The Fallout
Chapter Twenty-One
Emily looked from her mother to Zander, finally making her decision. She stepped away from one of them and let the other put their arms around her...
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He heard the scream from the bottom of the stairs. He didn't realize who it was at first, but he could hear the fear, the pure terror in it, and he knew that this lady was in trouble. He charged up the stairs, taking them three at a time, not just two, and burst on to the roof.
There he saw them. A guy he didn't recognize was lifting her up, about to throw her over the roof, and she was screaming, kicking, clawing, doing everything she could to break free.
"No!" he shouted.
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Jason held out his hand to her. "You need to come with me. You don't belong here."
Courtney shook her head violently, turning away, looking at their baby being rocked in another woman's arms. "No, Jason. I'm not leaving without our baby."
She felt Jason behind her even before he put his hands on her upper arms, sending a shiver down her back. "Please, Courtney," he pleaded quietly.
How could he do this? How could he make her choose where she belonged? She was a mother; this was he baby. That was an indestructible bond that had existed since the beginning of time. And yet, she was also a woman deeply in love. Jason was a part of her life, too. A huge part of it.
"There are people who love you, waiting for you, praying for you. I love you. Don't leave me, Courtney," Jason tried again.
Tears formed behind Courtney's eyes. She looked at her baby. Was she even real? She felt Jason's touch on her arms. God, she loved him. She could never leave him. Slowly, her heart breaking a little more with every motion, she felt herself turning towards him. She'd made her choice.
"Let's go home," Jason whispered, beginning to take her outside.
"Wait!" the woman called.
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Carly had lead her husband out into the waiting area, wanting to give Jason and Courtney their privacy. She had no idea what to do. She had no idea what had happened to Sonny, or how Courtney had been shot, or anything for that matter. She knew she had to do something, say something to keep him with her. She couldn't risk him disappearing inside himself again.
"I know what she meant."
Sonny broke the silence before she did, startling her, and confusing her. "What? Sweetie, what are you talking about?"
"Courtney, she told me to tell Jason something. She told me to tell him that they loved him. I thought she wasn't thinking clearly, you know? But she meant her and the baby."
"Oh," Carly said, not really knowing what else to say. She bit her lip, considering her options. She needed to know. Maybe Sonny needed to tell her, or somebody. It'd keep him talking at least. "H-how did Courtney get shot?" she asked carefully, unsure whether she was treading on stable ground.
He gave her a single name, spoken with all the hatred a single syllable could possess. "Ric."
Carly's eyes widened. This made everything so much worse.
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The shout startled Trevor, making him hesitate in his premeditated actions, giving Lucky enough time to charge forward, one hand latching onto Elizabeth, yanking her from his grasp.
Everything happened so fast. Elizabeth felt a new hand grab onto her, yank her to safety. Suddenly, she was on the ground, her wrist throbbing from being twisted. She looked up and shrieked. Lucky and Trevor were struggling, each trying to get the upper hand in a fight that would send one of them, and possibly Elizabeth depending on the victor, tumbling to their death some 11 stories below.
But Trevor was no match for a kid younger than half his age, let alone Luke Spencer's kid. Lucky twisted away from the railing at the last moment and then Trevor was over it, screaming as he fell.
It didn't even register to Lucky what he had done at first. He went straight to Elizabeth. She was trembling, unable to speak, silently pointing toward the railing. He picked her up off the ground and pulled her into the safety of his arms.
"It's okay now. You're okay. It's okay."
Elizabeth buried her face in his shirt and cried.
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The woman held out the baby. "You can hold her now, you just can't take her home with you quite yet," she said with a smile.
Unsure, Courtney looked to Jason. Then she followed her heart, reached out, took their baby in her arms. It felt so good to right. "Hey baby," she whispered.
"She's beautiful," Jason whispered, standing next to her, touching his little girl's hand.
They stood like that a long moment, and then Courtney knew it was time to go. She sniffed, feeling the tears coming, and gave the baby back to the woman.
"Your baby will always be safe," the woman promised. "Someone will always watch over her."
Courtney smiled even though she was crying. That was exactly what she needed to know. "Thank you."
Jason nodded, and then they turned towards the white light together...
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Beep...beep...beep...(as we return to reality and the heart monitor)
Courtney was just starting to wake up. Jason took a deep breath and greeted her. "Hey."
Courtney didn't react to the greeting. Her eyes were filled with unimaginable sadness. "Is our baby really gone?" she asked, on the verge of tears.
He sighed, and told her the truth. "We don't know."
Confusion lit in Courtney's eyes and she rose slightly. "What?"
"The medication was experimental. The doctors didn't know what effect it would have on the baby, and they still don't."
"So our baby...it could be okay?"
"Yeah, it could."
So that's what Sonny was trying to explain to her. "Oh my God." She fell back against the pillows, covering her face with her hands, a new hope in her soul.
"How are you feeling?"
Courtney tried to think of how to explain the pain of a gunshot. "It burns, you know?"
Jason nodded his head. Yeah, he knew.
A solitary tear trickled down Courtney's cheek. She began to raise her hand to brush it away before he could see it, but he reached out and did the job for her, leaving his hand there, caressing her cheek. "Hey, what's wrong?"
She put her palm over his hand and closed her eyes. "I don't know. It's just--God, I keep thinking about what happened. I remember--I remember Ric holding the gun on Sonny and I--I just remember thinking I had to stop him, you know?" She said it like she was begging him to understand, and he did. And she shivered something, remembering the cold of the water, and the rain..."I couldn't let him shoot. And I just didn't think." Courtney sniffed, looking him right in the eye, as if she was searching for the answer to a painful question. "Are you mad at me?"
"Why would I be mad at you?"
"Jason," she said, as if the answer to that question was supposed to be obvious, "I just risked our child's life. If it were just me, that would be one thing, but I didn't even think of this baby--our baby."
None of that mattered to him. All that mattered was her. That she was hear. Alive. Breathing. Safe. And that's what he told her. A brief silence stretched before Jason found the words to say. He needed her to understand what he'd done. "You know, I was sitting out there, while you were in surgery, and Monica came out and she started telling me all this stuff about how you were bleeding and if you kept bleeding, you would die. And Sonny was asking everything because I couldn't say anything. And Monica was telling us about the medication and how it might do something to the baby, but all I just kept thinking about was that you couldn't die. I kept hearing your voice and I could see you in my head, smiling, laughing, crying, just being you, and I couldn't imagine my life without that. It wasn't something I had to think about, something I needed someone to tell me how to do. I just told her to do it."
Courtney felt as though something deep down in her heart had been touched and that that touch had awakened it. It was rare for Jason to talk for so long, and he was talking about her... "You told Monica to give me the medication?" she asked. Not accusingly, not curiously. She was more surprised.
"Yeah. Sonny just signed the papers."
Courtney let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "God, this sounds so wrong, but I'm--I'm glad it was you."
Jason looked at her, his eyes and the warmth and loving in them saying everything that words alone just couldn't. "So am I," they said.
"Ms. Matthews?"
Courtney looked up to see Dr. Meadows in the doorway.
"How are you feeling?"
"Okay, I guess," she replied. She really wasn't sure. How were you supposed to feel after you had just been shot and you'd found out your baby might be dead?
"Do you think you're up to an exam?"
Courtney nodded readily. The only thing that would let her rest in peace was knowing that her baby was still growing inside her.
"Mr. Morgan, if you'd wait outside...?"
Jason started to rise, but Courtney's voice, soft as it was, stopped him. "No, I want him to stay." She reached out and took Jason's hand. His eyes asked her if she was sure, and her smile was her answer.
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Emily sighed. "I'm sorry, Mom. I—I can't. I'm not ready. I belong with Zander."
Her mother smiled understandingly. "I'll be waiting for you."
Emily smiled back, and let Zander begin to walk her away.
"Zander?" her mother's voice made them both turn around.
"You will walk Emily down the aisle, and dance at your wedding," she said.
Emily looked at Zander, her mouth open a little. Zander was going to walk again. He was going to walk her down the aisle. They were going to dance—at their wedding. A grin spread across her face. There was such a thing as happily ever after after all...she and Zander could dance into their future...a future together...
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Zander had been sitting there, watching Emily for what felt like hours. He never got tired of looking at her, but the searching for a movement, some sign, any sign that she was going to awake was getting old.
At first, he wasn't sure he'd seen it. He'd been staring for so long, maybe it was a mistake. Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him. He rubbed them, opened them. There, it happened again. He eyelids were fluttering. He lifted himself slightly out of the wheelchair with his arms, eyes wide as he waited for what happened next.
Her beautiful brown eyes opened, and when they caught site of him, a wan smile played across her lips.
"I knew you'd wake up," he said, awed by the life before him. He reached down a kissed her hand, unable to reach her mouth.
"I couldn't leave you," she whispered. "I could never leave you. Not for anything, not ever."
Zander knew every word she spoke was true, because he felt exactly the same way.
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"What are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked, amazed to be alive.
"Monica called me. She told me what happened with Ric and that you could use a friend right now, and Emily isn't available at the moment," Lucky calmly explained.
"You killed him," she said.
"He was going to kill you, Elizabeth. I didn't have a choice. Neither of us did. Who was that guy?"
"Can we go inside, please?" Elizabeth asked shakily.
Curious as he was, Lucky agreed. "Sure."
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Courtney chewed her bottom lip, gripping Jason's hand so tightly she knew she was probably hurting him. She couldn't make herself let go. Jason was all she had to hold on to, her lifeline, her hope. She looked at Dr. Meadows, her eyebrows raised, praying that baby was all right.
"I have good news," Dr. Meadows said after what seemed like hours, a warm smile spreading across her face. "The baby is still inside you, and appears healthy."
Courtney wanted to leap out of bed and jump for joy, but she was laden down with pain and medication. She settled for throwing her arms around Jason's neck, laughing and crying at the same time. Their baby was okay. Jason hugged her back, smiling a little. This was good.
"However..."
Courtney pulled away from Jason, her temporary joy fading somewhat as she waited for the doctor to continue.
"Some complications may not be evident until much later in this pregnancy. We will not what effects if any this medication may have had on the fetus until the ultrasound at six months. You don't need to worry about that just yet. Thus far, your baby appears to be healthy. Right now, you need to relax, and take good care of yourself."
"She will," Jason promised, meaning it. He was going to take the very best care of her.
Dr. Meadows smiled. "Now, I have other patients to attend to. If you need anything, anything at all, I'm only a phone call away."
Courtney whispered her thanks, worn out from the stress now that she knew their baby was okay.
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"What happened? Is she okay?"
"Trevor came after me. He tried to kill me," Elizabeth whispered, looking at someplace in that air instead of Sonny.
Before anyone could inquire further, a familiar, unwelcome voice interrupted them. "Well, I came down here, expecting one of them usual police interrogations. I didn't know I'd also be conducting a homicide investigation!"
Carly turned to Baldwin, one hand on her stomach, the other on her back. "What the hell do you want?"
Scotty ignored her, turning instead to Sonny. "How's your sister? I heard she got shot. It's a real shame. She's such a pretty little thing." He smirked, enjoying every second of grating on the Corinthos's nerves.
Sonny sent a dark look his way. "You do not want to mess with me right now."
"Which brings me on to another interesting subject. How did your sister get shot?" When an answer wasn't forthcoming, Scotty prodded a little more. "What's the matter, Corinthos? Cat got your tongue?"
Carly held up a hand. "Okay, my family has been through emotional hell. Don't you think you could lay off the questioning until we at least know that Courtney's going to be okay?"
"A little defensive, aren't you, Mrs. C?"
Carly's expression was deadly.
Scotty skipped to the point. "Trevor Lansing was murdered tonight. Taggert and myself"--he gestured to his thus-far silent companion--"we found him on our way in, as a matter of fact."
If Sonny was surprised, he didn't show it, at least not obviously enough for someone as blind as Scotty to see it.
"Would you like to hear my theory?" Scotty asked.
"Yeah, yeah. I wanna hear your theory." And shove it down your throat until you strangle on it! Sonny wisely didn't add that part.
"You see, Ric, you know, what I mean is your brother, that Ric--"
"We know which Ric you're talking about!" Carly snapped.
Scotty held up his hands. "All right, all right, no need to get snippy. No one has seen your brother Ric since around seven o'clock. It's almost as if he's...dropped off the face of the earth. It's no secret you and your brother don't exactly get along. In fact, I've heard rumors that you'd like each other dead."
"I'm sure you have a point, but I'm kind of missing it, if you know what I'm saying."
"Patience is a virtue, don't you know what? Oh, wait. You don't have any virtues."
Sonny and Carly both fixed their eyes on the ceiling, a synchronized eye-roll.
"So, here's what I'm thinking. I'm thinking that Ric, your brother, he was out for revenge, right? He couldn't get it in the court of law, so he decided to get it his own way, in the form of going after your sister. So he shoots Courtney. You kill Ric, and Ric's father attempts to avenge his son's death, and takes a fall to his death. Is that how it happened?"
Sonny took a step back, shaking his head at the absurdity of it.
"Is that how it happened?" Scotty repeated, shouting victoriously.
"That's not how it happened!" Elizabeth shouted, finding her voice.
Scotty raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Well, well, well. What have we got here?"
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"Why don't you get some rest?" Jason suggested. "You must be tired, after the surgery and getting shot."
"Yeah, I am tired," Courtney admitted. "Is Sonny around? I really need to apologize for going off on him like that."
Jason smiled. "Sonny is fine. You're always worrying about someone else, and that's one of the things I love most about you, but all that matters is you right now, and you need to get better. If you want, I'll pass on the apology for you."
"I can't shake the feeling of how cold that water was, you know? I keep picturing it. I hear the gunshots over and over again. I keep hearing the voices. It's awful. I'm afraid when I got to sleep, that's what I'm going to dream about. But you--you're a reminder that it's over, and I'm safe. Our baby's safe. I'd like it better if you stayed here with me," Courtney said, smiling shyly.
"Then I will," Jason promised, watching her settle back against the pillows and close her eyes, admiring the miracle which was her being alive. Boiling over with rage at Ric for making her live through that, and for making her afraid.
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"Trevor tried to kill me."
"I walked in on it. They were on the roof, and he was going to throw her over the railing. I grabbed him, we fought, and he went over instead," Lucky explained. He said it matter-of-factly. He didn't regret what he had done.
"Now, why would Trevor try to kill you?" Scotty asked.
"Because I saw what he and Ric did," Elizabeth said, speaking as if her mind was very far away.
"And what did they do?"
Elizabeth was trapped. What was she supposed to say? How much could she say? How much would Sonny want her to say? Well, that was an easy answer. Sonny wouldn't want her to say anything. Mob rules and all that. You didn't talk about what crimes had transpired, whether you'd committed them or been the victims of them. You didn't want the police looking at you when someone mysteriously ended up dead.
But she couldn't not say anything. She didn't know what to do.
Sonny shook his head at her from behind Scotty's back. Carly noticed, and wondered what was going on. This whole situation was so screwed up.
"I saw them shoot Courtney," Elizabeth finally said. No one knew Sonny had been kidnapped. And Scotty didn't want to know about that. He wanted to know about how Courtney had been shot and how Trevor died. She wouldn't tell him anymore than she needed to explain Trevor's death. "This is so hard. I love my husband.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know that. Speed it up, will you?"
Lucky bristled, full ready to slug the bastard in the mouth, something he'd been wanting to do every time the jerk railroaded his father. But then Elizabeth spoke, robbing him of the golden opportunity. "I came around the corner, and I saw them on the docks."
"How did you happen to stumble upon them on the docks?" Sure sounded suspicious to Scotty.
"I was out for a walk," Elizabeth lied.
Scotty made a face, displeased that his suspicion balloon had just been popped. "All right, keep talking."
"Ric was holding a gun on Sonny. He was going to shoot him." Elizabeth spoke slowly, reliving every horrible moment in her mind.
"How do you know that?"
Carly scrunched up her nose and left her mouth half open at the stupidity of that question as Elizabeth replied as if she was speaking to an extremely dense two-year-old. "He was holding a gun on him!"
"Why would Ric shoot Sonny anyway?"
Sonny couldn't resist this time. "Gee, I don't know, Baldwin. Maybe because he's a deranged freak with a vendetta, like we tried to explain to you how many times?"
Never insult the D.A., especially if he's an overconfident, pompous idiot. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean he was going to shoot you," Scotty snapped.
Elizabeth nodded, staring at nothing again, her eyes glistening with tears. "No, he was. And he did."
"Wow, Corinthos. You're some magic trick. Shot and not a drop of blood--twice!"
Carly and Sonny repeated their synchronized eye-roll.
"No, no, I meant Ric shot. But Courtney, she shoved Sonny out of the way," Elizabeth explained quickly, focusing on Scotty.
"And where did Courtney come from?"
"I don't know. She just ran in between them."
"Awfully convenient."
Elizabeth was off in that other world again. "I don't know if that bullet...hit Courtney or not. It all happened so fast. I remember Sonny and Courtney going into the water, and then Trevor grabbed the gun from Ric and started shooting at them."
"And what happened next?"
"I ran."
"Let me get this straight," Scotty scoffed. "You see your husband shoot a girl, and you run instead of trying to help."
"I ran to get help. I ran to get Jason."
"You went to get Jason. Not to dial 911. If Ric is dead, that could be obstruction of justice!"
"Lay off it, Baldwin!" Sonny said, at the same time Lucky said, "She's been through enough" and Elizabeth said, "Sonny told me to."
Scotty only heard what he wanted to hear. "Sonny told you to get Jason?"
"Yes."
"When was that?" Scotty inquired, delighted to have found a hole in the story.
"No, he told me before. He told me if I ever needed help, to go to Jason. So I did."
"Right," Scotty said dubiously.
"Everything she said is exactly how it happened!" Sonny snapped.
"You can ask Courtney," Elizabeth added.
"Speaking of Courtney, I'm going to have to clarify all this with her," Scotty said cheerfully.
"Clarify it with whoever the hell you want, but not Courtney. Not tonight. She's been through hell. I'm not letting you anywhere near my sister."
Cute blonde girl, looked a lot like Laura at that age...yeah, he could cut her a break. "I'm going to need statements, from both of you."
"Look at Elizabeth," Lucky said. "She has been through enough. Can't it wait until morning?"
"Before noon, no excuses. The three of you," Scotty demanded before storming off.
"Okay, I know there was something Elizabeth left out. What is it she didn't tell the police?" Lucky asked.
"Will you just take me home?" Elizabeth pleaded. She was exhausted.
Lucky wrapped an arm around her shoulders and began to lead her away. "Yeah, of course."
"Lucky's right. There's a whole lot more she didn't tell us," Carly said.
"I don't want to talk about it now, okay?"
She decided she could let it go...for now. "Okay. How about I go find Monica, see if she has any news?"
"Yeah, that'd be good."
"Okay. I'll be right back."
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Jason waited until he was sure Courtney was asleep to slip out. He didn't want to leave her for long, but there were some things that needed to be taken care of. He stepped out into the waiting room, to find Sonny still waiting.
"I didn't think you'd still be here."
"Yeah, well, the police and all that. They wanted to know how Courtney was shot."
"What'd you tell them?"
"The truth, mostly. How is she?"
"She's better now. Dr. Meadows says the baby's okay, at least for now."
"That's good."
Safe topics, mostly. Jason treaded onto more dangerous ground, seething inwardly as he thought of Courtney as he'd found her, bleeding in the rain, as he'd seen her, crying and looking so small in the hospital bed. They knew who was responsible for causing her that kind of pain, and Jason wanted to make sure she'd never have to go through something like this again. "Ric and Trevor need to die."
"Trevor's dead."
Jason recoiled ever so slightly in surprise.
"He went after Elizabeth. Lucky stopped him, killed him in the process," Sonny clarified.
"What about Ric?"
There was a brief pause. And then Sonny spoke in the same tone as Jason. "Ric needs to die."
Jason hadn't expected to win this battle so easily, but he was willing to take what he could get. "Okay. I'll take care of it."
"No, you won't. Ric is mine."
Normally, Jason would have argued with him. Pointed out that this was his job. That he disposed of these problems, and made it look like an accident. Reminded Sonny that he'd said the same thing before and hadn't been able to do it because Ric was his brother. But something was different this time. Sonny meant it. Ric was really going to die.
Carly came back, and, upon seeing Jason, gave him a hug. "Monica filled me in. I am so glad Courtney and the baby are okay. You take care of yourself, all right? I love you to death."
Jason smiled. "Yeah, I know that, Carly." And sometimes knowing that drove him absolutely crazy.
"Will you tell Courtney we'll come see her tomorrow?" Carly asked.
Jason nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that. See you." He retreated back to Courtney's room, wanting to be there when she woke up
Carly turned to Sonny. "All right. Let's go home."
"Home sounds nice."
How long had he been away living through God knows what and he used that word? "Just 'nice'?"
"Home sounds way better than nice," Sonny correct himself. "You have no idea how much better."
"I will," Carly said, reminding him she wasn't letting him off the hook, and she would find out what had happened to him.
Sonny sighed in defeat. "Yeah, you will."
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Ric let himself into the house. He'd wandered the streets for hours after the incident, trying to sort things out, trying to figure out what to do. He'd seen Lucky let a very shaken Elizabeth into Kelly's. He wanted so badly to step forward and explain things to her, but he decided against it. When he went to her, she would be alone.
He walked over to the easel in the middle of the room, looked at the painting supplies Elizabeth had never cleaned up, and possibly never would clean up. He remembered the beautiful moments they'd shared that very morning, and the wonderful dinner.
Her walkman lay on the table. He reached for it, to find out what she'd been listening to though he didn't really care. There was no tape, so he switched to the radio...
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Come away with me...
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Ric quickly changed the channel, remembering the dance they'd shared at The Cellar to that very song, before any of this had happened, back when she'd thought he was a good person.
"...sister of alleged mobster Michael "Sonny" Corinthos was shot tonight. Spokesmen for the PCPD say the shooting was not mob-related. In other news, a man was killed after falling from the roof of General Hospital tonight. There is not word on what Trevor Lansing was doing upon the roof, but D.A. Baldwin says that this was not an act of suicide..."
notRic clicked the radio off, hardly able to believe his ears. Elizabeth was gone. His father was dead. Oh, God.
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Carly hit the lights as they entered the penthouse. "We're home!" she exclaimed, dragging him after her.
"Oh, really. I thought we were elsewhere."
Carly shot him a squinty-eyed looked. "Shut up."
Sonny grinned at her, infuriating as ever.
Before she could start an argument, Michael came racing down the stairs in his pajamas. "Daddy!" Rosie, startled by the yell, started barking.
"Hey, buddy," Sonny greeted, accepting his "welcome home" hug with a wince that didn't go unnoticed by Carly. "What are you doing up? It's way past your bedtime."
"I heard Mommy leave and then I heard her come back and then I heard you."
Carly put a hand on her stomach, laughing. Ah, kids. Everything was so simple to them.
Sonny turned his attention to the dog. "What's this?"
Carly's mind raced for an answer. "Oh, I just thought with Courtney in the hospital and all, she wouldn't trust Rosie with anyone on an unlimited basis but us."
"Right."
He didn't believe her for a second, and she knew it. Thank God she hadn't touched the kitchen after all.
"I was thinking about something."
Sonny lowered himself to Michael's level. "Oh, yeah? What were you thinking about?"
"If we can dogsit Rosie for Aunt Courtney and it's the same as us having a dog, can we get a dog?"
"Uh..." Sonny looked at Carly accusingly. "No."
Micheal made a face. "Why not?"
Sonny dragged Michael over to the couch. "Come here, and I'll tell you why."
Carly covered her mouth with her hand. Now this was going to be good.
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Ric ran down the stairs He was going to have to lie low for awhile. He had no doubt Elizabeth would tell the police what she saw. She was that kind of person: someone who believed in the law and in the good of people. Too sweet, too innocent to be involved in all of this.
He stopped at the mantle, looking at a picture of them, taking so long ago when they were both happy. He stared at it for a moment, then shoved it into the bag. Then he left.
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Carly came chugging on down the stairs. Never mind it was closer to morning than night, she was still a ball of energy. "Michael doesn't think you have very good reasons," she commented.
"Yeah, well." Sonny shrugged.
Carly plopped down next to him on the couch, crossing her arms over her chest and cocking an eyebrow. "I don't think you have very good reasons, either."
Oh, great. Ganging up on him already, and he'd been back what, two seconds? "What, now you want a dog?"
"No," Carly offered slowly. "I just don't see a reason why we can't have a dog."
"You've been brainwashing him, haven't you?"
"Who?"
"Michael. Making it so he doesn't listen to me just like you don't."
"That's not true! I listen to you..." Carly trailed of before adding the more honest, "occasionally."
Sonny laughed at her and moved in to kiss her...at which point a jumpy and barking Rosie intervened, making Carly gasp in surprise. Rosie settled down between them, seemingly please at having interrupted.
"You see, that is why we can't have a dog. It won't let me kiss you."
Carly finally appeared satisfied. "Now there's a good reason."
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