A Time of Crisis

Chapter Thirty Nine

Brooklyn stopped a few feet away from the table at the restaurant where she had arranged to meet Maxie Jones. She thought the whole idea of them hanging out, even if it was just so Maxie could apologize for her rude behavior in the past, was bizarre.

She brought her boyfriend? Brooklyn thought as she spotted the couple holding hands. Maxie was grinning ear to ear, but the guy looked a little shell shocked.

"Uh, hey," she said slowly then took a seat at the table.

"Hi, Brooklyn. It's been a while."

"Yeah, good to see you, Maxie," she lied. Her eyes moved to the man sitting across from her.

"Hello," he said, with a nod of his head. His eyes searched hers. She stilled. He was looking at her intently. "I'm Cooper Barret."

Maxie and Cooper seemed to be waiting for some kind of response from Brooklyn, which only made her more nervous. "Uh, okay, nice to meet you?" She sounded unsure about it but it was only in reaction to the odd vibe she was picking up from them.

"He's Julia," Maxie drug the name out like it had special meaning "Barret's son. Brenda's sister. You know them , right?"

"Of course. Brenda is like an aunt to me. Both my parents can't say enough good things about her. They have a million stories about the good old days...I think Dad even mentioned Julia before...she sounds familiar...does she have blond hair?"

"Yes," Cooper said. He swallowed and fidgeted in his seat.

"Right. There was a picture in one of our photo albums of her, my dad and Brenda. The only reason I remember is cause my mom took it out and Fed Exed it back to my dad after this big fight they had. I guess our folks knew each other, Cooper. So...Maxie? You asked me here to..."

"I'm not apologizing, Brooklyn," Maxie said.

Brooke shook her head. "I knew you were up to something."

"Don't blame her," Cooper said gently "I wanted to meet you."

The waiter came over and took their order.

All Brooklyn could hear in her head was Cooper saying I wanted to meet you. And then her own voice Our folks knew each other....

She leaned slightly closer to him, studying his hair, his eyes, his nose, mouth, chin. Was it really there? Traces of Jason, of Alan, of Edward...

Brooklyn thought to herself, He can't be..."You wanted to meet me?"

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Cooper heard the unspoken question in her voice. She was putting the pieces together.

"I needed to meet you, Brooklyn. I just found out a few days ago that Ned Ashton is my.."

"Father," Brooke breathed out softly.

"Yes, he is. I know this must be a shock. I didn't come here to ask you for anything. Nothing at all. You aren't obligated to me in anyway, so don't worry."

"I'm not worried, Cooper. I'm just...wow. Did he know?"

Cooper stilled, and gave away the answer without a word.

"He knew," Brooklyn said "Oh...God, I'm so sorry."

Cooper let out a shaky breath. "I only wanted to tell you that...well, I'm here for you if you ever need anything. I've written down my number and address, email, fax, everything..." He pulled a piece of paper out and passed it to her.

"I'll be staying in London for the next few months at least but if anything comes up, anything at all that you think I might be able to help you with, or even if you don't think that ...if you get jammed up... you call me. I will come back here, Brooklyn. For the whole rest of my life I will always be here for you...if you want that or even if you don't right now, know you could change your mind later and I'll be there for you in an instant because..."

He knew his eyes were teary as he said, "I'm your brother."

Brookyn sat there in stunned silence. When she didn't speak after a minute, Maxie jumped in. "Now, listen, I know you spent your whole life as an only child and you are used to having all of Daddy's attention but its time to share. This man here loves you...just because you are his sister. So..." her voice cracked slightly.

Cooper knew Maxie was only getting emotional because of how much her heart was devoted to him, she never cried for herself. He thought about stopping her little speech but knew it was coming from a good place, even if she said it all wrong.

Maxie went on, "Don't you dare hurt Cooper and push him away or else..."

"I wouldn't do that," Brooklyn said. She looked at Cooper and repeated. "I wouldn't do that.." a slow smile came to her lips "Oh, man, you are in the Quatermaine family now. Have you met them? Great Grandfather? "

Cooper shook his hand no.

She giggled. "Wow, well, I better go with you when you do. See the way it works with them is everyone takes a side. There are all these little teams. Alan and Monica are one. Jason and Justus used to be one. Skye and A.J were one. Dillon and I make up our own and believe me if you don't get on a team you will be steam rolled over..." Her face went serious again. A moment passed and she asked "Have you talked to Dad?"

"Yes." The one simple word, and his tone, said it all.

"It went that bad, huh?"

Cooper nodded.

"Maybe in time?"

"Maybe," Cooper said softly.

His eyes went cold, in that instant, and he wasn't sure he really meant it at all. A part of him knew he needed to reconcile with Ned or he would never get past how he felt right now. Twenty years would pass and he would still be just as wrecked, feel just as abandoned. He would spend all the years he should be happy with Maxie- raising a family and making her dream of being a fashion designer come true- miserable, if he didn't come to terms with what Ned did.

But he wasn't sure he could.

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Brooklyn nodded. A brother? This is out of this world. A brother! Oh my...a brother.

She had dreamed of having a sibling when she was younger. And for a brief time she thought she had one in the little girl now called Kristina Davis Corinthos, but that was only a lie her father told her and the rest of the world. It was meant to help Alexis but turned ugly, and didn't end well. She lost her sister and all hope of ever having a sibling. Now there was one sitting across the table from her. It seemed too good to be true, and just tragic enough to let her know it was, in fact, all too real.

"So, are you two a couple?" she asked them

"Yeah."

"More than a couple," Maxie beamed. "I'm about to be your sister- in- law."

"Want to come to a wedding?" Cooper asked

Brooklyn's mouth dropped. Crap! Maxie Jones is gonna be in my family. "Sure. Where is that waiter? Does this place serve alcohol?"

"How old are you?"

A brother, a big brother, great, she thought then smiled. "Old enough."

"I don't think so," Cooper said. He looked at Maxie. She shook her head no.

He told Brooklyn, "You'll have a Coke."

"Lucky me."

I have a brother! she thought again and then honestly added Lucky me.

For the rest of the night she kept smiling as she learned all about his life. Cooper insisted

on driving her home and walking her to her door, as if she hadn't been getting around Bensonhurst on her own since she was eight. But Brooklyn found it endearing. He cared. He wanted to take care of her. He was a real, live brother to love.

He said, in front of her door while Maxie waited in the car, "Well, good night. You take care of yourself and remember what I said. Call me if you need me, I'm serious."

"I'm going to talk to my Ma and then get on the train for Port Charles in the morning. Believe me you need me there when you step into that mansion for the first time. And, besides, I'm going to your wedding right? Are you totally sure about ...her?"

"I am."

"Um, okay. I'll call you when I get in town then."

"All right. Thank you...Brooklyn, for understanding. I know this is not what you ever expected to happen."

"Nope. It's a lot better than I ever expected."

A small smile curved his lips. "Night."

He waited there as she slipped her key in the door and opened it. He wanted to see her inside with it locked before he left.

She turned back around and then quickly moved close to him, before she lost her nerve. She gave him a shy little hug. Cooper hugged her back, and it was one of the most comforting gestures she ever experienced. She could tell he was completely protective of her already.

"Thank you," she said when she moved away "you didn't have to come here and tell me. Dad never would have..not cause he's a bad guy. He's not, Cooper, not at all. But because he would think it might hurt me and because he wouldn't want me to look down on what he did but...I needed to know. I should know you. You're my only brother, my only sibling in the world."

"And you're mine, kid."

She smiled. "Good. Then we are even. And you can count on me. I'm a stand up girl. That's how they grow 'em in this neighborhood my Ma always says. I will never let you down. I'm gonna be at that wedding and I am gonna like your new wife... even if it kills me. Are you really, really sure about her? Really?"

"Really."

"Um...okay." She smiled. "Okay. I'm happy for you then. I'll see you soon, Cooper."

"See you later, sis."

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Sonny and Alexis were on her couch after the kids went to sleep. She was working on paper work for her job. Her glasses were pushed up on her head and her hand kept snaking over to the popcorn bowl to mindlessly grab another handful.

He had just come over after visiting Jason and Carly's place to kiss Micheal and Morgan good night and read them bedtime stories. It was the first time Sonny went there after Jason moved in.

Technically, Carly was still Sonny's wife, though the divorce papers were working their way though the court system. She didn't feel like his wife to him anymore, though. She was now completely Jason's and tonight, for the first time, Sonny found himself happy about that fact.

It was an odd feeling. One he didn't expect to have but when he saw the look on her face, as Jason held her hand, it was more than Sonny could do to stay angry. He had always wanted Carly to look like that, but she never did in all the years she tried so hard to love him. She probably never had loved him , at all. Her heart was spoken for from the day they met.

It didn't bother him though. He just left their home and drove to the Lake House, knowing he would find a sense of peace and comfort here. He watched Alexis work. Though the news was playing softly on a nearby TV he wasn't focused on it at all, his attention stayed on her.

Eight days to go. Stan said he believed he was close to getting the case open. Sonny had heard that same line every day for four days now. He didn't really buy it and figured this situation was going to turn a lot more bloody before it was over, but for now he would bide his time. In his business, sometimes, that was all you could do. If you moved too fast, you only made it worse on yourself by making a stupid mistake.

"Hey," Alexis said softly. "I'm sorry I have to work. There's this hearing first thing in the morning...I'll be done soon."

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She usually wouldn't apologize for her work. Alexis loved it and it was a huge part of who she was. But right now it felt wrong to do anything but spend time with Sonny... and hound the scientists in Europe that she had working on a cure for him, and think of new ways to torture Lorenzo Alcazar within a inch of his life. But, most of all, she just wanted to savor every moment with him...for it could be running out, it could be but she refused to believe it was.

"Take your time," he said easily. But then he winked and flashed his dimples at her. Slowly he leaned closer and added, "We have all night."

She closed the gap and kissed him.

Knock. Knock.

They looked up and saw Ric standing on the deck outside.

Alexis met Sonny's eyes again, and she saw they had went ice cold. Some people thought he could never kill Ric, because they were brothers, but Alexis knew better. Sonny was simply biding his time. It was something he did very well. He lulled people into a false sense of security and then, when they were sure the threat was long passed, he sent someone to take care of his problem. By the time he woke up the next day, his enemy was just an unpleasant memory.

She could try and protect Ric from getting the punishment he had more than earned, but she wouldn't. That decision was made the first time he uttered the words, "Sole custody." And though her precious Molly slept peacefully in her room in this very house tonight, Ric had dug his own grave when he even mentioned trying to take her away from her mother.

The look he was giving both Sonny and Alexis now was cold and full of rage. The first words he said when Alexis finally yanked open the door were no surprise to either of them.

"You're screwing my wife now, brother?"

Coming up : Sexis, Spinelli's date shows up, LuSam

Thanks for reading and reviewing. This story is much longer than I ever planned it to be so thanks for sticking with it to this point.

Sara