Disclaimer: I own nothing but some thumb tacks and a subscription to Newsweek. With the exception of Jules Archer and Max Shepard, the characters in this story are the intellectual property of Ken Corday and Days of Our Lives.
Chapter 12: RevelationsBrady pulled into the visitor's parking lot in front of his parents' building. He entered the lobby and chatted briefly with the concierge before calling up to his parents' penthouse. He still had a set of keys for the building in case of an emergency, but he usually called up just to be courteous. He was surprise when he wasn't buzzed up; instead, Marlena told him she'd be down in a second to let him inside.
He waited patiently outside the security door and watched Marlena exit the elevator. She held the door open. "Hi," Brady said giving her a hug, "What's up?"
"Nothing," Marlena replied pushing the elevator button. Luckily it was still in the lobby and the doors parted immediately. "Chloe is upstairs. She's going to be joining us for dinner tonight, and I just wanted to give you a warning before you saw her."
"Chloe's here?" Brady asked pushing the button in the elevator. He felt a light jolt in his stomach. "Are you and Belle jumping ahead of me on this list thing?"
Marlena just shook her head. She had never really understood Brady's sense of humor. "I wanted to warn you that she's had a rough day. She lost her first patient today, and she was pretty upset about it. Craig and Nancy aren't home, so I invited her over."
Brady's brow instantly wrinkled with concern. "Is she all right now?"
"She's fine," Marlena assured him as the elevator drew to a stop and the doors opened. "I just think she could use some special attention."
Brady caught his Mom's wink. "I'm on the job," he said twisting open the door to the penthouse. As he entered his parents' home, his eyes immediately sought out Chloe. She was seated with her feet curled beneath her on the sofa beside his father. John was busy charming her with some amusing story, and she was busy laughing at his antics. Even from across the room, he could see that the laughter didn't reach her eyes and the weight of grief sitting on her shoulders.
"What's up Doc?" he asked plastering a bright smile on his face. Behind him, Marlena and John exchanged a look of shocked approval at Brady's use of their special endearment.
"Brady," Chloe greeted overly brightly. "I didn't know you were coming."
It was a stupid remark brought on by her embarrassment of intruding on a family event, and he let it pass. "Why don't you and I go take an overview of Salem? Like old times." He gestured towards the balcony, a place where both of them had sought solace many times.
"That would be nice," Chloe agreed. Brady ushered her outside. As he shut the door behind them, he could see his parents staring through the windowpanes with sentimental smiles on their faces. He shooed them away with a wave of his hand and a smile.
He turned his body and attention back towards Chloe. She was standing along the edge of the terrace running her hands outward from her body along the warm metal railing. He drank in the sight of her for a moment. The vibrant burning colors of the sunset were reflected in her hair as is it waved gently in the breeze. She closed her eyes and turned her face up towards the dying rays of the sun. She was wearing a loose pair of black drawstring trousers and a turquoise blue shirt. Her feet were bare on the tile. She resembled a lost child.
Brady went to stand beside her. He softly put his hand over hers to still its aimless wandering. "Marlena told me that you lost a patient today."
She lowered her head and opened her eyes but kept them fixed on the sunset. "A little boy who had a cancerous tumor on his brain."
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"There was nothing that could have been done," she explained quietly, "He went peacefully."
Brady remained silent. He didn't like to think about death, peaceful or otherwise.
"There's something I never told anyone," Chloe confessed suddenly.
"What?" he inquired. Unexpected dread curled its way around his spine.
"One night, while I was sick with leukemia, I woke up at 3am and couldn't breathe. It was like a giant stone was pressing on my chest, crushing me. I fought it for a while, but then I realized that I was going to die. Brady, I saw," she whispered.
"What?" Brady asked though he choked on the word.
"The other side…heaven, I guess," she answered, her voice airy and distant. "There was music and sweet scents and light, and it was so beautiful that I wanted to run towards it. There was no pain or suffering there, only love, pure and unconditional. It was like going home after a long, hard day of work. People were waiting for me with open arms; people I didn't know and yet somehow knew. I wasn't afraid to leave because I knew, the same way that you know that you have arms and legs, that everyone I cared about would be fine and that I wouldn't really be leaving them. It was my time, and I was ready." The expression on her face was peaceful yet determined.
"Then suddenly I woke up back in my bed pulling oxygen into my lungs," she continued. "I called for the nurses immediately. I explained to them about my death experience, but they didn't seem to really believe me. Since the only thing they found wrong was an elevated pulse, they told me that I just had a panic attack. I believed them. Honestly, I did.
"When that boy died today, Brady, I saw the same beauty, peace, and love reflected on his features in the end. I now know for the first time that what I experienced in that hospital bed eight years ago was real," she finished and lapsed into silence.
There were not words to express the plethora of feelings that were passing through Brady Black's mind at that moment. Fear, sadness, pride, joy, love, they all waltzed with a thousand other nameless emotions around in his brain. Finally he managed to whisper, "Do you think it is like that for everyone?"
"Yes," she said with a serene smile, "I rather think it is."
He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm glad that you're still here."
"So am I," she said returning his hug. "I had too many things left to do."
They remained locked in each other's embrace watching the sun sink below the horizon. Eventually the sounds of happy shouts and childish squealing reached their ears. Chloe pushed away from him. "Belle and Shawn are here," she said turning back towards the penthouse. "I can't wait to see Little V."
"We need to talk," Brady called after her.
"I know," she whispered, half-turning back towards him, "Later."
Chloe returned inside and left Brady wading in his thoughts. What if she hadn't survived that night? It was the type of question that could haunt a man for years. Their relationship had always been a series of missed steps, but he would not trade a single memory of the past eight years, good or bad, to change any of it. He tried to force his mind away from the 'what ifs' and focus on the fact that Chloe was alive and happy. Although just the thought of her confession sent him into a panic, he decided that he would let Chloe's actions be his guide. She seemed to have drawn a sense of peace and understanding from her experiences. Brady couldn't squelch the little spark of envy that erupted in his system. His death and the death of his loved ones was something that Brady was very far from accepting.
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Author's Note: I've started to write chapters for this story out of sequence because I've had ideas that needed to be written while still fresh in my mind. As a result, the next few chapters might take me some time. Since Chapter 13 is a continuation of Chapter 12, it should be up within the next day or two. Thanks for your wonderful reviews. They have been encouraging me to continue.