John and Marlena: The Divorce

Life could be a dream.

Brady held his father's hand as he watched the heart monitor. Dr. Lowenstein assured him that the surgery was successful. They were able to get good margins, and the type of tumor was unlikely to regrow. But still, his nerves wouldn't quell until his father woke up.

John stirred, somewhere between anesthesia and full consciousness. Flashes of memories danced across the backs of his eyelids. Brady. Kristen. Marlena. Divorce papers. Italy. Barnes. His brows furrowed as he muttered something unintelligible.

"Dad?" Brady called out, rubbing his arm. "Are you waking up?"

John's eyes fluttered before opening completely. Brady stood beside him, smiling with tears in his eyes. "Hey, kid," John spoke in a groggy voice.

"It's so good to hear your voice," Brady leaned over to embrace his dad as best he could while he was laying in the hospital bed. Things with his dad were rocky... to say the least. But when Marlena told him about the brain tumor, none of that stuff seemed to matter.

"I'm surprised to see you here," John spoke as he elevated the head of the bed so he could get a better look at his son.

"Look, dad, I know we've had our problems," Brady explained, not daring to utter Kristen's name while his father was still recovering. "But when Marlena told me you were sick, I dropped everything."

Marlena. Her name echoed in his head. His head was foggy, but he had a vague memory of fighting with her before his surgery. He was hoping it was another hallucination.

"Marlena," John spoke her name painfully. "Where is she?"

"Er... she's not here," Brady answered tentatively. "But she wanted me to come sit with you. She didn't want you to be alone when you woke up." He was sugarcoating the situation, but his dad was still weak. No use upsetting him.

"What aren't you telling me, son?" John pried, knowing that things were not that simple between himself and Marlena these days. That unfortunately was no hallucination.

"Marlena came to see me while you were in surgery. Look, dad, I don't know what went on between you two before you went for surgery, but Marlena was very upset. She told me about the tumor, that were having surgery," Brady explained. "And she said she wanted to be there for you, but she just 'couldn't.' She was obviously shaken up. I didn't want to press her for information. She just asked that I go be with you. She didn't want you to wake up alone."

"Oh, God, it's true..." John spoke in realization. "I thought...I thought, well I hoped, that what I'm remembering that I said to her before the surgery was another hallucination."

Brady noticed John's heart rate jumping on the monitor. "Dad, dad, calm down. Don't get yourself worked up. I'm sure Marlena will understand. You two will work things out. You always do," Brady reassured. "Dr. Lowenstein told me this tumor could cause a lot of odd, uncharacteristic behavior. Marlena knows that, dad."

He appreciated his son's words, but he knew it wouldn't be that easy. He remembered Marlena apologizing to him for being with Barnes, tears streaming down her face. He remembered screaming at her to get out of his room and making some offhand comment telling her to see if Barnes was free. His stomach turned as he remembered how venomous it was.

"I need to talk to Marlena," John spoke as he sat up in bed, attempting to swing his legs over the side. The bed alarm beeped dramatically, startling them both.

"Dad, lay back down. You're on strict bed rest. You just had brain surgery. You can't go anywhere," Brady instructed, placing a tentative hand on his fathers chest to assist him back into bed.