Leave Me Breathless

Chapter 26

And I couldn't have weathered

This most tempestuous of seasons on my own

If I hadn't been tethered

To you unknowableness

I would have blown away so long long ago

I Should Have Looked Away - Maria McKee

John sighed in frustration running his fingers through his hair, "Look, Kristen. The house isn't safe. Stefano knows every secret passage in the place. There are probably secret rooms in that place that we don't know about! Doc and the kids can't stay there, and until the ISA manages to locate Stefano's body, I can't be sure that he's not still out there trying to kidnap, Doc!"

"So, you're asking me to leave my home?" Kristen nearly screeched. "You want me to move with you, Marlena and the kids into a different house?"

"I know it's a lot to ask. I know that," John said. "But your father—"

"—If the ISA is providing security, why do you need to be with her? Let the ISA do their job, John! Marlena isn't your responsibility."

She was, but he wasn't going to say that. Instead he told her, "But my children are! Sami, and Belle, are my responsibility."

"No!" Kristen cried. "Sami is Roman's responsibility, and he's—he's home now, so you don't need to worry about Sami."

John was quiet for a long time, and Kristen knew immediately that she'd made a mistake. He said softly, "Sami is my daughter. She will always, always, be my daughter, Kristen. You know that! I'm her Daddy. I raised her."

"I know. I know," she said softly, trying to remember who she was supposed to be. "I'm sorry. I'm very stressed about the baby, and not feeling well. The idea of moving is overwhelming...if you think it's best...I understand that. I do. But a move right now, with my pregnancy being so fragile, John, I can't risk it. You do what you need to do, to keep Marlena and the children safe, but I can't be a part of that." Kristen wanted to scream, and regretted her decision to have Rolf steal her fathers body from the ISA. The prisms hadn't worked and now John was a mess, worried that Stefano might somehow be alive. Kristen thought, maybe she should have Rolf drop the body somewhere, but then she felt immediately guilty for the disrespect.

This conversation wasn't going the way he'd planned. John had expected Kristen to go along with his plan. She usually did. Marlena had told him, after their meeting with Abe and Shane, that asking Kristen to move would be expecting too much from her. Marlena was right.

Marlena watched as John grew progressively frustrated. She could hear Kristen's voice rising, but she was unable to make out what the other woman was saying. John was torn. She knew that. He was torn between her, and the girls, and his obligation to his wife and unborn child. She wanted to lessen that.

"Kristen," John started to say, but then Marlena put her hand on his arm softly. "Hold on, Kristen. Hold on." John covered the receiver, and said, "Yeah, Doc?"

"John, the ISA is providing security. Shane will be there. You need to focus on Kristen," Marlena said. "You need to make sure that the baby is healthy. She needs you right now."

John wanted to argue, "Doc—"

"—John, you know I'm right," she told him. "You know that."

He did know that, but the pull to stay with her, and protect her, himself, personally, was so strong. His eyes were locked on hers, as he absorbed the heat of her palm on his arm. He finally nodded in acknowledgement, and then said to Kristen, "Marlena just reminded me that Shane will be there as well. So maybe I can be with them during the day, and with you in the evenings."