Marlena looks out one of the penthouse windows.  She sighs as she
closes her eyes and thinks of John.  She couldn't sleep at all last night
because every time she closed her eyes, her thoughts drifted to John.
Roman had asked her the night before at dinner if anything was wrong, but
as usual she lied about her feelings.  She looked out into the morning
sky at the town and wished that she could be sharing this view with John.
 As if on cue, there is a soft tapping at the door.
        "I wonder who that could be this early in the morning." she
replies confused as she opens the door to find John standing there
holding flowers. She is instantly happy to see him.   "John, what are you
doing here?
        "I know that I'm not supposed to be here Doc, but I just couldn't
stay away from you." he explains picking her up in a loving hug.  "I just
can't stand spending my nights alone anymore."
        "Oh John," she says kissing him briefly.  "I love you so much."
        "He's upstairs sleeping, isn't he?" John nods at the staircase as
he feels Marlena's hesitation in kissing him.
        "He had a very hard time last night John." Marlena explains
watching a dark expression take over John's happiness.  "He seems to
still be struggling to get back on the road to recovery."
        "He will get back on his feet again soon Doc." he whispers as she
leads him inside the penthouse.
        "I know he will." she agrees turning to face him.  "We just have
to be patient John."
        "Doc, I don't know how much more of this I can take." he sighs
watching her gaze back at the staircase.
        "I know honey, but soon we can be together and there won't be
anymore secrets between all of this." she replies moving in for a kiss.
        "Doc, I miss waking up with you in my arms." he whispers softly
in her ear as he wraps his arms around her.  "I hate the thought of
spending all this time away from you."
        "Soon." she whispers frustrated.
        "I hate the thought of him sleeping up there in our bed." John
responds tensing up against Marlena.  "I hate being the one that has to
stay away from you."
        "Baby, I want to be with you too, but we have to think about
Roman's health." Marlena sadly reminds him.  "I had to medicate him last
night."
        "Doc, I want you." John declares boldly as he softly kisses her
ear.
        "John?" she asks confused.
        "Doc, I know that we promised that we would wait," he begins
whispering warmly in her ear, "but I can't wait any longer.  I want to
make love to you."
        "But John Roman is upstairs asleep." she begins to protest as his
kisses slowly trail down along her neckline.
        "Your right Doc.  He's asleep, and he'll never know." John
insists tugging on her robe.  "Come on.  Please."
        "John," she replies looking at the stairs again.  "Do you realize
what a risk you and I would be taking if we did that?"
        "Doc," he said forcing her to look into his eyes.  "You are well
worth the risk.  I love you."
        "I love you too." she whispers as he sweeps her up into his arms
and carries her into the kitchen.
        "Let's do this right." he says sweeping the table off with one
hand while he holds Marlena in the other arm.
        "Make love to me John." Marlena insists as he presses his body
against hers.
        "I've never wanted to do anything more than just that." He
replies slowly devouring her neck.

        John quickly pulls off Marlena's robe as she helps him unbutton
his shirt.  The two quickly remove the rest of the clothing barrier
between them as John begins to indulge in Marlena's naked body.  He moves
her onto the table top and runs his hands alongside her shoulders slowly
as he begins to move toward her stomach coming dangerously close to
reaching his destination.

        "Oh John.  How long I've waited for this." Marlena whispers
running her nails down his back as he teases her with his hands.
        "Doc, you deserve to be cherished each and every day.  I should
be making love to you every morning."  John sighs as he looks her over in
between placing soft kisses on her stomach.  "You're so beautiful."
        "You're the most wonderful man John Black." Marlena gasps taking
in the sight of him as his kisses slowly reach her lower abdomen.
        " Do you want me to stop?"John asks on his knees looking up at
her.
        " Make love to me baby." Marlena responds heating up at his every
touch.
        "As you wish." John  smiles returning back to his work as she
lays back on the table  groaning in excitement as he continues to explore
every region of her body with his tongue.  He feels himself growing
increasing excited as she begins to be on the brink of losing control
with each movement he makes.
        "Don't wait any longer!!!"  Marlena insists pulling him up to
look into her eyes.  "Make love to me now."
        "I'm just trying to do this right Doc.  I want to give you
something to remember all morning."  John explains wanting her more each
passing second.  "I want this to be special."
        " No more fooling around I want you inside of me."  Marlena urges
trailing her hand down John's heated body.  "I want you now."
        John follows Marlena's request and the two are joined as one on
top of the table.  The excitement of Roman sleeping upstairs adds to
their urgency as they realize that he could awaken any minute and find
them in this compromising position.  They pick up their pace until
neither one of them can take anymore.  Their lips join as they both reach
their point together.
        "I love you so much."  Marlena sighs smiling even though she's
tired from their lovemaking.
        " I love you too."  John whispers holding her tightly.
        " You're quite good at what you do Mr. Black."  Marlena teases
moving in for another kiss.
        "There's more where that came from."  John replies grinning
mischievously as he moves in for another long kiss. They suddenly hear a
thump coming from upstairs.
        "Roman's awake."Marlena sighs frowning sadly.   "I wonder if he
heard anything."
        "That would make it easier for us to explain things to him." John
teases sitting up and handing Marlena her clothes.  He notices that she
seems unamused by his last comment.  "I doubt it.  He can sleep through
just about anything on that medication."
        "I don't want this to end."  Marlena announces sadly taking one
last long look at John's body while he gets dressed.
        "Me neither."  John replies grinning as he finishes getting
dressed.  He takes one last look at her as he leans in for a kiss while
he helps her finish getting dressed.
        " I hope this all ends soon."  Marlena thinks out loud while
looking in her mirror on the wall.
        " It will.  Maybe after the appointment with Mike today, we will
find out that Roman will be healthy enough to hear the truth."  John
whispers slightly frustrated that he can't spend the entire day making
love to Marlena.
        "I hope so."  Marlena replies looking at John's reflection in the
mirror. She notices that John is smiling as he thinks about what just
took place.  "What are you smiling about?  We have to go put on an act
for Roman now."
        "I was just thinking about how wild you are Dr. Evans."  John
laughs touching Marlena's back softly.
        " Oh...uh." Marlena breathes heating up as his hands slowly move
to her breasts.  "John I..."
        "Don't say another word."  John insists turning her around and
giving her another long sensuous kiss.   "I promise you that we'll
continue this later."
        "That better be a promise."  Marlena insists smiling at the
thought of making love to John once again.
        "That's a fact."  John smiles releasing her and walking to the
kitchen door.
        John walks out into the living room and finds a confused looking
Roman standing at the top of the staircase.
        " What are you doing here John?" Roman asks surprised to see
John.
        " We were just getting ready for breakfast."  John replies as
Marlena walks out of the kitchen.
        " That's what all that noise was."  Roman rationalizes not
knowing what had just taken place in the kitchen.
        "Yeah, we were just going to get things cooking."  Marlena adds
trying not to blush.
        "From the sound of it in there, it sounded like you two were
having trouble getting things started up in there." Roman smiles thinking
about it.  "Doc, you never were too handy in the kitchen, were you?"
        "She seemed to be doing fine to me." John replied unable to
resist as he turns to her.   "There didn't seem to be any problems in the
kitchen.  Right Doc?"
        "Nope." Marlena manages to spit out as she tries to control
herself.
        "Good." Roman smiles as he heads towards the kitchen. " Let me
see if I can help you get things heated up in there."
        " I think he's about twenty minutes too late for that." John
grins at Marlena as Roman walks into the kitchen leaving them alone in
the living room.
        " You're terrible John." Marlena teases hitting him slightly.
        " You didn't say that a few minutes ago."  John replies
pretending to be offended.
        " Are you two coming?"  Roman asks peering out of the kitchen.
        "Sure thing." Marlena responds looking away from John and towards
Roman.  She walks towards the door as Roman walks back into the kitchen.
"We were just talking for a second."
        "I'm hungry.  Let's eat." John announces playfully hitting her
behind as he follows her into the kitchen while he dreams of the day when
the two of them will be able to tell Roman the truth.

         Eric Brady walks through Salem Place after his meeting with his
sister Sami.  The two of them discussed their plans for keeping John away
from their mother.  Eric smiled thinking about how happy everyone would
be when the family was reunited at last.  He gets lost in his own
thoughts as he strolls down the road.
        "Eric," a voice calls out interrupting his thoughts as he turns
in the direction of the sound.
        "Jenny!" he smiles running to hug the slender brunette standing
behind him.  "What on earth are you doing here in Salem?  I thought that
you were back in Colorado."
        "I'm going to the University here." she smiled at him.  "What are
you doing here?"
        "I live here now." he said releasing her from the hug.  "This is
where my parents live."
        "Really?" she asked delighted to hear the news.  "That's great.
Now I know someone in Salem."
        "That's wonderful." Eric said smiling to have his friend near by.
 "We must get together.  In fact, I was going over to breakfast at my
mom's place.  Would you like to come with me?"
        "You know Eric I would love to," Jenny begins frowning,"but today
is my first day at my new job, so I'd like to get there early."
        "Where are you working?" Eric asks interested.
        "University Hospital." Jenny replies checking the time.  "I'm a
doctor's assistant.  It's kind of like a secretarial position."
        "That's wonderful news." Eric replied happy to see his old
friend.  "What do you say we do dinner tonight?"
        "That sounds great." Jenny agrees taking out a piece of paper and
writing her phone number down.  "Call me after five and I should be
home."
        "Alright." Eric says taking the piece of paper and hugging his
friend goodbye.  "Good luck at work."
        "Thank you." she smiles leaving him alone to think about their
chance meeting.
 

        "That was one of the best meals that you've ever cooked Doc."
Roman announced cleaning off his plate and looking at Marlena and John.
"You both were so enthusiastic about cooking this morning."
        "Well, I've just got all of this energy built up inside of me."
John explained to Roman making brief eye contact with Marlena.
        "Well, what ever it is that has you so worked up John, you better
keep it up because the food is excellent." Roman smiled at him.  "You and
Doc make a good team in the kitchen."
        "We sure do." John agreed watching Marlena's face turn a pale
shade of pink.
        "So how are you feeling this morning Roman?" Marlena asked trying
to keep from thinking about making love to John earlier that morning.
        "Better Doc." Roman answered turning to face her.  "You don't
look too good yourself Doc.  You're flushed."
        "I'll be okay." she quickly answered as he felt her forehead.
        "You know Doc, I don't want you to wear yourself down worrying
about me." Roman explained to her as he reached for her hand.  "I don't
want you to get sick trying to make me feel better.  You've already made
me better by agreeing to marry me again."
        "You know Roman..." John began interrupting as he watched Roman
holding Marlena's hand.  "today you have you're check up with Mike."
        "That's right." Roman said shaking his head.  "I've been too busy
thinking about marrying Doc again that I completely forgot about that."
        "Well, hopefully he can tell you good news." John said hopeful
watching Marlena's face tighten with tension.
        "Wouldn't that be wonderful?" Roman agreed suddenly turning
serious.  "You know John, I never asked, but where is that beautiful wife
of yours?"
        "Wife?" John asked confused.
        "Yeah your wife Kristen." Roman insisted wondering what was wrong
with John.
        "Oh Kristen." John realized wanting to kick himself for
forgetting that Roman thought he was married to Kristen.  "She's out of
town right now visiting an old college buddy."
        "That's too bad." Roman frowned as he squeezed Marlena's hand
tighter.  "I was looking forward to the four of us spending a romantic
holiday together.  You must be so disappointed that she left town."
        "I think that I'll manage." John responded thinking about
Kristen's advances on him the last time he saw her at her house.
        "I can't imagine not being able spend the holidays with the woman
you love.  That must be terrible for you." Roman sighed looking at
Marlena as he spoke.
        "It's awful." John agreed looking into Marlena's dazzling eyes as
the doorbell rang.
        "I'll get it." Marlena announced jumping up from the table hoping
to keep her tension from showing.  She opened the front door and found
Eric standing there.  "Hi sweety."
        "Good morning mom." Eric said giving her a quick kiss.  "I
thought that I would come over and have breakfast with you and dad this
morning."
        "Come on in." she said walking towards the kitchen.  "We have
plenty of food waiting for you."
        "Doc, where do you have the dish soap?" John asked coming out of
the kitchen.
        "What the hell is he doing here?" Eric asked growing furious.
        "We're having breakfast Eric." Marlena insisted hoping that Eric
wouldn't cause a scene.
        "That's real nice mom." Eric muttered sarcastically.  "Dad just
got out of the hospital and you're having John over for a romantic
breakfast."
        "Your father's in the kitchen." John informed him.
        "What's next mom?" Eric asked ignoring John.  "Sex on the kitchen
table?"
        "That's enough Eric." John said stepping in between Eric and
Marlena.  "You shouldn't talk to your mother that way."
        "John, this isn't any of your business." Eric replied clenching
his fists.  "If you would just leave my family alone, then we all could
be happy."
        "Eric, I love John." Marlena insisted grabbing onto John as his
body tightened up.  "There is nothing that is going to change that."
        "Mom, why can't you just try to give dad a second chance?  He
loves you." Eric insisted angrily as his mother held John's arm.  "We
could all be happy again."
        "Eric, John and I love each other and as soon as your father is
feeling better, we are going to tell him the truth about everything."
Marlena explained to Eric hoping that he would calm down.
        "The truth about what Doc?" Roman asked walking out of the
kitchen and feeling the tension in the room.  "What's going on here?"

Chapter 3
 

        "What's going on Doc?" Roman asked noticing that she was holding
John's arm tightly.  "Is something wrong here?"
        "Roman," she began letting go of John, "I didn't hear you come
out of the kitchen."
        "I heard Eric's voice and I decided to come out here to say
hello." he explained looking at John and Eric.  "Is something wrong son?"
        "No dad." Eric said forcing himself to relax as he looked away
from John.  "Everything is fine."
        "Are you sure?" Roman asked looking at John.
        "We were just disagreeing about sports Dad." Eric explained
walking over to his father.  "How are you feeling this morning?"
        "Better son." Roman said hugging Eric.  "Today I have my check up
with Mike and hopefully he will give me good news."
        "Oh no." Marlena said as she looked at the clock.  "I'm late for
work."
        "I thought that you had the day off Doc." Roman said looking sad.
 "I thought that we could spend a romantic day together."
        "Roman I'm sorry, but I have a patient that desperately needs to
see me." Marlena explained walking toward the stairs.  "I've been putting
her off for so long already that..."
        "I understand Doc." Roman sighed giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"You have to save the world, don't you Doc?  You're always thinking of
everyone else before yourself."
        "I'm sorry." Marlena said turning to John.  "I have to get
dressed now."
        "I should probably go now." John explained turning to Roman.  "I
should check in with Abe to see if there are any leads on Jack and
Jennifer."
        "Goodbye John." Eric muttered quickly happy to see that he was
going to leave.
        "Wait John." Marlena insisted as Eric glared at her.
        "Yes Doc?" John asked looking at her.
        "Well, do you think that you could drive me to the hospital that
way Roman can have my car in case he needs it?" she asked him.
        "I'll take you to work mom." Eric interrupted growing angry
again.
        "Nonsense." Marlena insisted turning to Eric.  "You came here to
visit with your father and I think that you should do just that."
        "Mom, I really think that I should..." Eric began.
        "It's no problem Eric." John interrupted him.  "Besides, the
hospital is right by the police station, so it wouldn't be any trouble
for me to drop your mother off."
        "I really don't think that..." Eric began again.
        "Eric," Roman interrupted him, "I don't see why John can't take
Doc to work.  He is going towards the hospital anyways.  Besides, I want
to visit with you son."
        "Fine." Eric gave in looking at his father.  "Dad, why don't we
watch the football game or something?"
        "Sure son." Roman smiled.
        "I'm going to get some food from the kitchen." Eric said storming
out of the room.
        "I'll be right back." Marlena announced running up the stairs.
        "She's wonderful isn't she?" Roman asked John.
        "Definitely." John said watching Marlena shut her bedroom door.
        "You know I've been thinking John." Roman began whispering.
"It's been a long time since Doc and I had a romantic evening together."
        "Come again?" John asked surprised.
        "You know Kristen told me that Doc hasn't been with anyone since
I left Salem and it upsets me to think that someone as wonderful as Doc
has had to go for so long without..." Roman trailed off.
        "Without what?" John asked feeling his face heat up.
        "Without a physical relationship." Roman finished sighing.  "Doc
is such a beautiful woman and she was always...well, she always liked the
sex part of our relationship.  In fact, it was one of the better points
of our relationship.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that...well, I'm
asking you if you think that it's too soon for me to try to make love to
Doc yet."

Chapter 4

        "Make love to her?" John repeated feeling his throat tighten.
        "Well, you know Doc.  She has to be going crazy from not being
able to have someone to make love to.  I can't believe that she's been
alone so long." Roman insisted.
        "I'm sure she's just fine Roman." John replied thinking about the
morning's turn of events.  "She's a very strong woman and she is
preoccupied with other things in her life right now."
        "I know and that's the problem John." Roman agreed.  "I just
think that it's about time for me to make things like they used to be
when we lived as husband and wife.  I figured that I would see what you
thought about this, since you've been around Doc while I was gone."
        "What does that have to do with anything?" John asked wondering
why Roman would bring the subject up with him.
        "It's just that you're the closest thing to a best friend that
Doc has had for a while and I just thought that you would know how she
feels about certain things, like why she hasn't been with anyone since I
left.  I thought that maybe you could shed some light onto why someone
like Doc has been alone for so long." Roman explained starting to blush.
"I'm sorry to put you on the spot like this man, but you're one of the
few people that I can talk to about this.  I know that you'll tell me the
truth about everything."
        "I'm ready." Marlena shouted coming down the stairs wearing a
blue dress suit.
        "You look beautiful Doc." Roman insisted looking her over.
        "Thank you." she smiled at the complement as her gaze shifted to
John.
        "Are you ready to leave?" John asked feeling his pulse quicken at
the sight of her.
        "Yep." she said turning to Roman.  "If you need anything, just
call me."
        "I will Doc." Roman smiled walking over to her.  "I'll miss you
while you're gone."
        "I'll meet you at your appointment with Mike when I get out of
work." she explained picking up her briefcase.
        "Okay," Roman agreed pulling her toward him for a kiss.  "I love
you."
        "I'll see you later." Marlena said turning her face so that he
kissed her cheek.
        "Is something wrong Doc?" Roman asked as she turned away.
        "No why?" she asked looking at him.
        "You just don't seem like you wanted me to kiss you.  That's
all." Roman explained pulling her close to him.
        "I've got a cold Roman." she lied smiling.  "I just don't want
you to catch anything from me."
        "Doc, honey, I don't care." he said planting a strong kiss on her
lips leaving John staring blankly at the two of them.
        "I'm late Roman." Marlena insisted pulling away from him.  "Tell
Eric I said goodbye."
        "Okay Doc." Roman smiled turning to John.  "You take care of
her."
        "I will." John said through gritted teeth.  "Goodbye."
 
        Roman watched John and Marlena walk out of the door and he
started to think about Marlena's strange behavior lately.  She seemed to
have something bothering her, but he couldn't figure it out.  He decided
that he would talk to her after work and see what the problem was.
 
 

        John and Marlena drove in silence most of the way to the
hospital.  Marlena could feel the tension in the air between them and she
began to worry.  She looked at John and she realized that he appeared to
be miles away from her even though he was sitting right next to her.
        "John, honey are you okay?" she questioned him waiting for a
response.  He remained silent, so she tried again to talk to him.
"Hello, are you there?"
        "Huh?" he asked snapping back into reality.  "What did you say
Doc?"
        "I asked if you were alright honey.  You haven't said one word
since we left the penthouse." she explained watching his face tighten.
"What is it?"
        "I don't want to talk about this." he replied stubbornly.
        "About what?" she asked confused.  "What is on your mind John?"
        "Nothing." he lied remembering his talk with Roman.
        "Don't lie to me." she insisted realizing that it was going to
take some work on her part to get the truth out of him.  "Our
relationship has always been built on honesty John Black, and I don't
want that to change now."
        "Is that how it was with Roman too?" he asked irritated.
        "Roman?" she replied.  "What about Roman?"
        "Nevermind." he said facing her.
        "No!  I want to talk about this." she insisted as he pulled into
the hospital parking lot.
        "Doc, you're going to be late for work if we talk now." he said
looking at the clock.
        "I want to talk about this now." she insisted as he pulled his
Jeep into the parking structure.
        "Fine." he reluctantly agreed pulling into a spot on the fourth
floor of the empty parking structure and shutting off the ignition.
"We're here so talk."
        "I'm sorry about what took place back there." she said realizing
that he was hurting.  "Eric had no right to go off on you like that."
        "He's young Marlena..." John began taking a deep breath.
        "Oh know," she thought to herself, "he's calling me Marlena.  He
must be really upset about something."
        "...he just wants to see his family back together and it appears
that he's not the only one." John finished closing his eyes.  "I know
that you and Roman have been spending a lot of time together lately and
I'm sure that it's got you thinking about the old times between the two
of you..."
        "...but that doesn't change the way I feel about you." she
finished realizing where he was going with the conversation.  "When Roman
gets better, we are going to tell him the truth about everything.  It
will all work out."
        "What if it doesn't Doc?" he asked seriously looking into her
eyes.  "What if you realize that you really want to be with Roman?"
        "John, I love you and nothing will ever change that." she
insisted noticing the tears in his eyes.  "Baby, you have to believe me."
        "I want to." he said looking at her worried face.  "I just don't
want to lose you again Doc."
        "I know that." she said feeling her own eyes fill with tears as
she touched his smooth face.
        "Doc, I just don't want this to blow up in our faces." he
informed her as he tried to dismiss the memory of his conversation with
Roman from his head.
        "It won't." she smiled moving in to kiss his lips softly.  "I
love you."
        "I love you too." he said taking her in his arms.  "I don't know
what I would do without you."
        "You'll never have to worry about that." she said snuggling into
his chest knowing that their problems were far from over.

Chapter 5
 

        Marlena sat in her office thinking about her conversation with
John in the parking structure.  She knew that he was worried about what
was going to happen to their relationship, but even after they talked he
seemed quite upset.   She knew that even though they touched lightly on
what was bothering them, John was still keeping something important from
her.  She had tried to push the issue further, but the hospital had paged
her again to meet a patient.
        "Excuse me Dr. Evans." Bridget said interrupting her thoughts as
she entered the office.  "I don't mean to bother you, but I want you to
meet someone."
        "No problem." Marlena said getting up and putting a carefree
smile on her face.
        "Dr. Evans," Bridget said leading Marlena into the lobby, "I'd
like you to meet your new personal assistant Jenny Barnes."
        "It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Evans." Jenny smiled extending
her hand.  "I've read all of your articles in the medical journals."
        "It's nice to meet you too Jenny." Marlena smiled shaking her
hand.  "By the way, you can call me Marlena."
 
 

        "Abe, I'm just so confused about everything that's going on."
John explained frustrated while sitting at Abe's desk.  "I hate all of
this lying and sneaking around Roman."
        "Partner, I'm sure that it's going to end soon." Abe replied
handing John a cup of coffee.  "Roman is going to be back on his feet
again, and you and Marlena will be free to be together.  Marlena loves
you and nothing will change that.  You two have gone through too much to
be together."
        "That's just it Abe.  We have gone through hell these past few
years, and then suddenly when happiness seems to be within  our reach,
poof, one of the Dimera's has to come and ruin it." John recalled
thinking about when Kristen ruined his wedding day.
        "John, you will be able to marry Marlena again very soon." Abe
explained looking at him.  "There is something else bothering you, isn't
there?"
        "How'd you guess?" John asked looking at Abe.
        "You're my best friend and I know when something is bothering
you.  What is it?" Abe asked him.
        "It's Roman." John said closing his eyes and recalling the
painful conversation he had with Roman.  "He wants to start sleeping with
Marlena again."
        "What?" Abe asked confused.  "What gives you that idea?"
        "Roman." John answered looking at him.  "He asked me this morning
if I thought it was the right time for him to start sleeping with Doc
again.  He made it perfectly clear that he wanted to get back into living
like husband and wife as soon as possible."
        "I can't believe that he asked you that considering your history
with Marlena." Abe replied taking it all in.
        "He thinks that I'm happily married to Kristen right now, so he
doesn't have any reservation about talking to me about this." John
informed Abe.
        "Did you tell Marlena about his intentions to jump back into
things?" Abe asked him.
        "No.  What am I going to say? 'Doc, Roman just confessed that he
wants to be the one making love to you every night.'  I can't make her
even more stressed than she already is." John explained to him.  "If she
knew Roman was thinking about that, then she would be on edge all of the
time."
        "John, she might actually be able to change his mind." Abe
suggested.  "She could influence him away from that."
        "Abe, it's Marlena." John reminded him.  "I can barely keep my
hands off of her.  Do you think that Roman is going to instantly lose his
attraction to her just because she uses some psychology on him?"
        "Good point." Abe said remembering Roman's passion for Marlena.
"Speaking of you and Marlena, how are you two handling not being able to
be together?"
        "Well..." John began looking at the floor.
        "I thought that you two agreed to wait to be together until this
whole mess was over." Abe said watching his friend avoid his gaze.
        "We did..." John began looking at Abe.
        "..but you couldn't do it." Abe finished looking John over.
        "Abraham, she looked so beautiful this morning when I arrived at
the penthouse.  Neither one of us could help it.  It just sort of
happened." John began explaining to him.  "You know what she does to me
partner.  I just can't control my emotions when I'm with her."
        "That's what worries me buddy." Abe said sitting down at his
desk.
        "Why?" John asked confused.
        "John, I know that you let yourself onto an emotional roller
coaster ride when Marlena's involved." Abe explained seriously to his
friend.  "You become so driven by your emotions.  I just worry that you
two will get into trouble again because of your feelings."
        "If you're referring to the affair Abe, that was an extreme
circumstance." John explained to him.
        "That hurt a lot of people." Abe reminded him.
        "Well, it hurt Doc and I to be apart for so long." John insisted
thinking about the past.  "We made some mistakes partner.  I'll be the
first one to admit that, but what I felt and do feel for Marlena is not
wrong."
        "I realize that John, and all I'm saying is that you should just
be careful not to let your emotions get the best of you." Abe reminded
him looking at the time.  "Listen, I'm sorry to cut this short, but  I
have to meet Lexie for lunch."
        "That's alright.  I think that I'm going to take the kids over to
see Doc anyways." John decided getting up.  "Thanks for the talk
partner."
        "No problem." Abe smiled grabbing his jacket and walking towards
the door.  "You two just be careful.  Okay?"