Chapter 2

Chad returned home from his walk with Thomas and his meeting with AJ. For some reason he just couldn't stop thinking about her. That had only ever happened once before in his life. With Abby. Immediately his stomach started to churn. He wasn't ready yet. He had too much on his plate to be even looking at other women. There was the rebuilding of DiMera Enterprises and then there was Thomas. He had to do what was right for his son first and foremost. That did NOT include looking at women who were not Thomas' mother.

As gently as he could, he manipulated his son out of his stroller and into his crib in the nursery next to Chad's room. Since Abby… Chad hadn't been able to go in their bedroom. Everything still smelled like her and part of him wanted to relish in her sweet scent once more, but his heart couldn't take it. He had just started to make it through one day without a breakdown. Going back in there would do him more harm than good.

As he kissed his sweet son's forehead good night, he whispered to him, "Daddy and Mommy both love you. Always."

With one last look, Chad partially closed his son's bedroom door and moseyed over to the next room where he promptly flopped on the bed and drifted off to sleep with dreams of the happiness he wished he'd had with Abby.

Chad awoke in the morning, groggy and remorseful. He wished he hadn't fallen asleep in his clothes. Unfortunately it wasn't the first time it had happened in recent months. He practically wore the shirt the last time he'd seen Abby for two weeks. Harold had actually started to become concerned for Chad's hygiene.

Thomas was still sound asleep. That was one thing Chad was grateful for. Thomas finally seemed to be breaking out of that "up every 4 hours" habit during the night. It allowed Chad to actually get some rest.

He heard rumblings from Lucas and Adrienne out in the hallway as they went in to check on Thomas. He would forever be grateful to those two people. They didn't have to move in and help him raise his son, but they did because they loved Abby and they love Thomas.

He turned his head when he heard Lucas whisper in his room.

"Chad? You awake?"

"Mm-hmm." He moaned as he waved his hand in the air, signaling Lucas to come on in.

"When he wakes up, Adrienne and I were thinking of taking Thomas to the park. Do you want to join us?"

Chad looked at the clock with one eye open. It was just past eight. "Yeah. That sounds nice." As he moved to sit up, his tablet beeped at him with a reminder. "Oh shit, I can't Lucas. I have a board meeting at the hospital. I'm setting up a foundation in Abby's memory for a-plastic anemia patients and today's the day I present it to the board. Damn it. Maybe I could text you after and we could meet up?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Hey man, I just want to say I think that's great what you're doing for Abigail. I think she'd be real proud of you."

"Yeah?" Chad asked disbelieving those words.

"Yeah. I do. Look, you know how I feel about your family. Specifically your brother." Chad rolled his eyes. It all came back to EJ. Damn man was still getting on people's nerves even after death. "But, I know who my niece was. And I know that she had a great spirit and a tendency to believe the best in people, which often landed her in hot water." Lucas smiled and Chad did as well, because he was right.

"But I've known you for a long time as well and I know how being a part of the DiMera family has changed you… and how it hasn't. Just keep doing what you're doing and you'll be okay Chad. I may not have lost Sami physically but the pain of losing someone you love so much… it can tear you apart. Don't let it consume you. You're doing this for Thomas, just keep that in focus and you'll be okay."

"Thanks. I don't know if I've told you guys but I'm extremely appreciative of you and Adrienne moving in here."

Lucas put his hand on Chad's shoulder in show of support. "It is our genuine pleasure. I hate this house but, the company makes it better. Alright, man. I'll wait for your text later. Let you know where we're at."

"Sounds good." Chad called out as Lucas exited the bedroom. He took a deep breath and rubbed his face to wake himself up. He had a very important presentation at the hospital in about an hour. He had to get a move on.

Chad shuffled his folders with his notes and his paperwork for the board to look over for his proposal. He had never presented to the board before. He'd always just done his DiMera duty and voted when it came time to do so. But he had never been at the helm of an actual project before, one that could save lives.

"This is what Abby did. Every day." Chad thought to himself. His nerves were making his palms sweaty and he felt a sudden rush of warmth in his dark grey suit. He took a deep breath and calmed himself as he waited outside the door to the meeting room. He checked the time on his watch for about the twentieth time in the past five minutes.

"Chad?" He heard a voice come up from behind him.

He turned and looked to see AJ coming down the hallway. She looked stunning in her knee-length black skirt and her rose pink colored sleeveless blouse. She looked adorable as she held her coffee in one hand and her paperwork in the other. Reminded him of how Abby used to be. Always in a rush, always on the go.

"Yes? Oh, hey!" He was surprised.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, just as surprised to see him as he was to see her.

He pointed to the door and explained. "I'm waiting for the board meeting to start."

"Oh! I didn't know you were on the board. Anything interesting on the docket today?" She smiled at him warmly as she took a seat across the hallway. Chad couldn't help but smile back as he took the hint and sat down next to her. There was something about her that both excited him and made him feel incredibly at home. Like he'd known her for years but still got the rush of adrenaline at the thought.

"Ah yes, actually. I am presenting an idea I had. I wanted to start a foundation at DiMera Enterprises honoring my wife in the battle she fought as a young girl in a-plastic anemia. I can only do that by partnering up with the hospital so, I need to present to them why it would be a good investment."

"That's wonderful! However, you sound a little nervous." She eyed him carefully.

"I am." He responded so quickly and genuinely he didn't even think twice about it. That was unusual for him. Normally he put up this façade, this wall, as to what he was really thinking or feeling. He'd been careful of whom he opened up to in the past and he'd surprised himself by being that way with AJ. Someone he met yesterday.

He eyed her carefully. Maybe he had seen her before and he just didn't remember. His gaze washed over her long, strawberry blonde hair. She had it pulled back in a pony-tail. Her eyes were sultry and smoky. Chad blinked hard as he tried not to be taken in by her beauty. He couldn't let himself get too carried away in staring or gawking at this woman.

"What's something that normally calms you down?" She inquired innocently.

He couldn't really think of something besides things that Abby used to do like rubbing his back or running her fingers through his hair. He loved that sensation.

"I could tell you a story?" She offered with a small giggle exuding her throat.

That idea intrigued Chad. It brought up sad, but, happy memories of them.

"Sure…I don't have anything else to try." He conceded.

She thought for a moment while he patiently waited. "Once upon a time there was a handsome prince and a girl who lived in the village…"

"Is this Cinderella? I think this is Cinderella…" He butt in playfully.

"Hey! I am the storyteller and you're the story-listener!" She played back.

Again her words rang through his body like an echo. Flashes of that night came back to him. Holding Abby in his arms as she drifted off to sleep from his bedtime story was one of the most precious memories he held in his heart. He'd never tell anyone about what happened that night between them. It was sacred. Just like when she'd mentioned the name Thomas being like a Supreme Court Justice name, the story and the way she said things caused Chad to nearly have a panic attack.

His breathing turned heavy and his eyes became blurry.

"Chad? Are you okay?" AJ asked concerned. She placed her hand on his shoulder and their eyes connected, deeply for what seemed like eternity to Chad.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." He quickly backed away from her, jerking away his shoulder as she had her hand pressed to it. "I'm going to go the restroom. Excuse me." He politely said as he sped-walked down to the men's room.

Setting his folders down, he braced his body against the porcelain sink. Letting the water flood through his fingers, he splashed his face. Once; twice; three times as he tried to slow his heart beat from bursting out of his chest.

"I'm fine." He kept muttering to himself as he wiped his face and let his breathing slow down. As he came out of the bathroom he noticed that AJ had left her chair. He walked down to where they had been sitting and saw that she left a note.

"Shit…" He thought to himself. He freaked her out and even though she freaked him out to begin with, it wasn't actually her fault. She didn't know he had all of these weird triggers. Chad himself didn't even know the things that would set him off and send him into a downward spiral. One thing was for sure, after his meeting he'd have to find her and apologize for his behavior. Opening her note, he saw that all it said was: Have faith.

Playing with his wedding ring, he sat back in the chair he'd been sitting in and waited for his turn. "Just go in there, pull yourself together, talk about Abby, talk about Thomas and it'll be okay." And with the reassurance from himself and from AJ's note, he felt Abby's presence with him. He felt her faith in him.

"I love you." He whispered as Mr. Burns opened the door to the meeting room and Chad confidently stepped inside.