"It was *horrible*. She just *laughed* at me. I've never felt more pointless in my whole life." The voice barely serves to interrupt Grace's daydream as she stares off into the distance.
Her pen rests against the pad but there is no movement, no taking of notes as Marlena's patient rambles on. She is thinking of her rendezvous with Craig Wesley the previous day when he had paid an unofficial visit to her penthouse. He had come to pay his respects after learning of Roman Brady's untimely demise but things had quickly become physical and she had finally pushed him out of the apartment sometime in the hours of the early morning.
"Dr. Evans?" The timid voice finally snaps Grace out of her reverie and she looks at the mousy man who is seated on the sofa across from her.
"Yes?" She looks vaguely disinterested.
"Uh, I asked you what you thought I should do." Braden Davies lower lip quivers as he looks at her and Grace's stomach turns. She doesn't even begin to comprehend how Marlena can sit here day after day listening to all these pitiful people spew out all their boring, insignificant problems. It's tedious and a *complete* waste of time. And there must be some way that she can get out of this, surely....
Grace leans back in her chair with a smile playing on her lips.
"Braden?" She touches her fingertips together and looks thoughtful for a moment. Then she leans her head on one side and pastes a sympathetic smile on her face. "The reason she laughed at you is because you *are* laughable. You *do* realize that, don?t you?"
"I... ah..." The young man's face flames crimson with shame but it doesn't trigger any kind of sympathy within Grace. She abhors weakness and she will exploit it if she can. She will extinguish it, given the chance.
"Braden, let me save you some time and money," Grace leans forward as though imparting some confidential knowledge. "You think that people don't respect you? That they laugh at you behind your back? That you bore people? Well, I'm afraid the truth is that you do." She approximates a look of sympathy again and almost succeeds. "You have some severe personality deficits and I just don't think that therapy is going to help you with those. Do you?"
"I..." Braden looks as though he is going to burst into tears as he stares at her open-mouthed.
"Why don't you take some sky-diving lessons or something? Get an interest. Get a dog. Get a life?" The tiny smile sneaks out again as she scribbles something on a piece of paper and rips it off the pad. "There you go. These should help you for now. You don't need to bother making another appointment, okay?"
"O... okay," the young man looks distraught as he takes the folded piece of paper from Grace and flicks it open to read it. She caps her pen as she watches his eyes trace the potent prescription for sleeping pills.
"Braden, your hour is up, okay? I have a luncheon appointment, so if you don't mind...?" She gets up from her chair and goes across to the door.
"Uh... sure." He looks stunned as he stuffs the prescription in his pocket and stands unsteadily.
"I know you'll do the right thing," she puts her hand on his back as he passes through the door and then she turns back to the room with a wicked grin.
Give it a few days and that session should take care of Marlena's 'flourishing' psychiatric career.
~
"Belle?" John's heart is pounding as he waits for his young daughter to answer. "Izzy, is that you baby?"
"Yeah Dad," Belle's voice comes distantly over the line. "It's me."
"Oh," John is filled with a sense of relief, but it is instantly converted to fear as he registers the coldness in her tone.
"How are you sweetheart?" he ventures diffidently "I've been trying to get hold of you for days, you know."
"Um... I'm sorry about that," she says hesitantly. "I've kinda been busy."
"That's okay," he brushes off her obvious lie. She's about as good at lying as her mother. "So, are you enjoying it there in Colorado?"
"Yeah, it's great." She sounds unconvinced.
"Good..." John trails off. "Uh, listen Belle, have you talked to your mother recently?"
"How recently?" Belle asks stiffly. "If you mean, has she told me about Roman, then yeah, I have."
"Oh..." John nods. "Good." There is an awkward pause as neither of them know what to say. Finally John breaks the silence. "Uh... Belle, can I ask you a question?" The line is quiet at the other end and John takes that as an affirmative. "How did your mother seem to you when you talked to her?"
There is another pause as Belle considers the question. "Fine," she answers eventually. "Considering everything..."
"Everything?" John hopes to God that he doesn't know what is coming.
"Is it true, Dad?" she asks in a small voice.
"Is what true, sweetheart?" he asks with his heat pounding in his ears.
"Is what Mom said, true? Is it true that you cheated on her?"
~
"Dr. Evans?" Grace's senses are filled with the masculine presence behind her and she turns to find Austin looking at her with unbridled curiosity.
"Oh, hi Austin, honey," she can't help the smile that transforms her face as she looks him up and down appreciatively. He is obviously on his lunchtime run along the piers and his shirt is drenched with perspiration and clinging to the well-defined muscles of his torso. "You look like you could do with a break there."
"Yeah I," he leans over, his hands on his knees. "I just... I gotta be getting back to the office soon."
"Oh, that sounds dreadfully dull and boring," Grace smiles mischievously. "I could think of *much* better things you could do with your afternoon."
"Uh..." Austin isn't quite sure what she's getting at but he doesn't really have the time to play twenty questions. Especially since she's wearing another one of those dresses that leaves only strategic items to the imagination. And he has a *very* active imagination today. "Dr. Evans, you haven't returned any of Sami's calls. She's starting to get worried."
"Austin, honey," Grace takes a step towards him and places her hand very deliberately on his chest, her fingertips resting against sweat-slick skin. "Haven't I told you before to call me Marlena?"
"Uh..." Austin clears his throat almost convulsively. "Well... uh."
"You don't need to be afraid of me Austin," Grace's voice softens as she takes another step towards him. "I don't bite. Well," she smiles, revealing perfect teeth and she leans her head on one side, "not so hard that I leave marks anyway."
Austin's eyes widen as he stares at her, completely staggered and quite unable to form a coherent thought except for that he's hoping like hell that Marlena doesn?t look down.
Grace smiles sensually as she trails her fingers up over the damp skin. Traversing his shoulder, her hand skims down his upper arm until finally she reaches his wrist. Encircling it with her own fingers, she lifts it...
"Marlena?" Dropping Austin's arm, she spins at the sound of the voice and finds herself face to face with Craig. "Marlena, what are you doing?"
"Talking to Austin," she turns back to the confused young man with an innocent smile.
"Thanks honey, I appreciate your concern. You can tell Sami that I'll try and call her tonight. Failing that, tomorrow, okay?"
"Uh..." Austin blinks, not quite sure what has transpired here. He *thinks* that Sami's mother just came onto him. But he *must* surely be wrong. He must have imagined it. Misinterpreted it. *Something*. Especially since she seems like she just wants to get rid of him now. "Sure. I'll tell her."
"Good." She smiles graciously, hoping that the boy will go now, before either of them can ask any more awkward questions. "Have fun finishing your run now, won't you?"
"Uh, yeah." Austin nods his head at Craig Wesley and doesn't waste any time climbing the stairs from the old pier.
~
"So, Dad?" Even through the phone line, John can hear the anger and hurt in Belle's voice and he winces internally. "Is what Mom said, true?"
"Belle, she shouldn't have told you that," he says in a strained voice. "That's between your mother and me."
"No Dad," he can hear the tears in her voice and it breaks his heart. "If it's breaking up our family, then it's between all of us. I have a *right* to know."
"It wasn't *like* that honey," John gives in. "It wasn't like I was *cheating* on your Mom..." He rubs his fingers over gritty eyes as he stares out of the car window. "I... It's hard for me to explain it all right now, but you have to believe me baby, I didn't know what I was doing... I didn't remember...." He falters, wincing again as his finger strokes one eyebrow unconsciously. "Honey, the very last thing I *ever* wanted to do was hurt your mother. I love her so much...."
"Well then, why *did* you?"
Belle's words trip over the sobs in her throat and John finds himself silently and inexplicably cursing Marlena for telling their sweet daughter the painful truth. The last thing Marlena should have done was bring Belle into the fray and he still can't understand why she has. Chalk up another one of those unanswerable questions, Black...
"It was Stefano, Belle... He did something to me to make me forget..." He knows that sounds lame. It *is* lame, but he has no other excuses to offer.
"Did he make you lie to Mom too?" Belle asks, perfect sarcasm littering her words.
"I was trying to do what I thought was right, baby," he replies wearily. "It sounds so stupid now, I know. I'm so sorry I screwed up and hurt you and your Mom. I wish I could go back and change it honey." He shakes his head as he looks up at the heavy cloud the blankets the sky. "I wish to God none of it had happened in the first place."
Belle's reply is barely audible as it comes out as little more than a whisper. "So do I Daddy, so do I."