. It had been difficult hearing about their father's hidden identity as a cold- blooded mercenary. Even more difficult to hear about his passionate love for Princess Gina. They looked at their father, and found themselves looking at someone they didn't know.

Belle pushed her father out of her mind. She couldn't deal with that yet. She turned instead to her mother. "So how long have you known?" she asked calmly, her face void of all emotions.

"I learned the truth about J.T. shortly after your father did. I've known for over two years now."

Belle repeated her mother's reply cryptically. "Two years, huh? It's all making sense now."

Marlena looked at her young daughter. She was concerned by Belle's lack of emotional response. "What do you mean?"

"Two years ago would be about the time that Brady came back. I have never understood why you were so angry with him. I mean you were responsible for the crazed police chase that almost KILLED him!"

"Belle…" Brady calmly interjected. There was no point in dragging the past up again.

Belle ignored her brother. "I mean sure, he wasn't the easiest person to get along with then, but you went out of your way to be a BITCH to him and now I know why."

"Belle!" John exclaimed harshly at Belle's treatment of his wife.

Belle whirled on her father, blue fire flashing in her eyes. He was taken aback by the unbridled fury reflected on her young face.

She continued coldly to her mother. "No wonder you were so horrible to Brady. Here you just had learned that your husband had fathered a child with another woman and now here's Brady, another child your husband had with someone else. You couldn't be angry with Dad so you took it out on Brady! What would the big psychiatry books call it? Transference?!" She crossed her arms firmly and stared at the ceiling, blinking back angry tears.

Brady grasped her shoulders and looked in her watering eyes. "Belle." He said firmly. "This isn't doing us any good. That was then, this is now. Okay, just let it go." He fought down his own pain and bitterness at the past. Now he knew why Marlena had treated him the way she did. It still hurt, but he understood. Anyway, she was a different person then. They both were.

Brady pulled her into a deep hug as she unleashed her tears. She was now seeing her parents in a whole new light, and it scared her. They weren't the people she thought they were.

John and Marlena sadly watched their two children, trying to think of the right words to say, the right thing to do to make this better. Marlena stood slowly and cleared her throat. She faced her children and spoke with tears in her eyes. "You are right, Belle. I was very angry with your father. But I also understood that he was a victim, too. I couldn't be upset with him. This left me feeling frustrated with unfocused anger. So Brady came back and like a lightening rod, attracted that anger. I unleashed on him what I couldn't do to your father."

She gently brushed the hair out of Brady's face and looked sadly into his deep blue eyes. "And for that I am truly sorry, Brady. You didn't deserve the way I treated you. Can you ever forgive me?"

He smiled back. "Well, I deserved some of it. And you're already forgiven."

Both Belle and John smiled deeply to see Brady and Marlena hug, burying their past mistakes. Maybe, there was a chance for their family after all. Belle locked eyes with her father. Her cold demeanor softened slightly. Maybe.

Their tender moment was interrupted by the ringing telephone. John picked up the receiver. "John Black." He answered simply. He paled visibly and hung up the phone without saying a word.

He slowly turned to his waiting family. "We have to go to the hospital."

"There's something wrong with J.T."