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elin2002 for following my story
Disclaimer: I do not own GH.
Something New
Chapter 4: Revealings
Alexis looked at Jax. To her surprise he was looking much better. He still looked a bit tired, but he no longer had that completely worn down look.
"Well you look a lot better. That must have been some trip to the park. I hope Kristina didn't give you any problems."
Jax rolled his eyes and smiled.
"No everything went fine. It was really a nice day to go to the park, and Kristina actually enjoyed herself quite a bit. I think it was exactly what I needed too."
She had a feeling she was missing something, but the small smile he sported made her reluctant to push the subject. Some things were just personal, and from how he looked earlier Jax needed all the happiness he could get right now. She'd just ask later. For now it was time for business.
"So you said you needed my help for something. Now I'm going to jump out on a limb here and say that it probably has something to do with Carly."
She watched Jax take a deep breath and her concern shot up, and yet at the same time she was relieved. She really hoped that Jax was here for what she thought he was. He was so unhappy with Carly.
"Carly and I are getting a divorce, and I needed to ask you for some advice."
"Ok, what is it?"
She was curious. If he had wanted her to represent him he would've lead with that, not that she could exactly blame him for not. She hadn't handled herself well or been the objective lawyer Jax had wanted her to be the last time they had decided to get a divorce.
"I know Carly is going to go to Jason and ask if Diane can draw up the divorce papers, or at the least represent her. Could I trust Diane to be…fair? Or is she going to try and put everything in Carly's favor. Not that I'm trying to take anything away from Carly or anything like that, but I don't want there to be any issues, especially regarding Morgan and Josslyn."
That was Jax always concerned with taking care of others. Of course he was going to want to make this as easy on Carly as possible, as if she deserved it. But she could also understand him wanting to get this over with as quick as possible. Though it wasn't as severe, that tired look was back on his face, and she realized that he needed this to be done with. He needed to be free of Carly. The faster this divorce went through the quicker Jax could move on and start to let go of Carly.
"I'm going to give you my opinion as your friend and as an attorney. I honestly think that Carly and you should have different lawyers. There is some sort of draw between you and her, Jax. I can tell how worn out you feel, it's written all over your face. My opinion is that if you truly want this divorce to go through and be successful, all interactions should be done between lawyers. Carly would tell Diane what she wanted; you would tell me what you wanted, and then we would compromise and then run it by the two of you until we found a way that satisfied everyone."
Jax leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes for a minute.
"You're afraid that we won't go through with it again. I can't say I blame you. We've been doing this dance for years. You're afraid I'll see her, or that she'll change her mind, talk to me, and change my mind about the divorce."
"Jax, I believe you when you say you want a divorce, and honestly believe that at this point that it is what's best. I mean that. It has nothing to do with my hatred of Carly. I mean I'm sure this is all her fault, but I have never seen you like this, and you looked even worse this morning. I always joked about Carly sucking you dry, but Jax that's what's happening. You've reached your limit. But Carly is not like you. Even if she's agreed to it now, that doesn't mean she won't wake up tomorrow and decide that she isn't ready to let you go. You know Carly, once she gets to that point, when she becomes desperate there isn't anything she won't do Jax. And the first thing she'll do is use your children. And I can't sit back and watch that happen to you Jax. I won't let Carly take everything you love away from you."
And she wouldn't. She knew what it felt like to have her children taken away from her. Jax was too good of a father to have that happened to him.
Jax shook his head and she felt sympathy for him. He never wanted to believe that Carly was capable of doing these kinds of things. He always wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.
"I agree that Carly should have as little contact with each other as possible. We need space from each other. I need time to figure out how to stop being in love with her and I haven't a clue as to how I'm supposed to do that."
It wouldn't be easy. But she believes he's on his way there. Even talking about it now his tone didn't sound as hopeless as it had in the past. He didn't seem as lost either.
"I'm sorry you have to at all. I know I've never really supported your relationship with Carly, but I did want you to be happy Jax. I wish there was some other way, no matter what I hate to see you hurt."
And she would've rather of had him be happy with a woman she hated for the rest of his life. Jax deserved to find that happiness and family he wanted.
Jax nodded and he gave her a soft smile.
"I know, and thank you. I guess I should call Carly and let her know."
Nope. She couldn't let him do that. He needed to start limiting his interactions with her now.
"Why don't you let me do that. After all it's my job as your divorce lawyer. I'll explain to Carly the situation and tell her to tell Diane to get ahold of me when she's officially hired."
He looked unsure but consented anyway.
"Alright well you know how to get a hold of me so unless I need to do anything else I actually have something else I need to do and it would be better to do it sooner rather than later."
She gave him a curious look.
"And what is that?"
He gave her a smile; it was teasing, serious, and joyful all at once.
"Something I'd promise a friend I'd take care of."
The smile stayed on his face as he headed toward that door.
"Does this friend have a name?"
He smiled turned softer.
"Yes."
And with that he was out her door.
She shook her head in annoyance but couldn't help her own smile. Whatever it was if it gave Jax something to be happy about then she encouraged it. He needed it. She went back and sat down on her couch to think of an attack plan before she went over to Carly's, when she saw Kristina come out of her room and set across from her on the couch.
"Hey honey. What's up?"
It was surprising. She figured Kristina would still be angry from their argument this morning.
"Well I was just wondering about something. While we were at the park we ran into Elizabeth, Cameron, and Jake and I was wondering what the deal between Jax and Elizabeth was."
"And so I was just wondering if you would consider letting Spencer come over tomorrow night for a sleep over. You won't be obligated to stay or anything I'm more than capable of watching them all, but Cameron's asking questions and with Lucky being AWOL I would love to give him something to look forward to. Alright well call me back and let me know!"
He closed the phone and set it down on the desk. He felt for Elizabeth, he knew it had to be hard for her right now. She was truly taking care of the boys by herself full-time now. Even during the affair they at least spent a lot of time together so she wasn't always having to do it all by herself, but now that the affair was over and Lucky had found out no one had been left to help her.
He thought about her proposal of the sleep over. He didn't mind the boys hanging out together they had always had fun, and Spencer had been asking questions too. He missed his cousins and didn't understand why they were never over anymore. Spencer needed to be around other children, and Elizabeth's boys were perfect. He would call her back, but he would suggest that the boys come over to Wyndemere instead. He was sure she could use a little break, a little time to just recuperate. And besides her family was broken because he couldn't control himself so it was the least he could do for her.
His mind made up he picked up his phone to let her know.
"Hey Elizabeth. Look I wanted to call you and let you know that I think it's a wonderful idea but how about I have the boys picked up and brought over here instead?"
He hadn't expected finding Lucky to be such a tedious task. He had gone to his apartment first, then his job, where they had informed him that Lucky had taken some personal time and hadn't been to work in a couple of weeks. He had asked around town as well, but no one had seen Lucky around.
So he was either hiding or he had skipped town.
He knew there was one last place Lucky could possibly be which is why he was now standing inside the Haunted Star. If there was anywhere Lucky could go to wallow and abandon his responsibilities it would be in the one place where it would probably be accepted.
"Is there something I can do for you?"
It caught him off guard to see Ethan at the bar cleaning glass. He had honestly been expecting Luke and/or Lucky to be there.
"Uh…yeah I'm looking for Lucky. I've been all around town and no one's seen him and it's important that I talk to him. I was hoping he would be here, but obviously he's not. Do you have any idea where he is?"
A look of confusion crossed Ethan's face.
"Well I can't say anything about Lucky, but Luke might have an idea only he just left her twenty minutes ago. In quite the hurry too. In fact he might've said something about Lucky now that I think about it. You can wait around here for him to come back if you want."
Jax nodded his thanks. He wondered if Luke knew about Lucky's treatment of his sons. He wondered if he even cared or if he encouraged it. From what he knew about Luke he had issues with sticking around when his children were young. Maybe he encouraged it as a family tradition.
"Hey I know it's really none of my business but what exactly do you want with Lucky? I mean from what I know you two don't really have any history together so it just makes me wonder what it could be that you need to talk to him about."
His tone was a little defensive and though he had no respect for Lucky, Ethan didn't know about any of that and it wasn't surprising he would be defensive of his brother. Jax had been the same way with Jerry, he understood that need to protect your family. He wondered if Ethan knew the entire situation, that Lucky was ignoring his responsibilities as a father. If he didn't he wondered where he would stand. Ethan obviously didn't know everything if he didn't know that Lucky and him did have history together no matter how brief it might have been. He wondered what else Ethan had yet to learn about his brother.
"I wouldn't say Lucky and I didn't have any history together. We got to see more than enough of each other a few years back."
"Doesn't sound like you two got along very well. Which only serves to make me all the more curious."
Jax shakes his head.
"It was a long time ago, but it is in a way the reason I'm here."
Ethan sat his hands on the bar and leaned back.
"Look I'm not trying to start anything, and I'm not definitely not trying to get in the way of any business that you need to get done, but Lucky's had to deal with a lot and he's not exactly in a good place right now. I just don't think the guy can handle any more on his plate right now."
What could Lucky possibly have on his plate? If he wasn't going to work and he wasn't taking care of his children what other obligations could he have? Wallowing in a pit of self-pity? Drinking himself into oblivion? Yeah those were worthy causes.
"Look I don't mean you any disrespect, but you really have no idea what kind of man Lucky is. He isn't this victim that everyone's tried to make him into. The things he has done to Elizabeth are nothing compared to the damage your brother has constantly dealt to her and the boy's that he's supposed to be taking care of right now. Lucky is the maker of most of his problems."
Ethan slammed the glass he had been cleaning down on the bar, spreading his arms across the top of the bar, and stared directly into Jax's eyes.
"I'm sorry, but sounds to me that you're saying that my brother deserved be cheated on by his own fiancé and brother, and if that's the case you can take your business and get the hell out of here. I don't have a problem with Elizabeth, I know people make mistakes and that things happen sometimes, but nobody deserves that."
Jax stepped back away from bar and tried to get control of his anger. Ethan was right nobody did deserve that.
"You know what you're right nobody deserves that, but that didn't seem to stop your brother when he was actually married to Elizabeth. It didn't stop from sleeping with a girl who was just barely legal. It didn't stop him from popping pills like they were candy, which by the way almost got her killed once and then almost let that same person get away. It didn't matter to him that he had a son and wife waiting for him at home that needed him. I guarantee you that right now he's doing the same thing now that he did then because it's the way Lucky always reacts when things don't go the way he planned them. I'm sorry but your brothers nothing but a flake that doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself. And most definitely not the two boys he's left with Elizabeth. He hasn't come by to see them, he hasn't returned any of Elizabeth's calls begging him to come see the boys, and he won't even bother to try calling them himself. I don't care what Elizabeth has done, those children deserve better."
Ethan was speechless. He didn't know what to say. What could he say? He had learned more about Lucky in the last five minutes then he had in the months since he'd come to Port Charles. He wanted to tell Jax that he was wrong. That Lucky wasn't the man that he was making him out to be, but he couldn't.
He hadn't seen many of Lucky's interactions with the other citizens except for family and Elizabeth, and what he'd seen of them before the whole affair thing they were good together and seemed happy, but even those visits had been few. And looking back Elizabeth had never really looked that happy.
But that wasn't surprising if what Jax said was true. If someone had done to him what had been done to Elizabeth he didn't think he could ever be with that person again. But why wouldn't Elizabeth just say that?
And the pill thing. That was just as shocking to Ethan. Lucky being a cop he never imagined he would ever be involved in any sort of drugs.
Lucky wasn't taking pills now, at least he didn't think he was, but he had been drinking excessively which really only helped to cement Jax's picture of Lucky.
He looked over at Jax, and the man looked furious. He wondered what Elizabeth was to him since he seemed so concerned. Were they old friends?
"Look I'm not taking sides and what you've just told me is horrible, but that doesn't make what Elizabeth did ok either. At the same time it does clear some things up. When I think about it Elizabeth never really looked happy and now I kind of understand why. But why couldn't Elizabeth just tell Lucky the truth? Surely that would've been better than sleeping with Nikolas? I mean why hide the fact that you don't want to be with someone?"
Jax pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed sharply.
"Honestly I think you're asking all the wrong questions Ethan. A much better one would be what the hell is he doing here and why the hell does he care about Elizabeth and mine's issues?"
Ethan's head snapped to the entrance and there was Lucky, his eyes bright with that rage that never really seemed to leave.
Her mother looked at her shocked.
"Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean when you say deal?"
Kristina rolled her eyes. Her mom always seemed to freak out about the weirdest things. Why did it matter exactly what she meant? If she heard correctly Jax was getting divorced from Carly anyway, so if Jax decided to get back out there why did it matter?
"I mean do they have some sort of history together or something? I mean they were talking and stuff and when we came up, and they seemed to be enjoying each others company. It looked like they knew each other rather well, which seemed odd to me because I don't really ever remember seeing them hang out together before."
Her mom seemed to calm down a little bit.
"That's it though right? They were just talking?"
"Uh…yeah. Why? Oooh! Do you think maybe something could happen between the two of them! Oh my god! That would be so cool! They would make the cutest couple like ever! I can see it now! And Cameron and Jake would be so lucky! They could use someone like Jax! Maybe we…"
"Kristina! NO!"
She looked over to see her mom with a very serious expression on her face.
"You do not need to get involved in other people's lives. Jax isn't even divorced from Carly yet and even when he is he's going to need time to heal. You are not to go anywhere near them or try any of your tricks on them!"
Yeah right. How was she supposed to leave them alone? She could just see them together. Mom did make a good point though. Jax would probably need some time so he could get the divorce over with and get settled into his new routine of being a divorced parent. After that though, everything would be fair game.
Of course if she just agreed with her mom she would be suspicious so she'll have to argue a little bit.
"But Mom! Can't you just see them…"
"No Kristina. I mean it and if I hear you trying anything you'll be grounded forever."
"Whatever."
With that she jumped off the couch and stormed off to her room. Once she got there, she closed the door and smiled, and then grabbed her phone.
Her mother said she couldn't do anything.
She never said anything about Molly.
Carly was just putting the last of Josslyn's toys away when a knock sounded on the door. She hurried to answer it and was relieved to see it was Jason.
"Oh thank god! Jason what took you so long! I left that message for you yesterday!" she complained while giving him a hug.
"Yeah I just got it. I was a little busy with some stuff and I didn't have time. Is everything ok?"
She sat down on the couch and she could feel tears gathering in her eyes. No. Everything was not all right. She was losing the family she always wanted and for the first time ever it seemed as if there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Jason came and sat down beside her setting his hand softly against her arm to comfort her.
"Carly, what is it? What's wrong? Is it Josslyn? Morgan? Did someone threaten you?"
He was always so good with her, always willing to try and do what he could to fix her problems.
"Jax and I are getting a divorce."
"Oh."
And he suddenly looked less concerned. She couldn't totally blame him. How many times had she come to him saying the same thing?"
"I mean it Jason. This isn't like all the other times. We're done for good this time and it's all my fault!"
She stood up off the couch, walking away from him and wiping at her eyes. She didn't want to do this, she didn't want to talk about it because the moment she did, the moment she accepted they were done it would become real, and there was a part of her that wasn't ready to give up yet. A part of her still hoped Jax would come back and say he took it all back, and it hurt worse every second he didn't.
"Did Jax say that?"
His tone was angry.
She turned back around to face him.
"No and don't be mad at him. Really it isn't his fault Jason."
His eyes held concern for her.
"What happened?"
She didn't want to admit what happened. What it was that had brought them full circle.
"He found out I slept with Sonny again."
"You did what!?"
Carly quickly jumped around to see Alexis Davis in her living room, her expression livid.
She hung up her phone and turned around to tell her boys the good news. They were sitting at the dinner table eating mac and cheese, carrots, and some apple slices. Or they had been. Looking at them now she could see a mini food fight had apparently gone on when she had her back turned.
"Boys what have I told you about playing with your food?" she said with a slightly chiding tone. She really wasn't all that angry; they were just doing things that children did.
Cameron smiled up innocently.
"I'm sorry Mommy."
"It's ok baby. Just remember you and Jakey have to eat your food so you can grow up to be big and strong. You want to be big and strong right?"
Cameron nodded his head.
"Yeah!"
She helped the boys wash off and then sat them on the couch so she could tell them the good news.
"So guess who called me today?"
Cameron jumped up in excitement.
"Who!"
"Yeah Momma? Who?"
"Uncle Nikolas and he invited both of you to go and spend the night with him and Spencer at Wyndemere!"
Her children squealed in delight! She was so glad Nikolas decided to call her back and made the plans for the boys. She was more than capable of watching all the boys, but it would be nice to have a day off.
"Yay! We get to go to Uncle Nikolas's castle, Jakey!"
Their excitement was infectious and it spread to her and allowed her to let the boys stay up a little later that night, listening talk about all the things they planned on doing with Spencer the next day.
AN: Alright! Well that's the end of Chapter 4! Thank to everyone for reading and let me know what you guys think!
