Chapter 28

A week later...

Though she knew it was childish and illogical of her, Jennifer was jealous of Frankie's wife. Audra Gräslund Brady was, at 28, several years younger, very beautiful with her golden blonde hair and intense grey eyes and obviously much adored by Frankie and the way she and Carly got on like they've known each other for years didn't help matters because Audra also reminded her how she'd made the biggest mistake of her life; leaving Frankie at the altar and going back to Jack. But now she was fully committed to Daniel and Audra wasn't the planned subject of discussion.

'She's very pretty; I'm happy for you.' she said to Frankie as they had coffee together at the hospital cafeteria.

'Yeah well, I'm not like my sister; somehow I found a way of letting go of an unreciprocated love.' Frankie replied, coolly.

'Are you referring to Bo or me?Because it's not fair on both counts; Bo loved Carly very much, he still loves her very much... it was an error in judgement. And I should never have gone back to Jack and I'm so sorry for that but you left me too, without so much as a goodbye... I didn't even know you were Carly's brother then.'

'Jen, I'm not bitter about us, not anymore. And back then, we were kids; there were a lot of things I had to sort out about myself. But what I refuse to understand... why you went back to a guy who was mostly a poor excuse of a husband to you or why Bo ditched my sister for a woman who tried to kill him...'

'Frankie...'

'Jennifer, if you dare make excuses for either one of those two, I'm walking out that door, I swear.' Frankie warned darkly. 'I don't give a damn Hope's your cousin; Carly didn't force that sanctimonious woman-child you're all so obsessed with protecting to leave her husband in the first place!And nothing's going to make me forgive Bo for the way he treated Carly so if this is the reason why you wanted me to have coffee with you, you're wasting your time.'

'Frankie, this isn't you. The man I remember, who I once loved, would never be this... unbending! People make mistakes; I made my mistakes with you and Carly. But that's neither here nor there... what I'm telling no, begging you to do is to please forgive the past. Bo's doing his best to make amends to Carly...'

'He will touch her again over my dead body.'

'You're her brother, not her father! And Carly's an adult; if she wants to give the man she loves another chance, that's her decision!' Jennifer snapped.

'Well, it's not like the decisions my sister made favoured her much, now did it, Jen? All it did was favour others... they walked over her time after time, they took advantage of her soft heart- every one of them, especially Bo!' Everyone in the cafeteria stared at their direction at Frankie's raised voice. Disgusted, he stood up.

'You're right...I can't make Carly's decisions for her. But I trust her enough not to make the same mistake again, trusting the wrong man.'

'Frankie, wait please...'

'Jennifer, just leave me alone.' He disappeared through the swinging doors. Distressed and frustrated, Jennifer buried her face in her hands; staying in that position until she felt a familiar hand rubbing her back.

'Are you okay?' asked Daniel, sitting beside her.

'No... I'm not okay. I just had a fight with Frankie. I tried talking to him about letting bygones be bygones and but he's so pig headed!'

'Not pig headed, very angry... understandably angry.'

Jennifer sighed, nodding. 'I can't argue with that, lord knows he has every right! I hate to think what would have happened if Carly had died that night, he would've...'

'But she didn't and she's getting better every day. By the time she's fully recovered, Frankie would've cooled down and he'll take the Bradys as his family again.'

'I love you for being optimistic but with his attitude, he might convince Carly to leave Salem after all and where will that leave Bo? He's never going to be happy until he gets her back... he loves her so much.'

'I wouldn't worry about that if I were you, I think Bo's got her back already.'

Jennifer raised one eyebrow. 'Oh?'

Daniel grinned. 'Uh-huh. I went to her room to check on her progress and they were holding each other close. Things are looking up for those to, unless I'm mistaken.'

'Oh, that's great!' Jennifer cried, holding Daniel's hands joyfully. 'Then she'll not leave after all.'

'I certainly hope not, with what the board has in store for her.'

'How do you mean?'

'The day after the surgery; the board had a meeting, remember?'

'Yes... about what?'

'Lexie wants to step down as Chief of Staff because she and Abe are moving to Philadelphia with Theo. And it was unanimously decided that Carly's to be offered that position. Carly's the town heroine and a valuable surgeon, they're ready to offer anything else to Carly as long as they can get her to accept the job.'

'Oh, my goodness.' Jennifer gasped. Carly to assume the position her grandfather had held! What could be more perfect than this?

'That would be beyond wonderful, but when will they let her know?'

'Lexie's going to tell her after she's released. Give her some time to rest first and then she'll let her know, emphasise how much the hospital needs her.'

Jennifer still felt anxious. 'What if she says no?'

'If she rejects it, the position will be offered to me but I'm going to turn it down; I'm happy being a first rate surgeon.' Daniel stroked her cheek.

Jennifer smiled at him lovingly. 'You are. And much more.'

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

'Well hi, Vivian. Prison blue looks better on you than Chanel.' Melanie taunted.

'Nicholas, kindly tell that person not to talk me.' Vivian said coldly.

'Kindly show my sister with some respect, Vivian. I expressly asked her to come with me, because I wanted her to witness me tell you what I think of you before disowning you for good.'

Vivian looked at him wildly. 'Nicky... don't do anything you're going to regret later. I loved and nurtured you from birth...'

'You stole me from my mother!'

'She didn't deserve you! She cast your father aside like old shoes, why on earth should she have the right to raise his son?' she yelled. 'And why are you associating with her little bastard, the result of her betrayal? She too is a betraying whore, she made my son suffer by chasing after Nathan Horton!'

'Phillip Kiriakis isn't your son and considering he's an asshole like his father, good riddance. And I'm so jealous of Mel because she has no trace of the dirty, evil Alamain blood I forever have to live with. My father was an evil psychopath who only saw Mum as a prime prize and beat her all the time. Mel's father on the other hand is a very brilliant surgeon and an honourable man... who saved Mum's life.' Nicholas' eyes were hard. 'if I had to choose between Bo Brady and Lawrence Alamain for a father, I'd choose Brady in a heartbeat.'

'You don't know what you're saying!'

'I know precisely what I'm saying!' Nicholas spat. 'You're the devil incarnate, Vivian! All these years you've gotten away with destroying lives and plotting against people you hate... guess what, I think the person you really hate is yourself! You could never win anyone's love honestly, it had to be your way; sick, evil and conniving ways. I curse every day I ever loved you and called you Mum! I curse Lawrence too for what he did to Mum and I hope from the bottom of my heart that he's screaming in hell as we speak!'

Vivian began to cry. 'No... no... stop...'

'I'm not quite done. I disown you- as far as I'm concerned, you no longer exist. Don't expect me to ever visit you or intervene for you in anyway because I'll welcome any punishment they give you.'

'Yeah, like the chair.' Melanie added coldly.

'This is the last time you'll ever see me, Vivian. Don't ever call me, for anything. I completely wash my hands of you.' He turned his back to her. 'Good bye.'

Vivian sprang from the cot, gripping the bars. 'Nicholas, don't do this... you're all I have! Please, I beg you!' she shrieked as Nicholas left, his arm round Melanie's waist. 'Nicky, please don't leave me!'

Carly's children left the demented woman behind them, not looking back for one second. A door locked forever.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

'I was so worried!' Ciara sobbed, pressing her face against Carly's. She was the third visitor of the day, the first two being Adrienne and Justin. 'How are you feeling?'

'Much better.' Carly smiled, rumbling her hair. 'You're alright I see.'

'Yes.' Ciara kissed her soundly on both cheeks before looking at Nicholas. 'Hi Nicky.'

'Nice to see you again, kiddo. You came alone?'

Ciara shook her head, turning to the door. A tall young man in a leather jacket entered, holding a bouquet of flowers.

'Shawn Douglas.' Carly gasped, filled with joy. 'My God, is that you?'

'Carly!' Dropping the flowers on the nightstand, he kissed her, hugging her close. 'It's been so long!'

'I'll say too long!' Nicholas exclaimed, exchanging a heartfelt handshake with him. 'Look at you, just an inch taller than me!'

'Nicky Alamain... I never thought I'd ever see your posh ass again. How've you been, buddy?'

'No complains. I hear you're married now and a Dad.'

Shawn Douglas shrugged, smiling, looking down at Carly. 'Imagine me a family man, huh Carly? Seems just like yesterday you were telling me to brush my teeth and put away my sneakers.'

'Yeah... like yesterday. I remember it well.' Carly smiled at Shawn D then at Nicholas. Two little boys, now grown men. 'How's your wife... and Claire... did they come with you?'

'Yeah but they're at the pub right now; they'll be over later. Ciara wanted to come with me so here we are. How do you feel?'

Carly sighed. 'I'd love to say better but a lot of aches and pains still left.'

Ciara touched her cheek with her small hand. 'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be silly, sweetie; I don't regret anything and I'm going to be out of this bed before you know it.' Carly kissed the top of her head.

'Hey Nick, you mind taking my baby sis out for ice cream; I want to talk to Carly alone.'

'On the condition you and I go for drinks at The Cheating Heart later.'

'You're on.' They high-fived.

Ciara pouted, reluctant to leave Carly but Nicholas firmly led her out; promising to get her a triple scoop.

Shawn Douglas moved his chair closer to the bed, his face serious. 'I can't thank you enough for saving my sister's life.'

'You don't have to thank me, son.'

Shawn Douglas took her hand, squeezing it. 'I've missed you so much.'

'I've missed you too. You always remained in my heart.'

'Well maybe now, you can finally explain to me what happened between you and Papa because he never wanted to discuss you after he told me you hadn't died after all. Why...' his eyes wore the look of old pain. 'Why you left without saying goodbye to me.'

'Honey, that last day your father and I saw each other...' Carly bit her lip, remembering that day. She'd truly had no recollection of Bo despite his and Marlena's efforts; even though Bo's kisses had affected her, to her surprise. Then Billie had shown up at the airport with Nicholas and everything came back. But the damage had already been done; two weeks of Lawrence's nursing and brainwashing had made her love for Bo a distant memory. Even Bo had felt it when they'd made a futile attempt to make love on the boat and in the end they'd tearfully hugged each other farewell after returning the ring to him.

Shawn D listened as she narrated it to him, shaking his head. 'Dad never told me any of that; except that it was over and that you'd left town with Lawrence and Nicky. He wouldn't talk about you at all.'

'I suppose it was too painful and he forced himself to move on instead.' Carly's eyes filled with tears at the thought. 'He thought it was best I went with Lawrence and Nicky and be a family than me being confused about my feelings for him. And I was, Shawn D. I wasn't the same person I was after I was dug out. While I was in the casket, I kept longing for your Dad; fantasizing him getting me out of there, getting married at last. But I guess Lawrence took advance of the situation while I was sick; I thought I was Katarina again and he was James and he...'

'Did all he could except do the decent thing.' Shawn D said bitterly. 'My God... and afterwards he went back to be what he truly was. All those years you lived in misery... why didn't you call Dad? He would've helped you, no matter what.'

'I couldn't do that to him; turn his life upside down after the way we parted. Lawrence followed his life the whole time; somehow he guessed that my old feelings for him crept back and he warned me what would happen if I dared contact him. Even if your Mum hadn't come back, I wouldn't have endangered his life; or yours.'

Shawn D shook his head.

'When I came back, I only wanted your Dad to help me find Melanie and protect us both; I didn't come back to interfere in his marriage... what happened between us wouldn't have happened if things were alright between them...'

'Come on, Carly! This is me you're talking to; you think I don't know that?' Shawn Douglas exclaimed. 'And after what you just told me, why would anyone think that? Mum made her choice; she left and they'd had problems over the years!'

'Caused by Billie Reed.'

'Not all of it. If you were with him when Mum came back, you'd still be together.'

'You don't know that.'

'You did a lot for the two of us, for the whole family when you were here. You think he would have given it up then?' Shawn Douglas touched her arm. 'Carly, I know Dad hurt you terribly, he told me the whole story...but you can't keep thinking you were a stand-in. I know he loves you.'

Carly was silent.

'He does.' Shawn Douglas insisted. 'He wouldn't have left you then. What happened... he had the need and obligation to help out my Mum; they've been together for more than 20 years...'

'If I hadn't ended it, he would have.' Carly interrupted. 'They have you and Ciara and your brother; a history.'

'So what? I love my Mum very much; but she made a lot of mistakes and she was lucky that Papa loved her enough to overlook them. Yes, they reconnected when they were on the run. But it doesn't mean things are back to the way they were. You and Papa have a history too; why else would he have fallen in love with you all over again?'

'And what about your grandmother, the rest of the family? Can your Papa and I live with their hostility for the rest of our lives?' So far the only Bradys who'd come to see her instead of just sending gifts were Sami who came with Rafe and the children and Roman who'd come with Steve. Victor had sent large bouquets and Kimberly had called from California and they'd spoken over the phone for a long time. Gianni didn't know about the shooting because she'd sternly forbidden Melanie to tell him.

'After what you just did for us, why would you think they'd be hostile now? Sooner or later they'll have to look you in the eye and apologise... hell, give you a medal!'

Carly chuckled softly, letting go of his hand to stroke his cheek. 'You've always been wise beyond your years, sailor man. And I'm really glad to see that hasn't changed.'

Shawn Douglas took her hand again, kissing her palm. 'Just like my love for you never changed, Carly. Until Mum came back I never recognised anyone else a mother figure, ever. Which is why I need you to do something I never allowed anyone else do for me.'

Carly raised an eyebrow. 'What's that?'

Grinning, Shawn Douglas unwrapped the package on his lap, holding it up for her to see. Carly began to laugh when she saw what it was- his old copy of Alice in Wonderland.

'You never read the last chapter to me, I think it's high time you did, huh?'

Smiling, Carly took the book, kissing his cheek as he sat beside her on the bed and opened to the page she wanted. Clearing her throat she began, ' "Your Red Majesty shouldn't purr so loud," Alice said, rubbing her eyes and addressing the kitten respectfully..."'

::::::::::::::::::::::

Bo showed up long after Frankie and Audra's visit, holding something in his hand.

'What's that?' Carly asked after he kissed her. Sitting beside her on the bed, he placed it on her lap and she unwrapped it.

'It's our... my scroll.' Carly held it up. 'Where did you get this?'

'You left it behind when you moved out and I kept it, I couldn't bring myself to give it back to you.' Bo put his arm round her shoulders. If he was going to fight hard to gain her complete trust back, he was going to use all the weapons at his disposal. So far she was still wavering and to his chagrin, still wearing her engagement ring.

'This is part of our history, one of the many things we shared years ago. It's just as important to me as it is to you because the night we first read this together was the most magical night of our lives... wasn't it?'

The night of their symbolic wedding when he'd touched her more intimately than he'd ever touched her before... the first time they made love...

'Yes, it was.' She said quietly, running her hand over the parchment. 'It was.'

'Want us to read it together?' he stroked her hair.

Carly regarded him solemnly for a minute before looking at the first line. Softly she began:

'This is the first entry to the story; the story of how the Mayans came to be.

Always in suspense, at peace and in silence. There was not yet a man or a woman

Neither were there animals or birds, fish, trees or stones.

In this way, the heavens existed, and also the Corzon Del Cielo- the heart of Heaven;

This being the name of God and this is how he is called.'

Bo took over. 'The word then reached here, together came two gods and the darkness in the night

And they joined their words and thought. Then it became clear that when dawn came Man should appear. "'Now that be done thusly, they said, "let the emptiness be filled.

If this water withdraw and vacate space, let the land surge up and it shall be solid.''

Rubbing his cheek against hers, he continued, 'So they spoke: "Then let there be light. Let there be dawn in the heavens and on earth.'

"There will be neither glory nor grandeur in our creation until a human creature exists."

And with these words of two... the world began.'

Carly slowly moved her head, her lips coming in contact with Bo's and the kiss exchanged was deep and solemn. Resting her head against his chest, they did what they hadn't done in a long while, basking in their special music of silence.