Chapter 13 - Awakenings

John sits down in a chair next to Marlena's bed. He takes her hand in his and gives it a gentle kiss. Tears start to well up in his eyes. "Doc, can you hear me? Come on baby you have to wake up. Doc, open your eyes. Do you remember the last time you did this to me? I had to wait six long weeks for you to wake up. I'm not going through that hell again Doc. Do you hear me? I can't live without you. I've tried it. I'm just no good at it. I've waited ten long years to be with you and I don't want to wait one minute longer. Please open your eyes Doc. If you think that by staying asleep you're going to get out of a lecture you're sadly mistaken lady. You shouldn't have gone to that warehouse alone. What were you thinking? You know what, I don't care what you were thinking. I just want you to open your eyes Doc!" There's a knock at the door. Jesse peeks her head into the room. "Is it all right if we come in?" John wipes the tears from his eyes. "Sure come on in guys. Marlena, Jesse and Eric are going to talk to you while I'm gone. I'm going to get a surprise for you. Now I want you to be awake when I come back. Do you hear me? I love you Doc!" John kisses Marlena on her forehead before he leaves.

Jesse sits in a chair next to the bed and she takes Marlena's hand. "Marlena, it's Jesse. You gave us quite a scare. I told you not to go to that warehouse alone. Did you listen to me? I should have stopped you or gone with you. I feel so guilty. I guess I get that from you huh. Come on Marlena. Wake up. We all need you so much." "Mom please come back to us." Marlena's eyelids begin to flutter. "Marlena? Eric, I think she's waking up. Go get Mike!" Eric runs out the door. "Jesse?" "I'm here Marlena." "How's Belle?" "She's fine. She's back at the mansion." "How about my baby?" "Your babies are fine." "My BABIES?" "Yes, you're having twins again." "Oh man. Where's John?" "He's out getting a surprise for you." "Are Sami, Megan, or Eric here?" "Eric went to get Mike. Megan's at the mansion getting to know her baby sister and brother." "Is she my daughter?" "Yes, the DNA tests are in and Megan is your daughter." "That's wonderful. Where's Sami?" "Sami's at the mansion with Roman since he refused to come to the hospital." Jesse can see that Marlena's hurt that Sami didn't come to the hospital at all. "Roman, how's Roman? Is Roman getting better?" "I don't really know. I was here the entire night."

Mike and Eric enter the room. "How are you feeling Marlena?" "I'm a little groggy and my shoulder's throbbing." "Okay, I would like to examine you. Could you two wait outside until I'm done?" "We'll be right outside if you need us Marlena." "Jesse could you possibly bring the kids in for a visit?" "Mike, would that be all right?" "I think we could bend the rules just this one time." "I'll go back to the mansion and bring the kids to you." "Thank you Jesse." Jesse walks over to Marlena and kisses her on the forehead. "I'll be right back." "Okay." "Mom, I'll be outside waiting. Mike please let me know when you're done." "I will." Jesse and Eric leave the room. "Thank you Mike." Mike starts to examine Marlena. "Mike, how's Roman?" "His condition is improving. It's going very slowly but the infection seems to be subsiding."

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Jesse enters the living room of the DiMera mansion. Half the town is waiting there to hear news about Marlena. "Hi everyone. You'll be happy to know that Marlena is going to be fine. It took a while but she finally came out of the anesthesia." There's a sigh of relief in the room. Jesse turns to Megan. "Now I'm here to take you, Belle, and Brady to see your mom. So I want you go to get Belle and Brady and have them put on their best clothes to see your mom." "Sure. Wait, you said my mom." "Your DNA tests came in Megan. Marlena and John are your parents. Now hurry up. Your mother is just dying to see the three of you." Maggie gets up from the couch. "Come on Megan, I'll help you with Belle and Brady." Jesse thanks Maggie for her help.

Jesse walks over to Sami. "Could I speak to you for a moment?" "Why?" Jesse grabs Sami's arm. "Out in the foyer, please." Jesse guides Sami by her arm to the foyer. Jesse closes the doors behind her. "Let go of me. You're hurting me." Jesse closes the doors behind her. "Oh quit your whining! Do you intend on visiting your mother?" "My mother and I have a very good relationship. I don't care about her and she doesn't care about me." "That's not true Sami and you know it. I heard that when you were in the hospital after your accident your mother never left your side. Now I think it's time you returned the favor." "Who do you think you are?" "I'm FAMILY! Remember Sami! You thought you were so cute when you sent me my adoption papers. That may have stopped me from marrying into this family but you know what Sami? What you did made me a member of this family for LIFE!" "How could I forget? You're the daughter of my psychotic aunt. Gee I hope that isn't hereditary." "Well Sami you had better pray that my mother's psychotic tendencies don't show up in me, because if they do you will be my first target." Megan comes down the stairs with Belle and Brady. "Wow. Don't you guys look wonderful? Are we ready to go see mommy?" All three of them yell yes. "Ok then let's go."

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Jesse peeks her head into Marlena's room. "Are you ready for some visitors?" Marlena sits up and she tries to fix her hair. "Of course I am. Come on in guys." Megan, Belle, and Brady come running into the room. "Mommy!" "Oh my angels! I'm so happy to see you!" Jesse helps Belle and Brady onto Marlena's bed. Megan sits on the edge of the bed. "Now be careful of Mommy's shoulder." "I don't care I'm just so happy to see the three of you." Marlena gives hugs and kisses to all three of her children. "Where did Eric go?" "I sent him down to get something to eat. He should be back soon." "I guess John didn't get here yet." "No. Do you know anything about this surprise he's getting for me?" "Marlena if he had told me about it believe me you would know about it by now."

John comes barging through the door with Eric. John's dressed in a tux. In his hands are flowers and a bucket with a champagne bottle in it. Eric is carrying a large dress box and some glasses. Jesse and Megan lift the kids off of the bed. "What is all this?" "Just give me a minute Doc." John goes over to the bed and hands Marlena the flowers. He proceeds to get down on one knee. He takes Marlena's hand and asks, "Will you marry me again Doc?" "John have you forgotten you already asked me that question and I said yes." "I know that but I'm asking you to marry me right now in this hospital room. So will you marry me right now Doc?" "What about our friends and our families?" "We could have another ceremony when you are out of here for the family and friends. So what do you say Doc?" "Guess I'll say yes!"

John kisses Marlena. "Oh John wait. I can't get married now." "Why not?" "I can't get married in a hospital gown." "Do I know you or what? I brought something for you to wear." Eric sits the box on top of the dresser. "You did? You know me so well don't you." "Now Jesse can help you get changed. Eric and I will take the troops and flag down father Jansen when he gets here." John leans over and gives Marlena a kiss before he leaves. "I love you!" "I love you too!"

Jesse goes over to the box. "Let's see what he brought." Jesse picks up the box and sits it next to Marlena. Jesse opens the box and a huge smile comes over Marlena's face. "What is it?" "This is the negligee I wore the first night John and I were back together." Tears start to flow from Marlena's eyes. Jesse wipes away her tears. "Come on don't you start crying on me! Because if you start then I'm going to start and it's going to take forever for me to get you dressed." Marlena chuckles. "I'm glad you see it my way." Jesse opens the ties on the back of Marlena's gown. Next she removes Marlena's arm from the sling. "Ok I'm going to take your gown off. Are you ready?" "As ready as I'll ever be." Jesse starts removing the gown and as she does she tries her best not to hurt Marlena's sore shoulder. Marlena lets out a whimper. "Did I hurt you?" "It okay. Just keep going." Jesse has the gown off and she grabs the negligee and slips it over Marlena's head. "Okay I'm going to do this one arm at a time. Which one do you want me to put in first?" "Surprise me." "Oh gee thanks." Jesse puts Marlena's good arm in first then she very easily slides her other arm into the strap without too much pain for Marlena. "Do you want the robe on?" "Yes, it will hide my bandages." "Ok take a deep breath." Jesse manages to slip the robe on Marlena without hurting her. Jesse peeks her head out of the room. "Ok John we're ready in here."

John, Eric, the kids, and father Jensen come into the room. Jesse picks up Belle. Megan and Jesse stand next to Marlena. Eric picks up Brady and stands next to John. John looks at Marlena. "I love you Doc." "I love you." Just as father Jensen is to begin the ceremony Mike walks in. "What's going on in here?" Jesse speaks. "It's a wedding. You're just in time. Mike lock the door so no one else interrupts this." "There are way too many people in here. Marlena is recovering from a major operation." "Mike, as soon as this is over we'll all leave. Just give them 5 minutes. OK." "All right but make it quick." "You heard him father. We want the quickie ceremony."

"Dearly beloved we are gathered here to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony. Do you John Black take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" "I do." "Do you Marlena Evans take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" "I do." "The rings please." Eric hands father Jensen the rings. "John repeat after me. I John give you Marlena this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity." "I John give you Marlena this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity." "I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad." "I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad." "I promise to love, honor, and cherish you all the days of our lives." "I promise to love, honor, and cherish you all the days of our lives." "Marlena repeat after me. I Marlena give you John this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity." "I Marlena give you John this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity." "I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad." "I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad." "I promise to love, honor, and cherish you all the days of our lives." "I promise to love, honor, and cherish you all the days of our lives." "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." "It would be my pleasure!" John and Marlena kiss.

"I hope the two of you will have all the happiness you deserve." "Thank you father. Why don't you stay and have a drink with us?" "I can't I have other parishioners to see. Thank you for letting me be apart of your happy day." Father Jansen leaves the room. John goes over and opens the champagne bottle. "Ok lets all have a quick drink before you leave." John hands Marlena a glass. "John I can't have any champagne!" "It's sparkling cider Doc." Marlena takes the glass. "To my beautiful wife it may have taken us ten long years but we finally made it. You are finally my wife and I can't wait for us to start the rest of our lives together." John and Marlena kiss. "To John and Marlena." Everyone in the room clink their glasses.

Mike speaks first. "Okay I want everyone to finish their drinks and get out of this room." John speaks up. "Mike would it be alright if I stayed here tonight? I mean it is our wedding night." "You can stay on one condition." "What's that?" "Well I don't want you and Marlena doing anything that a couple might do on their wedding night." "Mike, this is a hospital we would never do anything like that." Both Marlena begins to blush. "John, Aunt Maggie told me about that time when Marlena was in the hospital and she almost walked in on the two of you." Jesse speaks up. "Okay I think on that note I'm going to take the kids back to the mansion. Goodbye Marlena…John. Have a good night." Jesse bends over and gives Marlena a kiss. Belle, Brady, Megan, and Eric follow Jesse's lead and they all give their mother a hug and a kiss before they leave.

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Eric is keeping the kids occupied while Jesse looks for her car keys. Mike comes up behind Jesse. "Are you going to be staying at the mansion tonight?" Jesse's startled. Jesse pulls out her keys and she slaps Mike on the arm. "You scared me. Yes, since John won't be there tonight I thought that I should stay with the kids. Maybe I shouldn't. Look what happened the last time I watched the kids." "Jesse." "I know. I know what happened wasn't my fault. I can't help it I still feel guilty." "I was wondering if you would like to go out to eat tonight?" "I think I'd better stay with the kids. Do you understand?" "Of course I understand. I'll see you tomorrow?" "You sure will." Jesse gives Mike a kiss goodbye. Eric sees it. He's hurt but a part of him is happy to see Jesse moving on.

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Jesse and Eric arrive at the mansion with the children. Once they're inside Jesse ushers the kids upstairs to wash up for supper. Jesse and Eric go into the living room. "Okay we have the kids washing up for a supper we don't have. What are we going to feed them?" "I'm sure the cook made something. Can I ask you a question?" "I guess so." "Are you and Mike dating?" "I guess you could say that." "When did all this happen? I'm sorry. I shouldn't be asking you this." "No it's okay. Let's just say the Mike saved me from a very, very bad blind date and after that we just started to hang out together. I'm not sure where it's going but it's nice to have someone in my life again." Jesse can see that Eric's hurting. "Now I'm sorry." "It's okay. I just want you to be happy." "I want the same for you too. Jamie seems like a nice girl. Despite the fact that she's Sami's friend." Eric laughs at this remark. "Yes, she's very nice." "I hope she can make you happy. You deserve to be happy."

Caroline and Shawn come into the room. "Grandma, how's dad?" "He's been getting his medication around the clock and the tests they're running are showing that the infection is subsiding." "Have you two had supper yet?" "No, Caroline. We were just talking about what we were going to feed the kids." "No need to worry. Shawn and I brought over food from the pub. It's all in the kitchen. Shawn and I are going to go up and sit with Roman for a while." "Does he know about Marlena?" "We told him that Marlena was in an accident and that she was going to be fine." "I think that was wise. Marlena and John want to tell him themselves." "Well we'll go up and send the children down for supper." Caroline and Shawn leave the room. "So are you ready to eat?" "Yes, I'm starved! I hope there's some of that Brady chowder in there. I've heard so much about it." "Don't worry my grandmother always brings chowder." Eric puts his arm around Jesse and he ushers her into the kitchen.

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Back at the hospital it's late and John and Marlena are getting ready to go to bed for the night. "Okay Mrs. Black scoot over." "Why?" "Why? Because I want to lie in bed with my wife." "Oh you do!" "Yes, so scoot over." "Have you forgotten the promise we made to Mike?" "No I haven't forgotten. I just want to hold you in my arms. I promise I won't try anything." Marlena acts disappointed. "Oh your not." "Unless you want me to try something." John begins to plant kisses all over Marlena's neck. Marlena begins to laugh. "John. Stop." "Why?" "Because if you keep this up I don't think I'm going to stop you." "That's good because I don't want to stop." "No come on John." John accidentally bumps Marlena's shoulder and she lets out a scream.

Mike comes into the room. "Do I have to separate the two of you?" John jumps off the bed. Marlena makes sure that she is completely covered. "We're sorry Mike. It won't happen again." "Make sure that it doesn't. The two of you will have plenty of time to do whatever you want to when Marlena is out of the hospital." "When will that be Mike?" "I would say two weeks." "TWO WEEKS! No Mike! I can't stay in here two weeks. I have a wedding to plan and I want to be with my husband and my children." "Marlena if you behave yourself I'll see what I can do about getting you released sooner. I'm not promising anything. Now the two of you get some sleep." "Goodnight Mike." "Goodnight guys."

John once again gets into bed with Marlena. "Now behave this time." "Yes dear." "I have another surprise for you. Do you want to know what it is?" "What kind of a stupid question is that? Of course I want to know what your surprise is." John pulls a piece of paper out from his pocket. Marlena looks at the paper. She has a puzzled look on her face. "This is a deed to some land." "Very good Mrs. Black." "Mrs. Black I like the sound of that. What is the surprise?" "Well I bought some land on the outskirts of town and I have started to build something on it." "What? What are you building on the land?" "You really want to know?" "Yes, I really want to know!" "I am building the biggest house this town has ever seen." "A house! How long is it going to take until we can move in?" "I have men working around the clock and in about two months we should be able to move in." "Where are we going to live in the meantime?" "I was thinking we could stay at the mansion until after our wedding. Then after the wedding we could take the kids on a month long honeymoon. How does that sound?" That sounds wonderful! Oh wait what about Megan?" "She'll come with us." "Of course she'll come with us but by then school should be started." "I didn't think about that. Well we could enroll her after we come back. We could get her tutors if she needs. I think we really need this time to bond with her Doc. We've already lost so much time with her." Marlena begins to cry. "I really want to make it up to her for all the time she missed with us. I wish I knew what Stefano did to me to make me forget the birth of my own child." "Doc let's not talk about that. It's over and what's done is done. Now all we have to do is concentrate on you getting better and us getting to know our new daughter. Now I want you to close your eyes and get some rest. I want to get you out of here as soon as possible."

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