Chapter Twelve

Written by AngelsInstead

Brady was in a state of shock when he heard Chloe tell him that she was pregnant with their child. The thought of a baby coming into their lives was so stunning that he knew he had to sober up... and fast. Chloe couldn't leave him!

"Chloe!" he called out as he started chasing after her. He was so drunk, he ran into the door frame, hurting his head.

"Oww!" he gasped in agony.

Chloe was about to enter the bedroom to rest when she heard a loud crash, then Brady's exclamation of pain. "Brady, are you alright?" she asked as she approached the living room. She saw Brady standing there, clutching his bleeding head.

"What happened?" she asked in concern.

XxxOoo

Johnny and Sydney were upstairs playing when Sami returned to the DiMera mansion. There were no traces of her tears as she had wiped them all away. The butler let her inside and announced her presence to EJ.

EJ looked up in surprise when Sami walked into the room. "Samantha, I wasn't expecting you back so soon. I thought Sydney and Johnny would be spending the night."

"No... I... I must have misunderstood," Sami said as she had thought the visit would be just a short one.

"Actually Samantha, the children and I were talking earlier and they have come up with an amazing idea. They'd like us to take them camping."

"Camping?" Sami said in surprise. "What in the...?"

"Yes, they want to go stay at the lake in a tent, just you, me, Johnny, Sydney, and Allie too of course."

"EJ... you... camping?"

"I admit...it's not really my scene, but the children really want to go and I think..."

"Okay. We'll go camping," Sami said in sudden agreement.

Johnny and Sydney entered the room, hearing their mother agree to their idea of a family camping trip. "Yayyyy!" they both yelled with excitement.

Sami looked at EJ to see his reaction. She discovered he was grinning from ear to ear.

XxxOoo

Justin answered the door when Hope arrived with Ciara. "Come in," he said in a welcoming voice.

He gave Ciara a smile. "Hello, sweetie. Why don't you go into the kitchen? Cook just made a fresh batch of cookies."

Ciara ran off happily at the mention of cookies. After her departure, it gave Justin and Hope a little time to talk. "How did Bo take it when you and Ciara left?" Justin asked.

Hope set down hers and Ciara's suitcases, then she shrugged. "Who knows. He was too busy snuggling up to Billie."

Justin frowned. "He didn't agree to send Billie and Carly packing?"

"Agree? No. He'd never do that."

"What in the world is wrong with him?"

"Justin, I don't know... but at this point, I don't really care. I am tired of Bo's constant bullshit. I'd rather live here with you and Victor instead of in that madhouse with all of Bo's ex lovers."

"I don't blame you. Come upstairs. I'll show you to your room," Justin urged.

XxxOoo

Cassie arrived at the Alamain mansion with Nicholas. He offered her a glass of wine after they had taken a seat on the couch in front of the sparkling fireplace. Cassie took a sip of her wine, then she reached into her bag and withdrew the sandwich she had ordered at the cafe.

"Would you like half of my sandwich?" she asked Nicholas.

"No, thank you. I have already dined."

"This is a huge mansion," she said. "Do you live here all alone?"

Nicholas shook his head as a man entered the room. He stood there in the shadows, causing Cassie to become extremely uneasy.

"Who's that guy?" Cassie asked in concern.

"Don't mind him. His name is Ivan... and he works for the family."

"In what capacity?"

"He pretty much does anything I ask of him."

"Is he some sort of henchmen?" Cassie asked. Having lived in the DiMera mansion quite some time when she was growing up, she knew all about that.

"You might say that he is," Nicholas said as he stared off into the fire, swirling his wine around in his glass.

"Mr. Alamain, I have delivered all of the invitations, just as you asked," Ivan said, startling Cassie. The man had been so quiet. He hadn't said a word and then all of the sudden, he had spoken.

"Excellent, Ivan," Nicholas said.

"Invitations? Are you having some kind of party?" asked Cassie.

"Yes, we are going to have a grand party here at the mansion. Would you like to help me prepare for the festivities?"

"Sure, why not?" Cassie agreed. "My twin brother has just hooked back up with his ex. I may as well hang out here and help you."

"Wonderful. If you need a place to stay, I have plenty of room."

"Sure. I'd love to stay," said Cassie, thinking Rex deserved to wonder about her disappearance. After all, he had insisted that she stay out of his life. She decided she would give her twin a little taste of his own medicine.

XxxOoo

When Carly arrived back at Bo's, she discovered an envelope had been slipped under the door. Her name had been scrawled upon it. She opened it and read the invitation, her eyes becoming huge pools of the darkest blue.

"Carly, what is it?" Bo asked. He and Billie had heard Carly coming in the front door, so they had gone to greet her.

Carly stood in the doorway with a haunted expression upon her face. "It's an invitation," she said as she handed it over to Bo. "And it was written in Lawrence's handwriting."

"But I thought he was dead!" gasped Billie.

"He's supposed to be dead," Carly said. "And I killed him. I stabbed him. I stabbed my own husband." She dissolved into sobs as Bo held her close in an attempt to comfort her.

Billie took hold of the invitation. "There's something weird about this. Are we all planning to go to this party?" she asked.

"At this point, we don't have a choice," Bo responded.