Author's Note: This is a short story on the Kiriakis family that takes place before Philip found out he was Jarod's father. So without further ado here it is.

Kiriakis Battle Royal – Boys vs. Girls

It was a beautiful spring day at the Kiriakis Manor. The whole family was together for rare weekend April, there were no little league games, no business trips, and no patients to see, yes this was a rare weekend of solitude for the mighty Kiriakis family. And they intended to enjoy it together, so Philip gave the entire staff at the Manor the weekend off. To do as they wished so that he could be with his family. Everyone was enjoying their day; the children were outside playing a game. Chloe and Philip were inside having a little time to themselves.

Jarod and Dominic were outside playing a little basketball on the court. Both of the young boys were very athletic and aggressive in playing their game. The girls were watching from the sidelines, absolutely enthused from watching the two boys run up and down the court. Finally, after twenty minutes of playing the final shot had been made and Dominic was the victor.

"I told you I could beat you. It was like taking candy from a baby." Dominic said in his superior tone.

Jarod watched as his younger brother gloated about winning a game of one on one. "Dominic, it was one game. I'd hardly call you the better player here. Besides I let you win. Since we all know that I am the best basketball player here." He said spinning the ball around on one finger.

"We know nothing of the sort. It's obvious that you are nothing but a sore loser. But, hey, I'm a gracious winner," Dominic came and grabbed the ball out of his hand. "I'll play one more game with you and then we'll know for sure that I am the king of Basketball."

"Okay, you're on." Jarod agreed.

"Yeah and I'll play winner." Ariana maintained walking onto the court. Both boys turned to look at her in bewilderment. Then they laughed. "What's wrong?"

"Ana, don't take this the wrong way but girls can't play basketball." Jarod said still laughing aimlessly with Dominic.

"Yeah, Jarod's right. Girls can't play basketball. Girls are cheerleaders, and they cheer for us." Dominic added pointing to himself and Jarod.

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Of course girls can play basketball. Haven't you two heard of the WNBA?" Ariana walked over and knocked her brothers upside the head. "Hello, they are professional basketball players not, cheerleaders."

Jarod moved out of the way of Ariana's hands and moved to the other side of her with the ball. "Of course we've heard of them. We simply meant that you're––,"

"No Lisa Leslie. And you can't play with us." Dominic finished for him.

Ariana opened her mouth in disbelief that he had said that. Then she closed it and became angry. "Listen to me, I never said I was Lisa Leslie, but I am a good player. And the only reason you don't want me to play is because you both know that I am a much better player than both of you put together. Why I bet that Jessie and I could beat the pants off both of you in a game of two-on-two. Right Jessie?" Ariana asked looking to her sister on the sidelines.

Jessica had been standing on the side watching her older siblings argue. She knew from experience that sooner or later she'd be pulled in. That's just the Kiriakis children's way of arguing, to pull in everyone around them. But, in this she was happy to be pulled in because Jarod and Dommy weren't being fair to Ana. "Yeah, me and Ana can beat you two."

"Jessie how can you be on her side?" Jarod asked seeing as how she usually was on his side.

"Well you and Dommy aren't being fair, Ana can play basketball just like you can." She responded taking her place on the court her black ponytail swinging as she stood in front of her brothers.

"But you can't, girls don't play better than boys. Everyone knows that. We," he pointed to himself and Jarod. "Arethebetter players. Besides, everyone knows that boys are better at sports than girls." Dominic arrogantly stated.

"Yeah well girls are smarter." Ariana retorted flipping her long hair over her shoulder and crossing her arms.

"They are not." Dominic said.

"Are too," Ariana said beginning her favorite argument with her twin.

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Guys instead of arguing about this why don't we go ask Mom." Jarod said hoping to break the argument and not allow the twins to give him a headache.

"Fine!" Both twins answered shooting glares at each other before they headed toward the house leaving Jarod and Jessica to follow them.

Back inside Kiriakis Manor …

Chloe and Philip were in the living room together supposedly watching a movie on the television. But, in reality they were lying on the couch making out.

Chloe lay partially on Philip with her long hair spread out about her shoulders. While Philip was under her with one of his legs in between hers as far as it could go considering she had on a knee-length jean skirt. His hands were underneath her hair on the small of her back while hers were in his hair angling his face up to hers as they kissed. One of Chloe's legs was on its way up his. And that was how the children found their parents when they entered the room.

"Jeez, couldn't you guys have waited until we were asleep?" Dominic said in disgust as he watched his parents jump apart like a pair of teenagers caught necking at lookout point.

Chloe and Philip sat up in their seats, respectively, and began to adjust their clothing. She was pulling up the straps of her top while Philip rebuttoned his shirt that has somehow gotten unbuttoned. But, he couldn't remember doing it himself. Then, he moved back against the couch and sat back as Chloe moved to sit in front of him. Nothing could kill the mood better that having your children walk in on you.

"Yeah that's the last thing we want to see. What are you trying to do to us? Make us need therapy for years?" Ariana asked her parents clearly agreeing with her twins' previous assessment.

Chloe cleared her throat as she turned her head so the children wouldn't see her smile. They would only incite them more. When she turned back to them she asked, "Was there something you wanted?"

"Yeah Mommy. Me and Dominic–––,"

"Dominic and I," Chloe corrected.

"Dominic and I had a disagreement. He told me that girls aren't as good athletes––,"

"Aren't better athletes," She corrected again and received a sigh of annoyance from her daughter. "I'm sorry continue."

"Okay so he said girls aren't better athletes than boys. So I said girls are smarter. And then he said that they aren't and I said they are. So who is right?"

Chloe was baffled, she had no idea what Ariana was asking her about. She looked at Philip and he looked as lost as she did. Thankfully, Jarod came to the rescue.

"So are girls smarter than boys?" He asked fully aware of his mother's confusion from the way Ariana explained things.

"Well, psychologically speaking yes girls on average are smarter than boys. But, that doesn't mean that boys aren't smart or that they can't be smarter than a girl. Boys do better on standardized tests but girls' get better grades overall. So statistically it's true but that's all about the way the girls learn. In general girls learn better and faster than boys do that's all. You understand that don't you?" She answered for her children, Ariana smiled cockily.

"Yes, we understand, girls are smarter than boys." She said smiling at her brother making her dimples stand out even more.

"Okay well what about the other question Mom. Aren't boys better athletes than girls?" Dominic asked unwilling to let his point of view go.

Chloe looked at Philip to see if he was going to respond. When it looked like he wasn't she started to answer only to be stalled by his reply. "No, girls aren't better athletes than boys. In this case, I think that boys are obviously better at sports."

"I told ya so!" Dominic said and Ariana rolled her eyes at him.

Chloe moved away from Philip while shooting him glares of disbelief. "Philip, I can't believe you said that. How can you be so sexist? The athletic ability of boys and girls can't be measured as to who is better. Yes, men are stronger than women but that doesn't make women the lesser athlete. It's different for each sport." The children looked on with amusement as their mother reamed out their father. "Philip you know as well as I do that there was no basis for your statement. I am not raising my children to be little chauvinistic pigs."

"Chloe come on, I'm not making any sexist statements," Chloe, who had her arms over her chest, arched her eyebrow in complete disbelief. "I'm not! All I was trying to say was that while women are good athletes men are simply better." By this time Chloe had moved completely away from him on the couch and was standing by her daughters.

"So men are better athletes than women, uh?" She asked eyeing her sons who moved onto the couch to sit by her sexist, chauvinistic pig of a husband.

"Yes," the Kiriakis men declared.

"Why don't we test this theory out," Chloe raised her hand to stop Philip from talking when he was going to interrupt her to silence him. "Let's play a game of one-on-one the boys against" she placed her hands on the shoulders of her daughters. "The girls. And then we shall see who the better athletes are. Lets go get ready girls." Chloe said as she Ariana, and Jessica left the room, their dark long hair swinging in their wake.

Philip and the boys were left sitting on the couch. "We're not really going to play with them are we Dad?" Dominic asked. "I mean, they're going to lose."

"Yeah, I agree. While Ariana's a good player, I know she can't beat us. And why would Mom want to embarrass herself by losing?" Jarod added as he and Dominic sat awaiting an answer to their questions.

Philip looked at his two boys waiting patiently for their answers from him. "I don't know what to tell you, I have no idea what's going thru your mother's head. But, let this be a lesson to you, you can never truly know what goes on in a woman's head." He rose from his seat, the boys followed. "In any case, let's go we need to get ready for the game. It will be the Kiriakis Battle Royal, men versus women."

Philip and the boys were outside doing some practice free throws when the ladies arrived. They were all dressed and ready to go in their shorts and t-shirts. Even little Jessica had her game face on ready to play. When the ball was thrown to Philip, he caught it and held it in his hands as he waited for the girls to come onto the court.

"Look Chloe even though you're obviously ready to play the game," he said gesturing to her outfit of a shorts and a t-shirt. "I think we should just call off the game."

"Backing out already Philip? We haven't even begun to play." She told him teasingly.

"No, I'm not backing out. I just thought that it would make more sense not to play the game especially when you are at a disadvantage since you don't know how to play." He responded as he watched Chloe take the hair band off her wrist and pull her hair into a high ponytail, after she finished she started walking over to him.

Once she stood in front of him, she leaned up to his ear and whispered, "Who said I don't know how to play basketball?" Then she took the ball from his hands, aimed for the basketball hoop and watched as the ball slid thru the hoop easily. Ariana and Jessica cheered for their mother while Jarod and Dominic stood in silent amazement. Then, they returned to watching their parents in the center of the court.

After Chloe had made her shot, Philip cooled on his heels in astonishment. "Now how about we start this game before it gets to late." Chloe said looked at the children on either side of her who all shouted in agreement. "Alright, then I say we play until one team scores 15 points (this is just another reminder, I know nothing about basketball at all so please excuse my lack thereof.)." Chloe held her hand out for him to shake in an agreement. "Come on Philip let's shake on it." She smiled enticingly as she held out her hand and winked at him.

Philip grinned wickedly before he grasp her hand and pulled her into his arms. "I have a better idea, let's kiss on it." Then he leaned down and captured her mouth into a kiss while, she placed her arms around his neck.

"Mom," Ariana cried.

"Dad," Dominic called at simultaneously with his twin. "This is a disgusting show of sportsmanship. You're not supposed to kiss Mom. She's on the other team." He said moving so that stood between his parents and separated them; with a look of disgust on there faces as he frowned at his parents.

"I agree with Dommy, you guys can't do that 'specially when we are in the midst of playing a game." Ariana said moving to stand next to her twin.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry it won't happen again sir!" Philip told his son jokingly. "But, I was just giving her a good luck kiss She's going to need it." He said after moving behind Dominic and winking at Chloe.

"Yeah right. Come on Philip let's play ball." Chloe said ready to play ball and wipe the floor with her husband.

There was only one more point to be made before the boys would win the game. Philip was in his element playing basketball with his children. He was basically a big kid reliving the glory days of his youth. Chloe was also having fun despite the two-point lead by the boys. She got to exhibit her basketball playing skills that Philip never knew she had.

It was down to Chloe to make sure that the girls won this game but in order to do that she had to make two perfect baskets. This was a challenge considering that whenever she had to make shots so far she'd bombed, hitting the rim. It was doubtful to the boys that their mother would make the shot. They knew they had this win in the bag.

"Mom, it's really sad that Ana and Jess are depending on you to win. Cause you know you can't." Jarod said laughing as he stood catching his breath.

"Yeah Jarod's right. You'll never make these shots." Dominic agreed laughing with him. Philip was off to the side not laughing with the boys but grinning like a fool. Or at least that's how Chloe saw it.

"Guys, let's not make in fun of your Mom like that. So she won't make the shot and will prove that boys are better than girls in sports. That's nothing to be laughing about. But, it would be interesting if we put something on this." He said looking conspiratorially at his sons.

"You mean like a bet, Dad?" Dominic asked.

"Exactly–––," He answered before Chloe who had been dribbling the ball in the center of the court interrupted him.

"Philip, don't you notice that making bets always seems to bite you in the ass in the end." She questioned arching her delicate brow.

"Hey, I'm not suggesting anything big. Just a friendly little wager between the family. Nothing big I promise."

"Okay, fine you can do your little wager but keep it realistic." The boys cheered gleefully. "But, it's got to be fair so you have to pick something that's reasonable. Meaning something you wouldn't mind doing yourselves." Chloe said and watched as her husband and sons gathered into a small huddle.

"Momma, why can't we help decide?" Ariana asked her mother crossing her arms.

"Sweetie, we can't help because this something so juvenile that only cocky, annoying men do. Besides that after I make these two shots they are going to end up losing in the first place. We're just letting them pick their own punishment." Ariana nodded.

"But how do we know that they won't pick something easy to do?" Jessica asked.

"Oh, they won't it's like I told you at the house. Your father and brothers think that they are winning so they'll pick something that will only benefit them not us. Trust me on this, I know your father and that is exactly what he's going to do." She whispered to the girls after noting the guys had finished their brief discussion. "Alright so what will it be?"

"Well, the boys have decided that if you lose," He glanced over at the girls. "Ariana and Jessica must wait on the hand and foot for the rest of the weekend. Starting by cooking them dinner tonight with your assistance of course." Chloe held the ball on her hip.

"Alright that sounds fine." If Chloe wanted to say anything more she couldn't as Philip interrupted her.

"Oh but my dear I'm not finished." He walked over to her and placed his arm about her shoulders. "That was for the girls, you have an entirely different punishment. Only it really isn't a punishment but more like a pleasure. You see here's what you are going to do for me …" He leaned down to her ear and preceded to tell her, his planned punishment.

Chloe blushed and pushed Philip away. "You know there are children present." She pulled him back to her for a second and said, " I never knew you could be such a romantic or kinky guy." Then she pushed him away again.

"Well, you learn something new everyday. So how about we get to it. The boys and I would like to collect our winnings ASAP." Philip responded grinning wickedly.

"Yes, lets." Chloe said and got into position. As she got ready to throw the ball she gave her daughter a sly wink that went completely unnoticed to the opposing team.

Later that night …

Chloe and the girls were in the dining room getting ready for dinner. They were waiting for the boys to come and needless to say they were impatient.

"Mom when are they coming. I'm tired of waiting for them to get here." Ariana wined.

"Ana honey, patience is a virtue. Besides, a bet is a bet and since we didn't exactly play fair so we have to wait for them." Chloe told her impatient daughter.

"I know, I know but it shouldn't take them this long to get ready."

"Yeah, it shouldn't." Jessica swiftly added just as the guys entered the room.

"Sorry it took us so long. We underestimated the time it take to cook this." Philip said leading the way into the dining room with a steaming pot in his hands followed by Jarod and Dominic.

Chloe tried to hold in her laughter at the appearance of her husband and sons. They were completely disheveled with what seemed to be flour covering whatever part of their clothing wasn't covered by the aprons they wore. They all looked like they had been through hell. She really, really tried not to laugh but she couldn't hold in her laughter once Ariana and Jessica started to laugh.

The two little girls were practically red in the face laughing at their siblings' expense. They couldn't even stop laughing after the guys left the room and went back into the kitchen to bring out the other dishes.

"Girls we shouldn't laugh at your father or brothers. It's really not right." Chloe said all the while unable to hold the gasps of laughter slipping out. Then, taking a deep breath she stopped laughing and smiled. "Okay seriously, we shouldn't laugh at them. We won the game today and I think they have suffered enough without having us laugh at them. Besides, they worked very hard on this dinner for us." The boys reentered the dining room again. But, as they turned to leave Chloe got up out of her seat. "Boys, I think you've done a wonderful job on dinner. So why don't you sit down and eat with the girls. I'll go help your father."

"Okay Mom." The boys chorused together and then got out of their cooking gear and handed it to her.

Chloe took the aprons and walked right back into the kitchen with it. When she arrived in the kitchen she was surprised to see her husband wiping down the counter and stove for any food that might still be there. She laid the aprons downs quietly and moved behind him, poking her finger into his sides. Philip jumped back a little bumping into Chloe before he turned around.

She laughed at him as barricaded her in between his arms. "You know I can't remember the last time I saw you clean the kitchen all by yourself."

"Well, I wouldn't be if you hadn't conned me –––," Philip replied.

"Are you kidding? I didn't con you; you lost the bet you suggested fair and square. Besides, I warned you to make some reasonable choices." His hands moved from the counter to her waist.

"Yes, you did but what's the fun in that? Anyway, no matter what you say I know you conned me. But, I'm not mad about that. I actually had a lot of fun getting to see you run around the court in those shorts…" he dwindled off as he started to reminisce himself.

"So you liked the outfit, huh?" Chloe linked her arms around his neck.

"You know I did."

"Good then I just know you're going to love my idea for my prize since I won the bet."

"And what might that be? A little game of one-on-one sans the children? Or maybe we could forget about the bet completely and just finish what we started this afternoon." He leaned down and was going to kiss her. But before his lips could make contact with hers, her hand came up and held him off.

"Oh no, Philip I already have something planned, something that I know you are just going to love." She moved her hand and placed it back on his neck.

"Really? Does it involve us together in an intimate embrace?" He asked cockily.

"Oh yeah, it involves you," she leaned up and kissed his cheek. " Me and you," she moved his forehead. "A little black dress," she kissed his other cheek. "Intimately embraced," she kissed his chin. "With a crowd of people around us on the dance floor," she kissed his smiling mouth.

Chloe last comment took the smile right off of his face. As he looked down at her, smiling at him. "You know I was totally with you right up until you added that last part about the dance floor. So you want to go dancing?"

"Oh so you didn't mind the crowds of people around us part? I never knew you were such an exhibitionist Philip." She laughed out loud as he grimaced but was obviously holding in some laughter of his own.

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"I know, I know." Her laughter started to die down a little. "But, you have to do it because you lost the bet. And a deal is a deal."

"I still say you conned me. But, I will take you dancing and we will dance the night away whenever you want to. Although, I don't know why you would want to considering how much work you're going to have to do all night."

"What work?"

"You know keeping all of those other women off of me. It's going to be so hard to do!"

Chloe smirked, "Yeah it won't be that hard because all I'm going to do is tell those other women that your wife will get angry and it might not be in her best interest if she wants to remain walking the next day to hit on someone else's man."

"Oh I love it when you get all possessive over me, baby." Philip said as he leaned down to kiss her.

"Apparently, that's not all you love." Chloe said before Philip's mouth covered her own. They remained in their embrace until as usual in the Kiriakis household someone interrupted them.

Feedback as always is greatly appreciated!