AN - some explanation is needed. This is set in the past, I'm thinking 98-99. definitely before the Sonny/Carly hate sex, a little AU (I've cobbled together both Carly new (the incident with the 'real' Carly's dad and the old (i.e. Virginia) pasts - as best as I could remember) and it's Jason/Carly - my first, last & always OTP (one true pairing).


Chapter 11 – Tension Filled Moments

Staring up at the Harbor View Towers, Nickolas brooded, torn between an odd mixture of frustration and resentment. He had escorted Carly upstairs, back up to Jason's penthouse, under armed guard and then was himself escorted off of the premises by some mob goon.

He really hadn't gotten much time to absorb everything his father had said beyond Carly being his sister, but he did recall his father's displeasure with her current situation. Considering what he had just witnessed, he was more inclined to agree. Between that low-life thug Corinthos' violent outburst and Carly's more than obvious need for security, something needed to be done.

Through the glass doors in front of him, he could see one of Morgan's goons approaching and with a frustrated sigh, he turned and started walking away. While Carly had been seemingly oblivious, Nikolas certainly noticed the threatening glares he'd received from the guards. Clearly there was more going on here, than what his father had told him, but what was his father keeping from him and why?

He quickly ran through who he could tap for information, those on the very small list who might actually tell him something useful. Robin, Emily, possibly Lucky and possibly his mother, assuming he could bring himself to talk to her. Of course while the chances of getting unbiased information from any of them was slim to none, it still was the best chance he had, unless he was lucky enough to encounter Carly herself again, but that would be equally fraught with complications.

He shook his head in disgust at the situation as he walked on.

"Oh, Nikolas . . ."

An unmistakable voice grated in his ears and resigned, he turned to face the last person he wanted to talk to.

"Hello, mother," the irony in his voice apparently didn't so much as even register to her, as she smiled brightly and approached him.

He stopped as she walked towards him, an unfamiliar man in her tow.

"Nikolas, I'd like to introduce you to Simon Vaughn." She gestured to the man at her side. "Simon, this is my eldest son, Nikolas Cassandine. "

Simon nodded smoothly, "Ah, the Prince. I've heard much about you."

Nikolas' eyes narrowed fractionally as he studied the man in front of him, trying to determine what was ringing false. Casual business attire, a slightly vague European accent and an apparent respectful demeanor . . . perhaps a shade too respectful, he wondered?

A discreet cough alerted him that the man was holding out his hand and he slowly extended his own.

"So Mr. Vaughn, what brings you to Port Charles?

"Work, I must confess, but this assignment is rather open-ended, so I'm sure I'll be seeing you." He glanced at his watch, before turning back to Laura, "And now, my dear, I'm afraid I must take my leave, duty calls and all of that. It was pleasant to meet you . . . Nikolas."

His odd pause and quick departure didn't fail to escape Nikolas' notice.

"Where did you meet him, mother? At the hospital?" Nikolas asked politely.

"Simon?" She laughed. "No, I bumped into him the other day at the Outback."

She walked up along side of him, threading her arm through his. "Enough about Simon though. I was actually hoping to spend some time with you, since we see each other so rarely."

The petulant note in her voice made him want to wince as he wondered if the impending guilt trip was worth whatever scraps of information he might glean.

"You should come by and visit sometimes, I know your sister misses you and Lord knows I do too."

Caught up in his thoughts, he glanced at her startled for a moment. "Oh, Lulu, you mean."

"Well, of course, Lulu. It's not like you have any other sisters." Laura laughed again, albeit a little weaker this time. "Nikolas, are you feeling okay?" She raised her free hand to his forehead. "Well, you don't seem to be feverish, but then again living with Stefan . . . it's not like he's paying much attention to you these days."

Nikolas sighed heavily. "Laura, I do not want to get into a fight with you over my father again. If this is what you wanted to talk about . . . " His voice drifted off as he shrugged, pushing down the familiar feeling of resentment.

She clung to his arm tighter. "No, Nikolas, don't shut me out, I'm just concerned about you. With everything going on, I can only imagine how stressed and confused you must be."

"With everything going on?" he repeated incredulously. Oh God, did Laura know too?

"Yes, I know all about your father and Bobbie," she said scornfully. "The absolute last thing you need is to get caught up with Carly and her endless drama."

He stopped and stared at her in disbelief.

Laura nodded knowingly in concern and patted his arm. "I know, I know, sweetheart. I can't believe it either. You'd think Stefan would have learned his lesson last time, but if he wants to get involved with Bobbie again, he should at the very least consider your feelings."

"Wait a second - you think that Stefan and Bobbie are getting back together?" Nikolas shook his head, trying to make sense of what she was saying.

"Well . . . yes." She glanced up at him in confusion. "Aren't they?"

"No, I'm pretty sure that my father would never willingly get involved with Bobbie again," he told her, relieved that she was apparently still in the dark over Carly's actual paternity.

"Really?" She eyed him skeptically. "Maybe he just hasn't told you yet."

"Trust me mother, getting back together with Bobbie is the last thing on his mind," Nikolas commented dryly, quirking a satiric smile as he did so.

Laura made a faint moue of disappointment. "Well, that's good then, I suppose, considering everything. . . "

"Everything?" He repeated again, encouraging her.

"Well, yes, with Carly I mean." She looked at him with a conspiring gleam in his eyes.

"Since it's going to be common knowledge soon enough, I suppose that I can tell you now, although I must ask that you keep it between us for now."

She scarcely waited for him to nod in agreement, before she began telling him all the sordid details.


Carly had just finished taking a shower and getting dressed. She had chosen a long-sleeved shirt, despite the weather, in an effort to help conceal the ugly bruises on her arm that her best application of cover-up failed to completely hide.

Johnny hadn't seen them when he reamed her out for ditching him earlier and it would at least limit their exposure, although Carly was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to hide them very long from Jason, but she'd face that bridge when she came to it. She still didn't think they were that bad, considering other injuries she sustained in the past, but judging from that Cassadine's reaction, she suspected Jason would be beyond pissed.

Which brought up another question, what the hell was up with that?

Nik had seemed pretty decent, considering some of the horror stories Luke had ranted about, but she still couldn't figure out his angle. People didn't exactly just show up to the rescue like that unless they had something at stake and that was what was fucking with her. What did he have to gain from helping her out?

They weren't friends, nor did they even know each other, if anything she would have expected him to have come down on Sonny's side. Aside from the whole Cassadine-Spencer war, her mother had tried to poison, if not kill, his father, for god's sake. Carly knew damn well, she would have held a grudge if she had been in his shoes. Instead he seemed, actually friendly, which was weird.

Maybe she'd ask Lucky about him, she decided as she wandered into the kitchen. Sonny might have ruined her lunch, but she was still hungry. Carly was flipping through take out menus, when she heard the door slam shut.

"Carly, get your ass down here!" Luke's voice boomed though the penthouse.

She sighed to herself. Tossing the handful of menus on the counter, she slowly strolled out to the living room.

"Dare I ask what you're screaming about?" She asked dryly, rolling her eyes as she left the kitchen only to be confronted with her more than irate uncle and an annoyed Johnny.

Luke stormed towards her, his hands reaching out to grab her shoulders. "What the hell is this I hear about you getting into a brawl with Corinthos of all fucking people and then instead of waiting for me or anybody else, you take off with a vampire?!? Have you finally lost your ever-loving mind?"

Holding her in place, Luke carefully scanned her from head to toe, as the initial edge of panic give way to anger.

She gave him a minute, before she shook herself free of his grip.

"Look it wasn't nearly that big of a deal. Sonny was being a pompous ass . . . as usual and yeah, so ok, we got into it, but he started it. Then Nikolas showed up, Sonny left and it wasn't like I was going to hang around after that. I didn't 'take off' with anyone, Nik followed me and we talked. I got home and he left. End of story."

She looked at Johnny hopefully, but judging from the displeased expression on his face, Carly knew she'd get no support from him. If she wasn't lucky, he'd probably start in too for not telling him about Sonny as soon as she had gotten in.

"Oh, did you hear that, Johnny? He started it. Well, that just makes it all better, then doesn't it?" Luke mocked her sarcastically. "What are you twelve or something?" He demanded, not pacified in the slightest by her explanation.

Sick of being yelled at, Carly got right back in his face. "Hey, I don't have to explain myself to anybody, least of all, you, Luke."

"Carly," Johnny cut it, knowing all too well from past experience that if he let them continue, they weren't going to get anywhere fast.

"What?"

"What?"

They both turned and yelled at him in unison, before turning back to each other glaring.

He rolled his eyes, feeling a headache coming on. This was just what he wanted for the day, to be caught between two furious Spencers. When this shit was over and done with, he was definitely putting in a request for some vacation time, somewhere far away from the entire Spencer clan.

"Screaming at each other isn't going do much good. Why don't we sit down calmly and discuss this like rational adults, before Jason gets back?" He asked hopefully.

Hearing the door open behind him, he winced even before Jason asked, "Discuss what?"

Johnny swore softly to himself, even as moved aside to give Jason room, in anticipation of a furious outpouring from the other two occupants of the room.

He wasn't disappointed as they started throwing around accusations, loudly.

Jason watched them quietly for a moment, before his eyes caught the hint of something. Ignoring Luke, he strode up to Carly and snatched her hand from mid-air. He held her wrist in a loose grip as he pushed her sleeve up past her elbow.

There was a dead silence in the room that spoke volumes.

"Get me a washcloth," he demanded in a low, angry voice.

Johnny slowed down slightly as he moved past them, his step quickly increasing as his he glanced over what had caught the boss' attention.

Luke's mouth shut abruptly when Jason glared at him, before focusing back on to Carly's arm. His thumb gently caressing the delicate flesh of her inner wrist as they all waited. Coiling his inner rage, Jason couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes as he studied the faint, but still visible bluish hue of four distinct marks that marred her ivory skin.

Still holding her wrist, he carefully washed away several applications of cover-up and his hand tightened as the full damage was revealed. For a moment, the fingers of his free hand, traced over her swollen flesh, before Jason finally met her eyes with his own.

Carly couldn't quite suppress her gasp at the look in his eyes.

For one brief moment, she wished that she was back at Ruby's with Sonny screaming at her. In an odd sort of way, she was almost comfortable with that sort of casual violence – loud and angry men were something she'd seen all of life and she knew how to deal with them, but the cold rage she could feel radiating off of Jason . . . Her mouth went dry and shook her head, backing away from him.

"Carly . . . Carly." Through the fog of her thoughts, she could hear Jason calling, no more like entreating her.

Johnny and Luke exchanged a concerned glance, while Jason focused all of his attention but on the woman in front of him, staring blankly off into a world he couldn't quite reach.

When it came to his own life, fear had no meaning. He actually hadn't understood the word until this moment – this feeling that froze him to his core, he could finally put a name to it. He now knew that he'd felt in the past, usually whenever she pulled some reckless scam, but never to this extent.

Now he could finally say it, he only hoped it was the right thing to do. Jason stepped forward, closing the gap between them, his free hand sliding through her hair.

"You know, sometimes, Carly, you scare the hell out of me." His eyes closed, as his forehead fell gently against hers.

And it was as if he had found the key that unlocked the doorway to wherever she had retreated to.

Carly blinked and surprised to find herself suddenly in his arms. She tentatively smiled, recalling his words.

"It's only fair, I suppose, considering that you've done your share of scaring me."

She forced herself to look into his eyes and was relieved to see their normal shade of cobalt blue.

Jason stared at her, unsmiling, his hand letting go of her wrist to cup her jaw, his thumb rubbing along her cheek. "Are we ok, now?"

"Always," she teased back perhaps a shade too lightly, ignoring everything except for him.

"Then enough with this sickening lovey-dovey shit, we've got business to discuss," Luke brusquely interrupted. Johnny elbowed him in the stomach, while Luke glared at the other man.

Carly who had forgotten they were even still in the room, tried to pass Jason to get to Luke, but he kept her anchored at his side as he led her to the couch, before pulling her down with him. For that, Jason earned a brief dirty look, before Carly glared back at her uncle. Luke smirked right back at her, enjoying her frustrated outrage as he sat directly opposite of her. Johnny leaned back against the door frame, rolling his eyes at the non-verbal Spencer sparring, and Jason pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Ok," he started slowly, staring at each person in turn. "Anyone want to clue me in?"


Helena stared at the two men, her calm façade at odds with the air of menace that clung to her.

"How much exactly am I paying you . . . gentlemen," she sneered.

The younger man looked up with a sense of hopelessly to his older partner.

"Well enough, Madame," the taller one humbly replied.

"Yes, that had been my understanding as well. So explain to me how my granddaughter was not only able to give you the slip, but wound up in an altercation with that low-class thug Corinthos."

The apparent spokesman for two opened his mouth to speak, but was halted by an imperious gesture from Helena.

Andreas slipped into the room, bearing a tray with a steaming copper pot, a tiny cup and assorted other accoutrements. He placed the tray on the table and poured out a small amount of the rich brew, carefully added the think foam and stood at attention. Helena carefully lifted the steaming beverage, breathing in the bouquet, before finally deigning to take a sip. After a moment, she nodded her satisfaction and with a slight bow the servant made his exit.

"Let us clear the air," she began again. "You know who I am, therefore you must also realize the rather fatal penalties for such regrettable lapses in judgment."

The younger man swallowed audibly, one hand rising to adjust his collar.

"However, since no real harm occurred this time, I am inclined to give you second chance. I would strongly recommend that you do not disappoint me again, the consequences would be rather . . . dire."

Sharp hazel eyes held a cruel promise that left both men more than nervous.

"Instead of protecting my granddaughter and great-grandchild, since you are so obviously incapable of that task, I have decided to utilize your 'talents' to something more suited to your forte. I want Sonny Corinthos eliminated as a threat, with all the evidence pointed directly at Jason Morgan. Failure to successfully comply will, of course, be dealt with in the harshest of possible terms."

Her voice lowered dangerously, "Do I need to repeat myself?"

"No, Madame. It will be as you wish," the older man inclined his head respectfully.

She stared at each of them for interminably long moment, before respond. "Excellent," and then Helena dismissively waved them out of the room.

Drinking her tea, she pulled out several surveillance photos, studying them, before choosing a large close-up of Caroline. She imagined that she could see a resemblance between her and Caroline in the eyes. Once again, she though it such a shame that she hadn't learned about the girl until after Mikos' death, but then there was the rather unfortunate affair with Laura Spenser and then the birth of Nikolas . . .

With her beloved Starvos dead, the only heirs left to the Cassadine empire were that mewling Stefan and Nikolas, neither of whom were fit to properly rule. For one brief moment, she had hoped that Nikolas might be brought up to snuff, but Stefan had coddled the boy until he was all but ruined. Helena couldn't stomach the thought of everything resting in their incapable hands, but thought it too soon to bring out her trump card.

After observing the way Stefan subtly corrupted her training of Nikolas, she certainly wouldn't allow him to do the same to his daughter. Over the years she kept her eye on Caroline, waiting until the time was right. The girl was far from perfect, but she showed a certain aptitude for intrigue, which Helena could appreciate.

Sitting back on the sidelines, Helena had done her part. She taken out key obstructions, pulled the right strings and made sure her pawn had safely made it to Port Charles. A sly smile crossed Helena lips as she recalled the way Caroline had out-played the Spencers and managed to integrate herself into the Quartermine family.

It wasn't a connection she would have chosen for a Cassadine daughter, even a bastard one, but taken from Caroline's limited perspective, it was a near-perfect strike. This involvement with Morgan, despite his pedigree would have to be ended, of course, particularly now that the new heir was born. The neophyte mobster had thwarted her once before, when her granddaughter had been incarcerated in that sanitarium, forcing her release mere hours before Helena herself had been planning to assume custody.

This time the outcome, however, would be a far different one.

The ring of her private line interrupted her musings. The voice on the other line melted away the slight frown that begun to develop. "Ah, Simon, making progress I hope?"

She paused for a moment, listening to his response, before laughing slightly. "Excellent work."


After listening to Laura, Nikolas found himself inside of Jake's. He ignored the various looks he received from the occupants as he walked up to the bar and ordered a double shot of whiskey. The young Cassadine tossed it back easily, relishing the unfamiliar alcoholic burn and quickly ordered another.

Watching the kid get drunker by the moment, Jake made an executive decision and got on the phone.

Nikolas never even noticed.

Twenty minutes later, Lucky wandered and stared at his brother in disbelief. He almost hadn't even showed, convinced it was a mistake or a practical joke, but no such luck. Shaking his head, he made his way to his brother's side.

"Hey man, you ok?" He asked, sitting in the closest bar stool.

Nikolas laughed mirthlessly, not even sparing him a glance. "I'll be better after a few more shots. You?"

Lucky's brow furrowed in confusion. "Ummm, yeah, but I'm not the one trying to get smashed either," he pointed out.

Nikolas mock saluted him with an unsteady hand, amber liquid spilling free of the glass, before he chugged it. He slammed it back on the counter, ordering the bartender to keep them coming.

Lucky met the bartender eyes and drew a line across his throat. "Ok, man. Why don't we settle your tab and go somewhere and talk this out."

"Talk?" Nikolas repeated incredulously, nearly falling off of his stool. "Now you want to talk?"

He carefully corrected himself, shaking off Lucky's arm, even as he turned to stare at his erstwhile brother in cynical sort of amusement. "Seems like that's all anybody wants to do lately, whether I want to hear what they have to say or not. No, Lucky the time for talk is over . . . it's time for action now."

"Ok, you're going to have to clue me in, man, 'cause I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about." Lucky stared back at him.

Nikolas laughed again. "But that's the funny part, man, 'cause you do and you don't."

Lucky rolled his eyes, wondering how many shots Nikolas had downed before he arrived. "Nothing worse than a drunk," he spoke under his breath, thinking of his father.

"Yeah, well you would know, comes with those charming Spencer genes as I recall." Nikolas snickered for a moment, before seemingly sobering up.

Insulted, Lucky glared at him. "Look, if you're going to be an asshole, man, I'll just take off, but don't come crying to me when you get your ass kicked here." He stood up abruptly.

"I spoke to Laura earlier, or, rather, she spoke to me." Nikolas' voice was suddenly as somber as Lucky had ever heard it. "You've lived with her all of your life, Lucky, so tell me. Was she always such a vindictive bitch?"

Lucky turned back in surprise to see Nikolas staring into his empty glass. Of the many things that sprang to mind, the only word he could say was, "What?"

"When I was on the island, you know I read so many stories which never made sense to me considering how Helena treated Stefan and I thought, you know, maybe it was her. Maybe there was something wrong with her. Then I came to Port Charles and met Laura, my . . . no, our mother and you know it's more than obvious that she hates the sight of me -"

"No, she doesn't hate you, man." Lucky's outrage faded into a resigned sort of pity and he felt compelled to interrupt Nikolas' drunken rambling.

"I didn't say that she hated me," he dryly pointed out, "although I don't believe that is too far from the truth, I said she hated the sight of me. And on one hand, I can't blame her, I guess, after all I am the living reminder of what happened on the island, but that wasn't my fault, you know."

He looked up at his brother, almost pleading for some kind of redemption. "I mean what Starvos did wasn't my fault, anymore than Luke raping Laura wasn't your fault or what that sonovabitch did to Carly wasn't her fault, either, right?"

"What?" Lucky breathed and it was as if something in his mind shut down. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

The next thing either of them knew, Lucky had hauled Nikolas to his feet, fists tightly clenched in the Cassadine's shirt.

"What the fuck did you say about my parents?" He demanded again, his rage knowing no bounds.

Nikolas stared at Lucky blankly, his eyes wide and glassy. "Huh?"

"My father did NOT, would not, ever rape my mother!" He jerked the other man even higher in the air.

Nikolas blinked as Lucky's words penetrated his muddled consciousness and he groaned, his chin falling to his chest, finally realizing exactly what he had said. Ok, so in hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best analogy under the circumstances, but that didn't explain . . . unless . . . and that was when it struck him.

Lucky didn't know, oh god, somehow he didn't know.

Nikolas couldn't understand how it was possible, but it was only thing that made sense. Drunk and stupid as he might be, he understood that he had just stumbled into a huge landmine and didn't have a clue how to extricate both them from it.

"Oh fuck . . . I'm sorry, Lucky. I'm drunk as hell and I don't even know what I'm saying."

"I don't give a damn how drunk you are," Lucky sneered. "How fucking dare you? My father is a Spencer, not a damned Cassadine rapist."

Despite the sudden burst of umbrage, Nikolas forced himself to hold his tongue and instead of retaliating, attempted to cajole his brother.

"I didn't mean anything by it, I swear to you, Lucky. I'm sorry, I misspoke. Laura just started going off on Carly, telling me all the vicious stories, how she was going to tell the whole town and I just sort of lost it."

Lucky stared at him suspiciously, but finally set him back on his feet.

"What the fuck are you babbling about now?" He demanded guardedly, his fist still clenched as if waiting for an opportunity.

Nikolas stepped back cautiously, not wanting to further antagonize him.

He shrugged. "She told me about Carly's past, before she came to Port Charles, and how she was going to use that information to make sure that Carly lost custody of Michael."

"And since when do you give a damn about Carly?" Lucky snarked back, leaning back against the bar, his arms folded against his chest.

It was as if by some unspoken declaration, they mutually agreed to ignore the last few tension-filled moments.

"Since I had to get between her and Corinthos at Ruby's this afternoon," Nikolas countered.

"What?" Lucky spit the word out violently, his still simmering rage suddenly presented with a new target.

"Yeah," Nikolas nodded. Relieved they now had a common enemy. "And he wasn't too pleased to see me either. I was too late to keep him from grabbing her, but I was able to get her away from him."

"You are fucking kidding me," Lucky ground out. All the anger he'd been repressing from nearly the start of this conversation welled to the surface as he explosively kicked the bar.

Jake who had walking by, brusquely pushed him aside to inspect the damage. She stood up, casting him a quick sideways glance.

"Dumb luck, Spenser. Now, if you had kicked it any harder, I'd have you both in the back, washing dishes 'til you covered the repair bill. Instead, why don't the two of you, pay the tab and then get the hell out of here, before I get busted for serving minors. You wanna drink, go trash your dad's club in the future or at least until you're legal."

She grabbed Nikolas' empty shot glass and walked past them, without a backward look.

Staring at each other, Lucky sighed. "Come on, man, I think that's our cue."

TBC

Well, I've some dedicated reviewers & I love them dearly, lol. anyone else out there want to say something . . . anything . . . & thanks again for your patience.

It's now official - this story has gone very AU, hopefully, you still are enjoying my take on GH. (although I'm sure it must be making a little more sense now, lol).

This is more along the lines of how I expected Carly's paternity to be resolved and a far more deserving one that the writers chose to give us. Now that we & Stefan know the truth, it should be fun to see how the rest of Port Charles reacts. I've got lots of ideas for this story so if you've gotten this far, leave me a review. It's good karma, you know :D