(The scene takes place at the Penthouse. John is laying in the living room sick on the couch while Marlena is in the kitchen dumping the contents of a can of soup into a bowl and putting it in the microwave. We hear John moaning softly from the living room as the microwave goes off and Marlena takes the hot soup out. She stops and listens to for a second as John's cries for her to return to him.)
"Doc, honey?" John calls out to her weakly from the living room.
"Just a second John. The soup is almost done." she replies as she picks up the tray that she has put his food on.
"But Doc....." John whines gripping onto his blanket.
"How's my baby?" Marlena asks carrying the tray out and coming over to his side.
"I'm dying." John replies in agony.
"Let's see if you still have a fever." Marlena suggests picking up the thermometer and sticking it in his mouth.
"Doc, I'm so sick." John continues with the thermometer in his mouth.
"You'll be okay." she insists placing the thermometer back in his mouth once more.
"I don't think so. I may die." John mutters as she takes the thermometer out of his mouth and she sees that his temperature has gone down a little bit, but it was still high.
"You're going to get all better, now why don't you try to eat some soup?" she suggest bringing the tray over to him.
"I don't want any soup," John begins pushing the tray away, "I just want you to lay down with me."
"John.........." Marlena begins looking at the clock knowing that she has a big appointment today at work. She realizes that she doesn't want to be late meeting with her patient, but she realizes that John looks so pitiful.
"You're going to work?" John asks looking up at her with his sad blue eyes. "Do you have to?"
"John.........I.......I... " Marlena sighs glancing at the clock once more, "I'll be right back."
"Doc, please, "John moans reaching for her as she begin to walk back into the kitchen.
"I'll be right back." she repeats with looking back at him.
"Well, if you have to........" he begins giving her the look of utter despair.
(Marlena looks him over and a smile creeps onto her lips as she watches him put the drama on full force. She knows that she shouldn't laugh, but she realizes that it's funny to watch him.)
"Oh..oh....woe is me..." John begins wrapping his arms around his stomach as the phone rings and he watches Marlena answer it. "Who is it doc? Tell them i may die, maybe they'll stay with me."
"It's my secretary." she mouths looking him over and she laughs while he watches her nod as she continues to talk on the phone.
"John..........." she begins as she hangs up the phone.
"I guess you have to go now." he sighs pouting once more.
"Actually..." starts again as the phone rings again. "Hold on."
" No Doc......don't get it." he calls out as she picks up the phone.
"Hello..........Abe........" she says smiling at John. "Yes.............he thinks he's dying over here.
"Ugh," John moans as Marlena laughs and winks at him.
"Abe, i'm not sure if he's going to make it." Marlena says seriously. "I see abe.........no I don't think that he's caught that rare jungle disease that is going around Salem."
"Oh no Doc, that's it." John insists looking worried and as he starts to clench his stomach tighter. "Doc you better come quick! This could be it!"
"What?" Marlena says into the phone as she tries to ignore John. "You want to stay with him Abe, but he's so miserable............oh i see. That's okay."
"Doc, doc. Come on honey." John called out weakly trying to sit up as he stretched his arms out towards her.
"I'd better let you go before my big baby over here collapses and meets his maker while I'm talking to you Abe." Marlena insisted hanging up the phone and walking towards him. "Now John.......Abe said that he'd come over to see you while I was at work."
"I don't want abe honey, I want you to stay with me." John insisted flashing a weak smile at her.
"But Abe is your best friend..........wouldn't you want to spend your last moments on earth with your best friend? He was talking about bringing Father Francis with him so that they could give you your last rights while they were here." she whispers leaning down next to him on the couch and feeling his head.
"Good idea." John replied changing his tone. "I need Father Francis."
"Good. It's settled. They will be here in about 20 minutes then." she smiled kissing his nose playfully. "I'd better get ready for work."
"Fine go, be that way." John shrugged watching her walk away. "Leave me in my time of need."
"Okay.........i will. she responded walking over to the stairs with a smile on her face as her back is turned to him.
"Doc????"
"Yes John?" she questions as she turns to face him seriously.
"If i'm gone when you get back.........well, i just want you to know i love you."
"John.........I don't think that you realize how important it is that i spend time with my patient today." she explains as she walks over to him.
"Well then i want to be a patient." he pouts looking at her. "You are a doctor aren't you?"
"Listen John," she begins standing next to him. "My patient is having big problems........".
"No, no don't explain I understand." he replies pulling the blanket over him.
"You see......" she explains leaning down next to him. "my patient has major delusions. He thinks that he's going to die if his wife doesn't stay home from work to be with him."
"I'm gonna go to sleep." John mutters from under the cover.
"John?" she begins as she tugs on his blanket. "Are you really dying?"
"Huh?"
"You know I'd hate the thought of you dying while I'm gone." she whispers touching his face softly.
"Would you now?" John questions as his face lights up.
"Of course. How would it look at your funeral?" she asked smiling at him. "I could see the headlines would read something like......"
"Poor lonely man dies without his wife." he suggested looking at her. "It will be so pathetic Doc."
"I'd look like a terrible wife, but I guess that it's a risk that you have to take being in my profession. " she admits sitting next to him.
"I'll just stay here and moan." he replies sadly as she leans down to touch his face once more.
"You know," she begins as he reaches up and kisses her leaving her surprised. "John, you do seem to be burning up........"
"It's even hotter under this blanket," he informed her with a grin.
"Oh, I'll bet," she says touching his hair softly as she leans in for a kiss, "You know.........i'd be a terrible doctor if I neglected my patients. I just noticed that you're doing pretty good for a man that was dying 5 minutes ago?"
"You're giving me strength Doc. I'd surely die without you by my side." he explains reaching for her once more. "You see doc, you made me all better."
"I see..........but what about my patient?"
"He needs some TLC I think," John whispers as he manages to pull her under the blanket with him.
"I might be able to help him with that." she whispers as the two embrace. "I have some orders for you."
"Are they doctor's orders?" he asks eagerly.
"A man in your fragile condition can only do one thing........"
"I think I know what that may be Doc." he whispers gently nibbling on her ear.
"Oh, now do you?" she asks playing with him.
"You know Doc?" he whispers eagerly letting his lips move along her neck.
"Do I?" she laughs gazing into his blue eyes.
"Actually, "John began looking back at her, "I think I need a nap. Maybe you should go to work after all and send Abe on over."
"Good idea. He should be here soon." she agrees as she begins to sit up and tries to act like she doesn't want to stay.
"Great, we can play scrabble. I can think of a few words already." John insisted relaxing once more.
"Oh yeah?
"Disappointment........abandonment......" he goes on letting each word sink into her mind ".......sexy."
"Hmmm...........that's an interesting choice." she replies intrigued as she sits next to him once more.
"I call 'em as i see 'em." he explains to her seriously.
"Really..........well........." she says wanting to hear more.
"But you have to go and i have a "play" date with Abe." he insists sliding away from her.
"But i just thought of a word for you." she insisted.
"Really?"
"Yeah.............it's on the tip of my tongue..." she begins scratching her head.
"How about 'canceled' ?" he suggests.
"I remember now. Here's a good word for you 'strawberries'. "she laughs looking at him. "That sounds good, huh?"
"Yes it does, but i'd really rather skip that part today. I don't feel so good remember." he reminded her as he reached for her once more.
"Too bad i have to work." she smiled looking at him. "You know it's hard to remember that you're dying when you're so eager to keep me here with you. In fact, you look like you're feeling much better."
"Well...I am very ill Doc........" he trailed off touching her arm.
"That's too bad..........you really should rest..........a day with Abe will do you good." she says looking at his perfect lips.
"I can't do it any longer Doc! You HAVE to stay!" he insists reaching for her.
"I think that i may be able to work things out..." she explains kissing him "...if you need me that much."
"Oh i do, i really do." he insisted as his face lit up.
"I wouldn't want to be responsible for your pain and suffering." she replies looking at him again.
"You'd feel so guilty." he agreed as she placed feathery kissed on his face.
"Poor abe would be so disappointed though. I'm sure he wanted to spend quality time with you." she insisted.
"I'm sure he'll understand. Plus, he's tired of being my best man all of the time." John insisted wrapping his arms around her. "He needs a break."
"And what about my patient?"
"I think you're going to lose this patient soon." he declared touching her face.
"Well, then i better act fast." she says leaning down to give him a long sensuous kiss. "How was that?"
"I think we need a second opinion." John replies touching his lips. "Can you try that again?"
"Well, I'd better listen to what my patient wants......i don't want to lose this patient." she insists pressing her mouth to his.
"I think that I need some intensive care." he announced when they finally parted.
"Absolutely...........you're in need of some serious medical help." she agreed.
"What do you suggest?" he asked letting his fingers linger along the neck line of her shirt.
"You know I feel a case of the chills coming on and since you have a fever.........." she began eagerly.
"I think we need to take this upstairs. I really should be in bed." John informed her with a smile.
"That's right............bed rest would be the best thing. In fact, in my professional opinion you should be spending the rest of the day in bed."
"Not alone that would be torture." he insists as she helps him off of the couch.
"You'll need 24 hour care today." she explains as she leads him up the stairs. "I'll have to see that you're treated properly."
(They're now in bed starting to get lost in each other as the doorbell rings .)
"John?" she questioned moving away from him as she wonders who is at the door.
"Oh no doc, that must be Father Francis. Tell him i've died and gone to heaven." he breathed reaching out for her once more. "Better yet, let them figure it out."
"Good idea. John?" she decides ready to return his kisses when she sees him sleeping. "Oh my love, you really did try."
Marlena covers him up and snuggles in bed next to him. She watches him roll over and she smiles watching him finally at rest. She sighs as she turns off the lamp in the bedroom.
"Well, I can't leave him now." Marlena thought out loud to herself. "I never got to tell him that my patient canceled. Oh well, I think he'll get the idea."
"Doc, you didn't leave," John grinned wide awake as her rolled over to look at her.
"I'll be right here by your side as long as you need me baby." she insisted holding his hand.
"Oh I need you alright." he insisted pulling her down to him.
"Hey, that was a dirty trick." she protests realizing that he was pretending to sleep.
"Can you ever forgive me?" he asked as he leaned over her.
"You'll have to make it up to me." she informs him. "You'll have to spend hours making it up to me."
"Can I start right now?" he asks eagerly.
"I think that you'd better do just that." she insisted as they kiss and the credits roll.
Alone at the Penthouse~~by Destiny
Marlena opened her eyes and looked up at her computer monitor. She watched as the geometric shapes before her on the screen saver danced across the screen. She yawned and sat up straighter as she realized that she must've drifted off to sleep while looking up information on memory restoration techniques. She stretched her arms out and glanced over at the clock on the wall. She realized that it was getting late and she decided to that she was going to give up for the evening. She clicked her mouse and glanced at the document once more that she had been reading.
"Everything here is too vague." she sighed in frustration as she turned off her computer and stood up to stretch out her feet. She decided that she must've been sleeping in that chair too long as she glanced over at the clock once more and wondered if John and Hope had gotten caught up in talking about their missing pasts.
Marlena realized how awful it must've been for John and Hope to lose parts of their lives because of Stefano's manipulations. She thought of the years when Stefano had held her captive on the island, and she realized that she was fortunate that she was in a coma. She could only imagine the pain and frustration that John and Hope were carrying around knowing that parts of their histories of day to day activities were taken from them.
Marlena looked around the quiet living room and noticed remains of a few toys were still scattered around the floor as she thought of the afternoon that she and John had spent playing games with the children after they had returned home. She thought of how their small faces had lit up to have their parents home at last from New Orleans. She leaned down and picked up a toy bunny that John had given Belle. She raised it in the air and realized that the bunny still had John's scent on it. She smiled as she took another sniff of the toy.
"To be a family again." Marlena sighed thinking about how wonderful it was to be free to be happy with the man she loved and her children.
"Doc, I didn't think that you'd still be awake." John's voice called out as she heard the penthouse door open.
"I waited up for you." she explained with a smile turning around to face him. She realized that he was drenched from head to toe. "What happened to you?"
"Marlena, it's pouring out there." he explained pointing at the large windows as thunder crackled outside. "How could you not see that?"
"Oh, I guess that I must've fallen asleep at the computer for a while when I was looking up some information to help you discover your missing years." she confessed with a grin. "I'm awake now though."
"I can see that." he smiled looking intensely at her.
"What?" she questioned puzzled by the look her was giving her.
"My doctor," he began moving over towards her, "You would do everything you possibly could to help me discover my missing years."
"Of course I would. I love you." she replied eagerly.
"Well Doc, what do you say you come over here? I can think of a couple of other things that you can do to make me feel better." he suggested pulling her towards him.
"Not so fast." she warned putting her index finger against his sopping wet shirt. "You're soaked."
"Well, you would be too if you walked a mile in the rain. I was on the way home from Alice's house and the Jeep broke down in front of the police station." John explained as she disappeared into the bathroom to get him a towel. "I figure that I'll just call a tow truck in the morning."
"Why didn't you call a cab or something?" she questioned handing him a towel. "You know, I would've picked you up if you would've called."
"Nah, a walk in the rain wasn't going to kill me." he replied after he had finished drying off his hair. "Besides, I needed the time to digest everything that has been happening lately."
"How did it go with Hope?" she asked curiously as he handed her the towel.
"It went okay considering the circumstances," John began watching her throw the towel into the laundry bin, "but you know, I really don't want to focus on Hope right now."
"What would you like to focus on then?" she asked seductively coming over to him.
"Well, I was thinking about lighting up a fire and getting out of these wet clothes." he explained eyeing her as a smile spread across his lips.
"I think that I can help you with that." she replied placing her hands underneath the top of his jeans and grabbing a hold of his damp shirt that was tucked inside. She pulled the shirt out of his pants and held the fabric in her hands for a brief moment before she pulled the shirt over John's head to reveal his bare flesh. She began to run her fingers against his muscular chest as a smile crossed her lips. "How's that feel?"
"Much better." John replied pulling her body against his and bringing her lips up to meet his in a hot firey kiss. Marlena began to feel herself warming up against his body as she soon became unaware of the damp material in between them. She could feel herself starting to melt into his strong, muscular body with each movement of his mouth against her own.
"How was that baby?" John questioned breaking off their kiss.
"That was incredible." Marlena gasped eagerly wanting him to take her completely.
"There's more where that came from." John replied placing one of his hands around the back of her neck as he brought her mouth to his once more. With his free hand, he began to run his fingers along the curve of her back.
"John....." she breathed as he began to devour her neck intensely.
"Yes Doc?" he questioned in between planting kisses on her.
"We have a problem." she explained pulling his face up to hers.
"What's that?" he questioned looking into her bright eyes.
"I'm soaked now too." she said pretending to be pouting because of the predicament that she had gotten herself into.
"I guess that we'll just have to fix that." John replied in delight as he began to fumble with the buttons on her night shirt. He helped her slip out of her shirt as she eagerly unbuttoned his jeans. "Now how do you feel?"
"Like taking you in my arms and never letting go." Marlena explained as she slowly unzipped his pants. "Now what happened to that fire you wanted to have?"
"I think that I can take care of that." he replied sweeping her up in his arms and carrying her over to the fireplace. He gently laid her down in front of the warm on the plush carpeting. "What do you say we heat things up?"
"I love you so much." she whispered as he positioned himself above her.
"I love you too Doc." he breathed lowering himself down to love her completely.
John opened the front door to the penthouse and started to shake off the excess water that was on his umbrella. He couldn't believe how bad it had started to pour since he had left Alice's house. Even though he had only walked from the Jeep to the Penthouse, he was completely drenched.
"Doc, are you awake?" John called out stepping inside the doorway. "I saw the lights on when I was coming home and I figured that the storm had kept you up."
John stopped dead in his tracks as he noticed that Marlena was sleeping at her desk in front of her computer. He quietly shut the door and watched her beautiful figure slumped over in front of the monitor. He noticed that she was up to her eyeballs in paperwork as her eyes fluttered gently. He looked on the computer screen and saw what she was looking up.
"Oh Doc, what would I do without you?" he asked realizing how fortunate he was to have the love of such a wonderful woman. "I'm the luckiest man in the world to have you to help me through everything."
"Oh John," she moaned catching him off guard as he stood above her.
"Doc?" He questioned realizing that she was still sleeping. He watched as a smile slowly crept across her face. "I wonder what you're dreaming about."
"I want you to take me now John." she breathed turning her head slightly against the table top. "Make love to me."
"Why Marlena, you naughty girl!" John chuckled as he began to rub her soft hair. He realized that if she had been sleeping in that position long, that she would be very uncomfortable when she awakened. John positioned himself and leaned down to take her in his arms. He was afraid that he was going to awaken her, but she remained sound asleep as he carried her upstairs to their bedroom.
John carefully set Marlena into the warm bed and began to strip out of his wet clothing. He slipped into bed next to her and within a matter of seconds, she had managed to nestle up against him. He could feel the warmth of her sleeping body against his as he was filled with sheer happiness knowing that he was going to be able to spend many more nights with this wonderful woman at his side.
"I love you Marlena," he whispered kissing the top of her head and looking down at her as she wrapped her arms around his chest.
"I love you too John." she breathed opening her eyelids for a brief second before she drifted off into her slumber again. She snuggled against his chest and once again John thanked God for the precious gift he had been given.
THE ENDLinks
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