Author's note: Needed to get things moving - this chapter jumps around a
lot. I may go back sometime to elaborate, but Rafe and Ali would never
have left the apartment again at the rate I was going! (not that I'd mind
that - but anyway..) Enjoy! - G
Chapter Twenty-eight
The sun was setting, casting shadows across the room. Rafe sat up in their bed, watching the TV with the sound off. Alison was curled up next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. He heard her sigh as she slept, he felt her breathing slow and even as he gently stroked her hair.
This was all they wanted. Just this.
As soon as they could get rid of the evilness that had crept in uninvited, it could be theirs for real.
Rafe closed his eyes and almost dozed off himself when the phone rang. Alison woke with a start.
"shh. Go back to sleep. I've got it." Rafe said as reached for the phone.
Alison rubbed her eyes.
"Hello?"
"Rafe - I need to speak to Alison." Elizabeth nearly snapped at him.
How could a mother and daughter be so completely different? Rafe thought. He shook his head as he spoke again.
"Hello to you too, Elizabeth."
"Please. Just put her on the phone."
"She's sleeping."
"Rafe - no. It's ok. Give me the phone." Alison said as she held out her hand.
"Hold on." he sighed as he handed it over.
"Hi." Alison yawned.
"Alison. Sweetie. I need to talk to you."
"About what, Mother? What's so important?"
Alison held a hand to her forehead. Two sentences and she was already getting a headache.
Rafe cursed himself. He could see what was happening. I should have never answered the phone in the first place. He gently rubbed Alison's neck, feeling the tension building there as he did.
"I have something very important to tell you and I need to tell you in person. Can you meet me at the hotel?"
"Now? Mother, please. Rafe and I, we've had such a horrible few days and we just want some time alone." Alison leaned back into the pillows and sighed. It never failed. Someone almost always interrupted them.
"Alison. It's important. Baby, please. I need to see you."
Alison realized if she wanted a moment's peace she'd have to deal with whatever crisis Elizabeth had concocted now. "OK. OK. OK. I'll be there in 10 minutes."
"Thanks, sweetie. I'll see you then."
Alison clicked off the phone and looked over at Rafe. He looked even more annoyed than she felt. Before she could say a word, he held up his hand and said, "Forget it. You're not going anywhere."
*********
Abby was still in shock, she could not believe it was true. She had a sister.
And it was Alison.
In an odd way, she had always known that. On some level she had always believed it. But having never had someone tell her aloud, she had buried the thought so deeply that she was stunned to hear the truth now.
It made so much sense. She had a connection to her forever, since the day she was born. It all made sense now. One thing was for sure. This new news did the impossible. It made her want to fight even harder.
She had found family again. Someone was threatening her family.
That was their first mistake.
Elizabeth had mentioned something about money, but Abby hardly paid attention. Money could be nice, but knowing that she had a sister was priceless.
Abby looked at the woman on the other end of the couch. She could see Lucy was worried. Ian was very late. He was supposed to bring Alison and Rafe here hours ago. Where was he?
She closed her eyes and tried to see if she could find him.
*************
He took a deep breath and dialed.
The phone rang, once. Twice. No one was answering.
He was just about to give up when he heard someone knock the phone off the cradle with a clang.
There was a bit of a scuffle and two angry voices mumbling before he eventually heard someone speak.
"What?" Rafe nearly yelled into the phone.
"Rafe. It's Ian."
"Ian. Hi." Rafe sighed and ran a hand over his face in frustration.
"I need to talk to you. Can you step out for a bit?"
He looked over at Alison and spoke softly. "Sure. Sure. Where do you want to meet?"
In the background Ian could hear Alison's voice rising in annoyance. "Sure. Sure." She mimicked. "I can't leave the house without a chaperone, but you, you can meet Ian any old time you like. Let me tell you something, Rafe Kovich. We don't have any children yet. If you need practice, you better take up babysitting because I won't let you keep testing your parenting skills out on me!"
Despite the mood Ian was in he nearly laughed as he spoke, "You sure you can get away?"
Rafe laughed himself as he answered, "Yes. Look. Can we meet at the Port Charles Hotel? Alison needs to meet her mother there and I think it can solve a problem I'm having at the moment if we met there too."
"I hear you, my friend. See you in a few."
***********
Livvie ran to a clearing near the villa to catch her breath.
"Caleb?" she cried out.
"Olivia. Over here" Caleb grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a tree.
She placed a hand on her side where she had gotten a cramp from running. She leaned back against the tree trunk and said, "Did you hear? We can get the antidote and the ring back. We just need to get Alison."
"That's not going to happen." Caleb replied.
"What?" Livvie gasped.
"You will not give him Alison."
"Caleb. It's what he wants. It's how we can win. I can't believe you care more about what happens to her than what we need to do to survive."
Caleb grabbed Livvie's shoulders and shook her a bit forcefully. He looked deep into her eyes as he spoke.
"Olivia. Listen to me carefully. This is not about what Joshua wants. It's about how to make him think he's in control while we pull the rug right out from under him. If you even try to hand over Alison over to Joshua, Rafe will kill you. He won't even blink, and without my powers -" Caleb shook his head, "I won't be able to do much to stop him."
"I'll stop him myself." She promised.
"He's a slayer, Olivia. He's a slayer. You will have great power someday, but you? Alone? You are no match for him."
"I killed him once before."
"Yeah? Well, so did I. Guess what? He's back. I swear, the guys got more lives than a cat. But that is not the point."
"What is the point, Caleb?"
"The point is, you need to be smarter than Joshua, which is not that hard. You need him to think you need him when all the while you're playing him for a fool. Going off and doing the first thing he bids you to do is not the way. We need to destroy him. We need to humiliate him."
"So we're back where we started?"
"No." Caleb smiled widely. "We're ahead of the game."
**********
They stepped out into the twilight, holding hands despite the fact that a moment before they had argued. As tough as Alison had just acted, she was not anxious to be outside alone. It would be too easy to fall back into Joshua's clutches.
She squeezed Rafe's hand as they stopped on the corner, waiting for the light to change. He brought their joined hands to his lips and kissed hers softly. Alison smiled up at Rafe as he did. She had been angry, but as it was every time he annoyed her, not for long. He was just trying to keep her safe. As much as it killed her to admit it, she loved that about him.
Rafe looked down at the woman he loved and smiled back. She was so stubborn. She was right. He tried to protect her - always, and sometimes he got a bit carried away. It didn't matter. He would not change. He'd always rather have her angry with him than in harms way. He could always charm his way back into her good graces anyway.
Blinded by love, he never knew what hit him. Four men came out from the shadows, two grabbed Alison, one knocked Rafe out from behind with one blow and the fourth made a phone call, to report another successful mission.
Chapter Twenty-eight
The sun was setting, casting shadows across the room. Rafe sat up in their bed, watching the TV with the sound off. Alison was curled up next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. He heard her sigh as she slept, he felt her breathing slow and even as he gently stroked her hair.
This was all they wanted. Just this.
As soon as they could get rid of the evilness that had crept in uninvited, it could be theirs for real.
Rafe closed his eyes and almost dozed off himself when the phone rang. Alison woke with a start.
"shh. Go back to sleep. I've got it." Rafe said as reached for the phone.
Alison rubbed her eyes.
"Hello?"
"Rafe - I need to speak to Alison." Elizabeth nearly snapped at him.
How could a mother and daughter be so completely different? Rafe thought. He shook his head as he spoke again.
"Hello to you too, Elizabeth."
"Please. Just put her on the phone."
"She's sleeping."
"Rafe - no. It's ok. Give me the phone." Alison said as she held out her hand.
"Hold on." he sighed as he handed it over.
"Hi." Alison yawned.
"Alison. Sweetie. I need to talk to you."
"About what, Mother? What's so important?"
Alison held a hand to her forehead. Two sentences and she was already getting a headache.
Rafe cursed himself. He could see what was happening. I should have never answered the phone in the first place. He gently rubbed Alison's neck, feeling the tension building there as he did.
"I have something very important to tell you and I need to tell you in person. Can you meet me at the hotel?"
"Now? Mother, please. Rafe and I, we've had such a horrible few days and we just want some time alone." Alison leaned back into the pillows and sighed. It never failed. Someone almost always interrupted them.
"Alison. It's important. Baby, please. I need to see you."
Alison realized if she wanted a moment's peace she'd have to deal with whatever crisis Elizabeth had concocted now. "OK. OK. OK. I'll be there in 10 minutes."
"Thanks, sweetie. I'll see you then."
Alison clicked off the phone and looked over at Rafe. He looked even more annoyed than she felt. Before she could say a word, he held up his hand and said, "Forget it. You're not going anywhere."
*********
Abby was still in shock, she could not believe it was true. She had a sister.
And it was Alison.
In an odd way, she had always known that. On some level she had always believed it. But having never had someone tell her aloud, she had buried the thought so deeply that she was stunned to hear the truth now.
It made so much sense. She had a connection to her forever, since the day she was born. It all made sense now. One thing was for sure. This new news did the impossible. It made her want to fight even harder.
She had found family again. Someone was threatening her family.
That was their first mistake.
Elizabeth had mentioned something about money, but Abby hardly paid attention. Money could be nice, but knowing that she had a sister was priceless.
Abby looked at the woman on the other end of the couch. She could see Lucy was worried. Ian was very late. He was supposed to bring Alison and Rafe here hours ago. Where was he?
She closed her eyes and tried to see if she could find him.
*************
He took a deep breath and dialed.
The phone rang, once. Twice. No one was answering.
He was just about to give up when he heard someone knock the phone off the cradle with a clang.
There was a bit of a scuffle and two angry voices mumbling before he eventually heard someone speak.
"What?" Rafe nearly yelled into the phone.
"Rafe. It's Ian."
"Ian. Hi." Rafe sighed and ran a hand over his face in frustration.
"I need to talk to you. Can you step out for a bit?"
He looked over at Alison and spoke softly. "Sure. Sure. Where do you want to meet?"
In the background Ian could hear Alison's voice rising in annoyance. "Sure. Sure." She mimicked. "I can't leave the house without a chaperone, but you, you can meet Ian any old time you like. Let me tell you something, Rafe Kovich. We don't have any children yet. If you need practice, you better take up babysitting because I won't let you keep testing your parenting skills out on me!"
Despite the mood Ian was in he nearly laughed as he spoke, "You sure you can get away?"
Rafe laughed himself as he answered, "Yes. Look. Can we meet at the Port Charles Hotel? Alison needs to meet her mother there and I think it can solve a problem I'm having at the moment if we met there too."
"I hear you, my friend. See you in a few."
***********
Livvie ran to a clearing near the villa to catch her breath.
"Caleb?" she cried out.
"Olivia. Over here" Caleb grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a tree.
She placed a hand on her side where she had gotten a cramp from running. She leaned back against the tree trunk and said, "Did you hear? We can get the antidote and the ring back. We just need to get Alison."
"That's not going to happen." Caleb replied.
"What?" Livvie gasped.
"You will not give him Alison."
"Caleb. It's what he wants. It's how we can win. I can't believe you care more about what happens to her than what we need to do to survive."
Caleb grabbed Livvie's shoulders and shook her a bit forcefully. He looked deep into her eyes as he spoke.
"Olivia. Listen to me carefully. This is not about what Joshua wants. It's about how to make him think he's in control while we pull the rug right out from under him. If you even try to hand over Alison over to Joshua, Rafe will kill you. He won't even blink, and without my powers -" Caleb shook his head, "I won't be able to do much to stop him."
"I'll stop him myself." She promised.
"He's a slayer, Olivia. He's a slayer. You will have great power someday, but you? Alone? You are no match for him."
"I killed him once before."
"Yeah? Well, so did I. Guess what? He's back. I swear, the guys got more lives than a cat. But that is not the point."
"What is the point, Caleb?"
"The point is, you need to be smarter than Joshua, which is not that hard. You need him to think you need him when all the while you're playing him for a fool. Going off and doing the first thing he bids you to do is not the way. We need to destroy him. We need to humiliate him."
"So we're back where we started?"
"No." Caleb smiled widely. "We're ahead of the game."
**********
They stepped out into the twilight, holding hands despite the fact that a moment before they had argued. As tough as Alison had just acted, she was not anxious to be outside alone. It would be too easy to fall back into Joshua's clutches.
She squeezed Rafe's hand as they stopped on the corner, waiting for the light to change. He brought their joined hands to his lips and kissed hers softly. Alison smiled up at Rafe as he did. She had been angry, but as it was every time he annoyed her, not for long. He was just trying to keep her safe. As much as it killed her to admit it, she loved that about him.
Rafe looked down at the woman he loved and smiled back. She was so stubborn. She was right. He tried to protect her - always, and sometimes he got a bit carried away. It didn't matter. He would not change. He'd always rather have her angry with him than in harms way. He could always charm his way back into her good graces anyway.
Blinded by love, he never knew what hit him. Four men came out from the shadows, two grabbed Alison, one knocked Rafe out from behind with one blow and the fourth made a phone call, to report another successful mission.