Thanks for the great reviews. I am going to attempt to move forward here… please excuse any discrepancies with medical technology, storyline, and/or pregnancy details… for the sake of the story some things may be altered to keep the story flowing, but I am doing as much research as my time will allow to keep it as accurate as possible.
Serendipity
Chapter 11 Time
"Carly?"
Feeling her heart drop to the pit of her stomach Carly forgot to breathe, "Jase?"
"Look, I understand if you don't want to talk to me… I just… I was hoping that maybe we could talk. Are you there?"
Closing her eyes tight Carly re-opened them and tried to clear her throat, "I'm here. What do you want to talk about?"
"I realize that I am not the best with words and sometimes I can be pretty clueless… Do you think you could meet me at Jake's tonight? Please."
The nervous edge to Jason's voice pulled on her heartstrings. How could she deny him, "I'm going to be at the Metro Court until six and the boys are at Sonny's… Would that be ok?"
"Yeah… I'll see you then."
Carly hung up her cell phone and stared at it in silence. Maybe tonight would be a good time to tell him about their one night stand. But even if she did that, should she tell him about the baby? Chewing on her bottom lip she weighed the Pros and Cons.
knock, knock
"Hey Carly, you got a moment?" Jax smiled hesitantly and stepped slowly into her office.
Staring at his handsome features she was just more than a little puzzled at the guilty expression she saw there. She was the one carrying another man's child, but he was the one looking guilty.
"Sure," Standing up she walked around her desk and gave him a quick hug, "I didn't think you were going to be back from New York until Monday."
"Umm, I wasn't supposed to be, but well, there isn't any way to sugarcoat this." Jax took her hand and stared into her eyes, "I was planning on this… but the thing, is… I can't marry you."
Instead of feeling the anger and hurt that he was obviously expecting, she just sat there in stunned silence.
Pulling away Jax starting pacing the floor and running his hand through is blonde tresses in agitation. "I know I am a real bastard… You can scream, throw things, whatever you want to do… I deserve a whole lot worse."
"Jax… stop, just stand still for a moment. I can't say I am not shocked… because I am, but I can say that I ok. Everything is ok because I can't marry you either." Carly's lip trembled as she smiled uncertainly back at him.
"Is it Sonny? Is that, forget it… I have not right to say anything…" Jax sighed and took Carly into his arms.
"No it's not Sonny. However, I am curious as to your change of heart." Pulling back she stared into his pale blue eyes.
"Well, the thing is, I've met someone. In New York, she's… well, she pretty amazing and when I leave in an hour… well, I am not coming back."
Well, Carly thought cynically, I guess he was planning on this being a hit-and-run break up, never mind the fact that it was hardly flattering to think of herself as anything less than "Amazing". Oh well, whatever his reasons were she was glad that this was resolved. Maybe things were starting to fall into place…
"Ok… so you're leaving Port Charles. What about the Hotel? Or had you thought about that yet?" Carly pulled away and walked back behind her desk.
"Actually, I have had the paperwork done… and as a way to say thank you for loving me and teaching me to believe in love again, well, I have had the Hotel put completely in your name… no strings attached." Jax smiled and put his hands in his pockets.
Funny, she thought, he didn't have time to break-up with me properly, but he's taken care of all the legal paperwork to give away his half of a lucrative investment.
"A lot of woman would think that this was payment for services rendered," Arching a slim eyebrow she smiled as he began to squirm uncomfortably, "But, being the practical business woman I am, all I can say is thank you and wish you luck."
Promising that the paperwork would arrive within the next couple days, the Aussie walked out of Carly's life just as unexpectedly as he had walked in.
Alcazar glared at his partner, "I told you that we were doing this MY way… if you have a problem with it…" He knew he didn't need to finish his sentence.
"Fine… I just don't see why you had to leave town, why didn't you send someone else?"
"Because Skye is pregnant with my child… and you don't have to understand, you just do as I say." Lorenzo growled in anger. He hated it when anyone questioned his authority.
As he hung up the phone, not for the first time did he wonder if his accomplice was crazy. Why he had agreed to such a crazy idea, he would never know.
Across town his accomplice was smiling as they gave the awaiting thugs there orders. So what if Alcazar hadn't ordered it, a little fun was necessary sometimes.
5:30 PM
"Ugh! I can't believe I am going to be late," Carly mumbled digging through her purse in search of her car keys while she hurried through the Metro Court Lobby.
Not paying attention to where she was going she ran smack dab into a smaller more fragrant body.
"God, Carly, watch where you're going…" complained the small brunette standing in her path.
Carly narrowed her eyes at Liz and resisted the urge to make some kind of snarky remark. "I am obviously in a hurry whereas you are standing there doing nothing but looking frail and innocent, so common sense could say that you could've moved out of the way."
"Wow… such hospitality. Does Jax know that you are lacking in the customer service department? What's that pesky little saying… oh yeah, the CUSTOMER is always right…" Liz smirked smoothing an imaginary wrinkle out of her skirt.
That's it the gloves are off… Carly couldn't stop herself from commenting, "So you are actually a paying customer… I thought you might be standing around and waiting for someone's leftovers… or did you have a particular man in mind?"
"Actually, as if it's any of your business, I am waiting for Lucky… you know your cousin… the one you don't acknowledge." Liz looked flushed as she glowered at the tall blonde.
"My cousin? You mean the one walking in the door right now… the one that you don't have the guts to tell you're pregnant…" Carly said the word "pregnant" loud enough for Lucky to hear and stopped him in his tracks. Silently she looked up and waited for lightning to strike her for her hypocrisy.
"Pregnant? Liz, is there something you want to tell me?" Lucky walked up and stared intently at the silent and pale brunette whose jaw had dropped.
"How did you… Who told you?" Liz turned on Carly with a shriek and then turned quickly back to Lucky placing a hand on his arm, "I was waiting for the right time to tell you…"
"Oh, come on… Jason already knows…" Carly felt her anger rising.
"What does Jason have to do with anything?" Liz frowned, looking puzzled.
"Is the baby Jason's?" Lucky bellowed shaking the hand off his arm.
"NOOO! How could you even ask me that?" Tears welled up in the girl's eyes as she through herself at Lucky.
"That's some good acting… considering I saw you telling Jason your joyous news with my own two eyes…" Carly began.
"Look, I don't know what the hell you thought you saw, but I was telling Jason that I was pregnant with Lucky's baby… not that it's any of your business… so BUTT out!" Liz emphasized her anger by stomping a tiny foot in frustration.
Carly froze…. Could she have been wrong? Was Liz telling the truth? A feeling of warmth began to melt the ice surrounding her heart.
"Oh… so you could tell Jason you were pregnant before you could tell me, the father of your child…" Lucky began and the arguing couple never noticed Carly walking away with a dreamy smile on her face.
Hurrying she glanced at her watch… Damn, she was going to be late, but Jason would wait. She finally found her guys as she walked into the parking garage and started to dig her cell phone out of her purse to call Jason when a voice stopped her.
"Carly?"
"What!? What now?" she groaned and turning around she came face to face with Ric Lansing.
Raising his hands in an "I come in truce" gesture Ric hesitated and stepped out of the shadows.
"I know I am the last person you want to see right now, but you can get to Sonny and I can't…"
"Whatever Ric… you have some nerve even mentioning Sonny's name, let alone talking to me about him." Carly turned to walk towards her car.
"Wait, just wait! I know you have no reason to trust me, but a lot of people are going to get hurt… I am trying to prevent that." Ric glanced around as if expecting to be spied upon.
"Would you stop? You're making me nervous… So, I am supposed to believe that you are actually trying to something good instead of… I don't know… kidnapping pregnant women, taking advantage of vulnerable women sleeping, or sleeping with your wife's daughter" Carly snorted in disgust. She really didn't have time for this.
"How did you know? Look, I know that I have done bad things to a lot of people… but so have you… and I need you to trust me on this…"
A squeal of tires and the roar of a motor cut out the end of Ric's speech.
The next thing Carly knew she was being thrown to the ground and bullets were flying. A whoosh of pain escaped her as her knees and the palms of her hands made contact with pavement. When the parking garage was silent Carly tried to move, but realized there was a dead weight on top of her… Ric's dead weight.
"Oh god… Ric… Ric, are you ok? You can get off of me…" Carly grounded as she pushed him off of her.
A spot of bright red was beginning to seep through his dress shirt and he was having trouble breathing.
"Great… who did you piss off this time? Why did you come around me if someone was trying to kill you? Stay with me Ric, I'm going to call and ambulance." she groaned feeling the stinging sensation begin in her scraped flesh. Ignoring the pain she looked for her purse… a cold hand grabbed hers and tugged for attention.
"Not me… it was you…" Ric began to cough and Carly began to panic, Ric was bleeding heavily and her purse was three feet away.
"Stay still… I am going to get help." Carly's legs were shaking too bad to walk so she decided to crawl… her knees were already scraped and bleeding so what was a little more damage going to hurt.
Grabbing her phone out of her purse she went back to Ric's side. His color was fading and he looked at Carly and tried to smile, "Tell… Sonny that I was trying to fix things… tell Alexis and the girls that I love them ok…." His teeth began to chatter uncontrollably and Carly knew he was slipping into shock.
Pulling him onto her lap she tried to share her body heat, but she wasn't feeling to warm at the moment herself, "Come on Ric… hang in there… You have to live so you can hold saving my life over my head for the next sixty or so years…"
"I'm sorry…" Ric pleaded he began to cough up blood and she knew he didn't have long.
Her head begin to spin as she fumbled with the keys on her phone, "Help me… you've got to help me… I'm in the Metro Court parking garage- private parking… a man's been shot… I think he's dying…"
Tears of frustration started trickling down her cheeks as she glanced down.
"Hang on… just hang on…you have to tell me what's going on… please Ric… SOMEBODY HELP ME!!! I NEED HELP…." She screamed as loud as she could and finally people were rushing out from inside the hotel… two of them being Lucky and Liz… sirens could be heard in the background.
Lucky was asking her questions but she couldn't seem to focus on his voice… all she could do was look down into eyes that no longer held any sign of life.
"Carly… he's gone… let me take you over here… Come on, " Lucky could tell his cousin was in shock and remembering her breakdown he hoped that she could survive the obvious trauma she had just suffered. He slowly helped her to her feet and started to walk her over to her car.
"He saved me… he saved my life…" A wave of dark dizziness began to swallow her up and with it a sharp pain in her abdomen… The baby… she tried to focus, was she losing her child? That fear began take over and the shock took hold carrying her the rest of the way into an oblivion.
I might "tweek" this chapter some… let me know what you think.
