** Author's note: Holy God have I been completely out of it! I am SOOOOOO sorry it took me this long to update! Writer's block is a *itch and I tried so hard to work right through it but nothing came out right. The stuff I had written really sucked! I am now satisfied enough to post this part. It only took forever to pick out of my brain. It also doesn't help that I started a new piece in a different category… I've either been spreading myself creatively thin or I've just got too many plots taking over my thinking process to keep them straight, you can take your pick. For those of you that have read and reviewed, I want to thank you. It's reassuring to know that this story hasn't been abandoned by its readers or gone unappreciated. So here is the next part. I hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think. And from here on out, you're going to need to be really patient with me. As I said, I have four separate plots (possibly a fifth) in me noggin' and I really can't forget about them… **
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"Carly! No!" Lorenzo bolted upright in the bed, a blanket of sweat covering his body. His arm was automatically drawn to the other side of the bed and was disappointed to find it empty. It took a second for his eyes to focus in the dark and for him mind to realize where he was. He was at his compound in South America. Carly was in Port Charles… safe. The word 'safe' rang through his head. It took all of his will power not to pick up the phone to check on her. He was confident that Carly could take care of herself – and that Spencer and Morgan would take care of her when she couldn't. She didn't need him hounding her every move. He lay back down and calmed himself. He'd had dreams – no, nightmares - for the past few nights, the only exception being when Carly was with him. Lorenzo smiled to himself. If keeping Carly next to him for the rest of his life meant no nightmares, he wouldn't complain a bit. The smile slipped a little when he realized that he couldn't drag Carly and her children deeper into the organization. It was something that he found himself thinking about a lot lately. Staying in the business meant putting a larger target on Carly's head. It would be stupid of him to think that she would be safe… especially being the soon-to-be ex-wife of Sonny Corinthos and best friend of Jason Morgan. With a sigh, he turned on his side and pulled the pillow closer to him. A nice long talk with Morgan and Corinthos was probably inevitable. And Lorenzo knew that he'd have to broach the subject with Carly eventually. He just didn't know what she was going to say. But then, he loved her unpredictability. With another smile, he closed his eyes. If someone had told him before he'd gone to Port Charles that this was where he'd end up, he wouldn't have believed them… he probably would have shot them instead. But now, he couldn't possibly imagine it any different.
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"What do you want to do today, Carly?" Bobbie asked as she watched her daughter sit at her kitchen table with her granddaughter. Carly smiled as she ran her finger over her daughter's beautifully soft skin.
"I'm thinking we need to spoil this one rotten," she said lovingly, causing Bobbie to chuckle.
"I take it that means shopping?" the redheaded woman asked. She watched as her daughter nodded and could only shake her head at her. A few days ago her daughter was being held prisoner by the man she was married to and a woman from a past that didn't include Carly. And now, she was happily holding her daughter and wanting to go shopping. It constantly amazed Bobbie at how Carly could bounce back, especially after everything she'd been through in the years since coming to Port Charles.
"Of course it means shopping, Momma!" Carly said with a grin as she stood up. All of a sudden a set of scampering feet came into the kitchen.
"Mommy! Grandma! I beat Uncle Lucas!" Michael cried happily as he grabbed Bobbie's hand. The two women grinned as a grumbling teenager followed the bouncing red haired boy into the room.
"Carly, you need to tell your son that it's not nice to stand in front of the TV while playing video games…" he said as he sat down at the table and grabbed a waiting cereal box. Carly laughed.
"Oh Lucas… he's just a little boy. And you should let him win anyways," she said, laughing again at her brother's glare. Bobbie shook her head.
"Just eat your cereal… Come here, Michael. Let's get you some breakfast," she said as she pulled another bowl from the cupboard and sat Michael down.
"Michael, once you finish, we'll have to go get you ready. Grandma and I are going to go shopping and we'll take you over to Leticia's for a little bit," Carly said as she held Leigh close to her and rubbed her back. Michael made a face and groaned.
"I don't want to go to Leticia's, Mommy. We won't be able to do anything because of the baby," he said. Carly smiled at her son.
"You wanted so badly to be a big brother," she said to him. Michael scooped up a big bite of cereal into his mouth.
"I like being a big brother, but the baby can't do anything. All she does is cry. I want to play with her," he said over his mouthful. Bobbie leaned down with a napkin and wiped the side of his mouth where milk had spilled out. Carly laughed at the look on her son's face.
"Well, she's still a baby. There's not much she can do, honey. You'll just have to wait. As for Leticia's, we'll find you something to do, okay sweetie?" she asked as she caressed Michael's head.
"Okay," he grumbled before going back to eating his breakfast.
"Hey, Mikey can stay with me, if you want. We can get a movie or something, plus I'm sure he'll want to beat me at my game again," Lucas offered, to the surprise of both women.
"Are you sure, Lucas?" Carly asked. "It won't be much trouble for Leticia…" Lucas shrugged.
"I don't have anything planned. I have a test on Monday that I could study for while he's watching his movie. It's nothing," he said. Bobbie smiled at her son.
"Thank you, Lucas. We'll just go get our purses, drop Leigh off and get going. We shouldn't be too long," Carly said as she started out of the room to go gather the baby's things. Bobbie stood behind her son and squeezed his shoulders.
"Thank you, honey," she said before leaning down to kiss the top of his head. The teenager shrugged his shoulders again before going back to his breakfast as well.
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~*~ A few hours later~*~
"Oh my God, Carly… I think we've managed to buy out the whole place!" Bobbie said with a tired laugh. Carly cheerfully swung the three bags she carried as she almost skipped to the limo.
"I know! It was so much fun! And I can't wait to try some of this stuff on Leigh!" she said. The two women stood at the open car door for a moment and watched Johnny as he struggled with the mountain of bags and boxes.
"Poor Johnny," Bobbie said, shaking her head sadly. Carly nodded before breaking out in a laugh. The two women then stepped forward to help the burdened guard pile the purchases in the car.
"To think I volunteered for this," the guard muttered as he mock glared at Bobbie and Carly. Carly leaned over and kissed the man on the cheek after the last bag had been thrown in.
"It's because you love us," she grinned. Johnny shook his head.
"No, it's because Jason and I both know I'm the only one that can keep up with you," he said. Bobbie laughed.
"That's probably true." Johnny nodded seriously to the older woman.
"It is. In fact, it's practically verbatim what Jason said," he told them. Carly shook her head.
"Then it looks like I'm going to be having a conversation with Jason," she said.
"Oh Carly… you're lucky that you have two such wonderful men that want to look out for you," Bobbie said with a wink at Johnny. Carly sighed.
"I know. I just wish Sophie Germaine would drop off the face of the earth… then Jason and Lorenzo wouldn't need to burden the guards with the likes of me," she said.
"We're not burdened, Carly," Johnny reassured. "We all like you. It's not as bad as you think." Carly let out a laugh.
"Thanks, Johnny. I can always count on you to smooth things over," she said. Bobbie grinned as she took her daughter's hand.
"See? Everyone loves you, Carly. Now, let's get these things home to my granddaughter," she said. Carly huffed with a roll of her eyes as she climbed into the limo. Johnny leaned his head in as she and Bobbie settled themselves.
"I've got Lou in the front seat. He'll be with you for the next couple of hours. Jason just paged me. We've got some things to take care of," he explained before he closed the door. Carly looked at her mother.
"I think Johnny just didn't want to carry all of the bags in," she said with a smirk. Bobbie laughed.
"With everything you bought, I'd be inclined to agree," Bobbie said, a teasing twinkle in her eye. Carly rolled her eyes again.
"Me?! You were the one that insisted on all the teddy bears and those 'absolutely darling' clothes!" Carly pointed out. The car started on its way as Bobbie just smiled.
"Well, you wanted your daughter spoiled rotten… I think she may end up the rottenest of them all," she said. Carly grinned.
"She wouldn't be a Spencer girl if she wasn't," she said. Bobbie nodded in agreement before they broke into laughter.
"She wouldn't be yours and Sonny's daughter if she wasn't," Bobbie added, causing more laughter. All of a sudden the car swerved dangerously as they went around a corner, throwing Bobbie from her seat and causing Carly to hit her head against the window. Carly sat back up, rubbing the side of her head.
"What the…?" Carly asked as the car jerked again to the right. Bobbie scrambled back into her seat and fumbled for the seatbelt. Carly reached the intercom phone.
"Pete, what's going on up there?" she asked. The driver didn't answer at first.
"Ms. Spencer, we have a problem. The brakes have gone out," he said almost breathlessly. Carly's eyes went wide.
"What's going on Carly?" Bobbie asked as she watched her daughter pale considerably. Carly shook her head.
"What about the emergency brake?" Carly asked. Bobbie sucked in her breath as she realized what Carly had just said.
"I've already tried that, Ms. Spencer. Right now we're only going thirty miles per hour, but that will pick up. We're going to have to try to get out before we get out of town…" the driver supplied. Carly nodded as she hung up the phone. Out of town… the edge of town consisted of cliffs and curves. If they were lucky enough to miss a cliff, they'd certainly find the worst of a curve. Carly closed her eyes and tried to settle her leaping stomach. Why did trouble always seem to follow her? Couldn't she catch just one little break? Was it really so much to ask?
"Carly?" her mother's voice broke into her thoughts.
"God, Momma – there's no brakes!" Carly said, feeling sick. Bobbie closed her eyes for a moment as she thought.
"We're not going that fast yet," she commented as she watched the scenery pass by. "We can't possibly coast to a stop – not where we're heading."
"Yeah, so? Maybe Pete can, you know, run into something… stop the car that way," Carly suggested.
"What do you suggest he run into, Carly?" Bobbie asked. The two women looked out the window at the trees that pretty much lined the road. "Not to mention, these seatbelts are hardly restraining enough to save us when running into a tree…" Carly nodded.
"I know, Momma… but a crash would be better than going over a cliff," she said. Bobbie shook her head.
"Carly, we're going to have to jump – the odds of surviving are better," Bobbie said, taking a deep breath as she looked out the tinted window. Carly looked as well. She knew they couldn't have been going more than 30 or 35… but even 25 mph was lethal if you didn't hit the ground right.
"Well, gee, Momma – I think I forgot my jumping out of a limo crash gear at home. There's no way I'm jumping!" she said, shaking her head emphatically. Bobbie gripped her panicking daughter's hand and forced Carly to look at her.
"Carly, there's no way out of this but to jump. I don't want to do it either, but we've got to do it now. There's going to be no 'Let's Save Carly' Fairy this time. We can do this," Bobbie said as she looked out the window to see that their speed had picked up. Carly followed her mother's eyes.
"Momma," she said as she squeezed her hand. Bobbie reached her free hand to open the door to see the ground passing by quickly. Bobbie gulped a big breath as she stuck her leg out the door. Carly pulled on the hand she held, but to no avail – her mother shook out of her grasp.
"Tuck and roll, Carly," she said with a hopeful look at her daughter. "I love you." With that, Bobbie opened the door wider, struggling to keep it from whipping back. After another second of struggling, Carly let out a cry as her mother disappeared out the door. Holding her breath to keep the fear at bay, Carly scrambled to the door as well and opened it further. The intercom buzzed.
"You're going to have to jump, Ms. Spencer! There's a curve coming up and I don't think I can control the car after that!" the driver squawked. Carly nodded, even though she knew the poor driver couldn't see her. The ground whipped past under her. Carly knew that the driver and the other guard wouldn't jump until she was safely out of the car. The thought almost made Carly laugh. Safely out of the car, but possibly dead on the ground. Grabbing a hold of her fleeting courage, she braced her arms on the door, the wind whipping her hair around her face. With a silent prayer to whatever God was watching over her she propelled herself out of the elegant metal deathtrap and into the air.
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"What?!" Lorenzo said into his phone as he sat up straighter. "Is she alright?" There was complete silence for a moment as he listened to the person on the other end of the phone.
"Okay. Is Morgan with her? How's her mother? Okay… I'm on the plane right now. If she wakes up, tell her I'm on my way. I will be there in a few more hours. And Mark… if anything happens to her…"
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~*~ Early the next morning~*~
Carly's eyes opened slowly and she was aware of only one thing – her head felt like a balloon. It took her a second to focus, but when she did she noticed Jason standing to her right, and Lorenzo sitting to her left. Neither one of them was holding her hand. She tried to frown but realized quickly that those muscles wouldn't work properly. Her eyes darted down and she noticed one arm was in a cast and the other wrapped completely in bandages.
"What … what happened?" she asked hoarsely. Lorenzo sat forward to lean on the bed. The focus in her eyes wavered as she looked back at him. The pain medication was heavy and was affecting her lucidity. He wanted so badly to touch her, to reassure her, but he knew that if he did it would hurt her. There was barely a patch of skin that wasn't scraped raw from her ordeal. He watched as she tried, in vain, to reach her bandaged arm up to swat away the oxygen tube over her face. It was better that she wasn't able to do it. Any contact with her face would have been Hell.
"You're in the hospital, Carly," he said. She tried to turn her face towards him, but the side of it was so badly swollen and scraped that it was impossible. "You and your mother were in the limo. The brakes were tampered with and you had to… jump out of the car to get out." Lorenzo had to swallow the lump in his throat in order to finish telling her. Panic became visible in Carly's brown eyes.
"Momma! Where is she?!" she said, hysterics making their way into her voice.
"She's okay, Carly," Jason reassured, sitting on the edge of the bed, causing her to look at him. Her eyes were pleading with him to tell her. "She'll be fine, Carly. She has a broken wrist and a dislocated shoulder, not to mention more than a few scrapes and bruises. Right now she is sleeping and Luke is watching over her." Carly let out a little sigh.
"How bad is it?" she asked. Both men didn't even pretend to misunderstand.
"You have a broken arm, a concussion as well as lots of swelling and bruising," Jason said. "The doctors say both you and Bobbie were lucky to not have hit your heads harder than you did. You'd be dead if you had." Carly sighed as she let herself relax. She was happily unaware of the pain due to the wonderful medication, but she was alert enough to want answers.
"What happened?" she repeated the earlier question. "Who did this?" Carly didn't miss the look between Lorenzo and Jason. Carly let out a small laugh, wincing as it caused her a little bit of pain.
"I guess I didn't even need to ask, now did I?" she said while in her head wishing a long, horrible, painful death on Sophie Germaine.
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** Author's note: So, who do you think is going to get the honor of taking Sophie out? Is she even going to die? What's going to happen? Don't look at me… I have no clue… well, I have some, but not a whole clue. Let me know what you think!!!**