AT CHEZ ROUGE:

Roman reached for the note but before he could grab it Tony stood up and upset his martini glass so the letter was drenched in vodka.

"Oh, Roman, I'm dreadfully sorry..." Tony said feigning regret for his calculated clumsiness.

"Dammit," Roman said. "Well there's no way to get the fingerprints off this now. We're going to have to head to New Orleans and that house you two were working at to search for clues."

Tony's impish smile turned to a frown at the words. He didn't like this turn of events at all.

Roman told them he was heading to the hospital to tell Marlena what happened. Even though they hadn't spoken in two weeks, he knew the place to find her was with John, who was still in a coma, at his bedside.

"I'm not sure if Doc will want to come with us or not, but we need everybody's help we can get if we want to figure this out," Roman said. "Maybe she'll save us some trouble and let us use John's plane."

He told Lucas to pack his bags and be ready to head out first thing the next morning as he had some loose ends to tie up at the police station.

"Roman, I can come, too," Kate said.

Roman eyed her skeptically but agreed to accept her offer.

"Damn those Dimeras for hurting her once again," Roman muttered to himself as he walked out of Chez Rouge.

Lucas stood up from the table.

"Mom, I'm going to head out too," Lucas said kissing her on the forehead. "Will should be out of school soon and I need to check in with him to try and explain this latest nightmare. Oh, I guess I should stop by the apartment building and see if Billie can handle Will staying with her a few more days."

"That's fine, Lucas, but you'll have to go to Titan find your sister," Kate said. "Maybe I should come with you. I can make sure my grandson is all right after what happened and I'm dying to find out how Billie's first day back at Countess Wilhemina went."

"No, Mom," Lucas said. "I need to do this alone. I need to be alone right now."

Lucas hurriedly left the table but that didn't stop Kate from yelling out to him, "OK honey! Call me later!"

Tony shook his head at all of Kate's smothering. What a waste, he thought, to see a woman like Kate wasting so much of her life lavishing attention on an ungrateful, sniveling son like Lucas when there were better, more satisfying things she could be giving attention her to. Like him.

Kate gulped down her fourth vodka martini, and stood up from the table too quickly so that she needed to put her hands down to steady herself from the head rush. Then she leaned in and flirtatiously told Tony that as much as she enjoyed their lunch she needed to get back to Mythic to settle things before she left for New Orleans.

"Work?" Tony said pulling her on his lap. "Work can wait."

Tony shut his eyes as the two of them leaned in for a passionate kiss, but his lips went as limp as a fish's when he opened them to look over Kate's shoulder and see the stunning blonde coming out of the restroom.

AT MAISON BLANCHE:

All Sami's worries, all her troubles melted away in E.J.'s arms she ran her fingers through E.J.'s hair and closed her eyes to say, "I love you."

Yet E.J. was gone when Sami's eyes opened. In a panic and feeling the sweat ringing around her neck she rolled over in the bed but found E.J. was not in the bed. He was no longer even in the room.

She heaved a sigh of immediate relief and sat up in the bed before a more long-term concern crept into her mind.

"Oh, this isn't good," Sami said to herself. "This isn't good at all."

Sami wondered where these dreams were coming from. She loved Lucas, she thought. She loved being with Lucas and that's why she married him. Or at least loved the simplicity of being with him.

With Lucas if there was a problem there wasn't a lie or a bedroom trick that she couldn't pull to cover it up. But E.J...

He always knew what she was up to because he was usually up to something, too. She couldn't hide her lies, her schemes, herself from him the way she could everyone else. She could fool her family, but never him. So what if it that meant it was almost impossible for her to get their acceptance and E.J. cared for her unconditionally? What did a Dimera's love and respect mean anyway?

And Will. Will wanted so badly for his mom and dad to be together. As Sami looked around the room she suddenly remembered where she was. Maison Blanche. The horrible house that had ripped her family apart and forever ruined any chance of her mother and father getting back together.

"I am NOT going to be like my mother," Sami resolved. "I am NOT going to be like my sisters. I am going to hold true to my vows and make sure I raise my baby with my baby's father."

Just then she felt a stab in her stomach. It was a pang of hunger but reminded her she would now have to think of more than just Will when considering her children's feelings.

Sami was sure that hunger pang meant she slept through lunch, but she wondered how late it was. She wondered where E.J. went. And if he would be back. Then she scolded herself for worrying about him so much.

"Oh what am I going to do?" she said. "That's it. I can't think of that right now, I'll think of it tomorrow."

http://z9.invisionfree.com/ejami_fans/inde...=4762&st=60