EJ felt content in a way he could not describe. As he pulled Samantha closer, he thought of how far they had come in all of this; from people who were at each other's throats to the sort of blissful happiness that came with years together. He tilted his head up for a kiss, groaning as her mouth automatically opened, giving him a taste of her sweetness. It was one of the few times he would actually look up to meet her in a kiss, perched as she was on the desk, while he was seated in the chair in front of her.

They didn't often get to do this so early in the morning, both their jobs demanding in a way that left little time for morning play. EJ was usually out the door to his law office early while Samantha at least still got to see the children off to school before rushing off to Basic Black, where she served as Creative Director, but this morning, they both had taken the day off and planned on spending it together.

"Mom, I'm leaving!" EJ heard his daughter shout as she came down the stairs.

Samantha sent him a quick look, a promise to continue their 'connection' later, as she stood. He rose as well, marveling at how big Allie had grown.

She was beautiful, gold hair like her mother and that cute button nose that was all Samantha and yet she was so much like him that people often thought she was his biological daughter. While Johnny and Sydney looked most like him, Allie was the one who shared his mannerisms. She was a calming force and the least impulsive of all his children and often the one who fixed the messes her siblings had created. She also shared his love of law and had been interning with him every other year since she was fifteen.

"What about me?" He teased as they walked up to their daughter.

"I didn't know you were still here, Daddy EJ," She said and it warmed EJ's heart, that even though she was almost eighteen she still kept calling him that.

"Track today?" Samantha asked.

"Yep," she replied.

"Straight home after," he said, sending her a wink.

She rolled her eyes at him in that typical teenage way, before replying, "Nowhere to go after EJ."

EJ fought the urge to say 'good', because he knew she was alluding to her being dateless. With a small smile, he placed a kiss on her forehead as he said "You, young lady are far too good for those high school cretins. I for one am glad I still have a bit of time before I have to start mixing cement."

She raised an eyebrow at him as Samantha hit his arm.

"Bad mob joke, EJ," the love of his life chided.

"Who said I was joking?" He deadpanned, but he was… mostly. Maybe not as much as he would lead them to believe. Allie might not be his by blood, but she definitely was his by heart and if a guy wanted to date her, he would have to go through him.

"I actually want to get a date before I'm fifty Daddy EJ, so can you please keep the threatening to a minimum. In this town people take Dimera threats... literally."

"I should hope so," he huffed, but seeing mother and daughter glaring at him, he relented, "No cement, then. I promise."

Allie shook her head at him, but couldn't help her smile as she opened the door, "See you both later. Love you."

'Love you too," they answered in unison as Allie walked out the door.

EJ wrapped his arms around his wife, leaning forward once more for a kiss just as his son yelled, "Mom, I'm going to kill Sydney if she doesn't hurry up!"

"Duty calls," Samantha shook her head, smiling at their children's antics, "We'll continue this later, Mr. Dimera."

Mr. Dimera…

"EJ!"

EJ could feel the dream slipping from his grasp and if the pain he felt on opening his eyes was any indication, he'd rather go back to his life with Samantha.

The gritty feel of dust in his throat, nose made him cough. The pain in his body, halting that involuntary reflex midway, before leading to a far more violent one after. Ears ringing, he heard his name being called again.

"EJ!"

"Here!" He croaked. Eyes watering he took a look around, but there wasn't much to see in the dark. Had he been buried alive? Clearing his throat, he tried again, "Here!"

"EJ," it was John's voice, coming from somewhere to his left, "We'll have you out of there in a minute nephew."

"Samantha?"

"She and the children were long gone before my brother tried to drop the house on us."

Right, he remembered. Samantha and the children were going to go shopping, despite the hour for things for their new home. He had stayed behind to talk to John about protecting his children from Stefano, but once again his father was a step ahead of them, thinking nothing of blowing them all to bits.

"John… Nicole?" He asked suddenly remembering that Nicole had returned to the mansion after her appointment.

His uncle was silent for too long even as he heard bits of debris moving he knew was an attempt to get him out.

"John?" He prompted.

"Some debris fell on her. She was… bleeding."

The way he said 'bleeding' was significant.

"Is she… Did she… the baby?"

"We don't know yet." His voice was solemn and EJ could finally see the light starting to make its way through as they moved the rubble from around him.

He felt the cold flow through him at that admission and he wondered if his baby with Nicole had survived. EJ didn't know what he felt for Stefano before this, but if he was the cause of him losing his child, if Stefano's bid for revenge had murdered his child, in the womb, he would kill him.

Sami wrapped her hand around her tummy instinctively as Mary told her that a bomb had gone off at the mansion. Her chest was tight as she thought of EJ hurt or worse. She didn't even realize that she wasn't breathing until Mary was shaking her roughly, words finally making their way through her haze of panic.

"They're fine. Mr. Dimera and Mr. Black are fine."

"What?" she finally took a gulp of breath, "EJ?"

"He's fine, Mrs. Dimera," Sami didn't even realize the slip of the tongue. "Mr. Dimera and Mr. Black are both fine. They both have a few bumps and bruises and Mr. Dimera's leg may be broken but he's fine."

"Oh God," she slumped in relief, "I thought…"

"He's going to be just fine." Mary reiterated, patting her hand comfortingly.

"I need to get to the hospital."

"Marco is already waiting outside Mrs. Pearson and I can remain with the children if you want, ma'am, with Bruno and Sylvio for protection."

"Thank you, Mary."

No need to thank me. It's our job."

Samantha didn't waste a moment more, just pushing her head in on the twins and Will, long enough to thank God they had left when they did. Instead of going straight to the mall, they had gone to the house so Sami could get a look around to get a feel for the place. She had been talking over colors and themes for each room when Mary had gotten a call. Sami had gotten a glimpse of horror on her face before she schooled it and the children's nanny had brushed it off when she asked. It wasn't until much later that she had escorted Sami into the kitchen, away from the children and broken the news of an explosion in the Dimera mansion.

Climbing into the car, she immediately looked to Marco and asked, "What happened?"

He answered as he drove, "There was an explosion minutes after you and the children had left the mansion. The timing is certainly suspect as only four persons were in the main house at the time, EJ, Mr. Black, Ms. Walker and Harold. EJ is suffering a mild concussion and a broken leg. Mr. Black has a few bruised ribs, but they will both be okay. Harold is another matter, he suffered a skull fracture in the collapse and so he's already in emergency surgery. Ms. Walker, also suffered some bumps and bruises, unfortunately in the area of her abdomen. She was bleeding when they loaded her into the ambulance."

"Bleeding?"

"Philippe and Adriano are keeping abreast at the hospital much more than that because her personal doctor is overseeing her case, so it's a bit more difficult to find out more."

"Personal doctor?" Sami asked and felt like she was just echoing his words back to him.

"Yes."

"Is that who she went to today when you were following her?"

He looked at her surprised, but Sami just said, "EJ and I no longer keep secrets from each other."

"As it should be Mrs. Dimera."

Sami looked at him in confusion, and remarked, "Mary also called me that."

"You've always been Mrs. Dimera to EJ and thus to us. We have been given our orders," he stated simply before continuing, "I followed Ms. Walker to a fertility center where she spent the entire day."

"She told Ej she went apartment hunting."

"She lied. She spent the day at the clinic and then went to the mansion. Once I saw her enter, I returned to check out their security system. It's a little more high-tech than you usually see in a doctor's office, but not unbreakable. I planned to return under the cover of dark."

"Even if…" She trailed afraid to put into words the fact that EJ might be losing a child.

"Yes, even if she loses the baby." Sami flinched as he said the words she had been avoiding, instinctively caressing her own stomach. Noticing, he apologized, "I'm sorry I'm being insensitive."

"No, I just… If we had stayed a few minutes longer." She expressed her fear.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"The bombs weren't positioned for maximum damage, but for dramatic effect."

"Dramatic effect?" Sami repeated slowly, pondering for a second the implications. "You think Stefano planned for us to be out of the house."

"You and the children."

"But why not Nicole, why not wait until she was out of the house?"

"That's a question I want answered too."

Sami thought about it, but couldn't come up with one single reason. They were both carrying EJ's child, so if the old man was trying to save his flesh and blood, they both should be protected. If he wanted one of them dead, Sami knew she was the most likely choice. She was after all a Brady and she was the one that had led EJ away from his influence. It just didn't make sense.

They were silent for the rest of the ride. Despite Marco's assurances, Sami needed to see for herself that EJ was okay. As soon as they arrived, she rushed into the emergency room and the first person she spotted was Lexi.

"Where's EJ?"

"He's in cubicle three, but Sami, you can't go in there."

Samantha was already gone, it was a moment she would regret.

As she stepped into the cubicle she nearly ran into a heavyset man in a white jacket. Entering the cubicle, she heard Nicole's keening cries as she saw them.

Sami felt a measure of relief as she saw EJ, living, breathing, the cast on his foot, bandaged hand and swollen jaw, the only evidence he had been hurt, but part of her also felt hurt, for he was sharing a bed with Nicole, tears running down his cheeks as she buried her head in his chest.

He looked up, eyes filled with sorrow finally met hers, as he unconsciously spoke, "Samantha."

Nicole's tear-filled red eyes looked her way, hatred filling them as she saw her. Sami almost took a step back at the maniacal revulsion she saw there

"No!" She screamed, "Get out! Get out!"

Sami backed away in shock as the woman spit venom her way. The nurses pushed past her and she saw EJ trying to soothe the hysterical woman. It was obvious what had occurred. Sami was ushered away from them, heart hurting for her fiance's loss and even for Nicole since she could never be glad the woman had lost her child. As a mother, she couldn't imagine losing the twins or this baby, and she knew there was only one person to blame.

She walked out, pulling her phone from her bag, dialing a number.

"I need your help, Barney. I want Stefano's head on a pike."