"This is impossible." Helena said to Eve. "How can she be his mother and
Stavros *not* be his father?"

Eve gave Helena a direct look. "That's something you should asked Mrs.
Spencer."

All eyes turned to Laura who stammered. "I-I thought…"

Helena glared evilly at Laura. "If Stavros was not the father then who else
did you dally with on the island?"

Luke narrowed his eyes at Helena while keeping his arm protectively around
Laura. "You better--"

Before Luke could finish his threat Nikolas spoke up. He stared at Laura as
he asked Eve, "Is this true?"

Eve nodded. "I'm sorry but the tests aren't wrong."

Helena stood up and stared down at Nikolas. "Then I no longer have need of
you. Come Andreas."

She swept out of the office with Andreas following behind. Nikolas didn't
even watch her leave. He concentrated solely on Laura. "If…if Stavros isn't
my father, then who is?"

Laura smiled. She was so happy that things were turning out all right that
she couldn't contain her joy. Nikolas was her son after all. "Who do you
think?"

Stefan stood up and rested his hand on Carly's shoulder. "I believe that it
is time for us to take our leave."

Carly frowned. "But it's getting good."

Stefan lifted his eyebrow and said simply. "Caroline."

Carly sighed. "Okay, okay. They can fill me in later."

She stood and quietly followed Stefan out of the office. She closed the
door behind them and glanced at her father.

"You know this explains why you thought Stavros had gotten Laura pregnant
fast."

Stefan nodded. "It would seem that everyone had that same conclusion."

"Would you mind making our dinner into lunch tomorrow?" Carly asked. "Now
that I know my inheritance is no longer in jeopardy, I have to go out and
celebrate."

"Of course. I'll see about releasing a statement to press about this and I
must inform your mother of this change of events."

Carly grinned. "I'm so happy I don't even care that you mentioned her!" She
kissed her father on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Stay out of the newspapers!" Stefan called out as she walked away.

She turned around and winked at him. She pulled out her cell and quickly
dialed up Jax. "Hey, Jax, my buddy. You are free tonight right?"

"I have a hot date…" He hedged.

"Hot date?" Carly scoffed. "Whatever. Listen, you and I are hitting all the
hot spots tonight. I am still and forever will be the Princess Cassadine,
baby!

Inside Eve's office they were still waiting for Laura to answer the
question. Nikolas stared desperately at her. He looked from her to Luke and
back.

Laura nodded. "It has to be. Despite what Helena thinks there were only two
men, Stavros and Luke. I must have been already pregnant when Stavros
grabbed me."

Lucky suddenly shot up out of his seat. He was visibly tense. Laura looked
up at him. "Lucky?"

"I'm going back to the house." He announced.

"No, stay, we have so much to work out right now." Laura said.

"You three have to work things out." Lucky pointed at them. "I'm going home
to fill Lulu in." Lucky didn't wait for them; he stormed out of the room.
Emily jumped up and ran after him. "Lucky, wait!"

Luke shook his head gently. "Let him go, darlin'. We have to concentrate on
this right now."

Nikolas turned to Luke. This was the man who'd threatened his life only a
few weeks ago. He said in disbelief, "You're my father?"

Luke stared into Nikolas's eyes daring him to look away. "Looks like."

Nikolas said to Eve. "I want another test. Blood test, DNA, anything you
have. He can't be my father."

"Of course he is." Laura cried. "There is no doubt in my mind that he is
your father. The DNA test proved that Stavros isn't your father so Luke
*is*."

Nikolas shook his head and said softly. "No. I won't, I won't believe it."

Laura silently watched as yet another son stood up and walked out. She
turned and buried her face in Luke's chest. "Oh Luke."

Eve cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable with this. "I'll leave and
give you two some privacy."

"No, we'll, we'll leave." Laura said softly. Luke helped her to her feet
then turned to Eve. "Thanks for all your help, doc."

"Um, no problem?" Eve said weakly. She couldn't believe the family drama
that had just been played out in her office.

Laura leaned on Luke's arm as they walked out the office. Laura raised her
eyes to Luke's. "How could this have happened? Everything was all right
just for a second. He was safe from Helena but he was still my son."

"Remind me never to bet against your instincts again." Luke muttered.

Laura allowed herself a small smile before regaining her focus. "We have to
find him. I can't just let him run out of my life like this. Luke, you have
to find him!"

Luke took her hands in his. He pressed a kiss to them. "I'll find him and
bring him home to you. Even if I have to tie him up and drag him back."

Knowing that he meant it literally Laura frowned at him. "Luke, please
don't. I know this is a lot for you to digest right now…"

"The kid's my son also." Luke said simply. "I'll deal with that later.
Right now…right now I'll see what I can do about bringing the boy home."

~*~*~

"Lucky, don't you want to talk to me about this at all?" Emily asked Lucky
as they walked up the porch steps to Laura's neighbor's house.

"I told you in the elevator and during the car ride over here, I do not
want to talk about it right now." Lucky gritted out.

Emily wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't like it when you bottle
things up."

"Just leave it alone, Emily." He snapped.

He knocked quickly on the door. After a few moments a woman answered it.
She smiled cheerfully at Lucky and Emily. "Hi, Lulu's brother, right?"

"Yeah, I'm here to pick her up." Lucky told her. "She hasn't been giving
you any trouble, has she?"

Louise shook her head. "Not at all. She told me your mother had to go to
the hospital?"

"It was nothing." Lucky quickly said.

"Well, I'll just get Lulu then." Louise said with a quick smile before
disappearing back into the house.

Emily watched Lucky worriedly as he paced on the porch. She knew how he was
feeling. Nikolas was supposed to be out of their lives after the results
came back but now it seemed that he was stuck there forever.

Lulu came back with Louise. She hugged Emily. "Hi Em!"

"Hi, Lu." Emily ran her hand over the girl's hair. "Have fun?"

"Yeah. I thought Mom was coming to get me?"

"She's still at the hospital with your dad." Emily explained.

Lulu turned to Lucky. "Lucky?"

"It's okay." He told her. He said to Louise. "Thanks again for watching
her."

He took Lulu's hand and walked her down the stairs. Emily followed behind
them at a distance. Once they got to the Spencers' porch, Lulu stopped.

"I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what happened." With her
arms folded and a mulish expression on her face she looked just like Luke.

Lucky sighed and sat down on the porch steps. "Alright, you know how Mom
and that—and Nikolas took that test to see if he was telling the truth?"

Lulu nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"Well, we found out today that he was kind of telling the truth." At Lulu's
frown Lucky said. "Nikolas is Mom's son but he's not that other guy's son."

"Huh?"

With a pained expression on his face Lucky said. "Mom *and* Dad are his
parents."

"So…he's our brother?" Lulu said. Lucky nodded. "That means you and Daddy
were wrong."

Lucky frowned. "Yeah."

"Well, it's…it's kinda cool!" Lulu grinned.

"Cool?" Lucky repeated.

"Yeah, cause now I have two big brothers." Lulu explained. "He can take me
skating when you can't, Lucky."

Lucky closed his eyes and shook his head. Of course it would seem 'cool' to
Lulu coming from that angle.

Emily walked up the stairs. "Lulu, let's do something nice for your mom,
okay?"

"She left the groceries in the living room." Lulu told her.

Emily smiled. "We'll put those away for her."

"And she got stuff to make cookies. She'd really like it if we made her
cookies." Lulu said with a grin.

Emily laughed. "Okay, we'll bake her some cookies, too. Why don't you go
and start without me."

Lulu ran into the house. Emily sat down next to Lucky. She laid her hand on
his shoulder. "I'll be inside."

"Okay."

Emily looked at Lucky. She bit her lip; not sure what to say that would
help. "Lucky, I…"

Lucky closed his eyes. "Don't start right now."

"Don't push me away." Emily said to him. "I know that things didn't turn
out the way they were supposed to--"

Lucky laughed bitterly. "That's an understatement." He jumped up. "This guy
comes in from nowhere and tears my family apart. My mom and dad are at each
other's throat. My sister doesn't know who to believe. His appearance
brought back all sorts of horrible memories for my mother. But that's okay
because he's my brother after all! I bet Dad is ecstatic about this whole
thing."

"Lucky," Emily began.

"No, there's no way to make this okay. There's nothing you can say, Emily.
There's no getting rid of him now. He'll always be here." Lucky glanced
over at her. "Of course you like that, don't you?"

Emily narrowed her eyes at him. "You might as well stop that line of
thinking right now Lucky Spencer!"

"Why, Emily? Aren't you happy to hear that my brother is sticking around?
You two can get to know each other much, much better." Lucky sneered.

Emily squeezed her eyes shut and tried to hold on to her temper.
Unfortunately she couldn't. "You're pissed off? Okay! Want to take it out
on me? Fine! After I bake cookies with *your* little sister I'll be sure to
run right out and screw your *new* big brother!"

Emily jumped up and ran inside the house. The door slammed loudly behind
her. Lucky sat back down on the steps and buried his head in his hands.

~*~*~
"So Nikolas isn't Stavros's son after all?" Barbara repeated. "But Laura is
still his mother?"

Stefan nodded patiently. "Yes."

"This means Luke has been trying to…" Barbara trailed off and shook her
head in amazement.

When Stefan had tracked her down and brought her to his office, she'd been
prepared for the worst. She didn't even want to hear what Stefan had to
say, she was more concerned about going out and finding Carly. Once Stefan
told her the whole story Barbara had to sit down.

"This changes everything." She said.

"That is a severe understatement." Stefan murmured.

"Helena!" Barbara said quickly. "What was her reaction to this?"

"Mother was not pleased. She's wasted twenty years on a Spencer."

"You don't think she's going to…"

"Go after them?" Stefan finished for her. "Possibly." He folded his arms
and looked down at her. "Why didn't you tell me everything about your
encounter with Helena while I was away."

Barbara looked away. "Carly told you?"

"Yes, and it would have been better if I'd heard it straight from you."

She shrugged. "I didn't want to worry you over nothing. It was just a
little slap. If Carly hadn't came along when she did, I would have pushed
her into the Port Charles River."

"That is not the point. She touched you." Stefan said harshly. "And she
must learn that that is not allowed."

~*~*~

Luke came into the house later that day and found a worried Laura waiting
for him. He sniffed the air. "You baking?"

"Lulu and Emily made some cookies," Laura said. "Where's Nikolas? Did you
find him?"

"I looked every where, I couldn't find him."

"Are you sure?" Laura asked worriedly. "Did you check Helena's yacht?"

Luke raised his eyebrow. "As if Helena would want him around now?"

"Don't joke right now." Laura said.

Luke rubbed the back of his neck. "I checked there, the hotel they were
staying at, even the little one room he was staying in on Courtland Street,
nothing."

Laura gasped. "He was living down there and you didn't tell me?"

Luke shot her a look. "At the time, I didn't really care where he was
staying, if you remember."

"When we do find Nikolas, I want him to move in here." Laura said quickly.
"I don't care what you think, Luke, I am not losing my…*our* son a second
time. I want him under our roof where I can watch over him. Do you know
many years I've already lost because of Helena and Stavros?"

"I've lost the same time." Luke said wearily. He walked over to the couch
and sat down. Laura came over. "It's not just you, darlin'. It's both of
us. Helena stole our first born."

"Where's my new brother?" Lulu skipped into the living room carrying a
plate of cookies.

Luke looked at her. "You're taking this pretty good then?"

"Yeah!" Lulu giggled. "I got two brothers now. My friend Susie only has one
and he's a baby. This is almost better than a puppy. Almost."

Luke and Laura shared a brief look and smile. Lulu plopped down on the
couch next to Luke. "So where is he? Mommy said you were bringing him
home."

"Sorry, princess, I couldn't find him.

Lulu frowned briefly then brightened up. "Want a cookie?"

"Thanks." Luke winked at her and took one. "You and Emily have fun?"

"Yeah but she and Lucky had a fight." Lulu whispered.

"When I came home, Lucky was up in his bedroom." Laura explained. "He
doesn't want to talk about it."

"Emily still here? I can run her home if she wants." Luke offered.

"She just left Daddy." Lulu told them. "She went through the back door."

~*~*~

Emily took a deep breath before knocking on the door. When she heard Luke
say that he couldn't find Nikolas, she knew that he would be at his old
place. Even if he weren't there when Luke checked she knew he would show up
eventually.

After her blow up with Lucky on the porch she'd refused to speak to him.
That is if he'd even bothered to try to talk to her she would have refused
to speak to him. Instead, he'd gone up to his old room and stayed there
while she put away the groceries and made cookies with Lulu.

That had made her even angrier. First he tells her that he still trusts her
and then he turns around and practically accuses her of wanting to be with
Nikolas. Even after she promised that she would stay away from him. Of
course that was before they found out he was his brother. And of course
that doesn't explain why she was standing outside Nikolas's door waiting
for him to answer.

She bit her lip and looked down at the ground. She knew she should feel
awful about what she was doing. Just the other day she told Nikolas to his
face to stay away from her and just that morning she told Lucky that she
would stay away from Nikolas. But deep inside she knew she couldn't stay
away from him. Not tonight anyway. After what happened at the hospital
today, she knew he needed a friend.

Emily knocked on the door again. She called out, "Nikolas?"

The door opened slowly. "Emily?"

"Yeah, I knocked before and…"

"I thought you were Luke." He explained. "He came through here before
looking for me."

He stepped aside and let her enter. She got to the middle of the room and
turned to face him. "You should have let him in. Laura's worried about you.
She wants you at the house."

"I can't go there tonight." He shook his head.

"Then at least call her. She needs to hear from you."

"No."

"Stop being so stubborn! Or," Emily looked at him closely, "is this all
about the fact that Luke is your father and not Stavros."

"That *man* is not my father." Nikolas denied.

Emily folded her arms. "So, this whole thing really has been about becoming
the 'Cassadine'. You don't give a damn about Laura, you just want all the
Cassadine money."

"Don't say that."

"Please, I remember you telling me about how you were going to have a lot
of money. That's why you're so upset."

"That's not it at all!" Nikolas shouted. He rubbed his face and lowered his
voice. "That's not it. Yeah, I'd like to have the Cassadine money, who
wouldn't? But--"

"But, but, but, if all you really wanted was to be with your mother, why
are you hiding out in this dump?" Emily asked.

Nikolas sat down on the bed. "It's complicated."

Emily stood over him. "Explain it to me."

Nikolas looked up at her. He narrowed his eyes as he finally realized
something. "What are you doing here?"

Emily looked away. "Um…"

"Aren't you supposed to be with *Lucky*?"

Emily rolled her eyes and said. "He needs some time alone."

"So his loss is my gain?" Nikolas grabbed her hand and pulled her towards
him. He tried to smile.

Emily lifted an eyebrow. "Stop avoiding the subject. How is it
complicated?"

He scowled, knowing she'd caught him. "I want to be there. I want to be
with my mother and my new family but…I came to America to find just my
mother. I didn't really care about anything else. Then I got mixed up with
Helena and the idea of revenge and becoming the Cassadine seemed pretty
good to me. I could find my mother *and* be rich and powerful."

"You wanted it all."

He nodded. "In my head, I had a fantasy of what it would be like after the
tests. And now…everything's changed. I don't know who I am or who I'm
supposed to be anymore."

Emily sat down next to him. "You know exactly who are you, you just now
have more family. You're Nikolas. You've always been Nikolas, even when
everyone around you, including me, was denying you that identity. And
you'll always be Nikolas. You're already used to seeing Laura as your
mother. Now you just have to deal with the fact that the rest of the
Spencers are your family too."

"If I went to that house right now, my mother is the only one who'll
welcome me with open arms. Both Luke and Lucky would rather I didn't exist
and even Lesley Lu tried to throw me out the house once!"

"Lulu is just a kid who was being influenced by her dad and brother. But
you should hear her now, she likes the idea of a new brother." Emily said
with a smile. "And Lucky…Lucky will get over it."

Nikolas shot her a look but Emily wouldn't look at him. "What about Luke?"

"You're his *son*." Emily stressed. "He won't turn you away."

"That man threatened to kill me."

Emily shrugged. "That's Luke. You were a threat to his family, to his wife.
But now you are his family and that man would die to protect you."

He snorted. "You're being too optimistic about this."

"And you are being a coward." Emily countered.

"They sent you here, didn't they? They sent you here to get me, is that
it?"

"No one knows I'm here." Emily said.

"So you came out of the goodness of your heart to convince me to go to my
mother?" Nikolas raised an eyebrow doubtfully.

"Yes." Emily said truthfully. "And I knew you probably needed a friend."

"No, you knew I needed you." He murmured. "You can't stay away no matter
what you say."

Emily sat up straight. "No. I can't ignore you now because of the test
results. You're going to my brother-in-law."

Once again Nikolas raised an eyebrow in doubt. Emily blushed. "Don't look
at me that way."

"Why?"

Emily sighed and got off the bed. "I have to go. My mother's probably
wondering where I am."

"Stay." Nikolas demanded softly.

Emily shook her head. "Call Laura."

She quickly left the room before he could stop her again.

~*~*~

Later that evening on her yacht, Helena was still agitated from the
discovery that she'd wasted her time with Nikolas. To learn after all these
years that her beloved grandson was nothing more than a Spencer was
devastating. Now there was nothing left of Stavros. But she was not going
to let his legacy stay in the hands of Stefan and his spawn.

"Andreas, bring me the phone again." She snapped.

Andreas obediently brought her the phone then faded into the background as
she made her call.

"I have been trying to reach you all day. I do not care about your other
duties. They are irrelevant now. The results were not to my liking. I want
you to eliminate my granddaughter as soon as possible. Tomorrow is soon
enough, yes. Do not disappoint me this time."

"Yes, Mother, we wouldn't want you to be disappointed again." Stefan
murmured from the doorway.

Helena glanced over her shoulder as she disconnected the call. She assumed
he hadn't heard the whole conversation for which she was grateful. "Oh,
Stefan I didn't here you slither in."

"Today you lost. Again. I suggest that you take today's loss as a sign and
leave Port Charles." Stefan said casually as he walked over to her.

"But I've grown accustomed to the place." Helena smiled. "And I so adore
being close to my family."

"Enough." Stefan said sharply. "You learned your lesson today, I hope.
Stavros is dead and there is no bringing him back. You've put the whole
family through this drama for nothing. He is Luke Spencer's son. You spent
twenty years and countless amounts of money providing for *Luke Spencer's
son. *"

Helena turned her cold eyes to him. "A minor set back."

Stefan stroked her hair and murmured. "Give it up, Mother. It's over." And
suddenly he had his hands around her throat. He applied pressure and
whispered harshly. "And if you ever touch my wife again, it'll be the last
thing you do."

Helena knew that he couldn't do anything with Andreas still in the room so
she corrected him. "Ex-wife."

Stefan slowly smiled a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He released her
and said. "Do not test me."

Helena rubbed her sore throat as she watched him exit the room. She
whispered. "You think you've won and all shall be right in the world? Come
tomorrow you're darling daughter will be dead."

~*~*~
"What are you doing here so early?" Carly grumbled as she opened the door
to her suite the next morning.

Jax was on the other side, looking disgustingly healthy in his jogging
T-shirt and shorts, and carrying a thermos. Carly on the other hand was
bleary-eyed, wearing a skimpy tank top and shorts, and her hair was ratted.
She held her hand to her forehead, the victim of an obvious hangover.

She glared at Jax. "I hate you."

"I told you to slow down last night." Jax said as he breezed in past her.
He headed for the bar and set down the thermos. He began to unscrew the
thermos top.

"I really hate you." Carly said as she closed the door and staggered over
to the couch. She collapsed onto it, face down.

"Can't handle a hangover, can you? You didn't think about that last night
when you kept calling for the shots and going, 'I'm still the Cassadine,
bring it on!'" Jax poured the contents of the thermos into a clear glass.
"I wonder if our picture will make today's newspaper again. Maybe the
afternoon edition?"

"Still hating you." Carly mumbled into the cushions.

Jax came over to the couch and knelt down. "Sit up and drink this."

Carly pushed herself up on her elbows and stared at the glass. "It's full
of green gunk."

"It'll make you feel better." Jax pressed the glass into her hand.

"There's white stuff floating in it! Are you trying to kill me, Jasper?"
Carly asked and pushed the glass back at him.

"It's the secret ingredient. This is Lady Jane's surefire hangover cure."

Carly raised an eyebrow. "Who's Lady Jane?"

"My mother. Drink it, Carly."

"And how would your mother know a hangover cure?"

Jax rocked back on his heels and laughed. "She raised me, didn't she?"

"Don't laugh that loud." Carly groaned and clutched her head.

"Sorry about that. Drink this and your head won't hurt anymore and your
stomach won't be doing that spinning thing."

"How did you know…" Carly shook her head then groaned again. "I'm not
drinking that mess. All I need is half a bottle of aspirin and some
coffee."

"You can get all that after you drink this. Of course after you drink this,
you won't need all those other things." Jax said.

Carly grimaced. "I hate it when you look all smug-like."

"It's because I'm right." Jax nodded. "Drink. Last night you wanted to
drink and now you must pay the piper."

Carly grabbed the glass from him, took a deep breath and a big swallow. She
gulped down half the glass's contents. She made a face as the aftertaste
hit. "Ugh! This is supposed to make me *feel* better?"

"It doesn't happen that quickly." Jax took the glass from her. "Hey, you
actually got down more than I usually do."

"Is that good or bad?" Carly rolled on her back and clutched her stomach.

"It's very good. How about I order me some breakfast and you a pot of
coffee?"

"Do you what want." Carly called out. "And make that two pots of coffee."

Carly closed her eyes as she listened to Jax order breakfast. Once he was
done she whispered, "Did I, did I dream about me getting up on the bar or…"

Jax's chuckle was the only answer she needed. She snapped. "Thanks for
stopping me, buddy."

"Well, now you didn't take off your top so give me some credit."

Carly started to snap at him but just as soon as she opened her mouth she
slapped her hand over it. She quickly sat up. She managed to mumble around
her hand, "I think whatever was in that cure went bad."

Before Jax could say anything she shot off the couch and ran for the
bathroom. Jax smiled and wondered if he should tell her that's exactly how
the cure worked.

~*~*~

Jax was stretched out on the couch waiting for Carly to return. A little
while ago he heard the shower being turned on. He hoped that she was
feeling better. For him, as soon as he got all the toxins out and had a
quick shower he felt better than ever. Jax was about to go see how she was
doing when there was a knock on the door.

"Room service already?" Jax said as he got up and crossed the room. He
opened the door.

Sonny glared at him, instantly recognizing him. "What the hell are you
doing here?"

Jax folded his arms and glared down at him. "I think the question is, who
the hell are *you*?"

"I don't have time for this." Sonny pushed his way past Jax and stormed
into the suite. "Caroline? Come out, Caroline! We need to talk."

Jax narrowed his eyes. Was this Sonny Corinthos? Just when he was hoping
that maybe things between him and Carly could progress, up pops one of her
exes. "You shouldn't be here."

Sonny didn't even glanced back at him when he said, "Stay out of this."

Carly came out of her bedroom wearing a white terry cloth robe and wrapping
a towel around her head. "Jax, I don't know what was in that glass but I
feel a hundred percent better. Is my coffee here?"

She stopped when she saw Sonny. "What are you doing here?"

After a whole night of trying to get in touch with her, after a whole night
of wondering if Carly was really involved with Jax, after a whole night of
thinking about just what he was going to say to her when he got a hold of
her, all Sonny could say was, "What am I doing here? What is he doing
here?"

Carly's mouth dropped open as she stared him. "What?"

"I said--"

Carly waved her hand through the air, cutting him off. "I heard what you
said, I just want to know where you get off coming in here and acting like
you have any right to say jack about who I invite into my home or not."

"Would you like me to show him the door?" Jax asked with a nasty grin. "It
would be my pleasure."

"Jax, you're not helping." Carly pinched the bridge of her nose and closed
her eyes. "Why are you even here, Sonny? I thought when you walked away the
last time you wouldn't be coming back."

Sonny didn't want to admit that it was because of that article in the
newspaper that he finally had an excuse to come back. He'd been looking for
something, any reason to talk to Carly. He was beginning to think that he'd
made a mistake.

"I'm not talking about this with him here." Sonny said instead.

"I'm not leaving her alone with you." Jax leaned against the back of the
couch to show that he wasn't going anywhere.

Sonny glared at him. "Get out."

Jax shot back. "No."

Carly shook her head. "You two boys fight about this while I go get
dressed."

Carly turned on her heel and marched towards her bedroom. Sonny and Jax
followed behind her. As soon as he got in the bedroom with her, Sonny
slammed the door on Jax.

Carly sank onto the bed and stared up at Sonny. She said softly. "You saw
the newspaper article."

He nodded.

"And you have some weird residual jealously thing going on." Carly
continued. "Don't worry, it'll pass."

Jax opened the door. "Carly--"

She shook her head. "Jax, I need a couple of minutes."

Jax looked from Sonny to her and back. He stared hard at Sonny. "I'll be
here if you need me."

Sonny waited until Jax closed the door. "You got a new guard dog."

Carly shrugged. "He's becoming a good friend."

Sonny lifted an eyebrow. "It's obvious he doesn't want to stay that."

She shrugged again. "This isn't why you came, Sonny."

Sonny nodded. "I saw the picture and it pissed me off but it also opened my
eyes."

"Did it? If you'd known that only the very next day Jason and I would break
up, you would have waited a week to dump me?" She said sarcastically.

Sonny ignored her question and said. "I don't understand why you two broke
up so suddenly."

"You want to know?" Carly got up and went over to her dresser drawer. She
pulled out the pictures and gave them to Sonny.

He flipped through them slowly. "Where did these come from?"

"Remember the Karen problem? She hired a private eye to follow me and take
pictures of us. She then gave them to Jason and poof, end of that
engagement."

"I'll--"

"Forget about it. I'm already taking care of it." Carly told him. "Don't
take any of the pictures, I'm thinking of having them framed."

"How can you even joke about this?" Sonny demanded.

"Because it's in the past and there's nothing I can do about it. Other than
get back at Karen and that plan's already in motion." Carly sighed. "And
once again, this isn't why you came over here."

Sonny tossed the pictures onto the dresser. "You want to know why I came
over?"

"Yes."

"Because I've been an idiot and I want to fix things between us."