John and Marlena (Finally) Get a Q!

Chapter 106 - Haunting

John entered the penthouse behind Marlena and looked beyond her to the scene she was already surveying.  It looked somewhat akin to a warzone and it took a moment for him to sort out in his mind, what was what. 

The coffee table had been pushed to one side, a stray missile leaving a thankfully empty vase on its side atop the glass.  All the cushions from both the sofas were piled up on the floor, along, it seemed, with pillows from every room in the house.  On top of the pile was a squirming Belle, along with her giggling brother, and evidently, buried somewhere under the pile was a laughing Q.  Blankets were also strewn from one end of the room to the other along with various chairs and other items of furniture, leaving John and Marlena wondering exactly what they had all been playing at.

"Can't catch me!" Brady yelled as he scrambled off the heaving pile of foam and cotton and dashed toward the kitchen.  But an impossibly long arm snaked like a tentacle and hooked around Brady's legs, sending him sprawling in a breathless and hysterical pile on the carpet.  John blinked in astonishment as he watched the little boy get slowly dragged back to the mound and then he started towards his son in concern.  However, Marlena stayed him with a hand on his arm as Brady extracted himself from Q's grip and threw himself back on the pile with a renewed and enthusiastic fit of the giggles.

She could understand John's uncertainty and his fear that Brady might be hurt by the tumble he had taken, but he didn't know Eugene like she did.  Didn't know how much he adored the children and how much they adored him in return.  Even after the initial mishap with Belle, Marlena had no qualms that Eugene would always look after her babies.  And they seemed to be having such fun now, she was loathe to end it too soon.

However, the children's laughter was interrupted by Lucie's voice as she entered the room with a tray of milk and cookies.

"All right," she said good-naturedly, "It's time to let the monster under the mountain have a bit of a rest.  And time for you two to calm down some and have some afternoon tea."

"Don't want to," Belle pouted sulkily, resenting the interruption to her play.

"Well Isabella honey, you have to eat if you're going to keep up your strength for battling monsters, aren't you?"  Lucie's sweetly Tennessee-accented words failed to cajole the little girl, however.

"I's not hungry," the blonde toddler maintained her stance, ignoring the pretty nanny's persuasive tactics.

"My Belle baby?  Not hungry for cookies?" Marlena laughed, drawing the children's attention to her previously un-noted vantage point.

"Mommy," Belle forgot her momentary annoyance and she raced towards her mother, a large grin on her face.

"Hi sweetie-girl!" Marlena crouched down to meet her daughter with a hug.  Brady was right behind her and crashed into the pair, almost sending them sprawling, Marlena fighting to keep her balance under the onslaught of little bodies.

John watched the greeting fighting the bile that threatened to rise in his throat.  They hadn't even noticed he was there yet.  At first, they had been so wrapped up in their fun with Eugene, acting as though he was their pal, almost a surrogate father.  And then they noticed that their mother was there, running to meet her with sparkling eyes and generous kisses.  But to them, he thought churlishly, it was as though he was invisible, as though they hadn't even considered him, given a thought that he might be there.  As though he was no longer even deemed part of the family.

He watched them, Marlena's hand curving around Brady's cheek in gentle greeting and his stomach roiled stormily.  He didn't want to feel like this.  Surely this anger, this unmitigated jealousy of Eugene and his place with the children was unfounded, simply borne out of insecurity.  He wanted to believe that with all his heart.  But somehow, he couldn't seem to reconcile himself with what he was seeing.