Never Forgotten

Part 22

Part 22

John didn't know how long he had been walking the dark and empty streets of Salem, but before he even realized, he found himself standing at the pier...their pier.
He closed his eyes and inhaled the salty smell of the river and listened to soft sounds of small waves coming in.
He was supposed to go back to New York tomorrow, back to his home, back to his job but now everything had changed. He didn't have a home to go back to anymore and even if he did, he would never leave Marlena. Not now, not ever.

Sitting down on a bench overlooking the river, John felt the tiredness sought through his body. Being at their special place bought him some sort of comfort and peace which allowed him to believe that everything was going to be alright. That she was going to make it through this.

His eyes felt heavy and he allowed himself to close them for just a little while as he prayed for a sign.
As he was dozing off a small wind blew, carrying the soft voice of the woman in his heart.

"John, darling...you need to find our baby, our sweet girl..her name is Alice."

In his dreamy state, John saw Marlena in front of him, looking angelic with her blond hair blowing in the wind and dressed in a white dress. He reached for her face as a lone tear left his eye.

"Baby...I love you so much. Will you come back to me?" He whispered with forehead against hers, and their lips inches apart.

"I will.. just remember what I told you"

John entangled his hands within her soft mane and gently traced his lips over hers before capturing her mouth. He kissed her ever so softly, wanting it to last forever and never let her go.

                                 ————

In the hospital room, Eric was sitting by Marlena's bedside. He had told his sisters to go home and get some rest and that he would stay here and watch over their mother.
Roman had left not long after John and had spent his time with Marlena, being more paranoid about John than concerned about his wife.
Before Sami and Carrie left they had all been tested to see if they were a potential match, if a kidney transplant was needed. Now he could only sit here and pray...He would do anything for his mother.

Watching his mother, Eric's mind went back in time. He had been told stories from her life, from before he was born. She hadn't had an easy life. Tragedy, sorrow, pain and heartbreak seemed to follow her. He had actually never thought about everything she had been through until now, where he watched her looking so small and fragile.
Him and his sisters hadn't always made it easy for her either, but no matter what they did, she would always be there for them. She loved them unconditionally and always forgave them.
Eric felt remorseful and swore that when she pulled through this, he would never take her for granted again.

Lost in thought, he didn't see Marlenas eyes staring to flutter.

"John...." It was so small and low that he almost didn't hear it.

                                 ————-

The sun was beginning to rise and warm rays of sunlight woke up John. Confused by his surroundings at first, John remembered where he was. He must have fallen asleep on the bench. Rubbing his tired eyes he looked at his watch, it was 6 in the morning. Standing up, he stretched his body and realized he was still wearing his clothes from Brady's wedding. He needed a shower and some clean clothes, but he wasn't prepared to face Rebecca right now.
As he started walking, he checked his phone, hoping that someone had called him with news on Marlena, but to his surprise he realized that his phone was dead, probably out of battery.
Just the thought that he could have missed an important call regarding her made him panic and he started running.

Within 30 minutes he was standing outside an apartment, banging on the door.

"Jack...wake up.." John yelled but tried to keep it down and not disturb the neighbors.

He heard some muffled sounds from behind the door and then the door chain being removed.
Barely awake, Jack opened the door to the sight of his father looking like he had been in an accident. His clothes were dirty and torn, his hair messy and he had dried blood on his cheek.

"Jesus dad...what happened? Are you okay?" Jack gasped and opened the door for John.

Walking into the apartment, John sat down with a loud sigh and ran his hands over his face.
"I'm okay son...I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly last night but there was an emergency...an accident. Something happened to Marlena..Dr. Evans" John closed his eyes and relived the moment when he had found her lifeless body.

Opening his eyes again, John saw the unspoken questions in Jack's and decided to tell him everything.
He told him everything about his previous life in Salem, about Marlena, his other children, and what made him leave 25 years ago.
And however hard it was, he told him about his recent reunion with Marlena and that he was leaving Rebecca. He did leave out the part that Rebecca played in Marlenas accident, not wanting to make this even worse.

Jack sat silent and listened to his father's story. Although some of it was hard for him to hear and understand, it all made sense in some kind of way. The distance he had felt from his dad at times suddenly seemed to make sense. John's  sad eyes when asked about his past and the fights he had overheard between his parents, his mother always accusing John of being withdrawn and not loving her enough.
Jack felt for his father, for the pain he had endured in the past and the pain he was in right now. Most children would be sad to know that their parents were getting a divorce, and so was Jack. But what hurt him even more was seeing his father in a state of sadness and despair, something he had witnessed for as long as he remembered and if a future with Marlena was going to make John feel happiness again then that was what was the most important. Jack truly believed that his own happiness depended upon his father's happiness. The struggles he had when he made that first appointment with Dr. Evans suddenly seemed to disappear with this new understanding of the man he looked up to the most.

John felt a tremendous amount of relief as he and Jack embraced each other.

"Thank you for being so supportive and understanding kid" John said with tears in his eyes.

"Don't thank me. I get that from you, you know" Jack said with a chuckle that disguised his own tears. "Why don't you go take a shower and I will find you some clothes to wear"

"Good idea" John said and walked towards the bathroom. "Can you do me a favor and put my phone in the charger?"

"Sure" Jack said and did what he asked.

                                      ———

After a long warm shower, John felt like a new man as he walked into the living room.
Finding his phone he touched the screen and saw 10 unanswered calls and multiple messages from numbers he didn't know.
He quickly realized that they were all from Eric, telling him to call him back as soon as possible and most importantly that Marlena was awake.

"Jack...I need to get to the hospital quickly, Marlena is awake!!" John yelled as he gathered his wallet and started putting on his shoes.

Jack came running from the bedroom. "Dad..I'm going with you" He said with a serious voice that resembled Johns. 

"I wouldn't want it any other way" John replied with a smile.

With Jack behind the wheel, John called Eric to let him know that he was on his way.

"What about Roman?" John asked.

"I haven't called him yet...she was asking for you. Actually, your name is all she has said since she woke up" Eric told him.

"Tell her that I'm on my way"