John and Marlena (Finally) Get a Q!

Chapter 99 - Release

John lay back against his pillows silently and contemplated the ceiling.  He wondered exactly how many times it was he had explored this ceiling with his eyes in the last few weeks.  He would probably dream about it when he went home.  It would be better than the dreams he was having right now at any rate.

"John?"  Marlena pushed open the door quietly, "honey, are you awake?" 

His eyes widened as he peered at her in the dim light.  It was late and he would have thought she would have been home, putting the children to bed.

"Doc, what are you doing here?"

"What a lovely greeting that is," she teased him quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry baby, I just didn't expect you to come tonight," he took her hand in his as she came to the bed.

"I have to take my chances when I can," she leaned over and pressed her lips softly against his.  He moaned slightly and lifted his hand, burying his fingers in her hair. 

Marlena felt the heady rush of desire as his lips crushed hers and she welcomed his passion as a fierce reflection of her own.

"Honey," she pulled back with a breathless exclamation, "I can't stay for long."

"Oh Doc," his words were little more than a frustrated groan.

"I know, baby," she whispered, burying her face against his warm neck, "I know."

It had been almost two weeks since Roman had told her about Kristen, and they had gone to see John.  They had agreed between themselves that it was safer to keep their distance for now.  At least until John got out of hospital.  But it wasn't exactly that easy.  Marlena had found herself outside John's room with quite some bemusement on several occasions, and they had snatched sweet moments where they could.

But simply they were frustrated and as Kristen's due date approached, they found it harder rather than easier to be apart.  Marlena, particularly, felt edgy, knowing that Kristen was supposed to be confined to bed and yet seeing her shopping at Salem Place or lunching with her brother.  Biting her tongue was not as easy as she had thought, especially when she had overheard Kristen calling the baby a little brat. 

"Baby, I'll be out of this bed real soon," John promised, "and Kristen is due in a couple of days, so surely it can't be too much longer."  He kissed her forehead.  "We just have to hang in there, sweetheart."

"I know," Marlena's eyes were shadowed in the soft light, but her face broke into a beautiful smile as she looked up at him.  "I think I can get thought anything if I know you're by my side."

"Always," he smiled in reply before he leaned down to capture her lips with his.

Marlena closed her eyes and concentrated on the softness of his lips as they brushed against her own, eliciting a tingle that seemed to explode inside her.  Again, his lips fluttered past hers and she drew in a sharp breath as she felt his hand on her thigh.  She longed for him so badly that it hurt, and she searched for him instinctively, moaning as she felt his lips taking hers, his tongue slipping between them, searching for that intimate bond that they had denied for so long.  At the same time, his fingers massaged her nylon-clad skin as her own slid into John's hair, striving to become ever closer to one another.

Suddenly John tensed and Marlena broke the kiss as she felt his panic build.

"John?" she slipped her palm around to his cheek and waited for him to open his eyes.  Then she caught him with an urgent glance.  "What is it, honey?"

He said nothing for a moment, reliving the horrible vision in his mind, the one that had haunted his dreams lately and was now infecting his waking moments.