The Spencer-Jax household was filled with noise. It was Bobbie and Jerry's
fourth wedding anniversary and even though Bobbie said she just wanted a
nice quiet dinner alone with her husband, Carly and Lucas insisted that
there be a party. So Bobbie's brownstone was packed with family and
friends. There was Lucas, Carly, Michael, and Carly's boyfriend Alex
Garcia. There was Jax, his wife V, and their daughter Jessica, Luke, Laura,
Lulu, Lucky, and Lucky's girlfriend, Samantha. Nikolas and Elizabeth Webber
were there and so was Emily and Sly. Mac, Felicia, the girls and the newest
addition to the Scorpio family, Robert, also know as Robbie, were there
too.
Bobbie was rushing back and forth from the kitchen to the living room
refilling the punchbowls and the snack trays when Carly caught her and
stopped her.
"Mom!" She grabbed the bowl of pretzels from her hands. "This is your
party. You should be enjoying yourself, not working to death."
"I am." Bobbie insisted. "I just wanted to make sure the party runs as
smoothly as possible."
"Leave the worrying to me, okay? Go over there and grab that handsome
husband of yours. Now!" Carly pushed Bobbie into the direction of where
Jerry stood holding Jessica and laughing with Luke and Jax over some joke
that shouldn't have been told in front of a three-year-old.
Bobbie took off for them as Carly just shook her head. Her mother always
just had to take care of everything. Just then a pair of arms wrapped
themselves around Carly's waist and she was pulled back against a strong
chest. Carly let out a soft gasp then relaxed as she realized it was only
Alex. She could recognize that spicy cologne anywhere.
"So you think Jerry is handsome? Should I be jealous?"
Carly laughed and leaned back into his embrace. "Don't worry. He's not my
type."
"And I am?"
"You know it." Carly smiled up at him.
"Right answer. You win the prize." Alex leaned down and kissed her gently.
Michael stood in front of the refreshments stuffing his face. Next to him
stood Lulu who watched in semi-amazement as Michael stuffed one pig in the
blanket after another into his mouth. The six-year-old looked over and saw
his mother and her boyfriend kissing.
"Yuck!" He said with his mouthful. "They're kissing."
Lulu looked at them and smiled. "*I* think it's romantic, don't you?"
Michael quickly swallowed and tried to redeem himself in the eyes of his
older cousin. Michael looked up to Lulu and would do anything she asked.
"Yeah, yeah, it's romantic but they're *always* kissing."
Lulu ignored his quick turn around. "I wish Brook Lynn could have been
here. *She* would have thought it was romantic."
"She's still sick." Michael mumbled around a handful of crackers.
"I know that." Michael, Lulu, and Brook Lynn were known as the Three
Musketeers to their family. Ever since Lois moved back to Port Charles so
that Brook could be nearer to her father the three cousins had become best
friends. Even though Lulu was the oldest, Brook was clearly the leader and
the one who usually lead them right into trouble.
Michael shrugged and reached for more food.
~*~*~
Nikolas walked back over to where Elizabeth, Emily, and Sly stood. He
handed Elizabeth a glass of wine. "Here you go."
Elizabeth thanked him with a smile. "Thank you."
"Look at Bobbie and Jerry." Emily pointed them out. "They look so happy."
Bobbie had taken Jerry over to a private corner and they were talking
softly and looking deep into each other's eyes. It was if they were they
only ones in the room.
Emily sighed. "I hope that when I get married, my husband and I will be
that much in love." She glanced over at Sly.
Sly immediately raised his hands. "Whoa! Hold up there. I hope that's not
some sort of hint."
Emily lightly punched him in the arm. "If I wanted to marry you, I'd come
out and say it, okay?"
"Okay, you don't have to get rough." Sly joked and rubbed his arm.
Nikolas cleared his throat. "Ah, Elizabeth?"
She turned to him with a questioning look. "Yes?"
"Can we go somewhere? Private?"
"Right now? Nikolas, can it wait until the party is over?"
"Well, I…" Nikolas cleared his throat again. "Yes, it can, sure, it can
wait."
"Are you okay?" Elizabeth placed her hand on his arm with a concerned look.
"I-I'm fine. It's just important, that's all but it can wait." Nikolas
tried to assure her.
"All right." Elizabeth said but she wasn't convinced.
"Um, Lucky had wanted to talk to me earlier. I think I'll go find him."
Nikolas quickly walked off. They all watched him go.
"What's up with him?" Emily asked.
Elizabeth shrugged. "He's been acting weird all night. Do you know what's
wrong with him?" She asked Sly.
"Don't look at me." He said. "He never tells me anything, you know that.
You better ask Lucky, he tells him everything."
~*~*~
Nikolas dragged Lucky out of a conversation with Samantha and dragged him
into the hall.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Everything!" Nikolas threw his hands up in frustration. He started pacing
back and forth.
"Tonight's not going the way you wanted it to, huh?" Lucky guessed as he
watched him pace.
Nikolas paused and glared at Lucky. "Hmm, why would you think that?" He
said sarcastically.
Lucky tried to swallow his laughter as Nik resumed his pacing. "Okay, man,
first thing. Stop pacing! You're making me dizzy. Second, I told you
before, you picked the wrong night to do this."
Nikolas stopped pacing. "And I told you, it has to be tonight. Three years
ago, Elizabeth and I started dating officially on this night. But every
time I try to get her alone, she starts in about how great the party is or
something."
"So wait until after the party. How hard is that?"
"But I don't want to wait. I want to do it now, I want to…"
"Get it over with?" Lucky finished for him. "Listen, this is the last piece
of advice I'm giving you tonight: Wait until the party is over. Now, if you
drag me away from Samantha again, she's going to kick your butt and I won't
stop her." Lucky warned him with a smile.
Nikolas laughed at the thought of Lucky's petite redhead girlfriend
threatening him. "Okay, okay. But thanks Lucky, I just needed some time to
calm down."
~*~*~
Later That Night
The party was over and Carly and Alex were cleaning up a little before
going to her apartment. Carly had sent Michael down to bed already. Just
then the phone rang and Carly ran to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Barbara Spencer. Please." Said an accented voice.
"Hold on a second." Carly went to go find Bobbie. She found her packing for
the weekend getaway that Jerry insisted they go on. "Mom, the phone's for
you."
Bobbie put down the shirt she was folding. "Thanks. You know you and Alex
don't have to clean up. I can do it."
"Mom," Carly began.
"Carly, don't start. You must be tired; you've been doing everything all
night just so that I wouldn't have to. Now goodnight and I'll see you in
the morning before Jerry and I leave."
"Well, I am a little tired." Carly sighed. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow
then."
Bobbie went to get the phone while Carly told Alex they could leave.
Bobbie picked up the phone. "Bobbie Jacks, hello?"
"Barbara Spencer?" asked an accented voice.
"Yes, this is she." Bobbie frowned as she tried to figure out why the voice
sounded so familiar. "Do I know you?"
The voice laughed. "Don't tell me you've forgotten all about me after all
these years. Barbara, I'm hurt."
"No, it can't be." Bobbie tried to deny it. "They said you died in prison!"
"Well, sometimes people get things wrong. I'm back Barbara. I'm back for
our daughter and my grandson."
"What? No! You can't."
"Barbara, Barbara, Barbara. Don't forget who I am, don't forget what I can
do. I'll be in touch. Happy anniversary, by the way." The line went dead.
Bobbie stared at the phone in horror as she realized that Victor Cassadine
was alive.
~*~*~
Carly unlocked her door and tried to stifle a yawn.
"Tired?" Alex asked.
"Very." Carly said around another yawn.
"Poor baby." Alex slowly massaged her shoulders. "Maybe I should stay the
night."
"Alex, I'm very tired."
"I just wanted to stay the night, Carly. I wanted to be able to hold you
close while you slept, that's all."
"Oh, Alex, I don't know what a sweet guy like you sees in me," Carly began
but he stopped her.
"I wish you wouldn't talk about yourself like that. You are perfect."
Carly smiled a little. "In you eyes maybe. You never noticed my flaws."
"So does that mean I can stay?" Alex asked hopefully.
Just as Carly opened her mouth to let him know, his beeper went off.
"Damn." He checked the number. "I have to go. I'm sorry."
Carly nodded. "I know duty calls. You be careful, all right?"
"I will." He gave her a quick kiss. "I'll see you for dinner tomorrow."
Carly waved goodbye as he took off and closed the door. Five minutes later
her doorbell rang.
"Did you forget something?" She asked as she opened the door. "Sonny! What
are you doing here so late?"
"I thought Garcia would never leave." He said instead of answering her
question. He walked past her and took a seat in her armchair.
Carly bit her lip and folded her arms as she tired to keep a leash on her
temper. After she and Sonny had broken up, they had decided to stay friends
for Michael's sake but there were times when she'd gladly strangle him and
this was one of them.
"Sonny, what are you doing here so late?" she asked again.
Once again he avoided her question. "So I see you and Garcia are still at
it but things don't look as hot and heavy as they used to be. How a man
could leave you at your door with just a peck is beyond me."
"You were watching-" Carly stopped herself. If she dwelled on that, she'd
start yelling and Michael would wake up. "Sonny, it's late, I'm tired…"
He interrupted her. "The party tucker you out? Poor thing."
Carly gritted her teeth, placed her hands on the arms of the armchair, and
leaned her face in close to his. "This is the last time I'm asking you
this, why are you here?"
Sonny reached up and grasped the back of her neck with one hand. His eyes
glittered as he slowly smiled. Then he brought her down for a long,
thorough kiss. Then he let go and said, "That's why. I miss you Carly."
~*~*~
Nikolas pulled into a parking spot in front of the apartment building where
Elizabeth and Emily shared an apartment.
Elizabeth looked over at Nikolas. "Emily said she's going to stay at Sly's
tonight, so I have the place to myself. Do you want to come up?"
"Yes, maybe, it depends." Nikolas said.
She looked at him in confusion. They sat in silence for a few minutes.
Nikolas, gathering his thoughts so he wouldn't sound like a fool again and
Elizabeth, trying to figure out what was going on with Nikolas.
"Nikolas? Is there something wrong?" She asked suddenly.
"No, there's nothing wrong. I just wanted to do this right so badly that I
just screwed up the whole thing."
"Screw what up?"
Nikolas sighed. "Aw, hell. Will you marry me, Elizabeth?"
fourth wedding anniversary and even though Bobbie said she just wanted a
nice quiet dinner alone with her husband, Carly and Lucas insisted that
there be a party. So Bobbie's brownstone was packed with family and
friends. There was Lucas, Carly, Michael, and Carly's boyfriend Alex
Garcia. There was Jax, his wife V, and their daughter Jessica, Luke, Laura,
Lulu, Lucky, and Lucky's girlfriend, Samantha. Nikolas and Elizabeth Webber
were there and so was Emily and Sly. Mac, Felicia, the girls and the newest
addition to the Scorpio family, Robert, also know as Robbie, were there
too.
Bobbie was rushing back and forth from the kitchen to the living room
refilling the punchbowls and the snack trays when Carly caught her and
stopped her.
"Mom!" She grabbed the bowl of pretzels from her hands. "This is your
party. You should be enjoying yourself, not working to death."
"I am." Bobbie insisted. "I just wanted to make sure the party runs as
smoothly as possible."
"Leave the worrying to me, okay? Go over there and grab that handsome
husband of yours. Now!" Carly pushed Bobbie into the direction of where
Jerry stood holding Jessica and laughing with Luke and Jax over some joke
that shouldn't have been told in front of a three-year-old.
Bobbie took off for them as Carly just shook her head. Her mother always
just had to take care of everything. Just then a pair of arms wrapped
themselves around Carly's waist and she was pulled back against a strong
chest. Carly let out a soft gasp then relaxed as she realized it was only
Alex. She could recognize that spicy cologne anywhere.
"So you think Jerry is handsome? Should I be jealous?"
Carly laughed and leaned back into his embrace. "Don't worry. He's not my
type."
"And I am?"
"You know it." Carly smiled up at him.
"Right answer. You win the prize." Alex leaned down and kissed her gently.
Michael stood in front of the refreshments stuffing his face. Next to him
stood Lulu who watched in semi-amazement as Michael stuffed one pig in the
blanket after another into his mouth. The six-year-old looked over and saw
his mother and her boyfriend kissing.
"Yuck!" He said with his mouthful. "They're kissing."
Lulu looked at them and smiled. "*I* think it's romantic, don't you?"
Michael quickly swallowed and tried to redeem himself in the eyes of his
older cousin. Michael looked up to Lulu and would do anything she asked.
"Yeah, yeah, it's romantic but they're *always* kissing."
Lulu ignored his quick turn around. "I wish Brook Lynn could have been
here. *She* would have thought it was romantic."
"She's still sick." Michael mumbled around a handful of crackers.
"I know that." Michael, Lulu, and Brook Lynn were known as the Three
Musketeers to their family. Ever since Lois moved back to Port Charles so
that Brook could be nearer to her father the three cousins had become best
friends. Even though Lulu was the oldest, Brook was clearly the leader and
the one who usually lead them right into trouble.
Michael shrugged and reached for more food.
~*~*~
Nikolas walked back over to where Elizabeth, Emily, and Sly stood. He
handed Elizabeth a glass of wine. "Here you go."
Elizabeth thanked him with a smile. "Thank you."
"Look at Bobbie and Jerry." Emily pointed them out. "They look so happy."
Bobbie had taken Jerry over to a private corner and they were talking
softly and looking deep into each other's eyes. It was if they were they
only ones in the room.
Emily sighed. "I hope that when I get married, my husband and I will be
that much in love." She glanced over at Sly.
Sly immediately raised his hands. "Whoa! Hold up there. I hope that's not
some sort of hint."
Emily lightly punched him in the arm. "If I wanted to marry you, I'd come
out and say it, okay?"
"Okay, you don't have to get rough." Sly joked and rubbed his arm.
Nikolas cleared his throat. "Ah, Elizabeth?"
She turned to him with a questioning look. "Yes?"
"Can we go somewhere? Private?"
"Right now? Nikolas, can it wait until the party is over?"
"Well, I…" Nikolas cleared his throat again. "Yes, it can, sure, it can
wait."
"Are you okay?" Elizabeth placed her hand on his arm with a concerned look.
"I-I'm fine. It's just important, that's all but it can wait." Nikolas
tried to assure her.
"All right." Elizabeth said but she wasn't convinced.
"Um, Lucky had wanted to talk to me earlier. I think I'll go find him."
Nikolas quickly walked off. They all watched him go.
"What's up with him?" Emily asked.
Elizabeth shrugged. "He's been acting weird all night. Do you know what's
wrong with him?" She asked Sly.
"Don't look at me." He said. "He never tells me anything, you know that.
You better ask Lucky, he tells him everything."
~*~*~
Nikolas dragged Lucky out of a conversation with Samantha and dragged him
into the hall.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Everything!" Nikolas threw his hands up in frustration. He started pacing
back and forth.
"Tonight's not going the way you wanted it to, huh?" Lucky guessed as he
watched him pace.
Nikolas paused and glared at Lucky. "Hmm, why would you think that?" He
said sarcastically.
Lucky tried to swallow his laughter as Nik resumed his pacing. "Okay, man,
first thing. Stop pacing! You're making me dizzy. Second, I told you
before, you picked the wrong night to do this."
Nikolas stopped pacing. "And I told you, it has to be tonight. Three years
ago, Elizabeth and I started dating officially on this night. But every
time I try to get her alone, she starts in about how great the party is or
something."
"So wait until after the party. How hard is that?"
"But I don't want to wait. I want to do it now, I want to…"
"Get it over with?" Lucky finished for him. "Listen, this is the last piece
of advice I'm giving you tonight: Wait until the party is over. Now, if you
drag me away from Samantha again, she's going to kick your butt and I won't
stop her." Lucky warned him with a smile.
Nikolas laughed at the thought of Lucky's petite redhead girlfriend
threatening him. "Okay, okay. But thanks Lucky, I just needed some time to
calm down."
~*~*~
Later That Night
The party was over and Carly and Alex were cleaning up a little before
going to her apartment. Carly had sent Michael down to bed already. Just
then the phone rang and Carly ran to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Barbara Spencer. Please." Said an accented voice.
"Hold on a second." Carly went to go find Bobbie. She found her packing for
the weekend getaway that Jerry insisted they go on. "Mom, the phone's for
you."
Bobbie put down the shirt she was folding. "Thanks. You know you and Alex
don't have to clean up. I can do it."
"Mom," Carly began.
"Carly, don't start. You must be tired; you've been doing everything all
night just so that I wouldn't have to. Now goodnight and I'll see you in
the morning before Jerry and I leave."
"Well, I am a little tired." Carly sighed. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow
then."
Bobbie went to get the phone while Carly told Alex they could leave.
Bobbie picked up the phone. "Bobbie Jacks, hello?"
"Barbara Spencer?" asked an accented voice.
"Yes, this is she." Bobbie frowned as she tried to figure out why the voice
sounded so familiar. "Do I know you?"
The voice laughed. "Don't tell me you've forgotten all about me after all
these years. Barbara, I'm hurt."
"No, it can't be." Bobbie tried to deny it. "They said you died in prison!"
"Well, sometimes people get things wrong. I'm back Barbara. I'm back for
our daughter and my grandson."
"What? No! You can't."
"Barbara, Barbara, Barbara. Don't forget who I am, don't forget what I can
do. I'll be in touch. Happy anniversary, by the way." The line went dead.
Bobbie stared at the phone in horror as she realized that Victor Cassadine
was alive.
~*~*~
Carly unlocked her door and tried to stifle a yawn.
"Tired?" Alex asked.
"Very." Carly said around another yawn.
"Poor baby." Alex slowly massaged her shoulders. "Maybe I should stay the
night."
"Alex, I'm very tired."
"I just wanted to stay the night, Carly. I wanted to be able to hold you
close while you slept, that's all."
"Oh, Alex, I don't know what a sweet guy like you sees in me," Carly began
but he stopped her.
"I wish you wouldn't talk about yourself like that. You are perfect."
Carly smiled a little. "In you eyes maybe. You never noticed my flaws."
"So does that mean I can stay?" Alex asked hopefully.
Just as Carly opened her mouth to let him know, his beeper went off.
"Damn." He checked the number. "I have to go. I'm sorry."
Carly nodded. "I know duty calls. You be careful, all right?"
"I will." He gave her a quick kiss. "I'll see you for dinner tomorrow."
Carly waved goodbye as he took off and closed the door. Five minutes later
her doorbell rang.
"Did you forget something?" She asked as she opened the door. "Sonny! What
are you doing here so late?"
"I thought Garcia would never leave." He said instead of answering her
question. He walked past her and took a seat in her armchair.
Carly bit her lip and folded her arms as she tired to keep a leash on her
temper. After she and Sonny had broken up, they had decided to stay friends
for Michael's sake but there were times when she'd gladly strangle him and
this was one of them.
"Sonny, what are you doing here so late?" she asked again.
Once again he avoided her question. "So I see you and Garcia are still at
it but things don't look as hot and heavy as they used to be. How a man
could leave you at your door with just a peck is beyond me."
"You were watching-" Carly stopped herself. If she dwelled on that, she'd
start yelling and Michael would wake up. "Sonny, it's late, I'm tired…"
He interrupted her. "The party tucker you out? Poor thing."
Carly gritted her teeth, placed her hands on the arms of the armchair, and
leaned her face in close to his. "This is the last time I'm asking you
this, why are you here?"
Sonny reached up and grasped the back of her neck with one hand. His eyes
glittered as he slowly smiled. Then he brought her down for a long,
thorough kiss. Then he let go and said, "That's why. I miss you Carly."
~*~*~
Nikolas pulled into a parking spot in front of the apartment building where
Elizabeth and Emily shared an apartment.
Elizabeth looked over at Nikolas. "Emily said she's going to stay at Sly's
tonight, so I have the place to myself. Do you want to come up?"
"Yes, maybe, it depends." Nikolas said.
She looked at him in confusion. They sat in silence for a few minutes.
Nikolas, gathering his thoughts so he wouldn't sound like a fool again and
Elizabeth, trying to figure out what was going on with Nikolas.
"Nikolas? Is there something wrong?" She asked suddenly.
"No, there's nothing wrong. I just wanted to do this right so badly that I
just screwed up the whole thing."
"Screw what up?"
Nikolas sighed. "Aw, hell. Will you marry me, Elizabeth?"