John walked downstairs hand in hand with his mother. He knew she was concerned so he would allow her this little bit of comfort. When they dated before, his mother never had the chance to meet Evangeline. It was definitely going to be complicated, but he was happy to make the introduction.
"What exactly is this surprise that you all have planned?" John walked with her to the front of the bar. There was a car parked next to his in the otherwise empty parking lot. He saw Michael waving at him and shook his head.
Michael hoped out of the care leaving Marcie to handle the baby. "Hey bro." He rushed over to him and pulled him into a brotherly hug. "It's been a long time."
"You're probably right." John surprised him by hugging him back. The contact was brief, but still meaningful. "Let's get inside. We'll freeze out here." John held the door open as they all shuffled inside.
"This place looks pretty impressive." Michael shucked off his jacket and tossed it on the back of a chair. Then he helped Marcie do the same with their son. He cooed and babbled as they fussed over him.
When the baby was settled, Marcie rushed over to John and pulled him into a gently hug. Layla contacted her immediately after Cris and John left. She wanted to give her a heads up on the chaos that they caused. "It's really good to see you, John."
John hugged the woman who was short in stature and smiled. Probably for the first time in her life, Marcie was able to suppress her urge to fire off rapid fire questions. John was glad that they were ignoring the elephant in the room. "I'm happy that you're all here."
John walked over to Michael to visit with the nephew that he hadn't seen in a while. "Look at this guy. Just growing like a weed." He held him carefully because he was fidgeting. "You don't want to get on the floor. It's dirty down there." John bounced him on his hip and walked over to one of the larger booths. He could let him crawl around on the tabletop.
"Eve, why don't we let the guys catch up. We can start working on that surprise for John." Marcie knew that her husband would want his time alone with John the same way that Eve had.
"The stores are closing early. Any last requests?" Eve smiled at her perceptive daughter-in-law. They both started to bundle back up to prepare for the weather.
"I'm sure you guys have it all covered." Michael smiled and waved as his wife and mother departed. He brought his attention back to John, who was doing his best to make sure Gabe didn't get away from him.
"Alright, Mikey. Let's have it." John pulled out his keys and placed them on the table. He hoped that was enough to distract his nephew. He looked over at Michael. Michael was one of the few people who always spoke his mind with him. It was annoying at times, but still refreshing.
"What is there to say?" Michael sighed and leaned back in his seat. "What the hell were you thinking, man? She ruined your life."
"I don't think I can live without her. A lot has changed since we broke up." He smiled as the baby jingled the keys to his own amusement. The joy of his nephew was contagious. Michael and Marcie had been through a hell with a reversed adoption and struggles with infertility. Gabriel was truly a miracle that brought so much happiness to the family.
"You know how I feel about Todd Manning. Tell me this isn't like what happened with Marty Saybrooke." Michael grabbed his son and hugged him gently. Todd had selfishly removed their first son, Tommy, from a loving environment and thrust him into a world of violence and madness. They loved Gabriel, but their hearts still hurt over their loss. It was their desire to have a house filled with children.
"You shouldn't even have to ask!" John spoke in a harsh whisper. "I would never take advantage of her. I was there for Marty when she was recovering. I saw firsthand what Todd did to her."
He kissed his son and held his hand to stop him from putting the keys in his mouth. "Maybe it just doesn't make sense to me. I know how stubborn you can be. On top of that, I thought she hated you; especially after everything that happened in Llanview."
"It took a while for her to come around." John remembered her anger from months prior. It reminded him that he'd left her alone with her family in a similar state. "She had a lot of anger in her. We both had to get over ourselves a little bit."
"So, are you looking to make this a long-term thing or is it a right now kind of thing? She's got amnesia. She's not the same person that you were with before." Michael stared at John. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why his brother always got himself into these crazy situations.
John shifted in the booth uncomfortably. He didn't want to explain himself to anyone. They were two adults who wanted to be together. The drama was coming from everyone else. "What if I said that she was…she is still Evangeline Williamson? The memories aren't there, but she's still the same person from before. She's sweet, kind, determined, but there's a little more depth to her now. Stuff that she worked hard to suppress because it was bad for her image tends to surface unexpectedly. When she stared making an effort to be a better person, she was only more like her old self."
Michael shrugged his shoulders. He had extensive knowledge of the human brain. There was still a lot that medical science didn't understand about the brain. Evangeline's unusual behavior was completely outside his area of expertise. "I'm no neurologist, so I can't comment on her situation at all. I'm going to trust that you're doing right by her because you're my brother. This has got to be a total mess for her family though. I heard what happened with Cris."
"Her family loves her, you know." John wiped his hand down his face. Things were complicated and he couldn't say anything about it, especially to Michael. "I just think it was a lot of pressure. Them trying to help her get her memory back. Evangeline has always been this amazing one of a kind woman."
"So, the only thing harder than being her is trying to become her?" Michael bounced Gabriel on his knee to calm him.
"You got it. Things have been really tense between them recently. This surprise visit is not helping anything." John was ready to wrap things up with Michael. At the very least, he needed to call Eva to give her an update on his continued absence.
"What are you going to do? I know you said her family didn't like you before. If they're out of the way, makes things easier for you." Michael wasn't nearly as noble as his brother. He had to work very hard to override his more selfish tendencies.
"Maybe she doesn't remember, but she loves her family. She was super close with her mom and Layla. None of them are to blame for what happened to her. They've been trying to do right by her. I don't want her to lose that closeness with them. The way she is now, Evangeline can't be forced to do anything. I've just been trying to gently remind her that they love her." John's phone went off and he checked it immediately. He expected it to be from Eva, but it was from Perry. He skimmed the message before stuffing his phone back into his pocket. "I know you guys have some surprise planned, but I need to get back there."
Michael nodded that he understood. He had an idea kicking around in the back of his head, but he'd run it by Marcie first. "Might want to go ahead and call her. It's still a while yet before that surprise gets here."
"Excuse me for a moment." John chose to step outside completely to call Eva. He didn't want their personal business to be public knowledge.
"Hey buddy. Hey." Michael picked up his son and held him close to his face. "Me and your uncle have had our share of headaches, but you will be different. You can learn from our mistakes, okay?" He kissed his cheek noisily.
Eva stepped into the bar and looked around confused. John said that he was leaving to deal with an emergency, but everything looked fine. The bar should have been closed, but a man was there in a booth holding a baby. "Excuse me? I'm looking for John." She called out to the man that was there.
Michael turned slowly at the sound of the familiar voice. He stared open mouth at the woman that he used to call a friend. She looked just like he remembered. It was hard to believe that she had no memory of her life before the coma.
"Did no one ever tell you it was rude to stare?" Eva snapped at him. She recognized that look on his face, and it was the last thing she wanted to deal with. Suddenly, all of these people were popping up from her past. It was infuriating.
Michael stammered an apology. "I'm sorry." This was definitely not the Evangeline Williamson that he knew.
Eva swallowed her anger and took a deep breath. "No. I'm sorry. That was uncalled for." She looked at the man and tried unsuccessfully to place the face. He had features that reminded her of John. She guessed this was his brother Michael.
"Eva, I just tried to call you." John walked over to the pair. Eva looked to be on the brink of tears.
"I think I left my phone." Her voice cracked slightly.
John pulled her into a half-hug and kissed her head. "I see you've been getting reacquainted with my baby brother, Mikey. This little guy is Gabriel."
"Actually, it's Dr. Michael McBain." He teased his brother to lighten the mood. "It's good to see you again, E."
Eva smiled politely. That was yet another nickname that she would have to keep up with. Besides that, it occurred to her that his family had showed up for a surprise visit as well. This didn't seem like just a coincidence.
"Crazy coincidence, huh? My wife is very good friends with your sister. She had a wild idea to visit my brother who lost his way home at Thanksgiving. I think she mentioned that Layla should do the same with you. Now we're all here together." Michael slapped John on the shoulder roughly. They were probably both wondering how this craziness happened in the first place.
"Throw in a little help from Gunner, and you've got the full story." John saw that the information seemed to relax Eva. "Perry was acting as his spy. He didn't mention you by name, but he told Gunner I had someone special in my life. Gunner told my mom…who told Marcie…" John trailed off at the end. She could fill in the rest from there.
"Well, since we're all here anyway, why don't we all spend Christmas Eve together? We planned a surprise dinner for John. Caterer is just going to deliver tons of food, so we've got more than enough to share." Michael's enthusiasm wasn't shared by John or Eva. They were planning a quite day alone together.
"Maybe it's not such a bad idea?" John looked at Eva for her opinion. They were going to have to grin and bear their families anyway. At least this way they were able to spend some time together.
"Actually, I think that would be a great idea." Eva didn't want to spend any more time alone with Evangeline's family. "Maybe you can get your wife to coordinate with Layla. They were planning on cooking at my house for Christmas and did one of those grocery pickup orders. We won't need the food, so I can help put you in touch with a group that can get the food to a needy family. It's kind of last minute, but I'm sure you guys can get it done." Eva was already digging in her purse for a business card. If she could tie everyone else up, she could steal a few moments alone with John.
"I'll get started on it until my wife gets back. Good thinking, E." Michael was talking to Eva, but is attention was focused on Gabe. "See that big guy? We get to be a part of the true spirit of Christmas, helping others. Let's get to work, buddy." He tickled him lightly and ignored the drool that rolled down his hand.
"We'll be back, Mike." John called after him. He took Eva's hand and led her upstairs to his apartment instead of to his semi-private office.
She was quiet for the short walk upstairs. When they entered his apartment, she pealed off her jacket and kicked off her boots. She didn't even bother hanging her coat up. It was tossed carelessly onto the sofa along with her purse. Then she walked over to the bed and fell down in a heap.
John watched her movements as he tried to gauge her mood. She was pleasant enough with Michael, but she was practiced at faking it. "How you holding up?" John stripped off his outer layer as well and joined her on the bed. "Come on. Don't hide from me." He turned her so that she was facing him after she didn't respond to his question.
"Seriously John, what are the chances?" Tears of frustration rolled down her cheeks. She smeared them as she swiped at her face. "A few words from Perry and it screws up our Christmas!"
He smiled patiently. She had a lot of reasons to be upset. "Nothing is ruined. We are just going to have to share each other with our families for a little while."
Eva sat up and ran her hands through her hair. "I can't do this, John. I can't." More tears were threatening to fall. "I don't want to keep pushing them away, but I don't see any other choice. I tried telling them that I just want to be the me that I am now. I'm not fighting to prevent my memories from coming back, but that can't be all my life is about. I told them that and they didn't even hear me. If I'm not doing everything in my power to get my memory back, then they're just not going to accept me."
John pulled her into his lap so he could hold her. "I know your family is tough, believe me. I just can't believe that they don't love you. She relaxed in his arms as he leaned back against the headboard.
"It's not about love. It's about acceptance. I feel like one of the damn students fighting with his or her parents. What about me is so horrible that they just can't stand?" She played with the buttons on the front of his shirt. His head was resting on top of hers, so she couldn't look up at him.
"You are perfect just the way you are." He put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up so that she was looking him in the eyes. "They just haven't taken the time to get to know you, and some of that is on you. You pushed them away. You just need to reach out to them and let them get to know you naturally…slowly."
"Why do you keep defending them? I'm the one who was hurt. I'm the one with the memory problems. Shouldn't they be the ones compromising? Why should I even care?" The truth hurt so she lashed out at him.
He stroked her hair for a while and thought carefully about his words. "You only get one family. No one says they're going to be perfect. They can be annoying, demanding, judgmental. You name it. Once they're gone, you can't go back and let them know how much you love them. You can't tell them how much they meant to you. Don't make a rash decision while everyone's emotions are running high."
Eva froze for a moment. It was selfish of her to continue whining to him like she had been. She knew the story of his father and how it had strained his relationships with his family. She could recognize that Evangeline's family was in a similar boat. They just wanted her to remember that Evangeline might have been gone, but she'd never be forgotten. It was a very Evangeline thing to do, but she would have to be the patient and understanding one. She was going to have to put in a lot of work to mend the strained relationships with her family. "I'm sorry. I didn't even think about what you'd been though."
"It's not about me. It was a long hard road, but I'm in a good place now. It was years ago, but you called me on my crap. I'm just trying to do the same for you." He rubbed her back gently. Every kiss, touch, and hug was to reassure her that he really did care.
"You are right. It's not just on them. It's me too. Why would they accept me if I haven't accepted them?" She very rarely referred to them as her family. It was usually only when she was pointing out some fault or perceived hypocrisy. She was the first one to draw a line in the sand. It was just so surprising to her when they'd done the same.
"First time for everything." They shared a laugh and another hug.
"Can we just stay here for a while? I know we are probably on a clock for that catered meal, but can I just be here alone with you?" Eva pushed away all the thoughts of her family. She would deal with them all in good time. For now, she just wanted to remember how great her life is.
"I'd like that too." John shucked off his jeans and Eva nervously did so as well. The lustful look he had in his eyes on nights when she stayed with him was replaced with compassion and understanding. His breath caught in his throat as he thought of how much she meant to him. Things were just as they had been before. This time he was determined not to screw things up.