John and Marlena (Finally) Get a Q!

Chapter 98 - Dance With DiMentia

Kristen DiMera looked around the exam room irritably. The only thing worse than being here at all, was being here alone. John should be here. He had his part in making this baby, he should damn well be there to help her though this.

Taking a deep breath, Kristen reminded herself that John was confined to a hospital bed at the moment and *couldn't* be with her. The knowledge didn't make it a whole lot easier though. Especially when she thought about seeing Marlena come out of John's room the other day. John maintained that there was nothing between them, they were simply the good friends that they had always been, but Kristen didn't like it. She didn't like it one little bit.

They had barely been talking to each other before John's...'accident'. So why were they now? She frowned, her lips forming an ugly pout as she contemplated Marlena's words to her in the corridor outside John's room. What will you do Kristen? What can you *possibly* do that will change John's feelings towards me? And *still*, when all is said and done, *you* are not the one that John *really* wants.

Kristen bit the inside of her lower lip and pondered the sequence of events that had led her here. If John was lying, surely she would know it. She would be able to tell. But why would he even be lying to her? If he wanted to get back together with Marlena, why didn't he just *do* it? What was stopping him?

It was a good question, and one Kristen could not find an answer to. And so, it was enough to mollify her for the moment. But still, an uneasiness lingered in the back of her mind, feeding her instability, and fertilizing her paranoia.

******

"That's great Roman," Trudie handed Roman a towel to wipe his face and she sat back, her face pink with exertion. Roman gulped a lungful of air and grinned at the cute physiotherapist. She had been working him hard the past few weeks, but he was finally starting to see some improvements.

Stretching out his leg he groaned slightly.

"I'm gonna be sore tomorrow."

"As long as you keep moving on it now, it shouldn't be too bad," Trudie reminded him as she pushed a coil of mahogany hair off her forehead.

"How can I keep moving? You've worn me out," Roman threw himself back on the padded floor and stared up at her with a cheeky grin on his face.

I'd rather wear you out another way all together, Trudie thought to herself as she looked down at him. She'd only seen Roman as his physio for seven sessions but if she had her way, she'd be seeing a whole lot more of him by the time she was done. And not in a professional capacity either.

"Hello?" Roman waved his hand in front of her blue eyes "Earth to Montgomery?"

"Mmmm, sorry?" Trudie shook her head. She shouldn't be having thoughts like this. He was a patient. Hell, he was Marlena Evan's ex-husband. She was new to town, and she didn't know Marlena. She knew *of* her, knew that she was a highly respected member of the psychiatry team, and that most people seemed to like her around the hospital. The last thing she needed to do was make an enemy of the woman before she'd been there five minutes. She shouldn't even be contemplating this. But *lord* his chestnut brown eyes and the way his hair curled when it was damp.... Her stomach flipped involuntarily, and she managed a shaky smile.

"Sorry," she muttered, "I was just thinking you should probably go and get some lunch after that workout."

"Sounds like a great idea to me," Roman pushed himself up onto his elbows, "I'm ravenous. I think I'll go by the folks and grab a burger. Will you join me?"

Trudie blinked, not quite sure she had heard him right.

"You want me to go with you? For lunch?"

"Yeah," Roman grinned at her surprise. She was nothing like Marlena, but there was something about this woman that he really liked. A lot of things. And she made him laugh. It had been a long time since a woman had made him laugh. "There's no law against a patient asking his physio out for lunch is there?"