I can't believe our luck. What are the odds that Ben walks into the loft a moment after I send the message telling him to delay?

The look on his face is shocked, to say the least. He stands there slack-jawed, and I can tell his mind is running a mile a minute, trying to figure out what the hell he should do.

My mind is racing right along with his on how we can salvage our plan because there is no way in hell, I am waiting another day to get these bugs planted. It is killing me to be away from him and it's torture having him stand in front of me and not be able to throw myself in his arms and kiss him. I want to tell him about what I learned at the hospital today; we're having twins!

I quickly whisper to him, because I know Claire is going to be coming out of her room any second now, "I'll leave the door open, watch for Claire and me to leave, argue with me to make it look like you're pleading your case to win me back."

He nods his head at me and walks further into the room.

I raise my voice, "What the hell are you doing here Ben?" I brush against him as I walk past him and I feel like my skin is sizzling where we touched. I stand by the door and turn to face him once again.

"Ciara, I came here to talk to you and explain…"

"Explain? What the hell is there to explain? You almost killed me when you set that cabin fire."

"I didn't do that," he yells back, "Ciara, I love you." Ben takes two steps closer to me and I can feel the heat radiating off of his body in waves.

"Yeah, right. You love me so much that you set that fire and have been lying to me for months about it!"

"I haven't been lying to you. I'm being set up…AGAIN! Claire is the one who set those stupid fires, not me, and she has Eve covering for her I just know it. I can feel it in my bones; I just don't have any proof."

"I can't believe you are trying to pass this off onto Claire. She and I are family. Claire wouldn't do that we love each other." I can't believe how hot I am getting arguing with Ben. Who knew arguing back and forth with him would be such a turn on? Then again, I think hanging wallpaper with him would be a turn on. My chest is heaving because I am so breathless at this point.

He smirks at me and closes the distance between us pinning me against the door with his body and grinding his hips against my own. I think this is turning him on as much as it is me if what is pushing against my abdomen is any indication. Ben takes my face between his hands, "No, you and I love each other, and we are going to be together. I love you Ci. I'm going to prove once and for all that I didn't do this and that I would never hurt you," he then crushes his lips against my own.

Just as Ben's lips devour my own, I hear Claire, "Oh my God, what the hell is going on!"

I have to channel all of my energy into not wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. I want him so bad and the taste of his hungry lips against my own is only fueling my need for him. I push against his rock-hard chest to try and put some distance between us and then slap him across the cheek. The last thing I want is to hurt him, but we need to make this believable.

Ben bites my bottom lip and then steps back from me and winces grabbing his cheek, "What the hell Ciara!"

"Claire, thank God you finally came in here. Ben just walked into the loft. He's trying to sell to me his idiotic story again about you starting the fires and not him, and then he pinned me against the door and started kissing me."

"I saw that much."

"Ciara, it's not an idiotic story it's the truth. I would never hurt you. I think you know that in your heart. I love you and I know that you love me too."

"Loved Ben. I loved you. That is until I found out that you actually were the one that tried to burn me alive and then lied to me about it for months," I start to cry to add to the drama, "there is nothing you can say or do that is going to change my mind. I don't want anything to do with you ever again. For the last time STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

Claire jumps in at this point, "Alright Ben, you need to get the hell out of here before I call the cops, and don't even think about coming back here again to see Ciara. She obviously doesn't want anything to do with you."

Ben slumps his shoulders in defeat and it breaks my heart, "Fine I'll go, but when I have proof, Ciara, I WILL come back and then we WILL be together. You'll see."

"Yeah, whatever Ben. Keep telling yourself those lies."

He walks out the door and I sigh with a bit of relief because I think Claire bought the show that we put on for her. I walk over to her and swallow my disgust as I wrap my arms around her and hug her. "Claire, thank God you walked in when you did. I don't know what he would have tried to do if you hadn't walked in when you did."

"I'm just glad he's gone, Ciara."

"Me too. I need to get out of here. Are you still up for going shopping? I need to get my mind off of what just happened and this entire situation."

"Of course. You know I'm always up for a shopping spree," she grins.

I grab my purse from off of the wall, walk over to the door and open it. I want to make sure I'm the last one out so that I can leave the door open for Ben. Claire walks through, and I pretend to lock the door once she has passed me.

She drives us to the mall. Once we arrive, I ask if we can stop at the small café they have just inside the entrance to get something to drink. I order a ginger tea and keep Aunt Kayla's advice in mind and grab a banana from the bowl of fruit they have by the register. I pay for both and then we head off to the teeny-bopper store that Claire loves best to shop. She finds two different handbags she likes and finds a pair of flats, a pair of heels and two pairs of boots, an ankle pair, and a thigh-high pair. She, of course, manages to find clothes that she wants to try on too. Normally by this time I'm ready to quit shopping with her, but her trying on outfits allows me time to text Ben while she's putting on new outfits. We've been shopping for an hour already and he should be back to the DiMera mansion by now, so I shouldn't be disturbing him placing the bugs. Claire has probably ten different items that she plans to test out so I should be able to message him back and forth for a while.

Ciara: I love you so much, and I'm sorry I had to slap you.

Ben: It's fine, just a gentle reminder to never REALLY piss you off.

Ciara: LOL, I really am sorry.

Ben: How did your doctor's visit go?

I hear a door open and Claire walks out. She's wearing this skimpy pair of shorts with a low-cut top and wants to know what I think. "It looks great," I tell her, and she turns to walk back to her room.

Ciara: It went well. Everything is fine. Aunt Kayla gave me some prenatal vitamins and suggested I sip on ginger tea to help with nausea. And I need to be eating lots of fruits and vegetables and nuts and seeds for healthy fats and protein. I even have a picture to show you the next time we can see each other.

I desperately want to tell him that it's not one baby but two, but I want to see his reaction when I tell him.

Ben: I'm glad to hear everything looks good. I'll make sure we are stocked up on all of those things for the next time you visit. I can't wait to see the picture…or you. How did telling your mom go?

Ciara: About as well as I planned. She's not thrilled, to say the least. She asked if I wanted to move back home but I refused. How did planting the devices go?

I hear Claire cough and then lookup. "So?" she asks and spins around in the dress she has on. I feel my phone vibrate with Ben's response.

"Mheh…I don't think it's the best color for you." She rolls her eyes, huffs and returns to change.

Ben: Well once we got finished putting on that performance for Claire everything went smoothly. I locked the door on my way out too. I'm sorry I froze like that I was just so stunned that you were still there.

Ciara: I know. I'm sorry. We were all ready to go and then she needed to make a snack and then at the last second, she needed to get her pocket charger. But we got through it. Do you have any idea how hot and bothered I got arguing with you?

Ben: So, it wasn't just me then. I wanted you so bad.

I feel a blush falling on my cheeks as I think about how Ben's erection was very firmly pressing against my own softer flesh. I see Claire again and look up. "Who do you keep texting?" she inquires.

"Oh, Lydia, my partner for that project. She heard back from our professor and we have some changes we need to make."

"Oh, I see. When are you going to have to work on that?"

"I'm not sure. I'm waiting to hear back on when she's free to make the changes."

Claire nods her head, "So how about this?" she asks, sashaying her hips.

She's wearing a pair of deconstructed jeans and I swear there are more holes than actual intact fabric. "Not my favorite. Anyway, don't you already have a pair that look similar to that?"

"Whatever," she rolls her eyes again and goes to put on another one of her choices.

Ciara: Nope, definitely not just you. I need to see you again. When can I see you again?

Ben: Is something wrong? You can come through the tunnels anytime you want. Just let me know when you plan to come through and I'll put our codes in.

Ciara: Our codes, huh? Tomorrow after my shift at the pub. I'll be done at 5. I can't wait to see you!

Ben: Me either.

Claire comes out again just as I finish reading Ben's last message. It's another dress, "Well what do you have to say about this one? It's the last one."

"I love it. It's totally you," I give her a thumbs up, "By the way, I just got my answer, it looks like Lydia and I are going to work again on our project tomorrow night after I finish my shift at the pub."

"Good to know."

She returns to the dressing room to put on her clothes and I shoot off a quick message to Lydia that I need her to cover for me tomorrow night after my shift. If anyone asks, we are making corrections to the project we turned in. She's such a good friend and I own her one for this.

Claire walks out of the dressing room with the items she's going to get, and we head to the register to check out. "Thanks for helping me to keep my mind off of everything, Claire."

"Of course. I'm glad I could help."

We head out to the car and she drives us back to the loft. We sing along like old times to the music we hear on the radio and for a moment I almost forget that she's the one who tried to kill me and is working with Eve to ruin Ben's life.

By the time we get back, I am starving. I make some toast and slather some peanut butter on it. I cut up an apple too and have some peanut butter with that as well. We don't have any ginger tea and I mentally make a note to get some. I grab a bottle of water and discreetly pop one of my prenatal vitamins when Claire isn't looking. I sit at the counter to eat my meal and when I am finished eating, I actually feel full for the first time in days and not a bit queasy. Hallelujah!

Before I head upstairs, I collect my tablet and turn to Claire, "Thanks again for hanging out with me this afternoon. I needed it."

"You bet."

"I've got some reading I need to do for my class, so I'm going to head up to my room. Goodnight Claire."

"Goodnight Ciara."

When I get up to my room the first thing I do is change the passwords for my tablet and my phone. Maybe it's paranoia, but with all of the texting Ben and I have been doing back and forth, the last thing I need is for Claire to be able to read them. I don't think she knows my passwords, but I'm not taking any chances.

Next, I text Ben.

Ciara: Claire is in the living room. Maybe if we are lucky, she'll start spouting off her mouth tonight and this will all be over by tomorrow.

Ben: If only we could be that lucky. Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Ciara: This morning I was looking at different baby stuff. I can't wait to show you what I all want to get.

Ben: Oh God, this is going to be costly, isn't it?

Ciara: Maybe…but I'm worth it, aren't I?

Ben: You're more than worth it babe. You know that.

Ciara: I'm getting tired so I'm going to say goodnight. I need to be well-rested if I'm going to make it through my shift and for when I see you tomorrow.

Ben: Now why on Earth would you need to be rested up for me?

Ciara: You cheeky bastard. You know damn well what I want. Dreaming about you can only go so far, dear.

Ben: So, you were even more hot and bothered by the little show that we put on this afternoon than I thought.

Ciara: It took every ounce of willpower that I possessed not to wrap my legs around you and beg you to fuck me against the door.

Ben: The feeling is mutual Ci.

Ciara: Goodnight Ben. Have sweet dreams about me, I hope.

Ben: I will but the dreams are a cheap imitation in comparison to having you lay next to me and holding you in my arms. Goodnight Ciara, sweet dreams.

Awwwwww…he never ceases to make my heart completely melt. I hook up my tablet and phone to charge and lock both for the night. I then change into my pajamas and settle into my bed to sleep. I instantly miss my Ben shaped body pillow. I close my eyes in the hopes of bringing tomorrow and Ben to me that much quicker.