Chapter 3

Carly lay flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling of her cell. She was becoming entirely too familiar with the tile pattern of that ceiling. Her mind kept wandering back to the last time she'd seen her daughter and the look in Melanie's eyes as she vehemently ordered Carly from her presence. The irony was that the look in Melanie's eyes was easily recognizable as one of Carly's own. But Carly immediately amended her thoughts and reminded herself that the woman who could have bent even the most resistant patient to her will with that glare was gone. Sometimes Carly felt as though she were gone forever.

Except for when she was in Bo's arms; as though her thoughts had willed him there, Bo was suddenly at the door to her cell. She craned her head to look at him and was surprised to see him open the cell door and slip inside. She quickly sat up to make room for him on the cot.

"Hey, Princess," Bo greeted brushing the hair back from her eyes. "How're you holding up?"

Carly cracked a sardonic smile and replied, "Well, I'm thinking of putting up some curtains to liven up the place, but other than that…I'm miserable." Carly's attempt at bravery abruptly faltered, and she crumpled in Bo's waiting arms.

Bo held her close, stroking her hair and murmuring nonsensical soothing sounds while she wept. He'd known a breakdown was coming and was just grateful that he could offer her some semblance of comfort. However, he suspected that the news he'd brought would go a lot farther in raising her spirits. Bo gently raised her head from his shoulder and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Carly, listen there's a visitor waiting for you in my office. His name's Jack Campbell, and he's a defense attorney." At Carly's questioning glance, Bo placed a finger to her lips so he could deliver what he considered to be the best news of all. "Nicky sent him, Princess. Your son woke this guy in the middle of the night and sent him here from New York to work on your case. He also says he has a message from Nicky, but he'll only deliver it to you personally."

Carly rose from the cot and began to pace. "But Nicky hates me, Bo. Lawrence turned him against me years ago. Why on earth would he send an attorney to me?" Bo stood and took her hands.

"I don't know, but it has to mean something good. I did a little google search, and this guy, he's one of the best. He also doesn't come cheap. Now, I know what you've said about Nicky and the way he treated you after he got older, but I just don't think that he'd go to the trouble of retaining some hot-shot lawyer for you if he hadn't experienced some sort of change of heart. So what do you say, Princess? Wanna go hear this guy out at least?" Carly seemed at a loss for words so she merely nodded her head. But when Bo tried to lead her from the cell, he found himself pulling on an immovable object.

"What if it's a trick?" Carly asked in such a quietly fearful voice that Bo almost didn't catch her words. She continued, "What if it's some trick perpetrated by Victor, or worse yet, Vivian? What if…"

Carly's questions were silenced by Bo's lips covering hers. When he'd kissed her into silence, he pulled away looking into her jade eyes. He couldn't help but smirk at the way those eyes glazed over with passion roused by his kiss. He knew without a doubt that his own reflected that same passion. "I seem to recall that being the best way to shut you up when you were having a come-apart."

Carly offered him a blinding smile and stepped closer in his embrace, twining her arms around his neck. "Feel free to shut me up any time, Commissioner."

"Hold that thought, Princess. Let's go hear what your fancy-schmancy lawyer that Nicky drummed up for you has to say, and as soon as you get out of this cell you and I are going to have some well-deserved alone time." Bo couldn't resist Carly's allure and once again claimed her lips with his own. They were interrupted by nervous throat-clearing and separated to find one of Bo's young sergeants, blushing to his hairline and looking thoroughly embarrassed at having caught them.

"Um, excuse me, Commissioner, but the, um, guy in y-your office wants to know when you and the prisoner, I-I mean, Dr. Manning will be joining him. What should I tell him?"

"Tell Mr. Campbell that Dr. Manning and I are on our way, Matthews." Sergeant Matthews nodded fervently, but made no move to leave. "That will be all, Matthews." The poor boy continued to stare at Carly until Bo made a run-along-now gesture with his hand that finally sent the young officer scurrying. "Now where were we?" Bo asked turning back to Carly, well-intent on picking up where they left off. Carly dodged him though and was across the cell before Bo could blink, shaking her head in warning.

"No way, Bo, it's bad enough that half of Salem thinks I'm a murdering, home-wrecking adulteress. I'm not going to be the reason that your officers lose their respect for you, too. So you just keep your hands to yourself, Sailor."

Bo only smiled at her and opened the cell door, motioning for her to go ahead in front of him. His heart nearly stopped when she turned and batted her eyelashes at him whispering, "At least until you get me home."

Jack Campbell stood as soon as Bo and Carly entered Bo's office. He stretched out his hand to Carly and smiled warmly at her. "Mrs. Alamain, a very early good morning to you. Do you remember me? I'm Jack Campbell. We met once at one of Nick's polo matches a few years ago."

Carly smiled back, shaking Jack's hand. "Of course, I remember you, Jack. I only wish we were seeing one another under better circumstances. And please call me Carly. As a matter of fact, call me anything other than Mrs. Alamain."

"I understand, Carly. You've gone back to your maiden name then. I'll make a note." He did so and shuffled some papers around, pulling one official looking document from the stack. "Now, I've made myself familiar with the facts of your case as they stand, but of course I need to hear what happened from you. Nick also tells me that he's uncovered some information he believes will be of help to us in your defense so I think we'll wait until he arrives to work on all of that. In the meantime, I've already arranged for your release, but there are a few terms we have to go over. By then Nick should be here, and we can have you out of here in time for breakfast."

"Release?" Bo and Carly both spoke at once. They glanced at each other, then back at Jack before Bo continued, "Justin Kiriakis, Carly's previous attorney, was unable to negotiate bail. Pardon my asking, but how the hell did you do it?"

"Please realize, Commissioner, the Alamains are quite well connected, and once your local judge was made aware of the fact that Nicholas Alamain was personally organizing his mother's defense, it was simple to gain her release. Here, you're welcome to review the paperwork yourself," Jack replied and handed the form over to Bo.

He sat back and watched Bo and Carly review the document carefully, heads together. Jack had picked up on the dynamic between his client and the commissioner the moment they entered the room together, and he knew that there was one particular term of Carly's release that would not sit well with either of them. From the glares he was receiving from them both, they had just discovered it.

"This says I have to stay away from Bo." Carly began calmly enough, but Bo could tell from her tone that she was heading toward a full blown fit. He took her hand in his, willing her to stay civil. This did not go unnoticed by Jack and he watched, amazed, at the transformation that went over the woman as soon as Bo took her hand. Carly took a deep, shuddering breath and started again.

"Why should I have to stay away from Bo? It-it doesn't make any sense. What, did Bo's wife get to participate in the bail hearing?"

"Actually, Carly, it makes perfect sense. From what I gleaned from my conversation with Judge Ralston's clerk – who's quite the chatterbox at 1:30 in the morning – the Mayor's office is a little upset over your relationship with Commissioner Brady as well as his behavior in regards to the charges against you. I understand you had to be threatened publicly by Mayor Carver before you would agree to arrest Carly?" Jack looked to Bo for confirmation and Bo nodded reluctantly. "Not to mention the fact that you, Commissioner Brady, are still in fact married to Detective Hope Brady and are now living with Carly. I'm sure you can see how your involvement appears to the outside world."

Unable to come up with an answer, Bo instead replied, "Why don't you drop the Commissioner part and just stick with Bo, seeing as how you know more about my personal life than I do."

"Right, it seems you two are quite the unpopular duo in Salem at the moment, hence the terms of the release. Also, according to Chatty Jill the Clerk, there's talk about launching a full-scale investigation into your involvement with Carly and how it may relate to the shooting of Melanie Layton."

"Bloody fucking hell!" Carly exclaimed, slamming her hands down on Bo's desk in frustration. Bo's hands went immediately to her shoulders, but Carly shrugged him off and began pacing the room in a manner akin to a caged lioness – a very tense, very angry caged lioness.

"Ya see, Bo, I told you this would happen! If you had any sense at all, you'd run as far away from me as you can get before I completely destroy your life, too. I told you not two days ago that I was a curse, and now I've brought all this shit down on your head, too!" Bo was up in a flash and had Carly in his arms before she could even register the fact.

"Hush, Princess, hush! Listen to me, you and I, we've been through worse. Let them investigate. I've got nothing to hide, and neither do you. Neither of us has done anything wrong, and we are not going to roll over and die because of a little scandal."

"A little scandal? Bo, for God's sake my daughter has accused me of trying to murder her, half the town thinks I broke up your marriage to Hope, and the other half wants your head on a platter for helping me. If that's your idea of a little scandal, then I certainly hope never to see what you consider a big one!"

They were in each other's faces now, and Jack was sure they were no longer aware of his presence in the room. The current between the two people in front of him was so strong that Jack half expected to get electrocuted from the by-blows. Part of his job as an attorney was reading people, and these two were an open book. The love, lust, respect and care that Bo and Carly held for each other was clear on both of their faces. They were whispering to one another now, and though Jack couldn't hear the words, their body language spoke volumes. He thought he'd better get them back on track before they forgot him completely and decided to make up on the desk.

"Excuse me," Jack said waggling his fingers in the couple's direction. "Remember me, the guy trying to save you from a prison sentence? Could we get back to work, please?" They had the good graces to at least look embarrassed and returned to their seats opposite him. Jack couldn't help but notice that even though they were no longer touching the bond between the two was so strong that it seemed as if they were.

"So back to the terms of your release. Naturally you're required to surrender your passport, you can't leave the state or the country and so on and so forth. The only other item specific to your release is that you must stay away from your daughter unless she specifically requests to see you."

Carly snorted and rolled her eyes. "Considering that she thinks I tried to murder her I don't think that's going to happen."

"You never know, Carly. I've seen stranger things happen," Jack replied with a smile. Just then a knock sounded at Bo's office door and at Bo's instruction, opened to admit Sergeant Matthews and two young people, one of whom Bo immediately recognized as a grown-up Nicholas Alamain. Carly tensed beside him and to Bo it seemed as the breath went out of her when her eyes lit on her son, the son that Bo knew she had not seen in over a year. Nicky was the first to move, crossing the room, eyes never leaving his mother. She stood to her feet, unsure of what to expect, but Nicky immediately embraced her and to the astonishment of all began to weep in his mother's arms.