Disclaimer:  I own nothing but a half eaten box of crackers and a statue of a snowman.  The characters in this story with the exception of Jules Archer and Maxwell Shepard do not belong to me.  They are the intellectual property of Ken Corday and Days of Our Lives.

Chapter 1:  A Different Path

It was one-thirty in the afternoon.  The sun beat down hard upon the cobblestones of the lakefront walk.  It was hot, but a swift breeze from Lake Marion kept the crowds milling along the shore comfortable.  Seated at a wrought iron table half-in, half-out of the sun was a young woman.  An air of sophistication and seriousness hung around her, from her loose knot of hair secured with a pencil to the tips of her polished toes.  Littering the tabletop were massive textbooks lying open in a seemingly random pattern.  Instead of hunching over the tiny print, the young woman was slightly reclined in her chair with her sandaled feet stretched out to the opposite chair.  Her gaze was set on the sailboats that were skimming about the surface of the lake.

            Her thoughts were a million miles away.  A recent graduate of medical school, she was going to begin her residency soon.  She felt incredibly lucky.  In a tradition known as the Match, she had entered her name into the national database that matched medical graduates to positions at teaching hospitals.  She had hoped just to be matched to a residency program and not have to participate in the following Scramble for unmatched positions.  She never imagined that she would be immediately matched to the one place she had secretly wanted to work at above all places.  In March, she received the notice telling her that she had been accepted to an internal medicine residency at Salem University Hospital.  She was going home.

"Hey Earth to Chloe-zoey!" a cheerful voice called.  Chloe Lane Wesley snapped her attention back to the table.  Her feet were unceremoniously dumped off the opposing chair as a flamboyantly dressed woman sat down.  She was wearing a leopard print sundress with a pair of three-inch platform sandals.  Her short dark hair had been recently dyed an amazingly attractive shade of blue.

            Chloe couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face.  Her friend, Julia Archer or Jules, never ceased to amaze her.  They had met during the first week of undergraduate classes.  At first Jules' outrageous and fun-loving nature had been a turn off to the usually reserved and serious Chloe, but it wasn't long before Chloe realized that Jules was just a wonderfully unique person that reveled in her own uniqueness.  She had a zest for life that Chloe admired immensely.

            "What in God's name are you doing to that water?" Jules asked leaning over to peer into Chloe's mug.

            Chloe immediately stopped the rhythmic dunking of a tea bag that she had be absently doing for the past 20 minutes.  Dismayed, she noticed that her tea was several shades darker than what she normally drank.  Dutifully, she took a sip and grimaced at the strength of tea.  "Apparently," she laughed, "I'm trying to turn this tea into espresso."

            Jules laughed, a merry, melodic sound.  "Goof-ball," she chastised.

            "Crazy-lady," Chloe returned crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue.

            "Hey ladies!" a male voice interrupted.  Both young women turned to smile at a young man in a vibrant Hawaiian shirt and kaki shorts.  Max Shepard, grabbed a chair from a nearby table, spun it around, and sat down.  Max was Jules' boyfriend of almost three years.  They shared the same zest for life and had been attached at the hip since their first meeting.  Luckily for Chloe, the couple always included her in their wild social life.  "Did you tell her yet?" he asked turning towards Jules.

            "Tell me what?" Chloe inquired.

            "I guess that's a no," Max laughed.  "Jules and I have made a big decision…"

            "We're moving to Salem!!!" Jules interrupted excitedly.

            "What!?!" Chloe gasped, a big grin splitting her face as she looked back and forth between her friends.

            "You know how Max and I have been talking about opening up our own club…" Jules began.

"Well," Max continued, "We decided that we didn't want to lose our favorite insane medical student…oops I mean doctor, so we began looking for properties in Salem."

            "It's just as good as any place else to open up a club," Jules added.

            "We found this building in the warehouse district," Max said.

            "It's perfect!" Jules squealed.

            "It needs some fixing up, but we're going to tackle it ourselves," Max explained.

            Jules and Max continued on about their plans for the future club.  Their vision was that of a bar, dance club, and live performance venue decorated in a mixture of exotic, retro, and modern styles.  Chloe doubted that anyone except the dynamic couple seated across from her could make such a place successful.  Fantabulous, as the club would be called, was almost guaranteed to become the hippest, most outrageous, and fun-filled place in the sometimes sleepy town of Salem.  Despite all their eccentricities, Max and Jules were two very intelligent business people.

If it was possible, Chloe widened her grin.  There was nothing in the world that could have made her happier than the news that her two best friends were going to remain close.  Wild, zany, and incredibly caring, they had kept her sane through the difficult and time-consuming experience that was medical school. 

"When are Craig and Nancy coming to get you?" Jules asked.

"This Friday," she replied.  "My lease is up on the first of the month."

"They must be excited that you're moving back to Salem," Max commented.

"You have no idea," Chloe chuckled,  "Mom insists on calling me Dr. Wesley every time I talk to her.  Poor Dad can barely contain himself.  He literally did a back flip when he found out I was matched to SUH.  He keeps telling me that I won't get any special treatment because I'm the COS's daughter, but Mom let it slip that he's already order all my supplies, scrubs, and lab coats."

"Ha, too funny!" Jules snorted.  "I just love your parents."

Chloe could only laugh and nod in agreement.  Although it seemed like a lifetime ago, there had been a time when Chloe had not been so appreciative of Craig and Nancy.  When she had first gone to live with her mother and stepfather, she had been so angry and immature.  Even now, she cringed to think of all the nasty things she had said to them those first couple of trying years.  Despite her best defenses, the couple had wormed their way into her heart. 

When circumstance faced her with death, Chloe had been forced to re-evaluate what really made life worth living.  She realized just how wrong her outlook towards the world had been.  It was only then that she was able to release the pain and anger she had unknowingly been carrying with her.  Even though she did finally find her birth father and his family, she found that she didn't really need them in her life.  They became nothing more to her than Christmas and birthday cards each year.  Nancy and Craig became simply Mom and Dad, titles they would retain for the rest of her life.  To show her love and appreciation for them, Chloe legally changed her name to Wesley on her nineteenth birthday.  If possible, Craig had cried more than Nancy. 

Leukemia, the disease had changed the course of her life in so many ways.    As round after round of chemotherapy and radiation ravaged her body, she began to deeply admire the medical staff that fought so diligently beside her.  After the bone marrow transplant that saved her life, the desire to save lives as she had been saved gave purpose to her second chance.  It seemed so natural to give up her life-long dream of being an opera star.  Opera, while beautiful and inspiring, could not compare to the miracle of medicine.  Her musical talents brought her much more joy when used to comfort the sick and the dying than it could ever have bringing her fame and fortune on the stage.

"Do you want Jules and I to help you move?" Max asked interrupting her private revelry.

Chloe snapped her attention back to the here and now.  "Sure.  You know Mom and Dad love to see you two."  Actually, Craig and Nancy had been slow in warming up to Max and Jules.  Initially, they had been frightened by their outward appearance and their occasionally overwhelming personalities.  In time, they came to love the couple as much as Chloe did.  It was impossible to hold out against their earnest and free-spirited outlook.

"Great," Max beamed, "Just give us a call when you want us to come over."  He looked down at his watch.  "Oh, I gotta run.  I'm expecting a phone call this afternoon."

Max rose and placed a quick kiss on Jules' head before trotting off.  Jules and Chloe fell back into conversation about their future plans.