Brothers
in Arms (by Matt Webb
Mitovich, SID 12/12/2000)
For eight years, Dimitri and
Edmund have redefined brotherly love- and hate!
This past August, upon hearing that AMC's Dimitri had risen from his coffin and landed in "widow" Alex's bed, the newly-engaged Englishwoman's fiance- Dimitri's half-brother, Edmund- shared these choice words with his sibling rival. "Is this some kind of sick game? You die, and then you come back from the grave..."
Dimitri tried to be understanding. "I know how much you must hate me right now," he offered.
"You got that right, brother" Edmund shot back.
This exchange epitomizes the extreme emotions braved by the half brothers, especially considering that just months prior, Edmund was welcoming the alive-and-kicking count back to Pine Valley with open arms!
Are you my brother?
In 1992, Edmund returned to his
"roots" in Pine Valley. He had grown up at Wildwind, the Marick
estate, where he was raised as the son of manor employees Alf and Flora Gresham.
Yet Helga, Dimitri's mother-in-law, knew Edmund's true connection to the Hungarian clan: He and Dimitri shared the same father, Hugo Marick! Helga tried to hide Hugo's will, which bore this secret and awarded Edmund ownership of Wildwind, but Edmund eventually got wise, and Dimitri was forced to embrace him.
Three's a Crowd
Four years later, the brothers' ties again were
strained. Edmund, now wed to Dr. Maria Santos, was taken aback when his wife
kidnapped Sam, the baby once promised to them for adoption. Aghast to see Edmund
destroy their "family", Maria turned to her brother-in-law, who also
was nursing a wounded heart (courtesy of wife Erica), and the pair made love.
Afterward, Maria learned that she was pregnant. But which brother was the dad? Skye, who was fixated on Edmund- and had witnessed Maria and Dimitri's liason- wondered the same thing! She jiggered the lab work to lead Maria to believe incorrectly that Dimitri had sired her baby. She confessed her indiscretion to Edmund, who struggled with his loved ones' betrayal.
Maria would give birth to a girl, Maddie, before perishing in a 1997 plane crash. As Edmund grieved for his wife, Dimitri seized the chance to obtain custody of "his" daughter, who he soon realized was not actually his. Dimitri fled to Hungary with the tot, but Edmund followed and reclaimed Maddie.
Come New Year's Eve, the count sought revenge. Fortunately, his attempt to shoot Edmund was silenced.
Live or Let Die
In the wake of that incident, tension was high
between the brothers come April 1998, when Dimitri found Edmund trapped in a
rapidly-flooding viaduct. Descending into the water-filled chamber, Dimitri
struggled to rescue his sibling, despite Edmund's pleas to be left to die.
Eventually extricated from their near-death, Dimitri apologized for his past
misdeeds, but Edmund was reluctant to forgive.
Stung by a Widow
The summer of 1999 launched the men's relationship
on its latest journey, when Dimitri "died" in the company of his
mysterious new wife, Alex. Initially antagonistic toward his brother's
"widow", Edmund later was filled with relief when he learned that
Dimitri actually was clinging to life. Then, when Dimitri seemingly drowned,
Edmund grieved with Alex, the woman who became his next great love.
Later, Edmund discovered that Dimitri was alive, but agreed to keep this "rebirth" a secret from Alex. Then, after being led to believe that Dimitri finally had been felled by a neurological disease, Edmund proposed. Yet almost immediately thereafter, Alex learned the truth and reunited with her spouse. In turn, Edmund descended into a dark place. Now, with Alex missing, the brothers must put aside their differences to learn the facts about her disappearance.