Aware that Shawn and Caroline are watching her with equal measures concern and disgust, Grace makes a show of leading Stefano to a booth where she slides onto the bench. When she is seated, he eases onto the bench across from her, laughter barely concealed behind his pursed lips.
Grace's eyes glitter with danger as she waits for the inevitable interruption that is about to occur. It doesn't take long.
"Marlena, darlin' you know you are always welcome here," Shawn's heavily accented voice cuts the air. "But not in the company you're choosin' to keep right now."
"Shawn, all we want is to see a menu," Grace's words are soft and placating.
"I will not serve *that* man," Shawn practically spits in DiMera's direction. "Not in my home. Why would you even bring him here, Marlena?"
"Why not?" Grace shrugs carelessly.
"Darlin', I know you've been through hell these last few months, but I swear even the good Lord in heaven above would not understand why you are doin' this to your family."
"What *exactly* am I doing to my family?" Grace challenges him. "Standing up for myself? Making my own decisions? Not being a doormat? Why is it that I'm always expected to consider the feelings of my so-called family first and my own life can go to hell?"
"Marlena, that's not true." Caroline comes up behind her husband, providing the semblance of a united front.
"You keep telling yourself that Caroline," Grace places her purse on the table. "And in the meantime, my money is either welcome here, or it's not. I would like to see a menu, please."
"While you choose to bring *him* here, it's not." Caroline utters the words with a thunderous expression. "After what he's done... how can you ask us to be civil to him? How could you be civil to him yourself? He's playing with your life even now, Marlena. He is responsible for Gina and for every terrible thing that has happened to this family. What happened between John and Hope was *his* fault, you must realize that."
"Perhaps if this family stopped looking for a scapegoat and started taking responsibility for their own actions..." Grace pauses as the bell on the door jangles noisily. She's not even sure what it is that compels her to raise her eyes in that direction, but she finds herself looking directly at John. The crystalline eyes that are growing so familiar are shadowed by pain and frustration and he grows pale at the sight of her sitting across from Stefano.
Inexplicably, her heartbeat speeds up and she feels her hands grow clammy. Stefano, noticing the flush creeping over her cheeks, immediately knows exactly who it is that has entered the pub. He turns around and when he sees John, his expression darkens into a scowl.
Bo enters behind John and stops when he sees the silent tableau. His brow creases when he realizes Marlena is sitting across from none other than Stefano DiMera.
"What the hell?" He mutters under his breath. He takes a step toward the table where his parents stand, but John places a hand on his arm.
"Leave it Bo, now's not the time."
"John, he's in my folk's pub. With *your* wife." Bo's temper rises as he watches Stefano turn back to Marlena and say something inaudible.
John, fighting himself to contain his rage, turns to Bo. The last thing he needs now is for Bo to provoke "her" into revealing herself. The mercenary is simmering below the surface of his skin, and he is afraid that if the situation erupts, he will lose control. And if that happens, he knows without a doubt it will all be over.
"Let it go little brother, she's still trying to punish me. I don't want to play games with her any more okay?"
"If this is a game, it's a pretty fucked up one," Bo glares murderously at the back of DiMera's head as Shawn and Caroline cross the floor to where they stand.
"John," Shawn greets him curtly. Caroline doesn't say anything, she just looks at Bo uncertainly. So much has happened since Marlena's revelations here in the pub several days ago but even they hadn't been prepared to see John and Bo walk in as if nothing had occurred.
"Shawn, Caroline…" John shrugs uneasily. "I'm sorry, I really am."
‘What is going on here, son?" Shawn demands, his voice tight with grief. "It seems as if the world is goin' mad. Caroline and me, we can't make sense of it."
"I know Pop." The name chokes in John's throat. These good people, they never did anything to warrant this, to lose their son, to be entangled in DiMera's interminable schemes. He swallows as his eyes meet the sorrowful stare of Caroline's. "I'm going to make this better. I'm going to fix it, I promise you all."
"Can it be fixed?" Caroline shakes her head as she turns back to look at Marlena.
Grace is watching the exchange with a shrewd gaze, much to Stefano's chagrin.
"Grace," he waits as she turns her attention to him.
"Mmmm?"
"If the Brady's will not serve us, perhaps it is time to go elsewhere." His voice is a low velvety rumble, but it does nothing to hide his irritation. Despite the fact that he enjoys seeing the Brady's so confused and vulnerable, he is wary that any time now, someone will realize that Grace is no longer Marlena. And that will serve to undo all the damage they have wrought. The last thing he needs is for the Brady's to band together in order to save Marlena.
"Oh no," she seems oblivious to his concern as she smiles. "I think our ends are being much better achieved while we sit here."
Her gaze wanders back to John and the Brady's. Even as she's sitting there, she can feel John's hands on her skin and her breathing quickens imperceptibly. John, almost as if he senses he is being watched, lifts his eyes and she feels a flutter in the put of her stomach, accompanied by a surge of lust.
God, she wants him. She wants him more than she can ever remember wanting anything. And her desire is beginning to supersede *want*. She craves him, the taste of him, and the way he feels when he moves beneath her....
"Grace!" Stefano hisses, drawing her focus back away from John. "Grace, your attention is wandering. You must stay focussed. John Black is not worth your time or your attention."
He is becoming wary of Grace's interest in John. He knows her well and he has never seen her this infatuated. She is usually the epitome of control and icy calm, and to see her so obviously affected by Black's mere presence... But after all, he must never forget that Grace was borne from Marlena. She is not like Gina, something separate, a discrete personality installed over the one that was already there. No, Grace, although she will never admit it, comes from somewhere within Marlena. A Marlena hardened by circumstance and stripped of all conscience.
It fascinates Stefano how utterly unlike Marlena she is, and yet at the same time, the essence of Marlena remains. The strength, the fiery spirit, the sharp wit. She is just magnificent and he refuses to lose her again.
"It is merely interest, Stefano." She pats his hand with a fair amount of condescension. "You have no reason to be jealous."
"It is hardly jealousy my dear," he raises one busy eyebrow as she looks at him, her golden eyes filled with challenge and mystery. "I'm merely concerned that the Brady's will figure out the truth."
"Those idiots?" Her laughter captures the attention of John and the Brady's. "Oh please!"
"Do not write off these people," Stefano warns her. "They have proved worthy opponents over the years."
"My opinion of you is dropping by the day Stefano," Grace returns scathingly.
Stefano reigns in his anger as he glares at her. He would almost enjoy seeing her discover just how wrong she is, if there wasn't so much at stake. If he didn't think he was in danger of losing her.
"If you will excuse me, my dear," he says stiffly. "I have just remembered a call I must make. He slides out of the booth as Grace watches him curiously. She says nothing as he walks out of the pub, all eyes trained on his back.
The moment he has left the building, John lays his hand on Caroline's arm and then takes his leave of his surrogate family.
As casually as he can, he walks over to where she sits. "You know, you don't have to punish the Brady's too," he says softly as he slips in across from her. She merely stares at him, her expression unreadable. "Punish me all you like," he continues. "I deserve it. I can handle it. But don't punish these people. They're good people." He raises one eyebrow. "What did they ever do to you?"
"What did they ever do *for* me?" Grace shrugs. "Unless it suited them, I mean."
"I'm not sure I understand," John leans back against the vinyl seat.
"Why doesn’t that surprise me?" Grace replies bitterly. "I'm kinda tired of being the whipping girl around here John. If you'd all just mind your own business, I'm sure we can all get along just fine."
Bo has edged close enough to hear the conversation and at Grace's comment, he can't contain himself any longer.
"If your business is with Stefano DiMera and you bring it into my parents pub then it becomes our business, Marlena."
"Oh look, it's the Brady cavalry to the rescue, how sweet," Grace says acidly. "Back for another round of tell Marlena what a horrible person she is, are we?"
"Doc-" John stops and shakes his head with a sigh. The name still comes naturally enough but everything else.... There's no point trying to get through to her. Whoever she is.
"Marlena dear, I don't understand why you are so angry with us," Caroline interrupts tearily. "What is it that we did?"
"Where do I start?" Grace replies bitingly. "Oh, I know. How about where everything, as usual, became my fault. My husband screws someone else on our honeymoon and suddenly *I'm* the one that's not understanding enough. Hope comes to harangue me in my own house and gets so carried away that she has an accident and suddenly everyone's looking at me like I'm some kind of psychopath."
"No, no that's not true darlin'." Shawn interjects, upset by her implications.
"*Please* don't presume to tell me what I see or feel. Or think," she adds with a dangerous glare. "If you all want to delude yourselves into thinking you're a functional family, go right ahead. But I'm not part of it."
"You haven't even asked how Hope is," Bo says quietly.
"*Excuse* me?" Grace blinks in astonishment. "We are talking about Hope here, right? The whore that stole my husband away on our *honeymoon* and screwed him, *and* our marriage?"
"That wasn't Hope," Bo snaps back angrily. "She said it was Gina and I believe her."
"Well, more fool you then," Grace laughs, but the sound is tight and pained.
"You sound like you're glad she's in the hospital," Bo spits back accusingly.
"I'd be happier if she was *dead*," The tone of Grace's reply is downright nasty and Bo actually takes a step backwards.
"Marlena!" Caroline is shocked as she looks at Grace through suddenly wary eyes.
"What?" Grace raises her eyebrows like she has no idea what the fuss is about. "I'm just being *honest*. I don't know why everyone in this town has a problem with that." She narrows her eyes. "Or maybe I do. You've spent so long fabricating your perfect little lives with your perfect little families that you're perfected the art of lying to each other and to yourselves." She looks at Bo again. "The truth Bo? I couldn't care less what happens to your *precious* princess, in fact-"
"All right," John is already out of his seat and has her arm. "That's *enough*."
"Oh, I'm just getting started," she smirks viciously.
"You're going to shut up, *now*." John pulls on her arm until she is left with no choice but to slide out of the booth. "And you're coming with me."
"I'm not going *anywhere* with you," she snarls. Her heart is pounding and her skin burning as she pulls her arm from his grip. Drawing her hand back she lets fly, her hand connecting with his face so hard it leaves a white print in its wake. "You're a *pig* and I wouldn't go anywhere with you if you were the last person left on this earth!"
With that, she swipes her purse off the table and marches out of the pub.
Outside, Stefano has just finished his call. Sliding his cell phone into the top pocket of his jacket, he looks at Grace with coolly appraising eyes. She appears flustered and it strengthens his resolve.
Moving closer to her, he takes her arm and steers her away from the door of the pub.
"Grace, I want you to go home right now and pack your things." She opens her mouth to speak but he raises one thick finger to her lips. "No questions. Just pack everything you want to take with you. We are leaving Salem for Europe, tonight. And we will not be returning. Ever."