John and Marlena (Finally) Get a Q!

Chapter 82 - One on One

"You were so angry," Marlena's laughter echoed through the penthouse.

"Yeah, well you should have seen your faces when you realized that bum was me!" Roman's laughter mingled with Marlena's and it was joined a moment later from a quiet chuckle from Gene.

"I thought you were going to knock my block off," he admitted from where he sat on the floor.

"I thought about it," Roman's grin was wide.

"We were only trying to help you Roman!" Marlena protested weakly.

"Yeah, and where have I heard *that* before?" he winked at her as he picked up his glass of wine.

It was a little more than a week since Roman had returned and despite Marlena's avowal that she would be fine, Roman had made it his business to stick fairly close to her. As a consequence, he had spent some time at the penthouse with Marlena and Eugene and naturally, they had spent a good deal of that time lost in nostalgia. But still, he was no closer to finding out from either Marlena or Gene what had been going on. Every time he had tried to broach the matter, Marlena had closed down and had quickly changed the subject.

He watched her as she picked up her orange juice and took a sip. Her face was flushed with good humor, but below that, he sensed a darkness that haunted her. If she had been controlled before he left, her need for control appeared to have only increased.

He halfway heard Eugene crack a joke and smiled in response but really, all his attention was focused on his ex-wife. Most of the time he could deny his feelings, tell himself that really, being her friend was fine and that he could deal with that. But sometimes he would turn around and her eyes would be shining, or there would be something in the way she smiled, and he would be lost again.

This was one of those moments.

"Roman?" she turned to him, suddenly aware of his silence.

"Hmmm?" he shook his head, trying desperately to free himself from the trance in which he was suddenly entangled.

"You were just awfully quiet all of a sudden," she smiled with a little self-consciousness.

"I was just thinking about that case," he replied evasively. Feeling Gene's eyes on him, he turned to look at the other man.

The knowledgeable glance confirmed everything he suspected, and more.

******

"I think it's going really well Sam," Eric squeezed some lemon juice into the casserole dish. "He's over at Mom's again. If the amount of time they've been spending together is any... indication," he lifted the heavy, cast-iron dish and slid it into the oven, "well, I think that Dad might have underestimated the situation."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Sami's voice was quiet but firm as she peeled her third carrot. "I think *you're* underestimating Mom. She's been through a lot you know. Don't expect her to go running into Dad's arms just because he came home."

Eric turned around and looked at his sister with a slight air of surprise.

"That doesn't sound like *you* Sis. You sound like you don't *want* them together." Sami was silent for a moment, contemplating his words.

"If that's what they *both* want then of course, I'd be more than thrilled," she told him. "But," she led into the qualification carefully, "I guess what with everything that's happened around here since Dad's been gone and especially recently, I'm just not entirely convinced that Mom and Dad ..." she faltered for a moment, not quite believing these words were coming out of her mouth, "... belong together anymore."