John and Marlena (Finally) Get a Q!

Chapter 141 - Veto

"No way Doc!" John shook his head with utter certainty. "Absolutely *no* way."

"Excuse me?" Marlena blinked, her expression a mixture of surprise and irritation. "And since when did you tell me what to do?"

"Since obviously you lost the ability to make rational decisions for yourself." John looked exasperated. One of the babies gave a small wail in his crib and both his parents froze. But when he settled, Marlena went back to glaring at John.

"John, it's *not* a big deal," she said convincingly.

"Marlena, you went through a *very* traumatic experience yesterday and you've been under a strain for months now." He came close to her, and his voice softened. "I don't want to pull rank on you, Doc, but I will if you insist on thinking you can go home today. There's *no* way I'm going to let you run yourself ragged because you think you have to be some kind of superwoman..."

"It's not about me thinking I have to be superwoman, John," she sighed. "I just think I'd feel a lot more comfortable at home, that's all. You *know* how I am about being in hospital."

"I do know baby, but the twins..." he shook his head. "You need to take advantage of having the nurses around for a few days while you get, while *we* get used to looking after these twinners." He reached out and drew his finger down the side of her cheek tenderly. "It's been a while for both of us; I think we probably need a little time to get used to it."

"I'm a mother, John," Marlena argued stubbornly. "I *know* how to deal with twins, I've done it before, remember?"

"And how old are Sami and Eric now?" John replied pointedly. "Look, I'm not going to have this argument with you, Doc. I'll get Mike and Dr. Robbins in here and *they* can tell you you're not going home if you'd like."

"God, you always have to get your own way, don't you?" She was getting exasperated now.

"Yup." John nodded with a tiny grin. "Kinda reminds me of someone else I know."

"All I want to do is *go* *home*," she snapped grumpily. "I didn't think you were going to make a federal case out of it."

"In case you'd forgotten, Marlena," John's tone firmed up, "you *gave birth* yesterday. After Kristen tried to..." He shook his head as his stomach contracted. The pain of knowing what had almost happened to the woman he loved so intensely, and his culpability in that, would always be with him.

"I'm *quite* aware of everything that happened yesterday, thank you," Marlena replied stiffly. She couldn't believe that John was being this obtuse. All she needed now was familiarity and comfort and she wasn't going to get that in the hospital.

"All right," John nodded. "Why don't we talk about what happened yesterday then?"

"Why don't we *not* talk about what happened yesterday?" Marlena returned shortly. The last thing she felt like doing was rehashing the nightmare that was her encounter with Kristen.

"Sweetheart," one corner of John's mouth turned downwards into a half-frown, "don't you think that it's something you need to deal with?"

"I have dealt with it," Marlena assured him. "You don't need to play shrink with me, John."

"You've dealt with it," John repeated disbelievingly. "You've dealt with the fact that Kristen tried to..."

"Yes, John." Marlena nodded tersely. "Kristen tried to *kill* me. See, I can say it, even if you can't. So, there we go. Maybe *you're* the one that needs to deal with it."

"Oh, c'mon Doc," tenderness tempered his voice. "I don't mean to make you angry. I'm trying to help you sweetheart."

"Well, you're not," Marlena glared at him angrily, struggling to hold back the tears. "I just want to leave the past where it belongs. Right now, all I want to do is go home and start my future with you and our children. The very *last* thing I want to do is dwell on *Kristen* or anything that happened in the past."

"Well, how about the fact that we're finally together," John whispered. "Why don't you dwell on that for a few minutes?"