There's no song to this chapter. Title is Dinner, Interrupted
"Yes, Sami, you're correct," Andre said. "So nice to see you since my prison sentence."
Sami was so afraid she could barely move. She was too scared to take her eyes off of Andre. She didn't know why he was here or what he was up to.
"EJ…how did he get in?"
EJ didn't answer right away. After a few seconds of silence, Sami tore her eyes away from the evilly smiling face of Andre to look at EJ. Her heart jumped in despair at what she saw written on his face. He wasn't looking at her – couldn't look at her. But she could still see it.
Guilt. And sorrow. And shame. Sami's heart sank, realizing what was going on. Tony sighed and turned away, not wanting to watch the scene unfold.
"Oh, my God," she whispered. "You knew. How long? How long has he been here? And how?"
EJ looked up at her with pain in his eyes. He hadn't meant for this happen. He never wanted her to know about this.
"Samantha, I am so sorry. I should have told you. I just…wanted to protect you. No one was to know." EJ sighed and then continued. "He called when you were in the pub exchanging words with Kate and your mother. Somehow, he managed to escape from the jail when the guards released him for dinner and had their backs turned. He asked for refuge here and I, like an idiot, granted it to him."
"But why?" Sami cried. "Why didn't you just call my dad or my uncle Bo?"
"Oh, I don't know Sami," Andre cut in. "Why do you think he didn't?"
Sami stared at him in horror. She knew exactly why EJ didn't – couldn't – refuse him. It was too dangerous to tell Andre no. Suddenly, a thought struck her.
"EJ, my son and our daughter are in this house. Are you completely out of your mind?"
"I know, I know. But, I've made a deal with him. He is not to venture to any other part of the mansion unless he wants to be thrown back in jail. Is that clear, Andre?"
"Quite," he said. "My apologies. Next time I crave a midnight snack, I'll be sure to ring the servants."
Sami stared at him for a moment or two, not sure if she could believe that he would obey EJ's bidding or not. She looked at EJ again.
"We are having our families here for dinner tomorrow night. How do you expect to do that?"
"Sweetheart, he is staying in his room like a good little boy," EJ said, glancing sharply at Andre who popped a grape into his mouth. "I promise, nothing will go wrong."
Choosing to believe him, Sami turned to go back upstairs while Tony and EJ escorted Andre back up to his room.
A few minutes later, EJ slid into bed beside Sami. All the magic of just a short while ago seemed to disappear from between them. Now, it was replaced by a sense of cold, dark skepticism.
Sami turned over to look at him. "You really believe he'll stay away from us?"
"I certainly hope so," he sighed. "I know he doesn't want to go back to jail and I really do believe the experience sobered him enough."
Sami lay quiet, thinking of how just on the other side of house, the man who tried to kill practically every member of her family resided. She snuggled closer to EJ, needing his warmth and protection.
If anything out of the ordinary happened the next night, however, Sami wasn't sure if she'd be able to forgive him.
The next day passed by uneventfully. They didn't hear a peep from Andre's end of the mansion, which they took as a good sign.
It was now early evening and their guests were starting to trickle in. Bo and Hope had arrived, as had Roman, Kayla, Steve, Belle and Shawn. Lexie and Abe had just pulled up. John was there by himself. He had tried to talk Marlena into coming but she adamantly refused. She stayed at home and offered to watch Ciara and Claire tonight. Even Lucas showed up with Will to show that there were no hard feelings between him and Sami and EJ.
Everyone was sitting around the large, ornately carved dining room table in the DiMera mansion. Tony sat at one end with Anna to his right. EJ sat at the other, with Sami to his right. He wanted to relax and enjoy this night. Samantha's family had accepted him into their world and he wanted to revel in that fact. However, he couldn't seem to keep that anxious feeling from creeping up on him. And he knew exactly why.
The servants were clearing everyone's dinner plates away. They were all taking a breather before dessert was served.
"And you were stumbling around like a drunken fool!" Bo exclaimed to Roman.
"Hey, could I help that? I barely even remember it," Roman said.
"Ah, brother, I'll never forget the time you told me that you 'back my got!'"
"I wish I would have seen this one," John put in.
"I did," Lucas said. "It was a little scary to be around him. I feared for my life!"
"Listen, just because I was a little drugged did not mean I was completely incompetent," Roman said.
Bo snorted in laughter. This, in turn, made everyone at the table crack up.
"Roman, I really am truly sorry for that," EJ said.
"Eh, forget it. You had your reasons. If you hadn't knocked me out, I would have arrested your ss and you never would have gotten down to the gym and kept my daughter alive. So really, I should thank you for that!"
This prompted a laugh from everyone again. Sami reached for EJ's hand and he turned to look at her and smile warmly.
"You know, I never thought we'd be able to look back on this and laugh," Steve said. "Now that Andre's been locked up, I guess we can."
None of them knew that Andre had escaped. He had been sent to an out-of-state penitentiary and news of his escape hadn't reached Salem. They were completely unaware of the fact that danger could very well be upon them again.
A look passed unnoticed among Tony, Anna, EJ, and Sami. They could only pray it would continue to be a peaceful evening.
"You know, I almost feel sorry for that bstrd," Roman said. "It was Stefano who programmed him that way. The guy could have led a fulfilling life."
"Oh, but I do lead a fulfilling life," a familiar voice said. Before anyone could turn around, a loud boom! was heard and Roman tipped over backwards in his chair, blood seeping out from the front of his left shoulder.
"Daddy!" Sami screamed, rushing over to him.
John leapt up from his seat directly in front of Andre and tackled him to the ground before he could fire another shot. Lucas and Shawn had to help hold him down. Bo unholstered his own gun and aimed it at Andre in case he tried to escape. Steve wrestled the gun out of Andre's hands while Abe placed a call to the Salem Police Department.
Hope was leaning over Roman, along with Sami, Belle, and Lexie. Kayla took the twins and brought them upstairs, away from all the commotion. Anna was screaming dramatically in the corner. Will was standing there, not sure of what to do with himself.
In the midst of all this chaos, EJ stood silently. He stared at Roman, bleeding profusely on the floor. At Sami, crying hysterically over him. At Andre, who even while being held in an iron grip by both John and Lucas, was laughing maniacally.
This was all his fault. He never should have agreed to harbor Andre in his house. So what if Andre threatened him or his family? Samantha's whole family was involved in the police force. He shouldn't have had to worry about that.
The ambulance arrived to take Roman to the hospital. The women piled in to go with him. Hope insisted that Sami stay at home, though, and keep calm. Going to the hospital would just stress her out even more, and besides, she had two babies to take care of.
Some members of the SPD arrived to help cart Andre off to jail again. The men went with them to make sure Andre didn't try any more tricks. Lucas brought Will back home.
The only ones left in the mansion were Sami and EJ. The only sound that could be heard was Sami sobbing, kneeling on the floor. EJ slowly made his way over to her on legs that felt like lead.
"Samantha, darling…" he started.
"Don't you touch me," Sami said, pulling away from his outstretched hands. "This is all your fault!"
She got up from the floor and ran away from him, up the stairs, and into EJ's room where she continued to cry alone.
EJ sighed heavily, rubbing his hands over his face. After a few minutes, he made his way upstairs to attempt calm her down.