After Sonny's statement Carly just stared at him in shock before pulling
herself back together. She sat back down on the bed and pulled the towel
from on top of her head. She twisted it in her hands.
"Well, I agree with the first part but the second part is confusing the
hell out of me." Carly told him. "What are you talking about?"
"Why do you think I'm here, Caroline? I want you back."
"And you think by coming here, waving around a picture of me and another
guy, and yelling at my guest is going to accomplish that?" Carly said
sarcastically.
Sonny sat next to her. "I know I'm doing it all wrong but I never like
admitting that I'm wrong. You should know that by now."
"Walking back into my life and simply saying that you want me back isn't
going to cut it." Carly said. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe I
don't want to get back together? It was all going to end as soon as I
married Jason anyway, so…"
"Are you trying to say you haven't thought about me once in the past few
couple of days? That you just shrugged it all off like it never happened
and went on your way?" Sonny murmured. "Some how I doubt that."
"Right, like I walked around mooning over you like I was some brokenhearted
teenager." Carly scoffed even though it was almost true. "Please."
Sonny smiled briefly. "Right."
"And even if I wanted to get back together with you so many things have
changed that it would be impossible for us to work again."
"What things?" Sonny quickly demanded. "You and Jacks aren't--"
"I already told you we weren't." Carly said.
"Then what's the problem? We're attracted to each other. I never should
have lost my temper like that. I was irrationally jealous and I was mad at
myself for wanting more than I had a right to have."
"Wow." Carly murmured. "But I was talking about our situations. I'm free
now Sonny. I'm no longer looking for some secret affair. You're still
married, Sonny, and there's no changing that."
"My wife's in Brooklyn." Sonny told her.
"And that makes things better? While I go out with you up here, your wife's
somewhere in Brooklyn wondering where you are?"
"Don't act like you give a damn about Lois because we both know you don't.
Lois and I, we have an understanding."
"An understanding?" Carly repeated. "I bet she'd love to hear her marriage
described an understanding." Carly sighed. "You wanted more Sonny and what
if, later on I decide I want more from you? I won't be satisfied with just
being your mistress. I'm not like that. And what if later you decide that
you want to be the faithful husband and there goes our relationship?"
"Nothing's ever guaranteed with any relationship." Sonny began. He paused.
He was hoping to avoid this conversation for a little whole longer. He
hadn't had a chance to get things straight with Lois. They'd been
tap-dancing around the issue for so long that neither one wanted to be the
one to actually say it. He rubbed the back of his neck as he took his time
thinking about it.
Sonny took a breath. "What Lois and I…I don't feel that it's right to
discuss my relationship with my wife with you."
"I'm not asking for the old 'my wife just doesn't understand me' routine.
Believe me, I've heard that enough times."
Sonny took another breath. "Right now things are at their breaking point in
my marriage. That's all I'm going to say."
Carly stared at him silently. She hated the fact that she was praying that
he would say that he was leaving his wife for her. She wasn't sure if she
was in love with him but she knew she missed him while they were apart and
she wanted to see where their relationship could go. But she wasn't going
to beg him to give up Lois and his kids for her and she wasn't going to
wait around and listen to empty promises.
Carly said, "You need to make a decision, Sonny. I can't be with you if
you're still married. It worked when both of us were in relationships but
it's not going to work now unless we're both free. The only way we can be
together is if you leave Lois."
Throw away a fifteen-year marriage for a possibility? Sonny shook his head
slightly and corrected himself. End a fifteen-year marriage that both
participants knew wasn't working anymore for something that would make him
happy?
Carly waited for him to say something. She'd finally laid it out on the
line and he just sat there, staring off into space. When the silence
stretched on for too long Carly stood up. "How about we just forget about
the whole thing. You go home and we'll forget this conversation ever
happened."
Sonny glanced at her. "What are you talking about?"
"You're just sitting there." She said, aggravated.
"I was thinking." He told her.
"That's good. I don't want you to jump into anything without thinking about
it." She said cautiously.
"I have to call Lois." He said.
"And?" She wished he would just tell her what he was thinking. She hated
not knowing.
"I've already made my decision. I want to be with you. Now I just have to
let Lois know. I won't tell her about you but I'm sure she's seen this
coming for awhile." Sonny told her.
"Talk to her and then call me at work." She told him. She glanced at the
clock on the nightstand. "I should have been there a half hour ago."
Sonny stood up and held his hand out to her. "Walk me to the door."
Carly took his hand and opened her bedroom door. When they walked out in
the living room she expected to see Jax waiting for them. Instead there was
just the room service cart with breakfast and Carly's coffee set up on it.
Carly frowned. "Where did Jax go?"
"Looks like he left. Good." Sonny uncovered one of the dishes to reveal a
platter of sliced fruit. He picked up a slice of kiwi and popped it in his
mouth.
"I wonder why he—" Carly caught herself. She knew exactly why he left.
"Does it matter why he's gone?" Sonny said as he continued to walk to the
door. "I don't want him hanging around you so much."
"Excuse me?" Carly lifted her eyebrow as she followed him. "You have no
right to say anything about any of my friends. Nothing's been settled yet."
Sonny cupped her face and kissed her softly. When he lifted his head, he
winked at her. "Sure it has. Don't make any plans for tonight. I'm taking
you out to dinner."
"Talk to Lois first."
Sonny shook his head. "Why are you suddenly pushing me back to my wife?"
"I just want you to be sure." Carly said.
"I'm sure, believe me, I'm sure." Sonny told her before kissing her again
quickly and leaving her suite.
Carly closed the door and leaned against it. She closed her eyes. Her
future with Sonny was about to be decided with just one phone call to his
wife. Maybe she should have insisted that he fly down to Brooklyn and talk
to Lois there. But that would just make the waiting even longer and she
knew she wouldn't be able to handle that.
~*~*~
Nikolas took a deep breath and tried to remember why he was here. He was
here because of Emily. Last night he couldn't sleep because of all the
guilt she'd laid on him. He knew he should have called first but every time
he picked up the phone he chickened out.
So he decided the best way to do this was to show up on their doorstep
announced. But he even had doubts about that plan. What should he do? Knock
on the door and say, 'Hi, Mom, hi, Dad. Miss me?' God, he hoped that Laura
was the only one home. He wouldn't be able to handle Luke and Lucky.
Nikolas pressed the doorbell before he could stop himself. He squashed the
urge to run as he waited for someone to come to the door. He could hear a
large dog barking. He frowned; there wasn't a dog there before was there?
He heard Laura as she scolded the dog, "Foster, stop that. Get back.
Foster!"
Laura opened the door a crack and peeked out. "Yes?"
"Uh, hi." Nikolas said, suddenly shy. He stuck his hands into his pockets
and stared at the ground.
Laura gasped. "Nikolas."
Not waiting for a reaction Laura opened the door further, stepped out, and
pulled him into a hug. The dog ran out past them and down the street.
This was definitely not the reaction he'd been expecting. Unsure of what to
say at her actions, Nikolas mumbled, "Your dog…"
Laura stepped back. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. What
did you say?"
"Your dog just ran away." He said lamely.
Laura shook her head. "Don't worry, Foster will come back. He always does."
"Oh, that's good." Nikolas nodded.
Suddenly realizing how absurd their conversation was, Laura laughed. "This
is…would you like to come inside?"
"Are you sure you want me in there?"
"Of course!" Laura cried. "I was so worried when you ran out of the
hospital yesterday. I thought that I wouldn't be able to find you again."
Still Nikolas hesitated, "Are Lucky and Luke in there?"
"Lucky's not but Luke's in the kitchen." Laura explained.
"Maybe I should come back another time." He said.
"No." Laura said strongly. "I'm not about to let you slip through my
fingers again. You're coming inside, right now."
Laura took him by the arm and led him into the house before he could stop
here. Her strong-armed approached surprised him but she was determined to
keep him with her.
Lulu sat on the couch watching cartoons. She turned around and stared at
him when he came in. She stood up and walked over to them.
"Sit down, please." Laura said to Nikolas. "Lulu, go into the kitchen and
get your father, will you? Tell him your brother, Nikolas, is here." Laura
smiled at Nikolas.
Lulu looked up at Nikolas, who glanced down nervously at her. To him she
was a little version of Luke and he worried about her reaction to his
intrusion on her family.
Lulu asked, "Do you know how to rollerblade?"
Nikolas glanced at Laura before shaking his head and saying, "No, I don't."
Lulu sighed and rolled her eyes as if she couldn't believe that someone
didn't know how to rollerblade. "That's okay, I'll teach you."
"Thanks?" Nikolas shrugged.
"Mom, where did Foster go?"
"Outside." Laura said distractedly. "Didn't I tell you to get Luke?"
"If Foster doesn't come back, then can we get a new puppy?" Lulu pleaded.
"No. Lulu do what I said!"
Lulu reluctantly turned and dragged her feet to the kitchen. Laura told
Nikolas, "She's been on a puppy kick for a while now."
"All kids go through that, I guess." Nikolas said.
"Did you? Did you ever want a puppy?" Laura asked softly.
Nikolas shrugged. "Probably but I never did get one."
Laura took a seat on the couch and patted a spot near her. "Please, sit
down."
"I'd like to stand for a little while, if you don't mind." Nikolas said. He
felt like he was about to jump out of his skin. Everything in the place
screamed at him, 'You aren't one of them. Leave! Leave!'
He walked over to the fireplace and stared at the family pictures littered
across the mantle. In each frame was a perfect picture of the perfect
family, he thought bitterly. There was Luke and Laura's wedding portrait.
Next to it was one of a pregnant Laura, smiling and laughing at the camera.
She was so young and obviously pregnant with Lucky. Nikolas thought of the
pictures that he had of Laura when she was pregnant with him. The contrasts
were startling, he thought, but not to be unexpected. From what he'd been
told, Laura's time on the island was not all sweetness and light. She had
no reason to be smiling and laughing while pregnant with him.
He briefly wondered if she hated the idea of him. Even though he turned out
to not be Stavros's son, he wondered if just seeing him brought back all
those awful memories for her and if she'd rather he didn't exist at all. He
quickly got rid of that thought. She wouldn't have invited him into her
home if she didn't want him around.
Laura watched him in silence. He'd been staring at the pictures for so
long. She wondered what was going on in his head. "Nikolas?"
"You have a lot of pictures." Nikolas commented as his eyes swept over the
rest of them. Luke, Laura, and a very young Lucky. Lucky holding a newborn
Lulu. Luke, Laura, Lucky, and Lulu. The perfect complete family. His
family. He wondered what Laura would do if he whipped out a pen and drew
himself in to the portrait.
"So, you finally show up." Luke said as he walked into the room. "Been
wondering where the hell you been."
Nikolas turned around. He stood up straight and stared into Luke's eyes. He
said coldly, "I had some things I needed to take care of."
"Listen buddy, you ain't the only one who had a bomb dropped on him last
night." Luke said, picking up on Nikolas's attitude. "Laura and I were
worried."
Nikolas snorted. "Right, like you give a damn. Were you worried when you
threatened to kill me if I came near my mother? Well, I'm near her now, are
you going to kill me?"
"Stop, please!" Laura said. "Don't start sniping at each other. Not now.
Nikolas, Luke, sit down. We have so much to talk about and you two going at
it isn't going to accomplish anything."
Nikolas and Luke slowly took their seats. Luke sat on the couch next to
Laura while Nikolas sat in the armchair.
"Don't expect me to call you 'Dad'." Nikolas couldn't help saying.
"Wouldn't dream of it." Luke said. "Luke is fine."
"And you can call me anything you feel comfortable with." Laura told him.
"So…" Nikolas looked at the two of them. "What do we do now?"
"I want to know everything there is to know about you." Laura said
earnestly. "There's twenty years of your life that I've missed out on. I
don't know what your first word was, when you learned to walk, what your
favorite foods are, anything. I want to know everything."
"Now darlin' I don't think there's enough time for that." Luke said. "This
isn't an interview or something. Give the boy some time to let us know
these things on his own."
"Don't do me any favors." Nikolas muttered.
"Why don't you do me one and help make this easier for all of us." Luke
said. "Drop the attitude."
"You don't want me here. You don't like me and I don't like you. So why
should I pretend that I can just slip right into your perfect little
family?"
"Perfect?" Luke snorted. "No one said that this was going to be easy but we
have to start somewhere."
"Listen to you. What is with this act?" Nikolas stood up. "A few days ago
you wanted to rip my throat out but now because of a failed DNA test you
want to be my buddy? Am I supposed to expect that your feelings about me
can change that quickly?"
"Yes." Luke said simply. "No, we're not going to have the perfect
father-son relationship overnight but things have changed. You're my...my
son."
"That's just DNA." Nikolas muttered.
"Then that's just DNA making Laura your mother." Luke snapped. "You're
right. I don't like you. You're rude, you're arrogant, and you're just like
me. But you're also family, my family, and I'm not about to shut you out."
Nikolas shook his head. "I don't buy any of this."
"Then don't. Sit down and shut up." Luke ordered him. He glared at him.
Nikolas continued standing.
Laura cleared her throat and brought their attention back to her. "Are you
two done? If so, Nikolas, sit down and Luke, please, just, just don't help
anymore."
Nikolas sighed and sat back down. Once he was settled in Laura said,
"Please, tell me something about what we missed."
"You want to know how life was for me? It was, okay, nothing spectacular. I
was an okay student in school. As a child I did normal kid things at least
that's what I thought. Mama could tell you some stories though. She swears
that half the time I came pretty close to getting myself killed with my
antics. Thank god Papa was there to get me out of some of the tougher
scrapes." Nikolas smiled slightly at the memories.
Laura repeated in a soft tone. "Mama?"
"My uh, adoptive mother in Greece, Irena Markopoulos." Nikolas explained.
He frowned when he noticed the sad look on her face.
Laura looked away. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so surprised that you call
her mother. I mean, she *was* your mother. Or rather, she still is. I'm not
going to try and replace her." Laura quickly said. "Was she and her husband
good to you?"
Nikolas nodded. "They were very good to me. Unfortunately I haven't done
the same to them lately; I'm ashamed to admit. When I left Greece to look
for you, I didn't talk to them for a few months until just a few days ago."
Luke didn't say anything. He just stared at Nikolas. He wasn't shocked or
disappointed. Laura said. "Did you know all of your life that you weren't
their child?"
Nikolas shook his head. "No, but I knew that I was different. I was always
treated different from the other kids. I always had *more* than everything
else. But they treated me right, as if I was one of their own."
Laura suddenly turned to Luke. "We have to go to Greece."
Luke didn't need any explanation. He only asked. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. I have to meet them. I have to thank that woman for taking care of my
baby." Laura's voice cracked on the word baby. A tear slipped down her
cheek. "I don't care if she was working for Helena. I have to meet her."
The sight of Laura crying made Nikolas uncomfortable. Knowing that she was
crying because of him made it worse. He started to stand up. "Maybe I
should leave."
"No!" Laura cried out. She wiped the tear away. "You can't leave."
Luke eyed Nikolas. Maybe this was all too much for one day. "He just needs
to get out of here. He'll be back. Right?"
Nikolas wanted to toss off some smart mouthed comment but he knew that that
would just make things worst so he nodded. "I'll come back. I promise."
Laura grabbed his hand. "Dinner. Promise me you'll come back for dinner
tonight."
Nikolas glanced at Luke before saying, "I don't think Luke and I should see
each other twice in one day."
"Armageddon might break out." Luke agreed. "Plan dinner for tomorrow. The
whole family can gather around the table."
"Yes, the whole family." Laura said softly as she walked with him to the
door. "And tomorrow we can discuss your living arrangements."
"My what?" Nikolas stared at her.
"Luke told me about your place on Courtland Street. Nikolas, you *can't*
stay there." She told him.
"What's wrong with it?"
"It's too dangerous down there. Drug dealers and…it's just not safe for
you. I won't have you staying there." Laura thought about it. "You can move
in here. Lucky barely uses his room anymore. He stays in the boarding house
over Kelly's, a diner that we own. You can use his room."
"Uh, that might not be a good idea." Nikolas said. Move into the Spencer
house? Him and Luke living together? Lucky dropping in at any time. God,
no.
"Too soon, darlin'." Luke drawled. "You have to ease into this. And look at
him. He's full-grown. Too old to be living with his parents. "
Laura was disappointed. She'd hoped that Nikolas would jump at the chance
to live with them but she knew Luke was right. "Are there any open rooms
over Kelly's then?"
Close proximity to Lucky? No way, Nikolas thought. "Lucky and I have some
issues so..."
"There has to be some place you can go that isn't Courtland Street." Laura
sighed. She was getting irritated. Then suddenly the answer came to her.
She smiled over at Luke. "Luke…"
Luke narrowed his eyes. He knew what she was up to. He groaned. "Woman…I
need that place."
"For what? So you can take naps? You do that in your office already." Laura
placed her hands on her hips. "I want him there. You're just going to have
to give it up."
"What are you talking about?" Nikolas asked.
"Luke has an apartment over his club. It'll be the perfect place."
"Hold on now, I don't want him to have to give up anything for me." Nikolas
said.
"He'll do it." Laura said confidently.
"Hey, I'm still here you know." Luke spoke up. "And he can have the place
if he wants it."
"I don't want it." Nikolas stressed.
"And where are you going to live then? Because if you're not living above
Luke's then you're living here." Laura said forcefully. Her son was not
going to live down on Courtland Street.
"I'll, I'll think about it." He promised.
"And you'll be here for dinner tomorrow, right?" Laura looked in his eyes.
"I'll be here." Nikolas tried to assure her.
Laura nodded and took a step towards him then stopped. She dropped her
hands back to her side. Nikolas could tell that she wanted to hug him again
but was unsure if he would let her. He moved closer to her and put his arms
around her in an awkward hug. She stood stunned for a moment before
wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly. When he moved away,
she kissed him quickly on the cheek. She smiled at him brightly and wiped
away the lipstick she'd left on him with her thumb.
"I never stop thinking about you." She whispered. "In my heart, I knew you
weren't dead."
Nikolas couldn't tell if she was being truthful or if she was just telling
him what she thought he wanted to hear. He nodded.
Luke caught his eye and Nikolas immediately said. "I'm *not* hugging you."
Luke scowled. "I'm heart broken. Really."
"We'll see you tomorrow night. Around six." Laura said. "But you can drop
in anytime before that and if you want to come back later today then you
can. The door will always be open."
"I'll remember that." Nikolas said.
"Mom!" Lulu called from the kitchen. "Telephone for you, it's Aunt Amy!"
"I should get that." Laura said. She smiled at Nikolas before going back
into the house.
When they were alone Luke stared at Nikolas. He said. "Don't break her
heart."
"Or what? You're going to kill me?" Nikolas asked. Luke continued to stare
at him. Nikolas held his gaze for a moment before nodding. "I'll try not
to."
"Good enough for me." Luke said.
"Well, that's not at all what I expected." He murmured after Luke closed
the door behind him.
Nikolas had just stepped off the porch when Lucky came walking up to the
house.
"What are you doing here?" Lucky asked.
"Visiting the family of course." Nikolas told him. "Let me tell you, it was
wonderful. They were practically throwing me a party in there! Mom and
Pop, Luke begged me to call him that, want me to move in tonight. They're
clearing out your room and everything, making space for me. Looks like
they're ready to replace you with something better."
"You're a bastard you know that?" Lucky growled.
"No." Nikolas corrected with a nasty smile. "I'm your brother. Remember?"
Lucky laughed bitterly. "We have the same parents and that's it. You'll
never be my brother."
Nikolas shook his head. "And I was so looking forward to forging a real
brother-brother relationship with you."
Lucky ignored him and stomped up the stairs. Just as he got to the door,
Nikolas called out, "I'll see you tomorrow night at the big family dinner
right? You'll bring Emily? I'd love to see her again."
Lucky turned around. "What did I tell you about Emily?"
Nikolas pretended to think about it. "Something about she's off limits?
Though how you control who she sees or doesn't see if beyond me."
"Whatever's going on in that head of yours, I want you to leave Emily out
of it." Lucky growled.
"Like we can avoid each other forever. She's marrying into my new family.
We're bound to run into each other. Hell, I might even dance with her at
the wedding." Nikolas grinned before turning and walking away, leaving
Lucky fuming on the porch.
~*~*~
Carly frowned as she approached her office. Something was off. What was it?
She could quite put her finger on it. She narrowed her eyes as she figured
it out. Where was Elizabeth?
She slowly opened the doors to her office expecting Helena to be waiting
for her. Instead all she saw was Elizabeth placing her usual coffee and
newspaper on her desk.
"Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth jerked up and looked at Carly in surprise. "Ms. Cassadine, I, I
didn't hear you come in."
"I see that." Carly murmured. "What were you doing?"
"Just putting out your coffee and newspaper." Elizabeth said with a bright
smile. But to Carly it seemed too bright. She looked away in thought. It
wasn't the fact that Elizabeth was in her office that was bothering her.
No, there was something else but Carly had a feeling it had to do with
Elizabeth. She just wasn't sure what.
"Ms. Cassadine?" Elizabeth cocked her head to the side. "Are you okay?"
Carly shook her head and cleared her thoughts. "I'm fine. You can take the
coffee away. I've already had too much this morning."
Elizabeth's smiled dimmed and she looked disappointed as she picked up the
cup. "Is there anything else?"
"Did you get in contact with a realtor?" Carly asked as she slipped into
her seat.
Elizabeth nodded. "She has a few places that you might want to look at."
"Did she mention any?"
"One was at the Harborview Towers but that's all she said."
"Schedule an appointment for me to meet with her. And sometime today run
out and pick up my dry cleaning would you? You still have the ticket
right?"
"Yes ma'am." With that Elizabeth nodded then scurried out of the office
closing the doors behind her.
Carly chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment before doing a quick
search of her desk and office. She didn't want to not trust her secretary
but there was something just a little bit off about Elizabeth this morning
and Carly was always one to trust her instincts.
Once she was satisfied that everything was just the way it was supposed to
be and that nothing was missing Carly sat back down and called Jax on his
cell.
"Jacks here."
"So you just ran out on me this morning." Carly said without preamble.
"I figured you were in good hands." Jax grumbled.
"Is that right? Cause I could have sworn you were the guy hovering over me
like a mother hen this morning."
Jax said, "Should I even ask what's going on between you and Corinthos?"
Carly sighed and on the other end of the line Jax winced. "So that's how it
goes?"
"Jax…"
"Don't." He said harshly.
"I *told* you before--"
"I know what you said." Jax paused. "I'll call you later."
"Alright then." Carly said uncertainly. She sighed when Jax hung up on her.
She hoped that this wasn't the beginning of the end of their friendship.
She then decided to call her father about the Karen file. She pulled it out
while she dialed. "Father, hi, I'm glad I caught you."
"I just issued a statement to the local newspapers about Nikolas." Stefan
told her.
"Good, good. Remember what we were talking about before we got the call
about the tests?"
Stefan frowned. "The newspaper article?"
"Not that. That horrible situation you have going on with one of the
doctors. Karen Wexler?"
"Ah, yes, that."
"Yeah, *that*." Carly repeated. "I called my man about it. He's getting
right to work and like I said, he should have the information you need in a
few days."
"Thank you." Stefan paused. "Is there anything else I should be aware of?"
"No, why do you ask?"
"You seem to have taken quite an interest in this."
"Well the hospital *is* connected to the Cassadines and it'll be bad for
not just GH but for us if it turns out to be true. We need to get this
under control as soon as possible. And besides I like helping out my
father." Carly smiled.
"Hmm." Stefan said noncommittally.
"Now don't forget we're having lunch today to talk about Deception." Carly
reminded him.
"I remember." Stefan told her. "Come to Wyndemere. I'll have Mrs. Landsbury
prepare lunch."
"Alright I'll see you then."
Three hours later Carly had just finished reading a report when Elizabeth
buzzed her. "Mr. Corinthos is on the phone for you."
Carly was silent for a moment. Well this was it. She murmured, "Thank you,
Elizabeth." She picked up the phone. "Yes?"
"Dinner tonight, right?" He said softly.
"You can't tell me this over the phone?" Carly said worriedly. Why waste
her time getting all dressed up and going to dinner if all he was going to
say was that he was staying with Lois?
"Baby, I want to have dinner with you. Our first dinner in public for
others to see us together." Sonny said slowly.
"Oh." Carly said softly as she realized what he was saying. His marriage
was over. "So you've already talked to Lois?"
"No."
"*No*?" Carly repeated. "What do you mean, 'no'?"
"She wasn't home when I called and this isn't something I'm going to do on
the answering machine."
Carly closed her eyes. She couldn't believe she was about to suggest this.
"Maybe you should wait and talk to her first."
"My mind's made up." Sonny sounded convinced. "This is the best thing for
us."
"Don't make any rash decisions without talking to her." Carly cautioned.
"I thought this was what you wanted."
"It is." Carly said. She was quiet for a moment. "But I don't want you to
rush into this and look back on it and see it as me pushing you to end your
marriage for nothing."
"This morning you talked about the possibility and now it's 'nothing'?"
Sonny's voice was strained. She was driving him nuts with this.
"I'm not saying that." God, this was a hard conversation to hold over the
phone, she thought. "What I'm saying is that I want you to do what you want
to do because you want to do it and not because I made you."
"Caroline, I want this." He growled. "I told you this morning I wanted to
be with you. My marriage has been all but over for years. Lois knows it."
Carly sighed. She didn't want to do anything stupid but… "Why don't you try
her again and then call me?"
"Why don't we have dinner tonight and I'll call her tomorrow." Sonny
suggested smoothly.
"Uh-uh, don't think you can charm your way out of this."
"I wasn't trying to be charming. I just want to see you again. I want you
to put on something pretty and I want to take you out on the town and show
you off."
Carly rolled her eyes. She muttered. "Chauvinistic pig. It's not the 1950s
anymore."
"And?" Sonny laughed softly.
"You can't charm me and you aren't going to distract me either. Call Lois
now and then call me back when you're done." Carly hung up before he could
protest.
~*~*~
Reginald knocked at Emily's door. "Emily, you have a guest in the den."
Emily twisted around in her seat and looked at him hopeful. "Is it Lucky?"
"Uh…no." Reginald said with a strange look on his face.
Emily frowned at him but followed him to the den. She knew why he was being
so mysterious when she arrived at the den. "Nikolas, what are…how did you
get in here?"
Nikolas stood up from the couch and shrugged. "I knocked on the door and
your butler back there let me in."
Emily glanced over her shoulder and saw that Reginald was hovering behind
them. He said, "Do you want me to stay?"
Emily shook her head. "It's okay, really."
Reginald watched Nikolas for a second, he lifted his eyebrow and said,
"I'll be right outside."
Emily nodded and closed the door. She turned to Nikolas. "What are you
doing here?"
Nikolas gestured to the door. "He's pretty protective of you. You seem to
inspire that in people."
"Nikolas…"
"I wanted to see you." He said. "And it's not like we have anything to
hide. I'm just visiting my sister-in-law to be. You know, if you're still
planning on going through with that."
Emily folded her arms. "It's not like you're giving me any reason not to."
Nikolas looked at her, interested. "Would you like me to?"
"Again, why are you here?"
"I went to see my mother this morning." He told her.
Emily finally smiled. "You did? How did it go?"
He shrugged. "It went fine, I guess. Luke and I managed to not get any
blood on the floor."
Emily frowned sadly. "Nikolas…"
"We're not going to have the standard father-son relationship. Luke and I
already know that. But Laura, she was really trying to reach out to me. She
wanted me to move into their house."
Emily's eyes widened. "Really? Are you going to?"
"It's way too soon for me to even think about that. They barely know me, I
barely know them."
"You guys have a long road ahead." Emily agreed.
"I think so. Laura wants me to move into an apartment over Luke's club. I
told her I'd think about it but…"
"You have to." Emily said. "You can't stay on Courtland Street. It's too
dangerous."
"I can handle it." He boasted.
"If you won't go to Luke's then stay at Kelly's." Emily said.
"Can't. Lucky stays there." Nikolas reminded her. "It's better that we stay
as far away from each other as possible. Just this morning has already
proved that."
"What did you do?"
"Why do you assume it was me?"
Before Emily could answer Reginald knocked briskly on the door then cracked
it open. "You wanted me to remind you of your appointment. If you leave
now, you'll be on time."
"Oh, I almost forgot." Emily said. "Thanks for the reminder."
"Appointment?" Nikolas asked.
"I'm supposed to meet my mother. We're meeting with a wedding coordinator."
"The wedding, right." Nikolas nodded.
"Yes, my wedding to Lucky." Emily stressed. Even though she and Lucky were
fighting again over Nikolas, this time she had no doubt that everything
would be fine in the end.
"You don't have to throw it in my face." Nikolas muttered.
"Just making sure that you don't forget." Emily said.
"How can I?" Nikolas said as he stared at the engagement ring on her
finger.
"And I want you to remember that I'm willing to be your friend and only
that."
"I'll leave with it. For now." Nikolas added with a smile.
"Emily…" Reginald opened the door again.
"I'm coming, Reginald!" Emily stared at him. He was really going too far
this time.
Reginald eyed Nikolas. He didn't trust this one. If he had to choose
between him and Lucky, he'd choose Lucky hands down. This one was trouble.
His coming to town pretending to be a long lost Cassadine was proof enough.
Nikolas took the hint. "I guess I should be going then."
"I'll see you." Emily said.
"You will. Tomorrow at Laura's. She's having a big family dinner." Nikolas
informed her. "I'm sure they consider you part of the family. It's going to
be great, I think. Lucky, you, and me all together at one table."
herself back together. She sat back down on the bed and pulled the towel
from on top of her head. She twisted it in her hands.
"Well, I agree with the first part but the second part is confusing the
hell out of me." Carly told him. "What are you talking about?"
"Why do you think I'm here, Caroline? I want you back."
"And you think by coming here, waving around a picture of me and another
guy, and yelling at my guest is going to accomplish that?" Carly said
sarcastically.
Sonny sat next to her. "I know I'm doing it all wrong but I never like
admitting that I'm wrong. You should know that by now."
"Walking back into my life and simply saying that you want me back isn't
going to cut it." Carly said. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe I
don't want to get back together? It was all going to end as soon as I
married Jason anyway, so…"
"Are you trying to say you haven't thought about me once in the past few
couple of days? That you just shrugged it all off like it never happened
and went on your way?" Sonny murmured. "Some how I doubt that."
"Right, like I walked around mooning over you like I was some brokenhearted
teenager." Carly scoffed even though it was almost true. "Please."
Sonny smiled briefly. "Right."
"And even if I wanted to get back together with you so many things have
changed that it would be impossible for us to work again."
"What things?" Sonny quickly demanded. "You and Jacks aren't--"
"I already told you we weren't." Carly said.
"Then what's the problem? We're attracted to each other. I never should
have lost my temper like that. I was irrationally jealous and I was mad at
myself for wanting more than I had a right to have."
"Wow." Carly murmured. "But I was talking about our situations. I'm free
now Sonny. I'm no longer looking for some secret affair. You're still
married, Sonny, and there's no changing that."
"My wife's in Brooklyn." Sonny told her.
"And that makes things better? While I go out with you up here, your wife's
somewhere in Brooklyn wondering where you are?"
"Don't act like you give a damn about Lois because we both know you don't.
Lois and I, we have an understanding."
"An understanding?" Carly repeated. "I bet she'd love to hear her marriage
described an understanding." Carly sighed. "You wanted more Sonny and what
if, later on I decide I want more from you? I won't be satisfied with just
being your mistress. I'm not like that. And what if later you decide that
you want to be the faithful husband and there goes our relationship?"
"Nothing's ever guaranteed with any relationship." Sonny began. He paused.
He was hoping to avoid this conversation for a little whole longer. He
hadn't had a chance to get things straight with Lois. They'd been
tap-dancing around the issue for so long that neither one wanted to be the
one to actually say it. He rubbed the back of his neck as he took his time
thinking about it.
Sonny took a breath. "What Lois and I…I don't feel that it's right to
discuss my relationship with my wife with you."
"I'm not asking for the old 'my wife just doesn't understand me' routine.
Believe me, I've heard that enough times."
Sonny took another breath. "Right now things are at their breaking point in
my marriage. That's all I'm going to say."
Carly stared at him silently. She hated the fact that she was praying that
he would say that he was leaving his wife for her. She wasn't sure if she
was in love with him but she knew she missed him while they were apart and
she wanted to see where their relationship could go. But she wasn't going
to beg him to give up Lois and his kids for her and she wasn't going to
wait around and listen to empty promises.
Carly said, "You need to make a decision, Sonny. I can't be with you if
you're still married. It worked when both of us were in relationships but
it's not going to work now unless we're both free. The only way we can be
together is if you leave Lois."
Throw away a fifteen-year marriage for a possibility? Sonny shook his head
slightly and corrected himself. End a fifteen-year marriage that both
participants knew wasn't working anymore for something that would make him
happy?
Carly waited for him to say something. She'd finally laid it out on the
line and he just sat there, staring off into space. When the silence
stretched on for too long Carly stood up. "How about we just forget about
the whole thing. You go home and we'll forget this conversation ever
happened."
Sonny glanced at her. "What are you talking about?"
"You're just sitting there." She said, aggravated.
"I was thinking." He told her.
"That's good. I don't want you to jump into anything without thinking about
it." She said cautiously.
"I have to call Lois." He said.
"And?" She wished he would just tell her what he was thinking. She hated
not knowing.
"I've already made my decision. I want to be with you. Now I just have to
let Lois know. I won't tell her about you but I'm sure she's seen this
coming for awhile." Sonny told her.
"Talk to her and then call me at work." She told him. She glanced at the
clock on the nightstand. "I should have been there a half hour ago."
Sonny stood up and held his hand out to her. "Walk me to the door."
Carly took his hand and opened her bedroom door. When they walked out in
the living room she expected to see Jax waiting for them. Instead there was
just the room service cart with breakfast and Carly's coffee set up on it.
Carly frowned. "Where did Jax go?"
"Looks like he left. Good." Sonny uncovered one of the dishes to reveal a
platter of sliced fruit. He picked up a slice of kiwi and popped it in his
mouth.
"I wonder why he—" Carly caught herself. She knew exactly why he left.
"Does it matter why he's gone?" Sonny said as he continued to walk to the
door. "I don't want him hanging around you so much."
"Excuse me?" Carly lifted her eyebrow as she followed him. "You have no
right to say anything about any of my friends. Nothing's been settled yet."
Sonny cupped her face and kissed her softly. When he lifted his head, he
winked at her. "Sure it has. Don't make any plans for tonight. I'm taking
you out to dinner."
"Talk to Lois first."
Sonny shook his head. "Why are you suddenly pushing me back to my wife?"
"I just want you to be sure." Carly said.
"I'm sure, believe me, I'm sure." Sonny told her before kissing her again
quickly and leaving her suite.
Carly closed the door and leaned against it. She closed her eyes. Her
future with Sonny was about to be decided with just one phone call to his
wife. Maybe she should have insisted that he fly down to Brooklyn and talk
to Lois there. But that would just make the waiting even longer and she
knew she wouldn't be able to handle that.
~*~*~
Nikolas took a deep breath and tried to remember why he was here. He was
here because of Emily. Last night he couldn't sleep because of all the
guilt she'd laid on him. He knew he should have called first but every time
he picked up the phone he chickened out.
So he decided the best way to do this was to show up on their doorstep
announced. But he even had doubts about that plan. What should he do? Knock
on the door and say, 'Hi, Mom, hi, Dad. Miss me?' God, he hoped that Laura
was the only one home. He wouldn't be able to handle Luke and Lucky.
Nikolas pressed the doorbell before he could stop himself. He squashed the
urge to run as he waited for someone to come to the door. He could hear a
large dog barking. He frowned; there wasn't a dog there before was there?
He heard Laura as she scolded the dog, "Foster, stop that. Get back.
Foster!"
Laura opened the door a crack and peeked out. "Yes?"
"Uh, hi." Nikolas said, suddenly shy. He stuck his hands into his pockets
and stared at the ground.
Laura gasped. "Nikolas."
Not waiting for a reaction Laura opened the door further, stepped out, and
pulled him into a hug. The dog ran out past them and down the street.
This was definitely not the reaction he'd been expecting. Unsure of what to
say at her actions, Nikolas mumbled, "Your dog…"
Laura stepped back. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. What
did you say?"
"Your dog just ran away." He said lamely.
Laura shook her head. "Don't worry, Foster will come back. He always does."
"Oh, that's good." Nikolas nodded.
Suddenly realizing how absurd their conversation was, Laura laughed. "This
is…would you like to come inside?"
"Are you sure you want me in there?"
"Of course!" Laura cried. "I was so worried when you ran out of the
hospital yesterday. I thought that I wouldn't be able to find you again."
Still Nikolas hesitated, "Are Lucky and Luke in there?"
"Lucky's not but Luke's in the kitchen." Laura explained.
"Maybe I should come back another time." He said.
"No." Laura said strongly. "I'm not about to let you slip through my
fingers again. You're coming inside, right now."
Laura took him by the arm and led him into the house before he could stop
here. Her strong-armed approached surprised him but she was determined to
keep him with her.
Lulu sat on the couch watching cartoons. She turned around and stared at
him when he came in. She stood up and walked over to them.
"Sit down, please." Laura said to Nikolas. "Lulu, go into the kitchen and
get your father, will you? Tell him your brother, Nikolas, is here." Laura
smiled at Nikolas.
Lulu looked up at Nikolas, who glanced down nervously at her. To him she
was a little version of Luke and he worried about her reaction to his
intrusion on her family.
Lulu asked, "Do you know how to rollerblade?"
Nikolas glanced at Laura before shaking his head and saying, "No, I don't."
Lulu sighed and rolled her eyes as if she couldn't believe that someone
didn't know how to rollerblade. "That's okay, I'll teach you."
"Thanks?" Nikolas shrugged.
"Mom, where did Foster go?"
"Outside." Laura said distractedly. "Didn't I tell you to get Luke?"
"If Foster doesn't come back, then can we get a new puppy?" Lulu pleaded.
"No. Lulu do what I said!"
Lulu reluctantly turned and dragged her feet to the kitchen. Laura told
Nikolas, "She's been on a puppy kick for a while now."
"All kids go through that, I guess." Nikolas said.
"Did you? Did you ever want a puppy?" Laura asked softly.
Nikolas shrugged. "Probably but I never did get one."
Laura took a seat on the couch and patted a spot near her. "Please, sit
down."
"I'd like to stand for a little while, if you don't mind." Nikolas said. He
felt like he was about to jump out of his skin. Everything in the place
screamed at him, 'You aren't one of them. Leave! Leave!'
He walked over to the fireplace and stared at the family pictures littered
across the mantle. In each frame was a perfect picture of the perfect
family, he thought bitterly. There was Luke and Laura's wedding portrait.
Next to it was one of a pregnant Laura, smiling and laughing at the camera.
She was so young and obviously pregnant with Lucky. Nikolas thought of the
pictures that he had of Laura when she was pregnant with him. The contrasts
were startling, he thought, but not to be unexpected. From what he'd been
told, Laura's time on the island was not all sweetness and light. She had
no reason to be smiling and laughing while pregnant with him.
He briefly wondered if she hated the idea of him. Even though he turned out
to not be Stavros's son, he wondered if just seeing him brought back all
those awful memories for her and if she'd rather he didn't exist at all. He
quickly got rid of that thought. She wouldn't have invited him into her
home if she didn't want him around.
Laura watched him in silence. He'd been staring at the pictures for so
long. She wondered what was going on in his head. "Nikolas?"
"You have a lot of pictures." Nikolas commented as his eyes swept over the
rest of them. Luke, Laura, and a very young Lucky. Lucky holding a newborn
Lulu. Luke, Laura, Lucky, and Lulu. The perfect complete family. His
family. He wondered what Laura would do if he whipped out a pen and drew
himself in to the portrait.
"So, you finally show up." Luke said as he walked into the room. "Been
wondering where the hell you been."
Nikolas turned around. He stood up straight and stared into Luke's eyes. He
said coldly, "I had some things I needed to take care of."
"Listen buddy, you ain't the only one who had a bomb dropped on him last
night." Luke said, picking up on Nikolas's attitude. "Laura and I were
worried."
Nikolas snorted. "Right, like you give a damn. Were you worried when you
threatened to kill me if I came near my mother? Well, I'm near her now, are
you going to kill me?"
"Stop, please!" Laura said. "Don't start sniping at each other. Not now.
Nikolas, Luke, sit down. We have so much to talk about and you two going at
it isn't going to accomplish anything."
Nikolas and Luke slowly took their seats. Luke sat on the couch next to
Laura while Nikolas sat in the armchair.
"Don't expect me to call you 'Dad'." Nikolas couldn't help saying.
"Wouldn't dream of it." Luke said. "Luke is fine."
"And you can call me anything you feel comfortable with." Laura told him.
"So…" Nikolas looked at the two of them. "What do we do now?"
"I want to know everything there is to know about you." Laura said
earnestly. "There's twenty years of your life that I've missed out on. I
don't know what your first word was, when you learned to walk, what your
favorite foods are, anything. I want to know everything."
"Now darlin' I don't think there's enough time for that." Luke said. "This
isn't an interview or something. Give the boy some time to let us know
these things on his own."
"Don't do me any favors." Nikolas muttered.
"Why don't you do me one and help make this easier for all of us." Luke
said. "Drop the attitude."
"You don't want me here. You don't like me and I don't like you. So why
should I pretend that I can just slip right into your perfect little
family?"
"Perfect?" Luke snorted. "No one said that this was going to be easy but we
have to start somewhere."
"Listen to you. What is with this act?" Nikolas stood up. "A few days ago
you wanted to rip my throat out but now because of a failed DNA test you
want to be my buddy? Am I supposed to expect that your feelings about me
can change that quickly?"
"Yes." Luke said simply. "No, we're not going to have the perfect
father-son relationship overnight but things have changed. You're my...my
son."
"That's just DNA." Nikolas muttered.
"Then that's just DNA making Laura your mother." Luke snapped. "You're
right. I don't like you. You're rude, you're arrogant, and you're just like
me. But you're also family, my family, and I'm not about to shut you out."
Nikolas shook his head. "I don't buy any of this."
"Then don't. Sit down and shut up." Luke ordered him. He glared at him.
Nikolas continued standing.
Laura cleared her throat and brought their attention back to her. "Are you
two done? If so, Nikolas, sit down and Luke, please, just, just don't help
anymore."
Nikolas sighed and sat back down. Once he was settled in Laura said,
"Please, tell me something about what we missed."
"You want to know how life was for me? It was, okay, nothing spectacular. I
was an okay student in school. As a child I did normal kid things at least
that's what I thought. Mama could tell you some stories though. She swears
that half the time I came pretty close to getting myself killed with my
antics. Thank god Papa was there to get me out of some of the tougher
scrapes." Nikolas smiled slightly at the memories.
Laura repeated in a soft tone. "Mama?"
"My uh, adoptive mother in Greece, Irena Markopoulos." Nikolas explained.
He frowned when he noticed the sad look on her face.
Laura looked away. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so surprised that you call
her mother. I mean, she *was* your mother. Or rather, she still is. I'm not
going to try and replace her." Laura quickly said. "Was she and her husband
good to you?"
Nikolas nodded. "They were very good to me. Unfortunately I haven't done
the same to them lately; I'm ashamed to admit. When I left Greece to look
for you, I didn't talk to them for a few months until just a few days ago."
Luke didn't say anything. He just stared at Nikolas. He wasn't shocked or
disappointed. Laura said. "Did you know all of your life that you weren't
their child?"
Nikolas shook his head. "No, but I knew that I was different. I was always
treated different from the other kids. I always had *more* than everything
else. But they treated me right, as if I was one of their own."
Laura suddenly turned to Luke. "We have to go to Greece."
Luke didn't need any explanation. He only asked. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. I have to meet them. I have to thank that woman for taking care of my
baby." Laura's voice cracked on the word baby. A tear slipped down her
cheek. "I don't care if she was working for Helena. I have to meet her."
The sight of Laura crying made Nikolas uncomfortable. Knowing that she was
crying because of him made it worse. He started to stand up. "Maybe I
should leave."
"No!" Laura cried out. She wiped the tear away. "You can't leave."
Luke eyed Nikolas. Maybe this was all too much for one day. "He just needs
to get out of here. He'll be back. Right?"
Nikolas wanted to toss off some smart mouthed comment but he knew that that
would just make things worst so he nodded. "I'll come back. I promise."
Laura grabbed his hand. "Dinner. Promise me you'll come back for dinner
tonight."
Nikolas glanced at Luke before saying, "I don't think Luke and I should see
each other twice in one day."
"Armageddon might break out." Luke agreed. "Plan dinner for tomorrow. The
whole family can gather around the table."
"Yes, the whole family." Laura said softly as she walked with him to the
door. "And tomorrow we can discuss your living arrangements."
"My what?" Nikolas stared at her.
"Luke told me about your place on Courtland Street. Nikolas, you *can't*
stay there." She told him.
"What's wrong with it?"
"It's too dangerous down there. Drug dealers and…it's just not safe for
you. I won't have you staying there." Laura thought about it. "You can move
in here. Lucky barely uses his room anymore. He stays in the boarding house
over Kelly's, a diner that we own. You can use his room."
"Uh, that might not be a good idea." Nikolas said. Move into the Spencer
house? Him and Luke living together? Lucky dropping in at any time. God,
no.
"Too soon, darlin'." Luke drawled. "You have to ease into this. And look at
him. He's full-grown. Too old to be living with his parents. "
Laura was disappointed. She'd hoped that Nikolas would jump at the chance
to live with them but she knew Luke was right. "Are there any open rooms
over Kelly's then?"
Close proximity to Lucky? No way, Nikolas thought. "Lucky and I have some
issues so..."
"There has to be some place you can go that isn't Courtland Street." Laura
sighed. She was getting irritated. Then suddenly the answer came to her.
She smiled over at Luke. "Luke…"
Luke narrowed his eyes. He knew what she was up to. He groaned. "Woman…I
need that place."
"For what? So you can take naps? You do that in your office already." Laura
placed her hands on her hips. "I want him there. You're just going to have
to give it up."
"What are you talking about?" Nikolas asked.
"Luke has an apartment over his club. It'll be the perfect place."
"Hold on now, I don't want him to have to give up anything for me." Nikolas
said.
"He'll do it." Laura said confidently.
"Hey, I'm still here you know." Luke spoke up. "And he can have the place
if he wants it."
"I don't want it." Nikolas stressed.
"And where are you going to live then? Because if you're not living above
Luke's then you're living here." Laura said forcefully. Her son was not
going to live down on Courtland Street.
"I'll, I'll think about it." He promised.
"And you'll be here for dinner tomorrow, right?" Laura looked in his eyes.
"I'll be here." Nikolas tried to assure her.
Laura nodded and took a step towards him then stopped. She dropped her
hands back to her side. Nikolas could tell that she wanted to hug him again
but was unsure if he would let her. He moved closer to her and put his arms
around her in an awkward hug. She stood stunned for a moment before
wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly. When he moved away,
she kissed him quickly on the cheek. She smiled at him brightly and wiped
away the lipstick she'd left on him with her thumb.
"I never stop thinking about you." She whispered. "In my heart, I knew you
weren't dead."
Nikolas couldn't tell if she was being truthful or if she was just telling
him what she thought he wanted to hear. He nodded.
Luke caught his eye and Nikolas immediately said. "I'm *not* hugging you."
Luke scowled. "I'm heart broken. Really."
"We'll see you tomorrow night. Around six." Laura said. "But you can drop
in anytime before that and if you want to come back later today then you
can. The door will always be open."
"I'll remember that." Nikolas said.
"Mom!" Lulu called from the kitchen. "Telephone for you, it's Aunt Amy!"
"I should get that." Laura said. She smiled at Nikolas before going back
into the house.
When they were alone Luke stared at Nikolas. He said. "Don't break her
heart."
"Or what? You're going to kill me?" Nikolas asked. Luke continued to stare
at him. Nikolas held his gaze for a moment before nodding. "I'll try not
to."
"Good enough for me." Luke said.
"Well, that's not at all what I expected." He murmured after Luke closed
the door behind him.
Nikolas had just stepped off the porch when Lucky came walking up to the
house.
"What are you doing here?" Lucky asked.
"Visiting the family of course." Nikolas told him. "Let me tell you, it was
wonderful. They were practically throwing me a party in there! Mom and
Pop, Luke begged me to call him that, want me to move in tonight. They're
clearing out your room and everything, making space for me. Looks like
they're ready to replace you with something better."
"You're a bastard you know that?" Lucky growled.
"No." Nikolas corrected with a nasty smile. "I'm your brother. Remember?"
Lucky laughed bitterly. "We have the same parents and that's it. You'll
never be my brother."
Nikolas shook his head. "And I was so looking forward to forging a real
brother-brother relationship with you."
Lucky ignored him and stomped up the stairs. Just as he got to the door,
Nikolas called out, "I'll see you tomorrow night at the big family dinner
right? You'll bring Emily? I'd love to see her again."
Lucky turned around. "What did I tell you about Emily?"
Nikolas pretended to think about it. "Something about she's off limits?
Though how you control who she sees or doesn't see if beyond me."
"Whatever's going on in that head of yours, I want you to leave Emily out
of it." Lucky growled.
"Like we can avoid each other forever. She's marrying into my new family.
We're bound to run into each other. Hell, I might even dance with her at
the wedding." Nikolas grinned before turning and walking away, leaving
Lucky fuming on the porch.
~*~*~
Carly frowned as she approached her office. Something was off. What was it?
She could quite put her finger on it. She narrowed her eyes as she figured
it out. Where was Elizabeth?
She slowly opened the doors to her office expecting Helena to be waiting
for her. Instead all she saw was Elizabeth placing her usual coffee and
newspaper on her desk.
"Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth jerked up and looked at Carly in surprise. "Ms. Cassadine, I, I
didn't hear you come in."
"I see that." Carly murmured. "What were you doing?"
"Just putting out your coffee and newspaper." Elizabeth said with a bright
smile. But to Carly it seemed too bright. She looked away in thought. It
wasn't the fact that Elizabeth was in her office that was bothering her.
No, there was something else but Carly had a feeling it had to do with
Elizabeth. She just wasn't sure what.
"Ms. Cassadine?" Elizabeth cocked her head to the side. "Are you okay?"
Carly shook her head and cleared her thoughts. "I'm fine. You can take the
coffee away. I've already had too much this morning."
Elizabeth's smiled dimmed and she looked disappointed as she picked up the
cup. "Is there anything else?"
"Did you get in contact with a realtor?" Carly asked as she slipped into
her seat.
Elizabeth nodded. "She has a few places that you might want to look at."
"Did she mention any?"
"One was at the Harborview Towers but that's all she said."
"Schedule an appointment for me to meet with her. And sometime today run
out and pick up my dry cleaning would you? You still have the ticket
right?"
"Yes ma'am." With that Elizabeth nodded then scurried out of the office
closing the doors behind her.
Carly chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment before doing a quick
search of her desk and office. She didn't want to not trust her secretary
but there was something just a little bit off about Elizabeth this morning
and Carly was always one to trust her instincts.
Once she was satisfied that everything was just the way it was supposed to
be and that nothing was missing Carly sat back down and called Jax on his
cell.
"Jacks here."
"So you just ran out on me this morning." Carly said without preamble.
"I figured you were in good hands." Jax grumbled.
"Is that right? Cause I could have sworn you were the guy hovering over me
like a mother hen this morning."
Jax said, "Should I even ask what's going on between you and Corinthos?"
Carly sighed and on the other end of the line Jax winced. "So that's how it
goes?"
"Jax…"
"Don't." He said harshly.
"I *told* you before--"
"I know what you said." Jax paused. "I'll call you later."
"Alright then." Carly said uncertainly. She sighed when Jax hung up on her.
She hoped that this wasn't the beginning of the end of their friendship.
She then decided to call her father about the Karen file. She pulled it out
while she dialed. "Father, hi, I'm glad I caught you."
"I just issued a statement to the local newspapers about Nikolas." Stefan
told her.
"Good, good. Remember what we were talking about before we got the call
about the tests?"
Stefan frowned. "The newspaper article?"
"Not that. That horrible situation you have going on with one of the
doctors. Karen Wexler?"
"Ah, yes, that."
"Yeah, *that*." Carly repeated. "I called my man about it. He's getting
right to work and like I said, he should have the information you need in a
few days."
"Thank you." Stefan paused. "Is there anything else I should be aware of?"
"No, why do you ask?"
"You seem to have taken quite an interest in this."
"Well the hospital *is* connected to the Cassadines and it'll be bad for
not just GH but for us if it turns out to be true. We need to get this
under control as soon as possible. And besides I like helping out my
father." Carly smiled.
"Hmm." Stefan said noncommittally.
"Now don't forget we're having lunch today to talk about Deception." Carly
reminded him.
"I remember." Stefan told her. "Come to Wyndemere. I'll have Mrs. Landsbury
prepare lunch."
"Alright I'll see you then."
Three hours later Carly had just finished reading a report when Elizabeth
buzzed her. "Mr. Corinthos is on the phone for you."
Carly was silent for a moment. Well this was it. She murmured, "Thank you,
Elizabeth." She picked up the phone. "Yes?"
"Dinner tonight, right?" He said softly.
"You can't tell me this over the phone?" Carly said worriedly. Why waste
her time getting all dressed up and going to dinner if all he was going to
say was that he was staying with Lois?
"Baby, I want to have dinner with you. Our first dinner in public for
others to see us together." Sonny said slowly.
"Oh." Carly said softly as she realized what he was saying. His marriage
was over. "So you've already talked to Lois?"
"No."
"*No*?" Carly repeated. "What do you mean, 'no'?"
"She wasn't home when I called and this isn't something I'm going to do on
the answering machine."
Carly closed her eyes. She couldn't believe she was about to suggest this.
"Maybe you should wait and talk to her first."
"My mind's made up." Sonny sounded convinced. "This is the best thing for
us."
"Don't make any rash decisions without talking to her." Carly cautioned.
"I thought this was what you wanted."
"It is." Carly said. She was quiet for a moment. "But I don't want you to
rush into this and look back on it and see it as me pushing you to end your
marriage for nothing."
"This morning you talked about the possibility and now it's 'nothing'?"
Sonny's voice was strained. She was driving him nuts with this.
"I'm not saying that." God, this was a hard conversation to hold over the
phone, she thought. "What I'm saying is that I want you to do what you want
to do because you want to do it and not because I made you."
"Caroline, I want this." He growled. "I told you this morning I wanted to
be with you. My marriage has been all but over for years. Lois knows it."
Carly sighed. She didn't want to do anything stupid but… "Why don't you try
her again and then call me?"
"Why don't we have dinner tonight and I'll call her tomorrow." Sonny
suggested smoothly.
"Uh-uh, don't think you can charm your way out of this."
"I wasn't trying to be charming. I just want to see you again. I want you
to put on something pretty and I want to take you out on the town and show
you off."
Carly rolled her eyes. She muttered. "Chauvinistic pig. It's not the 1950s
anymore."
"And?" Sonny laughed softly.
"You can't charm me and you aren't going to distract me either. Call Lois
now and then call me back when you're done." Carly hung up before he could
protest.
~*~*~
Reginald knocked at Emily's door. "Emily, you have a guest in the den."
Emily twisted around in her seat and looked at him hopeful. "Is it Lucky?"
"Uh…no." Reginald said with a strange look on his face.
Emily frowned at him but followed him to the den. She knew why he was being
so mysterious when she arrived at the den. "Nikolas, what are…how did you
get in here?"
Nikolas stood up from the couch and shrugged. "I knocked on the door and
your butler back there let me in."
Emily glanced over her shoulder and saw that Reginald was hovering behind
them. He said, "Do you want me to stay?"
Emily shook her head. "It's okay, really."
Reginald watched Nikolas for a second, he lifted his eyebrow and said,
"I'll be right outside."
Emily nodded and closed the door. She turned to Nikolas. "What are you
doing here?"
Nikolas gestured to the door. "He's pretty protective of you. You seem to
inspire that in people."
"Nikolas…"
"I wanted to see you." He said. "And it's not like we have anything to
hide. I'm just visiting my sister-in-law to be. You know, if you're still
planning on going through with that."
Emily folded her arms. "It's not like you're giving me any reason not to."
Nikolas looked at her, interested. "Would you like me to?"
"Again, why are you here?"
"I went to see my mother this morning." He told her.
Emily finally smiled. "You did? How did it go?"
He shrugged. "It went fine, I guess. Luke and I managed to not get any
blood on the floor."
Emily frowned sadly. "Nikolas…"
"We're not going to have the standard father-son relationship. Luke and I
already know that. But Laura, she was really trying to reach out to me. She
wanted me to move into their house."
Emily's eyes widened. "Really? Are you going to?"
"It's way too soon for me to even think about that. They barely know me, I
barely know them."
"You guys have a long road ahead." Emily agreed.
"I think so. Laura wants me to move into an apartment over Luke's club. I
told her I'd think about it but…"
"You have to." Emily said. "You can't stay on Courtland Street. It's too
dangerous."
"I can handle it." He boasted.
"If you won't go to Luke's then stay at Kelly's." Emily said.
"Can't. Lucky stays there." Nikolas reminded her. "It's better that we stay
as far away from each other as possible. Just this morning has already
proved that."
"What did you do?"
"Why do you assume it was me?"
Before Emily could answer Reginald knocked briskly on the door then cracked
it open. "You wanted me to remind you of your appointment. If you leave
now, you'll be on time."
"Oh, I almost forgot." Emily said. "Thanks for the reminder."
"Appointment?" Nikolas asked.
"I'm supposed to meet my mother. We're meeting with a wedding coordinator."
"The wedding, right." Nikolas nodded.
"Yes, my wedding to Lucky." Emily stressed. Even though she and Lucky were
fighting again over Nikolas, this time she had no doubt that everything
would be fine in the end.
"You don't have to throw it in my face." Nikolas muttered.
"Just making sure that you don't forget." Emily said.
"How can I?" Nikolas said as he stared at the engagement ring on her
finger.
"And I want you to remember that I'm willing to be your friend and only
that."
"I'll leave with it. For now." Nikolas added with a smile.
"Emily…" Reginald opened the door again.
"I'm coming, Reginald!" Emily stared at him. He was really going too far
this time.
Reginald eyed Nikolas. He didn't trust this one. If he had to choose
between him and Lucky, he'd choose Lucky hands down. This one was trouble.
His coming to town pretending to be a long lost Cassadine was proof enough.
Nikolas took the hint. "I guess I should be going then."
"I'll see you." Emily said.
"You will. Tomorrow at Laura's. She's having a big family dinner." Nikolas
informed her. "I'm sure they consider you part of the family. It's going to
be great, I think. Lucky, you, and me all together at one table."