Early the next morning Carly, Eve, and Karen were among the other frantic
shoppers roaming the mall. After leaving Michael with Bobbie Carly drove
over and picked up Karen and Eve. They set off for the mall with a mission.
They were determined to come back with something fabulous. Two hours later
they were still going through the sales rack.
"I think they were picked clean." Karen frowned as she flipped through the
clothes. "There's nothing here."
"You could say that again." Carly agreed.
"What about this?" Eve pulled out a silk shirt.
Carly wrinkled her nose. "Paisley? Not your style at all."
Eve looked it over. "Maybe…you could be right."
Carly laughed. "I'm *always* right."
"Keep telling yourself that." Eve snorted. "And weren't you supposed to
tell us something?"
"Yeah, something big?' Karen added.
"Oh yeah that. Alex and I broke up last night?" Carly tossed out carelessly
then gasped. "This is beautiful!" She held up a long black dress.
"What?" They said in unison.
"Are you okay?" Karen asked sympathetically. She gave Carly a hug.
"I'm fine." She smiled weakly.
"I can't believe he broke up with you on *Thanksgiving*." Karen said. "That
jerk!"
Eve frowned. "He found out about Sonny didn't he?"
"No, this was something else." Carly answered.
"What about Sonny?" Karen looked at them. "I thought you told him that you
stayed at Sonny's. Did something happen?"
"You could say that." Eve muttered.
"And once again I'm the last to know." Karen sighed. "Don't keep me out of
the loop."
Carly took a deep breath and said in a rush. "SonnyandIslepttogehter."
"What did you say?"
She repeated her words, this time slowly. "Sonny and I slept together."
"Oh my God!"
"It was a one time thing and the next day I went home." Carly swore.
"So if Alex didn't know about the one night stand, why did you guys break
up?" Karen asked.
"It was time. Last night I was so shocked that I didn't get it but this
morning when I woke up it was clear to me. We weren't happy. I was screwing
up his life by trying to cling to something that wasn't really there."
Eve asked. "So it's over?"
"Yup." Carly nodded.
"Just like that?"
"Uh-huh."
"So what are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to find a knockout dress to wear to Lucky's show tomorrow. Are
you guys going?"
The sudden change in subject threw them off balance for a second. Karen
shook her head. "No, I have to work. But tell me all about it."
"What about you Eve?"
"Chris and I were planning to go."
"Great, you mind if Sonny and I sit with you?" Carly asked casually.
Karen dropped the dress she had been inspecting. "What? You sure are a fast
worker aren't you?"
"You could say that again." Eve folded her arms. "No wonder you're not
broken up over Alex. You've already moved on to Sonny."
"I haven't moved on to Sonny. We both happen to be going to my cousin's
show so why not go together?"
Karen and Eve exchanged a knowing look. "Uh-huh."
Carly rolled her eyes. "It's not like that."
"Sure." Eve's voice dripped sarcasm. "Of course it isn't like that. I mean
the man has been chasing you around, convinced you to stay at his
penthouse, had a 'one night stand' with you and now that you broke up with
your boyfriend he changed his mind and just wants to be friends. Yeah
right."
"Look." Carly tried to explain. "I trying to make things go slow between
the two of us this time, *if* anything happens at all. I'm not saying
anything will but if it does it has to be slow. I'm not about to go running
into Sonny's arms the day after I break up with Alex. I'm not that much of
a slut. Shut up, Eve." Carly said before Eve could open her mouth.
"So you want Chris and Eve to chaperone your date?" Karen laughed.
"It's not a date." Carly protested. She bit her lip. "But yeah, could you
guys do it?"
"I wish I could be there to see this." Karen said.
"I'll fill you in on everything." Eve promised. "I'll bring a camera and
even take pictures!"
"I don't know why I tell you guys anything." Carly muttered as the two of
them laughed. She ignored them and focused her attention of the clothes
rack.
Out of the corner of her eye Carly saw Maxie Jones just a few feet from
her. She was about to wave hello when she noticed something off about the
girl. Maxie was holding a flame red tube dress with a matching shrug. That
didn't seem very abnormal. It was her actions.
Maxie had a huge purse thrown over her shoulder. She was slowly rolling the
dress up into a ball. She kept looking around to make sure that no one was
watching her. Obviously she didn't see the saleswoman watching her
intently. Carly groaned. She knew exactly what the girl was up to.
"I'll be right back." Carly told the duo. They had finally stopped
laughing. She again looked at Maxie. The saleswoman was starting to inch
over to her.
Eve looked in the direction. She nodded. She saw the same thing and knew
what was going on. "Me too."
Eve and Carly walked over to the girl. "Hi Maxie." Carly grinned brightly.
Eve grabbed the dress out of the startled girl's hands. Maxie looked at
them nervously. It was obvious they knew what she was doing. God, how
humiliating was this? "Hey." She managed to mumble.
"This is a great dress." Eve commented.
"Yeah." Maxie looked down at the ground. Her mother was going to ground her
for a month! She fiddled with one of her many earrings.
Carly checked the price tag. "And so expensive. You got great taste,
Maxie."
"Thanks." Maxie wish they would bust her already.
"It might be out of your price range. And that's a shame." Eve said. "You
would look very pretty in this."
Maxie just shrugged her shoulders. She knew she would look fantastic in
that dress. From the moment she saw it she knew it was meant for her.
Unfortunately it was also meant for someone with a higher allowance.
"It's too bad about the price though." Carly shook her head.
"Yeah…" Eve thought it over. "You know what? I'll buy you the dress."
"What?" Maxie gasped. This, she had not been expecting.
"Yeah, might as well do my one good deed for the day. I'll be right back."
Eve quickly walked off to the cash registrar.
"That was so nice of her." Maxie smiled.
"Yeah, but your going to have to pay her back. Every penny." Carly stated.
"I will, I will." Maxie promised.
"And promise me this. Don't you ever, *ever*, try to shoplift again." Carly
narrowed her eyes. "You're lucky we got to you first and it wasn't that
saleswoman over there."
Carly pointed at the woman who looked pissed off that her chance to nab a
shoplifter had gotten away. Maxie swallowed hard. "I didn't mean to—"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, you did so don't bother trying to lie about it,
okay?"
Maxie slumped down. "I just had to have it but I couldn't afford it. And I
*needed* it."
"I remember being your age and 'needing' things." Carly laughed. "Hot date,
huh?"
"Sorta." Maxie said coyly. She had some big plans for that dress all right.
"Yeah, well. You better be grateful that Eve brought you that dress."
"I am." Maxie swore.
"And use the money you saved today to *buy* yourself a nice pair of shoes."
Carly advised.
Eve came back with a shopping bag, which she passed to Maxie. "Here you
go."
Maxie surprised her by giving her a big hug. "Thanks so much, Dr. Lambert.
I will pay you back soon. Very soon!"
Carly and Eve watched with amused smiles as Maxie rushed out of the store
with her prize. Karen wandered over. "What did you guys do?"
"Played Good Samaritan." Eve answered. "It was kinda fun."
"Yeah but now that I think about it that dress was perfect for me."
"Yeah, Sonny would have loved it. Wouldn't have been able to leave you
alone for a second." Eve pointed out.
"On second thought…" Carly laughed.
~*~*~
Stefan was riding on the launch on his way to the mainland. In his hand he
gripped the results of the paternity test. The results were sent over by
messenger just that morning. He had been surprised by the quickness of it.
He'd expected to wait at least a few more days before getting them. He
assumed it was just another perks of the Cassadine name.
He'd barely waited for the messenger to leave his office before tearing
into the envelope. He knew he should have contacted Carly but he wanted to
find out the truth immediately. It took him a few minutes to decipher the
medical language but once he did he called for the launch. He had to get to
the Brownstone as soon as possible. Carly needed to know. He wondered what
he reaction would be. Would it be the same as his?
The shrill ring of his cell phone interrupted his thoughts. "Cassadine."
"*Helloooo* Cassadine." Layla purred.
"Ah, Layla." Stefan smiled. He always enjoyed hearing from her. "How are
you?"
"I'll be much better after I see you. I'm calling about dinner tomorrow…"
"Do you have a suggestion concerning where we should dine?" Stefan asked as
he watched the shoreline get closer and closer.
"As a matter of fact, yes I do. I was taking a walk and I noticed a flyer
for this performance tomorrow night at a blues' club called Luke's."
Stefan's jaw clenched at the mention of the name. "Luke's?"
"Yes. Some young man named Lucky will be there and I thought we should
check it out. You know as a lark." He could practically hear her grinning
over the phone. She seemed quite excited about it.
"Layla, I…"
"Please Steffie! This will probably be my last night in Port Charles and I
want to do something fun." She wheedled. "It'll be simply divine. If it's
too tacky we can always go to Café Matisse. So what do you say? Shall we go
slumming?"
Stefan closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. If Saturday was to be
Layla's last night in town then he certainly wanted to make her happy. Who
knew when the next time they would meet up would be? But there was the
matter of Spencer. Just showing up in his club would be a big deal to the
man. Stefan smiled slightly. He would get to please Layla and irritated
Luke Spencer at the same time.
"We shall go to Luke's if that is your wish. However I will still make late
reservations at Café Matisse."
Layla's laugh was bubbly. She had known he would give in. "I simply adore
you Steffie, I really do. I'll meet you there. Don't be late."
She hung up just as the launch reached the docks. Stefan slipped his phone
back into his suit jacket. That was one thing taken care of. He stared at
the test results in his hand. Now to take care of this…
~*~*~
Katarina and Melinda were walking along the docks. They hadn't said much to
each other the night before so Katarina had shocked Melinda when she showed
up at Taggert's and suggested the two of them go for a walk. Now the
mother-daughter duo was quiet as they walked.
Melinda stared hard at the ground with her hands shoved into her pockets.
She was waiting for her mother to speak. When it seemed like she wasn't
going to she spoke up instead. "Alright why are we out here if you aren't
going to say anything to me?"
Katarina stopped walking. "If I can get you back in the boarding school
would you want to go?"
"No, I hate it there. All the girls are racist snobs." She sneered.
"Fine. You don't have to go back." Katarina shrugged.
Melinda smiled at her. "You mean it?"
"Mel, if it's as bad as you make it out to be then I don't want you to go
back there. All you do at that school is get in trouble. You're too smart
to waste your time like that."
"So I can come home? It'll be me and you just like old times?"
"No. I talked with Marcus and he said that it would be alright with him if
you stayed here in Port Charles and finished up the school year." She
calmly waited for the explosions, which weren't far behind.
"What!" Melinda's face fell. She was completely shocked.
"You're staying in Port Charles for now." She said it with force.
"Why? Why can't I come home? What did I do? Is there some new guy and you
don't want me hanging around messing things up? Is that it?"
Katarina took Melinda's face between her hands and stared her down. "Think
about the absurdity of that statement will you? You know you and my work is
my life."
Melinda shook free. "So why are you sticking me in this crappy little
town?"
"I don't have enough time to run around watching you *and* getting my work
done."
"You make me sound like a three year old." Melinda muttered.
"You need adult supervision, the kind that I can't give to you that right
now. It's very hectic right now. So Marcus was nice enough to let you stay
and in the summer you'll come back to London."
"So you and Uncle Marcus planned this whole thing out…You forgot something.
What about his girlfriend? She doesn't like me and she won't want me
staying with them."
"She'll get over it." She shrugged. "The only person you need to worry
about is Marcus."
"Nice to know you put others' feelings before yours." Melinda folded her
arms close to her body and walked a feet away. This was so like her mother.
Dump the kid, make up a bunch of ridiculous reasons, and run. Well she
wasn't going to make it easy for her this time.
"Melinda? Hey Melinda!"
Melinda turned to see Georgie Jones headed in her direction. She wasn't in
the mood to hang with the locals at the moment.
"Who is that?" Katarina gestured towards the bubbly blonde coming towards
them.
"It's one of Blondie's kids. They don't know anything." She quickly added.
Finally Georgie caught up with them. "Hi." She smiled curiously at
Katarina.
Melinda resisted the urge to roll her eyes and introduced them. "Georgie,
this is my mom."
She waited for the inevitable remark, 'But you two look nothing alike.
She's Asian and you're Black.'
But it never came. Georgie just nodded. "Hi, Mrs. Ross. Melinda, I was
wondering if you were busy today?"
"Why?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"You're new to town. You don't have many friends. I noticed that you hang
out with my cousin Lucas and Tommy Hardy a lot. I thought that maybe you
could use a girl friend. We can go to the mall, hang out and get to know
each other and stuff."
"Be straight with me." Melinda demanded.
Georgie wrung her hands together and confessed. "Okay. I'm supposed to go
to the mall with my best friend Serena. Only her boyfriend Neil is coming
along and well there's a little…you know between him and me and that causes
tensions between her and me."
"So what do you want from me?"
"To run interference. Like when Serena and Neil start the cutesy couple
stuff I need someone to talk to or I might barf." She made a face. "And I
would honestly like to get to know you better."
"Why didn't you just say so in the first place?" This time Melinda rolled
her eyes. "I would do it but I'm kinda busy." She glanced at her mother.
"Go with her." Katarina urged. She checked her watch. "I have to take care
of some things."
"We'll continue our discussion later then?" Melinda said seriously.
But Katarina just laughed. "See you later Mel, have fun."
"Wait." Melinda said when Katarina started to walk away. She held her hand
out, palm up. "I need cash."
Katarina clucked her tongue and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a
handful of bills. "Don't spend it all and don't stay out too late."
"Don't want Uncle Marcus to worry right? Cause you never do." Melinda said
snidely.
Her mother smiled. "Of course. I do have a little faith in you."
~*~*~
Carly breezed into her living room that afternoon loaded down with shopping
bags with a wide grin. Shopping never really solved her problems but it did
make her feel real good. She stopped short at the sight of Stefan and
Bobbie sitting on her couch, obviously waiting for her.
"I didn't know I was going to have company. I wish someone would have told
me." Carly remarked as she set down her bags. "What's going on?"
Bobbie and Stefan rose slowly. Bobbie said. "Stefan got back the results
from the blood tests." She held out the papers.
Carly narrowed her eyes. "And you read them before I got here? Thanks a
lot, Mother." She snatched them from Bobbie's hand.
"Actually *I* read them, not Barbara." Stefan said stiffly.
"Oh." Carly laughed weakly. She glanced wearily down at the papers. She
trailed her fingertips along them and bit her lip. "Um…what do they stay?"
"Perhaps you would like to read them yourself?" Stefan suggested.
Carly took a deep breath. "Okay." She perched on the edge of the couch and
read through the documents. After a few minutes she pushed the papers away
and rubbed her temples.
Bobbie leaned forward. "Is something wrong?"
"Yeah. I have no idea what those papers say. Is it possible I could get a
translator?" She joked with Stefan.
Stefan came and sat down beside her. He started to reach for her hand but
didn't know if she would welcome the intimacy so he drew back from her.
"Your translation…simply put, I am you father."
"Gawd, how many times did you see the Empire Strikes Back? All you need is
the black helmet and James Earl Jones' voice." Carly tried unsuccessfully
to crack a joke but the somber looks on Stefan and Bobbie's faces showed
that they weren't amused. She stood and rubbed her hands together. She
quickly licked her lips. "I need a few minutes by myself."
"But this is good news!" Bobbie exclaimed. "You should be happy that it's
Stefan and not Victor. I know I am."
"I just need a few minutes." She gritted out.
"Carly—" But Stefan stopped her. "Let her go Barbara. If she needs time let
her have it."
"Uh…thank you." She mumbled into his direction before hurrying into her
bedroom and slammed the door behind her. She flopped down on the bed and
cradled her head in her hands. She needed more than a few minutes to
comprehend what was happening, she needed a few months.
Stefan was her father. Her father. After all these years she had a father,
something she didn't need or want. When all her friends were going on and
on about what great guys their fathers were all she could do was look at
them with disgust. She knew the real deal. Fathers were more trouble than
they were worth. At least that's what she used to believe.
So you've got a father now, Carly Spencer, she told herself. A man who knew
who you was but never attempted to approach you in all the years you've
lived in the same town. He knew that there was a possibility that you
could be his daughter and he never once reached out to you. He never once
introduced himself to you. A simple, "My name is Stefan Cassadine and we
might be related", could have worked. But it never happened, did it?
When Virginia died did he try to comfort you? No. When Michael, his own
grandson, was kidnapped did he say anything? No. When justice wasn't served
and Tony was let go did he offer to make him pay or help you get out of
Shady Brooke or Ferncliff? No. When Jason was killed did he come to you
then? No. When your life was on track and everything was good did he step
up then? No.
He waited until some one else was going to steal his thunder. *That's* when
he decided it was time to acknowledge your existence.
Bobbie stared at Carly's door with worried eyes. "Once of us should go in
there."
"She asked for time, Barbara."
"But this can't be good. If you don't go in, I will." Bobbie started to
reach for the doorknob.
Stefan placed his hand over hers. "Wait. I should go in, I'm sure she has
questions."
He discreetly knocked on the door before going in. Carly glared at him from
the bed. "Get out."
"Carly—" Stefan started to say.
"Just get out!" She pointed at the door. "Leave, alright? So you're my
father, so freaking what! That doesn't mean a thing to me. It doesn't
change the fact that you that I existed and you left me with the Bensons.
Or that when I came to Port Charles you never said a word."
"I thought it was best—"
"Best for who? Best for you, maybe. Sure as hell wasn't best for me. Would
you like to know what happened to me at the Bensons? Would you like to know
what kind of people they were?"
Stefan said calmly. "Why don't you tell me."
Carly laughed bitterly. "I don't think so. You don't deserve to know. Well
you're my father, okay whatever. I suppose we'll continue the relationship
we have right now which borders on polite strangers. Of course I'll send
you some sappy card on Father's Day and you'll manage to send Michael a
little something for his birthday and Christmas. Yes, that'll be good.
Maybe we'll talk on the phone once a year."
"I want to make up for the past. I would like to get to know you better as
my daughter."
"Too late for that, *Dad*." She smirked and checked her watch. "Just a
couple of years too late, sorry. And besides you don't want me for a
daughter. It's clear to me. And who would blame you. Ask Bobbie, half the
time she thinks I'm a horrible daughter. She'll love the chance to badmouth
me some more."
Stefan frowned as Carly continued on. "Haven't you heard? I'm wicked. I'm
bad. I'm garbage. Garbage doesn't hang out with Cassadines, okay. Do
yourself a favor and don't get to know me. You won't like it."
Stefan didn't understand where this was coming from or why she would say
things like that about herself. He took a deep breath and attempted to
reach out to her once more. "I—"
"Go, okay? Just leave me alone. It's something you're good at." Carly
sneered. She stomped over to the door and opened it. "Bye-bye."
Stefan gave her a hard stare but nodded. "Fine. I'll contact you in a few
days. Perhaps you will be in a better mood."
"Don't hold your breath." She snapped and slammed the door behind him.
"I assume it didn't go to well in there did it?" Bobbie asked.
"She needs more time to adjust to the idea." He said smoothly.
"I don't know what her problem is." Bobbie huffed. "You'd think she'd be
happy."
"She just needs time." He repeated. "I have to go but I'll stay in
contact."
"Okay." Bobbie impulsively gave him a hug. "Can I just once more that I'm
happy it's you and not Victor?"
He smiled. "As many times as you want."
Bobbie walked him out. Stefan paused on the stoop and pulled out his cell
phone. He quickly punched in the numbers and waited impatiently as the
phone rang several times. Finally it was answered. "It's Cassadine.
Concerning the conversation we had about my will. Go ahead with the
changes."
shoppers roaming the mall. After leaving Michael with Bobbie Carly drove
over and picked up Karen and Eve. They set off for the mall with a mission.
They were determined to come back with something fabulous. Two hours later
they were still going through the sales rack.
"I think they were picked clean." Karen frowned as she flipped through the
clothes. "There's nothing here."
"You could say that again." Carly agreed.
"What about this?" Eve pulled out a silk shirt.
Carly wrinkled her nose. "Paisley? Not your style at all."
Eve looked it over. "Maybe…you could be right."
Carly laughed. "I'm *always* right."
"Keep telling yourself that." Eve snorted. "And weren't you supposed to
tell us something?"
"Yeah, something big?' Karen added.
"Oh yeah that. Alex and I broke up last night?" Carly tossed out carelessly
then gasped. "This is beautiful!" She held up a long black dress.
"What?" They said in unison.
"Are you okay?" Karen asked sympathetically. She gave Carly a hug.
"I'm fine." She smiled weakly.
"I can't believe he broke up with you on *Thanksgiving*." Karen said. "That
jerk!"
Eve frowned. "He found out about Sonny didn't he?"
"No, this was something else." Carly answered.
"What about Sonny?" Karen looked at them. "I thought you told him that you
stayed at Sonny's. Did something happen?"
"You could say that." Eve muttered.
"And once again I'm the last to know." Karen sighed. "Don't keep me out of
the loop."
Carly took a deep breath and said in a rush. "SonnyandIslepttogehter."
"What did you say?"
She repeated her words, this time slowly. "Sonny and I slept together."
"Oh my God!"
"It was a one time thing and the next day I went home." Carly swore.
"So if Alex didn't know about the one night stand, why did you guys break
up?" Karen asked.
"It was time. Last night I was so shocked that I didn't get it but this
morning when I woke up it was clear to me. We weren't happy. I was screwing
up his life by trying to cling to something that wasn't really there."
Eve asked. "So it's over?"
"Yup." Carly nodded.
"Just like that?"
"Uh-huh."
"So what are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to find a knockout dress to wear to Lucky's show tomorrow. Are
you guys going?"
The sudden change in subject threw them off balance for a second. Karen
shook her head. "No, I have to work. But tell me all about it."
"What about you Eve?"
"Chris and I were planning to go."
"Great, you mind if Sonny and I sit with you?" Carly asked casually.
Karen dropped the dress she had been inspecting. "What? You sure are a fast
worker aren't you?"
"You could say that again." Eve folded her arms. "No wonder you're not
broken up over Alex. You've already moved on to Sonny."
"I haven't moved on to Sonny. We both happen to be going to my cousin's
show so why not go together?"
Karen and Eve exchanged a knowing look. "Uh-huh."
Carly rolled her eyes. "It's not like that."
"Sure." Eve's voice dripped sarcasm. "Of course it isn't like that. I mean
the man has been chasing you around, convinced you to stay at his
penthouse, had a 'one night stand' with you and now that you broke up with
your boyfriend he changed his mind and just wants to be friends. Yeah
right."
"Look." Carly tried to explain. "I trying to make things go slow between
the two of us this time, *if* anything happens at all. I'm not saying
anything will but if it does it has to be slow. I'm not about to go running
into Sonny's arms the day after I break up with Alex. I'm not that much of
a slut. Shut up, Eve." Carly said before Eve could open her mouth.
"So you want Chris and Eve to chaperone your date?" Karen laughed.
"It's not a date." Carly protested. She bit her lip. "But yeah, could you
guys do it?"
"I wish I could be there to see this." Karen said.
"I'll fill you in on everything." Eve promised. "I'll bring a camera and
even take pictures!"
"I don't know why I tell you guys anything." Carly muttered as the two of
them laughed. She ignored them and focused her attention of the clothes
rack.
Out of the corner of her eye Carly saw Maxie Jones just a few feet from
her. She was about to wave hello when she noticed something off about the
girl. Maxie was holding a flame red tube dress with a matching shrug. That
didn't seem very abnormal. It was her actions.
Maxie had a huge purse thrown over her shoulder. She was slowly rolling the
dress up into a ball. She kept looking around to make sure that no one was
watching her. Obviously she didn't see the saleswoman watching her
intently. Carly groaned. She knew exactly what the girl was up to.
"I'll be right back." Carly told the duo. They had finally stopped
laughing. She again looked at Maxie. The saleswoman was starting to inch
over to her.
Eve looked in the direction. She nodded. She saw the same thing and knew
what was going on. "Me too."
Eve and Carly walked over to the girl. "Hi Maxie." Carly grinned brightly.
Eve grabbed the dress out of the startled girl's hands. Maxie looked at
them nervously. It was obvious they knew what she was doing. God, how
humiliating was this? "Hey." She managed to mumble.
"This is a great dress." Eve commented.
"Yeah." Maxie looked down at the ground. Her mother was going to ground her
for a month! She fiddled with one of her many earrings.
Carly checked the price tag. "And so expensive. You got great taste,
Maxie."
"Thanks." Maxie wish they would bust her already.
"It might be out of your price range. And that's a shame." Eve said. "You
would look very pretty in this."
Maxie just shrugged her shoulders. She knew she would look fantastic in
that dress. From the moment she saw it she knew it was meant for her.
Unfortunately it was also meant for someone with a higher allowance.
"It's too bad about the price though." Carly shook her head.
"Yeah…" Eve thought it over. "You know what? I'll buy you the dress."
"What?" Maxie gasped. This, she had not been expecting.
"Yeah, might as well do my one good deed for the day. I'll be right back."
Eve quickly walked off to the cash registrar.
"That was so nice of her." Maxie smiled.
"Yeah, but your going to have to pay her back. Every penny." Carly stated.
"I will, I will." Maxie promised.
"And promise me this. Don't you ever, *ever*, try to shoplift again." Carly
narrowed her eyes. "You're lucky we got to you first and it wasn't that
saleswoman over there."
Carly pointed at the woman who looked pissed off that her chance to nab a
shoplifter had gotten away. Maxie swallowed hard. "I didn't mean to—"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, you did so don't bother trying to lie about it,
okay?"
Maxie slumped down. "I just had to have it but I couldn't afford it. And I
*needed* it."
"I remember being your age and 'needing' things." Carly laughed. "Hot date,
huh?"
"Sorta." Maxie said coyly. She had some big plans for that dress all right.
"Yeah, well. You better be grateful that Eve brought you that dress."
"I am." Maxie swore.
"And use the money you saved today to *buy* yourself a nice pair of shoes."
Carly advised.
Eve came back with a shopping bag, which she passed to Maxie. "Here you
go."
Maxie surprised her by giving her a big hug. "Thanks so much, Dr. Lambert.
I will pay you back soon. Very soon!"
Carly and Eve watched with amused smiles as Maxie rushed out of the store
with her prize. Karen wandered over. "What did you guys do?"
"Played Good Samaritan." Eve answered. "It was kinda fun."
"Yeah but now that I think about it that dress was perfect for me."
"Yeah, Sonny would have loved it. Wouldn't have been able to leave you
alone for a second." Eve pointed out.
"On second thought…" Carly laughed.
~*~*~
Stefan was riding on the launch on his way to the mainland. In his hand he
gripped the results of the paternity test. The results were sent over by
messenger just that morning. He had been surprised by the quickness of it.
He'd expected to wait at least a few more days before getting them. He
assumed it was just another perks of the Cassadine name.
He'd barely waited for the messenger to leave his office before tearing
into the envelope. He knew he should have contacted Carly but he wanted to
find out the truth immediately. It took him a few minutes to decipher the
medical language but once he did he called for the launch. He had to get to
the Brownstone as soon as possible. Carly needed to know. He wondered what
he reaction would be. Would it be the same as his?
The shrill ring of his cell phone interrupted his thoughts. "Cassadine."
"*Helloooo* Cassadine." Layla purred.
"Ah, Layla." Stefan smiled. He always enjoyed hearing from her. "How are
you?"
"I'll be much better after I see you. I'm calling about dinner tomorrow…"
"Do you have a suggestion concerning where we should dine?" Stefan asked as
he watched the shoreline get closer and closer.
"As a matter of fact, yes I do. I was taking a walk and I noticed a flyer
for this performance tomorrow night at a blues' club called Luke's."
Stefan's jaw clenched at the mention of the name. "Luke's?"
"Yes. Some young man named Lucky will be there and I thought we should
check it out. You know as a lark." He could practically hear her grinning
over the phone. She seemed quite excited about it.
"Layla, I…"
"Please Steffie! This will probably be my last night in Port Charles and I
want to do something fun." She wheedled. "It'll be simply divine. If it's
too tacky we can always go to Café Matisse. So what do you say? Shall we go
slumming?"
Stefan closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. If Saturday was to be
Layla's last night in town then he certainly wanted to make her happy. Who
knew when the next time they would meet up would be? But there was the
matter of Spencer. Just showing up in his club would be a big deal to the
man. Stefan smiled slightly. He would get to please Layla and irritated
Luke Spencer at the same time.
"We shall go to Luke's if that is your wish. However I will still make late
reservations at Café Matisse."
Layla's laugh was bubbly. She had known he would give in. "I simply adore
you Steffie, I really do. I'll meet you there. Don't be late."
She hung up just as the launch reached the docks. Stefan slipped his phone
back into his suit jacket. That was one thing taken care of. He stared at
the test results in his hand. Now to take care of this…
~*~*~
Katarina and Melinda were walking along the docks. They hadn't said much to
each other the night before so Katarina had shocked Melinda when she showed
up at Taggert's and suggested the two of them go for a walk. Now the
mother-daughter duo was quiet as they walked.
Melinda stared hard at the ground with her hands shoved into her pockets.
She was waiting for her mother to speak. When it seemed like she wasn't
going to she spoke up instead. "Alright why are we out here if you aren't
going to say anything to me?"
Katarina stopped walking. "If I can get you back in the boarding school
would you want to go?"
"No, I hate it there. All the girls are racist snobs." She sneered.
"Fine. You don't have to go back." Katarina shrugged.
Melinda smiled at her. "You mean it?"
"Mel, if it's as bad as you make it out to be then I don't want you to go
back there. All you do at that school is get in trouble. You're too smart
to waste your time like that."
"So I can come home? It'll be me and you just like old times?"
"No. I talked with Marcus and he said that it would be alright with him if
you stayed here in Port Charles and finished up the school year." She
calmly waited for the explosions, which weren't far behind.
"What!" Melinda's face fell. She was completely shocked.
"You're staying in Port Charles for now." She said it with force.
"Why? Why can't I come home? What did I do? Is there some new guy and you
don't want me hanging around messing things up? Is that it?"
Katarina took Melinda's face between her hands and stared her down. "Think
about the absurdity of that statement will you? You know you and my work is
my life."
Melinda shook free. "So why are you sticking me in this crappy little
town?"
"I don't have enough time to run around watching you *and* getting my work
done."
"You make me sound like a three year old." Melinda muttered.
"You need adult supervision, the kind that I can't give to you that right
now. It's very hectic right now. So Marcus was nice enough to let you stay
and in the summer you'll come back to London."
"So you and Uncle Marcus planned this whole thing out…You forgot something.
What about his girlfriend? She doesn't like me and she won't want me
staying with them."
"She'll get over it." She shrugged. "The only person you need to worry
about is Marcus."
"Nice to know you put others' feelings before yours." Melinda folded her
arms close to her body and walked a feet away. This was so like her mother.
Dump the kid, make up a bunch of ridiculous reasons, and run. Well she
wasn't going to make it easy for her this time.
"Melinda? Hey Melinda!"
Melinda turned to see Georgie Jones headed in her direction. She wasn't in
the mood to hang with the locals at the moment.
"Who is that?" Katarina gestured towards the bubbly blonde coming towards
them.
"It's one of Blondie's kids. They don't know anything." She quickly added.
Finally Georgie caught up with them. "Hi." She smiled curiously at
Katarina.
Melinda resisted the urge to roll her eyes and introduced them. "Georgie,
this is my mom."
She waited for the inevitable remark, 'But you two look nothing alike.
She's Asian and you're Black.'
But it never came. Georgie just nodded. "Hi, Mrs. Ross. Melinda, I was
wondering if you were busy today?"
"Why?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"You're new to town. You don't have many friends. I noticed that you hang
out with my cousin Lucas and Tommy Hardy a lot. I thought that maybe you
could use a girl friend. We can go to the mall, hang out and get to know
each other and stuff."
"Be straight with me." Melinda demanded.
Georgie wrung her hands together and confessed. "Okay. I'm supposed to go
to the mall with my best friend Serena. Only her boyfriend Neil is coming
along and well there's a little…you know between him and me and that causes
tensions between her and me."
"So what do you want from me?"
"To run interference. Like when Serena and Neil start the cutesy couple
stuff I need someone to talk to or I might barf." She made a face. "And I
would honestly like to get to know you better."
"Why didn't you just say so in the first place?" This time Melinda rolled
her eyes. "I would do it but I'm kinda busy." She glanced at her mother.
"Go with her." Katarina urged. She checked her watch. "I have to take care
of some things."
"We'll continue our discussion later then?" Melinda said seriously.
But Katarina just laughed. "See you later Mel, have fun."
"Wait." Melinda said when Katarina started to walk away. She held her hand
out, palm up. "I need cash."
Katarina clucked her tongue and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a
handful of bills. "Don't spend it all and don't stay out too late."
"Don't want Uncle Marcus to worry right? Cause you never do." Melinda said
snidely.
Her mother smiled. "Of course. I do have a little faith in you."
~*~*~
Carly breezed into her living room that afternoon loaded down with shopping
bags with a wide grin. Shopping never really solved her problems but it did
make her feel real good. She stopped short at the sight of Stefan and
Bobbie sitting on her couch, obviously waiting for her.
"I didn't know I was going to have company. I wish someone would have told
me." Carly remarked as she set down her bags. "What's going on?"
Bobbie and Stefan rose slowly. Bobbie said. "Stefan got back the results
from the blood tests." She held out the papers.
Carly narrowed her eyes. "And you read them before I got here? Thanks a
lot, Mother." She snatched them from Bobbie's hand.
"Actually *I* read them, not Barbara." Stefan said stiffly.
"Oh." Carly laughed weakly. She glanced wearily down at the papers. She
trailed her fingertips along them and bit her lip. "Um…what do they stay?"
"Perhaps you would like to read them yourself?" Stefan suggested.
Carly took a deep breath. "Okay." She perched on the edge of the couch and
read through the documents. After a few minutes she pushed the papers away
and rubbed her temples.
Bobbie leaned forward. "Is something wrong?"
"Yeah. I have no idea what those papers say. Is it possible I could get a
translator?" She joked with Stefan.
Stefan came and sat down beside her. He started to reach for her hand but
didn't know if she would welcome the intimacy so he drew back from her.
"Your translation…simply put, I am you father."
"Gawd, how many times did you see the Empire Strikes Back? All you need is
the black helmet and James Earl Jones' voice." Carly tried unsuccessfully
to crack a joke but the somber looks on Stefan and Bobbie's faces showed
that they weren't amused. She stood and rubbed her hands together. She
quickly licked her lips. "I need a few minutes by myself."
"But this is good news!" Bobbie exclaimed. "You should be happy that it's
Stefan and not Victor. I know I am."
"I just need a few minutes." She gritted out.
"Carly—" But Stefan stopped her. "Let her go Barbara. If she needs time let
her have it."
"Uh…thank you." She mumbled into his direction before hurrying into her
bedroom and slammed the door behind her. She flopped down on the bed and
cradled her head in her hands. She needed more than a few minutes to
comprehend what was happening, she needed a few months.
Stefan was her father. Her father. After all these years she had a father,
something she didn't need or want. When all her friends were going on and
on about what great guys their fathers were all she could do was look at
them with disgust. She knew the real deal. Fathers were more trouble than
they were worth. At least that's what she used to believe.
So you've got a father now, Carly Spencer, she told herself. A man who knew
who you was but never attempted to approach you in all the years you've
lived in the same town. He knew that there was a possibility that you
could be his daughter and he never once reached out to you. He never once
introduced himself to you. A simple, "My name is Stefan Cassadine and we
might be related", could have worked. But it never happened, did it?
When Virginia died did he try to comfort you? No. When Michael, his own
grandson, was kidnapped did he say anything? No. When justice wasn't served
and Tony was let go did he offer to make him pay or help you get out of
Shady Brooke or Ferncliff? No. When Jason was killed did he come to you
then? No. When your life was on track and everything was good did he step
up then? No.
He waited until some one else was going to steal his thunder. *That's* when
he decided it was time to acknowledge your existence.
Bobbie stared at Carly's door with worried eyes. "Once of us should go in
there."
"She asked for time, Barbara."
"But this can't be good. If you don't go in, I will." Bobbie started to
reach for the doorknob.
Stefan placed his hand over hers. "Wait. I should go in, I'm sure she has
questions."
He discreetly knocked on the door before going in. Carly glared at him from
the bed. "Get out."
"Carly—" Stefan started to say.
"Just get out!" She pointed at the door. "Leave, alright? So you're my
father, so freaking what! That doesn't mean a thing to me. It doesn't
change the fact that you that I existed and you left me with the Bensons.
Or that when I came to Port Charles you never said a word."
"I thought it was best—"
"Best for who? Best for you, maybe. Sure as hell wasn't best for me. Would
you like to know what happened to me at the Bensons? Would you like to know
what kind of people they were?"
Stefan said calmly. "Why don't you tell me."
Carly laughed bitterly. "I don't think so. You don't deserve to know. Well
you're my father, okay whatever. I suppose we'll continue the relationship
we have right now which borders on polite strangers. Of course I'll send
you some sappy card on Father's Day and you'll manage to send Michael a
little something for his birthday and Christmas. Yes, that'll be good.
Maybe we'll talk on the phone once a year."
"I want to make up for the past. I would like to get to know you better as
my daughter."
"Too late for that, *Dad*." She smirked and checked her watch. "Just a
couple of years too late, sorry. And besides you don't want me for a
daughter. It's clear to me. And who would blame you. Ask Bobbie, half the
time she thinks I'm a horrible daughter. She'll love the chance to badmouth
me some more."
Stefan frowned as Carly continued on. "Haven't you heard? I'm wicked. I'm
bad. I'm garbage. Garbage doesn't hang out with Cassadines, okay. Do
yourself a favor and don't get to know me. You won't like it."
Stefan didn't understand where this was coming from or why she would say
things like that about herself. He took a deep breath and attempted to
reach out to her once more. "I—"
"Go, okay? Just leave me alone. It's something you're good at." Carly
sneered. She stomped over to the door and opened it. "Bye-bye."
Stefan gave her a hard stare but nodded. "Fine. I'll contact you in a few
days. Perhaps you will be in a better mood."
"Don't hold your breath." She snapped and slammed the door behind him.
"I assume it didn't go to well in there did it?" Bobbie asked.
"She needs more time to adjust to the idea." He said smoothly.
"I don't know what her problem is." Bobbie huffed. "You'd think she'd be
happy."
"She just needs time." He repeated. "I have to go but I'll stay in
contact."
"Okay." Bobbie impulsively gave him a hug. "Can I just once more that I'm
happy it's you and not Victor?"
He smiled. "As many times as you want."
Bobbie walked him out. Stefan paused on the stoop and pulled out his cell
phone. He quickly punched in the numbers and waited impatiently as the
phone rang several times. Finally it was answered. "It's Cassadine.
Concerning the conversation we had about my will. Go ahead with the
changes."