Chapter Twenty – Reunited
Song Credit: Maxwell, This Woman's Work
Chloe and Jarod had left Liz's house and headed to their hotel where they gathered their things and checked out of the hotel to catch their returning flight home. Chloe had the flight moved up a few hours so they could get home earlier. She called home and told her mother about the changes in the flight to she could be at the airport to pick them up. After all that had been completed it just left Chloe and Jarod where they were now waiting for the plane to take off.
Chloe was reading a book when Jarod arrived back to sit down. "Mom," Jarod called out to her once he sat back done.
She took off her headphones and looked over at him. "What?"
"I just wanted to know if you knew who would be meeting us at the airport." He sat down and reattached his seatbelt.
"Well, your grandmother said she would be there waiting for us. Craig is going to be at home with the twins and Jessie. Why?"
"No reason I was just wondering that's all." He answered and went back to reading his wrestling magazine that he had bought before they boarded the plane, Chloe smiled and flipped the music back on replaced the headphones and picked up her book.
Aboard a connecting flight elsewhere…
"So let me get this straight, Belle accused you of being Jarod's father because you have blonde hair and blue eyes?" Shawn asked Brady.
"No, she accused Chloe of keeping Jarod's true paternity a secret because he was actually my child since he has blonde hair and blue eyes. Which, in any case we know is absolutely ludicrous reasoning for a lot of reasons. The number one being that I was married to Mimi at the time and aside from the fact that Chloe and I led a strictly platonic relationship. It's genetically impossible for me to be his father, not to mention physically impossible."
Philip who had until this point been completely silent turned his head at this, he snored lightly. "If anything I can't believe that she actually said that to Chloe. What kind of thing is that to say to someone who is supposed to be your best friend?"
Brady returning his uncle's gaze as he answered the underlying question there. "Well, I guess Belle just assumed that because we had dated for two years that some kind of intimacy had passed between us. But, that isn't true because we had been friend for so long that the thought was equated with me with my sister," he grimaced, "That's just nasty."
"Dude did you really need to go there? That is some imagery that I'd prefer not to think about." Shawn said hitting Brady in the arm while Brady just grinned wickedly wiggling his eyebrows, he was attempting to pull Philip out of his stupor of guilt but it didn't work because Philip returned his gaze to the window but not before Brady caught his slight smirk.
"Well, anyway, that's why Belle and Chloe aren't speaking at the moment. But, that's not the only thing that happened. I have a lovely wealth of info including what is going on with JT." Brady offered an interested Shawn but, Philip returned to his original position facing the window.
The action did not go unnoticed by Shawn or Brady; both men knew that Philip was still plagued with guilt over the shock of learning that Jarod was his son. There was nothing he could do about what happened to him, he couldn't change that; he had to realize that. They just hoped by the time they arrived back in Salem Philip would have worked thru his feelings of guilt.
Chloe and Jarod arrived at Salem International Airport at exactly 8 AM Sunday morning. They left the terminal getting ready to get their luggage, which only consisted of two small bags.
"Come on Jarod let's to the luggage carousel." Chloe told her son as they got off their plane.
"Are you okay Mom?" He asked because she'd had some stomach pains while they had been on the plane. "Maybe we should wait for Nancy to come and then we go get the luggage," his bright blue eyes were filled with concern as he studied her with one hand covering her lower abdomen as the walked side-by-side down the corridor.
Once they passed the gate to the terminal Chloe moved to stand by a counter, she leaned against it for a moment. It seemed almost as if she needed it to stand up. "Sweetie, I am perfectly capable of getting the luggage. I don't need any help doing that. The only thing I need for you to do is to meet your grandmother and tell her to come meet me at baggage claim. Can you do that for me?" She asked him attempting to mask the pain going thru her body.
Jarod knew that something wasn't quite right with his mother. However, he also knew that arguing with her would get him nowhere, ultimately it served no purpose. So he would do as she asked. "Okay, Mom, I'll go meet Grandma and we'll meet you in baggage claim in few minutes." He sighed, he would just have to get Nancy to add her influence to make sure Chloe got checked out.
"Thank you. You go on ahead, I'll see you there in a few minutes." Chloe said as she gestured toward the direction he turned and left in. As soon as he left she released the breath she had been holding while she watched him leave. Her gaze was pulled from his retreating back to directly in front of her.
She didn't know why but for some reason her gaze had been pulled there. She started to walk in the direction of her gaze and as she did the lingering pain almost seemed to disappear.
Jarod was only few feet away from her when he turned back to check on her. When he saw her walking, he looked in the very direction she was looking to see where she was going. As soon as he saw whom she was going to, he smiled.
Philip, Shawn, Brady were walking thru the terminals heading in the direction of baggage claim. Brady was talking on his cell phone to his secretary.
"Okay Nina … reschedule all the appointments for tomorrow, I need to take the day off to workout some family stuff. But, I'll be in early Tuesday if anyone should need to see me. Alright then, I'll see you later." Brady turned the phone off. "Okay so what's the plan?"
Philip paused and turned to Brady in back of him. He looked at Shawn then Brady before answering. "Well, I don't know about the two of you. But, I plan on going home to my wife and my children."
"Philip don't you think you should wait a little while; until you've got a better handle on what you found out in Italy?" Shawn started to say but was soon interrupted before he could even get his next sentence out.
"No Shawn, I don't. I'd prefer to go home and see my wife and my children whom I haven't seen in almost a month." He started to turn around. "I have … I miss my … Chloe." The words died on his lips as he turned fully and saw his wife standing before him. He blinked once to make sure he hadn't imagined her presence. When he opened his eyes and saw her still standing there he automatically roamed her figure as of memorizing the way she looked in that precise moment. He took in every detail, every essence of her being.
She had her hair down showing its great silken brown length hanging almost to her waist. She had on a denim skirt that ended just above her knees and a beige blouse which he could only see part of due to the length of her denim overcoat. It had been so long since he'd seen her. She seemed almost as if she were glowing, like a golden beam of light surrounded her. He smiled at her but instead of smiling back at him she began to fall.
She didn't know what had pulled her toward this part of the terminal but something made her come this way and stop. It had only been a few minutes but she knew when she saw him, it was Philip. She couldn't see his face yet but she would know him from anywhere. It was the way his dark blonde hair caressed the collar of his leather jacket, the broadness of his shoulders to his hands the remained motionless by his sides. Then, he turned finally, their eyes made contact. They stood apart, separated by the sea of bodies between them for a matter of minutes until he smiled. A pain shot thru her body then Chloe's world closed to darkness.
Jarod watched as his mother began to fall to the ground. He didn't allow a second to pass before he started to run toward her. As he got closer he saw Philip catch her in her arms just before she would have hit the ground.
Philip reached Chloe just in the nick of time and caught her before she would have hit the ground. He wasting no time positioning her in her arms so that he could check her pulse and sure enough it was strong and beating at what he presumed would be a normal rate. "Chloe... Chloe honey, wake up. Open your eyes for me baby." He pushed her hair away from her face so it didn't get into her eyes. She slowly opened her eyes, taking her time to allow them to adjust to the light and the visions around her. "That's right, baby open your eyes so that I can see your beautiful baby blues."
Chloe remained still for a moment; she stared at him as if she were completely mesmerized by him. She took a few minutes before she could actually snap out of it and speak to him. "Philip," she whispered. Clearing her throat a bit she tried again. "I thought- I thought I'd imagined you." She grasped his goatee-covered jaw in her hands. "I'm so glad I didn't … I-I missed you."
He smiled at her, dimples fully alert before answering. "I'm definitely not a fragment of your imagination and thank goodness for that. You took a couple of years from me. I missed you, too honey. What are you doing here babe?" Before she could answer a commotion over them drew his attention away from her. Several people were starting to surround them, blocking Jarod from coming over to his parents. Although he had no idea what his son was doing there he certainly wasn't going to allow anyone to keep him away. "Let go of my son." He said firmly, leaving no room for argument.
Chloe tried to move herself upright off of Philip's lap. But, he wouldn't let her. Jarod was at their side a second later, Brady and Shawn weren't to far behind. Moving back to look at Philip she caught his eye; staring into his eyes she realized that when he called Jarod his son, he wasn't just saying that, he knew. "You know don't you? You know Jarod is our son."
"Yes, I know." Philip answered his gaze soften.
"How—," Chloe couldn't get the word out as another pain moved thru her body, this one more intense than all the others.
"Mom, are you alright?"
"Chloe what's wrong?" Philip asked simultaneously with his son.
"She's … she was having some stomach pains or something when we were on the plane. But, she said that she was okay. That was why I left to go get her mother …Grandma Nancy." Jarod replied pulling his lower lip between his teeth while glancing anxiously from his father to his mother with her eyes closed.
"What's he talking about? What pains?" Philip looked down at Chloe.
"Nothing, it's nothing Philip. I've been having some stomach pains that's all. I don't need the two of you hovering over me. I am fine. All I really need is for you two to help me up." She eyed both her husband and son before attempting to rise on her own when no one came to her aide. As soon as they realized what she was going to do they fumbled over themselves to help her, Jarod on her right and Philip on her left. "There, see I'm fine." It was in that exact moment that another pain hit her. Only this time there was no way to hide it has she fell back and Philip caught her once again but this time she was conscious. She looked at Philip before tiredly closing her eyes.
"Chloe, Chloe," He shook her and got no response. She was completely unconscious now not responding to him at all. "Something is seriously wrong, here. Shawn, Brady could one of you––,"
"I'm already on it Philip. The ambulance is on its way." Shawn told him as he closed his cell phone. "They said it would be easier if you brought her through the main entrance so they could get her without having to go through all of these people. Come on Brady and I'll help you." As he told Philip this, he picked up Chloe into his arms so she wouldn't fall and started up after Shawn.
"Shawn I--,"
"Mom," he was interrupted by Jarod's cry. He looked down at Chloe and saw her eyelids flutter.
"Chloe, baby, just hold on, I'm going to get you some help." He requested but again got no response. The only thing that kept him so clam was the fact that Chloe pulse was so strong.
Pray God you can cope I stand outside This woman's work This woman's world Oh it's hard on a man Now his part is over Now starts the craft of a father…
Philip had taken his grasped Jarod's hand in the one not holding Chloe and squeezed it. "Jarod, everything will be alright," he said to his son and got a nod of understanding. "Shawn, Brady can you guys clear some space for me. I'm going to carry Chloe over to the entrance." Philip replied as he readjusted Chloe in his arms.
"No problem." Brady then turned around and started moving people out of Philip's way. Just as Philip started to follow him, Nancy arrived on the scene,
"Oh my goodness, what happened to Chloe?" Nancy asked automatically gravitating toward the prone body in Philip's arms. As soon as she got to her she looked up and saw Shawn and Brady for the first time and then she made eye contact with Philip. "What are you doing here? More importantly what on earth were you thinking leaving Chloe for so long?" She stood in front of him awaiting his answer.
"Nancy could we talk about this later, I'm trying to get to the main entrance where an ambulance is waiting for us." He replied side stepping her to continue.
"Of course, we will most definitely talk about that and we can also discuss your son's illegal activities while you were gone too. We just have to talk about him sneaking on the plane with Chloe." Nancy added as she was practically running to keep up with Philip's long-legged stride. Suddenly he stopped and turned to Jarod.
"He did what?" Jarod had seen Philip both concerned and worried before but never like this. He even looked a little bit angry, "Jarod, what on earth were you thinking? Don't you know how dangerous what you were doing is?" He peered down at Chloe before going back to look at his son. "We will definitely be talking about this later after we get Chloe to the hospital." He turned back and continued his long-legged stride to the entrance. Once he turned the corner he saw that the EMTs were in route with a stretcher coming toward him. He broke into a little jog to meet them halfway; Nancy had grabbed Jarod's hand and was swiftly following Philip.
By the time Nancy and Jarod had arrive with Philip and the others Chloe was already on the stretcher; the EMTs were checking her vitals.
"Her BP is a little more elevated then it should be but she seems to be okay. Sir do you know what happened?" asked the EMT as he prepared to roll Chloe out.
"No, one second she was fine, talking to me and then in the next she had fainted it wasn't until after I caught her that she regained consciousness for a few minutes and then she was out again."
"We were informed that she had some sort of pain that caused her to faint, do you know where it was located?"
"I'm not sure." He turned to Jarod. "My son was with my wife on the plane when the pains first started. He can tell you where he thought they were. Jarod, come here." He gestured for Jarod to come to him.
Jarod walked over to his father, looking at his mother unconscious on the stretcher he answered. "She said it was her stomach or something because that was where her hand went every time there was a pain."
"Sounds like it could be abdominal pain or maybe a appendicitis but we won't know for sure until we get some tests done." The EMT answered as he started rolling Chloe out of the airport. Philip and everyone followed them
"Do you think she will be okay? Jarod asked as he watched the men roll Chloe away.
Philip, who had been following them looked down at his son. "I'm sure your Mom will be just fine. She is many things but most importantly she is … is a fighter. She'll be alright, I promise." He held out his hand for Jarod to take. "Let's go catch up with them and go to the hospital with them in the ambulance." Jarod took his hand and they were off.
Nancy, Shawn and Brady watched as Philip and Jarod climbed into the ambulance and it pulled away. It had been agreed upon that Philip and Jarod would ride to the hospital with Chloe; Shawn and Brady would get the entire luggage; and Nancy had called Craig to let him know the problem. He in turn would bring the twins and Jessie to the hospital to their father.
Finally, three members of the Kiriakis clan had been reunited.
Note: I included the song because I thought it worked with this chapter and I couldn't get it out of my head.
Author's Note: As of 4/29/05I have taken out the lyrics This Woman's Work by Maxwell, as per the request of the management anywhere the lyrics appeared there is now an . So please take note if you wish to see the chapter in it's entirety with the lyrics please check my website.