CHAPTER 49

Olivia woke up from the long therapeutic sleep to the welcome sight of her mother sitting beside her, a hand on her warm forehead.

'Ma...' she whispered, delight all over her thin pale face. 'You're here.'

'Yes, I'm here...' Carly leaned forward in her wheelchair and Olivia nestled in the arms holding her tightly.

'I'm here, sweetheart.' Carly sobbed, so happy and grateful to hold and touch her beloved child again, pressing her cheek again hers. 'And I'm never, ever going to be away from you again.'

Kissing Olivia's cheeks and stroking her dishevelled hair, Carly scanned her anxiously. 'How do you feel?'

'Much better now.' the girl smiled faintly, holding fast to Carly's hand. 'But I never want to go through that again. I was so worried about you...'

'I know... I know...my poor baby.' Carly kissed her again. 'But it's over now. Vivian can't hurt us anymore and now we can really go on with our new life.'

'Yes, I know.' Olivia replied, resigning herself to the fact that her revenge on Vivian will never be carried out but grateful that the bitch was dead even if it had been on her own terms. 'But what kind of person would do what she did? Shooting herself in the neck so that Dad will never be able to find you? Surely no one else besides her could be that cold blooded.'

Carly could easily think of another cold blooded person; Victor, who had been more than ready to let his son die rather than let him be happy with her, not even considering Shawn Douglas' trauma and grief if Bo had been the one in the elevator that fateful night. That man put the E in evil and yet, he'd gone unpunished.

'Vivian was a woman with no soul,' she said at last. 'It's the only explanation I can think of because Leopold was nothing like her; he never held my refusal to marry his son against me. Vivian on the other hand felt I humiliated the family so made it her business to make me pay for it; including kidnapping your brother and making me think he died at childbirth and the other things she did later.'

'And she died, still warped with it.' Olivia replied coldly. 'She was nothing but a fucking sociopath and I hope she's screaming in hell with her precious Lawrence as we speak.'

The hard look in Olivia's eyes disappeared in an instant as she suddenly smiled. 'But in the meantime, where's Daddy?'

'He went home to get a few things; he was here the whole night. '

'I never doubted he'd find you. But how did he? Did he get that man who tried to kill me to talk after all?'

Carly hesitated. She and Olivia have never had secrets between them but what had passed between her and Bo last night was deeper than magic itself to reveal to anyone.

'Actually...' she began then frowned. 'Who are you talking about?'

Olivia told her about the shootout and how she'd recognised the shooter as the poisoner after he was subdued by Bo's guards.

'My God...' Carly gasped in horror, gripping Olivia's arm.

'It's alright Ma, someone pulled me down and Nathan was wonderful too, he tried to grab the gun from him. Then we found a text from Vivian in his cell phone telling him where she was. I bet anything he's kicking himself right now for not deleting it.'

Carly shuddered, more thankful than ever that Vivian could no longer harm her or her child.

'Well we're both safe and your father I'll definitely make sure Vivian's accomplice gets what he deserves.'

'Knowing Dad, he'll make sure that son of a bitch gets hard time. Dad really came through in all this, didn't he?'

'Like always.' Carly smiled, pride in her lover shinning in her eyes. 'You should know by now when your father sets his mind on something he gets it done no matter what, especially when it comes to his family.'

'I know, it's more than obvious... from everything he says and does. Last night, when he promised me he'll bring you back safely, I really saw the man from all those tales you told me about him... the rebel who'll do anything for the people he loves. No one can possibly question why you fell in love, everything that makes him is so fab, Ma. Don't you sometimes wish you could go back to the beginning.. .when you two first started?'

Carly smiled wryly, remembering their first meeting like it was yesterday.

'Actually, we didn't have the best start.'

'I know all about that, you had an exchange of words at the pier...'

'That wasn't our first real encounter. It took place six years before I arrived here, in Alamainia.'

Olivia stared at Carly with great astonishment. 'Alamainia? How...?'

Carly took a deep breath. 'Remember I told you my marriage to Lawrence was arranged when I was a child?'

'Yes.'

'Well I was determined not to go through with it, I refused to be dictated to by my parents so as soon as I could, I left Nordica and moved to France to attend college and decide where to go from there. There I met a man who introduced himself as James and I fell madly in love with him... he was so handsome and charismatic, everything I imagine my knight in shining armour would be. He spoiled me rotten and I felt like I was living the ultimate romance. Then one day, he said we were invited to a masquerade ball hosted by Vivian Alamain in Alamainia so we went. That's where I got the biggest shock of my life... James turned out to be...'

'Bloody hell...' Olivia gasped, shocked. 'Lawrence! He'd been using a false identity to trap you to the altar!'

Carly nodded.

'Then how did you really meet my father?'

'Well...'

'What difference does it make what my name is?' snapped Lawrence. 'I'm still the man you fell in love with!'

'The man I thought I knew doesn't exist!' she hurled back. 'All this time you were laughing behind my back...using charm and poetry to seduce me. Did you honestly think I'd take it lying down?'

'You're acting like a child! And I can't believe you walked out on our engagement party!'

'A bloody trap that's what it was! You should have thought things through before you decided to trick me! I told my parents two things years ago; l'll never ever marry Lawrence Alamain and my life's mine and mine ALONE. So I'm telling you again, it's over between us.' Taking her purse, she got up with the excruciating need to be far away from him as possible.

'No, we're not Katarina! You're not walking out on me like you did last night!' Lawrence rose at the same time, gripping her arms.

'Let go of me!'

'You're going to be my wife, whether you like it or not! You were promised to me!' he snarled.

'Go to hell! Let go, you're hurting me!' she struggled under his iron grip, almost staggering.

'Hey!' a voice from behind them sounded. 'Leave her alone!'

'Back off!' Lawrence snarled at the stranger.

She struggled again desperately but Lawrence stubbornly held on to her.

'I said let her go!' the stranger, who sounded American insisted, pushing Lawrence away from her. 'If you want to come after somebody, come after me... leave the girl alone!'

She suddenly found herself free as Lawrence furiously turned on her rescuer, taking a swing at him.

Scrambling away from the two men, she stood aside, staring in dismay but the long haired stranger held his own as he blocked Lawrence's blows, punching him in return.

Lawrence suddenly turned round and made a dart at her, but the stranger pulled him back. Not dawdling a minute longer, she ran out of the cafe and kept on running...

'That man was Dad?' Olivia whispered incredulously. 'And you never saw each other again until you moved to Salem? My God, he must've been...'

'He didn't know that girl was me and I didn't recognise him, I only caught a glimpse of his face before I ran away that day. He and Hope and Shawn D had docked in Alamainia while they were sailing round the world, on a whim he'd come ashore on his own and, through sheer coincidence, stopping at the same cafe where Lawrence and I were arguing. He later told me that story after Shawn D and your Uncle Steve's accidents because he thought that Lawrence was after him because of that fight. At the time, I couldn't tell him I knew Lawrence or that I was the missing Lady Von Leuschner. We had a lot of obstacles to cross before we were free to be together at last but I long realised that it didn't matter how fast we got there but the journey itself. We both learnt a lot of things and those obstacles only brought us closer than apart.'

'What did you learn?'

'That no matter how independent or self-sufficient you are, sometimes it's nice to have someone look out for you... as long as you return the favour. Being with your father and Shawn Douglas after that was like heaven on earth after all those years of pain and loneliness. The answer to your question earlier... even if I could turn back the clock, I wouldn't have to because we're both back at the beginning already.'

Olivia smiled, deeply moved.

'But as for you little kitten,' Carly's face turned serious. 'You have to make me a promise.'

'What's that, Ma?'

'I know you've gotten used to looking out for me but I want you to stop doing that. Don't let the need to protect me every time stand in the way of your own life. I want you to finally enjoy being a real teenage girl; go on dates, have fun with friends, embrace your youth. The past denied you of a real childhood... I don't it to now affect the rest of your growing years. '

Olivia was silent.

'Nobody's casting you aside...'

'I know Ma, I've had this conversation with Dad and you're both right. It's been just the two of us for so long that old habits die hard. I can't say I'll never stop worrying about you but I suppose it's time Dad took the reins from now on.'

'Good, I'm glad you understand.'

'But you know what Ma...' Olivia looked at Carly earnestly, 'How you and Daddy started out, it's so... odd.'

'What do you mean, darling?'

'Well look at it, he crashed into your life the very day you broke up with Lawrence ... rescued you from him. You crashed into his when he was grieving for Hope and fell in love against all odds. Then right after his marriage hit the rocks, he finally found out about us and you two are reunited after so many years. The three encounters, they sound... well, almost predestined to me. It's so uncanny.'

You have no idea... her mother thought.

'"So they spoke..." ' Bo read from the scroll she was holding up, "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." She concluded.

Carly blinked as Izzy suddenly materialized at the foot of the bed. She glanced at Olivia then at her with a smile on her face, giving her a knowing look. Blinking back tears, Carly nodded.

'Ma, are you alright?' Olivia asked, touching her arm.

Don't go! Carly wanted to cry as the ghost faded away, blowing her a kiss.

'Ma?'

Shaking her head, Carly turned back to Olivia, rumpling her hair. 'I'm okay. Really I am.'

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The previous night's events swept across town via the local grapevine, the Salem Spectator's headlines and the early morning news on T.V and radio. The Hortons and the rest of the Bradys were agog at the story as it was passed about, shocked at Vivian's demise and Carly and Olivia's narrow escape.

On getting downstairs after a long hot shower, shave and gathering a change of clothes for Carly and Olivia, Bo found the boys watching the news with Stephanie, Arianna, Will and his girlfriend Gabi, eating their breakfasts off trays at the same time.

'The phone's been ringing off the hook,' Max informed him. 'Mum said she was on her way to the hospital with Ciara.'

'Who else called?' Bo asked.

'John, Sami, Victor, Maggie and Alice...oh and Shawn D and Frankie.'

Bo groaned. 'How did they find out?'

'Shawn found out from Justin then he called Frankie thinking he already knew about it. Frankie's really mad; he said he's flying in as soon as he could.'

'Yeah... to chew me out real good.' Bo muttered, vividly picturing Frankie's wrath.

'Funny... the news didn't say anything about EJ.'

All eyes turned to Will.

'What does he have to do with this?' Brady demanded.

'Granny told me EJ spotted the perp first and pulled Olivia down before he could get a clean shot.'

'Nathan was there too,' Stephanie added. 'Mum said he tried to get the gun away from the guy.'

Phillip whistled. 'Alright Nathan!' The others gave a big whoop.

'And what exactly was EJ doing at the hospital in the first place?' Bo snapped, grateful his daughter was saved but not at all pleased at EJ's part in it.

Will shrugged, sobering at the menacing look on Bo's face. 'My first guess would be he went to see Lexie.'

Bo exchanged a meaningful glance with Brady, remembering their conversation months ago. But then Will could be right and he was worrying about nothing. Still, the very last person he wanted to be indebted to was EJ DiMera; Stefano would definitely milk his son's heroic action for what it's worth.

'Do you want me to make you some breakfast?' Arianna piped up.

'No thanks Ari; I'll just grab some coffee before I head back to the hospital. You guys are coming with, right?'

They all affirmed and Bo went to the kitchen.

'I guess Victor will be relieved that Olivia made it,' Stephanie commented. 'He must've worried himself sick.'

'Right.' Brady scoffed. 'He worried himself sick but never went over to visit her... and took Vivian's side!'

'Are you going to start that again?' Phillip snapped.

'I don't care what you and Justin swallowed from him; his behaviour's been way too bizarre...'

'Okay, so it was a little extreme but he was trying to get incriminating evidence. Maybe it didn't work but at least the bitch's dead now, give it a rest.'

In the middle of the argument, no one noticed Gabi slipping away to the kitchen.

Bo was pouring coffee in a mug as she walked in. 'Hey, Gabi.'

'Hey.' Gabi replied quietly. 'Do you mind if I have a word with you?'

Bo regarded the girl with mild curiosity. 'Sure. What's on your mind?

'Something you need to know... about Mr Kiriakis.'

Bo lowered the cup in his hand, eyes narrowing. 'Which one?'

Gabi swallowed. 'Victor. And I haven't told this to anyone, not even Will.'

Bo indicated one of the stools besides the counter, taking a seat beside her.

'Alright, talk.'

Gabi told her story from beginning to end.