Texie

Belle gets ready for her bath. She contemplates herself in the mirror.

“What do you mean you want me to help you get in bed,” asks Shawn.

Phillip says, “Do you know what It’s like to ache for the woman you love? I know you’ve finally accepted our marriage. I need to hold her and kiss her again.”

“No, you cannot do that,” says Shawn.

Tec asks at the nurses’ station if Lexie is on duty. The ubiquitous Abe asks, “Why do you want to know?” Tec stares.

Lexie tells Dr. North, “You must be bleary-eyed from pouring over those files.”

“It’s part of the profession,” says Dr. North.

John comes into the room. He is back from the ends of the earth.

“I wouldn't get my hopes up,” says Dr. North.

Kate tells Roman, “Everything Sami said is true.”

“You promised me you would look after her,” says Roman.

“God knows I tried,” says Kate, “Sami hates me. She always will. I couldn’t stand the thought of what she might do to Lucas and Will. She destroyed Austin’s life. I couldn’t let her do that to Lucas. You know how cruel and conniving she can be. I had to protect them. Can you really blame me for that?”

Lucas is at Sami's door, “Can I come in for a second?”

Sami asks, “Why did you walk out?”

“I needed to think,” he says, “In AA they teach us not to react impulsively. My whole life has changed again. I had to think about what I want to do.”

“Have you decided,” asks Sami.

He asks, “Do you still have that engagement ring I gave you?”

Sami says, “Yeah.”

Lucas says, “I’m gonna have to ask you to give that back to me.”

Sami gasps.

She says, “Lucas, you said if I could prove I wasn’t lying we could be together. Why did you walk out?”

He says, “I told you, I needed time to think. I grew up without a dad. My mom was everything to me. I knew she did underhanded things to other people, but I never knew she would do it to me. It was easy to believe you were the manipulative one, not her. “

“You want your ring back because you think we don’t deserve to be together,” asks Sami.

Lexie excuses herself. John wakes Marlena, “Did you miss me?

Marlena says, “It’s hard to miss someone you don’t know. It’s also hard to miss someone who is being a total pest.”

John says, “I picked you up a few things. We honeymooned in Hawaii and they placed a lei around your neck. So I flew to Hawaii and picked one up instead of having one made at the corner flower shop. You said you loved the flowers and you said you would never take them off.” He puts it around her neck and she sneezes.”

“Well,” he says, “Here’s something you won’t sneeze at, your mother’s special macadamia nut chocolate cookies. I flew to Colorado to get them. Go ahead, try one.”

She takes a bite, “AAARRRRGGGHHHHH, ptooie.”

He tries another one, “We went to Singapore. You had a blouse made out of this fabric just to match this jade ring. Do you remember?”

Marlena throws a fit.

Abe says to Tec, “I asked you a question.”

Lexie comes up and calms him down. She asks Abe why he is there.

“I came to see how John and Marlena are doing,” he says.

“Oh,” says Lexie, “so you are visiting friends just like Tec is.”

Marlena wants John to leave.

Dr. North says, “This is much to upsetting. You must leave.”

“I am her husband,” says John.

“And I am her doctor,” says the Great One, "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me."

Dr. North convinces John to leave. He tells Marlena, “It’s OK. Listen to me. I will not let anyone hurt you. I promise.” The Great One calms her down.

Once again Belle studies her tummy in the mirror. She flashes back to one of her myriad conversations about Phillip with Shawn.

Phillip wants to know why he can’t make love to Belle.

Shawn says, “Maybe it’s not that good of an idea because she’s pregnant.”

“Her morning sickness only affects her in the morning,” says Phillip, “It may be strange for her because I only have one leg, but we night as well start now. For better or for worse. I’m asking you as our friend to help me. Can you do that?”

“Yeah,” says Shawn, “I’ll help you get up those stairs. And out the window if I can.”

Phillip decides to try it on his own. He struggles up the stairs. Of course, he falls.

Lexie wants to talk to Abe alone.

Abe says, “I don't like that guy hanging around you. Take me to see John and Marlena.”

Lexie tells him, “This isn’t a good time, Abe.”

John comes up. Lexie offers to help Abe. “I can do it on my own,” says Abe. Lexie stomps off.

Dr. North asks the nurse to remove the items from the room, “They’re very upsetting to my patient.” He goes out to talk to John. Abe butts in and John introduces him.

“Alex North,” says Abe, “That name sounds familiar. Your voice sounds familiar, too. I could swear I know you.”

“Kate,” says Roman, “Sami is Will’s mother. You had to know what this would do to them.”

Kate shows no remorse, “If Sami and Lucas got back together it would have been a disaster. If I had to do it all over again, I would.”

Roman is shocked, “You can’t mean that.”

“I do mean it,” insists Kate, “I was trying to protect my child. The question is, where do we go from here?” I imagine Roman can think of a place he’d like Kate to go.

Sami finds the engagement ring. She tells Lucas, “When you called off the wedding, I was so glad you didn’t ask for the ring back. It gave me hope we could be together.”

“I should have trusted you and trusted our love,” he says, “I can’t believe it. She’ll never change. I have to cut her out of my life. I’m through with her, Sami, forever.”

Sami asks, “But you still want the ring back?”

“Yeah, I do.” She hands it to him. She sobs.

Lucas says, “I have two questions for you. Can you forgive me for not trusting our love? If you can do that...” He takes a knee, “Will you marry me, Sami Brady?” More sobbing.

Shawn helps Phillip onto the couch. “I thought I could make it myself,” says Phillip.

Belle rushes in and asks if he is OK. Phillip tells her he wanted to surprise her upstairs. Belle wants to take him to the ER. Phillip objects. “OK,” says Belle, “I’ll call Lexie and she can come over.” They still make house calls in Salem.

Phillip says, “I wanted to be waiting in bed for you so we could BE TOGETHER again. I’ve missed that so much. Now I’ve killed the mood. I’m fine. All I need is a kiss.”

She gives him a little peck, “Are you sure you’re OK?”

As more of Phillip’s drugs kick in, Belle goes over and talks to Shawn, “You should have stopped him. You need to leave. I mean it.”

“Good night,” says Shawn. Out he goes. Quick! pack the bags and move to Timbuktu.

Tec takes the sobbing Lexie into an examining room. Lexie says, “If I try to help him I‘m being overbearing. If I leave him alone I’m ignoring him.”

Tec goes into action, “You’ve stood by him. There are limits. This doesn’t give him the right to take it out on you. You have feelings and needs. How much longer are you going to put up with this?”

“I love him,” says Lexie, “What he is doing is destroying him. It’s been so long since I had a loving touch from him.”

Tec makes his move, “I’m here for you. I love you, Lexie.” He kisses her. She drags him onto the examining couch. He examines her.

Dr. North doesn’t think he and Abe have met.

John and Dr. North talk, “There is one point in her life that has been overlooked,” says Dr. North.

“That would be...” asks John.

Dr. North says, “I’ll take care of it.”

John goes over to Abe. Abe asks, “Are you sure you trust that guy?”

“Love is about trust,” says Roman, “How can we have either if you are capable of lying to me?”

“What about the secret you kept form me,” says Kate.

“That was wrong,” says Roman, “I should have told you right away. If I could go back in time and change it, I would. That’s the difference. You have no remorse. You betrayed Sami and Lucas and you betrayed us. We’re finished Kate. It’s over!” He leaves.

“Yes, I forgive you and, yes, I will marry you,” says Sami.

Lucas slips the ring on her, “I’m gonna spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

“Lucas you’ve made me the happiest woman on the planet. I think you owe me the greatest, longest make up sex ever,” she says.

Lucas tells her, “I think we should try to break that bed again.”

Kate runs after Roman. She hears Lucas and Sami talking about making love behind the door.

Roman’s cell phone rings, “Commander Brady, this is Dr. North. Please come by the hospital ASAP. I need your help with a little experiment.”

Roman says, “I’ll be right over.” Kate watches him leave.

“Here we go,” says Dr. North, as he looks at a wallet. An article falls, “Dr. Marlena Evans joins staff at Salem hospital.”

Belle thinks. Smoke rises. She imagines candlelight and lovemaking. Phillip imagines the same thing.

Lexie and Tec do more than imagine. As they lay in the afterglow, Lexie says, “OMG! We didn’t lock the door. I'm a married woman. If someone catches us my reputation will be ruined.”

Tec asks, “Why are you worried about Abe? He’s not worried about you. It’s time you leave Abe.”

“No,” says Lexie, “We have a son.”

Tec says, “What kind of message is this sending Theo? Two unhappy people staying together. I love you. I don’t want to sneak around any more. You deserve a world of happiness and that can never happen with Abe. It can happen with me.”

The nurse leads Abe. He thanks her.

Shawn touches the initials on the roof, “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.” Belle comes out.

John/Roman tells Alex/Roman, “I realize you are the expert but I don't see you doing anything to help Marlena. I need to know how you will jog her memory.”

“Through me,” says Chris/Roman, “I’ll help.”

“The hell you will,” says John/Roman.

“This is a dream, right,” says Shawn, “You couldn’t stay with him could you? If he got to the bed you couldn’t sleep with him because you’d be thinking of me the entire time.” He kisses her.

Scenes of flesh and bodies. Phillip tells Belle she is his whole life. Belle disappears. Phillip wakes up and yells, “Belle, honey, where are you?” She yells back, “On the roof, sweetheart, throwing myself at Shawn.”


Tec wants just one more kiss. NOW Lexie decides it’s wrong, “This can never happen again.” They rush out and bump into Abe. Lexie says she was with a patient. He wants her to drive him home. She says there is an emergency.

Abe tells her, “You sound rattled.”

“If you can wait, I can take you later,” she says.

“No,” says Abe, “I will find my own way.”

Lexie says, “I gotta go.”

“Yeah,” says Abe, “...to be with a patient.” Tec sneaks out behind him.

“That was the most incredible make up sex ever,” says Lucas.

Sami says, “I can’t believe we are back together. Will will be so happy.”

Lucas asks, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Everything is perfect. I can’t get over how perfect our life is now,” she says.

“It’s not perfect,” says Lucas, “We haven’t broken the bed.” They proceed to break the bed. “Mission accomplished,” says Lucas.

“Dear God,” says Kate, “Could my life be any worse?”

John/Roman tells Chris/Roman to stay away from Marlena. They start to go at each other, but Alex/Roman breaks them up. He asks both of them to come with him. They stand by Marlena’s bed. Marlena hears voices, “Marlena-Doc-Marlena-Doc.”

She wakes up. Marlena looks up at the men standing beside her bed. She turns to her right and sees Roman Brady; in front of her is John Black; to her left, Dr. Alex North. She collects her thoughts for a moment and thinks, “It’s true. All rogues lead to Roman.”

“I remember you,” says Marlena. FF on Alex/Roman.


Previews
========

Phillip asks Mimi, “You’re trying to tell me there’s something going on between Belle and Shawn I don't already know about?”

Belle tells Shawn, “After tonight, I think it’s better if we don't see each other again.”

Roman says, “When I look at you now, Kate, I almost feel sick.”

Sami tells Lucas, “You’d better not be thinking what I think you’re thinking.” Lucas says, “I think I’m thinking the same thing you’re thinking.” Whipped cream.