Part Eight
"WHAT?" Gia cried. "If you think that you can send me back to Brooklyn like I am a child you are sadly mistaken."
"Gia please listen to me." Florence said putting her hands up in defense. "Hear me out and then you can say what you like. I learned a long time ago that my efforts to get you to go back to Brooklyn to stay were not going to work. But I would like you to go now…not to stay for good. I want you to stay with your cousin Carrie for awhile. I want you to see what you are getting into. You can help her out with Lance and get to know what you are about to start. I've called her…"
"Great, you told her." Gia cried. "Why don't you just put out an ad so the whole world will know?"
"Gia, hear you mother out." Marcus commanded.
Florence continued. "I've called her and she said that it would be alright for you to stay with her for awhile. There is a bus leaving tomorrow morning…"
"Tomorrow morning?" Gia cried. "I can't just pick and leave like this. I have friends…Deception."
"I am sure you're boss won't mind if you take awhile to yourself. Besides if you choose to have this baby then you might not be able to keep your job…"
"What do you mean if I choose?" Gia demanded.
"I want you to keep all your options open." Florence said.
"And that is never going to be one of them." Gia said firmly. "I can't believe you even suggested it!"
"You're right." Florence admitted. "Look, honey, just make a few calls to Laura and your friends. You don't have to tell them why…you can say it's a family emergency. Please please get on that bus tomorrow to go to your cousin's."
Gia sighed. A week with her cousin might do her some good. She could get away from the disappointing tones of her mother and brother. She could think clearly and decide where she was going with this. "Alright."
Florence and Marcus both visibly relaxed. "Good." Florence said. "I'll help you pack and then get you into bed. You need the rest. I'll sleep on the couch."
"Mom…"
"Don't argue." Florence commanded.
"I'll come over in the morning to get you to the bus station." Marcus kissed her forehead, his first warm gesture towards her since she had announced her pregnancy. He kissed his mother in a similar fashion and then went back to his own apartment.
Gia called Lucky first telling him her plan. He understood and promised he wouldn't tell his mother about the pregnancy. She then talked to Laura and said she needed some time to handle a family emergency. Laura was understanding as well. She helped her mother pack some clothes. Her mother insisted on packing two suitcases and her Gia wondered how long they planned to keep her at Carrie's.
She crawled into bed an hour later and sighed. Her hand went to her abdomen. First the first time in awhile, she thought of Jason. What would he think of this mess? Would he even want anything to do with her? She figured sooner or later she would have to tell him.
****
Nikolas Cassadine got off the launch and started to walk the docks. He stopped short when he saw Jason and Sonny standing there discussing business. Both men looked up and spotted the prince. Nikolas saw no emotion on Sonny's face but he saw anger written all over Jason's. He had managed to avoid Jason for the longest time. He figured that he would end up with a pair of cement shoes if he angered Jason anymore.
He saw Sonny nod and then disappear leaving him with Jason alone on the docks. He felt a little nervous.
"Cassadine." Jason muttered.
"Jason." Nikolas answered back.
"I really don't have much to say to you." Jason began. "Elizabeth says you make her happy, so good for you. I don't understand why you had to hurt Gia though."
"So you must have heard by now." Nikolas said. He was glad that the mess was starting clean itself up. "I guess congratulations are in order."
"For what?" Jason asked confused.
"Oh, she didn't tell you." Nikolas said.
"Who?" Jason asked. "What didn't she tell me? Does this have something to do with Elizabeth?"
"No, Gia." Nikolas told him.
"What about her?"
"She's pregnant with your child." Nikolas said simply.
Jason froze as the words washed over him. Gia was pregnant? "She told you this."
Nikolas shook his head. "Taggert paid me a visit last night." He touched his jaw where he was sure a bruise was forming. "He thinks I'm the father but Gia and I were careful. Were Gia and you careful?"
Jason's face showed his anger. "That's none of your business." He already knew the answer. Neither of them were thinking that night and he knew that no protection was used. He ran his hands through his hair. "You stay away from Gia."
"I have no problem with that." Nikolas said as he walked away.
Jason was left standing on the docks looking out at the water. He was going to be a father…
****
Gia waited patiently for Lucky to pick up. She was sitting in the living room of her cousin's tiny apartment. Carrie was at one of her classes and Lance was at school right now. She had been instructed by her twenty one year old cousin to walk to the school around 3:00 to pick the little boy up. She had an hour to kill and a strong urge to call her friend. They hadn't really got to talk the night before. How could they? Her mother was breathing down her neck dictating her every move. She couldn't voice her feelings.
"Lucky Spencer."
"It's about time." Gia said jokingly. "I counted ten rings."
"I was outside." Lucky informed her. "How are you?"
"I can't believe I am back in Brooklyn." Gia sighed. "I can hear the traffic outside my window. I couldn't hear that at the Brownstone. Worst of all, being here reminds of how much my mother tried to run my life. She's doing it again."
"I take it this was her idea." Lucky said.
"You got that right. My cousin has a child and my mom wants me to see how much of a struggle it will be to raise a baby." Gia sat down on her cousin's couch and cradled the phone in her ear. "I think Mom and Marcus sent me away because they can't stand the sight of me."
"They were hard on you?" Lucky asked.
"I am officially a worse disappointment then I was before. According to Marcus, I have no more potential. And according to my mom, all her dreams for me are now up in smoke. You should have seen the looks on their faces. I never wanted to run and hide more." Gia shuddered at the memory.
"Sarah and I talked last night and we want you to know that no matter what happens we will support you every step of the way."
"Thanks Lucky." Gia was starting to feel better. Her friends tended to do that to her. "Marcus thought you were the father for a moment."
"Really." Lucky sounded shocked and Gia couldn't help but laugh. "I hope you corrected him."
"Of course I did." Gia cried. "I told him it wasn't Nikolas', it wasn't yours, and it wasn't Zander's."
"Zander?" Lucky repeated.
"Marcus was running out of names fast." Gia said. "I didn't tell them it was Jason's."
"Did you tell Jason?" Lucky asked.
Gia let out a huge sigh. "No. I went to bed and thought about it. I speak to the guy once and awhile. The conversation you saw the other day was the longest one we had since the morning after we slept together. How do you tell someone you barely know that you are carrying their child?"
"You have to tell him sooner or later." Lucky said. As much as he disliked Jason he knew that Gia had to let him know.
"I know." Gia said. "I just don't know what will happen. Will he take care of the baby? Will he tell me to get the hell out? I don't know…"
"I can tell you this about Jason. When Carly was pregnant with Michael she told everyone that the baby was Jason's. For awhile, everyone believed it and Jason helped Carly raise the baby. He was very good with Michael. He is still good with Michael." He said remembering a time where he saw his second cousin and Jason in the park not to long ago. "He'll help you Gia."
"I just need time to think." Gia admitted. She looked at the clock. "I have to go. My cousin's son goes to school a few blocks down. I have to go down and pick him up. I'll talk to you soon."
"Okay." Lucky said. "By the way, mom picked the picture that you really liked for the ad campaign."
Gia smiled a little. "Thanks for telling me. Bye."
"Bye."
Gia hung up and got her coat. She deposited the keys to apartment in her pocket and started to the school. She remembered when she was a kid and Marcus walked her to the very same school. Well, she wasn't a kid anymore, she reminded herself. In fact, she was going to have a kid of her own…
****
Sonny opened the door of his penthouse at half past three. Jason was standing there with a strange look on his face. "Jason…"
Jason didn't answer Sonny. He just walked in and sat down. After Nikolas left him on the docks he had walked around Port Charles thinking about what was said between them. Was it really true?
He had tried to locate Gia, but had no luck. He decided to come back and talk to his friends. He needed to hear what they thought.
Sonny shut the door and again said Jason's name. Carly came downstairs and noticed the looks on both her husband's and friend's faces.
"What's going on?" She questioned.
"She's pregnant." Jason muttered.
"Who?" Sonny asked. "Elizabeth?"
Carly understood. Jason had asked Carly not to say anything about Gia to Sonny and she had complied. "Gia." She corrected.
Sonny looked at his wife. "Gia? Nikolas broke up with Gia even though she's pregnant."
"Nikolas isn't the father." Jason said. "I am."
Sonny was confused now. Didn't Nikolas cheat on Gia and not the other way around? He could tell that Carly knew what was going on. "Someone want to fill me in."
"When Gia told me about Elizabeth and Nikolas we ended up sleeping together. It was a one time thing. We both decided to forget about it but now it looks like the consequences of our actions are coming back to haunt us." Jason said.
"Gia told you she was pregnant?" Carly asked coming to sit next to her friend. She could tell her was shocked.
"Nikolas did. Apparently Taggert thought the baby was his so he punched him."
"Good for Taggert." Carly said more to herself. She looked back at Jason. "Have you talked to Gia? For confirmation?"
"That's the thing…" Jason said. "I can't find Gia. I went to her place at the Brownstone and knocked on the door for awhile. No one answered and Bobbie showed up to say that Gia had a family emergency. She didn't know where she went. I can't really ask Taggert."
"Does Taggert know you're the father?" Sonny asked.
"I doubt it or he would have been over here to arrest me for something." Jason pointed out. "I don't know who else to ask but I have to know. I have to see her. We need to talk about this."
"I can find her for you." Sonny said.
Jason looked up at his friend. "Would you?"
Sonny's hand was already on the phone. "I'm on it."
Jason turned back to Carly. "I can't imagine how scared Gia must be right now."
"I wonder why she didn't tell you." Carly said.
"She and I barely know one another. I imagine she was afraid of my reaction. For all she knows I might have told her I didn't believe her." Jason said. "I told her a few times that if she needed anything that she could come to me but until she knows me better she may have trouble believing that."
Sonny hung up the phone. "I got some people looking into the airport, and bus station. If she bought a ticket from either place we should know by morning."
Jason nodded. He had an overwhelming desire to talk to Gia right away but he knew it may take some time to find her. Carly put her hand on his arm. He smiled at her, glad to have good friends.
Another knock came on the door and Sonny opened it. He was surprised to see Lucky Spencer standing there.
"Johnny said that Jason was in here." Lucky told Sonny. He walked into the penthouse, feeling uncomfortable. He didn't get along with Sonny or Jason that well. Plus, his relationship with Carly was rocky, although she was trying to improve it. "I really shouldn't be doing this. You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone where you heard this."
"Is this about Gia?" Jason asked.
Lucky nodded. "I can tell you where she is staying."
Jason stood up. "Where?"
"With her cousin, Carrie Baker, in Brooklyn." Lucky said. "I told you that because Gia's my friend. Her family isn't really being that supportive. She needs someone to help her out. And she's afraid to tell you Jason. She afraid that you might treat her like her family is."
Sonny was on the phone getting the address for Carrie Baker. Jason was putting his jacket on. As soon as he got the address he was going.
"I warning you, Jason. If you upset her I will make you pay." Lucky promised. "I only told you this because I know how you are with Michael. I know you'll do the right thing."
Sonny wrote the address on a piece of paper and handed it to Jason. He didn't even have chance to say anything. Jason was out the door.
"Thank you for telling Lucky." Carly said to her cousin. "You have no idea how much it was tearing him up not knowing where Gia was."
"I do anything for a friend." Lucky said. "I wasn't doing Jason any favors…just Gia."
****
Gia looked up as her cousin came out of her son's room. "He's asleep?"
Carrie nodded. "He told me that he had a good time with you while I was at school."
"He's a sweetheart." Gia admitted. "It isn't hard to like him."
Carrie beamed. She was glad that Lance went down early. She would have chance to talk to her cousin. "Gia…"
The model could tell by the tone of Carrie's voice what was next. "Please don't, Carrie."
"I just want you to know that the smiling face you saw today is just one side of Lance. He's not happy all the time. Some days he is so fussy I just want to walk out the door. But I can't because I am his mother and I'm all he has got." Carrie said, sitting on the couch next to her. "It's hard."
"I know. I'm not naïve." Gia shot back, feeling her defenses come up.
"You're going to have the father's help?" Carrie asked.
Gia was also suspicious. She wouldn't put it past her mother to use Carrie to get Jason's name out of her. "Can we not talk about this?" Before Carrie could answer the doorbell rang.
Carrie wondered who would show up in the evening. Gia was the closest so she went down the tiny hall to answer the door.
"Jason…" Gia breathed when she saw who it was.