AT MAISON BLANCHE:

E.J. glared at Rolf in disbelief while Lexie looked at them with obvious discomfort.

“I’m going to go check on Father,” Lexie said disappearing into the fireplace passageway.

“Dammit,” Sami whispered to herself as she saw Lexie disappear.

Sami took a few steps up the stairs to head back to her room, but then reconsidered and decided to listen to what Rolf had to say.

“E.J., I understand you and Samantha have become quite close these months she’s spent here as the hired surrogate mother to Stefano’s child, but this is what she was paid to do and it is time to get that umbilical cord blood,” Rolf said. “The child was never going to be hers to raise anyway, so why does it matter if we let her carry it to full term? Now if you don’t mind, I need to get up stairs and bring Samantha down to surgery so we can begin the procedure. Tony has sent these orders and I intend to carry them out.”

Sami gasped. She ran and hid in a second floor closet while she tried to think of what to do next.

AT CHEZ ROUGE:

Roman looked at his watch and nervously sipped the glass of water at his table at Chez Rouge. Anna had phoned him to say she was running late, but Roman insisted their lunch date not be cancelled.

He fiddled with his pocket and removed a small box to examine the reason it was so important to him that Anna not miss their date.

As Roman fiddled with the ring, he heard his ex-wife squeal behind him.

“Oh Roman, it’s beautiful!” Marlena gasped.

“Well, Doc, I’m glad this gets your seal of approval, but I’m afraid this is for my other blonde ex-wife,” Roman said with a teasing grin.

Marlena playfully punched his shoulder and Roman laughed.

"So you found out my big secret. What are you up to?" Roman asked.

"Oh I was just here for lunch with some people from the hospital. But seriously, Roman, I really am glad for you and Anna finding your way back to each other,” she said with a sigh. “Of course, if you hadn’t lost your way we’d have never had Eric or Sami…”

Marlena stopped as they both remembered their lost daughter. After they returned to Salem and John awoke from his coma, Roman had wanted to go back to New Orleans to continue the search for Sami but when Lucas returned without her saying he had searched the place top to bottom and there were no clues to be found, everyone took his word for it and just waited and hoped she’d contact them.

“What I mean to say is…” Marlena said attempting to interrupt his melancholy, “I’m just so glad you are getting this happiness in your life. You definitely deserve it.”

Roman smiled appreciatively.

“Well, Anna hasn’t said yes yet,” Roman said sliding the ring box back in his pocket.

Marlena told him not to worry. She’d be crazy to turn him down and gave him a kiss on the cheek just as Anna entered the bar.

“Am I interrupting something?” Anna said smiling at the same time she was shooting Marlena daggers with her eyes.