Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be
~ "Can't Help Falling in Love", Elvis Presley
Roman and Marlena looked at Micky with equal looks of shock as he explained that they were still married. "The divorce in 1994 is not valid, because the man who filed was Richard Mullins. Therefore, the divorce isn't legal. You're still married," Micky said.
"But the papers were filed by Roman Brady," Roman said.
"Yes, your name is on them, but we now know that it wasn't you. Believe me, I've spent the last few days at the court house. The divorce in 1994 is null and void, because Richard Mullins, under the guise of Roman Brady, filed the papers."
Marlena looked at Roman, and said, "You're still my husband...G-d that makes me so happy."
"And you're my wife," he said softly, touching her face.
"Well, that certainly makes things easier," Carrie said with a smile, while balancing Brigit on her hip. Looking over at Sami cuddled up with Emmi on the couch, Carrie said, "Don't you find it interesting that the twin who acts most like Sami is forever attached to me, and the twin who acts the most like me, thinks Sami hung the moon?"
Roman laughed when he realized how right she was, "Well, Punkin', I think it will allow each of you to have a deeper appreciation of your differences."
Sami laughed from the couch, and said loudly, "That's a fact! Although for the life of me, I can't figure out why Emmi laughs at almost everything I do."
Marlena looked around the room, at her family, as she held Eli in her arms, and marveled at where they were in their lives. Susan was playing in the corner with Belle. Eric was running around the house with Brady on his shoulders screaming about capturing dragons, Carrie and Sami with Brigit and Emmi...all of it made her heart swell with more love than she ever thought she could possess. Her eyes caught Roman's gaze, and he mouthed, "I love you" to her, making her eyes begin to tear up.
Leaning towards her, he whispered in her ear, "I'll marry you again, if you want too."
"I don't need that. I really don't. Another wedding won't make my love stronger. Another wedding would be symbolic, and I don't need that," she said to him. "However, we do need a house, because we can't stay here on the Salem PD's dime forever."
"Don't you worry, Doc. I've already got that figured out," he told her with a sly grin.
Micky smiled at that, and passed some paperwork over to Roman, saying, "I've actually got that right here for you."
"Roman, what is this?" she asked him. Marlena could tell by the grin on Roman's face, and the thick packet of paper that Micky passed him, that something had occurred without her knowledge.
"The deed to our new house, Doc. You know I met with Vivian to discuss my Alamain interests, since that was a huge mess too, genetically speaking. She wants me to continue running the companies I have control over, and I've agreed to give her a larger percentage of the revenue...since I'm not actually an Alamain," he said. "But, she's also informed me that she's moving to Europe...so I bought her house."
"You bought the Alamain estate? Roman!" Marlena explained in surprise. "That place is huge!"
"We needed a house, Doc. A big house, and Carrie, Sami, Eric, and I all agreed that it's perfect. Once all of Vivian's over the top art, and furnishings are removed, the house is beautiful. We can make it into a real home."
"I guess...it's just so large," she said with reservation.
"We have eight children, five of them under the age of six. We need space for them, plus Susan...because let's be honest, Doc, we need the help."
When Roman stated so bluntly that they needed the space for eight children, the reality hit home, "Oh my G-d! We have eight children..."
"But three of us are grown," Sami chirped. "So, you've got help. Plus the yard is huge, Mom. You can put a massive play structure out there, if you want. The pool is fenced, so that's a plus for safety...and there are absolutely no secret rooms at all."
"Do I even want to know how much you spent on this house?" Marlena knew that whatever price Vivian asked for that house had to have been exorbitant.
"Definitely not, but don't worry. While I was John Black, I became quite the businessman," Roman said laughing. "Abe said they're allowing us to stay here for another week, and I'll have everything in order by then. I'm not sure what you want to do with the penthouse."
"I don't want it," she said quickly, as she was bombarded with a million memories of the trauma she suffered at the hands of Stefano. "I would be happy to never see it again. I don't even want to go back to pack my things."
Roman looked to Micky and said, "Can we sell it?"
"I can arrange to have that taken care of, yes," Micky responded.
Marlena nodded her head once, saying, "Okay, let's do that then. I don't want it."
"Mom, you know Sami, Carrie, and I can pack it for you if you'd like," Eric told her, as he walked into the room from the kitchen with Brady hanging from his leg. "I wouldn't want you back there anyway, honestly. It must be very traumatic."
Reaching over, Roman used his fingers to move Marlena's hair back off of her shoulder, and wrapped them around the nape of her neck. The heat of his palm on her skin immediately calmed her, and she smiled to herself, realizing that the connection between them was so strong. "We'll sell it, Doc. You're right. There are too many bad memories in that place for us. Especially for you."
"Thank you," she said softly. "I love you."
"I love you too, lady."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Later that evening, when Marlena was getting ready for bed, Roman came up behind her and wrapped his arms snugly around her waist, burying his face in her hair. He inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of her, and whispered, "Doc, I would marry you again, you know. I would marry you as many times as you wanted."
"I know that, Roman, but honestly my favorite wedding was when we married in 1986, and after the way everything has turned out...well, I want that to be our last wedding. Our official wedding," she said, tipping her face back, and kissing his cheek.
"That was a pretty amazing day."
"I want to spend the rest of our lives loving each other, and loving our children. I want to get to know Sami all over again, and watch Will grow up...and I want to do it all with you."
"I want to do it all with you too. All I need you to do, is love me," Roman told her, turning her to face him.
Looking up into his eyes, she whispered, "I do love you, with all my heart."
