Banshee Song Book One

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Friday midmorning.

"Ok, sheet music.check, application forms.check, audition letter.check." Chloe mumbled to herself as she ran down her checklist of items she would need for her audition Sunday. When she was satisfied that she had all of her audition materials together, she then turned her attention to the overflowing suitcase lying open on her bed. Crammed into her suitcase were no fewer than seven changes of clothing, not counting sleepwear. Sleepwear. She smiled slyly and pulled out a plastic bag that had been hidden in her dresser. She pulled out the contents of the Victoria's Secret bag and looked at the royal blue satin nightie that she had bought especially for this weekend. Chloe tried to imagine the look on Brady's face when he saw her wearing the clingy nightgown. {Surely this will bring us closer together.} she thought to herself.

With a start, she shook herself out of her reverie. She went back to her dresser and pulled out a small bag from the Salem Place pharmacy. She pulled out a box of condoms and hurriedly threw them into her suitcase; she couldn't bring herself to look at the box. Her cheeks blazed as she remembered her mortifying trip to the drugstore yesterday. She had been so nervously embarrassed by even being in the vicinity of the condom display that she hurriedly grabbed the first box she saw and fled the aisle. It had taken all of her strength to coolly stand in line and pay for the items nonchalantly, as if she does this all the time.

Chloe took a deep, calming breath and tried to look forward to their trip. Of course she knew that the real reason for their excursion to New York was for her Julliard audition, which she was still very nervous about. But while they were there, they planned to enjoy themselves. Brady was going to show her some of the sights of the city in hopes of inspiring her, like he had done last summer. There would be Broadway shows, dinner, dancing, and afterwards. Chloe blushed again as she thought of Saturday night, in their nice hotel suite.

She jumped at a loud knock on her door. "Come in!" She called and quickly slammed the lid down on her suitcase as Nancy entered. Nancy smiled at Chloe's suspicious nervousness.

"Chloe, sweetie, we need to have a little talk."

Chloe turned an innocent face to her mother. "About what, Mom?"

"About you and Brady. And this weekend."

"About us?" Chloe repeated innocently.

Nancy hid a small smile as she remembered giving her own mother a similar face when she was Chloe's age. "Yes. I know that the two of you have become very serious, and that you have 'special' plans for this weekend. (After Chloe's stunned look) I'm not dense! I know what you are thinking.

I want you to know that I would never even DREAM of allowing my teenage daughter to spend the weekend with a man who is over THREE years older than she.under normal circumstances, that is. But you and Brady are anything but normal, as is your relationship. You two are already, by your very natures, more mature than most kids your age. Your experiences in the last few months have made you even more so. Your ordeal at the hands of your foster father has strengthened the already very strong bonds between you and Brady. I know that."

Nancy walked slowly around the room as she continued talking, lost in her painful memories of just three months ago. "You almost died then. I almost lost you, but Brady brought you back to me. For that reason alone, have I been willing to overlook the late nights at Brady's loft when you finally come home with your hair disheveled, blouse untucked. You know I could bring Brady up on charges of statutory rape." Nancy turned a serious face to her daughter.

Chloe flew off the bed, furious that her mother could even use the words rape and Brady in the same sentence. Chloe knew what rape was, more than anyone had a right to. "Nancy! We haven't even done anything, yet!"

Chloe stopped, horrified when Nancy lifted the lid to her suitcase. Nancy held up the box of condoms. "Yet being the operative word, I see." Nancy took a second look at the package and her eyes visibly bulged from their sockets. "Ahem." She cleared her throat and Chloe thought she could detect a faint blush on her mother's face. Nancy replaced the condoms back in the suitcase and sat down on the bed. She motioned for her daughter to join her. Chloe sat beside her mother.

"Chloe, what I'm trying to say is that while I'm not thrilled about your decision to further your relationship with Brady, I do understand. Just promise me that you will be careful, and safe, and if you are the least bit unsure, then don't do it. And don't let Brady pressure you into anything you aren't ready for."

Chloe smiled. "No problem there." She said softly. She threw her arms around her mother and kissed her cheek. "Thanks Mom."

Nancy smiled and got up to leave Chloe's room. "You're welcome, sweetie. Have fun, and I will see you when you get back on Monday." Nancy opened the door and turned back to her daughter. "Oh, and if Brady hurts you, I will kill him."

Chloe smiled at her mother's retreating back. {Oh! I better call Brady, find out when he's coming to get me.}



Meanwhile in the living room of the Brady home, Brady stood with his sister and his cousin Shawn. The Blacks and the Bradys, as well as a few Hortons, had gathered together to lend their support to Bo and Hope while they awaited the results of Isaac's tests. Mickey Horton was there also to offer his services as a lawyer. He turned to his beloved niece. "The lab technician as well as a court-appointed attorney will be here shortly with the results. Our next step, should the results prove your claim, will be to sue for immediate temporary custody while permanent custody is being determined."

Hope nodded simply at her uncle's advice. Right now, she could only think of those tests, and what they would prove.

Shawn sent a disgusted look to the ceiling above him. He turned to his girlfriend Belle. "Do you believe this? J.T. is not even cold in the ground and they are already trying to replace him!" He said angrily.

"Shawn." Belle moved to comfort him. She understood his anger, his frustration, his confusion. She too was still reeling from the news they had learned this morning. That the little brother she thought she had, and lost, was not her brother after all, and now there was another little kid who might be her brother. She turned confused, helpless eyes to her brother Brady.

"It's just never going to end, is it?" Brady replied sympathetically. Suddenly, his cell phone rang and he answered it.

"Hey Chloe. You all packed? (pause) I'll be there in a little while. Something came up." There was another pause and Belle and Shawn could tell that Brady was hesitant to tell Chloe what was happening.

Shawn whispered over to Brady. "Why don't you have her join us here?"

"Are you sure?" Brady asked as he held his hand over the receiver.

"Yeah. She's been with us through everything else. It doesn't seem right for her not to be here now. Besides, I want her here. I would have called her, but my mind has been elsewhere."

"Okay." Brady replied, relieved. He had wanted to have her support, have her by his side through this unbelievable mess.

Chloe arrived shortly to the controlled chaos that was the Brady household. She was relieved to notice that she wasn't the only non-family person here. She immediately went up to Shawn and hugged him.

"How are you doing?" she asked him sincerely. They had grown very close since the night J.T. died and now, to see the renewed pain on his face nearly broke her heart.

Shawn replied with a mirthless grin. "I'm here. I'm breathing. At least I think I am." Chloe hugged him again and then left him and Belle alone in search of Brady.

She found him a short distance away sitting by himself on an upholstered chair. She kissed his cheek lightly and hugged him. "How are you holding up, Brady?"

He gifted her with a crooked grin and sad eyes. "You know, I honestly don't know. This is just too much. Learning that Belle and I have a brother, burying that brother only to learn later that he wasn't our brother. Now we have a new brother? When will it end?"

As Chloe went about comforting Brady, in the kitchen of the Brady house, Hope Brady was fixing another pot of strong coffee. Bo wrapped his arms around his lovely wife and kissed her cheek. "Are you okay?"

"Bo, I have done everything I can think of to keep myself busy. If those results don't get here soon, I may very well go crazy!" she sighed in nervous anticipation.

"Well if keeping 'busy' is the problem, then I think I have the solution." Bo replied with a sexy grin as he bent down to kiss her soft lips.

Hope was about to reply when there was a knock on their kitchen door. She was surprised to see Abe standing on her back porch.

"Bo, Hope, can I come in?" Abe asked quietly.

"Of course!" Hope exclaimed. Momentary awkwardness filled the room. "Abe, I am so sorry to be doing this to you." Hope said sincerely.

Abe smiled at her and Bo. "No. I understand. You want your son."

Hope spoke up, nervously trying to ease her friend's pain. "We don't know that Isaac is mine. We're just checking all the possibilities."

"I know." Abe replied simply.

Bo turned to his friend and superior. "I heard about you and Lexie. I'm sorry."

Abe chuckled humorlessly. "Don't be. We had our problems long before this."

The minutes ticked by and the house was filled with nervous chatter. People talked of mundane, boring subjects simply to pass the time and occupy their minds. Hope had remarked jokingly to her husband that if one more person asked her how she was, she would scream. But finally though, the torturous wait came to an end with an ominous knock on the front door.

Silence fell on the house as the lab technician entered with the attorney. The tech held a locked briefcase. Abe, John, Hope and Bo moved forward to witness the reading of the results. The suitcase was unlocked and sealed envelopes were removed. Mickey recorded the reading for additional evidence.

The tech spoke clearly, his voice easily heard throughout the still room. Breaths were held and hands grasped.

"These are the results of Isaac Carver's maternity test." The technician spoke as he unsealed one of the envelopes. "The test resulted in a positive match. Hope Brady is the mother."

Breaths were released throughout the room in an audible hiss of relief. Hope simply clutched Bo's hand while Abe turned a sickly gray. He quietly left the room. Quiet murmurs of shocked happiness echoed around the room.

The lawyer held up his hand for everyone's attention and the room was once again silent. The technician continued. "These are the results of Isaac Carver's paternity test.. The test resulted in a negative match. John Black is not the father."

If the earlier shock had been one of relieved happiness, then the shock that currently reverberated round the room was one of anguish and dismay. The smile on John's face quickly vanished, to be replaced by shock and then sad understanding. Hope turned a questioning gaze on John. If he wasn't the father, then who was?

She began to tremble and shake when she saw the answer written on his face. There was only one other explanation. "no" she cried softly as her knees buckled. Bo swiftly caught his distraught wife and held her firmly in his grasp. "no" she cried into his arms. "Not him. Please God, not him." She murmured through her sobs. How was this possible?

Confusion at Hope's response ran through the room. {So John wasn't the father. Isn't this a good thing?} thought many of the stunned occupants of the room. Shawn stood, conflicting emotions swirling through him. "Wait! If John isn't the father, then who is?" he cried out angrily.

Belle and Brady turned expectant eyes on their father. He looked at them sadly and then turned his angry gaze to the floor.

"Dimera." He said simply. "Stefano Dimera."

There was no mistaking the loud gasps of horror. Stefano Dimera fathered Hope's baby? Renewed hatred for the bastard flooded the room as everyone concluded that he must have tricked Hope somehow. Many people remembered how confused she had been during the period of her life when J.T., no Isaac, was conceived. Pity and sympathy filled their hearts at the thought of what Hope must be going through.

Mickey looked at Hope apprehensively. "This changes everything. If Stefano is Isaac's father, it may be more difficult to obtain permanent custody of the child. Because Lexie, through her father, now has a legitimate claim on your son. It essentially becomes a custody battle between two parents." Mickey paused when he saw Hope grow even more upset. "Of course if we can prove that.the act of conception.wasn't consensual then we would have a better chance of winning custody." Mickey grasped Hope's shoulder tenderly. "Besides, they still have to prove that Stefano's the father. Meanwhile, we have an appointment in one hour with the judge to decide temporary custody."

"It may be a moot issue." Everyone's eyes turned to the doorway to the kitchen where Abe stood, cell phone in hand. "I can't get an answer at the mansion."

Hope looked at Abe and struggled for comprehension while an icy terror settled on her spirit. Ghost visions played in her head, dreamy déjà vu. She was holding her son in her hands, while two dark specters tried to snatch him from her grasp. "She wouldn't. Would she?" She turned questioning eyes to Abe and what she saw reflected in his deep brown eyes confirmed her worst fears.

"She's gone. And she's taken my son."