It was a lazy Saturday morning, the only morning that Keesha and Marcus got
to sleep in on. Marcus was currently taking advantage of the situation but
Keesha was wide-awake thinking about him and everything that happened.
It was just days ago that she found out that the man she loved, the man she
planned on marrying wasn't who she thought he was. She thought she had him
all figured out. Marcus Taggert was a hard working, tough exterior having,
softhearted, justice loving peace officer. But now she had to add ex-secret
agent to that list. And not only that, there was a whole section of his
life that she knew nothing about—people, relationships, experiences, the
list just goes on and on.
Keesha sighed heavily. There was so much that she didn't know. It was as if
he didn't trust her enough to tell her about his past. She trailed her
fingers along Marcus' baldhead and watched him sleep.
"Are you watching me sleep again?" He mumbled sleepily. He opened one eye
and looked up at her.
"Yeah. I couldn't help it." She said softly. "I'm just trying to figure you
out. You're such a mystery to me now. I thought I knew everything about
you. Now I know nothing and it hurts."
Marcus sat up in bed and yawned loudly. He covered his mouth with the back
of his hand. "You know all the important things about me. You know that I
love you more than anything. You know that law enforcement is my life, you
know—"
"I know nothing!" Keesha exclaimed. "There's a huge chunk of your life that
I don't know about. That I wouldn't have known about if your partners
hadn't had shown up."
"What do you want to know about? My time in the WSB?"
"Yes, that's what I've been trying to say." She complained. "Haven't you
been listening?"
Marcus took a deep breath. "Okay, I got into the WSB because of my older
half-brother, Derek Ross. He was already in the Bureau and he knew that I
wasn't happy working on the force so he used his connections to get me in."
"You have a brother?" Keesha gasped. "Why is the first time I've heard
about him?"
"I *had* a brother." He said quietly. "He died on a mission. It was one of
the reasons I decided to leave the Bureau."
"Oh, Marcus, I'm so sorry. I had no idea about your brother."
He shrugged. "It was a long time ago. I don't like to talk about him much
so that's why I've never mentioned him before."
"Now I'm sorry that I even asked about your past." She muttered under her
breath. She didn't want to dredge up painful memories.
"No, you wanted to know. Is there anything else?"
"Well I was hoping to know about Layla and Melinda and the rest." Keesha
narrowed her eyes. "I really want to hear more about your relationship with
Layla."
That's exactly what Marcus had been dreading. So he decided to evade the
question a little. "Did you know um, that Melinda isn't just my goddaughter
but also my niece? Her mother Katarina and my brother were partners at
first then fell in love and got married. That's how I got to know Rina so
well and ended up being godfather to Melinda. You might like Rina. She's an
acquired taste but once you get to know her you'll really—"
"Marcus could you please!" Keesha snapped. "Is it that bad?"
"No, it's just—Layla and I were over a long time ago. We weren't really
together actually. Layla isn't the relationship type. We were on again, off
again. More often we were off. Our personalities clashed too often. Layla's
great at becoming any identity she assumes. Socialite, street punk, etc.,
etc. But her real personality is too wild, too impulsive for me and we
would fight all the time. We were better partners than lovers."
"So you two have zero feelings left for each other?" Keesha felt stupid
asking about it but she had to know. "She's not in love with you or
anything."
"God no!" Marcus laughed loudly. "Keesh, baby, we're friends, just friends.
Layla, for as long as I've known her, has never been in love. With me or
anyone else. She's just not the type. So don't worry."
"I wasn't worried." Keesha said with false bravado. "I just wanted to know
if I had to let her know that she could only look but not touch cause you
my man now." She winked.
"Oh, I'm yo man?" Marcus smiled as he took her into his arms. Keesha
nodded, her eyes shining bright. "Then show your man a little love.
C'mere."
They were in the middle of a passionate kiss when there was a loud banging
at the bedroom door.
"You guys ever going to get up? I'm starving out here." Melinda called
through the door. She hit the door again. "Put on some clothes and fix me
something to eat!"
Marcus sighed and released Keesha. "I'll go take care of that."
The phone beside the bed began to ring. "No, you get the phone and I'll
take care of our houseguest." Keesha rolled out of bed.
"Just don't go giving her my cereal alright?" Marcus grumbled. He was
disappointed that they had been so rudely interrupted.
"No one's going to eat your cereal." Keesha promised. "You're like a big
kid with that stuff."
"What can I say, I have a sweet tooth. That's why I love you." Marcus
smacked her bottom. Keesha scowled back into his direction.
"Just answer the phone." She grabbed up her robe and walked out the
bedroom.
"It's about time." Melinda scowled at her. She had her hands on her hips.
Her braids were up in a high ponytail and she wore the oversized T-shirt
and shorts she had slept in. "I could have fainted from starvation out
here."
"Melinda dear, do you know how to cook?" Keesha asked pleasantly ignoring
her tone. Melinda shook her head. "Well, you're about to learn how. Let's
go."
Marcus shook his head. It was going to be an interesting morning. He picked
up the phone that was still ringing off the hook. "Taggert."
"I can hear you smiling through the phone. That girlfriend of yours must be
treating you right."
"Good morning Rina." Marcus greeted her cheerfully.
"I had a little setback and I will be in town in a few days. Possibly two
or three. Tell Layla to be ready."
"Will do." He nodded. "Did you know that—"
"Melinda is with you?" Rina finished the sentence for him. "I found out
when I went to pick her up from her boarding school the other day. Imagine
my surprise when I discover that the little *darling* had gotten expelled
from school."
Marcus closed his eyes. That explained her comment about boarding school
not "agreeing" with her. She'd gotten kicked out! "How are you just finding
out about this now?"
"My daughter must have called one of the school officials, convinced them
that they were talking to me and that I okayed her coming home by herself.
Only she didn't come home." Rina explained.
"She came to me." Marcus sighed. "Alright, you want me to have a talk with
her?"
"No, I'll wait until I get there. Just keep an eye on her. She's sneaky."
"Just like her father." He couldn't help adding. When he looked at Melinda
he saw so much of Derek in her. Derek was good at getting himself out of
bad situations just like Melinda.
"Sometimes too much like her father." Rina said softly. She got very quiet
for a few seconds and then seemed to collect herself. "So watch out for her
for me? She's still my baby no matter what."
"I will Rina." Marcus promised. "I'll see you in a few days then I guess."
He hung up and reached for a pair of pants. It was time to go join the
others for breakfast.
He walked into the kitchen and was greeted with the sight of Melinda
standing in front of the stove with one of his aprons tied around her
waist. Keesha was leaning against the counter sipping a cup of coffee
watching her flip pancakes. Melinda turned around with a tortured
expression on her face.
"Uncle Marcus, stop her, she's making me cook."
Marcus poured himself a cup of coffee and grabbed a box of cereal out of
the cabinet. He crossed the tiny kitchen and got a bowl, spoon, and milk.
"As long as you keep your hands off my cereal I'm fine."
Keesha hid a smile behind her cup as Melinda wailed. "But Uncle Marcus! I
hate cooking."
"Well you're going to need a skill out there in the real life. Now that
you've been expelled." Marcus said calmly as he poured milk over his
cereal.
"Uh-oh." Melinda dropped the spoon filled with pancake batter onto the
counter. Keesha hurriedly went to clean it up as Melinda turned to Marcus.
"How did you find out?"
"Your mother just called. Really Mel, did you think nobody would find out?"
She shrugged with a small smile. "I was kinda hoping…"
"Why were you expelled?" Keesha asked out of curiosity.
"I got into a fight." She said simply.
"They expelled you over a fight?" Marcus said disbelieving. "Just for one
fight?"
"It wasn't over just one fight." She grudgingly admitted. "This was like my
fifth or sixth fight and after a couple of warnings they automatically
expel you. I didn't think they really meant it. I just thought it was
something they said to keep people in line."
"So you decided to push the envelope?" He asked slightly aggravated. "I
thought you were smarter than that Mel."
"Unc, you don't the whole story. I didn't go looking for a fight. It came
to me. One of those snooty princess types started in on my parentage. And
you know I don't tolerate that. Ever." Melinda's eyes narrowed dangerously.
Marcus sighed. "That doesn't mean you had to get into a fight about it. "
He rubbed his head wearily. "Obviously it's too late to do anything about
the situation. But you're going to have to deal with your mother's wrath
when she gets her."
"You'll protect me, right?" Melinda smiled sweetly. She batted her eyes in
his direction.
Marcus started to chuckle softly and then he began to laugh harder.
"Protect you from Rina? Yeah right."
*~*~*
Carly had just returned from shopping with Bobbie for the big Thanksgiving
dinner they were planning at the Brownstone. Bobbie hadn't said a word to
her when Carly showed up at her door that morning suggesting that they go
to the supermarket. Bobbie just gave her a knowing look and picked up her
purse. The conversation at the market was limited to groceries and where
everyone was going to sit. Bobbie didn't ask about Sonny and Carly didn't
volunteer any information about him. She did however tell Bobbie about
seeing Stefan though she didn't mention anything about him having her
watched for the first few years of her life and wanting a blood test.
The phone in the living room was ringing off the hook when Carly walked in.
She dropped the heavy shopping bags and snatched up the phone. "Please
don't be Sonny, please don't be Sonny." She mumbled underneath her breath.
She was dreading talking to Sonny again after walking out on him the way
she did. "Hello?"
"Carly girl, you finally home?" Eve asked. "It's about time."
"Hey Eve. What's up?" Carly blew out a sigh of relief. She sat down and
slipped off her shoes and tried to relax.
"Where have you been? I've been trying to figure out where you've been for
days. Karen and I were stumped."
"I was away." Carly hedged. She wasn't in the mood to talk about the past
couple of days.
"Away? Why are you being so secretive? What's going on?" But Eve pressed
on. She knew there was something wrong with her friend.
"I…"
"Look it'll just be better if you spill now instead of making me ask what's
going on a thousand times." Eve was like a dog with a bone. Carly could
tell she wasn't going to give up.
"It may be better if we talked face to face cause I am in so much trouble."
"You? In trouble? I'm there. Give me a couple of minutes." Eve said before
hanging up.
Minutes later Carly was letting Eve in. "Alright, how are you trouble?" Eve
asked as she shrugged out of her jacket.
"I slept with Sonny." Carly said casually as if she was talking about the
weather.
"What?" Eve dropped down into the first available chair. "You did what?"
"I, uh, I slept with Sonny." She said looking down at her feet.
"How did—does this mean it's over between you and Alex?" Eve frowned.
"No." Carly said quickly. "Sleeping with Sonny was a one time thing. It was
stupid of me and I'm never going to do it again."
"So why did you sleep with him?" Eve asked curiously.
"Because he played Al Green and I was feeling vulnerable and I just talked
to one of my fathers and it's just so hard to resist that man." Carly
rambled. "Especially when he does that thing with his eyes…"
"Wait, wait, wait. 'One of your fathers'? I thought you didn't have a
father."
"Oh, yeah, I didn't tell you the whole story of why I was with Sonny to
begin with. Well, guess what, I've found my natural father. He found me
actually. Long story short a few days ago two men showed up on my door
claiming to be my father. One was Victor Cassadine and the other was Stefan
Cassadine."
"Stefan Cassadine?" Eve gasped. "The Stefan Cassadine, the one who lives on
that spooky island, is your father?"
"*May* be my father." Carly corrected. "I know nothing about this Victor
guy other than he's Stefan's uncle and everyone thought he was dead. Anyway
after I found out I was really upset and I ended up at Sonny's. He offered
to let me stay at his place for a few days. So I did."
"And Alex didn't mind you going over there?" Eve asked in disbelief.
"Uh, Alex doesn't know yet. He had to go out of town. But I am going to
tell him when he gets back." Carly said quickly.
"Why would you? If I was you I wouldn't say a thing unless you want it to
be over between you two." Eve advised.
"Because he's going to find out anyway." Carly pouted. "My mother's
threatening to tell him. I might as well do it myself instead of letting
her get the chance."
"You aren't going to tell him about sleeping with Sonny are you?"
"I'm not that stupid okay." Carly rolled her eyes.
"Just checking, that's all. So," Eve leaned forward with an evil grin, "you
slept with Sonny. Was it just like you remembered?"
"Shut up." Carly snapped before giggling like a schoolgirl. "Yes. Eve, you
just don't know!"
Eve laughed and shook her head. "Girl, maybe that's a sign. You and Sonny—"
Carly jumped in before she could finish her thought. "No, no signs. It's me
and Alex, not me and Sonny okay. There are no signs, none at all…" The
blood drained out of her face as she suddenly remembered one small detail.
"Oh God, no, no." She buried her face in her hands and mumbled. "How could
I be so stupid!"
"Carly?" Eve asked concern. "What happened?"
"Sonny and I…we didn't use anything." Carly whispered.
"How could you not use anything?" Eve hit her on the shoulder. "Stupid,
stupid, stupid!" With each "stupid", Eve hit her again.
"I don't know it must have slipped out minds!" Carly hit her back on the
arm. "And don't hit me!"
"You could be pregnant." Eve widened her eyes.
"No. There was other times when Sonny and I got a little 'wrapped' up in
the moment and I never got pregnant. I just assumed that either I wasn't a
fertile Myrtle or Sonny had a vasectomy before I met him, which doesn't
sound right because Sonny used to talk about having a family all the time."
"But what if this isn't like all those other times?" Eve asked softly.
"I'm not pregnant, Eve."
"It's a possibility, though." Eve countered.
Carly stared deep into her eyes and stated firmly. "Eve. I am not
pregnant."
Eve sat back. "Okay, you're not pregnant. What are you going to do about
Sonny?"
"What about him?"
"Uh, does he know that this was a one night stand? He doesn't seem like the
type of guy who would settle for just that."
Carly looked away from Eve before answering. "Sonny knows that last night
was wrong and that it meant nothing. Sonny's not going to do anything."
"Well I hope for your sake that you're right." Eve's beeper went off and
she swore softly. "I know exactly what that is and it means I have to go.
Will you be okay by yourself?"
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about me I'll be fine." Carly bit her bottom lip.
She got up and started walking her to the door.
"Call me if you need to talk. Anytime, all right?"
"Okay, but like I said. I'll be fine." Carly opened the door and let Eve
out. Seconds later the doorbell rang again. Carly jerked the door open,
knowing it was Eve again. "I said I'll be fine!"
Only it wasn't Eve. It was Sonny. He stood in her doorway, dressed in one
of his black business suits covered by a long open black coat. His
jet-black curls were slicked back. He looked at her through heavy lidded
eyes.
"Sonny." Carly said softly. She knew would she see him again but she had no
idea it would be so soon. She didn't know what to say to him and she was
slightly afraid of what he might say to her.
He didn't say a word. He looked her over. He took in her messy bun, her
sweatshirt, he tight jeans, and her bare feet. He worked his gaze back up
and finally settled on her lips. Carly held her breath and waited for him
to something, anything.
Sonny finally reached out and grabbed her by the back of the neck. He
brought her face close to his and kissed her hard. As he tilted his head
for a better angle he softened the kiss. He plunged his tongue into her
mouth and brought his other hand around her waist pulling her closer to
him.
Carly moaned in the back of her throat and started to wrap her arms around
him but Sonny suddenly broke the kiss. He cupped her face in his hands and
ran his thumbs gently across her moist lips. He bent his head and tenderly
but quickly kissed her before dropping his hands away. He stared at her for
a second before turning and walking away.
Carly leaned against the doorway for support. She gingerly touched her
lips. "What the hell was that?"
*~*~*
Nikolas was in the middle of setting up for his afternoon with Emily when
his cell phone rang. He grabbed it thinking it was Emily calling to confirm
their plans. He has been delighted when Emily had agreed to come out to
Spoon Island tomorrow and spend some time together. She sounded stressed on
the phone and he wanted to do something special for her.
"Don't tell me you changed your mind." Nikolas said as he rearranged the
flowers on the dining table. He smiled as he thought of her reaction to the
flowers. He hoped she would like them.
"Nikolas?" Elizabeth's confused voice came through.
"Elizabeth? Hi, uh, hi." Nikolas stammered. He hadn't given much thought
about Elizabeth in the past few days. "What's up?"
"I just wanted to call you because I wanted to talk to you about
something." Elizabeth said hesitantly.
"And?" Nikolas knew he sounded short with her but he felt a little weird
preparing for his time with Emily while talking to his ex-girlfriend.
"I'm going out of town with my grandmother. We're going to spend this week
and Thanksgiving with my parents."
"Say hello to Sarah for me then." Nikolas said lamely.
"I will." Elizabeth took a deep breath. "I was hoping when I get back we
could talk about us."
"What us, Elizabeth? I thought there was no 'us'."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. The possibility of there being
an 'us' again."
"Well, I…"
"Don't say anything now." She said quickly. "Let's just wait until after
Thanksgiving, okay?" Elizabeth hung up before he could answer.
Nikolas tiredly rubbed his face and thought aloud. "What am I going to do
now?"
*~*~*
Carly was in the middle of putting away the groceries. Carly finally gotten
herself mobilized after standing in her doorway for what felt like hours.
She had no idea what the little display of Sonny's meant and she didn't
want to think about it anymore. Mindless housework always helped keep her
mind off things.
Carly was trying to carry the turkey for the Thanksgiving feast over to the
refrigerator when she heard her door open. Hoping it was Bobbie she called
out. "I'm in the kitchen and I could I use a little help!"
"Hey baby, I'm home!"
Carly turned to the kitchen door with her mouth open. "Alex!" She exclaimed
and promptly dropped the turkey on her foot.
to sleep in on. Marcus was currently taking advantage of the situation but
Keesha was wide-awake thinking about him and everything that happened.
It was just days ago that she found out that the man she loved, the man she
planned on marrying wasn't who she thought he was. She thought she had him
all figured out. Marcus Taggert was a hard working, tough exterior having,
softhearted, justice loving peace officer. But now she had to add ex-secret
agent to that list. And not only that, there was a whole section of his
life that she knew nothing about—people, relationships, experiences, the
list just goes on and on.
Keesha sighed heavily. There was so much that she didn't know. It was as if
he didn't trust her enough to tell her about his past. She trailed her
fingers along Marcus' baldhead and watched him sleep.
"Are you watching me sleep again?" He mumbled sleepily. He opened one eye
and looked up at her.
"Yeah. I couldn't help it." She said softly. "I'm just trying to figure you
out. You're such a mystery to me now. I thought I knew everything about
you. Now I know nothing and it hurts."
Marcus sat up in bed and yawned loudly. He covered his mouth with the back
of his hand. "You know all the important things about me. You know that I
love you more than anything. You know that law enforcement is my life, you
know—"
"I know nothing!" Keesha exclaimed. "There's a huge chunk of your life that
I don't know about. That I wouldn't have known about if your partners
hadn't had shown up."
"What do you want to know about? My time in the WSB?"
"Yes, that's what I've been trying to say." She complained. "Haven't you
been listening?"
Marcus took a deep breath. "Okay, I got into the WSB because of my older
half-brother, Derek Ross. He was already in the Bureau and he knew that I
wasn't happy working on the force so he used his connections to get me in."
"You have a brother?" Keesha gasped. "Why is the first time I've heard
about him?"
"I *had* a brother." He said quietly. "He died on a mission. It was one of
the reasons I decided to leave the Bureau."
"Oh, Marcus, I'm so sorry. I had no idea about your brother."
He shrugged. "It was a long time ago. I don't like to talk about him much
so that's why I've never mentioned him before."
"Now I'm sorry that I even asked about your past." She muttered under her
breath. She didn't want to dredge up painful memories.
"No, you wanted to know. Is there anything else?"
"Well I was hoping to know about Layla and Melinda and the rest." Keesha
narrowed her eyes. "I really want to hear more about your relationship with
Layla."
That's exactly what Marcus had been dreading. So he decided to evade the
question a little. "Did you know um, that Melinda isn't just my goddaughter
but also my niece? Her mother Katarina and my brother were partners at
first then fell in love and got married. That's how I got to know Rina so
well and ended up being godfather to Melinda. You might like Rina. She's an
acquired taste but once you get to know her you'll really—"
"Marcus could you please!" Keesha snapped. "Is it that bad?"
"No, it's just—Layla and I were over a long time ago. We weren't really
together actually. Layla isn't the relationship type. We were on again, off
again. More often we were off. Our personalities clashed too often. Layla's
great at becoming any identity she assumes. Socialite, street punk, etc.,
etc. But her real personality is too wild, too impulsive for me and we
would fight all the time. We were better partners than lovers."
"So you two have zero feelings left for each other?" Keesha felt stupid
asking about it but she had to know. "She's not in love with you or
anything."
"God no!" Marcus laughed loudly. "Keesh, baby, we're friends, just friends.
Layla, for as long as I've known her, has never been in love. With me or
anyone else. She's just not the type. So don't worry."
"I wasn't worried." Keesha said with false bravado. "I just wanted to know
if I had to let her know that she could only look but not touch cause you
my man now." She winked.
"Oh, I'm yo man?" Marcus smiled as he took her into his arms. Keesha
nodded, her eyes shining bright. "Then show your man a little love.
C'mere."
They were in the middle of a passionate kiss when there was a loud banging
at the bedroom door.
"You guys ever going to get up? I'm starving out here." Melinda called
through the door. She hit the door again. "Put on some clothes and fix me
something to eat!"
Marcus sighed and released Keesha. "I'll go take care of that."
The phone beside the bed began to ring. "No, you get the phone and I'll
take care of our houseguest." Keesha rolled out of bed.
"Just don't go giving her my cereal alright?" Marcus grumbled. He was
disappointed that they had been so rudely interrupted.
"No one's going to eat your cereal." Keesha promised. "You're like a big
kid with that stuff."
"What can I say, I have a sweet tooth. That's why I love you." Marcus
smacked her bottom. Keesha scowled back into his direction.
"Just answer the phone." She grabbed up her robe and walked out the
bedroom.
"It's about time." Melinda scowled at her. She had her hands on her hips.
Her braids were up in a high ponytail and she wore the oversized T-shirt
and shorts she had slept in. "I could have fainted from starvation out
here."
"Melinda dear, do you know how to cook?" Keesha asked pleasantly ignoring
her tone. Melinda shook her head. "Well, you're about to learn how. Let's
go."
Marcus shook his head. It was going to be an interesting morning. He picked
up the phone that was still ringing off the hook. "Taggert."
"I can hear you smiling through the phone. That girlfriend of yours must be
treating you right."
"Good morning Rina." Marcus greeted her cheerfully.
"I had a little setback and I will be in town in a few days. Possibly two
or three. Tell Layla to be ready."
"Will do." He nodded. "Did you know that—"
"Melinda is with you?" Rina finished the sentence for him. "I found out
when I went to pick her up from her boarding school the other day. Imagine
my surprise when I discover that the little *darling* had gotten expelled
from school."
Marcus closed his eyes. That explained her comment about boarding school
not "agreeing" with her. She'd gotten kicked out! "How are you just finding
out about this now?"
"My daughter must have called one of the school officials, convinced them
that they were talking to me and that I okayed her coming home by herself.
Only she didn't come home." Rina explained.
"She came to me." Marcus sighed. "Alright, you want me to have a talk with
her?"
"No, I'll wait until I get there. Just keep an eye on her. She's sneaky."
"Just like her father." He couldn't help adding. When he looked at Melinda
he saw so much of Derek in her. Derek was good at getting himself out of
bad situations just like Melinda.
"Sometimes too much like her father." Rina said softly. She got very quiet
for a few seconds and then seemed to collect herself. "So watch out for her
for me? She's still my baby no matter what."
"I will Rina." Marcus promised. "I'll see you in a few days then I guess."
He hung up and reached for a pair of pants. It was time to go join the
others for breakfast.
He walked into the kitchen and was greeted with the sight of Melinda
standing in front of the stove with one of his aprons tied around her
waist. Keesha was leaning against the counter sipping a cup of coffee
watching her flip pancakes. Melinda turned around with a tortured
expression on her face.
"Uncle Marcus, stop her, she's making me cook."
Marcus poured himself a cup of coffee and grabbed a box of cereal out of
the cabinet. He crossed the tiny kitchen and got a bowl, spoon, and milk.
"As long as you keep your hands off my cereal I'm fine."
Keesha hid a smile behind her cup as Melinda wailed. "But Uncle Marcus! I
hate cooking."
"Well you're going to need a skill out there in the real life. Now that
you've been expelled." Marcus said calmly as he poured milk over his
cereal.
"Uh-oh." Melinda dropped the spoon filled with pancake batter onto the
counter. Keesha hurriedly went to clean it up as Melinda turned to Marcus.
"How did you find out?"
"Your mother just called. Really Mel, did you think nobody would find out?"
She shrugged with a small smile. "I was kinda hoping…"
"Why were you expelled?" Keesha asked out of curiosity.
"I got into a fight." She said simply.
"They expelled you over a fight?" Marcus said disbelieving. "Just for one
fight?"
"It wasn't over just one fight." She grudgingly admitted. "This was like my
fifth or sixth fight and after a couple of warnings they automatically
expel you. I didn't think they really meant it. I just thought it was
something they said to keep people in line."
"So you decided to push the envelope?" He asked slightly aggravated. "I
thought you were smarter than that Mel."
"Unc, you don't the whole story. I didn't go looking for a fight. It came
to me. One of those snooty princess types started in on my parentage. And
you know I don't tolerate that. Ever." Melinda's eyes narrowed dangerously.
Marcus sighed. "That doesn't mean you had to get into a fight about it. "
He rubbed his head wearily. "Obviously it's too late to do anything about
the situation. But you're going to have to deal with your mother's wrath
when she gets her."
"You'll protect me, right?" Melinda smiled sweetly. She batted her eyes in
his direction.
Marcus started to chuckle softly and then he began to laugh harder.
"Protect you from Rina? Yeah right."
*~*~*
Carly had just returned from shopping with Bobbie for the big Thanksgiving
dinner they were planning at the Brownstone. Bobbie hadn't said a word to
her when Carly showed up at her door that morning suggesting that they go
to the supermarket. Bobbie just gave her a knowing look and picked up her
purse. The conversation at the market was limited to groceries and where
everyone was going to sit. Bobbie didn't ask about Sonny and Carly didn't
volunteer any information about him. She did however tell Bobbie about
seeing Stefan though she didn't mention anything about him having her
watched for the first few years of her life and wanting a blood test.
The phone in the living room was ringing off the hook when Carly walked in.
She dropped the heavy shopping bags and snatched up the phone. "Please
don't be Sonny, please don't be Sonny." She mumbled underneath her breath.
She was dreading talking to Sonny again after walking out on him the way
she did. "Hello?"
"Carly girl, you finally home?" Eve asked. "It's about time."
"Hey Eve. What's up?" Carly blew out a sigh of relief. She sat down and
slipped off her shoes and tried to relax.
"Where have you been? I've been trying to figure out where you've been for
days. Karen and I were stumped."
"I was away." Carly hedged. She wasn't in the mood to talk about the past
couple of days.
"Away? Why are you being so secretive? What's going on?" But Eve pressed
on. She knew there was something wrong with her friend.
"I…"
"Look it'll just be better if you spill now instead of making me ask what's
going on a thousand times." Eve was like a dog with a bone. Carly could
tell she wasn't going to give up.
"It may be better if we talked face to face cause I am in so much trouble."
"You? In trouble? I'm there. Give me a couple of minutes." Eve said before
hanging up.
Minutes later Carly was letting Eve in. "Alright, how are you trouble?" Eve
asked as she shrugged out of her jacket.
"I slept with Sonny." Carly said casually as if she was talking about the
weather.
"What?" Eve dropped down into the first available chair. "You did what?"
"I, uh, I slept with Sonny." She said looking down at her feet.
"How did—does this mean it's over between you and Alex?" Eve frowned.
"No." Carly said quickly. "Sleeping with Sonny was a one time thing. It was
stupid of me and I'm never going to do it again."
"So why did you sleep with him?" Eve asked curiously.
"Because he played Al Green and I was feeling vulnerable and I just talked
to one of my fathers and it's just so hard to resist that man." Carly
rambled. "Especially when he does that thing with his eyes…"
"Wait, wait, wait. 'One of your fathers'? I thought you didn't have a
father."
"Oh, yeah, I didn't tell you the whole story of why I was with Sonny to
begin with. Well, guess what, I've found my natural father. He found me
actually. Long story short a few days ago two men showed up on my door
claiming to be my father. One was Victor Cassadine and the other was Stefan
Cassadine."
"Stefan Cassadine?" Eve gasped. "The Stefan Cassadine, the one who lives on
that spooky island, is your father?"
"*May* be my father." Carly corrected. "I know nothing about this Victor
guy other than he's Stefan's uncle and everyone thought he was dead. Anyway
after I found out I was really upset and I ended up at Sonny's. He offered
to let me stay at his place for a few days. So I did."
"And Alex didn't mind you going over there?" Eve asked in disbelief.
"Uh, Alex doesn't know yet. He had to go out of town. But I am going to
tell him when he gets back." Carly said quickly.
"Why would you? If I was you I wouldn't say a thing unless you want it to
be over between you two." Eve advised.
"Because he's going to find out anyway." Carly pouted. "My mother's
threatening to tell him. I might as well do it myself instead of letting
her get the chance."
"You aren't going to tell him about sleeping with Sonny are you?"
"I'm not that stupid okay." Carly rolled her eyes.
"Just checking, that's all. So," Eve leaned forward with an evil grin, "you
slept with Sonny. Was it just like you remembered?"
"Shut up." Carly snapped before giggling like a schoolgirl. "Yes. Eve, you
just don't know!"
Eve laughed and shook her head. "Girl, maybe that's a sign. You and Sonny—"
Carly jumped in before she could finish her thought. "No, no signs. It's me
and Alex, not me and Sonny okay. There are no signs, none at all…" The
blood drained out of her face as she suddenly remembered one small detail.
"Oh God, no, no." She buried her face in her hands and mumbled. "How could
I be so stupid!"
"Carly?" Eve asked concern. "What happened?"
"Sonny and I…we didn't use anything." Carly whispered.
"How could you not use anything?" Eve hit her on the shoulder. "Stupid,
stupid, stupid!" With each "stupid", Eve hit her again.
"I don't know it must have slipped out minds!" Carly hit her back on the
arm. "And don't hit me!"
"You could be pregnant." Eve widened her eyes.
"No. There was other times when Sonny and I got a little 'wrapped' up in
the moment and I never got pregnant. I just assumed that either I wasn't a
fertile Myrtle or Sonny had a vasectomy before I met him, which doesn't
sound right because Sonny used to talk about having a family all the time."
"But what if this isn't like all those other times?" Eve asked softly.
"I'm not pregnant, Eve."
"It's a possibility, though." Eve countered.
Carly stared deep into her eyes and stated firmly. "Eve. I am not
pregnant."
Eve sat back. "Okay, you're not pregnant. What are you going to do about
Sonny?"
"What about him?"
"Uh, does he know that this was a one night stand? He doesn't seem like the
type of guy who would settle for just that."
Carly looked away from Eve before answering. "Sonny knows that last night
was wrong and that it meant nothing. Sonny's not going to do anything."
"Well I hope for your sake that you're right." Eve's beeper went off and
she swore softly. "I know exactly what that is and it means I have to go.
Will you be okay by yourself?"
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about me I'll be fine." Carly bit her bottom lip.
She got up and started walking her to the door.
"Call me if you need to talk. Anytime, all right?"
"Okay, but like I said. I'll be fine." Carly opened the door and let Eve
out. Seconds later the doorbell rang again. Carly jerked the door open,
knowing it was Eve again. "I said I'll be fine!"
Only it wasn't Eve. It was Sonny. He stood in her doorway, dressed in one
of his black business suits covered by a long open black coat. His
jet-black curls were slicked back. He looked at her through heavy lidded
eyes.
"Sonny." Carly said softly. She knew would she see him again but she had no
idea it would be so soon. She didn't know what to say to him and she was
slightly afraid of what he might say to her.
He didn't say a word. He looked her over. He took in her messy bun, her
sweatshirt, he tight jeans, and her bare feet. He worked his gaze back up
and finally settled on her lips. Carly held her breath and waited for him
to something, anything.
Sonny finally reached out and grabbed her by the back of the neck. He
brought her face close to his and kissed her hard. As he tilted his head
for a better angle he softened the kiss. He plunged his tongue into her
mouth and brought his other hand around her waist pulling her closer to
him.
Carly moaned in the back of her throat and started to wrap her arms around
him but Sonny suddenly broke the kiss. He cupped her face in his hands and
ran his thumbs gently across her moist lips. He bent his head and tenderly
but quickly kissed her before dropping his hands away. He stared at her for
a second before turning and walking away.
Carly leaned against the doorway for support. She gingerly touched her
lips. "What the hell was that?"
*~*~*
Nikolas was in the middle of setting up for his afternoon with Emily when
his cell phone rang. He grabbed it thinking it was Emily calling to confirm
their plans. He has been delighted when Emily had agreed to come out to
Spoon Island tomorrow and spend some time together. She sounded stressed on
the phone and he wanted to do something special for her.
"Don't tell me you changed your mind." Nikolas said as he rearranged the
flowers on the dining table. He smiled as he thought of her reaction to the
flowers. He hoped she would like them.
"Nikolas?" Elizabeth's confused voice came through.
"Elizabeth? Hi, uh, hi." Nikolas stammered. He hadn't given much thought
about Elizabeth in the past few days. "What's up?"
"I just wanted to call you because I wanted to talk to you about
something." Elizabeth said hesitantly.
"And?" Nikolas knew he sounded short with her but he felt a little weird
preparing for his time with Emily while talking to his ex-girlfriend.
"I'm going out of town with my grandmother. We're going to spend this week
and Thanksgiving with my parents."
"Say hello to Sarah for me then." Nikolas said lamely.
"I will." Elizabeth took a deep breath. "I was hoping when I get back we
could talk about us."
"What us, Elizabeth? I thought there was no 'us'."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. The possibility of there being
an 'us' again."
"Well, I…"
"Don't say anything now." She said quickly. "Let's just wait until after
Thanksgiving, okay?" Elizabeth hung up before he could answer.
Nikolas tiredly rubbed his face and thought aloud. "What am I going to do
now?"
*~*~*
Carly was in the middle of putting away the groceries. Carly finally gotten
herself mobilized after standing in her doorway for what felt like hours.
She had no idea what the little display of Sonny's meant and she didn't
want to think about it anymore. Mindless housework always helped keep her
mind off things.
Carly was trying to carry the turkey for the Thanksgiving feast over to the
refrigerator when she heard her door open. Hoping it was Bobbie she called
out. "I'm in the kitchen and I could I use a little help!"
"Hey baby, I'm home!"
Carly turned to the kitchen door with her mouth open. "Alex!" She exclaimed
and promptly dropped the turkey on her foot.