A/N -- Hello, hello, hello! Surprise! You're in for a double serving this time! I worked long and hard on this part and it has been my favorite by far. I only hope you enjoy it. If something doesn't make sense please let me know right away so I can fix it. Part of this is one of my inspirational moments so I had to rack my brain to write the "filler" parts of the story. It may or may not flow well. Let me know either way, please!
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"Carly?" a soft voice cautiously asked. Carly looked up from the magazine she was reading with a smile as she saw her mother standing in the doorway. "You're awake."
"I'm awake, Momma. What brings you to my room?" Carly asked. Bobbie smiled.
"Well, it's a beautiful day out. I think I can talk the doctor into letting you take a little walk," she said. Carly grinned.
"Thank God, you're a life saver. I was about to go crazy staring at these walls or reading this damn magazine for the tenth time," she sighed. Bobbie laughed.
"You mean crazier than you already are," she corrected. Carly grinned again.
"Hey, it's not my fault I'm officially certifiable. Talk to the Quartermaines about that one," Carly pointed out. Bobbie shook her head with a grin identical to her daughters.
"It's what you get for shooting a man in open court, darling," she said. Carly bit her lip with a shameful smile.
"Yeah, well, he had it coming ten times over," she said. It was weird being able to joke around with her mother about that sometimes sore subject. Carly looked down at herself.
"Ummm, I'm not exactly presentable for a public stroll," she said. Bobbie grinned again as she held up a paper bag.
"I stole some scrubs for you," she said with a wink. Carly laughed as she reached out and took the bag.
"We're going to be a regular Thelma and Louise today, aren't we?" Bobbie cocked her head to one side.
"How so, Carly?" she asked. Carly smiled mischievously.
"You think Sonny's guards are going to let me go anywhere?" she asked. Bobbie's eyes alighted with understanding as a smile crept along her face as well.
"When will they learn that they just need to watch you – not control you?" she asked. Carly shrugged her shoulders.
"When will they learn that they can't control me?" she returned. Bobbie shook her head.
"So, what do you have in mind?" she asked her daughter as Carly slipped into the large pair of pants. Carly turned to her with a twinkle in her eye.
"Well – I'm going to need your help," she said. Bobbie sighed.
"Of course. What do you need me to do?" Bobbie couldn't help but smile knowingly, awaiting the always over-thought, elaborate Carly plan.
"Well – I'm thinking that maybe Sonny is too busy to come and see me. And if I know doctors, especially in a situation like this, there are going to be instructions that they'll want to give to the person caring for the patient when they're released," Carly started, outlining her plan. Bobbie nodded.
"I'm listening, go on," Bobbie said as she sat on the edge of the bed and watched her daughter try to get comfortable in the borrowed hospital wear.
"Well, if you could convince Dr. Meadows that the guards need to be talked to about my well-being because my husband is too busy, then I'll be left in your expert care. We'll get me out of here for a short time and be back before anyone can miss me and send out a search party," she finished with a grin. Bobbie shook her head.
"Carly …" she started. Carly's smile fell off her face as she braced herself for the coming lecture on lying. "… sometimes, you're too smart for your own good." Carly's shock turned into laughter.
"It's a curse, Momma," she said as she ushered her laughing mother to the door in order to go talk to Dr. Meadows. Bobbie braced herself on the door and turned to her daughter, her stern, 'I'm a nurse' lecture face out in full force.
"Now Carly – once we're outside, we will walk and that's it. There will be no running around, no spontaneous visits or impromptu plans. I expect you to come back here, to be safe and healing and attached to that IV for the rest of the day, understand?" she asked. Carly made a face before nodding.
"Yes, mother," she said before muttering loud enough for Bobbie to hear. "Twenty or so years of missed mothering coming to head all at one time. Learn to space it out a little, jeez." Bobbie smiled before going to find Dr. Meadows.
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"God, Momma, you'd think I haven't been outside in years," Carly said as she walked next to Bobbie. They'd walked around the hospital once before they'd made their way outside to the hospital courtyards. Bobbie laughed.
"You've only been the hospital for a day!" she exclaimed. Carly shook her head.
"You know I don't do hospitals well, Momma. They remind me of Ferncliff and of all the other times I was here," she admitted. Bobbie nodded.
"I know Carly," she said, letting silence fall for a few seconds. She found a nearby bench when she saw Carly starting to rub her back. Carly smiled, grateful for the reprieve.
"How's Michael, Carly?" Bobbie asked. Carly's smile widened.
"He's excited. He can't wait for his baby brother or sister to get here. All he can talk about is things he'll be able to do with the baby. He can't wait to be a big brother," Carly said happily as she ran a hand over his stomach. Bobbie reached over and laid her hand on top of her daughter's. For a moment, the three generations of Spencers sat. The sound of someone approaching caused both women to look up. Carly sucked in a quick breath and stood up. Bobbie followed suit, a cautious frown on her face.
"Lorenzo," Carly all but breathed out. Bobbie's eyebrow rose as she surveyed the man that her daughter couldn't seem to get out of her head. Tall, nicely dressed, serious blue eyes except – it seemed – when he looked at her daughter.
"Carly, this is a surprise," he said. He gave a quick glance up at the hospital. "Shouldn't you be up there? Resting?" Bobbie smirked as she looked out of the corner of her eye at Carly.
"I was going stir crazy," Carly said, pushing a piece of hair the breeze blew out behind her ears. Lorenzo chuckled.
"After a day?" he asked. Bobbie laughed at his observation. Carly smacked her arm before looking back to Lorenzo.
"That's what she said, too. There's a long story involved, with me and institutions," she said with a roll of her eyes.
"I'm sure there is," Lorenzo commented, looking both interested and amused. Carly shook her stare away from his as she looked at Bobbie.
"Anyways, this is my mother, Bobbie Spencer. Momma, this is Lorenzo Alcazar," Carly introduced. Bobbie reached her hand out and he took it with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Ms. Spencer. I see where your daughter gets her beauty," Lorenzo said while shaking Bobbie's hand. Bobbie smiled.
"That's a lie, but a nice lie," she said warmly. "It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Alcazar." Lorenzo smiled after realizing that she wasn't just being polite.
"No lie, I assure you," he said. He looked back to the hospital. "Shall I walk you ladies in?" Carly looked over at him quizzically as they started walking towards the building.
"What brings you to the hospital this morning?" she asked curiously.
"Meetings," was all he said. Carly frowned distastefully.
"Meetings?"
"Well, I'm a businessman," he said, looking over at the two women as they approached the doors and made their way inside. "When one venture fails, there are always others." The three of them boarded the elevator that would take them to different floors. Carly smiled at him as he looked over at her. As the elevator slowed to his floor, Lorenzo stepped quickly over to Carly, before she could react, and kissed her lightly on the cheek. He straightened and ran a hand down her arm before stepping back.
"Get some rest, Carly," he said as the doors opened, allowing him to exit. Carly's mouth dropped open, to say something, to call him back as he walked out of the doors. But nothing would come out. Carly closed her eyes, disappointed in herself.
"Well … I felt like a voyeur," Bobbie broke out after the doors had closed. Carly, shaken out of her mental self-berating, frowned over at her mother.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked. Bobbie laughed.
"Oh please Carly. Anyone in the vicinity of you two will notice that the temperature rose about twenty degrees," she said with a smile as the elevator reached Carly's floor. Carly was silent causing Bobbie to look over at her. The look on Carly's face was one of longing, hope … and a little bit of love. Bobbie shook her head. Her daughter was gone. Too bad neither one of them knew how far.
"Come on Carly. Let's get you back in bed and on the IV. You're not completely healthy yet," Bobbie said gently as she took Carly's arm and pulled her along behind her. Silence ensued for the rest of the walk.
"Momma, what am I going to do?" Carly finally asked as Bobbie had finished tucking the blankets on the bed back around her.
"About what, Carly?" she asked. The previous silence had gone on so long that Carly could have been talking about a lot of things.
"About everything. I think you were right before when you said that Sonny and I had convinced ourselves that we were happy. Lorenzo coming to Port Charles made me see that. Part of me wants to hate him for that – mainly because Sonny and I could have been fine. But I can't hate him, because it made me realize what a long, self-sacrificing road I was going down. So, I have all of these feelings and I don't really know what to do with them," she said. Bobbie reached over and took Carly's hand.
"Carly, what you need to do is sit down and really figure out your feelings for Alcazar. Then you need to ask yourself, are they strong enough that you are willing to end your marriage? I know you love Sonny, Carly. But there are different types of love. And there are certain types that are right for you and certain types that aren't. You need to figure out if Sonny's type of love is enough for you," Bobbie advised. Carly nodded.
"I know, Momma. It's just difficult and confusing," she admitted. Bobbie smiled.
"I never said it would be easy, Carly. But it might be something that you're going to need to do." Carly was silent for a minute.
"I wish it would be easy," she said miserably.
"No, you don't Carly. If it were easy, then it wouldn't be worth it," Bobbie said wisely. Carly smirked at her mother.
"You just love being right, don't you?" she asked. Bobbie laughed as the door to the room swung open.
"I see you handled the guards well," Sonny noted as he came into the room. He nodded a greeting to Bobbie. "But since your mother is here, I can only assume that you were in good company." Carly rolled her eyes.
"I sent the guards to talk to Dr. Meadows. She has appointments all day tomorrow so she won't be able set time aside to talk to you when I'm released. I figured that you'd want someone to know, and you said you'd be here in the morning – it is now almost noon. I didn't know if you had business or not. So, Momma was here to throw herself in front of a bullet if needs be since that's what you require of the people you allow in my company," Carly covered. This time, Sonny rolled his eyes.
"It's still morning, Carly," he said. Carly scoffed as she looked at the clock on the wall.
"Yeah, by five minutes," she noted. Sonny chuckled as he leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. Carly smiled slightly as he pulled away, but she knew it didn't reach her eyes.
"Are you okay?" he asked. Carly nodded.
"Yeah, I'm just – tired. You know once I get -" she started but was cut off by the ringing of Sonny's cell phone. Bobbie frowned at him as he barked a hello into it. He grinned at her quickly with a wink.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's fine. Do what needs to be done. The loose ends will be tied up soon and then we can go ahead as planned, comprende? Bueno…" he said before hanging up. He looked at Carly for a few seconds before smiling.
"Business?" she asked, knowing full well that she didn't need to. Sonny nodded.
"Yeah. I have some things that need to be straightened out. I'll be back later tonight and bring over some stuff for you for tomorrow, okay?" Carly smiled.
"Yeah, thanks," she said. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. The same cheek Lorenzo had kissed. It was almost like he knew. Carly sighed as she sat back in the bed.
"Sonny was only in here for a matter of minutes and it felt like I'd spent hours with him," she said wearily.
"I think that should tell you a lot, Carly." Carly nodded.
"I know," she said.
"Well, daughter of mine, I need to get home. Courtney is going to drop Michael by my place in a little bit," Bobbie said. Carly smiled.
"Tell my Mr. Man that mommy will be home tomorrow," she said. Bobbie nodded.
"He'll be happy to know that you're okay."
"And he was the one that helped me. He's my little hero," Carly beamed.
"I'll tell him that, too," Bobbie said as she picked up her purse. She approached Carly and gave her a hug.
"You relax tonight, okay? And you'll be out of here before you know it. If you need anything, call me right away," she reminded Carly.
"You know I will, Momma. I love you," she said with a smile as the redhead pulled back.
"I love you too, baby," she said as she smoothed Carly's hair. "Have a restful night."
"I will Momma, bye," Carly said as Bobbie left the room. With a sigh, Carly sat back and prepared to be bored for the rest of the night.
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Carly's eyes opened slowly and it took them a little while to focus in the dark. It had to be early in the morning. She'd gone to sleep around eleven and it was still dark out. Not knowing why she woke up, she looked around. Needing a glass of water for her sleep dried mouth, she climbed out of the bed only to find herself still tethered to the IV drip. With a quiet curse, she reached over, unhooked the metal stand from the bed, and began walking to the bathroom. She could hear male laughter outside the door and assumed that the guards were keeping themselves entertained. Her ears perked up when she heard her name.
" … stuck guarding Carly. It's a demotion! Three now-deceased guards were taken out because they failed to keep her out of trouble. I only hope that the Alcazar thing goes down because it will get me out of here and where the action is," one of the men said.
"The hit is serious. I've been asking around and it seems that there is more than one backer funding it. Nobody knows who, but that's run of the mill. When Alcazar goes down, there will be a scramble for his territory. The next few months should prove interesting," another man said. Carly brought a hand to her stomach, feeling a little sick. These men were casually discussing someone's murder. Someone that she knew and didn't want dead. And there was nothing that she could do – except warn him. In the morning, that is exactly what she would do.
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"Ah, home," Carly sighed as she walked in the front door of the penthouse. She set her purse on the desk and went to the couch. Sonny followed and set her stuff on the floor.
"Okay," he said as he closed the door behind them. "Here are the rules. When you are home, you will rest. Michael will stay with Bobbie for tonight to give you some time. If you have to go anywhere, you will call me to tell me and you will take a guard with you. Leticia will be with you during the day when Michael comes home tomorrow," Sonny rattled off. Carly gritted her teeth as anger took over.
"Great, Sonny. It sounds like I'm a prisoner in my own house. Thank you. I appreciate the wonderful welcome home," Carly said sarcastically. Sonny blew out a breath.
"Carly, this is for your own good, right now. I've set up a few more guards here for your safety."
"My own good? Sonny, all these guards are doing is increasing my stress level. I don't need any stress! Did you not hear the doctor?" Carly yelled.
"Carly, you are causing your own stress by not understanding what I'm doing and getting upset. All you need to do is stay here at home where the guards can watch you. You're supposed to take it easy and the best way to do that is to just stay put," Sonny explained. Carly's eyes narrowed.
"I'm supposed to take it easy, not become a bed-ridden invalid – which I'm sure you'd be more than happy to have me be," she hissed. "What about Michael? I'd like to spend some time with him, not watch as Leticia takes care of him. Is that too stressful for me?"
"Carly, you misinterpreting my intentions. Anyways, I've sent more guards over to Bobbie's as well. They'll bring him over in the morning. You also have to understand, things are happening right now that I have no control over. Everything should be okay again in a couple of days. And for your information, you are *not * a prisoner here, okay? You are free to go where you want – if you call and tell me first. Carly, all I want is for you, the baby and Michael to be completely safe," Sonny pleaded. Carly frowned at the look on her husband's face. Or completely out of the way? Where did that thought come from?
"Fine Sonny. I'll stay here, okay? Happy?" she asked. Sonny cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. He smiled down at her, dimples and all, as he pulled back.
"Completely. I'll be home a little later. We'll get a fire going, I'll make you a big healthy meal and we'll relax, okay?" he said. Carly nodded as she took his hands in hers and brought them down off of her face.
"That sounds, fine, Sonny," she said, trying to sound enthused. The smile slipped off of Sonny's face for only a fraction of a second before he brought one of her hands up and kissed it.
"Good. I'll see you then," he said before dropping her hand and going to the door. He stopped with his hand on the doorknob and turned to look at her.
"I love you," he said. She smiled.
"I love you too," she said. He grinned at her before exiting. Her own smile fell as she sat back on the couch. She'd just lied to her husband. Couldn't he see that? He was supposed to be so good at telling when she lied. But then again, it had taken her this long to realize that she had been lying to herself. As she looked out the window at the gray skies, she couldn't help but feel the worry tugging at her again.
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The afternoon had worn on slowly. To the point where Carly wanted to pull out her hair. Her anxiety had not gotten better just sitting around the penthouse. She'd had to resist the urge to call Lorenzo about a million times to see if he was all right – among other things. But Sonny would find out. There was a lot more that she needed to say to Lorenzo than 'I'm sorry'. It had taken her all morning of debating with herself and thinking to come to that conclusion. At least one good thing had come from Sonny's version of house arrest. She'd figured out what she wanted. Even though that conclusion took a significant weight off her shoulders, she still couldn't help feeling that something bad was going to happen. The hit is serious – When Alcazar goes down, there'll be a scramble for his territory. The words she'd heard before rang through her head. Something was going to happen. And the way Sonny was taking extra precautions, it could be something very big. Anything very big concerning Lorenzo was bound to be nothing good. Her baby must have felt the sudden wave of anxiety because there was a sudden kick to her abdomen. Carly closed her eyes and rubbed her belly know that she needed to get to Lorenzo.
"Come on, baby. We need to find some reassurance," she said as she stood up. She opened the door to the penthouse quietly and peeked out. The guard appeared to be taking something to Courtney and Jason's place. Taking advantage of the preoccupation, Carly closed the door quietly and went down the opposite hallway. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed. She knew that if Sonny found out about what she was going to do, there'd be hell to pay. But if the unease in the pit of her stomach had anything to say, it would be worth it. The person on the other end of the phone finally picked up.
"Hello?"
"Momma!" Carly said into her phone as she raced down the hallway towards the stairwell.
"Good heavens, Carly. Where's the fire?" Bobbie answered her daughter.
"Momma, I don't have time for small talk. I need you to listen. If Sonny calls looking for me, tell him that I am with you and Michael and that I'm busy," she said as she raced down the stairs. She'd given the guard the slip by not going to the elevator.
"Carly, you know full well what lying to your husband -" Bobbie started. Carly let out a frustrated scream.
"Momma! I don't have time for this. It could be a matter of life and death! Tell Sonny or any guard that's looking for me that I'm with you. If they stop by, tell them I just left. I don't care what else you tell them, but they cannot find me right now, okay?" she asked.
"What is this about, Carly?" Bobbie's voice asked, extremely worried.
"No time! Tell you later!" Carly said as she shut off her phone and continued down the stairs as quickly as she could. It would take the guard a little bit to realize that she'd left the penthouse. Just long enough to get to where she needed to go – if she was careful.
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It took only ten minutes to get there considering she'd done as best as she could at the waddle-run she'd had to do – and every minute that had passed, the panic had worsened. She bypassed the guard all together and started to furiously pound on the door in front of her, tears sitting in the corner of her eyes. The door opened, and as she fell into the arms that were there to catch her, she burst into the awaiting tears.
"Lorenzo! Oh God, Lorenzo!" she cried as she grasped the lapels of his suit jacket. Immediately alarmed, Lorenzo scooped her up into his arms, nodded for the guard to close the door and went to the couch. A few out of breath sobs escaped from Carly as he tried to get a good look at her. Finally, she looked up.
"Carly -" he said softly while reaching up and smoothing her hair back from her face. Mascara had started to run where the tears tracks had made their way down her face. "What happened, Carly?" She reached up and touched his face tenderly.
"I was afraid," she started, her voice catching as she calmed herself.
"Afraid of what?"
"I'd heard – they're coming after you, Lorenzo. Soon. Today. It's got to be today. I didn't know what to do. I just needed to get to you, to see if you were okay. For awhile I just thought is was all the pregnancy anxiety catching up with me, but I kept hearing -" she rambled, finally running out of breath. Lorenzo frowned at her words.
"Hearing what? From whom?" he asked. Carly sat up straighter and let one of her arms drape around his neck.
"From Sonny's guards. I'd overheard them twice in the hospital. They said someone was out to kill you and that the rumors were it was going to happen this week. It's Friday, and I had this terrible feeling all day," she said miserably. Lorenzo nodded as he rubbed a hand up and down her back.
"I've had suspicions, Carly, that something was going to happen. You just confirmed it. I think I know …" he started, but was interrupted by a loud thump. It sounded like the guard outside of the door. Wide-eyed, Carly stared at Lorenzo. His face emotionless, he shot to his feet. Moving quickly, he headed to the back of the penthouse. When he reached the bathroom, he stopped and set Carly down.
"What are you doing, Lorenzo?" she whispered. He turned to look at her after looking behind them.
"Get in the shower and stay there. They won't think to look in here. They think it's just me here. You will not be found," he said. Carly grasped both of his arms.
"No! I'm not going anywhere without you!" she hissed.
"No, Carly. Listen to me. You have to take care of yourself and your baby. Get in there and don't make a sound. It's me there after, and it's only me there going to get," he said. After a battle of reaching arms, his finally won as he gripped her upper arms. Carly's eyes were wide with unshed tears. She could see the fear in his eyes as plainly as he could see the fear in hers. But his fear was for her. She knew it.
"Lorenzo - " she said softly. His hand came up and cupped her cheek.
"There's never any time, Carly," he said gently as he finally pushed her back into the room. "Stay here." He let go of her arms and ran quickly to the front room. Carly gripped the door casing as she heard the front door be kicked open. Closing her eyes, she prayed to every deity she could think of. Silence was all Carly heard for the next few seconds. But that was broken by a gunshot. A silent scream choked in her throat as she ran through the dark hallway. She stopped short at the corner to the front room, staying out of sight. She could see the backs of three men. None of them Lorenzo. They were all looking at something on the floor. Her hand came up to her mouth to keep herself from crying out and her eyes watered. Oh God, no! They killed him! Two of the men reached down and picked him up. She could see the dark stain on the right side of his suit. They'd only injured him … for now.
"Pick him up and let's go boys. The boss wants us on our way," one of the men said. Carly couldn't recognize the voice. And since their backs were turned, she couldn't make out any of the faces. As they all exited out the door, Carly sucked in her breath -fear, anger and shock all clogging her lungs. The man who had been standing outside the door watching the proceedings reached in and closed the door behind them. It was Max.
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