"Amazing, absolutely amazing."
"What is?" I said as I watched Harry tap at the keyboard.
"Well, Skye, among other things, I think that I found something to justify us looking into Jax's warehouse fire."
"You aren't going to leave me in suspense are you?" I said as I looked over Harry's shoulder.
"This isn't an isolated incident. Someone is out to get the guy. Each of the companies belonged to your husband and was located in different countries. Which is probably the reason that the media hasn't pieced together that there is a problem yet. From what I can tell, the same person did all the fires. It was definitely done by a professional. By the time that they get the fire out, there is nothing left."
"So someone is after Jax." I paced around the office for a few moments. Oh God, what has Jax gotten himself into? "You think that this is enough to get Frisco to send someone to look into it?"
Harry looked over at me. "On this information alone, No. However, this is where it gets more interesting. Jax wasn't the only target. Sonny Corinthos has been taking some hits lately, too."
"Oh No, you don't think that those two have started up a new episode of that old feud again. I thought that with Brenda locked up, they would have gotten over it." I groaned.
"No, I don't believe that this is about an old feud, at least not that one. Although I wouldn't be surprised if someone was trying to make it look like it was in order to make them start fighting each other. Sonny Corinthos has had two warehouse fires in South Africa and one in Europe. It's the same MO as the fires at Jax's warehouse. And then there is ELQ and the Cassadines."
"ELQ? How exactly are Ned and Grandfather involved in this?"
"Someone has been raiding their holdings."
"The Cassadines are raiding ELQ holdings?"
"No, someone is raiding both the ELQ and Cassadine holdings."
"What does corporate raiding have to do with the fires."
"No one has figured out who is doing the raiding, but the genuine consensus is that Jax is somehow responsible. Yet I have been looking into his finances. He has been to busy handling the fires to raid anyone."
"In other words, someone is trying to make everyone mad a Jax." The irony of the situation definitely wasn't lost on me. "You know, a few days ago I was so mad at Jax for defending that nitwit, Brenda, that I would have welcomed all sorts of disasters to rain down on his head. So how can I use this?"
"Here's the weird part. There is a pattern to all this. Sort of a trail." Harry clicked on the keyboard for a few minutes and brought up a map. "This is the location and dates of all the sites affected by the fires and the raiding."
"It's a spiral. They started on the outer continents and they are moving inward."
Harry nodded. "With Port Charles as it's center. Whatever is going on is moving this way. Since the last fire was in New York."
"It will probably be here soon."
"Since you're here and in one way or another you have some type of connection to all these groups."
"Just wait, I don't have a connection to the Cassadines or Sonny."
"Sure you do. Ned just about married Alexis and she is a Cassadine. Sonny is raising your nephew."
"That is stretching it a bit. I don't get it. What do all these groups have in common?" I paced the room for a few minutes. A sudden thought came to mind. "Harry, I need you to look up something else or rather someone else. Brenda Barrett, Felicia Scorpio, oh, and who else? And Roy Dilucca."
"Sure." Harry typed on the keyboard for a few minutes. After a little while he stopped and looked up at me. From the look on his face, I could tell that it wasn't good. "How did you know?"
"It was a hunch. I take it that I was right?"
"Roy Dilucca is in the hospital after an unfortunate accident. Felicia is at her Grandmother's ranch trying to save the cattle that have been poisoned. As of 3:30 this morning, Brenda is no longer with us. They are claming suicide however would assume that you have other ideas on this."
"Felicia, Roy, Corinthos and company, Alexis is a Cassadine, Ned is a Quartermaine, my husband, it's like reading off the suspect list for Luis Alcazar's murder. Did Alcazar have anyone who would want revenge for his death like say a loyal employee?
"No, any loyalty Alcazar commanded died with him. We would know if this was being done by anyone in his old organization."
"How about family?"
Harry brought up Alcazar's file. "He has a brother who is a history professor. They haven't talked in years."
"Just wait a minute. He has a wife?"
Harry nodded. "Luis married her for her connections and she married him for money. They rarely see each other anymore. They have been separated for years. The only reason that they are still married is that he needed her connections. That is also the reason that she is still alive. I can't imagine that she would care."
"Harry, is there any chance that you could find out where she is and what she is doing? I would hate to leave any stone unturned."
"I can do that. It may take a while. We stopped following her around the world years ago."
"Thanks Harry. I knew that I could count on you." I looked down at my watch.
"Skye, your coach has arrived." I smiled as I heard Sam's voice behind me. Sam turned his head toward the door. "Shall we go."
I nodded and walked out the door with him and got into the car. "You don't have to do this you know."
"I know"
"You're not obligated in any shape or form to come with me."
"Skye."
"Yes."
"Name one other person that knows what is going on with you right now."
I stayed silent. I really couldn't think of anyone that I felt comfortable confiding in. Despite the fact that Jax and I were considering reconciliation, I didn't feel conformable telling him my secrets. In fact, I don't think that I ever felt comfortable telling him my secrets. I was always scared of how he would judge anything I said. Tori was great, but for some reason I have always had trouble keeping female friends. It has always turned into a competition for attention from the men in my life. But my relationship with Tori was better than most. Probably because I had accepted that Sam was Tori's right from the start. I just got to borrow him now and then. My relationship with Sam was, well, strange. I could tell Sam anything and I knew whatever I told him wouldn't go any further than Tori and Frisco. Sam didn't judge me. I still wasn't sure if it was because he was my friend or because I was his assignment, maybe a little of both.
"I'm coming with you. I was with you for your first trip to the doctor, and I'm going to this one."
Sam drove me to the airport and sat next to me on the plane.
"Sam"
"Yes"
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Nervous?"
"Yes"
Sam took my hand into his. "It's going to be okay Skye. Whatever comes up, you will never have to worry about facing it alone. We will all back you. Sit back. Take a deep breath. And I will tell you a story."
"Are you trying to distract me?"
"Is it working?"
I smiled at Sam. "It's good to have friends."
"I'm honored that you consider me one of them." This is for everyone who may have questioned whether or not Alcazar and Skye had sex at the beginning of this story. Sorry is your not happy about the result.
I don't think that I have ever been so nervous in my life as I have been sitting here waiting for this doctor. I don't know why. It's just a check- up. He's not going to tell me anything that I don't already know. At the sound of the door opening, I turned to get my first look at the doctor.
"Good Afternoon Miss Quartermaine."
I stood up to shake his hand. "Good Afternoon Doctor. Please, call me Skye."
"Thank you for responding so swiftly to my requests for information."
"I want to thank you for finding the time to see me. I was surprised at the amount of information you requested. I believe that this is the first time anyone has ever asked me for so complete a medical history."
The doctor nodded and sat down behind his desk. "Won't you have a seat?" After I nodded and sat down, he continued. "I was trying to put together an accurate picture of your medical history. I've read all the files."
"And what is your conclusion."
"Before I go into that, I would like a little more information."
"I will of course, cooperate in anyway I can."
"That's good. First, I would like you to tell me what you know about your medical history."
I looked at him confused. "Didn't you just say that you had read my medical history."
"Yes, but I would like to hear what you know about it."
"Where would you like me to start?"
"Let's start with the accident."
"I'm embarrassed to admit that I was drunk. I ran the car into the tree. I know that I was out of it for a little while. I was told that due to the internal injuries, I wouldn't be able to have children. I know that my years of drinking haven't helped the situation. I did conceive once but I miscarried. I was recently informed that I may have miscarried another child a couple of months ago. Which is why I am here today."
"You are an alcoholic?"
I nodded. "Yes. But except for one slip a couple of months ago, I have been sober for years."
"I see here that you believe that slip corresponds with the time of the miscarriage. Without further testing, I would have to agree. You had an ultrasound at the clinic in Zurich and in the hospital after your car accident. Have you ever had one in between that time?"
I shook my head. "No, I was scheduled for one during my first pregnancy but I miscarried before it happened."
The doctor nodded. " I want to set up an ultrasound for tomorrow. I also want to do a complete blood work-up and physical. I've scheduled those with Doctor Ameth. I trust her completely and most of my patients prefer for the physical. She has a gentle touch and warm hands. She will see you right after we are done talking. I scheduled your ultrasound for tomorrow morning at nine. We will meet again at 12:00 to discuss the results. I hope you don't mind sticking around for another day.
I stood up to shake the doctor's hand. "Actually it is a relief. Thank you."
The next day.
"Good afternoon doctor."
"Good afternoon Miss Quartermaine."
"I thought I told you to call me Skye."
He nodded toward me. "Yes you did. So, Skye, would you like to take a seat."
"Yes thank you. From your expression, I'm guessing that you have good news."
"The tests showed some interesting results. They also solved some questions I had about your files and created few others that I haven't been able to solve yet. But over all, I consider what I'm about to say as good news. One of the reasons that I wanted the ultrasound done today is because there are large discrepancies from the ultrasound pictures from the Zurich and the one from after your accident."
"They were taken a decade apart. Surely that and my two miscarriages would account for the differences."
"Not to this extent. The ultrasound from a decade ago shows large amounts of scar tissue."
"Yes, that is why I can't have children. The doctor told me that I probably couldn't conceive and if I did, then I wouldn't be able to carry the child to term."
"From looking at the ultrasound picture from after the accident, I would have given you the same results. However, the ultrasounds from today and the one from the Clinic tell a different story. They show almost no scar tissue."
"I don't understand. Can something like that heal over time?"
"Not to this extent. My conclusion is that this first ultrasound picture is someone else's. Somehow it must have gotten switched with someone else's. I can't find any reason why you can't safely carry a child to term."
"But I miscarried twice?"
"Yes, but you're last miscarriage was probably due to a mixture of shock, stress, and the aftereffects of your drinking binge. As for your first miscarriage, there are many reasons why women miscarry. That is why I asked for your medical records from that period. Unfortunately the doctor assumed that your miscarriage was related to your former accident so he didn't follow through as completely as he should have."
"So I can have a child?"
"Yes, however, due to your years of drinking, you are in a higher risk group. There are some possible complications that you would want to watch out for. You will want to be sure that your regular doctor knows about them. I must stress the importance of following your doctors orders and avoid undue stress and you most definitely shouldn't drink."
"Thank you doctor. That is definitely good news." I started to get up.
"Please sit down Miss Quartermaine, I'm sorry Skye, that isn't all we found."
What else could there be? I had just been given the best news of my life. I can have a child. Oh God. Now something must be wrong. It always happens this way. Just when I get some good news, something always happens to take it away.
"Our test results show that you are pregnant. Or best estimate is that you are around four weeks along."
Oh God a baby. Oh God I'm going to have a baby. Then I came falling down to earth. Oh God, four weeks? Oh my God, whose baby is it? Four weeks, Oh hell, It could be Alcazar's or Jax's.
---
Frisco at the new headquarters in Port Charles I'm supposed to be home relaxing. That doctor probably never would have let me out of there if he had known that I would go straight from my hospital room to the office. Of course, I really didn't have much choice in the matter. I didn't have a home here to go home to. I had passed the last couple of months sleeping in the temporary offices that we had set up. Getting the site and creating the appropriate structure had taken almost all my free time.
I suppose that I could have sent another agent to find me a place. Other's had. I don't know. If I'm going to move into a place and call it my own, I sort of wanted to pick it out myself.
I had considered temporarily moving in with a member of my family. My brother only has that one room apartment. And Felicia? She is recovering from her own injuries. She needs more care than I do. The last thing she needs to worry about is me. Then there is the fact that Mac moved in to help her out and the kids. I'm not sure how I feel about that. There is a part of me that knew that Felicia had moved on with Mac and I was happy for her when I first heard the news. Somehow it was easier to be happy for Felicia when I was on another continent. I didn't have to see them. The fact that my kids are more likely to turn to him than me, well, it hurts. It's understandable. In fact, it is probably as it should be. My kids don't know me. He was there. I wasn't.
I heard a whistle at the door and saw Chris waving a piece of paper.
"What's that?"
"It's good news or it's bad news depending whose point of view you look at this from."
"How does it look from my point of view?"
"Considering you wanted Skye to keep her distance from Jax, I think that you are going to love this. I think that Skye is going to want to kick Jax's ass after reading this."
"They just made up. What could he have possible have done that is so bad that Skye is going to want to hurt him for it?"
"Well, we told you about the trouble he has been having with the fires."
"Yeah. Someone is going after Jasper Jack's holdings."
"Jax made up a list of people who have reason for wanting to hurt him."
"That makes sense. He's trying to find out who is behind it."
"Well, he has decided to take a more active role. Since he doesn't who did it. He's instructed his people to find ways to push the buttons of all the people on his list."
I started laughing. "Skye is on this list, isn't she. Jax actually suspects Skye of burning down his businesses?"
"She's number six on the list."
I took the list out of Chris's hand. "Oh yes. I can see this ticking her off on several levels. First she's going to throw a fit about being a suspect in the first place. When she calms down and realizes that Jax probably has reason to suspect her after everything he did to her, she's going to flip that she's only number six on his list." I handed the list back to Chris. "Make sure that she gets this as soon as she gets back. I don't suppose Jax has actually done anything yet?"
"Not yet, but could imply that Jax is just trying to get close to her in order to find out if she was involved with the murders."
"Not bad. Who knows, considering how he treated her before, it might be the truth."
-- On the Plane
"Skye, What's going on?" I watched as Skye put on another of those fake smiles. That smile, a few weeks ago that smile would have fooled me. I swear that woman must have practiced it in front of the mirror until she perfected it. It's just about perfect. Over the last few weeks, I've seen that smile many times. She always uses it to cover up something.
"Going on? Sam, we were just talking business. You did offer to help me come up with a plan so you could spend more time with your 'fiancée'."
"That's wife and you're not going to distract me with an argument. When I first saw you at the hospital, you looked like you were in shock. Ever since you noticed me in the lobby, you talked nonstop business. Add that to the fact that every time I bring up your doctor's visit you redirect the subject, and you have the perfect recipe for trouble."
"I think your imagination is running away from you."
"And there's the fourth's sign that something's wrong. Now you're attacking me. That's not going to work either. Are you going to tell me what happened in that office or am I going to have to ask Frisco to send someone to snoop through your medical file."
"You wouldn't, would you? Those files are private. Besides they have nothing to do with WSB business. Frisco wouldn't snoop."
"Sure he would. You are now the head of a company that fronts a WSB office. We would snoop under the assumption that your health is very much our concern."
"That sucks."
"That's life." For a moment we were both silent as I waited for her to say something. "Well?"
Skye looked out the window. "I'm pregnant." She said it so quietly that I almost didn't hear her.
I smiled with relief. "That's it? That's the big secret. A baby? That's great. You had me worried that there was something really serious going on. People have babies all the time. This is great!" Skye finally turned her head and I saw the tears running down her face. I said hesitantly, "This isn't so great?"
Skye shook her yes and then no.
"Okay, you have me confused."
"It's a mixed blessing. I thought that I couldn't have children because of an accident years ago. Now I find out that I can, but all those years that I spent drinking have put me in a higher risk category. Add in the fact that the baby was conceived at about the same time as my break up with Jax and taking down Alcazar, I don't know whose baby it is. The timing is right. Either one could be the father. I've been living so long under the assumption that it would be next to impossible for me to get pregnant that I didn't use any protection after I married Jax. That drug you gave me kept me so sluggish at the time that I can't remember if Alcazar used anything. Oh God. That drug. What kind of drug was it? What kind of side affects could it have on the baby? I was either just pregnant or I would have conceived that night. What if something is wrong with the baby because of that drug?"
"Skye, Stop. Take a deep breath. It's going to be okay."
"You don't know that. It could be very not okay."
"Either way, you can't do anything about it now. I doubt worrying about all the things that could go wrong is helping. I don't have any experience with pregnant woman but I would assume that stress is a bad thing."
"But.."
"No. No buts. Sit back, breathe deeply and try focusing on all the wonderful things that could happen."
"That's not so easy. I'm a born pessimist. I'm always looking for the things that could go wrong."
"That's no way to live life."
"It's the only way to live life. If you don't prepare yourself for the worst, it's hurts that much worse when it happens."
"Some might say that that's a self fulfilling prophecy. That if you believe the worst with happen then it will happen."
"No. From time to time, I've bought into that load of crap that if look at the world more positively then better things will come along. Jax even made me believe it for a few days. Can you imagine my surprise and shock to find out that my husband was lying to me and seeing another woman just days after he promised to love and honor me."
"So you went into full pessimistic mode."
"It's safer there."
"And lonelier."
Skye took my hand and said, "I don't know. Lately, my little pessimistic corner of this world, hasn't been that bad."
"Thank you."
"What is?" I said as I watched Harry tap at the keyboard.
"Well, Skye, among other things, I think that I found something to justify us looking into Jax's warehouse fire."
"You aren't going to leave me in suspense are you?" I said as I looked over Harry's shoulder.
"This isn't an isolated incident. Someone is out to get the guy. Each of the companies belonged to your husband and was located in different countries. Which is probably the reason that the media hasn't pieced together that there is a problem yet. From what I can tell, the same person did all the fires. It was definitely done by a professional. By the time that they get the fire out, there is nothing left."
"So someone is after Jax." I paced around the office for a few moments. Oh God, what has Jax gotten himself into? "You think that this is enough to get Frisco to send someone to look into it?"
Harry looked over at me. "On this information alone, No. However, this is where it gets more interesting. Jax wasn't the only target. Sonny Corinthos has been taking some hits lately, too."
"Oh No, you don't think that those two have started up a new episode of that old feud again. I thought that with Brenda locked up, they would have gotten over it." I groaned.
"No, I don't believe that this is about an old feud, at least not that one. Although I wouldn't be surprised if someone was trying to make it look like it was in order to make them start fighting each other. Sonny Corinthos has had two warehouse fires in South Africa and one in Europe. It's the same MO as the fires at Jax's warehouse. And then there is ELQ and the Cassadines."
"ELQ? How exactly are Ned and Grandfather involved in this?"
"Someone has been raiding their holdings."
"The Cassadines are raiding ELQ holdings?"
"No, someone is raiding both the ELQ and Cassadine holdings."
"What does corporate raiding have to do with the fires."
"No one has figured out who is doing the raiding, but the genuine consensus is that Jax is somehow responsible. Yet I have been looking into his finances. He has been to busy handling the fires to raid anyone."
"In other words, someone is trying to make everyone mad a Jax." The irony of the situation definitely wasn't lost on me. "You know, a few days ago I was so mad at Jax for defending that nitwit, Brenda, that I would have welcomed all sorts of disasters to rain down on his head. So how can I use this?"
"Here's the weird part. There is a pattern to all this. Sort of a trail." Harry clicked on the keyboard for a few minutes and brought up a map. "This is the location and dates of all the sites affected by the fires and the raiding."
"It's a spiral. They started on the outer continents and they are moving inward."
Harry nodded. "With Port Charles as it's center. Whatever is going on is moving this way. Since the last fire was in New York."
"It will probably be here soon."
"Since you're here and in one way or another you have some type of connection to all these groups."
"Just wait, I don't have a connection to the Cassadines or Sonny."
"Sure you do. Ned just about married Alexis and she is a Cassadine. Sonny is raising your nephew."
"That is stretching it a bit. I don't get it. What do all these groups have in common?" I paced the room for a few minutes. A sudden thought came to mind. "Harry, I need you to look up something else or rather someone else. Brenda Barrett, Felicia Scorpio, oh, and who else? And Roy Dilucca."
"Sure." Harry typed on the keyboard for a few minutes. After a little while he stopped and looked up at me. From the look on his face, I could tell that it wasn't good. "How did you know?"
"It was a hunch. I take it that I was right?"
"Roy Dilucca is in the hospital after an unfortunate accident. Felicia is at her Grandmother's ranch trying to save the cattle that have been poisoned. As of 3:30 this morning, Brenda is no longer with us. They are claming suicide however would assume that you have other ideas on this."
"Felicia, Roy, Corinthos and company, Alexis is a Cassadine, Ned is a Quartermaine, my husband, it's like reading off the suspect list for Luis Alcazar's murder. Did Alcazar have anyone who would want revenge for his death like say a loyal employee?
"No, any loyalty Alcazar commanded died with him. We would know if this was being done by anyone in his old organization."
"How about family?"
Harry brought up Alcazar's file. "He has a brother who is a history professor. They haven't talked in years."
"Just wait a minute. He has a wife?"
Harry nodded. "Luis married her for her connections and she married him for money. They rarely see each other anymore. They have been separated for years. The only reason that they are still married is that he needed her connections. That is also the reason that she is still alive. I can't imagine that she would care."
"Harry, is there any chance that you could find out where she is and what she is doing? I would hate to leave any stone unturned."
"I can do that. It may take a while. We stopped following her around the world years ago."
"Thanks Harry. I knew that I could count on you." I looked down at my watch.
"Skye, your coach has arrived." I smiled as I heard Sam's voice behind me. Sam turned his head toward the door. "Shall we go."
I nodded and walked out the door with him and got into the car. "You don't have to do this you know."
"I know"
"You're not obligated in any shape or form to come with me."
"Skye."
"Yes."
"Name one other person that knows what is going on with you right now."
I stayed silent. I really couldn't think of anyone that I felt comfortable confiding in. Despite the fact that Jax and I were considering reconciliation, I didn't feel conformable telling him my secrets. In fact, I don't think that I ever felt comfortable telling him my secrets. I was always scared of how he would judge anything I said. Tori was great, but for some reason I have always had trouble keeping female friends. It has always turned into a competition for attention from the men in my life. But my relationship with Tori was better than most. Probably because I had accepted that Sam was Tori's right from the start. I just got to borrow him now and then. My relationship with Sam was, well, strange. I could tell Sam anything and I knew whatever I told him wouldn't go any further than Tori and Frisco. Sam didn't judge me. I still wasn't sure if it was because he was my friend or because I was his assignment, maybe a little of both.
"I'm coming with you. I was with you for your first trip to the doctor, and I'm going to this one."
Sam drove me to the airport and sat next to me on the plane.
"Sam"
"Yes"
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Nervous?"
"Yes"
Sam took my hand into his. "It's going to be okay Skye. Whatever comes up, you will never have to worry about facing it alone. We will all back you. Sit back. Take a deep breath. And I will tell you a story."
"Are you trying to distract me?"
"Is it working?"
I smiled at Sam. "It's good to have friends."
"I'm honored that you consider me one of them." This is for everyone who may have questioned whether or not Alcazar and Skye had sex at the beginning of this story. Sorry is your not happy about the result.
I don't think that I have ever been so nervous in my life as I have been sitting here waiting for this doctor. I don't know why. It's just a check- up. He's not going to tell me anything that I don't already know. At the sound of the door opening, I turned to get my first look at the doctor.
"Good Afternoon Miss Quartermaine."
I stood up to shake his hand. "Good Afternoon Doctor. Please, call me Skye."
"Thank you for responding so swiftly to my requests for information."
"I want to thank you for finding the time to see me. I was surprised at the amount of information you requested. I believe that this is the first time anyone has ever asked me for so complete a medical history."
The doctor nodded and sat down behind his desk. "Won't you have a seat?" After I nodded and sat down, he continued. "I was trying to put together an accurate picture of your medical history. I've read all the files."
"And what is your conclusion."
"Before I go into that, I would like a little more information."
"I will of course, cooperate in anyway I can."
"That's good. First, I would like you to tell me what you know about your medical history."
I looked at him confused. "Didn't you just say that you had read my medical history."
"Yes, but I would like to hear what you know about it."
"Where would you like me to start?"
"Let's start with the accident."
"I'm embarrassed to admit that I was drunk. I ran the car into the tree. I know that I was out of it for a little while. I was told that due to the internal injuries, I wouldn't be able to have children. I know that my years of drinking haven't helped the situation. I did conceive once but I miscarried. I was recently informed that I may have miscarried another child a couple of months ago. Which is why I am here today."
"You are an alcoholic?"
I nodded. "Yes. But except for one slip a couple of months ago, I have been sober for years."
"I see here that you believe that slip corresponds with the time of the miscarriage. Without further testing, I would have to agree. You had an ultrasound at the clinic in Zurich and in the hospital after your car accident. Have you ever had one in between that time?"
I shook my head. "No, I was scheduled for one during my first pregnancy but I miscarried before it happened."
The doctor nodded. " I want to set up an ultrasound for tomorrow. I also want to do a complete blood work-up and physical. I've scheduled those with Doctor Ameth. I trust her completely and most of my patients prefer for the physical. She has a gentle touch and warm hands. She will see you right after we are done talking. I scheduled your ultrasound for tomorrow morning at nine. We will meet again at 12:00 to discuss the results. I hope you don't mind sticking around for another day.
I stood up to shake the doctor's hand. "Actually it is a relief. Thank you."
The next day.
"Good afternoon doctor."
"Good afternoon Miss Quartermaine."
"I thought I told you to call me Skye."
He nodded toward me. "Yes you did. So, Skye, would you like to take a seat."
"Yes thank you. From your expression, I'm guessing that you have good news."
"The tests showed some interesting results. They also solved some questions I had about your files and created few others that I haven't been able to solve yet. But over all, I consider what I'm about to say as good news. One of the reasons that I wanted the ultrasound done today is because there are large discrepancies from the ultrasound pictures from the Zurich and the one from after your accident."
"They were taken a decade apart. Surely that and my two miscarriages would account for the differences."
"Not to this extent. The ultrasound from a decade ago shows large amounts of scar tissue."
"Yes, that is why I can't have children. The doctor told me that I probably couldn't conceive and if I did, then I wouldn't be able to carry the child to term."
"From looking at the ultrasound picture from after the accident, I would have given you the same results. However, the ultrasounds from today and the one from the Clinic tell a different story. They show almost no scar tissue."
"I don't understand. Can something like that heal over time?"
"Not to this extent. My conclusion is that this first ultrasound picture is someone else's. Somehow it must have gotten switched with someone else's. I can't find any reason why you can't safely carry a child to term."
"But I miscarried twice?"
"Yes, but you're last miscarriage was probably due to a mixture of shock, stress, and the aftereffects of your drinking binge. As for your first miscarriage, there are many reasons why women miscarry. That is why I asked for your medical records from that period. Unfortunately the doctor assumed that your miscarriage was related to your former accident so he didn't follow through as completely as he should have."
"So I can have a child?"
"Yes, however, due to your years of drinking, you are in a higher risk group. There are some possible complications that you would want to watch out for. You will want to be sure that your regular doctor knows about them. I must stress the importance of following your doctors orders and avoid undue stress and you most definitely shouldn't drink."
"Thank you doctor. That is definitely good news." I started to get up.
"Please sit down Miss Quartermaine, I'm sorry Skye, that isn't all we found."
What else could there be? I had just been given the best news of my life. I can have a child. Oh God. Now something must be wrong. It always happens this way. Just when I get some good news, something always happens to take it away.
"Our test results show that you are pregnant. Or best estimate is that you are around four weeks along."
Oh God a baby. Oh God I'm going to have a baby. Then I came falling down to earth. Oh God, four weeks? Oh my God, whose baby is it? Four weeks, Oh hell, It could be Alcazar's or Jax's.
---
Frisco at the new headquarters in Port Charles I'm supposed to be home relaxing. That doctor probably never would have let me out of there if he had known that I would go straight from my hospital room to the office. Of course, I really didn't have much choice in the matter. I didn't have a home here to go home to. I had passed the last couple of months sleeping in the temporary offices that we had set up. Getting the site and creating the appropriate structure had taken almost all my free time.
I suppose that I could have sent another agent to find me a place. Other's had. I don't know. If I'm going to move into a place and call it my own, I sort of wanted to pick it out myself.
I had considered temporarily moving in with a member of my family. My brother only has that one room apartment. And Felicia? She is recovering from her own injuries. She needs more care than I do. The last thing she needs to worry about is me. Then there is the fact that Mac moved in to help her out and the kids. I'm not sure how I feel about that. There is a part of me that knew that Felicia had moved on with Mac and I was happy for her when I first heard the news. Somehow it was easier to be happy for Felicia when I was on another continent. I didn't have to see them. The fact that my kids are more likely to turn to him than me, well, it hurts. It's understandable. In fact, it is probably as it should be. My kids don't know me. He was there. I wasn't.
I heard a whistle at the door and saw Chris waving a piece of paper.
"What's that?"
"It's good news or it's bad news depending whose point of view you look at this from."
"How does it look from my point of view?"
"Considering you wanted Skye to keep her distance from Jax, I think that you are going to love this. I think that Skye is going to want to kick Jax's ass after reading this."
"They just made up. What could he have possible have done that is so bad that Skye is going to want to hurt him for it?"
"Well, we told you about the trouble he has been having with the fires."
"Yeah. Someone is going after Jasper Jack's holdings."
"Jax made up a list of people who have reason for wanting to hurt him."
"That makes sense. He's trying to find out who is behind it."
"Well, he has decided to take a more active role. Since he doesn't who did it. He's instructed his people to find ways to push the buttons of all the people on his list."
I started laughing. "Skye is on this list, isn't she. Jax actually suspects Skye of burning down his businesses?"
"She's number six on the list."
I took the list out of Chris's hand. "Oh yes. I can see this ticking her off on several levels. First she's going to throw a fit about being a suspect in the first place. When she calms down and realizes that Jax probably has reason to suspect her after everything he did to her, she's going to flip that she's only number six on his list." I handed the list back to Chris. "Make sure that she gets this as soon as she gets back. I don't suppose Jax has actually done anything yet?"
"Not yet, but could imply that Jax is just trying to get close to her in order to find out if she was involved with the murders."
"Not bad. Who knows, considering how he treated her before, it might be the truth."
-- On the Plane
"Skye, What's going on?" I watched as Skye put on another of those fake smiles. That smile, a few weeks ago that smile would have fooled me. I swear that woman must have practiced it in front of the mirror until she perfected it. It's just about perfect. Over the last few weeks, I've seen that smile many times. She always uses it to cover up something.
"Going on? Sam, we were just talking business. You did offer to help me come up with a plan so you could spend more time with your 'fiancée'."
"That's wife and you're not going to distract me with an argument. When I first saw you at the hospital, you looked like you were in shock. Ever since you noticed me in the lobby, you talked nonstop business. Add that to the fact that every time I bring up your doctor's visit you redirect the subject, and you have the perfect recipe for trouble."
"I think your imagination is running away from you."
"And there's the fourth's sign that something's wrong. Now you're attacking me. That's not going to work either. Are you going to tell me what happened in that office or am I going to have to ask Frisco to send someone to snoop through your medical file."
"You wouldn't, would you? Those files are private. Besides they have nothing to do with WSB business. Frisco wouldn't snoop."
"Sure he would. You are now the head of a company that fronts a WSB office. We would snoop under the assumption that your health is very much our concern."
"That sucks."
"That's life." For a moment we were both silent as I waited for her to say something. "Well?"
Skye looked out the window. "I'm pregnant." She said it so quietly that I almost didn't hear her.
I smiled with relief. "That's it? That's the big secret. A baby? That's great. You had me worried that there was something really serious going on. People have babies all the time. This is great!" Skye finally turned her head and I saw the tears running down her face. I said hesitantly, "This isn't so great?"
Skye shook her yes and then no.
"Okay, you have me confused."
"It's a mixed blessing. I thought that I couldn't have children because of an accident years ago. Now I find out that I can, but all those years that I spent drinking have put me in a higher risk category. Add in the fact that the baby was conceived at about the same time as my break up with Jax and taking down Alcazar, I don't know whose baby it is. The timing is right. Either one could be the father. I've been living so long under the assumption that it would be next to impossible for me to get pregnant that I didn't use any protection after I married Jax. That drug you gave me kept me so sluggish at the time that I can't remember if Alcazar used anything. Oh God. That drug. What kind of drug was it? What kind of side affects could it have on the baby? I was either just pregnant or I would have conceived that night. What if something is wrong with the baby because of that drug?"
"Skye, Stop. Take a deep breath. It's going to be okay."
"You don't know that. It could be very not okay."
"Either way, you can't do anything about it now. I doubt worrying about all the things that could go wrong is helping. I don't have any experience with pregnant woman but I would assume that stress is a bad thing."
"But.."
"No. No buts. Sit back, breathe deeply and try focusing on all the wonderful things that could happen."
"That's not so easy. I'm a born pessimist. I'm always looking for the things that could go wrong."
"That's no way to live life."
"It's the only way to live life. If you don't prepare yourself for the worst, it's hurts that much worse when it happens."
"Some might say that that's a self fulfilling prophecy. That if you believe the worst with happen then it will happen."
"No. From time to time, I've bought into that load of crap that if look at the world more positively then better things will come along. Jax even made me believe it for a few days. Can you imagine my surprise and shock to find out that my husband was lying to me and seeing another woman just days after he promised to love and honor me."
"So you went into full pessimistic mode."
"It's safer there."
"And lonelier."
Skye took my hand and said, "I don't know. Lately, my little pessimistic corner of this world, hasn't been that bad."
"Thank you."
