Call Me Sarah
Chapter Fourteen
"How is Craig?" John asked as he handed a steaming cup of coffee to his wife.
"Thanks. He is doing very well, actually. Fortunately the bullet missed the bone; passing through the fleshy part of the underarm instead. He is recovering from shock and they are replacing the blood he lost now. He is very fortunate. It could have been so much worse."
John nodded soberly. He was still trying to calm the racing adrenaline in his body. The standoff with Sarah had been so emotionally intense that it exhausted him. But as hard as it had been for him, he knew it had been so much worse for his son. His eyes drifted to a few feet away where Brady sat nursing a cup of strong coffee. John smiled to see Belle trying valiantly to comfort her big brother.
{One thing's for certain. Brady cares for Chloe.} He remembered how his son had been during the standoff, how he had talked to Sarah. {He actually got through to her.} He remembered proudly. He had been amazed by his son that night. Gone was the angry, bitter young man who had returned home from college. Instead Brady had been caring, concerned for the girl. Even his relationship with Marlena appeared to be improving.
He chuckled wryly. {He's got it bad, and that's a fact.} He remembered his earlier conversation with Brady, just before the dance. Even then, hours before, Brady had been so sure that something horrible was going to happen to Chloe at the dance, and he was determined to stop it. When John called him on his feelings for Chloe, he tried to play it off as simple concern for one of Belle's friends. But John knew better. {There's no denying it now, kiddo. I just pray those two get a happy ending.}
"I can't believe she shot you! My little girl shot you!" Nancy's voice rose hysterically.
"I'm fine, Nancy." Craig replied weakly as the nurse bandaged his shoulder. "See, just a minor surgery to repair the damage."
"You still haven't told me what happened. Why did she do this to you?"
Craig inhaled deeply, remembering all that he had learned that horrible night. "I'll tell you later, okay Nancy? Right now, I just want to check on Chloe."
"Hmmm" John pondered aloud.
"John?" Marlena asked.
"I just remembered something Sarah said earlier. She called me John."
"Yes?"
"How did she know my name? If Sarah has none of Chloe's memories then how did she know who I was?"
"Perhaps your name was mentioned during the standoff." Marlena suggested as she rubbed her tired eyes.
John frowned. "Maybe. But it still doesn't explain that whole bit about Paris." He shook his head. "There was just something about the way she said my name. It reminded me of someone from a long time ago." He murmured softly.
"Who?"
John shook his head as if shaking off his troubling thoughts. "Nothing. Nobody. It's been a long night." That had to explain it. Because what he was thinking unnerved him. The way she had said his name, the way she had made him feel. There was only person who had ever made him feel that way. And she was dead.
"I wouldn't give much thought to anything Sarah says at this point, John. You saw how unstable she is."
"Yeah, you're right." He agreed, placing an arm around his wife's shoulder. "I just hope it's over."
"So, is it real?" he asked as he adjusted his black mask.
She smiled with devilish delight. "Yes." She purred. "Do you see those brush strokes? It's his one of a kind, signature style. It is the reason why this painting is so valuable. And the reason why we're here." She winked at her partner.
"Music to my ears." He said lowly as he nibbled on her neck.
Her large brown eyes lost focus as her senses thrilled to life. "You do realize that we have a job to do." she murmured.
He checked his watch. "Eighteen.five minutes before the security systems come back online. Plenty of time." He smiled as his lips settled deeply on hers.
"John" her moan echoed with desire.
His reply was equally passionate. "Gina"
Celeste injected the clear liquid into the unconscious girl's arm. She smiled as the girl's eyelids fluttered. "Come on, dahling. It is time to wake up."
The dream faded as Sarah regained consciousness. She sat up on the examining bed and looked around the room, mild confusion written across her face. Her eyes finally came to rest on Celeste.
She frowned slightly. "You? What are you doing here? And where is 'here'?" She looked around her in confusion. "Is Grandfather here? I want to speak to him." She looked down and noticed the green hospital smock. "And please find me something decent to wear. My goodness, what am I wearing?" She took off the smock to find that she only wore a negligee underneath. {Hmm, I've obviously been having a good time.}
Celeste simply looked at Sarah with an expression of concern on her face. {So she has fully awoken, then. She has regained all of her former memories.} She decided to test Sarah. "Do you know who you are?" she asked the girl.
"Of course, Celeste, and yes, I recognize you despite that ridiculous disguise. I am Chloe Michele Dimera. Now would you please tell me what I am doing here? And where is Grandfather?"
"I'm sorry dahling, but Stefano is not here. He is.away. And as for where you are, you are in a hospital."
"What? Why?"
Celeste hesitated momentarily. "You were in a slight accident and now I'm going to give you something to make you sleep for a little while."
"Well, okay." She replied simply and held out her arm. She didn't wince when the needle pierced her skin. A very short time later and Chloe's eyes clouded over and become dull. She stared blankly in front of her and Celeste knew that she was in a deep hypnotic trance.
Celeste shined a flashlight into the girl's eyes. {No change. Good.} "Now listen carefully Chloe. When I count to three you will awake and you will cease to be Chloe Dimera. You will once more become Chloe Lane. Your parents are Nancy and Craig Wesley and you live here in Salem. You will remember none of the events that transpired this evening. Nor will you remember any of the recovered memories of your past. You also will not know me. Do you understand?"
Chloe nodded dazedly.
"Good. Now hear this and remember it in the most secret part of your mind. As the majestic Phoenix is reborn from its ashes, so will you rise and bring glory to the house of Dimera." A slight smile formed on Celeste's face.
"But not yet, my dear. One, two, three."
"She's going to be okay." Belle said with a confidence she didn't feel. She looked over at her big brother and studied his face. As usual his handsome features were frozen in a hard, expressionless mask. Yet she knew him well enough to know that strong emotions whirled just beneath the calm surface. She searched for the right words to say to comfort him, but they all sounded trite and insincere. Besides, Brady was never really one for words. It was the action that mattered to him. So she simply reached over and squeezed his hand as they sat waiting together in silence.
Brady for his part was barely aware of his sister's presence. He was too absorbed in dark thoughts and darker images. {"During her years in foster care Chloe was abused. One of her foster fathers beat her, and another.raped her."} Dr. Johnson's words played horribly in his mind. {My God. How can life be so cruel to one person? And I thought I had it bad.}
He closed his eyes to block the images that sprang to mind. But his action was in vain. He knew that what he had witnessed that night would stay with him to the end of his days. A half-naked Sarah wildly screaming about the abuse she had suffered while she pointed a gun at Craig's head. Brady felt like he was still in shock from the emotionally charged encounter. {I just pray that it's over, and that somehow Chloe can get through this.}
The occupants of the cramped waiting room came to attention as the examining room door opened. Dr. Johnson came out and flashed a relieved smile.
"I have been successful. She is coming out of it now. You can see her, if you like."
Chapter Fourteen
"How is Craig?" John asked as he handed a steaming cup of coffee to his wife.
"Thanks. He is doing very well, actually. Fortunately the bullet missed the bone; passing through the fleshy part of the underarm instead. He is recovering from shock and they are replacing the blood he lost now. He is very fortunate. It could have been so much worse."
John nodded soberly. He was still trying to calm the racing adrenaline in his body. The standoff with Sarah had been so emotionally intense that it exhausted him. But as hard as it had been for him, he knew it had been so much worse for his son. His eyes drifted to a few feet away where Brady sat nursing a cup of strong coffee. John smiled to see Belle trying valiantly to comfort her big brother.
{One thing's for certain. Brady cares for Chloe.} He remembered how his son had been during the standoff, how he had talked to Sarah. {He actually got through to her.} He remembered proudly. He had been amazed by his son that night. Gone was the angry, bitter young man who had returned home from college. Instead Brady had been caring, concerned for the girl. Even his relationship with Marlena appeared to be improving.
He chuckled wryly. {He's got it bad, and that's a fact.} He remembered his earlier conversation with Brady, just before the dance. Even then, hours before, Brady had been so sure that something horrible was going to happen to Chloe at the dance, and he was determined to stop it. When John called him on his feelings for Chloe, he tried to play it off as simple concern for one of Belle's friends. But John knew better. {There's no denying it now, kiddo. I just pray those two get a happy ending.}
"I can't believe she shot you! My little girl shot you!" Nancy's voice rose hysterically.
"I'm fine, Nancy." Craig replied weakly as the nurse bandaged his shoulder. "See, just a minor surgery to repair the damage."
"You still haven't told me what happened. Why did she do this to you?"
Craig inhaled deeply, remembering all that he had learned that horrible night. "I'll tell you later, okay Nancy? Right now, I just want to check on Chloe."
"Hmmm" John pondered aloud.
"John?" Marlena asked.
"I just remembered something Sarah said earlier. She called me John."
"Yes?"
"How did she know my name? If Sarah has none of Chloe's memories then how did she know who I was?"
"Perhaps your name was mentioned during the standoff." Marlena suggested as she rubbed her tired eyes.
John frowned. "Maybe. But it still doesn't explain that whole bit about Paris." He shook his head. "There was just something about the way she said my name. It reminded me of someone from a long time ago." He murmured softly.
"Who?"
John shook his head as if shaking off his troubling thoughts. "Nothing. Nobody. It's been a long night." That had to explain it. Because what he was thinking unnerved him. The way she had said his name, the way she had made him feel. There was only person who had ever made him feel that way. And she was dead.
"I wouldn't give much thought to anything Sarah says at this point, John. You saw how unstable she is."
"Yeah, you're right." He agreed, placing an arm around his wife's shoulder. "I just hope it's over."
"So, is it real?" he asked as he adjusted his black mask.
She smiled with devilish delight. "Yes." She purred. "Do you see those brush strokes? It's his one of a kind, signature style. It is the reason why this painting is so valuable. And the reason why we're here." She winked at her partner.
"Music to my ears." He said lowly as he nibbled on her neck.
Her large brown eyes lost focus as her senses thrilled to life. "You do realize that we have a job to do." she murmured.
He checked his watch. "Eighteen.five minutes before the security systems come back online. Plenty of time." He smiled as his lips settled deeply on hers.
"John" her moan echoed with desire.
His reply was equally passionate. "Gina"
Celeste injected the clear liquid into the unconscious girl's arm. She smiled as the girl's eyelids fluttered. "Come on, dahling. It is time to wake up."
The dream faded as Sarah regained consciousness. She sat up on the examining bed and looked around the room, mild confusion written across her face. Her eyes finally came to rest on Celeste.
She frowned slightly. "You? What are you doing here? And where is 'here'?" She looked around her in confusion. "Is Grandfather here? I want to speak to him." She looked down and noticed the green hospital smock. "And please find me something decent to wear. My goodness, what am I wearing?" She took off the smock to find that she only wore a negligee underneath. {Hmm, I've obviously been having a good time.}
Celeste simply looked at Sarah with an expression of concern on her face. {So she has fully awoken, then. She has regained all of her former memories.} She decided to test Sarah. "Do you know who you are?" she asked the girl.
"Of course, Celeste, and yes, I recognize you despite that ridiculous disguise. I am Chloe Michele Dimera. Now would you please tell me what I am doing here? And where is Grandfather?"
"I'm sorry dahling, but Stefano is not here. He is.away. And as for where you are, you are in a hospital."
"What? Why?"
Celeste hesitated momentarily. "You were in a slight accident and now I'm going to give you something to make you sleep for a little while."
"Well, okay." She replied simply and held out her arm. She didn't wince when the needle pierced her skin. A very short time later and Chloe's eyes clouded over and become dull. She stared blankly in front of her and Celeste knew that she was in a deep hypnotic trance.
Celeste shined a flashlight into the girl's eyes. {No change. Good.} "Now listen carefully Chloe. When I count to three you will awake and you will cease to be Chloe Dimera. You will once more become Chloe Lane. Your parents are Nancy and Craig Wesley and you live here in Salem. You will remember none of the events that transpired this evening. Nor will you remember any of the recovered memories of your past. You also will not know me. Do you understand?"
Chloe nodded dazedly.
"Good. Now hear this and remember it in the most secret part of your mind. As the majestic Phoenix is reborn from its ashes, so will you rise and bring glory to the house of Dimera." A slight smile formed on Celeste's face.
"But not yet, my dear. One, two, three."
"She's going to be okay." Belle said with a confidence she didn't feel. She looked over at her big brother and studied his face. As usual his handsome features were frozen in a hard, expressionless mask. Yet she knew him well enough to know that strong emotions whirled just beneath the calm surface. She searched for the right words to say to comfort him, but they all sounded trite and insincere. Besides, Brady was never really one for words. It was the action that mattered to him. So she simply reached over and squeezed his hand as they sat waiting together in silence.
Brady for his part was barely aware of his sister's presence. He was too absorbed in dark thoughts and darker images. {"During her years in foster care Chloe was abused. One of her foster fathers beat her, and another.raped her."} Dr. Johnson's words played horribly in his mind. {My God. How can life be so cruel to one person? And I thought I had it bad.}
He closed his eyes to block the images that sprang to mind. But his action was in vain. He knew that what he had witnessed that night would stay with him to the end of his days. A half-naked Sarah wildly screaming about the abuse she had suffered while she pointed a gun at Craig's head. Brady felt like he was still in shock from the emotionally charged encounter. {I just pray that it's over, and that somehow Chloe can get through this.}
The occupants of the cramped waiting room came to attention as the examining room door opened. Dr. Johnson came out and flashed a relieved smile.
"I have been successful. She is coming out of it now. You can see her, if you like."