Part VII
Sami had everything ready for Austin's welcome home dinner. She greeted him at the door with Will. "Austin, I'm so glad you're home."
"Yeah, me too. Hey big guy? Did you miss your daddy?" Austin took Will and started playing with him.
Sami lost her smile. He didn't even say hi to her. Well, she couldn't sit around and mope. She had to move forward with her plan. She was startled by the knock at the door. It was Carrie. Well, she had said she would come over to help tell Austin about her memory. "Hi Carrie. Austin just got back."
Austin wondered what Carrie was doing here. "Hey Carrie. Thanks for staying with Sami and Will last night."
"No problem. It was actually quite productive."
Austin was confused. What was Carrie up to? "What do you mean?"
Sami spoke up. "She means that I have some news for you."
Kate was reading the latest transcription on Sami. It wouldn't be long now. Sami had almost revealed her entire plan. She went to check on Victor. He was having a session with a speech therapist. His anger at Sami and Vivian had given him such determination. He had made more progress in the last two days than he had in the last two months. She wasn't surprised to find him hard at work.
The speech therapist looked up as Kate walked in. "Hello Ms. Roberts. You came just in time. We have a surprise for you."
"What is it?"
Victor smiled. "Hello Kate."
Tears formed in Kate's eyes. "Oh Victor. That was so clear!"
The therapist shook her head. "I have never seen anyone progress so quickly. A week ago he could barely speak. But now, I'm willing to say that he could regain his full speech within a few weeks."
"That's wonderful! I knew you could do it Victor."
"I had to do it", Victor said slowly.
"Well, that's enough for today", the speech therapist said. "I'll be back tomorrow. I still can't get over how fast he's progressed."
As the speech therapist left Victor took his pad and tossed it in the trash can. "I don't need that now."
Kate smiled. "We're going to have quite a few surprises at our dinner party. I received another package from the PI. Sami is slowly, but surely, revealing her entire plan."
"Sami will re..gret cross..ing us."
"You're right. Now, I don't want you to push yourself too hard. You need to rest."
Austin was reeling as Carrie and Sami told him what had happened last night. Maybe there was some hope after all. He looked at Carrie but he couldn't read her face. He thought she would be thrilled about this. "Sami, that's great! I mean, I know that was a rough memory to have. I wish I had been here to help you through it but it's great that your memory is returning."
"Carrie was here. She helped me through it even though I've been so horrible to her. I'm so happy. I have my husband, my son, and my sister here to share this with me. I just know I'm going to get my memory back. The worst is over. I am so lucky. Things just can't get any better than this."
Carrie was finding it hard to control her anger. Sami was really laying it on thick. She hoped it wouldn't be too much longer before Kate had enough evidence to expose Sami. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. "I have to go now."
"Really, that's too bad. Are you sure you can't stay for dinner?", Sami hoped Carrie would say no. She needed time alone with Austin.
"I'm sorry Sami. I have a lot of things I need to take care of", Carrie walked towards the door. She had to get out of here before she lost it. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Sami, I'll be right back. I need to talk to Carrie about some business", Austin followed Carrie out to the hall before Sami could stop him. "Carrie, what's wrong? This is great news!"
"Well, Sami still has a long way to go. I'm not getting my hopes up yet."
"Yeah, but it's a start. You know, I think she's really changed. She really feels bad about what happened after the trial."
Carrie almost broke down and told Austin everything but she knew that it was too soon. She had to show him that Sami hadn't changed. He still felt too guilty about the accident. "Austin, I really need to go. I didn't get much sleep last night and I've got a lot of work to catch up on."
Austin thought that Carrie was upset with him because he had ended it but he had to be sure about Sami before he changed his mind. He didn't want to give Carrie false hopes. "Carrie..."
"Austin, you should get back to Sami. We'll talk about this another time." She went into her apartment. She had spotted Sami watching them. She had probably listened to every conversation they had in that hallway. She shut the door, leaned against it and took a deep breath. She had to call Kate and see if they were any closer.
Sami had been worried that Austin might get back together with Carrie. She was relieved that he hadn't said anything. Carrie must be more upset with him than she thought. She had been so distant. She was setting the table when Austin returned. "I made your favorite dinner for your homecoming."
"That's great Sami", Austin didn't feel very hungry but he had to keep up the pretense. It was working. Sami was getting her memory back. Hopefully it wouldn't take much longer and he really could be with Carrie.
Kate was surprised to hear from Carrie. "What's wrong?"
"I'm just so angry with Sami. I can't take to much more of this Kate. You should have seen her tonight telling Austin about her memory. I don't know how I managed to control my temper."
"The important thing is that you did. It won't be much longer. I've gotten another report from the PI. I'm going to set the dinner party for next weekend. I think Sami will have given us enough evidence by then."
"Great. I just have to hold on for another week. I hope I don't blow it."
"I have confidence in you Carrie. If nothing else, there's plenty of work at the office to keep you busy."
"Thanks Kate. I just can't get over that Sami hasn't changed at all. I thought the accident would make her realize how wrong she was but I think she's actually gotten worse."
"Well, it won't be much longer. Lucas called today. He's coming home tomorrow."
"Oh no. So much for peace at the office. I still can't believe he tried to set me up with Mike."
"I know. Lucas has got a lot to learn. Don't worry. I'll keep him busy with meetings. We'll have a lot of business to discuss when he gets back. Plus he'll have reports to prepare."
"Good. At least I know he won't be bothering me. Give Victor my best."
"I will. Hang in there Carrie."
Sami was enjoying herself. She and Austin got Will ready for bed together. Her life was just getting better every day. She let Austin put Will to bed so she could get everything ready. She turned down the lights and put on some soft, romantic music. She wasn't sure how this evening was going to turn out but she had to let Austin know she was ready.
Austin heard the music and a feeling of dread came over him. It couldn't be. "Sami, what are you doing?"
"Austin, I have another surprise for you. I went to the doctor today."
Austin braced himself. He knew what was coming. He was so glad he had stopped to see Mike on his way home. "What did he say?"
"He said I have made wonderful progress. My physical therapist was pleased too. She said it won't be much longer before I can get rid of this wheelchair. I asked my doctor if we could, you know, be together."
Austin sat down. He could only hope that her doctor had said no. "Sami, I don't think we should think about that now."
"It's ok Austin. He said it was alright. Physically, I'm fine. I still have a lot of work to do but he said it wouldn't hurt me", Sami looked at Austin hopefully. She hoped she wasn't rushing it too soon. Whether or not he made love to her wasn't important. She wanted him to know she could. His reaction was what she was looking for.
"Sami, I..."
Sami broke in before he could finish, "Austin, I feel so guilty. I haven't been a real wife to you since the accident. It's not fair to you. Besides, I want to. I love you so much." She had to let him know how much he meant to her.
"Sami, I don't know how to tell you this", Austin took a deep breath. He had to be careful how he said this. He didn't want to hurt her feelings or make her suspicious.
"Austin, you can tell me anything. You're my husband." Sami didn't like where this was going. Maybe this had been a mistake.
"Sami, I realize that you've put a lot of thought into this. I had hoped you would get your memory back before we got to this point. I can't make love to you."
She had made a mistake. He was going to tell her the marriage wasn't real. She had thought he might turn her down but she hadn't even considered this might push him to leave her. She wasn't faking the tears. "Austin, I don't understand. Have I done something wrong?" She had to remember her role. She was supposed to think they were happily married.
"No, no. You haven't done anything wrong. It's nothing like that." This was going to be harder than he thought. But he couldn't make love with Sami. He didn't love her.
"Then what is it? Why don't you want to make love?"
"Sami, I have this condition. It's hard to explain but... well, to put it simply, I'm impotent."
"What?" Sami wasn't sure how to handle this. She knew he was lying but she couldn't do anything about it without revealing her memory had returned. "What about Will? What happened?"
"This happened after Will. I have a low testosterone level. It makes me impotent. I don't know how to explain it. Maybe Mike could explain it to you."
Sami was stunned. He had planned this! He had no intention of ever sleeping with her. He had known she would eventually be able to make love and he had figured out a way to avoid it. And there was nothing she could do. "Isn't there a treatment for this?"
"Well, they have these hormone patches but I had a bad reaction to them. Mike has tried different levels of hormones but we haven't found anything that helped yet."
"So, there's nothing we can do?"
"At the moment there isn't. I'm sorry Sami. I had really hoped you would get your memory back before you were ready for this", at least that part was true he thought to himself.
Sami knew why he had hoped she would have her memory back. "It's alright Austin. I'm sure Mike will find a way to help you."
"Look, I'm really beat. I'm going to take a long bath and go to bed."
"Sure. I'm tired too. I did a lot of physical therapy today." For the first time, Sami didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to feel. She was hurt and angry. She was glad Lucas was coming home tomorrow. Maybe he could help her come up with an idea.
Austin sat back in the tub and sighed. He had pulled it off. Hopefully, Sami would recover her memory before she pushed him into trying to get treatment. He stayed in the tub long enough to give her time to fall asleep. He checked on her and Will and made his bed on the couch. He knew he was doing the right thing by staying with Sami but he wished he was with Carrie. He needed her, especially now that he had some hope that they could be together.
Carrie tossed and turned. She couldn't believe how far Sami was willing to go to hold on to Austin. And Lucas, how many times did she have to tell him they could only be friends? What was wrong with them? Her thoughts were interrupted by the telephone. Who would be calling this late? "Hello?"
"Hey pumpkin, it's John."
"John? It's so late. Why...", Carrie sat up in bed. "Did you find Marlena?"
"Yes honey, he did", Marlena said. It was so good to talk to Carrie.
"Marlena! I'm so glad you're alright. What happened? Was it Kristin?"
"Yes, but I don't have time to explain everything. I just wanted you to know I'm alright. How's Sami?"
"She's fine. I have a lot to tell you but I don't want to do it over the phone. Can you meet me at Kate's tomorrow?"
"Of course. Listen, I have to go to the police station with John. Can you let Sami know I'm ok? I'd call her but I don't want to wake up Will."
"Sure. I'll go tell her now. I'm so happy you're alright."
"Me too. I'll tell you everything tomorrow. See you at Kate's. I love you honey."
"I love you too", Carrie was so excited. She rushed over to Austins before she remembered they might be asleep. She knew Austin would be on the couch so she knocked quietly so Sami wouldn't wake up and catch him.
Austin wasn't asleep yet. He hid the blankets and pillow just in case Sami woke up. He was surprised to see Carrie. "Carrie, what's wrong?"
Sami hadn't been asleep. She knew Austin was sleeping on the couch again. She fought back the tears and called out. "Austin, what's going on?"
Carrie was too excited to wait. "Austin, go get Sami and bring her in here. I have some news."
"Ok. Sami, it's Carrie. She has something to tell us", Austin said as he went to help her into her wheelchair.
"Carrie? What's going on?", Sami was still in shock from what Austin had said. She hoped they weren't planning on telling her they were back together.
"Sami, I have some wonderful news. John found Marlena!"
"Really? Where is she? What happened? Why didn't he call me?"
"They didn't want to wake up Will. She didn't have time to tell me the details because they were on their way to the police station. All I know is that it was Kristin."
"Kristin? You're kidding! Why would Kristin kidnap mom?"
Carrie told Sami what she knew about the situation. "Marlena said she will explain it all tomorrow. She just wanted us to know she was safe."
"Thank you for coming over Carrie. This is wonderful! I was so worried about mom."
"Well, I'm going home so you can get some sleep. You're probably tired after everything that's happened in the past couple of days."
"Yeah. Thanks again Carrie." Sami was glad her mother was safe but she was hurt that they had called Carrie first. She told herself that it made sense. A phone call would have woke Will up but she couldn't help feeling hurt. She decided she was just being overly sensitive because of what happened with Austin. She would wait to see what happened tomorrow.
Austin helped Sami back into bed. Now he had to think of something to delay going to bed. "I'm going to call mom. She'll be thrilled to find out Marlena's safe."
"Ok", Sami didn't feel like trying to get him to get in the bed. She knew he would just go to the couch as soon as she was asleep.
Kate was still awake. She was finalizing the plans for the dinner party. She was surprised to get a phone call this late. "Kate Roberts."
"Mom, you'll never believe what's happened."
"Austin? What is it? Is is Sami?" Could she dare hope that girl had gotten a conscience and told the truth?"
"No, it's Marlena. John found her."
"That's wonderful!", Kate put a check by Marlena's name on the guest list. "What happened? How did he find her?"
"I don't know all the details but Kristin did it."
"Kristin? I know she's been acting strangely but to kidnap Marlena... Why?"
"I don't know. We'll have to wait till tomorrow. I just wanted to call you and let you know."
Kate understood immediately. "You need time for Sami to go back to sleep, don't you?"
"Yes. This has been so hard", Austin hoped if Sami heard she would think he was talking about Marlena. "Remember what we talked about?", he said in a low voice.
"Yes. I take it Sami was ready?"
"Yes, and..."
"Kate interrupted him, "Austin, don't say anything but yes or no. She might not be asleep yet."
"Yeah, you're right."
"Did the leads I gave you help you find what you needed?"
"Yes."
"Good. You can tell me about it tomorrow. I don't want Sami to realize what we're talking about."
"Me neither. I'll come by the office in the morning to drop off my report."
"Good. I miss having you here everyday. How long do you think Sami will want you to work at home?"
"I don't know. It makes her feel more secure to have me here. She's having more memories so I guess it's working."
Kate wanted to tell him the truth but her hands were tied. "I'm sure it won't be much longer Austin. You and Carrie will be together soon."
"Thanks mom. I've got to go. I'll see you tomorrow."
Kate felt as though she could strangle Sami. She was trying to seduce Austin. At least Austin had the forethought to come up with a valid reason for avoiding it. Kate was thrilled that Marlena had been found. Sami was going to need her after the dinner party.
Lucas was getting ready to leave. He had an early flight. He hadn't been in this good of a mood for a long time. His career was going to take off after this trip. And when he got home it wouldn't be much longer before he had Carrie. Life was good.
Sami cried herself to sleep. Austin didn't want her. He couldn't even stand to sleep in the same bed with her. She had to find a way to change his mind. She had to get him to look at her as his wife and not his punishment. Thank goodness he hadn't decided to tell her their marriage was a sham. That gave her more time. She had to get Austin to fall in love with her.
Carrie drifted off to sleep at last. Everything was going to be fine. She and Kate would tell Marlena about Sami tomorrow. It would be so good to have Marlena to talk to. Marlena could keep her sane until next weekend. She knew Marlena wouldn't be happy about their plan but Kate was right. It was the only way to show Sami she couldn't get away with this anymore.