John and Marlena (Finally) Get a Q!

Chapter 48 - Collision Course

Marlena looked up at the sound of the door handle clicking out of place. The door opened and she saw Eugene's concerned face. He entered the room but then just stood there, looking at her as she sat motionless on the edge of the bed. An air of something she couldn't identify crossed his face for a moment, but then it was gone, and she was left with his troubled expression again.

"Gene." It was all she could say. The night had been far too long, and she was far too weary.

She had not been able to fall asleep after she had come upstairs. Instead, she had been haunted by the realization that once again, through her own inability to take action, she had lost John. She had lost him to Kristen, and this time, it seemed as if she had lost him permanently. Little by little, her reserves had broken down until she had been almost surprised to find that she was crying again. And that she couldn't stop.

After a while, she had decided that she really needed to take Eugene up on his offer. As much as she hated to break down in front of her friends, her relationship with Eugene went beyond that. He genuinely wanted only to help her. And she needed help. She couldn't go on like this, not alone. So, she had gone to his room, and the door had creaked as she had opened it. But neither the creaking hinges, nor the sound of her muffled tears had woken him, and he had looked so peaceful sleeping there in the moonlight that she hadn't had the heart to disturb him. So, as quietly as she could, she had closed his door, and she had gone back to her bedroom. However, it seemed that eventually, she had disturbed him anyway.

"Marlena?" Q was cast in the spot by the door as he looked at her. She looked so fragile that he felt that if he took her in his arms she might break completely. He wanted to go to her, yet something held him back. It was her.

"I'm sorry Gene, did I wake you?" Her voice was strong, yet a tremor of uncertainty ran underneath it.

"Not exactly." Q smiled at the irony. "I woke....," he became serious again. "I heard you crying. I was worried about you," he said by way of an explanation. Marlena tried to smile, but it was dissolved in a cascade of tears as the pain broke through again. His caring was more than she deserved.

"No Marlena, don't cry." Q begged. She looked up to find that he was by her side.

"I can't seem to help it." Marlena sobbed as he tentatively drew her into his arms. "It hurts too much. Why can't I make it stop hurting Gene?"

"Because that's not the way it works, sweetheart," he soothed as she buried her face into his shoulder. "It's one of those all too human dilemmas."

"Then I don't want to be human," she replied wretchedly.

Marlena's tears were soaking through his t-shirt, and he could feel the warmth of her against his damp skin. He swallowed as she moved instinctively closer to him, seeking the comfort that he was offering.

"What happened tonight, Marlena?" he asked as gently as he knew how.

"Tonight?" It was evasive. She didn't want to think about it, much less talk about what had happened.

"With John." Q winced as he felt her tense under his arms.

"Please, Gene," she pleaded as she shook with sobs. "Please don't. I just can't....."

"Shhhh, okay."

Eugene felt tears well up in his own eyes. It was almost as if he were experiencing her pain, his own was so intense. He couldn't bear to see her like this, but at the same time he didn't know what to do to help her.

"It's okay. It's going to be okay." He began to stroke her hair with his fingers as he held her, whispering tender platitudes to try and calm her.

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