Stephanie’s condition was getting worse by the moment. Craig rushed her into emergency surgery two hours ago. The entire Brady family was either outside the surgical room waiting for news or inside the chapel praying that Stephanie will be ok. Kayla was alone in the chapel praying to God for help in her time of need. She knelt on a pew looking up at a picture of Jesus.
Kayla- Oh God, please help me. Why is this happening to me? I just finally, finally get my life in order, my husband comes back to me, and now this. I can’t take it, I will do anything to change this, anything... I would give my life for my little girl. I gave birth to her, I saw her come into this world and I will not see her go out of it. It was not suppose to be like this. Maybe the sayings right “ You can’t have your cake and eat it too”!!! I can’t have Steve and be happy too, is that what your saying... When I thought I lost Steve years ago, I thought I would never, never get over it. The one and only thing that got me thought it was her, my little precious daughter. But now I get Steve back and she’s gone. If you won’t do it for me, do it for them. Steve and Stephanie have never had any relationship of any kind, she was just little when he died, and now this happens just before they were getting close... Today was the first day of the new beginning for us, for me, for her, for Steve. I don’t know why anything bad happens to good people at all, but I guess it hurts and makes you wonder more when it happens to someone close to you. I hope your listening to me, I need your help, save my little girl. Please, please save my little girl if you can do anything, save her, please.
Kayla dropped her head in a moment of sadness. She couldn’t take it any longer. She started to cry unbearably. Kim was walking up the hall and heard someone crying in the chapel. She walked in and saw Kayla crying her heart out of her chest. Kim ran over to her sister and sat beside her and held her as she cried. Kim looked up to the picture of Jesus on the wall of the chapel.
Kim- God, please don’t let her die, please!!!
Kim held her sister as they started to pray the lords prayer.
******
Hope, Bo, Caroline and Shawn all sat in the waiting room waiting to hear any news of Stephanie’s condition. Caroline and Hope shared tears about Stephanie and smiles about the news of her pregnancy. Shawn was pacing the floor as Bo went to get them all some coffee. Caroline could not take Shawn’s pacing the floor anymore.
Caroline- It won’t help if you rip a hole in the floor.
Shawn- What do you want me to do, Caroline? Sit there and think about how my grandchild will probably never be right again or never walk again or, God help us, die. I can’t do it, I’m older, I have lived a whole entire life. They always say your children should never die before you, what about your, damn grandchildren. Caroline, I hate this, I helpless, I would give my life for that little girl in there.
Caroline- I know, so would the rest of us, Shawn. Just clam down, love. It will be all right in the end. God will look out for Stephanie and all of us. What does not kill us makes us stronger, and we all know how strong us Brady’s are. If death wants to come to claim Stephanie, he will have a fight that is near to impossible to win... That little girl in there is stronger than any of us, she’s younger and has her entire life ahead of her.
Hope and Shawn hugged Caroline as she finished her words of encouragement. They sat in the chairs hand-in-hand praying for a miracle. The Brady’s prayed for little Stephanie who was on the operating table fighting for her life and she would need all the help she could get from her family as she flatlined.
******
Marlena fell to the ground in shock of seeing John again. Rolfe and Bart helped her up as she continually staired at John’s body. Stefano picked up the gun she had and put it in his vest as her walked to John’s body and tapped him with his foot. John’s body let out a whimper of life.
Stefano- Now how could I be punished for a death, when their was not a death.
Marlena- No, no... No way, Stefano. This a sick, sick trick. I won’t believe it, I saw you kill him. I saw you do it, with my own eyes. There was no mirror’s, no camera’s, hell there was other witnesses. This is a trick.
Rolfe- But what if the person you saw die, was not John Black?
Marlena- What?
Stefano- Marlena, yes, you did see someone die, but not John. Years ago I knew John was going to be use to me in the future. So I put out a want ad for someone fitting his description to come in. I got someone that was very close to John’s appearance. After a few years of training, a little plastic surgery, and some brainwashing, it was complete, John Black 2!
Marlena- No way, can’t be.
Stefano- But it is, between the time he arrived and you saw, what you saw in the living room at Masion Blanche, I switched John with the other John.
Marlena- What about the lab reports?
Stefano- What can I say? $20,000 makes a young, dumb lab student feel like the king of the world. I switched the reports and you got the one I wanted you to get.
Marlena- This doesn’t make sense.
Stefano- What do you want me to say? I just brought back the one man you loved with all your heart back to life.
Marlena staired at John’s body as she walked over to Stefano. Without warning she slapped him across the face. She then went on to beating him with her fists. Bart and Rolfe pulled her off as Stefano backed off. Stefano whipped the blood from his mouth and smiled at Marlena who was glaring at him.
Marlena- It’s starting to make sense to me now. You switched the bodies and reports. When John, the other man looked at me in the room he had a look I have never seen before from him. That image stuck in my head for weeks.
Marlena bent down to John’s body and touched him. She felt his beaten and swollen back as he called her name.
John- Doc....
Marlena jumped back and tears instantly ran down her face at the sound of his voice. She started to shake and cry as she staired at John’s body. His back full of whip marks and hand prints. He was wearing black running shoes, a pair of work pants that were ripped at the knee’s and no shirt. His body was sore with pain, anger and revenge flowing through his mind. John knew what Stefano had done and that Marlena had just found out.
John- It’s true, Doc.... Its me... Stefano did it all, all of it.
Tears ran from her face as she fell to the ground beside John’s body. She held his head and cried in happiness. She thought that she would never see him again and she was wrong, dead wrong.
******
A woman, her hands clutched to a file. One of her hands had a deep scar on it. She walked out into the bright sunshine. She breathed in a gust of fresh air and blow it out. She watched the children across the street play together and she smiled. A man came up to her and asked her a question.
Woman- Yes, yes I’m ready. It’s time I return to Salem and reclaim my life and my one true love.
She held her chest and the file in extreme excitement of returning to her home, Salem. She was finally ready to go home, not knowing that both her and the town had changed. Neither her nor the town was ready for her to blow back into town and when she does, truly every single mouth will drop at the sight of her.
---The End---
Chapter 48
Return to Main Page
