"Can *who* come to play?" Keesha demanded. "Who the hell are you?"
Frisco groaned. Leave it to Layla to do something stupid. Layla just
grinned. "The name's Layla and this is Blondie, I mean Frisco. I work with
Marcus." Layla extended her hand out for a shake.
Keesha just stared at her hand then looked back up. "No, you don't. *I*
work with Marcus and nobody but me calls him that!"
Layla shrugged. "Well so do I."
Marcus walked up to the door. "Keesh? Baby, who's there?" He stopped short
at the sight of Layla and Frisco in his doorway. "Oh boy."
Keesha turned to Marcus and glared. "Who are these people?"
Frisco had to smile. "Looks like you've got some explaining to do."
"Damn right." Keesha muttered. "What's going on here?"
Marcus gave up. "Layla, Frisco, get in here." He walked over to the couch
and Keesha followed.
"Marcus, I'm waiting for an answer." Keesha propped her hands on her hips.
"I might as well tell you since these two idiots just about ruined things."
He shot a look at Layla.
"Hey, I didn't know you had a girlfriend or that she didn't know. What else
have you kept from her? Does she know about your daughter?" Layla asked.
"What daughter!" Keesha was fed up.
Marcus reached out and took a hold of Keesha's hand. "I don't have a
daughter, there's this little girl, actually I'm her godfather…" Marcus
shook his head. "Actually that doesn't matter right now. The thing is…
Layla, Frisco and I used to be partners, I used to be in the WSB."
"WSB? What's that?" Keesha frowned.
"It's the World Security Bureau." Marcus explained.
"You're a spy?" Keesha breathed. "And you were never going to tell me?"
"No, I *used* to be WSB but I got out years ago though sometimes people
tend to forget that." Marcus sent another pointed look at Layla who just
shrugged in response. "But Layla and Frisco needed a little help and so
they came to me for some information."
"All right, I need time to make since of this." Keesha moved away from
Marcus. "I'm going…" She remembered that she was only dressed in an old
shirt that used to be Marcus'. "I'm going to the back. We will talk later."
Keesha walked away.
Marcus turned to Layla and Frisco. "What are you guys doing here? People
aren't supposed to know what's going on here."
"Whatever." Layla dismissed his concerns. She sat forward in her chair.
"We've got some news. Cassadine is here. We saw his right hand man
strolling down the street without a care in the world."
Frisco nodded. "If Higgins can walk around out in the open like that, that
means Cassadine doesn't give a crap if anyone sees him, so you know that
means he has no idea we're right on his tail. We'll probably get a hold of
him by the end of the week."
~*~*~
Carly was making up a batch of pancakes to feed her, Michael, and Alex when
the food rang. "I've got it!" She shouted so that Alex wouldn't pick it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, it's Eve."
"Eve, I told you I would call." Carly propped the phone up between her
shoulder and neck.
"I was anxious to know how things were going with you. The way you and Alex
were acting last night was…"
"We had some things to work out but things are okay for now." Carly said
hopefully. "So, uh, what are you doing?" She asked to change the subject.
"Some boring paperwork. You?"
"I'm making pancakes." Carly dropped a large spoonful of batter on the hot
skillet.
"Pancakes! You?" Eve laughed. "You do have a fire extinguisher next to you,
right?"
"Listen, my pancakes are damn good and you know it!" Carly defended
herself.
"Right, right. Nice and burned, mmm, mmm." Eve laughed again.
"Hey, I learned from the best. Sonny taught me…" Carly stopped herself.
"Hey, Carly, it's okay to talk about the guy, you know." Eve told her.
Carly shrugged. "I know. He was a big part of my life and Michael adores
him, to Uncle Luke, he's practically family but Alex hates him and Sonny
doesn't seem to get the meaning of 'We're over'."
Eve sighed. "What happened now?"
"Well, he showed up on Friday, which was good thing because I really needed
someone and that was nice of him. But then he came back Friday night hoping
to start things up again and I had to kick him out."
"So?" Eve asked.
"Well, I'm having a tough time getting through his thick skull that it's
not going to happen."
"Car, all you have to say is, it's not going to happen. How hard is that?"
Carly swirled her spoon through the batter. "Um, it's kinda hard to when I
still…" Carly looked around to make sure Alex and Michael were still
occupied. "…I still have feelings for the guy."
"Feelings? If you still love him why are you denying yourself?" Eve asked
wearily.
"I don't love him, I never did, it's just…sexual feelings. I mean all he
had to do was just *look* at me and…" Carly sighed and flipped over a
pancake.
"Confused?" Eve asked understandingly.
"Very but I love Alex and Sonny is just left over sexual tension." Carly
stood up straight up. "So I am banishing all thoughts of Sonny out of my
head. Starting right now." Carly said confidently.
"Good for you." Eve cheered on. "If that's what you really want."
"Eve!" Carly said. Carly heard a small click. "Hold on, there's someone on
the other line." Carly clicked over. "Hello?"
"Hey cupcake, miss me?" Sonny said smoothly.
Great, just what I needed, Carly thought. "Sonny, what did I tell you?"
"You told that you couldn't get enough of me, that you loved it everything
I did and that if I ever stopped touching you and kissing you, you would
die." Sonny drawled in that sexy voice of his. "Oh, and that the ice cream
was sticky but fun. We were going to try it again. How about we do that?"
Carly slumped against the counter. Sonny was obviously remembering a
favorite memory of his… and hers. "Sonny, I meant on Friday. I told you to
leave me alone."
"But I can't do that and you know it." Sonny said seriously. "I feel things
for you that I… look, I can't do this over the phone. I need to see you,
need to be able to touch you."
Carly swallowed. "Sorry, I'm busy making brunch for Alex and Michael."
"Garcia is there?" Sonny asked quickly.
"Got back last night. Things are *great* between us." Carly lied.
"Even though he wasn't there for you when you needed him?" Sonny asked
quietly.
"That doesn't matter, all right? Now, I have someone on the other line so,
goodbye Sonny." Carly was ready to click over.
"Wait, could we meet for lunch tomorrow? I want to talk to you face to
face."
"Uh, well…" Don't do this! She told herself. You know what he wants to talk
about it, be strong and tell him no. You have a great relationship with a
great guy, who loves your kid to pieces. Now be strong and tell him where
to go. "Sonny…yes, I'll meet for lunch."
What? Carly couldn't believe those words just came out of her mouth. Sonny
on the other hand was happy to hear them. "Great, I'll send a car to pick
you up. See you then, cupcake." Sonny hung up.
Carly clicked over to Eve. "Eve? I'm in big trouble."
~*~*~
Later That Night
Elizabeth paced back and forth in her room trying to decided on whether or
not she should get dressed up and go with Nikolas to get her 'surprise' or
if she should just talk to him at the apartment.
Emily knocked on her door and poked her head in. "Hey, do you need help
with your hair?" Emily looked her up and down. "Why aren't you dressed yet?
Nikolas will be here soon."
Elizabeth paused in her pacing and glanced over. "I…I might not be going
with Nikolas tonight."
Emily walked into the room. "What? What happened? Did he cancel?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "That's not it. Look, Em, I'll tell you all about
it, later, after I talk to Nikolas."
"Elizabeth, is everything okay?" Emily asked with concern.
"It will be." They both heard the doorbell ring. Elizabeth sighed. "That's
probably Nikolas."
"I'll let him in. I'm meeting Sly and we are going to the movies so you'll
have some privacy. I hope everything turns out alright." Emily slipped out
to go open the door.
Nikolas stood before her dressed in a suit and carrying a bouquet of roses
and wearing a big smile. "Hi, is she ready?"
Emily gave him a sad smile. He looked so happy and Emily could tell that
something bad was about to happen. "Uh, she'll be out soon." Emily gathered
up her coat and purse.
"Wait. How do I look?" Nikolas asked.
"Perfect. I have to…go. Goodnight." Emily slipped out.
Nikolas watched her go. The sad look on Emily's face really bothered him.
He hoped it didn't have to do with Sly. He heard Elizabeth enter the room
and he turned around with a smile. His face fell when he noticed she wasn't
dressed.
"Elizabeth? Why aren't you dressed?" He asked.
"Uh, Nikolas, let's sit down, we need to talk." Elizabeth sat on the couch
and patted the seat next to her.
Nikolas sat down, his eyes worriedly searching her face. "Elizabeth, tell
me what it is?"
Elizabeth looked down at her hands. "I don't know how to say this but…I
think we need some time apart."
"Time apart?" Nikolas repeated. He took Elizabeth's hand in his. "I don't
understand."
"Nikolas," Elizabeth sighed, "This is hard for me, okay? But I think this
would be best for us. See, I've been thinking about us a lot lately and…"
"Look, if it's about me proposing, forget about. I told I can wait."
Nikolas said quickly.
"It sort of has to do with that in a way. I realized that you are very
serious about me, serious enough to ask me to marry you. I don't feel as
strongly about you as you do about me." Elizabeth admitted. "I mean, you're
worrying about getting married and growing old together and frankly, I've
never thought that far ahead."
Nikolas sat back and tried to take it all in. "So you want to break up with
me because you aren't ready to get married?"
Elizabeth wearily rubbed her face. "No, actually yes and no…you aren't
listening to me. What I'm trying to say is that you are more…dedicated to
our relationship than me. I believe I owe it to you to take some time away
from us and give some more thought into how important we are to me."
Nikolas stood and began to prowl around the room. "I don't understand!
Haven't you been 'thinking' all this week?"
"I knew you wouldn't understand." Elizabeth said quietly as she closed her
eyes.
"No, I understand perfectly. You want time and space? You got it, I'm
leaving." Nikolas angrily strode out the door.
~*~*~
Later that evening, Emily and Sly returned from their long night out. They
had gone to dinner after the movies and then Emily talked Sly into going
for an ice cream cone and walk down by the docks. By the time they arrived
at Emily and Elizabeth's apartment, it was late and they were very tired.
Emily shot a worried glance in the direction of Elizabeth's room. She
wondered if Elizabeth was in there and how things went between her and
Nikolas. Emily hoped things turned out fine and followed Sly into her room.
"I am so tired." Sly said on a yawn as he lazily stripped down to his
boxers.
Emily rolled her eyes as she noticed the clothes he'd thrown carelessly on
the floor. "Could you try picking up after yourself?" She asked as she
slipped into her nightclothes.
"Nag, nag, nag." Sly muttered from the bed. Emily quickly checked to see if
he was teasing. He was. Emily was hoping their relationship could go back
to the way it used to be.
Emily was just crawling into bed with Sly when the telephone rang. Sly
groaned and said, "Let the machine pick it up. It's one in the morning."
"It could be an emergency." Emily insisted and reached over Sly's head to
pick up the phone. "Hello?"
"Em? Em, I need you." Nikolas said in slight slur.
"Nikolas? What's wrong?"
Sly sat up. "Not him again. Tell him to call his girlfriend and to leave
mine alone."
Emily glared at Sly and then turned her back to him. "Tell me what's
wrong."
"Em, she left me, Em, and I don't know what to do. I love her, Em, I do!"
Nikolas practically shouted. "You tell her that for me! No, put her on the
phone and I tell her myself. We can work all this out."
"Have you been drinking Nikolas?" But she already knew the answer to that
question.
"Oh, just a little. A little whiskey, a little vodka, a little of this, a
little of that." She could practically hear him shrugging.
Emily sighed. "Oh, Nik, what are you doing to yourself?"
"I'm getting through the pain the best way I know how. Put Elizabeth on the
phone. Please. I have to talk to her, make her see."
"Not when you're drunk, Nik." Emily shook her head.
"Emily? I need your help." Nikolas suddenly said quietly.
"What can I do?" Emily felt so helpless. Two of her friends were hurting
and there was nothing she could do.
"Talk to me."
"That's what I'm doing."
"No, could we meet up somewhere and talk, really talk, face to face?"
"Uh, Nikolas, it's so late." Emily glanced at the digital clock.
"Please?" Nikolas said pitifully.
Emily relented. "Okay, but I'll just come out to Wyndemere. I don't think
you should be out on the streets of Port Charles in your condition."
"Thank you! I'll alert the launch and I'll see you in twenty-minutes?"
"More like thirty. Bye." Emily leaned over Sly and hung up the phone.
Sly rolled over to glare at her. "So you're going to him?"
"He's my friend and he needs my help." Emily shrugged and got out of bed.
She slipped out of the black shorty silk boxers she usually wore to bed and
grabbed the clothes she had been wearing earlier, a long gray satin skirt
with a gray button down sweater. She threw on the sweater over the black
silk tank top that matched the boxers and slipped into some shoes. Sly
watched her from the bed, his body radiating anger.
"Why does he need you all the time? Why doesn't he talk to Lucky about
this? He's his brother, he's his best friend."
"And he's Elizabeth's ex-boyfriend, I don't think talking to Lucky is going
to help all that much. Sly, I thought you didn't have problem with this."
Sly punched the bed angrily. "I don't like him taking up all your time like
this and I don't like how you go running off to help him whenever he calls.
It's the middle of the night for goodness sake! What kind of control does
he have over you?"
Emily paused in slipping on some shoes. "He doesn't control me. He's my
friend and I'm trying to be there for him. I'm sorry if you can't
understand my feelings but I have to do this."
~*~*~
Emily got off the launch and made her way up to Wyndemere. Boy, this place
gets creepier at night, she thought to herself. She shivered and ran up to
the door. She hesitated and then pounded on the door. Right after the first
knock, Nikolas answered the door. Emily gasped. He looked worst than she
had thought. His hair was disheveled, his eyes were red and he reeked of
alcohol.
Emily raised her hand to her mouth. "What has Elizabeth done to you?"
"Em, you came!" Nikolas cried and dragged her into his arms for a big hug.
Emily almost gagged as the alcohol fumes overpowered her. She stepped away
from him.
"Of course I came, I told you that whenever you needed me, I would be
there, didn't I?"
"Yes, yes you did." Nikolas cocked his head to the side. "You don't look
too happy."
"Why would I be happy? I'm freezing, can we close this door?"
Nikolas hurriedly closed the door and leaned against it. He pretended to
think it over. "No, that's not it. Something happened. What?"
Emily shrugged. "Sly and I had a fight, no biggee."
"Was it about you coming to see me because if it was I'm really sorry.
Really." Nikolas didn't sound all that sorry.
Emily waved a hand, dismissing the matter. "I'm fine and we're not here
about my problems, we're here about yours. So do you want to talk here?"
Emily moved to sit down but Nikolas shook his head.
"No, let's go upstairs to my room, where we can be alone." Nikolas grasped
her hand and they walked up the stairs. They walked into his room and the
fumes once again hit Emily. There were empty bottles all over the room and
a few that hadn't been open yet.
Emily shrugged out of her coat and cleared away a space on Nikolas' bed.
She gingerly sat down. She picked up an empty vodka bottle and studied the
label. "Looks like you've been partying by yourself for a while."
Nikolas flopped down on the bed. "It's the only thing I could do."
"No, you could try talking it out with Elizabeth. Things can't be that bad
between the two of you."
Nikolas raised his eyebrow as if to say 'Wanna bet?' "Emily, she…I think
she wants to break up with me."
"What?" Emily couldn't believe it. "Why would you think that?"
"She all but said it was over between us." Nikolas said sadly.
"But maybe it's not, maybe she'll give you another chance."
Nikolas just shook his head. "No, it's over. I can't do anything to fix
this and now I've lost her." He picked up the nearest bottle, opened it,
and took a healthy swig.
Emily sighed. There was nothing she could do but be here for him. "Pass me
some, will you?"
Nikolas passed the bottle to Emily. "I didn't feel this bad when Sarah and
I broke up." He said out of the blue.
"That's because a) you broke up with *her* and b) you love Elizabeth, you
didn't love Sarah." Emily pointed out.
Nikolas shrugged. "Maybe. Give me back the bottle." He demanded.
Emily shook her head. "No, this stuff is pretty good." She licked her lips.
"Get your own."
"It is mine. Everything in this room is mine." Instead just taking the
bottle away from her, Nikolas just sighed and reached on the floor for
another bottle. "So we can't do anything about my love life but what about
yours? How can we fix you and Sly?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Emily said adamantly and took another sip.
She hugged the bottle close to her as if it was her only friend.
"Sly has his own problems he needs to work out. He's gotten very jealous
lately and nothing I can do or say can change him. I do absolutely nothing
to give him reason to doubt me. All I do is love him and this is how repays
me." Emily sighed also and flopped onto her back.
"You know what? You don't need him." Nikolas said. "You'll do better on
your own."
"Right." Emily rolled over. "I love him too much to ever leave him."
Frisco groaned. Leave it to Layla to do something stupid. Layla just
grinned. "The name's Layla and this is Blondie, I mean Frisco. I work with
Marcus." Layla extended her hand out for a shake.
Keesha just stared at her hand then looked back up. "No, you don't. *I*
work with Marcus and nobody but me calls him that!"
Layla shrugged. "Well so do I."
Marcus walked up to the door. "Keesh? Baby, who's there?" He stopped short
at the sight of Layla and Frisco in his doorway. "Oh boy."
Keesha turned to Marcus and glared. "Who are these people?"
Frisco had to smile. "Looks like you've got some explaining to do."
"Damn right." Keesha muttered. "What's going on here?"
Marcus gave up. "Layla, Frisco, get in here." He walked over to the couch
and Keesha followed.
"Marcus, I'm waiting for an answer." Keesha propped her hands on her hips.
"I might as well tell you since these two idiots just about ruined things."
He shot a look at Layla.
"Hey, I didn't know you had a girlfriend or that she didn't know. What else
have you kept from her? Does she know about your daughter?" Layla asked.
"What daughter!" Keesha was fed up.
Marcus reached out and took a hold of Keesha's hand. "I don't have a
daughter, there's this little girl, actually I'm her godfather…" Marcus
shook his head. "Actually that doesn't matter right now. The thing is…
Layla, Frisco and I used to be partners, I used to be in the WSB."
"WSB? What's that?" Keesha frowned.
"It's the World Security Bureau." Marcus explained.
"You're a spy?" Keesha breathed. "And you were never going to tell me?"
"No, I *used* to be WSB but I got out years ago though sometimes people
tend to forget that." Marcus sent another pointed look at Layla who just
shrugged in response. "But Layla and Frisco needed a little help and so
they came to me for some information."
"All right, I need time to make since of this." Keesha moved away from
Marcus. "I'm going…" She remembered that she was only dressed in an old
shirt that used to be Marcus'. "I'm going to the back. We will talk later."
Keesha walked away.
Marcus turned to Layla and Frisco. "What are you guys doing here? People
aren't supposed to know what's going on here."
"Whatever." Layla dismissed his concerns. She sat forward in her chair.
"We've got some news. Cassadine is here. We saw his right hand man
strolling down the street without a care in the world."
Frisco nodded. "If Higgins can walk around out in the open like that, that
means Cassadine doesn't give a crap if anyone sees him, so you know that
means he has no idea we're right on his tail. We'll probably get a hold of
him by the end of the week."
~*~*~
Carly was making up a batch of pancakes to feed her, Michael, and Alex when
the food rang. "I've got it!" She shouted so that Alex wouldn't pick it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, it's Eve."
"Eve, I told you I would call." Carly propped the phone up between her
shoulder and neck.
"I was anxious to know how things were going with you. The way you and Alex
were acting last night was…"
"We had some things to work out but things are okay for now." Carly said
hopefully. "So, uh, what are you doing?" She asked to change the subject.
"Some boring paperwork. You?"
"I'm making pancakes." Carly dropped a large spoonful of batter on the hot
skillet.
"Pancakes! You?" Eve laughed. "You do have a fire extinguisher next to you,
right?"
"Listen, my pancakes are damn good and you know it!" Carly defended
herself.
"Right, right. Nice and burned, mmm, mmm." Eve laughed again.
"Hey, I learned from the best. Sonny taught me…" Carly stopped herself.
"Hey, Carly, it's okay to talk about the guy, you know." Eve told her.
Carly shrugged. "I know. He was a big part of my life and Michael adores
him, to Uncle Luke, he's practically family but Alex hates him and Sonny
doesn't seem to get the meaning of 'We're over'."
Eve sighed. "What happened now?"
"Well, he showed up on Friday, which was good thing because I really needed
someone and that was nice of him. But then he came back Friday night hoping
to start things up again and I had to kick him out."
"So?" Eve asked.
"Well, I'm having a tough time getting through his thick skull that it's
not going to happen."
"Car, all you have to say is, it's not going to happen. How hard is that?"
Carly swirled her spoon through the batter. "Um, it's kinda hard to when I
still…" Carly looked around to make sure Alex and Michael were still
occupied. "…I still have feelings for the guy."
"Feelings? If you still love him why are you denying yourself?" Eve asked
wearily.
"I don't love him, I never did, it's just…sexual feelings. I mean all he
had to do was just *look* at me and…" Carly sighed and flipped over a
pancake.
"Confused?" Eve asked understandingly.
"Very but I love Alex and Sonny is just left over sexual tension." Carly
stood up straight up. "So I am banishing all thoughts of Sonny out of my
head. Starting right now." Carly said confidently.
"Good for you." Eve cheered on. "If that's what you really want."
"Eve!" Carly said. Carly heard a small click. "Hold on, there's someone on
the other line." Carly clicked over. "Hello?"
"Hey cupcake, miss me?" Sonny said smoothly.
Great, just what I needed, Carly thought. "Sonny, what did I tell you?"
"You told that you couldn't get enough of me, that you loved it everything
I did and that if I ever stopped touching you and kissing you, you would
die." Sonny drawled in that sexy voice of his. "Oh, and that the ice cream
was sticky but fun. We were going to try it again. How about we do that?"
Carly slumped against the counter. Sonny was obviously remembering a
favorite memory of his… and hers. "Sonny, I meant on Friday. I told you to
leave me alone."
"But I can't do that and you know it." Sonny said seriously. "I feel things
for you that I… look, I can't do this over the phone. I need to see you,
need to be able to touch you."
Carly swallowed. "Sorry, I'm busy making brunch for Alex and Michael."
"Garcia is there?" Sonny asked quickly.
"Got back last night. Things are *great* between us." Carly lied.
"Even though he wasn't there for you when you needed him?" Sonny asked
quietly.
"That doesn't matter, all right? Now, I have someone on the other line so,
goodbye Sonny." Carly was ready to click over.
"Wait, could we meet for lunch tomorrow? I want to talk to you face to
face."
"Uh, well…" Don't do this! She told herself. You know what he wants to talk
about it, be strong and tell him no. You have a great relationship with a
great guy, who loves your kid to pieces. Now be strong and tell him where
to go. "Sonny…yes, I'll meet for lunch."
What? Carly couldn't believe those words just came out of her mouth. Sonny
on the other hand was happy to hear them. "Great, I'll send a car to pick
you up. See you then, cupcake." Sonny hung up.
Carly clicked over to Eve. "Eve? I'm in big trouble."
~*~*~
Later That Night
Elizabeth paced back and forth in her room trying to decided on whether or
not she should get dressed up and go with Nikolas to get her 'surprise' or
if she should just talk to him at the apartment.
Emily knocked on her door and poked her head in. "Hey, do you need help
with your hair?" Emily looked her up and down. "Why aren't you dressed yet?
Nikolas will be here soon."
Elizabeth paused in her pacing and glanced over. "I…I might not be going
with Nikolas tonight."
Emily walked into the room. "What? What happened? Did he cancel?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "That's not it. Look, Em, I'll tell you all about
it, later, after I talk to Nikolas."
"Elizabeth, is everything okay?" Emily asked with concern.
"It will be." They both heard the doorbell ring. Elizabeth sighed. "That's
probably Nikolas."
"I'll let him in. I'm meeting Sly and we are going to the movies so you'll
have some privacy. I hope everything turns out alright." Emily slipped out
to go open the door.
Nikolas stood before her dressed in a suit and carrying a bouquet of roses
and wearing a big smile. "Hi, is she ready?"
Emily gave him a sad smile. He looked so happy and Emily could tell that
something bad was about to happen. "Uh, she'll be out soon." Emily gathered
up her coat and purse.
"Wait. How do I look?" Nikolas asked.
"Perfect. I have to…go. Goodnight." Emily slipped out.
Nikolas watched her go. The sad look on Emily's face really bothered him.
He hoped it didn't have to do with Sly. He heard Elizabeth enter the room
and he turned around with a smile. His face fell when he noticed she wasn't
dressed.
"Elizabeth? Why aren't you dressed?" He asked.
"Uh, Nikolas, let's sit down, we need to talk." Elizabeth sat on the couch
and patted the seat next to her.
Nikolas sat down, his eyes worriedly searching her face. "Elizabeth, tell
me what it is?"
Elizabeth looked down at her hands. "I don't know how to say this but…I
think we need some time apart."
"Time apart?" Nikolas repeated. He took Elizabeth's hand in his. "I don't
understand."
"Nikolas," Elizabeth sighed, "This is hard for me, okay? But I think this
would be best for us. See, I've been thinking about us a lot lately and…"
"Look, if it's about me proposing, forget about. I told I can wait."
Nikolas said quickly.
"It sort of has to do with that in a way. I realized that you are very
serious about me, serious enough to ask me to marry you. I don't feel as
strongly about you as you do about me." Elizabeth admitted. "I mean, you're
worrying about getting married and growing old together and frankly, I've
never thought that far ahead."
Nikolas sat back and tried to take it all in. "So you want to break up with
me because you aren't ready to get married?"
Elizabeth wearily rubbed her face. "No, actually yes and no…you aren't
listening to me. What I'm trying to say is that you are more…dedicated to
our relationship than me. I believe I owe it to you to take some time away
from us and give some more thought into how important we are to me."
Nikolas stood and began to prowl around the room. "I don't understand!
Haven't you been 'thinking' all this week?"
"I knew you wouldn't understand." Elizabeth said quietly as she closed her
eyes.
"No, I understand perfectly. You want time and space? You got it, I'm
leaving." Nikolas angrily strode out the door.
~*~*~
Later that evening, Emily and Sly returned from their long night out. They
had gone to dinner after the movies and then Emily talked Sly into going
for an ice cream cone and walk down by the docks. By the time they arrived
at Emily and Elizabeth's apartment, it was late and they were very tired.
Emily shot a worried glance in the direction of Elizabeth's room. She
wondered if Elizabeth was in there and how things went between her and
Nikolas. Emily hoped things turned out fine and followed Sly into her room.
"I am so tired." Sly said on a yawn as he lazily stripped down to his
boxers.
Emily rolled her eyes as she noticed the clothes he'd thrown carelessly on
the floor. "Could you try picking up after yourself?" She asked as she
slipped into her nightclothes.
"Nag, nag, nag." Sly muttered from the bed. Emily quickly checked to see if
he was teasing. He was. Emily was hoping their relationship could go back
to the way it used to be.
Emily was just crawling into bed with Sly when the telephone rang. Sly
groaned and said, "Let the machine pick it up. It's one in the morning."
"It could be an emergency." Emily insisted and reached over Sly's head to
pick up the phone. "Hello?"
"Em? Em, I need you." Nikolas said in slight slur.
"Nikolas? What's wrong?"
Sly sat up. "Not him again. Tell him to call his girlfriend and to leave
mine alone."
Emily glared at Sly and then turned her back to him. "Tell me what's
wrong."
"Em, she left me, Em, and I don't know what to do. I love her, Em, I do!"
Nikolas practically shouted. "You tell her that for me! No, put her on the
phone and I tell her myself. We can work all this out."
"Have you been drinking Nikolas?" But she already knew the answer to that
question.
"Oh, just a little. A little whiskey, a little vodka, a little of this, a
little of that." She could practically hear him shrugging.
Emily sighed. "Oh, Nik, what are you doing to yourself?"
"I'm getting through the pain the best way I know how. Put Elizabeth on the
phone. Please. I have to talk to her, make her see."
"Not when you're drunk, Nik." Emily shook her head.
"Emily? I need your help." Nikolas suddenly said quietly.
"What can I do?" Emily felt so helpless. Two of her friends were hurting
and there was nothing she could do.
"Talk to me."
"That's what I'm doing."
"No, could we meet up somewhere and talk, really talk, face to face?"
"Uh, Nikolas, it's so late." Emily glanced at the digital clock.
"Please?" Nikolas said pitifully.
Emily relented. "Okay, but I'll just come out to Wyndemere. I don't think
you should be out on the streets of Port Charles in your condition."
"Thank you! I'll alert the launch and I'll see you in twenty-minutes?"
"More like thirty. Bye." Emily leaned over Sly and hung up the phone.
Sly rolled over to glare at her. "So you're going to him?"
"He's my friend and he needs my help." Emily shrugged and got out of bed.
She slipped out of the black shorty silk boxers she usually wore to bed and
grabbed the clothes she had been wearing earlier, a long gray satin skirt
with a gray button down sweater. She threw on the sweater over the black
silk tank top that matched the boxers and slipped into some shoes. Sly
watched her from the bed, his body radiating anger.
"Why does he need you all the time? Why doesn't he talk to Lucky about
this? He's his brother, he's his best friend."
"And he's Elizabeth's ex-boyfriend, I don't think talking to Lucky is going
to help all that much. Sly, I thought you didn't have problem with this."
Sly punched the bed angrily. "I don't like him taking up all your time like
this and I don't like how you go running off to help him whenever he calls.
It's the middle of the night for goodness sake! What kind of control does
he have over you?"
Emily paused in slipping on some shoes. "He doesn't control me. He's my
friend and I'm trying to be there for him. I'm sorry if you can't
understand my feelings but I have to do this."
~*~*~
Emily got off the launch and made her way up to Wyndemere. Boy, this place
gets creepier at night, she thought to herself. She shivered and ran up to
the door. She hesitated and then pounded on the door. Right after the first
knock, Nikolas answered the door. Emily gasped. He looked worst than she
had thought. His hair was disheveled, his eyes were red and he reeked of
alcohol.
Emily raised her hand to her mouth. "What has Elizabeth done to you?"
"Em, you came!" Nikolas cried and dragged her into his arms for a big hug.
Emily almost gagged as the alcohol fumes overpowered her. She stepped away
from him.
"Of course I came, I told you that whenever you needed me, I would be
there, didn't I?"
"Yes, yes you did." Nikolas cocked his head to the side. "You don't look
too happy."
"Why would I be happy? I'm freezing, can we close this door?"
Nikolas hurriedly closed the door and leaned against it. He pretended to
think it over. "No, that's not it. Something happened. What?"
Emily shrugged. "Sly and I had a fight, no biggee."
"Was it about you coming to see me because if it was I'm really sorry.
Really." Nikolas didn't sound all that sorry.
Emily waved a hand, dismissing the matter. "I'm fine and we're not here
about my problems, we're here about yours. So do you want to talk here?"
Emily moved to sit down but Nikolas shook his head.
"No, let's go upstairs to my room, where we can be alone." Nikolas grasped
her hand and they walked up the stairs. They walked into his room and the
fumes once again hit Emily. There were empty bottles all over the room and
a few that hadn't been open yet.
Emily shrugged out of her coat and cleared away a space on Nikolas' bed.
She gingerly sat down. She picked up an empty vodka bottle and studied the
label. "Looks like you've been partying by yourself for a while."
Nikolas flopped down on the bed. "It's the only thing I could do."
"No, you could try talking it out with Elizabeth. Things can't be that bad
between the two of you."
Nikolas raised his eyebrow as if to say 'Wanna bet?' "Emily, she…I think
she wants to break up with me."
"What?" Emily couldn't believe it. "Why would you think that?"
"She all but said it was over between us." Nikolas said sadly.
"But maybe it's not, maybe she'll give you another chance."
Nikolas just shook his head. "No, it's over. I can't do anything to fix
this and now I've lost her." He picked up the nearest bottle, opened it,
and took a healthy swig.
Emily sighed. There was nothing she could do but be here for him. "Pass me
some, will you?"
Nikolas passed the bottle to Emily. "I didn't feel this bad when Sarah and
I broke up." He said out of the blue.
"That's because a) you broke up with *her* and b) you love Elizabeth, you
didn't love Sarah." Emily pointed out.
Nikolas shrugged. "Maybe. Give me back the bottle." He demanded.
Emily shook her head. "No, this stuff is pretty good." She licked her lips.
"Get your own."
"It is mine. Everything in this room is mine." Instead just taking the
bottle away from her, Nikolas just sighed and reached on the floor for
another bottle. "So we can't do anything about my love life but what about
yours? How can we fix you and Sly?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Emily said adamantly and took another sip.
She hugged the bottle close to her as if it was her only friend.
"Sly has his own problems he needs to work out. He's gotten very jealous
lately and nothing I can do or say can change him. I do absolutely nothing
to give him reason to doubt me. All I do is love him and this is how repays
me." Emily sighed also and flopped onto her back.
"You know what? You don't need him." Nikolas said. "You'll do better on
your own."
"Right." Emily rolled over. "I love him too much to ever leave him."