"Doc, don't say another word." Roman said reaching out and grabbing her hand. "I need to talk to you first."
"Roman I think that it's important that you hear what I have to say." she began frustrated.
"No Doc!! I need to talk first. Please hear me out." he begged looking at her.
"Alright." she said softening as she felt pity for him. "Go on."
"Doc, I realize that I made a mistake and I've decided that if I will ever be able have a chance with you again, that I need to start over." he explained to her with tears in his eyes. "I think that we have to take the time to get to know each other again."
"Roman?" she asked confused.
"Doc, I know that I messed up terribly and I want you to just try to forget what happened and try to hear me out." he explained to her. "I just want another chance so that I can prove to you how much I love you."
"Roman, I think that we should talk..." she began again.
"Doc," he said sitting up to look at her. "look I know that the timing is off with Christmas and all, but I just think it would be better if I spent the next couple of days pulling myself together so that we can talk to each other about everything that has happened between us. I promise that I'll come back from the hospital as a new man with a clear head. I don't think that I will be able to go on if you don't give me another chance Doc. I need you to help me regain my strength."
"Alright." she agreed feeling guilt about his relapse.
"Thank you Doc." he said pulling her towards him and sneaking in a kiss. "I love you and I want to see to it that we can try to work things out. I know that I can make you happy when I get out of here tomorrow."
"Promise me John that when Christmas is over, you and Marlena will tell Roman the truth." Caroline urged him.
"I'll see what I can do." John replied giving her a hug. "If Mike says that Roman is up to it, then Doc and I will be honest with him."
"Thank you." she said straightening herself up. "I think that I'm going to check on Shawn, Belle, and Brady."
"Thank you so much Caroline." John said hugging her again. "You've always been like a mother to me."
"I love you John." she said smiling as she walked back into the hospital.
John walked over to the edge of the balcony and thought about the mornings turn of events. He realized that Eric had disappeared shortly after they arrived at the hospital and he decided that he should check on him to see if he was alright.
"Hi John," a voice called out interrupting his thoughts.
"Kristen, what are you doing out here?" John asked realizing that she had joined him.
"It's a free country isn't it?" she asked moving to his side.
"What do you want?" he asked glaring at her.
"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay while your precious Doc was inside with her beloved Roman." Kristen explained looking him over.
"Give it a rest." John snapped at her. "Don't you think that you could just quit being such a miserable person for just one day. It's Christmas for God's sake woman."
"John," she said looking into his eyes, "I don't mean to be the messenger of bad news, but I need to talk to you about Roman."
"Save it." he said walking past her on the balcony.
"Fine, then you won't hear what he had to say before he passed out on the pier." she called out to him.
"What is your deal Kristen?" he asked turning to face her.
"He vowed to get Marlena back again at any cost." Kristen informed him. "He said that he loves her and that life without her would destroy him John. Right after he said those words he passed out John. Doesn't that tell you something? You can't hurt the poor man by telling him the truth now."
"Kristen, I'll do what I have to do." John informed her.
"Mike," Carrie called out to him.
"Yes Carrie?" he asked looking up from his paper work.
"I just wanted to thank you for saving my father's life again." she smiled giving him a hug.
"You know Carrie," Mike began reviewing Roman's charts as Marlena walked out of his room, "I can't figure it out, but Roman's health seems to have taken a turn for the worse."
"I thought that you said he was out of trouble Mike." Marlena interrupted not liking what she heard.
"I thought so too Marlena, but it appears that he is still going to be very weak for a while." Mike explained to her. "Any stress right now may send him over the edge mentally and physically."
"Does that mean that John and I will have to wait even longer now to tell him the truth?" Marlena asked concerned about the future.
"I'm afraid so." Mike replied sadly. "Until we give the antibiotics a chance to run through his system completely, we won't be able to determine anything."
"Mike I thought that my dad was getting stronger." Carrie added sadly.
"He just needs time." Mike explained to the two of them. "Give it about a week and if the test results come back alright, then we'll discuss the issue further."
"Thank you for everything Mike." Marlena sighed leaving him alone with Carrie while she moved back to the balcony with John.
Marlena moved out onto the balcony to find Kristen in conversation with John. She could see that John was getting upset with what Kristen was saying to him. She could feel her own temperature rising as she stepped out onto the balcony.
"What Doc and I do is none of your business Kristen." he snapped at her. "As soon as Mike gives us the okay we are going to go in there and tell Roman the truth and there is nothing that you can do about it."
"Come on John. Do you honestly think that Marlena is going to tell Roman the truth? She is having too much fun playing with both yours and Roman's emotions. Besides we both know that she's falling in love with Roman again." Kristen insisted tugging on his arm.
"Get your hands off of him you bitch." Marlena declared stepping towards John.
"Marlena," Kristen said turning to face her.
"Get out of here Kristen." Marlena ordered her. "You've done enough today."
"Why Doc, shouldn't you be thanking me for saving Roman's life?" Kristen asked not letting go of John.
"You've done enough to harm my family already Kristen." Marlena glared at her. "For all I know you could've been behind Roman's relapse."
"Please Doc." Kristen said as John shook free from her. "Don't give me credit for what you do. You and I both know that you caused the relapse by kicking Roman out last night."
"Why you..." Marlena began jumping at Kristen as John held her back.
"Get out of here Kristen." John ordered tightening his grip on Marlena.
"Goodbye John." Kristen smiled walking towards the door. "Oh and by the way, Merry Christmas Doc."
"Oh you..." Marlena began tensing up as Kristen walked back inside.
"Just ignore her Doc." John said still holding her. "She's just trying to get you worked up. She isn't worth it."
"John, I hate that woman." Marlena announced as he released her. "She has caused nothing but trouble for all of us for so long."
"Forget about her. How's Roman doing?" John asked touching her face.
"Worse John." Marlena said with tears in her eyes. "Mike said that Roman's health has taken an unexpected turn for the worse. He looked so fragile when I talked to him earlier. John, he asked me for a second chance."
"And you told him yes?" John questioned already knowing the answer.
"He looked so pitiful and he told me that he would die if I didn't give him another chance. I couldn't risk killing him." she said as tears fell faster. "I'm so sorry."
"So we're back to square one." John said trying not to let his frustration show. "We're back to keeping our relationship a secret."
"Just until he gets better." Marlena explained knowing that it was hurting him. "I didn't mean for this to happen."
"I know that." John said wrapping his arms around her. "It was just chance that Roman had his relapse. No one is to blame."
"Now what are we going to do John?" she asked looking into his blue eyes. "I can't stand being away from you."
"Doc, why don't we take the kids home and finish celebrating our Christmas together?" John asked softly kissing her lips. "We can make the most of the night that we have together before Roman gets home."
"I love you so much." she said pulling him towards her for a strong embrace as she feared that it would be one of the last moments that they shared for a while.
"Here's your medication Mr. Brady." a nurse said handing him a pill.
"Thank you." Roman said putting the pill in his mouth as Kristen walked into the room. "Kristen, how are you doing?"
"Fine Roman." she said as the nurse walked out of the room. "How did it go with Marlena?"
"Perfect Kristen." Roman explained with a grin on his face. "She agreed to give me another chance."
"I knew that she would." Kristen smiled giving him a hug. "I just knew that everything was going to go as planned."
"I can't believe that it's going so well." Roman agreed spitting the pill out and hugging her back. "That pill you gave me earlier did the trick. The test results said that my health has taken a turn for the worse. How did you manage that?"
"You see Roman." Kristen smiled pulling a bottle of pills out of her purse. "I have my own ways of dealing with things. My friend gave me these when I explained the situation to her."
"Thank God for your friend." Roman said taking the bottle from her hand. "Your positive that the only thing these pills will do is change the results of the blood tests?"
"Certainly Roman." Kristen grinned happy that she was going to be able to keep John and Marlena apart again. "They are harmless to you. All they will do is react with the chemicals involved in the blood tests."
"Good." Roman grinned thinking about his second chance with Marlena. "I hate deceiving Doc, but I know that if I hadn't had this "attack" today that she would've never forgiven me."
"Don't worry Roman." Kristen assured him. "Soon you and Marlena will be happily married again and I will be happy with John once more."
To Chapter 19
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