Ersatz

May 2, 1997 - "Why don't you have John spend the night with you..."

John sat on the couch in Marlena's penthouse looking through a magazine, and trying to keep his mind off of the fact that he was alone with her. Lightning flashed outside, indicating an incoming storm. It had been a colder than average winter, and even though May had just started temperatures at night were still dipping into the 30s. A storm would make it more difficult to pick up Brady and Belle from Shawn and Caroline's house, but not impossible.

He glanced towards the empty staircase again, and smiled when Marlena shouted, "I'm almost ready."

"It's fine, Doc. Take your time," he called back, setting the magazine to the side. Maybe he was losing his mind. Every time he moved he would catch the scent of her, as if she permeated the cushion he sat on. It certainly didn't help, that every shift of his body had him swimming in memories, and imagining what he could do to her on the floor in front of the sofa. Any time he was alone with her his mind went wild creating scenarios of them together. It was as if he needed to find a way to torture himself. A way to further complicate his life, and his relationship with Marlena.

Glancing at the coffee table, an image of Marlena's body lying naked, legs wide, assaulted him. He could imagine slowly licking the length of her sex. He groaned loudly, imagining the taste of her arousal on his tongue. He hadn't tasted her since they were married, but the flavor of her was something he would never forget.

"Are you okay, John?" Marlena asked, stepping off of the last step, and placing her bag near the door.

John felt the heat rise in his face, and he said in a rough voice, "I'm fine, Doc. I just remembered something I forgot to do."

"Oh," she said. "I just need to grab an extra sip cup from the kitchen for Belle, and then we can go."

Watching her body as she hurried into the kitchen, had him groaning again. His impulses and desires with her were becoming harder and harder to control, and sometimes, John almost believed that Marlena was encouraging it. He remembered when he woke in the hospital, having fallen asleep in Kristen's bed. Waking up with Marlena in his arms had been heaven. It was obvious from the look in her eyes, and the swollen pouty look of her mouth that he kissed her. Not just kissed her, but kissed her. She'd smiled at him, and he'd immediately made his excuses, but what he couldn't shake was the feeling that she'd kissed him back. She'd seemed almost disappointed as he lied, saying he was dreaming of Kristen. He was not dreaming of Kristen.

The telephone rang, and Marlena called from the kitchen, "John, honey, can you get that? My hands are wet."

Honey? John stared at the empty doorway that led towards the kitchen. Honey? The phone rang again, and he stood, rushing towards it. "Hello?" he said quickly.

"Hi, honey. It's me," Kristen said, relieved that she'd caught him before he brought Marlena and her brats over. She had to catch Susan, who was hiding somewhere in her house ranting and raving about vampires.

"Hey, sweetheart. What's goin on?"

"Well...the baby's got a case of the sniffles," she said, trying to sound as sweet as she possibly could. She had to somehow convince John that bringing Marlena and the kids over was a bad idea.

John was surprised. John Jr. had seemed fine earlier. He said, "Oh, poor guy."

"Yeah, so I was thinking maybe we should put off Marlena and the kids moving in here, just for a day or two?"

"Well, if you think it's that serious maybe we oughta call the doctor in?" John said, slightly confused.

Call the doctor? Shit. Kristen scrambled, saying, "Oh no, I don't think that's necessary. Brady and Belle, their at the age, you know, where they have a lot of germs, and I'm just afraid, you know? We don't want to expose our  son to anything."