Chapter 5

Marlena makes sure Belle has everything she needs for her visit to see her father. Kelly will be there soon to pick her up. Marlena is going to miss Belle so much, she has never been away from her for more than a few hours, and these five days are going to be torture. But Belle really needs this time with her father. Marlena knows Belle is in good hands with Kelly so she has nothing to worry about. She goes to Belle's room to wake her up from her nap. Marlena wanted her rested up for the trip.

Marlena enters Belle's room and sees Belle waking up. Belle yawns and rubs her eyes and then she spots her mother.

"Mommy!"

"Hi sweet girl." Marlena reaches out for her daughter and gives her a big hug.

"Are you ready to go see your daddy? Kelly is on her way."

Belle nods.

"I see daddy!" Belle says excitedly.

Marlena smiles at her daughter as she grabs her shoes and puts them on her.

The door bell rings which means Kelly has arrived to pick up Belle.

Marlena stands up to go answer the door. Belle grabs her mother's hand.

"Let's go let Kelly in."

Marlena and Belle arrive at the front door and open it to see Kelly standing there.

"Hello, Kelly, please come in."

"Hi, Dr. Evans." Kelly says as she enters.

She spots Belle and gives her a smile.

"Hi Belle, are you ready to go see your dad?"

Belle nods.

"I need to call my driver and see if he is on his way, excuse me for a moment."

Marlena excuses herself to make the phone call as Kelly keeps Belle occupied.

A few minutes later Marlena comes back in and sees Kelly and Belle playing the Itsy Bitsy Spider.

"The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout, down came the rain and washed the spider out, out came the sun and dried up all the rain, the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again."

Belle laughs.

"Good job, Belle!" Kelly praises her.

Marlena smiles as she approaches them.

"Belle loves the Itsy Bitsy Spider; her father plays it with her all time." Marlena's voice breaks as she tries to keep from crying.

"Dr. Evans, are you okay?" Kelly asks concerned.

Marlena takes a deep breath.

"Yes, I'm fine. My driver should be here any minute to pick you up."

Kelly nods.

Belle stands up as she runs to the bathroom.

"I go potty."

Marlena and Kelly laugh.

The door bell rings which means the driver has arrived. Marlena goes to the door and greets him as Kelly waits for Belle to get done in the bathroom.

Before long Kelly and Belle are ready to go. The driver has put everything in the car and is waiting to take Kelly and Belle where they need to go.

It's time for Marlena and Belle to say their goodbyes.

Marlena squats down to Belle's level.

"You have fun with daddy and Brady and you be a good girl."

Belle nods.

"Okay, mommy."

"I will miss you so much and I love you bunches."

"I love you too, mommy."

Marlena wraps Belle in a big hug and kisses her hair with tears in her eyes.

Marlena finally lets her daughter go as Kelly takes her hand.

"Bye, mommy." Belle says as she waves at her mother with her bear clutched in her other arm.

"Goodbye, Belle." Marlena blows her a kiss as the tears flow.

Marlena goes to the window as she watches the car pull away. A fresh set of tears fall down her cheeks.

"What am I going to do for five days? How can I keep my mind off my daughter, besides work?" Marlena asks herself.

Marlena goes to the bathroom and splashes cold water on her face and in doing so she looks down and sees the picture of her, John and Belle when they went to the beach. Marlena picks it up as she begins to cry again. She remembers that day so well. They had so much fun that day. Belle just loved the water and building sand castles, she and Brady chased each other. John was having a grand time playing with the kids and spending time with them. Marlena holds the picture up to her chest as the tears flow.

"I wish it could be like that now John, the three of us together as a family. You, me, Brady and Belle, that's the way it should be. I love you so much John and I miss you terribly." Marlena says to herself as she runs her finger along John's face in the picture.

"We belong together, it's just not fair!" Marlena says as she wipes the tears from her cheeks.

She places the picture back on the sink and splashes her face with cold water again.

"I have to stop thinking about John. I have no choice, he's with Kristen now, and they are having a baby. I can't interfere with that. "

Marlena looks at herself in the mirror as she dries her face with the towel and turns off the light. She decides to catch up on some patient files. She makes herself some coffee and makes herself comfortable on the couch with the patient files. She has enough to keep her busy for a few hours.

Meanwhile in Salem…

John is giving his loft a once over to make sure it's ready for when Belle and her nanny arrive. It will be so nice to see his daughter. He has missed her so much and Marlena as well. He knows Marlena won't be with them, but it will only be a matter of time before they are all reunited as a family.

John is glad he had Caroline's help in cleaning up the loft, now that he is back to being a bachelor, he needs all the help he can get. He was happy when Caroline called him and told him that Belle would be coming today. Brady is excited to see his little sister and can't wait until she arrives. John will be waking Brady up from his nap soon so he can be awake to see his sister.

As he is checking the loft he thinks back on the other night when he woke up and thought he heard Marlena calling out for him. It felt so real, he has never felt anything like that before and because of that he is even more determined to find Marlena. He will do whatever it takes to find her and get her back. He loves her and he can't wait to tell her how he feels. He picks up a picture of him and Belle and can't help but smile. He remembers the day that picture was taken, it was Belle's birthday. What a wonderful day that was. They had so much fun; he never wanted it to end. Belle looks more and more like her mother every day, he just can't believe it. She is going to grow up to be just like her mother as well. He never thought he and Marlena would have a child and now they have a beautiful daughter, the only thing missing is the fact that they aren't together as a family. John doesn't regret that night on the plane when Belle was conceived, nor will he forget it, it hurt a lot of people. It was the most passionate night he has ever experienced in his life and his daughter is proof of that. He will spend the rest of his life making up for the pain he caused people because of that night.

The sound of his son's voice breaks him from his thoughts as he goes to check on him. Once John gets upstairs he sees his son in the middle of a bad dream. He is kicking and writhing in his sleep. He is sweaty and moaning. John works to wake him up.

"Brady, wake up."

Brady continues to be in the throes of his bad dream.

John sits him up.

"Brady, wake up."

Brady starts to come around.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, it's me. I'm here, kid. You're okay."

Brady opens his eyes and looks at his father.

John brushes the wet hair off Brady's forehead.

"You had a bad dream son."

Brady rubs his eyes as he works to wake himself up. He climbs into his father's lap.

"I love you, daddy."

"I love you too, son." John tells his son as hugs him and kisses the top of his head.

John and Brady make their way downstairs. John makes Brady some juice as he has himself a cup of coffee. They sit together on the couch and watch Cars until Belle arrives.