Chapter 28

"So that is huge news that mom has got a date for her op," said Stephanie as she and Joey sat together in the lounge.

Her younger brother gave a nod. It was.

After their mum and dad had got back from the hospital they had given them a heads up that it was going to be happening imminently but then all of a sudden… they had a date.

Joey wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"And then after she is going to be able to hear and talk again."

"Just hear, to begin with. Uncle Marcus said that her speech could come back any time."

"I know, I can't believe that someone could just like – lose their voice like that," admitted Joey.

It was a lot for him to get his head round. And the thing was everyone was saying it was because of some sort of emotional trauma.

Maybe if they knew what had happened to make his mom swerve off of the road then it would all make a little more sense. But it didn't. And whenever she had been asked she had seemed freaked out so he was not going to add to that.

But he did want to know.

"I know – it – it's odd," his sister nodded but he knew from her tone of voice the same thoughts were running about in her head as they were his.

She reached over and kissed the top of his head.

"It'll be ok, bugs."

That was when there dad came into the room.

"Are you guys alright?" he checked. It was not every day you found out your mother was going for surgery the next week after all.

"Yeah. I mean we knew this was coming and it is what is best for mama, right?" Stephanie smiled, nudging her brother.

Joe gave a nod. As scary as all of this was they had to focus on the positives. And what was on the other side of this gave them a lot of cause to be positive.

"Right. The sooner she has this op, the better… for all of us."

X x x

"Can you believe this? I have actually been asked round to dinner with my family," said Jack as he got off the phone with Jennifer.

His sister grinned, "Wonders will never cease. You said you and JJ had finally begun to make some progress and it does seem as if the proof is going to be in the pudding. Quite literally, if the four of you make it to afters."

Jack mussed his sister's hair in a playful response.

As much as he wanted to be back where he was sure he belonged, it hit him then that if he did ever get to move back in with Jen, then he was going to miss all the time he had got with his sister.

They had never been together like this was when they were young. It was nice to finally have some proper extended time together, especially with Steve popping across whenever he felt like it. This was what it was meant to be like when you had siblings, Jack was sure of that.

"Well, you are not wrong… it is just time things started going right for all of us, don't you think?"

"I do," she said as the phone begun to ring.

Seeing as he had just been on it, she got up and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Mrs Kiriakis?" the voice on the end of the phone asked.

"Speaking."

"This is Daphne from maternity at Salem University Hospital," the nurse said gently and Adrienne felt her heart hit her stomach.

"Oh… Is this about the tests I had done yesterday?"

"I afraid that it is…"

Jack had apparently spoken far too soon.

X x x

Justin had had a hell of a day and it was all of his own making.

He had turned up to the wrong room for his first meeting and then it had just gone downhill…

And so by the time he got back to the Kiriakis mansion, he was glad of it. All he wanted to do was head up the stairs, change, grab some dinner and then go to bed so that the day could be behind him.

"Master Justin," said Henderson as he opened the door.

"Henderson, I am done in by today. Can you please tell my uncle I will not be eating with him and Maggie tonight? I just want something in my room."

The last thing he felt able to put up with that evening with dinner with his uncle. He loved him… but he couldn't face him that evening.

"I can tell Mr Kiriakis that but before you go up sir, Mrs Kiriakis is in the lounge waiting for you."

"Do you know what Maggie wants with me?"

"It is not that Mrs Kiriakis, sir. It is your wife."

That was all it took for his mood to change completely. If Adrienne was there for him then he knew he had to be there willing to greet her with open arms because this could be the start of – well, he was not sure but he was not willing to risk throwing it away as he had had a bad day at work.

He all but ran to the lounge.

When he got there he saw she had sat down on the couch and she had her head in her hands. He remembered seeing her at the hospital the day before and now more than ever he was sure he had been right. She had not been there to be with Steve and Kayla. She had gone there because she had had to go there and he was going to find out what that reason was if it killed him.

"Adrienne," he said as he drew her attention.

Her eyes were red as she looked up him. This was the first time they had been together since the night when she had rightfully left him for his betrayal. She had been crying then as well. He did not want her crying any more. He wanted to see her happy.

"Justin, I am so sorry I know should have called –"

"What are you on about? You know you never have to call. Adrienne, I – I am so sorry –"

"Where is she?" His wife said as she sat up. She clearly did not want to be seen in pieces. She just could not help the tears which were flowing down her face just then.

"Gone – she is gone," he said as he smiled sadly at her.

It did not much matter, he thought to himself as the damage between the two of them was already done but at least – at least no more was going to done.

Adrienne nodded. She clearly thought that was good but she could not say it.

"Is there something wrong… When I saw you at the hospital."

She nodded.

And then there was silence.

"You are not sick are you?" he asked. Because he did not think he could take it if there was something which was wrong with her. He had treated her abominably of late and if he had been doing that when she – she needed him the most then… he did not know how he was going to forgive himself, let alone be forgiven by her.

"No," she said as she shook her head and then got up on her feet.

The only way she was going to be able to give him this news was if she was pacing, like her mind was.

"A few weeks ago when I was having dinner with the family, I passed out. My brothers took me to the hospital to get me checked out and – and it turns out that… that I wasn't sick but I did have a condition," she said as she looked in to his eyes.

There was no understand there so far and she did not blame him for that. She had been unable to believe she was pregnant at first so there was no reason why it should cross his mind.

"Turns out against all the odds, at forty seven years of age I am going to bring a new life in to the world. I am pregnant Justin."

He looked as if he had been run over by a bus. Whereas she had just stood up, he sat down.

"Pregnant?"

"It was a shock for me as well. I know what you're thinking - that it is likely not your child but I have looked at the dates and I think – I believe it is our … our baby."

"I wasn't thinking that," he said as he looked up at her with sincerity in his eyes. He had not thought that at all. "I just –"

"I know it is a surprise."

He nodded before he looked back at her with her red eyes. "Do you not want the child?" he asked.

Because he did not know how he felt but he knew that he did want it. He had always wanted any child of theirs and just because there were a few extra years on the two of them now, that had not changed.

"I wasn't sure at first but now I know that I do," she said. "Do you?"

He nodded.

"So why are you crying?"

"Because – because I had a couple of tests at the hospital yesterday… and today I got the results."

"Are – what's wrong? Is something wrong with the baby?"

"No. Not wrong… but they have… they have Downs Syndrome. I just thought you should know." She explained as she stood up straight before him.

She was not going to take any pity for either of them as she was sure there little one did not need it. It might be a little different to other babies but there was nothing wrong with it.

She was going to raise and love her child just as she had raised and loved all the boys.

He nodded.

"I know this is all a lot to take in. God knows I struggled enough having the news in two parts and now I have put it all on you at once. But… but I could not keep it from you anymore."

Once more, he nodded. She hoped that meant he was glad she hadn't hid it from him anymore but she couldn't swear to it.

Suddenly, when he knew the news she felt her eyes dry up. She hadn't been crying because of the test results. She had been crying because he was not there in that room to hear the news with her… maybe, she thought to herself.

She just couldn't verbalise why she had been crying.

But all of a sudden she wasn't any more. And she was very ready to face whatever the future brought.

Whether the same could be said of Justin, she just wasn't sure.

X x x

Paige was walking through the Horton Town Square when JJ saw her for the first time since they had been at the lake. He had a back pack with him and she wondered if he had been studying somewhere. He appeared to be quite lost in his own thoughts till he saw her…

Lips healed rather quickly but still there was a mark on hers.

It was a reminder of just how much he had got wrong lately. But it did not look as if she was mad with him – which she ought to be.

"Hi, how are you?" he asked softly as he approached her.

She gave a shrug. "Ok."

"I am glad – Paige… I am so sorry. I did not mean –"

"I know you didn't," she said just as softly as he had spoken. It was clear to her all of the rage and the hate he had had in him was – not there.

Not anymore.

"Hurting you is the last thing in the world I want to do."

She nodded. She knew that too.

"How is everything at home?"

There had to be – had to be - a happy ending from all of this. There had been too much pain and suffering for it to carry on.

He gave a thin lipped smile. "We are all ok. Working things out… my dad is coming for dinner tonight with mom and Abigail and me so…" he gave a shrug.

When it had been suggested his knee jerk reaction was to say it was a bad idea but when he thought about the way he had been and then the way his dad spoke to him when they had been down by the lake…

It was hard to say no.

"That's good, JJ," she nodded. "That's really good."

"Yeah." It was.

There was a silence between the two of them and suddenly Paige was aware that it was pulling on too long.

"Well, I had better get back and have dinner with my grandpa and grandma. Night." She said as she went on her way.

"Goodnight Paige."

X X X

"Downs Syndrome?"

"Yes," Adrienne said as she as on the couch between Steve and Jack.

Since she had left the mansion she had swung by the market to pick up some food and had got back to find both of her big brothers in the apartment. Suddenly there had been no time like the present to tell him the news.

"Well – well we can deal with that…" Steve said confidently. In fact he said it with more confidence than he felt for then.

They were going to have to do some research and work out what special requirements the baby would need but – but once they knew that then they were going to be ok he was sure of it. He squeezed his sister's hand.

"I love you for saying that."

Unfairly she could not help but compare the reaction which Justin had had to the once which her brothers were providing her with.

Justin was obviously freaking out. Yet how much of that was down to the child's condition and how much of that was done to the fact as he edged past fifty there was going to be a child at all she was not sure.

"Yeah – you know we can all help out, the two of us and Jen and Kayla and the kids so – so we are going to be ok," said Jack as he held her other hand.

Adrienne nodded. She knew that suddenly. If she had had her way this would not be the way things would be happening. But she knew some time after the cookie crumbled, all you do was deal with it. You had to deal with the hand which life had given to you.

Their mother had taught them that. Jo had had to be so strong for so long and she had had to make choices which she never would have off of her own back.

And she could be her mother's daughter. She could be strong the way that her mother had been. But there was one big difference between her and her mother.

She was not and she knew she was not going to be for a minute on her own in this. She had so many people who loved her on her side and offering support. The other big difference in her life was that there was no Duke just waiting in the wings to destroy everything which she loved.

And if that was the case then they really were going to be ok.

"Listen, you need to go and have dinner with Jen and the kids so why don't you get off?" said Adrienne as she looked at Jack.

"I am sure they can do without me for another night if you need me here."

"No – no, I don't. I have Steve and there is not a lot the two of you can do for me right now outside what you have already done."

They had said they were with her, there for her and for that night that was more than enough.

"Yeah, I am going to take this one across the hall for a while so she can spend a bit of time with her niece and nephew," Steve said as he gave his sister a kiss on top of her head. "You go and spend some time with your kids, Jackson. They need you."

X x x

"Do you think Adrienne is going to be ok?" asked Jen dished up dinner for four.

It felt odd but good to be dishing out four dinners instead of three.

When Jack had got there a little late she had begun to worry he was not going to come at all. It would not be the first time he had lost his courage before something like this.

But when he had got inside, he had poured two glasses of red wine and then told her the news about their new little niece or nephew. It made sense why he had been late. She was surprised he had come at all, as she knew how close he had been with his sister since he had been home.

But he had been as good as his word.

Jack pondered that for just a moment before he nodded.

"Yes, she is going to be ok. They both are."

None of the Johnson's had had an easy time but when he looked back he knew Adrienne had it among the hardest. Yes, some terrible things had happened to him and his brother but he sincerely believed that Jo had thought she was doing the right thing when she had given them up.

As a result of that, no matter what else had gone on, for the most part, they had been kept safe from Duke which had been there mother's objective. As a result he had not been able to hurt them.

Adrienne, on the other hand, had had to live with that man her entire childhood. Jack had no doubt that their mother had tried to shield her daughter but… but in the end it had not been enough.

And so his little sister had learnt what it was to be brave very early on.

She was so strong that he had no doubt that she was going to be able to deal with this too.

It would not be her toughest challenge to date.

The two of them looked at one another with a nod for it was clear once he had said that, the thoughts which were in his head had gone over to Jen's.

Adrienne was a strong and capable women and once Justin had got his head around all the news…

Well, then they would make a start.

Just as they were themselves doing.

"Hey!" said Abi as she came in to the kitchen. She looked chilled and relaxed and very ready for their family night.

"Hello, my darling," said Jack as she came over to him and let him put her arms about her.

The two of them exchanged greetings and it was only Jen who noticed JJ when he came to the door of the kitchen. He stood there, looking in on the three of them as if he was trying to decide whether he wanted to step through and join them.

After a moment, he came into the kitchen. Jen's heart swelled.

"Hi honey, how was your day?"

Abigail and Jack's eyes were on him as soon as she asked the question. He sat down at the table almost shyly.

"Good. Dinner almost ready?" he asked trying to steer away from the amount of attention he was getting just then.

"Yeah… yeah, it is," she confirmed as she begun taking the plates over to the table with Jack's help.

Realising he was not going to achieve his goal until he acknowledge the elephant in the room, JJ turned to Jack.

"How you doing?"

Jack grinned. "Better. Much better now."

Then, together, Jack, Jennifer, Abigail and JJ sat down for their first family meal for the first time in Jen did not know how long. They talked about the weather and sport and the hospital and the wider family. The night was eventful for the very reason it passed without incident.

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