Altered Reality
Chapter Three
A pair of bright headlights filled his rearview mirror as Rex DiMera put his Jeep into park and turned off the ignition.
Opening the door, he stepped down onto the driveway, the tread of his boots crunching the snow underneath, and turned his attention to the sleek blue Mercedes-Benz that had pulled into the driveway of the Brady house behind him as his older sister climbed out.
Decked out in a chic black business suit that even Rex could appreciate as being stylish, her golden hair pulled up into a sophisticated twist, Sami Roberts was the picture-perfect image of a successful executive.
At least until her high heels slipped on the icy driveway and she banged her elbow against her car, cursing under her breath as she fumbled with the lock.
"Long day at the office, Sis?" Rex asked sympathetically.
"You have no idea," Sami sighed wearily, pulling her jacket around her tighter and trudging up the driveway. "My head hurts and my feet are killing me. All I want to do is go home and take a nice, long bubblebath and then sleep for the next twenty-four hours."
"You and me both," Rex sighed, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek as she reached his side. "You'd think that with me being a genius and all, I'd be a natural at helping Grandfather run DiMera Tech, but it's harder than he makes it look."
Sami laughed, a light and airy sound, and he luxuriated in the familiarity of it. "Stefano makes everything look easy, it's part of his charm."
"You wouldn't think he was so charming if you had to work with him," Rex grumbled, making a face, but they both knew his complaints were only halfhearted.
He really did love his grandfather, and Stefano was a self-made business man who had built his computer empire from scratch. Despite the fact that he had earned a college degree by the time he was only twenty years old, Rex knew that he still had a lot to learn about the business world, and who better to learn the ropes from than his grandfather?
"How did Will do on his math test today?" he asked as they started towards the front door together.
"He called me at work when he got to Jack and Jenn's house after school, he got an A, thanks to his fantastic tutor," Sami replied with a grateful smile. "Lucas and I really ought to be paying you, you know."
"I like helping him," Rex assured her, making his way up the slick steps and offering her his hand to make sure she didn't slip in her heels. "And elementary school math isn't exactly rocket science, so it's not like it's a lot of work for me to do it."
"Rex, rocket science isn't a lot of work for you," Sami retorted, rolling her cerulean blue eyes. "By the time you were fifteen, you'd already built your own computer. NASA should be hiring you to come and do their jobs for them."
"You're just jealous because I never had to study to make the honor roll," Rex quipped, opening the front door.
"Please," Sami snorted, stepping past him into the warmth of the house they had grown up in. "You're looking at the Vice President of Basic Black Fashions, remember? I'd say I did alright for myself, honor roll or no honor roll."
"Can't argue with that," Rex agreed with a smile, slipping off his coat and then reaching over to help her out of her own.
"Anybody home?" Sami called out.
"In here," came their little sister Belle's voice from the living room.
Rex took hung their jackets up on the coat rack, then followed Sami into the other room, where they found Belle and Brady sitting in the two recliners facing the couch and drinking hot chocolate, the fire crackling behind them in the fireplace. While Brady was still dressed in dress pants and gray sweater, most likely the clothes he'd worn to work that day, Belle was already wearing her pajama pants and a purple baseball-tee, her feet covered in fuzzy purple slippers.
Obviously today was her light day when it came to her classes at Salem University.
"Dad's not home yet?" Sami asked, setting her purse down on the end table.
"He should be home any minute now," Belle informed them with a small smile. "He called about fifteen minutes ago to say he was starting the drive back."
"He didn't happen to say what he wanted to see us for, did he?" Sami inquired, dropping down onto the couch.
"Only that it's about Mom," Belle said with a shrug. Her face took on a nervous expression and she bit her lip. "You don't think it's bad news, do you? I mean, what if she got sicker or something?"
"If it was something like that, Dad would have told us," Brady assured her, tugging at the end of one of her braided pigtails affectionately. "He probably just wants to keep us updated with the progress on the experimental drugs they're giving her, that's all."
"Brady's right," Rex agreed, taking a seat next to Sami. "Don't get yourself all worked up about it."
"They're right," Sami told Belle, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "Besides, shouldn't you be getting all worked up about the special Valentine's Day plans Philip has in store for you this weekend?"
Belle's eyes lit up and she bolted upright eagerly. "You know what the surprise is, don't you?" she demanded.
"Who, me?" Sami feigned innocence, her lips curving up into a satisfied smirk. "How would I know anything about that?"
"Because you just happen to be Philip's sister-in-law," Belle replied, not buying into it. "And he just happens to adore you. He tells you everything, so I know he told you what his plans are."
"Maybe he did," Sami conceded with a shrug. "But you'll just have to wait and see."
Belle made a frustrated noise, sinking back into the cushions with a groan. "Sami," she whined, and both Rex and Brady winced at the sound. "That is so unfair!"
"Mmm," Sami murmured with a smile, then proceeded to change the subject. "How were your classes today, Belle? Did you do well on that physics lab you were dreading?"
"I think I passed it," Belle replied with a sigh, knowing it was futile to try and pester the answers out of their sister.
"That for Professor Thompkin's class?" Rex asked curiously, remembering how easy that class had been for him, and deciding Belle probably wouldn't like him very much for sharing that.
"Yes," Belle said, making a face. "I don't know what possessed me to take physics. I don't even like science all that much."
"You took it because you needed the credit," Brady pointed out. "That's why."
"Don't remind me," Belle groaned. "I don't want to talk about school anymore. School is evil. Let's talk about something else, okay? Anything else, I'm desperate."
"We can talk about the new summer line sketches," Sami offered.
"No!" Brady and Rex both cried quickly, knowing all too well what it was like once the two girls got into their 'creative zone' as Belle called it. "Belle is an intern at Basic Black," Brady added. "Can't you talk about that stuff at work?"
"Fine," Sami said, barely suppressing a smile. "Come by my office when you clock in tomorrow afternoon, Belle. I think you'll love some of swimsuit patterns we're considering, and it's always nice to have someone your age's opinion."
"You say that like you're decades older than her instead of just six years," Brady snorted, shaking his head.
"No, I say that like I'm a mother instead of just a twenty-six year old woman," Sami corrected. "I'm not about to traumatize my son by wearing some of the glorified pieces of string that college girls wear down at the beach."
"I'm sure Lucas wouldn't mind if you did," Belle giggled.
"I don't need to hear that," Brady objected, glaring at their little sister.
"Yeah, me neither," Rex piped up with a grimace. "No guy likes to think about anyone looking at their sister that way, Belle."
"I have an eight year old son, remember?" Sami drawled. "It's a little late to be defending my honor."
"Tell me about it," Brady grunted.
What Rex didn't bother reminding Sami of was that they had, in fact, defended her honor when they'd found out she was pregnant. Of course, he had only been thirteen, and Brady fourteen, but they had been all for holding Lucas down while Eric beat the crap out of him.
Needless to say, that idea hadn't gone over too well with Sami, or with Marlena, who had lectured the boys on how they needed to let go of their grudge against Lucas, for Sami's sake. She understood that they were angry, that they felt like breaking every bone in his body for so much as touching their sister, much less getting her pregnant, but all their negativity was doing was hurting Sami.
Properly ashamed, they'd tried their best to learn to get along with Lucas after that, and to their surprise it hadn't been nearly as hard as they had thought it would be. Before he'd knocked up Sami, Rex and Brady had both liked the older boy, he had a cool car and girls fawned all over him, so once they realized it was alright to like him again, things had smoothed themselves over nicely.
Eric had been more difficult, which wasn't much of a surprise considering how protective he had always been of his twin sister, and he and Lucas had been rivals for as long as anyone could remember. Eventually, though, he'd seen how much Lucas loved Sami, and how much their sister loved Lucas, and he'd begrudgingly done his best to try and be civil towards his new brother-in-law.
Beside him, Sami yawned, stretching her arms over her head.
"Tired?" Brady asked.
"Exhausted," Sami confirmed with a nod, reaching up a hand to fumble with the clip holding her hair up. "And your fiancé's probably not doing much better, we had some problems with material today, so we need our models back in again tomorrow for refitting."
Her fingers curled around the clip and tugged, but it wouldn't come free, and a scowl crossed her face.
"Here," Rex said, reaching up to remove the hairclip for her.
"Thank you," Sami sighed, shaking her hair so that her blond locks fell over her shoulders.
"So Nicole's going to be grumpy when I pick her up for dinner later," Brady groaned. "Great."
"You're going out tonight?" Rex asked. "Does that mean you're going to stay at Nicole's for the night?"
"Probably, yeah," Brady nodded. "So if you want to have Mimi over, you'd have the loft to yourselves, I won't be home until after work tomorrow."
"I might give her a call, then," Rex replied thoughtfully. He hadn't been able to spend much alone time with his girlfriend these past few weeks, he'd been so busy with work, and between her classes at Salem University and her shifts waitressing at the Brady Pub, they hadn't found much time to be together.
And even though he had to be at work early the next morning and Mimi had an early class, he was seriously considering taking Brady up on his offer. He had moved into the downtown loft with his stepbrother after graduating two years ago, and they'd been roommates ever since. Despite their different lifestyles, they never really had much to disagree about, having shared a room growing up had taught them a long time ago how to compromise.
"Just don't let her oversleep, okay?" Belle said, rolling her eyes. "She can't afford to be late to Professor Hamilton's class again."
"I'll make sure she leaves on time, Belle," Rex promised with a faint smile. It had been awkward, to say the least, when he and Mimi first started dating, because she had been Belle's best friend since before they could walk. Most of his life, he hadn't really paid much attention to Mimi Lockhart, but around her senior year of high school he'd started to notice her in a different light, and he'd discovered that she'd always had a secret crush on him, one that not even Belle knew about.
They'd walked on eggshells around Belle with their relationship those first few months, because she was terrified that they would break up and she'd be forced to choose between her brother and her best friend, but as soon as it had become clear to everyone in Salem that their relationship was going to last, Belle had been thrilled about it.
And ever since she had been trying to drag them on double dates with her and Philip.
Just then, the sound of the front door opening carried into the room, and they all looked up as John Brady stepped into the hall, stomping his boots on the mat to get the snow off their soles. "Hi, Daddy," Belle called out as he slipped off his jacket and hung it up.
"Hi, Sweet Pea," John replied, entering the living room. His gaze swept around the room, pausing briefly on each of them, and he smiled wearily. "It's always a treat to see you kids all in one room now that you're all grown up."
"Tinkerbelle here still has a few years before she's full grown," Brady said dryly, earning an elbow to the ribs from Belle.
"Besides, you see us every Friday night for dinner, remember?" Sami commented with a laugh.
"Speaking of which, it's your turn to cook this week," Rex reminded her smugly. "I'm thinking ribs, how about you, Brady?"
"Reading my mind, man," Brady agreed.
"You'll eat what I tell you to eat," Sami retorted with a stern glare that didn't quite hide the smile tugging at her lips. "Or you won't eat at all."
John chuckled, easing himself down into his favorite chair, a deep red leather recliner that had been a fixture in the house for as long as Rex could remember. When they were little, he and Cassie would climb up into that chair together to watch television while Sami, Eric and Brady got the spacious couch, because they were older and that was their right, or so they claimed. Marlena would always tell them to take turns and let the twins and Belle have the couch, but Rex had always liked sitting in John's chair.
It made him feel special, somehow, to sit in 'Dad's' chair.
And he did truly consider John to be his father, regardless of blood or genetics. The man had raised him and Cassie as equals with his own children, never showing favoritism, and had gone out of his way to make sure that they all had everything they could ever need growing up.
He was the kind of father that Rex liked to think his real father, who had been killed in a car crash when he was hardly more than a baby, would have chosen for him.
"I appreciate you kids all coming over on such short notice," John said, rubbing his chin. "I know you're leading busy lives."
"We could never be too busy for you, Dad," Sami insisted. "You know that."
"Yeah," John nodded. "I do." He sighed heavily, looking down at his hands for a long moment, and Rex felt a knot forming in the pit of his stomach. Whatever it was that had led John to call them and ask them to meet him at the house, it was obviously very serious, and his siblings knew it, too. Brady stiffened, Belle shrunk back into her chair as if trying to burrow into it, and Sami's jaw tightened in apprehension.
Rex swallowed hard, licking his lips, and glanced over at his older sister, catching her gaze for a moment. An unspoken understanding passed between them, the two children who had carried the most of this burden all these years. While Rex was plagued with self-pity and fits of anger, stricken that his mother could ever believe that he wasn't truly hers, Sami had taken it upon herself to be the cornerstone of their family, and he admired her for that.
Even when she was hurting, when she was just as frustrated and angry and confused and scared as the rest of them, Sami always had strength to spare. She always had, even when they were kids. If they'd been watching a scary movie, she would let him hide his face in her hair even as she clenched the armrest so tightly that her knuckles went white, all the while telling him that it was okay, that it was just a movie.
She was a great big sister.
"What happened at the sanitarium, Dad?" Sami asked evenly, the only one who seemed able to speak.
"Is Mom getting worse?" Belle whispered in a small, fragile voice, showing the delicate girl she really was, that losing their mother had turned her into.
"No, baby, she's not," John assured them. "In fact, the reason I brought you all here is that I've got some good news to share with you, and I wanted to do it in person."
"Did she respond to any of the audio stimulants today?" Brady asked eagerly.
"Better than that," John replied, and Rex's heart skipped a beat anxiously. John took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, his hands trembling as he cracked his knuckles. "I spent most of the afternoon with your mother, and we had a nice, long talk..."
It took a moment or two for the implications of that to sink in, to reach a full understanding of what that meant, of what it had to mean, but when it did, emotions swept through the room uncontrollably.
"You mean... Mom's awake?" Belle asked hoarsely, choking on a sob. "Mommy's okay?"
"Yeah, baby, that's what I mean," John confirmed, his own voice shaking as he nodded. "The new drugs are working, she's lucid and coherent, and as long as she keeps taking her medication, she'll stay that way."
"Oh my God!" Belle shrieked, launching herself into John's arms, and he laughed as he embraced his youngest child tightly, tears streaming down his face.
Rex was stunned, so shocked he couldn't even open his mouth, much less speak or move.
His mother was awake.
So many times over the past three years had he prayed for such a miracle. So many times he had lain away at night, unable to sleep, staring at his ceiling and wondering what their family had done to warrant such suffering.
He'd missed her more than he'd ever dreamed possible, everyday and in everything he did. There was so much he'd needed her guidance on, so much he'd wished he could have gotten her advice on. Back when he was still in college, he'd hungered for the brownies she used to make for him while he was cramming for a test during high school.
As hard to believe as it was, he'd even missed her nagging him about cleaning his room and wearing jeans that didn't hang off of his hips.
Plain and simple, he'd just missed his mother.
"Are you serious?" Brady asked in disbelief. "She's really okay?"
"That's what the doctors are telling us," John responded with a smile.
"So she can come home, right?" Belle asked anxiously, clutching his hands. "We can bring her home?"
"Lexie wants to keep her there for a week," John explained. "Just to make sure that there aren't any side-affects from the drugs, and she's ours for good."
Belle burst into tears all over again, and John stroked her hair soothingly, while Brady just blinked, shaking his head, murmuring, "Unbelievable..."
"Sami?" John said gently, and Rex looked over to see that she had been staring off into space, a distant expression on her face. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"
"I'm fine," Sami replied, and despite her efforts to hide it, it was clear that was not fine, not at all.
Rex knew exactly how she felt.
As much of a high as it was to think about Marlena coming home, to know that their prayers had been answered at long last, he was terrified of what came next. It had taken him a long time to come to terms with her illness, to accept that his mother might never come back to them, that she might never be in her right mind again.
He'd woken up this morning thinking that today was a day like any other, but in the course of just a few short moments, his life had been turned upside down all over again.
How would Marlena act around them? Would she even remember anything about them, or would she treat them like strangers, or worse, like the people she thought they were inside of her delusions? If she didn't remember anything at all, were they supposed to sit down and spill their entire life story in detail just so she wouldn't be as confused?
And what if she got sick again? What if the medication stopped working and she started to relapse and this time her illness got even worse than it had been?
What if she had another episode like the one where she'd ranted that he wasn't her son, that he was a freak of nature, a twisted creation of an evil man with a vendetta against the Brady family?
He wasn't sure he could take that again.
The day that she had been committed to the sanitarium, he'd gone out and gotten drunk at the Cheatin' Heart, where if you had a college ID that said you were a junior, they automatically assumed you were twenty-one. He'd been so hammered that he hadn't even realized he was sobbing into his drink, and he certainly hadn't noticed when Lucas Roberts showed up behind him.
Apparently, Jack Deveraux, a friend of Sami's who just happened to be married to Lucas' sister Jennifer, had been in the bar that night, and he'd called Lucas after seeing the shape that Rex was in.
Despite the fact that he was a recovering alcoholic and avoided bars like the plague, Lucas had come all the way from the penthouse downtown to pick him up. He hadn't criticized him or lectured him, and he hadn't offered condolences or tried to get him to talk about it, either. He'd simply seen him safely back to his dorm and advised him to take some aspirin as soon as he woke for the monster hangover he was going to have in the morning.
And he'd never brought it up after that, for which Rex was grateful. That night hadn't been his shining moment.
"Look, I know this isn't going to be easy, for any of us," John began seriously. "Your Mom is going to be really confused for a while, and it's going to take time for her to adjust. In the meantime, that means we're all going to be getting a bit frustrated at times, maybe even angry, but that's okay. No one is expecting you to just be okay with this overnight, it's going to take time."
"It's already taken up three years of our lives, Dad," Sami replied tersely, angry tears welling in her eyes despite her attempts to blink them back.
"I know," John said gently, looking around the room at all of them. "I know how hard this is, believe me, I do. I'm so mixed up right now that I don't know what to feel. One minute I'm so relieved that she's even lucid, the next I'm angry that she can't distinguish between what's real and what's imaginary. I understand that you have mixed feelings about her coming home, I do, too, but we can get through this. I know we can, as long as we stick together, as a family."
For a long moment silence fell over the room, all of them taking in what he was saying and trying to come to terms with the conflicting emotions they were feeling. John was quiet for a while, letting them sort through their thoughts, before he continued.
"I think it might be good for you kids to come and visit her over the coming week, maybe one at a time, to give her a chance to let herself get reacquainted with us," he said evenly. "I know none of you have ever liked going to see her there, it's painful, but I think it'd do her good, and do you good, too." He paused, clasping his hands together in front of him, then sighed. "If you don't think you're ready or you just don't think you can do it yet, then that's fine, your Mom's going to understand. She's scared, too, just like the rest of us."
There was another stretch of silence in the room, and Rex shifted uneasily, keeping his gaze lowered to the floor. The truth was, he didn't want to go, and he felt bad for that, but he wasn't ready to face his mother, he wasn't ready to take the chance that she was just going to reject him all over again.
"I'll go."
Rex looked at Sami in surprise as she lifted her chin, taking on an almost defiant tilt, daring anyone to question whether or not she could handle this daunting emotional obstacle.
"Okay," John replied steadily. "How about tomorrow after you get off work, then?"
Rex thought that was awfully soon, and knew that if it had been him, he would have wanted longer to prepare himself, but Sami simply nodded, a determined gleam in her eyes. "Tomorrow's fine," she agreed. "I've got a fitting to supervise in the morning, but I'll take a half day and be there at around three."
"Good," John said, some of the tension in his shoulders easing with relief. "Thank you, Sami, I appreciate that."
"I'll go on Thursday," Brady offered, though he didn't seem to excited at the prospect.
"Me, too," Rex added, and his stepbrother gave him a grateful look. "We'll go together."
"Can I go with you, Dad?" Belle asked, biting her lip.
"Sure thing, honey," John promised, squeezing her hand. "Just let me know what day is good for you, and I'll get Bo or Abe to cover my shift if I have to." He sighed, shaking his head a bit. "Look, I know this whole situation is uncomfortable, I get that, but I'm really proud of you kids for how well you've dealt with it so far. You've all been so strong and I... and I..."
He closed his eyes, swallowing hard, the faintest quiver touching his bottom lip. No one commented on it, even though they all noticed, averting their eyes to allow him a moment of privacy to regain his composure.
"I don't know what I would have done without you," John managed at last, with tears stinging in his eyes.
"Yeah, well, we don't know what we would have done without you, either, Dad," Brady told him somberly. "Right, guys?"
"Right," they chorused in perfect unison, drawing a small smile from John.
"Well," Sami said at last, clearing her throat. "I don't know about you all, but I'm starving, and knowing Lucas he just had a pizza delivered to the penthouse, so I'm going to raid your refrigerator, Dad. In exchange, Belle and I will cook you up a nice, home cooked dinner."
"Are you sure it's a good idea to let Belle help?" Brady asked skeptically. "The Poison Control Center is closed by now."
"Hey," Belle protested, throwing a pillow at him. "I'll have you know I haven't given anyone food poisoning in months!"
Despite himself, Rex laughed. "That's because no one is crazy enough to let you cook."
"Poor Philip," Brady quipped. "It's a good thing he's rich, because if he marries Belle, he's going to have to hire a chef."
"I don't know what you're even complaining about, Brady," Belle scowled. "Aren't you going out to dinner with Nicole?"
"Speaking of which," Brady said, looking at his watch. "I should get going."
"Drive carefully," John advised grimly.
"I will, Dad," Brady promised, hugging him. He then proceeded to make his rounds, kissing Belle and Sami good-bye, then stopping in front of Rex to clap him on the shoulder. "See you tomorrow, man. Tell Mimi I send my love."
"Will do," Rex agreed with a sarcastic salute.
Once he was gone, Sami started handing out orders, giving everyone a task to help get dinner ready as quickly as possible, and Rex was half-insulted, half-amused to find that his job was to make sure the water for the pasta boiled.
Obviously she hadn't forgotten the time when he tried to make macaroni and cheese when he was twelve and accidentally set the countertop on fire when he let a dishtowel get too close to the burner.
Mom was furious, Rex thought with a silent chuckle, remembering the frantic look on her face when she came running into the kitchen, alerted by Cassie's shrieks.
His smile faded, though, when he realized that Marlena didn't remember that day at all, much less the fact that she had banned him from cooking for an entire year.
She didn't even remember that he was her son.
Sighing, Rex shook his head, pushing such depressing thoughts out of his head.
Thursday was going to be the longest day of his life.