My Life Closed Twice
Chapter 3: Down the Rabbit Hole
Disclaimer: General Hospital and all its characters belong to ABC, Disney, etc.
Author's Notes: Thanks to my faithful beta reader. Please read and review!
I had begun to wonder if I had imagined my mother's response. While there was certainly no need for her to talk during Mr. Spencer's never ending monologue, it would have been nice to hear her voice again.
I still couldn't decide if Mr. Spencer was working with a full deck. While some of what he said almost made sense, most of it seemed to be either in a code I didn't understand or a come on to my mother. (Ewww!) By the time we landed I had just two more pieces of information. One was that while he did know my mother's real name he just didn't use it. Secondly, Port Chuckles was apparently Mr. Spencer speak for Port Charles. The first fact was added to my growing list of reasons to think Mr. Spencer was crazy. The second fact re-assured me that even if this was the stupidest thing I had ever done I could get help from either the Q's or Nicholas.
Once we got off the plane and caught a cab I was ready to fall asleep standing up so I didn't argue when Mr. Spencer said we would be staying with him. I can tell you right now there is no more comfortable bed then the one you get in at 5am after dealing with Mr. Spencer for 6 hours straight.
When I woke up, for a minute I thought it was a dream. Then I realized that I was not in my room at home. Also, Mom was gone. After checking to make sure she wasn't in the main room of the apartment, I threw on some clothes and started down the stairs toward the sound of voices. I didn't take time for a tour of the place last night, but I knew that we were in a brownstone and that some woman named Barbara Jean wouldn't mind us borrowing a room. Ok, I only had the crazy man's word on that fact that she wouldn't mind, but I was willing to go with the flow for now. The bottom of the stairs was located in an entry hall with a double door entry to a living room. My mom was sitting on a couch. I went in to say good morning when I suddenly realized she wasn't alone. On the floor in front of her were Nicholas and Gia's twins.
Leslie and Mark smiled a silent greeting at me. They were three years old and on their last trip to New York had seemed to think it was fun to play Aunt Alexis' silent game. I remember Gia wishing they would play the game more often. After a quick good-morning to Mom and a pat on the head for each twin I followed the voices into the next room in hopes of finding Nicholas and Gia and just maybe an explanation.
There was no sign of Nicholas or Gia, but the crazy man was arguing with another man about his age with a redhead woman trying to referee.
"Look Spencer, I don't know what crazy bee you have got in your bonnet this time but I don't think trying to panic Alexis is a good idea," the new guy was saying.
"Baldwin, I wouldn't expect you to see this coming if she sent you an engraved invitation, but we are already on Act 1 Scene 2 and I don't plan to sit around waiting for the intermission," Mr. Spencer responded. "You know Barbra Jean, I think this guy has actually got me missing Count Vlad."
"Bah, you're just seeing boogie men in your sleep again. Look, they just got caught in a storm; as soon as the weather clears they will check in," new guy (Baldwin?) said dismissively.
"Yah and Count Vlad just decided now was the perfect time to go for that lovely two week cruse on the River Styx he has been putting off," crazy guy shot back.
"Who knows what he is doing? He is as crazy as you. The only difference I could ever tell is that he pays his bills," other guy returned.
"I paid you what you are worth shyster!"
"Deadbeat!"
"Three year olds!" the woman finally interrupted.
"Good one Barbara Jean," Mr. Spencer cheered.
"No Luke, that is what the two of you are acting like," Barbra Jean said.
"Actually, the three year olds are acting better then that," I couldn't help saying. What can I say, when in the nut farm?
All three of them looked at me. "So where are Nicholas and Gia?"
They just looked at each other; you know, the kind of looks where the adults are trying to figure out which lie your fragile child mind can cope with. Finally Mr. Spencer appointed himself spokesman for the group. "Their plane disappeared on the way to Greece two days ago. I'm sorry, but it doesn't look good."
"Luke!" the woman scolded. She turned to me, "Hello, my name is Bobbie Spencer and this is Scotty Baldwin. All we really know is that they were taking a weekend trip and didn't arrive at their destination."
Nicholas and Gia were missing? No way, I would know! Wouldn't I? Uncle Stephan was acting a little odd when he left. I mean really, the guy takes the term guardian VERY seriously and he let Mom and me stay alone. Now wait a minute that still didn't explain what the twins were doing here. "If Nicholas and Gia were going on a trip then why are the twins here? Did everyone on staff get sick?" I asked.
"No, Marcus taking them for the weekend," Bobbie explained.
"Fine, where is Marcus?" at least I had met him before.
"He's trying to get information from the keystone cops," Mr. Spencer answered. This earned him a glare from the other two.
I didn't know what to think anymore. Everything they said seemed to be perfectly reasonable, except I didn't think any of these people were reasonable. Well, maybe Ms. Spencer was, but I couldn't do things on a maybe anymore. My situation had changed. It was ok for me to follow a crazy guy down a rabbit hole in the hopes of getting my mother back, but I wasn't about to drag the twins along with me.
Ok it was time to escape from the madhouse. "Well, thanks for taking care of the twins, but we will just be going now."
"Where are you going to go? Prince Nicky gave the serfs the weekend off," Mr. Spencer said.
"I really think you should wait for Marcus," Ms. Spencer added.
"Look with one notable exception, we are all fine upstanding citizens here. Why don't we just give you the PCPD's phone number and you can ask Captain Taggert what his plans are?" Mr. Baldwin suggested reasonably.
"Hey shyster, I was upstanding enough to be elected mayor," crazy guy retaliated.
"That's ok, I can just go visit Great-Grandfather. I can call Marcus from there," I assured everyone. Now even I will admit that Great-Grandfather wasn't my first choice for a safe harbor, but the devil you know is usually better then the ones you don't.
"Jeez kid. Frying pan? Fire? Why don't you go to Sonny? At least he might offer some protection from the Queen of the Dammed." crazy guy said in a disgusted tone.
Mr. Baldwin looked like he was going to get in it with Mr. Spencer again and Ms. Spencer looked like she had just joined Mr. Baldwin's team. I was still backing toward the twins when I ran into someone. I turned around to see whom it was and was shocked to see my mother.
"This is Cassadine business. Sonny comes nowhere near my family EVER again. Do you understand?" Mom said. All of us nodded our heads. For the first time since Dad died, Mom was in control of the room again.
Chapter 3: Down the Rabbit Hole
Disclaimer: General Hospital and all its characters belong to ABC, Disney, etc.
Author's Notes: Thanks to my faithful beta reader. Please read and review!
I had begun to wonder if I had imagined my mother's response. While there was certainly no need for her to talk during Mr. Spencer's never ending monologue, it would have been nice to hear her voice again.
I still couldn't decide if Mr. Spencer was working with a full deck. While some of what he said almost made sense, most of it seemed to be either in a code I didn't understand or a come on to my mother. (Ewww!) By the time we landed I had just two more pieces of information. One was that while he did know my mother's real name he just didn't use it. Secondly, Port Chuckles was apparently Mr. Spencer speak for Port Charles. The first fact was added to my growing list of reasons to think Mr. Spencer was crazy. The second fact re-assured me that even if this was the stupidest thing I had ever done I could get help from either the Q's or Nicholas.
Once we got off the plane and caught a cab I was ready to fall asleep standing up so I didn't argue when Mr. Spencer said we would be staying with him. I can tell you right now there is no more comfortable bed then the one you get in at 5am after dealing with Mr. Spencer for 6 hours straight.
When I woke up, for a minute I thought it was a dream. Then I realized that I was not in my room at home. Also, Mom was gone. After checking to make sure she wasn't in the main room of the apartment, I threw on some clothes and started down the stairs toward the sound of voices. I didn't take time for a tour of the place last night, but I knew that we were in a brownstone and that some woman named Barbara Jean wouldn't mind us borrowing a room. Ok, I only had the crazy man's word on that fact that she wouldn't mind, but I was willing to go with the flow for now. The bottom of the stairs was located in an entry hall with a double door entry to a living room. My mom was sitting on a couch. I went in to say good morning when I suddenly realized she wasn't alone. On the floor in front of her were Nicholas and Gia's twins.
Leslie and Mark smiled a silent greeting at me. They were three years old and on their last trip to New York had seemed to think it was fun to play Aunt Alexis' silent game. I remember Gia wishing they would play the game more often. After a quick good-morning to Mom and a pat on the head for each twin I followed the voices into the next room in hopes of finding Nicholas and Gia and just maybe an explanation.
There was no sign of Nicholas or Gia, but the crazy man was arguing with another man about his age with a redhead woman trying to referee.
"Look Spencer, I don't know what crazy bee you have got in your bonnet this time but I don't think trying to panic Alexis is a good idea," the new guy was saying.
"Baldwin, I wouldn't expect you to see this coming if she sent you an engraved invitation, but we are already on Act 1 Scene 2 and I don't plan to sit around waiting for the intermission," Mr. Spencer responded. "You know Barbra Jean, I think this guy has actually got me missing Count Vlad."
"Bah, you're just seeing boogie men in your sleep again. Look, they just got caught in a storm; as soon as the weather clears they will check in," new guy (Baldwin?) said dismissively.
"Yah and Count Vlad just decided now was the perfect time to go for that lovely two week cruse on the River Styx he has been putting off," crazy guy shot back.
"Who knows what he is doing? He is as crazy as you. The only difference I could ever tell is that he pays his bills," other guy returned.
"I paid you what you are worth shyster!"
"Deadbeat!"
"Three year olds!" the woman finally interrupted.
"Good one Barbara Jean," Mr. Spencer cheered.
"No Luke, that is what the two of you are acting like," Barbra Jean said.
"Actually, the three year olds are acting better then that," I couldn't help saying. What can I say, when in the nut farm?
All three of them looked at me. "So where are Nicholas and Gia?"
They just looked at each other; you know, the kind of looks where the adults are trying to figure out which lie your fragile child mind can cope with. Finally Mr. Spencer appointed himself spokesman for the group. "Their plane disappeared on the way to Greece two days ago. I'm sorry, but it doesn't look good."
"Luke!" the woman scolded. She turned to me, "Hello, my name is Bobbie Spencer and this is Scotty Baldwin. All we really know is that they were taking a weekend trip and didn't arrive at their destination."
Nicholas and Gia were missing? No way, I would know! Wouldn't I? Uncle Stephan was acting a little odd when he left. I mean really, the guy takes the term guardian VERY seriously and he let Mom and me stay alone. Now wait a minute that still didn't explain what the twins were doing here. "If Nicholas and Gia were going on a trip then why are the twins here? Did everyone on staff get sick?" I asked.
"No, Marcus taking them for the weekend," Bobbie explained.
"Fine, where is Marcus?" at least I had met him before.
"He's trying to get information from the keystone cops," Mr. Spencer answered. This earned him a glare from the other two.
I didn't know what to think anymore. Everything they said seemed to be perfectly reasonable, except I didn't think any of these people were reasonable. Well, maybe Ms. Spencer was, but I couldn't do things on a maybe anymore. My situation had changed. It was ok for me to follow a crazy guy down a rabbit hole in the hopes of getting my mother back, but I wasn't about to drag the twins along with me.
Ok it was time to escape from the madhouse. "Well, thanks for taking care of the twins, but we will just be going now."
"Where are you going to go? Prince Nicky gave the serfs the weekend off," Mr. Spencer said.
"I really think you should wait for Marcus," Ms. Spencer added.
"Look with one notable exception, we are all fine upstanding citizens here. Why don't we just give you the PCPD's phone number and you can ask Captain Taggert what his plans are?" Mr. Baldwin suggested reasonably.
"Hey shyster, I was upstanding enough to be elected mayor," crazy guy retaliated.
"That's ok, I can just go visit Great-Grandfather. I can call Marcus from there," I assured everyone. Now even I will admit that Great-Grandfather wasn't my first choice for a safe harbor, but the devil you know is usually better then the ones you don't.
"Jeez kid. Frying pan? Fire? Why don't you go to Sonny? At least he might offer some protection from the Queen of the Dammed." crazy guy said in a disgusted tone.
Mr. Baldwin looked like he was going to get in it with Mr. Spencer again and Ms. Spencer looked like she had just joined Mr. Baldwin's team. I was still backing toward the twins when I ran into someone. I turned around to see whom it was and was shocked to see my mother.
"This is Cassadine business. Sonny comes nowhere near my family EVER again. Do you understand?" Mom said. All of us nodded our heads. For the first time since Dad died, Mom was in control of the room again.