Gertie

Chapter 21

February 1996

Christmas and New Years had passed with John juggling two sides of his life. On one side was Marlena, Sami, Eric, Carrie, and Gertie and on the other was Isabella, Victor, and Brady. His days were spent in meetings with doctors, and spending time with the daughter he'd never known, his evenings were spent with his wife, and his son. Isabella wouldn't let him forget that he'd been unfaithful. It was a near constant barrage of snarky comments. John felt that he was trying, more often than not, to shield Brady from her hostility laden dialogue.

John had left Brady crying at the door just that morning, begging to go with him. It was becoming a very murky line between protecting his son and honoring his wedding vows. He had already gotten into a huge argument with Isabella about enrolling Brady in a pre-kindergarten program. She had insisted on having a private tutor to prepare Brady for school, while John argued that socialization was necessary. His mentioning Sami and Eric, and what they'd gotten from a pre-kindergarten program, made Isabella even more angry. It was as if she wanted to pretend that those years of his life had never taken place.

He stood at Marlena's door, already unsettled, trying to grapple with his life. He'd finally settled on an office space in Salem, and he had Barbara closing everything down in San Diego, although he would need to go back one more time to finalize everything. Isabella had movers packing up their home, and was planning to have everything shipped to Salem. John had instructed Barbara that his personal office would be touched by no one, but himself. Sighing deeply, John knocked on the door.

Marlena answered it, slightly disheveled, and with a swollen tear streaked face. John stepped inside closing the door behind him quickly, and pulled her into his arms, where she sobbed against him. He had no idea what was wrong with her. He simply held her close, and gently ran his hand over her back until she might be calm enough to explain it to him.

Marlena wrapped her arms around John's neck, and she cried, soaking the collar of his shirt. She had to tell him, but she didn't know how. Pulling back slightly, John held her face in his hands, and stared into her eyes, "Talk to me, Doc."

"Grace called. Gertie's leukemia is progressing...it's progressing quickly," Marlena said on another sob. "She's going to need to start chemo, but we don't have a bone marrow donor—"

"—When do we meet with Dr. Liu?" he asked her.

"Tomorrow," Marlena whispered.

"She can filter stem cells, right? If you were pregnant?"

"John, we need to talk about this," Marlena said pulling away from him. "You're—you're married...Isabella, she's already hurt and upset—"

"—Doc, I'll figure it out with Isabella, but if we have a chance to save our daughter, and if this is the only possibility...we have to do it," John said. "We can't refuse to do something that could potentially save our daughters life."

Marlena hadn't wanted to pressure him. She didn't want to demand that he have another child with her, but his reassurance caused her to start crying anew, in relief. "John! Oh, G-d! Thank you! I can't lose Gertie. I can't!"

"Doc, Baby...we—we'll figure this out. Another baby with you, I probably want that more than I should," he said resting his forehead on hers. "We'll meet with Dr. Liu tomorrow, and then I'll—I'll discuss it with Isabella."

"Isabella...she might not be okay with this, John...John, she's not going to be okay with you and I having another child on a possibility that it might be a match for Gertie," Marlena cried, tears rolling down her face again. "Oh, G-d!"

"Honey...Doc, please, don't cry. Don't cry," John begged her helplessly, finding his fingers tangled in her golden hair. He took a deep breath inhaling her scent, and buried his face in her hair.