What If

by ILETUDRIVE

The Cassadines have finally won. Hell has frozen over and I'm finally updating. Surprise! I've managed to vanquish the evil Cassadine influence for the moment and return with more of my fic. I hope you still want to read it. Summary inside.

35. Wanna work in a morgue?

What If…

Chapter 34

General Hospital

The room itself was nice. You didn't have to be an expert to know that the leather furniture was quality, or that the desk was some sort of pricey antique. The room even boasted a nice view of the afternoon skyline. But no matter how attractive the packaging was it couldn't diminish the fact that the room was still an office. Not only was it an office, it was an office in a hospital and therefore, in Jason's mind it was one of the last places in the world he ever wanted to be. It didn't matter that there was carpeting on the floor instead of linoleum and that the plants on the wall were real and not the rubbery fake ones that adorned the waiting rooms, the room was still in a hospital.

The sounds of pages and the melodic beeps that made no sense to anyone that didn't work in the hospital were muted inside the office. And since they were in the executive wing there were no sounds of squeaky wheels of aged gurneys or wheelchairs passing outside the doorway. The mask that cloaked the office was a good one but he was still ill at ease and longed to be outside in the fresh air, away from the cloying pressure that formed in his chest every time he was forced to spend time in the hospital. Sonny once called him claustrophobic and he denied it because small spaces didn't bother him. But now he realized that the term claustrophobia could apply to other situations and his was hospitals. However at this moment the pressure he felt because of being in a hospital was complicated by the presence of the person that was pacing in front of the window.

A.J. Quartermaine paced when he was nervous, when he was stressed, or when he was trying to argue a point. It was a habit that was a holdover from his boozing days. It seemed he could think quicker if he kept moving. The lies came easier, the evasions were quicker and the family was easier to keep off balance. He got away with much more than he would have if he chose to sit still. Or at least he had been able to get away with things with everyone in the family except for his brother Jason. Of course Jason was dead now, killed by his own drunken hand.

After that happened he wasn't able to snow the family anymore and in fact he didn't want to. He didn't want to feel he didn't want to go on. He hit rock bottom and was content to stay there. Eventually, and after a lot of false starts he managed to get sober and this time he was determined to stay that way. He had a pretty good grasp on things in his life, he was feeling in control again, and then the man with his brother's face had shown back up in town and he felt his hard fought control begin to slip away.

No matter how many times he told himself to stop trying to earn Jason's respect, or even his acknowledgment, he couldn't help it. A lifetime of competing with his brother and failing wouldn't allow him to quit. Even if he mostly acknowledged that this Jason wasn't his brother he still felt the need to compete against him. What was sad was even now, when Jason didn't even know he was competing he could still defeat him.

A.J. was determined that this time was going to be different, that this time he wasn't going to fail. He had a woman in his life that genuinely seemed to care for him. He was making inroads with the court in regaining visitation rights to his son. He had a successful business with the football team. All of these were positives and he wasn't about to blow it by sliding back into a familiar pattern of trying to best Jason. Their one unexpected confrontation that he had come out the loser in would have to be enough this time around. Besides there were more important issues then dealing with Jason happening today. The reason he was in this tension filled room with Jason was more important then any petty bickering. He needed to focus on today's goal, not his once perfect brother. Yet when his eye fell on an obvious picture of Jason Morgan that was placed on the credenza next to his own, he couldn't help the stab of bitterness that caused his mouth to twist into a sneer.

It was times like this that Emily desperately missed being an only child. It had been hard enough to verbalize her fears to her brothers and convince them to join her for this intervention. At the time her only focus was on getting the truth out of Monica. Now she realized she should have thought things through more thoroughly. Jason and A.J. in the same room was not a good thing. Even though neither one had spoken to the other the tension had mounted with every sigh from AJ or every shift of position from Jason. She had been walking a tightrope for the better part of an hour. If she took the seat next to Jason, AJ would be upset, if she took the seat by AJ he would gloat.

"Do you know when she's going to be here?" Jason broke the heavy silence.

"It should be anytime." Emily glanced at the clock on the wall. "Rounds should be ending."

"If you have an appointment we don't want to keep you. Feel free to leave anytime." AJ made his jeering contribution to the conversation.

Jason merely glared in his direction.

"I'm serious I'm sure that Sonny has you on some sort of schedule. Don't you have someone to threaten or intimidate right about now?" AJ's good intentions of a few minutes ago had quickly vanished.

"Shut it. AJ." Jason snapped and got to his feet. AJ was still the only one who could make him snap with only a few words.

The stress of the last several weeks, but more importantly the last few days finally got to her and Emily snapped. "That's it. If you two can't grow up and realize were here for more then your petty animosity you can both get the hell out."

Feeling the sting of her rebuke AJ took a guilty step back. "I'm here for mom."

"I'm staying." Jason murmured quietly.

"Then grow up." With that Emily sat down and the waiting began again.

Port Charles Hotel

Rory nodded absently at the doorman, her focus remaining on the circled ad in the well-worn newspaper. "I don't know Mr. Francis this job would have to be pretty sweet to top the other one."

A dubious Francis merely glanced in her direction. "The Oasis?"

Grinning at his attempt to tease Rory decided to return the favor. "Are you encouraging me to strip for a living Mr. Francis?" She nudged him with her elbow. "Looking to liven up your bodyguard detail?"

"I don't have a say in the matter Ms. Nichols." Francis refused to give her the response she wanted.

Barely resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at him Rory went back to the ad and headed for the elevator. "Actually I was referring to the job at the morgue."

That got a response from Francis. "You're not serious."

"Of course I am." Rory pronounced. "Think of it I can be Sonny's inside man."

"I think you'd need surgery before that happened." Francis returned just as seriously.

"Smart ass." The comment flew out of her mouth an instant before her laughter. Rory was still laughing when the doors opened on the 15th floor and unless she was mistaken she'd even managed to get a disguised cough/chuckle out of the stoic Mr. Francis as well.

Exiting the elevator she went in search of the correct suite number and was already concocting her next volley in her ongoing verbal sparring war with Mr. Francis. Finding the door at the far end of the hall she came up short when she read the nameplate on the door. Surprised she double-checked the ad, then shrugged, cursed mentally at the foolishness of that move and then opened the door.

The sight that greeted her was both spacious and immaculate. A small seating area on her left had a focal point of an artful array of magazines. On the right a chair set near a small table held a lamp and a beautiful crystal vase. Experience told her the crystal would fetch one hell of a price on the open market, as would the prints hanging on the walls. There were stylish file cabinets behind what had to be the most pristine Chippendale desk she'd ever seen in or out of a magazine. Near the desk there were other pieces of antique furniture that rounded out the opulence of the room. The allure of the wood was broken up by what had to be the shiniest sterling silver tea set ever. It gleamed in the light the way a diamond would.

Everywhere she looked she saw expensive taste and class. That was a pairing that had served her well in life. Habit had her categorizing every article in the room and making a preliminary estimate on the resale value. She could probably fence just about everything in the office and not have to worry about working for a few years, possibly more if she use Franky G from Jersey to fence the merchandise.

Gradually she became aware of Mr. Francis' eyes on her and couldn't help but flush when she met his gaze. It seemed that those knowing chocolate brown eyes knew exactly what she was thinking. Uneasy at the thought she took off her coat handed it to him, walked past the desk to the door it seemed to be guarding.

Upon reaching the door Rory took a moment to take a deep breath to center herself, then straightened her back, knocked once and opened the door before any reply could be given. Her rush to enter had something to do with the need to leave the pristine office behind. Rooms like that made her nervous. She always felt she had ink on her face, or had her clothes on inside out when she was faced with obvious perfection. The inner sanctum however was a place that Rory instantly felt at ease. Where the outer office was pristine, almost anal, this space was cluttered to the point of messiness. In other words it felt like home, and Rory couldn't be more pleased at the discovery.

Alexis Davis sat behind a desk, in front of 3 bay windows. Only the top of her head was visible at the moment given the amount of paperwork, both lose and in files that were piled precariously on her desk. Other files, as well as five-inch binders littered the floor around her desk and gradually worked their way outward to the room as a whole. Rory could see a small path probably no bigger than a woman's foot that if followed single file could lead it's way through the maze of folders and binders to the door and then back to the desk. Alexis was definitely a woman after her own heart.

Without warning the rest of Alexis became visible as she stood up from behind her desk. Confusion marred her expression but she said nothing just waved Rory closer and kept listening to the phone she had glued to her ear. "I understand Judge Telesca I'll be as brief as I can. As our brief makes clear, evidence that has never been mentioned, tested for accuracy, or even made known to the defense, can not suddenly be introduced at the last second when the prosecution's case falls apart and they make a last ditch effort to try to salvage it. Prevailing court law and statute is clear in this case, the evidence must be suppressed." Her words pissed off the DA, as she knew they would and he started his blustery retort, ignoring that she began to dig through the papers on her desk.

Rory watched in fascination, as Alexis seemed to navigate the mound of papers, shifting some onto files that already looked in danger of falling off the desk. Miraculously none fell as she continued her search for something and half listened to the man on the other end of the phone. After a few more minutes of digging a triumphant grin graced Alexis' face as she unearthed a Butterfinger bar from somewhere on her desk. Looking very much like a Cheshire cat, Alexis leaned back and began unwrapping the chocolate bar.

"You're honor. Regardless of the reasons or the continuing histrionics of my esteeeemed," she intentionally drew the word out, "colleague the fact remains the evidence cannot be introduced at this late date. The state has rested, the defense has rested all that is left is closing remarks and charging the jury. You know as well as I do, as well as the New York Court of Appeal does, and as well as the U.S. Supreme Court does, there are procedures that are sacred in all cases. ADA Attler can't be allowed a pass in this case because he made a mistake and didn't disclose evidence that would have been useful to his case to us in discovery and now regrets that fact."

It took another two minutes of hemming and hawing but the ruling was a foregone conclusion and they all knew it. Alexis also knew she had made yet another enemy in the District Attorney's office. It wasn't her fault they weren't prepared. There were times she wished they were better, she enjoyed a challenge and lately challenges had been few and far between. Taking a big bite of her candy bar she shifted her focus to her latest client.

"Remind me not to piss you off." Rory commented.

"Did we," Alexis swallowed hard. "Did we have an appointment?"

"No," Rory sat up straighter in her chair. "I'm here about your ad in the paper for temporary office help. I'd like to apply for the job."

Saying nothing Alexis leaned back to study the woman before her.

"As you know I recently came into town and circumstances have arisen that extend my visit indefinitely. As such I wanted to find a job. I don't like to be idle, I like to work, and most importantly I like challenges." Alexis said nothing so Rory continued on. "I'm familiar with most word processing systems and my typing speed is in the upper 80's per minute the last time I was checked. I'm very good with machinery and am quite capable of fixing most copiers, printers, computers, or fax machines if they break down. I'm also quite charming when I make the effort so I can meet and greet your clients with no problem. I speak perfect English so my phone presence is strong. I'm bilingual so if the need for a Spanish interpreter comes up I can be of assistance. I have tremendous organization skills and can provide you with a resume along with a list of references."

"And would the references be legitimate ones? Ones with your real name and real age?" Alexis asked.

Rory bristled but didn't let it show. Obviously there was a reason Alexis was an attorney. "I have office experience and yes you can verify it. If you'd like I can give you a phone number that you can call and check right now."

Unsure Alexis pulled off her glasses and began twisting them in her fingers while she considered her options. There was something about Rory that called to her, but the fact that she was a client could make things awkward between them. Besides as much as Rory just told her, Alexis was confident there was considerably more in her past that she hadn't told her.

"There's one more thing." Rory waited for Alexis' nod before going on. "I happen to be very well acquainted with two of your more notorious clients, in fact one of them I am intimately acquainted with. Therefore any privacy and or security concerns you may have in bringing an outsider into your office and their potential to look in files they shouldn't won't be an issue." The longer she sat trying to convince Alexis to hire her the more she wanted the job. They hadn't discussed hours, salary, or even duties, but she wanted it. She had a gut feeling that working here would be good for he and her gut feelings were ones she rarely ignored.

Alexis couldn't help but smile at Rory's carefully veiled references to Jason and Sonny and conceded that she did have a point. One of the reasons she had so much trouble keeping help was because of her two notorious clients, not to mention other people they brought in with them. Some of the people she'd hired in the past were so curious about anything relating to Sonny Corinthos that they would read every scrap of paper looking for an indention that held secret messages. Or they came in thinking they could find information that would get Sonny arrested and get it to the cops. People were foolish, so foolish in fact, that she had taken to keeping most of her information for the Corinthos/Morgan Coffee Warehouse at her home, much to Jax's dismay.

"Can you start tomorrow?" Alexis asked after another moment of thought and couldn't help responding in kind when Rory smiled at her question.

Kelly's

"Quit trying to change the subject." Nikolas struggled to orient his thoughts. He'd deal with the unexpected revelation regarding Emily and Zander later. The important thing now was to find out what Lucky was up to concerning Rory. And since it appeared that some of Lucky's mental faculties had returned he was going to need to be on the top of his game.

"And what subject is that? The way that every few years you feel the need to mess with Emily's head and break her heart?" Lucky's words were designed to deflect but they were also true. He didn't want to see Emily hurt by Nikolas yet again.

"The subject is your obsession with proving that Rory Nichols is really the long dead Elizabeth Webber." Hardening his heart to the pain on Lucky's face Nikolas decided it was time for some trademark Cassadine cruelty. "Why you continue to believe Elizabeth could be alive even after an autopsy was conducted on her body to determine cause of death, a DNA test was conducted to prove identity, and later she was embalmed and buried, is beyond me."

For a second all Lucky could do was stand there and stare at his brother in shock as the cold imagery of the words washed over him. Eventually shock faded into anger and he launched himself at a prepared Nikolas who parried the attack and shoved him back. Caught off balance Lucky teetered on one side of the bed then tipped over it and crashed to the floor.

"How could you…" Lucky started as he got to his knees.

"Be such a bastard and tell you the truth?" Nikolas interrupted viciously. "Because you need to hear the truth. You say you're not a drunk anymore. You say your taking charge of your life. Great I hope you are. Because of these changes I don't have to coddle you anymore. I don't have to protect you or cater to you and you're off base beliefs because you're too fragile to hear the truth. Your no longer to fragile to hear that there is no way your dead fiancée is suddenly back in the form of a woman who doesn't know you, who doesn't want to know you, and most importantly is in love with another man." Nikolas inhaled hard then continued his attack. "Face the truth Lucky. Elizabeth is dead. She's been dead for years now and no amount of wishing or conniving is going to turn Rory Nichols into Elizabeth."

Lucky reeled under the onslaught of his brother's attack. The cruelty of the words was astonishing and they hurt. What Nikolas was saying hurt him even though he believed them to be false. He knew Rory was really Elizabeth, yet the ring of conviction in his brother's voice was hard for him to bear. "How can you belittle Elizabeth like this?" Lucky demanded after a minute of fighting the pain. "I thought she was your friend."

"She was my friend." Nikolas snapped and the emotion he had kept buried for years finally came out of him in a rage. "She was my friend and I lost her that night too. I lost her but I wasn't allowed to grieve for her. I couldn't miss her because I had to focus on getting you through your selfish, selfish grief." He was surprised by the words but they were true. The anger had been long buried and hidden inside of him but no more. "You weren't the only one who lost Elizabeth that day you selfish bastard. You were just the only one who was allowed to feel any pain."

Stunned by the pain and anger he saw in his brother's eyes Lucky took a seat on the bed and tried to comprehend just how bad the last two years had been for the people around him. He had buried himself inside of one bottle after another to try to hide from the pain of his loss while others were forced to grieve both for Elizabeth and in a sense him.

Nikolas pulled out the chair from the desk and drew it near the bed. "Don't you realize how much it hurts me, Emily, everyone who cares about you when you insist that Rory is really Elizabeth? We already lost her and now you're asking us to open ourselves up to that pain all over again. But most of all you're asking us, your asking me to stand by and watch this new obsession destroy you when you finally realize that Elizabeth isn't Rory."

Lucky automatically shook his head at the words. But Nikolas wouldn't let him deny. "Elizabeth is dead and you need to let her go. She wouldn't want you to keep destroying yourself in her memory and she sure as hell wouldn't want you to keep taking others with you when you do."

That got his attention. "What others?"

"Do you really believe that Emily will ever be able to walk away from you while you're in pain? Do you think she'll move away and go to college while she's so worried about you? Do you think I'll leave town while you're like this?" Nikolas stated the obvious. "Then there's Laura."

When Lucky shook his head. Nikolas snapped. "Whether you want to believe it or not she's your mother and she loves you. Knowing you're in pain hurts her. Then there's Lulu. She never knows which brother is going to show up. Will it be the one that makes her laugh and teaches her how to make paper puppets, or will it be the one who smells like her daddy smells late at night."

Those words so casually delivered finally drove home how low he had sunk in the past two years. Lucky was devastated at how bad he had let himself get, but at the same time he was determined never to get like that again. There was going to be no more hiding from the pain. He would face it, no matter how much it hurt and he wouldn't let his sister or his friends down again.

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

Lucky jolted when Nikolas seemingly read his mind.

"Will you keep an open mind about Elizabeth?" Lucky asked after a long minute.

Irritated and defeated Nikolas rose and only years of training kept him from lashing out at the chair in frustration. "There's nothing to keep an open mind about. Elizabeth's dead. She's been dead for more then two years now."

"She's alive and I'll prove it to you, I'll prove it to everyone." Lucky vowed.

"If you continue with this you'll destroy yourself." Nikolas warned him.

"You said I was destroying myself by drinking my life away." Lucky reminded him. "If that's true and you're right this is just a more active way of destroying myself."

"Is that supposed to be a joke?"

Lucky shrugged.

"I can't stop you can I?" Nikolas queried.

"No. I'm going to get her back." He promised his brother and himself.

"And when you fail who is supposed to get you back?" Nikolas questioned. Lucky didn't reply and Nikolas knew that he'd done all he could for the moment so he picked up his coat and walked out the door.

General Hospital

Bone-weary and thinking of nothing more than taking off her shoes and grabbing a quick cat nap on her couch, Dr. Monica Quartermaine opened the door to her office, then came to a quick halt immediately past the threshold at the unusual tableau before her. Her children, all three of her children were in the same room, and there was no fighting going on. No blood being shed, something was very wrong. When they seemingly turned as one to look at her, Monica had a strong urge to turn around and walk out of her office and never come back. Shaking off the uneasy feeling Monica continued her entry into the room. "This is a surprise. But a welcome one I must say." Her smile was genuine when she turned and perched on the edge of her desk, to face the room.

During the interminable wait for Monica they hadn't discussed how or who would broach the subject of a possible return of her cancer. Now that the time had finally arrived it was Emily who took the lead. "I know … we know about the biopsy mom, and we know you canceled your appointment."

Stunned Monica could only formulate one single word. "How?"

"When I was here last week I picked up one of your papers by mistake, it was information about your appointment. Later I called the clinic pretending to be your secretary, they told me you canceled your appointment and hadn't rescheduled it." By the time she'd finished her tone had turned accusatory.

"Why didn't you tell us mom? Does dad know?" AJ asked. Issues with Jason were long forgotten in light of his overriding concern for his mother, he made an unconscious move to stand next to his brother and sister in a united front.

"Because it's my business." Put on the defensive Monica did what every Quartermaine did best, she lashed out.

"Your health and the potential return of your cancer is the whole family's business," AJ corrected her. He recognized the signs of denial in her eyes. They had been there years ago, when people had first tried to tell her about his drinking.

Striving to gain some balance some semblance of control Monica moved behind her desk to assume a position of power.

"Mom you know that a possible recurrence is a serious thing." AJ began then gestured to the room at large. "We've all read the research, we all know the statistics. Early diagnosis especially in a recurrence increases your odds of survival."

"That's right it's my survival, my statistics, my possible recurrence." Cornered Monica lashed out.

"You can't honestly believe that if you have cancer we wouldn't care or wouldn't be effected by it can you?" Silent up until that point Jason felt compelled to chime in.

Surprised Monica focused on him. When she met his cool assessing gaze she felt the need to explain her behavior. "I planned on getting the biopsy done, then Rory had her accident and…."

"Don't." Jason practically hissed the word. "Don't use her as an excuse. Rory's been out of the hospital for almost a week now. You didn't reschedule the appointment for some other reason not because of Rory's injury."

The tension in the room was rapidly rising to a boiling point. There were too many people in the room and each carried such strong emotions and strong opinions that when their opinions differed, and the subject was this personal, explosions were inevitable. Emily had been silent since her opening salvo. Her emotions were in such a state of flux with everything she'd been through. First there was her potential pregnancy scare, which coincided with her potential rape scare. Her fear of what Zander had done to her along with the knowledge of Zander had in fact done to her, and what he'd been intending to do to her. Her confusing relationship with Nikolas…. The list could go on and on and it was hard for her to know what was real and what wasn't. But she recognized the look in Monica's eye it was a look she was intimately familiar with. "You're afraid."

Her quiet words stalled any others that might have been in the process of being formed by the other people in the room and caused Monica to stiffen.

"Don't bother to deny it. I know you're scared." Emily continued on just as quietly. "My mother was when she felt another lump after having beaten breast cancer the first time. She couldn't believe that the cancer could return she wouldn't let herself believe it had returned. Because of that she pushed off seeing a doctor. She ignored the signs for so long, she deluded herself, she deluded me all because of her fear. You see she read the same research AJ was talking about, but she never got past the statistics part, where it says that people are more likely to die if they have a recurrence."

Emily paused for a moment remembering. The image was still a perfect picture in her mind, so vivid it was only a blink away. Suddenly she wasn't in an office next to her brothers looking at Monica, she was back in a small two-bedroom apartment looking at her mother who could no longer keep the fear from her eyes.

"I can still remember the smell of the apartment that cold morning. Mom had made me cinnamon toast, my favorite and the cinnamon smell had wafted down the hall and woken me up. I know people think that Arizona is hot, because of the desert, but it gets cold there especially in the mornings. In the wintertime there is always frost on the windows, even as you overlook the mountains that lead into the desert. That particular morning the toast turned soggy on the table, the steam from her coffee fizzled and went cold as mom stared out that frost-covered window at the rising sun. When she finally turned around I knew. I may have only been 11 but I knew. The cancer was back and this time it was going to win."

Tears slipped unnoticed from her eyes but her voice never wavered, her gaze remained locked on Monica but what she saw were memories of years past. "I can't tell you how many nights I cried myself to sleep wondering what if she had been diagnosed sooner. How many nights I cursed her in that special way that kids have, blaming her because she let the fear control her and now she was going to die. And because she was a coward I was being brought to this strange place where everybody yelled and fought with each other."

Blinking Emily brought her second mother back into focus and ignored the tearstains she saw on Monica's face. "Would she have survived if she'd gone to the doctor the first time she felt that lump? We'll never know. But her odds would have been a lot higher then they were when she was pretending there was nothing wrong with her. I've lost one mother to a mixture of fear and cancer. I'm not going to stand by and watch another mother die the same needless death." With that Emily picked up her coat and walked out of the office.

Rocked to her core Monica brought a shaky hand to her mouth to stifle a sob. She'd barely managed two breaths when Jason turned and focused on her.

"I didn't want to know you at first. And you sure didn't want to know me. In the beginning all you ever hoped for when you looked at me was to see your son Jason looking back at you. But that would never be. Somewhere along the line you accepted that and you decided to get to know me." He hesitated then went on the words coming of their own accord. "I didn't make it easy for you. I shoved you away. I ignored you, I hurt you repeatedly, but you always came back. You kept trying no matter what I did."

His voice was quiet but that was in stark contrast to the unusual emotional storm visible in his light blue eyes. "You kept coming back until something I never thought would happen did. I began to care about you. Not because Robin told me I should because I owed the Jason of before, but because I just did. Eventually that caring even grew to love." He saw the shocked expression on her face and nodded. "I do love you mom. You finally got through to me. So are you really going to quit on me now?" Jason asked. The emotions building inside of him were threatening to spill out so he followed his sister's lead and stalked out of the room, the slam of the door the only testament to his emotional state.

Monica reached desperate for support and gripped the back of her chair to hold her upright at the unexpected emotional assault from two of her children.

"Well," AJ cleared his throat to swallow the hard lump of emotion that had lodged there. "That's a pretty hard act for me to follow. If this were a contest I'd definitely be the loser."

When Monica turned to give him a watery glare he held up a hand to fend off the rebuke. "That wasn't a complaint or a whine, or the start of the woe is me complex that you're so familiar with, it was just an observation. Emily and Jason spoke to you from the heart and that's what I'm going to do as well."

Unsure if she could handle anymore, yet incapable to stop him Monica sunk into her chair and eyed her most tortured child warily.

"I know it doesn't look like it and I sure don't act like it but you're my rock mom. You're the one person in the world that I can count on." AJ brushed a tear from his cheek and another quickly replaced it. "You always know when to be brutal with me and cut me off for my own good, and when to reach out to me. You knew how and would stand up for me even when I couldn't stand up for myself. And all these things were done out of love. You managed to love me, even when I couldn't love myself. No matter how many times and how many ways I messed up you were always willing to give me another chance once I cleaned up my act."

AJ's voice broke and he had to pause a long time before he could go on. "Emily's right. Cancer is a scary word especially for you. But there are two words that don't belong in the Quartermaine vernacular and that is running away. When you're ready to fight mom I'll be your rock for a change." With that AJ pivoted and followed his siblings out of the office.

How long she sat there listening to her hiccuping breaths in the gradually darkening room Monica didn't know. She wasn't aware if hours had passed or if it had only been minutes when she reached a shaky hand for the phone and dialed a number from memory. "It's Monica. I'm ready to have that biopsy." The words came out in a rush as soon as the phone was answered on the other end.

"Tomorrow?" Ingrained habit had her reaching for her appointment book but at the last second she stopped and left it closed. "I'll make myself available. I'll see you in the morning."

Monica hung up the phone and finally gave in to the temptation that had been building steadily inside of her ever since she'd found the lump a few weeks earlier, she began to cry. Soon simply crying wasn't enough, the tears turned into a storm of weeping followed by the agony of sobs.

Apartment 1G

"What?" Zander Smith snarled as he opened the door. The pounding that had been going on for minutes now, seemed to continue although this time it was localized inside his head. "Sonny?" He couldn't hide his surprise at the unexpected identity of his visitor.

"Zander." Sonny nodded his sharp eyes recognized the signs of a hangover easily enough. "Get your jacket were going for a walk."

The tone of voice was one you didn't argue with and Zander immediately obeyed. It was only when he was pulling on the coat that he wondered if it was a good idea or not. "You know I don't have a lot of time. I'm supposed to meet someone."

"This won't take long." Sonny offered him a reassuring smile and waited until the last possible second before turning his expression into one similar to that of a predator stalking its prey. He knew Zander caught the change when the boy did a double take.

Johnny opened the door, Sonny exited followed slowly by Zander. "Who are they?" He asked as two men in suits brushed by him and went inside his apartment after he walked out of it.

"Don't worry about them. They won't steal anything." Sonny led the way and Johnny nudged Zander along before bringing up the rear.

Zander was feeling decidedly nervous. He knew this unexpected visit had something to do with Emily and that made him wonder just how much the pipsqueak mobster knew. He'd been replaying his last confrontation with Emily over and over in his mind and some of her comments made him wonder if she didn't have some sort of an idea what he'd been planning. Almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind he dismissed it. Emily was too naïve and sweet to ever think of anything so diabolical or intricate as his plan. And since her Neanderthal brother hadn't been around trying to kill him, it was a safe bet she didn't have a clue as to what his ultimate plan had been. Sonny's appearance, although unusual, did not give him the fear that Jason's unexpected appearance would've. Given the mentality and proclivity for violence of the brain damaged thug if Morgan ever found out he'd been conspiring to knock his little sister up he had a feeling that he wouldn't be asked politely to go for a walk.

"I think this is far enough." Sonny announced after several minutes of walking.

In spite of his earlier bravado and reasoning Zander couldn't help a hard swallow as he scanned the area and realized that other than the three of them the place was very desolate. There were decades old apartment buildings on either side of the street but the people that lived in those buildings had learned long ago when to pay attention to things and when to turn up the TV. "Far enough for what?" Conscious of Johnny's presence behind him he couldn't help but tense.

"I brought you here to discuss your future." Sonny clapped his gloved hands to together and rubbed them in anticipation. "With Sorel in jail, Alexis getting the kidnapping charges and abuse of a corpse charges against you dropped, and since you and Emily are no longer together I was thinking it was time for you to move on and make a fresh start somewhere else. Some place where no one knows your history and you can get a fair shot."

"I don't believe this." Outraged Zander went from worried to pissed in a matter of seconds. "You don't have a right to tell me what to do with my life. And even if you did, you got some of your facts wrong."

Sonny decided to let one claim go for now in order to concentrate on the other one. "And what facts are those?"

"Emily and I aren't broken up. We've had a fight and are having problems at the moment. But we love each other and we'll work things out. We always do. There's no way I'm walking away from her. If your getting your information from Jason I'm not surprised he got things wrong, he's not exactly the sharpest person in the room." Angry and arrogant Zander forgot to be cautious.

The slam of his best friend only served to make Sonny angrier and as a response his voice got even softer. If Zander knew Sonny at all he would know that the quieter he spoke the more deadly the man became. "It's my turn to correct you on some facts Zander. You put marks on her. I saw them myself. She told you to stay away from her, and yet you follow her wherever she goes. You accost the people around her trying to get near her. You threaten her friends, the people close to her all in an attempt to get her to talk to you."

One second Sonny was listing Zander's sins the next he had the boy in a vise like grip. His fingers were tight on the pressure points on the back of Zander's neck driving the boy down. Sonny moved fast, fast enough that Johnny was as surprised as Zander. "And now you have the nerve to throw my name around like some talisman. Expecting it to excuse you from being a bullying jackass and expect people to jump to your every command."

"Let me go." Zander struggled against the hold but felt his body getting weaker and weaker against the pain.

Ignoring his plea Sonny decided it was time to educate the boy in the facts of the world. 'Your first mistake was putting your hands on Emily. If you had let her she would have been the best thing in your life. She was far better than a punk like you ever deserved but you treated her like trash and threw her away. Your second mistake was using my name and thinking you could get away with it. I spent years building up the respect that goes along with my name and I'm not about to let some punk kid trash it. Your last mistake was thinking I would choose you over my family. You have a lot to learn about loyalty boy." When his fingers began to go numb he let Zander go and the boy promptly fell to his knees.

"Johnny." Holding out his hand a crisp white envelope was promptly slapped in it. "Here's a First Class ticket from La Guardia to Atlanta. Where you go from there is up to you. There are some airline vouchers in here if you want to use them." Sonny waited for Zander to get to his feet before continuing. "There's also some cash in here. Let's call it seed money for your new life far away from Port Charles."

Zander automatically caught the envelope that was tossed at him. From the feel of it there was quite a lot of seed money contained inside of it. Money was always good but being run out of town infuriated him. He wasn't ready to leave. There was a lot left for him to accomplish here in Port Charles especially with Emily. There was no way he was walking away from her after he spent so much time setting things up so perfectly. "You can't tell me where I can or can't live."

"That's correct," agreeable Sonny nodded and began walking back the way they came. "However you might find that life in Port Charles can get to be a very uncomfortable place to live. Strange things happen every day in this world. Life could be perfect one day then the next a fire could ravage your home. A person could lose their job, or even be confused with the local child molester and revenge is extracted on him by mistake."

Horrified Zander came to a stop. "You'd set me up?"

"Did I say anything about a set up?" Sonny asked benignly.

"You…" Zander began by pointing a finger in Sonny's direction.

"Now you listen to me." Sonny cut him off with a wave of the hand. "I'm grateful for what you did in getting rid of Sorel. But we both know you did that more to save your own sorry skin then to help me. Besides my gratitude only goes so far and you've used that up." He inched closer. "Its true I can't stop you from coming back to Port Charles. I just want you to be real clear on what will happen if you do. If you come back you'll be nothing more than a stranger to me. But if you go near Emily again … you'll be my enemy."

Leaving him with that warning Sonny turned and headed for the car knowing that Johnny would bring the kid along eventually. Soon the car came into view and the sight of it made him eager to be gone. "Adam and Max packed up your stuff while we were gone and Adam will take you to the airport and make sure you get on the plane." The words were tossed over his shoulder as he climbed in the back seat of one of the waiting cars. It wasn't long before the front door opened and Johnny joined him.

"Did he put up a fight?"

"The kids too shocked to do anything but move where I tell him to." Johnny replied.

Sonny nodded thoughtfully. He'd done his best for Emily and by extension Jason. She had wanted Zander gone but not hurt if he could help it and he tried to do that for her. If the punk was foolish enough to make a return visit to town Emily would have to understand that this sort of treatment wouldn't be offered a second time to Zander. "I'd like to think we've seen the last of him. But punks like him have a bad habit of turning up at the worst time. Put the word out on the network if anyone sees Zander Smith in town I want to know about it."

Docks

What was it about the sound of water that made whatever tension you had bottled up inside of you seemingly seep away? Emily didn't know but the longer she stood on the docks listening to the water as it lapped against the pylons the clearer her mind became and the anger that she was feeling slowly began to fade away,

She didn't know how long she'd been standing there or even how she'd made her way to the docks to begin with. Her last clear memory had been reliving her mother's death in an attempt to save her second mother's life. The confrontation with Monica had drained her, the whole week had drained her. Telling Jason and AJ about what she'd discovered about Monica's health and getting them to agree to a face-to-face meeting to confront her about it had been hard. Keeping AJ and Jason in the same room without fighting, sniping, or stalking out in disgust after five minutes was such a daunting task Emily never had time to consider what she would say to Monica when the meeting actually happened.

When the moment finally arrived she had been submerged with memories of what happened to her mother and the bitterness and anger that she had never been able to show her mother had finally found a voice. How could you be angry with someone because they were dying? But how could you not be angry if there was a chance to stop the sickness before death was the ultimate outcome? She meant what she told Monica. She wouldn't standby and watch another mother die due to a mixture of fear and a damn disease.

"I'll leave first." Emily promised the water then almost toppled into it when a hand fell on her shoulder. Instantly the hold tightened, pulling her back and turning her away from the water.

"What do you mean you'll leave?" Nikolas asked.

"Don't do that." Emily ordered and did her best to slow the frantic beat of her heart. "You shouldn't sneak up on a person like that."

"I'd hardly call it sneaking when you've been standing behind a person for several minutes waiting for them to notice you." Nikolas countered.

"You were watching me?" Unnerved Emily took a step away and belatedly realized he still had a hold of her arm. The knowledge of Nikolas' ingrained manners were something she used and abused quite frequently. He never pushed to hard or crossed to many formal barriers without her permission because the etiquette that had been drilled into him since birth wouldn't let him. So when she pulled on her arm he immediately let go and she backed up.

"I wasn't watching I was merely waiting for you. It was clear that you were trying to work through something and judging from your expression it seemed to be very serious and I wanted to give you time to do that." Catching her unaware he closed the distance she had so carefully put between them. "I wanted your mind to be clear when we had our talk."

Emily paled at his words but held her ground. Emotionally she felt like she had been pushed to the limit and she was tired of it. It was past time for her to start pushing back. "I wasn't aware we had a talk scheduled. I'm sure I didn't see it on my social calendar."

Although he didn't care for her flip response Nikolas was careful not to show his irritation. She wanted a fight and he wasn't about to oblige her. "You must not have listened to any of the hundred or so messages I left for you in the past several days then."

"I get a lot of messages." Emily again tried for dismissive and used the guise to move away from him to sit on the small bench in between the stairs. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I," Nikolas started then stopped. This attitude from Emily wasn't one he was used to seeing and he wasn't quite sure how to handle it or her.

"Yes?" Emily glanced at her watch then up at him with a bored expression on her face. "I have a meeting in a few minutes," she bluffed, "speak now or forever hold your peace."

The dismissal stung and brought the Prince inside of him to the fore and his tone turned superior. "Alright if that's the way you want to play it. I want to know why you felt the need to lie to me the last we saw each other."

Surprised by the unexpected question and his unusually sharp tone Emily's illusion of poise and control began to crumble. "I don't know what you mean."

Seeing the cracks Nikolas changed tracks. "You're meeting in a few minutes is it with Zander?"

Instinct had her changing her answer at the last second. "Not that it's any of your business but no."

"Then answer my question," he paused then challenged. "If you can."

Furious Emily shot to her feet. "What question?"

"Why did you lie to me about meeting Zander the other night?" Emily took a step away and Nikolas caught her before she could take another one. "You and Zander broke up. So why did you lie and tell me you were meeting him when you weren't?"

Desperate and feeling cornered Emily's eyes darted everywhere looking for escape but there was none.

"Answer me."

"You don't want me to." Emily warned him as the emotion she'd been fighting to control began churning inside of her all over again.

"Yes I do. Talk to me Emily. Tell me the truth." Nikolas kept a hold of her hands and pressed for answers.

Her eyes darted away to the water and stayed there for a long minute before turning back to meet his. "I said it to get away from you. I lied to get away from you."

Stung Nikolas dropped her hands.

Down the docks laughter rang out filling the air with its sound. In fact laughter was a sound that seemed to follow this particular pair wherever they went. Of course most of the laughter seemed to come from the smallest of the pair. It wasn't that the man didn't want to laugh it was just he wouldn't let himself no matter how much the woman tried to make him.

"Were you serious about working at the morgue?" Francis asked during a lull in the conversation.

"Absolutely." Rory's answer was immediate. "Next to the position with Alexis it was definitely the top job of all the possibilities we've seen this week." It took her a second to realize that she was walking alone. "Mr. Francis?"

"Yesterday you said you thought the Oasis was the best place for you to work." He reminded her sharply.

Rory grinned at his expression. "Now Mr. Francis you know I only applied at the Bucket of Blood and the Oasis to get you all worked up and make the tops of your ears turn pink, kind of like they're doing now. Did you know your ears turn pink whenever you get flustered or uncomfortable?"

Francis couldn't stop the groan from escaping his lips. God help him if Johnny or the other guys ever picked up on that fact he'd never hear the end of it. Knowing that a glare would be wasted on the incorrigible devil he was currently guarding. Francis decided to continue on his way to the warehouse. He'd barely taken a step when Rory fell in next to him and worked her hand through the crook of his arm and began humming.

"Why?" Nikolas finally managed to find his voice but it sounded mangled to his ears.

"I told you," Emily cried, "I told you time and again but you never wanted to hear me. I think we need to rethink our friendship. In order to do that I don't think we should spend so much time together. If you knew I broke up with Zander you'd be worried about me. Wondering if I was okay yet at the same time thrilled I finally got rid of him. You don't need to be thinking about me especially now when you should be thinking about your trip with Gia." Nikolas would never know how much those words and the smile on her face cost her.

"My trip?" Nikolas parroted.

"Actually your trip couldn't have come at a better time if you think about it. We'll both get used to not seeing each other every day and that can only be a good thing. By the time you return we'll be used to not seeing each other." The wind had come up suddenly and began whipping her hair around her face and into her eyes. She attributed the sudden stinging behind her eyes to that. "Its time for me to go. I have a meeting to get to."

"No," he snapped and stepped in front of her again. Gone was the stunned man who had been caught off guard by her words. In his place was a man, a very determined looking man. "This is where the misunderstandings are going to stop."

"I don't…"

"Be quiet Emily," he snapped causing her to blink in surprise. "You've had your chance to talk and now it's my turn. First off I'm not going out of town with Gia. I never was. I told her I wasn't going shortly after she made her stunning announcement in Kelly's. Had you bothered to return any of my phone calls this week you would have known that." His tone was one Stefan had taught him to use when dealing with difficult subjects and it appeared to be working with a stunned and silent Emily.

"Emily," his tone softened and when he touched her cold cheek she didn't pull away. "Did you really think I would leave you now? How could I do that to you? You have so much going on, with your mom and whatever your other secret is that you refuse to tell me about, not to mention trying to keep Lucky from doing something crazy. How could I leave you now?"

Did she have the right to feel disappointed? Was screaming until she was hoarse out of the question for her? His words were sweet and no doubt prompted out of the legitimate feelings he had for her, but no matter how well intentioned or comforting his words were meant to be all they caused her was pain and she was so tired of pain. She decided it was time to inflict pain on someone else for a change. "It's easy to leave Nikolas. You've done it to me before. The only difference is that this time you'll actually be leaving town as well."

Emily brushed past him before he could recover from her unexpected verbal attack. She didn't bother trying to leave knowing that his stunned immobility would only be fleeting. She knew Nikolas well enough to know that he wouldn't be giving up anytime soon but she on the other hand, didn't know how much more she could take. Then she spotted what could either be her salvation or damnation coming towards her. "Rory." Emily called out before she could talk herself out of it.

Surprised at the unexpected hail Rory faltered a step then gave a tentative wave in return.

"You meeting her?" Francis asked as he gently pried Rory's fingers free of where she had clamped down on his wrist.

"No." Rory was curious about Emily's welcoming smile. The last time she'd seen her things between them had been awkward to say the least. When she saw the man who suddenly appeared behind Emily her questions were answered and she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. "Why don't you go to the warehouse and pick up your paycheck and I'll wait here with Emily."

"No." Francis immediately shook his head. He knew better than to let her out of his sight.

Recognizing the look in his eye Rory turned serious. "I promise not to move from the docks. You'll be able to see me from the doors of the warehouse." She could see the refusal on his lips and played her trump card. "I'll be on the docks with Jason's sister. You can hardly put my safety above hers now can you?"

"Emily." Nikolas gabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. "What the hell did you mean by that?"

"I meant what I said." Emily tried to pull free but for once he didn't let go.

"Are you trying to hurt me?" His dark eyes showed the pain her words had inflicted.

"No." Feeling herself beginning to weaken Emily strove to fight it off. "Hurting is what you do."

"I have never deliberately hurt you," he argued softly.

"No." She agreed and blinked against the sting of tears that couldn't be blamed on the wind. "You do your damage unintentionally and somehow that worse."

Her quiet words so obviously from the heart seemed to devastate them both and silence fell.

"Sorry I'm late Emily." Rory interrupted the tense scene by calling out from a few feet away. She turned and looked meaningfully at Francis who responded with a warning glare then turned and hurried for the warehouse.

Wrenching her eyes from Nikolas Emily could have screamed in relief, she took a step in Rory's direction and brushed away the lone tear that slipped past her guard. "Actually your timing is perfect. Nikolas and I were just finished."

Judging from the look on Nikolas' face Rory doubted that but wisely kept her opinion to herself.

Mind reeling and having been well-schooled in the art of warfare Nikolas knew the value of a strategic retreat at times in order to win the war. Turning he smiled at Rory. "I'm glad to see you've recovered from your accident." His attention moved to Emily who refused to meet his eyes. "We'll continue our discussion at another time." With that final salvo he took his leave.

Rory waited for him to disappear up the steps before letting out a low whistle. "That was intense."

Worried by his parting shot. Emily merely nodded. Suddenly she felt so tired, all she wanted to do was crawl in her bed and sleep for about a week straight.

Sighing regretfully Rory stuffed her hands in her pockets and turned to look at the water. "You don't have to stay. I know you only called me over to get rid of him." When Emily flinched Rory knew she was correct.

"I'm sorry it's just." Emily stopped unsure of what to say or how to say it to Rory. She couldn't help feeling uncomfortable around the older woman. She wasn't blind she knew that her behavior hurt Rory but she couldn't seem to help it.

"It's okay." Rory shrugged like it didn't matter and was about to let the matter go entirely when she hesitated. Emily was too important to Jason for things to continue on like this between her and his sister. Jason wasn't blind he knew something was going on between them. She had to find a way to make things easier between them so he wouldn't feel uncomfortable. When she saw Francis making his way in their direction she held up a hand to stop him which he did well out of earshot.

"I wanted to apologize to you about the other day." Rory turned to look at Emily who flinched. "I hurt your feelings and although it was unintentional on my part it still happened and for that I'm sorry."

Surprised Emily didn't know what to say.

"Your Jason's sister and someone I thought was turning into a friend and I really don't want to make things even more awkward between us but there's something else you need to know about our discussion the other day." Rory continued.

Nervous and uncomfortable Emily turned away to watch the water. The last thing she wanted to do was rehash their last conversation, yet she made no attempt to stop her.

"I shouldn't have gone on the way I did about Zander's plan. It was brutal and somewhere along the way I forgot that not only was I talking to the intended victim I was also talking to someone who at one time cared very deeply for Zander." Rory took a step closer when Emily continued to look away. "I've never been accused of being a very tactful person. In other words I put my foot in it quite a lot and obviously I did that the other day."

When Emily still didn't speak Rory realized her hopes for friendship were probably gone, sighing tiredly she nevertheless decided to finish. "There is one thing I want you to know and believe. Will you look at me while I tell you?"

Reluctantly Emily turned to face her.

"I admit I got carried away when I realized the full extent of his plan. You thought I admired it and I guess in a sense I did. I admired the sheer diabolicalness of the plan. But one can have a malevolent idea, find it morally repugnant and never dream anyone would ever dare put it into practice. If I had heard about this scam being done on anyone even if I didn't know them, I would have interfered. Because while the idea of the plan is beautiful in its twisted way to put it into action is wrong and just plain sick."

Unsure if she should go on Rory eventually decided that she had to finish things. "I know that this may be hard for you to understand Emily but I'm from a different world then you are. And that world has a totally different culture and set of rules that people live by. In fact I'm from the same place that produces guys like Zander and gives them these types of abhorrent plans. That's why I can conceive and appreciate such ideas even while being disgusted by them."

Rory waited a long time for Emily to speak but no response was forthcoming. Sighing she turned her focus back to the water and decided it was probably best if she left. "I just wanted you to know. I better go," she turned to leave.

"You think I'm stupid."

The words were so soft and unexpected for a moment Rory wasn't sure she'd heard what she thought she heard. "What?"

"Who am I kidding," Emily sighed bitterly. "I was stupid."

"No you weren't."

"Yes I was." Emily finally looked at her. "Don't you see even when the doctor explained what was wrong with me I couldn't put it together. I couldn't comprehend what it all meant. I didn't imagine anyone could think of anything like that, until we were driving back and you outlined what Zander had intended to do to me. What I failed to grasp you pointed out to me easily, leading me along like I was a child."

"And with all the tact of an elephant in a roller rink." Rory muttered.

"No. Don't you see you have nothing to apologize for? I'm the one that was an idiot. I told you I'm stupid." Defeated Emily walked over to the bench and sank on it.

"No your not." Rory retorted angrily.

"Yes I am. I couldn't see what he was doing. I couldn't see the truth about Zander. You certainly didn't have that problem. You met him once and had his number."

"Do you honestly think you're the only woman in the world that's been screwed over by a guy?" Rory demanded.

"I think this goes a little beyond screwing over," Emily showed life by snapping back. "I know what it means to be screwed over, I had a boyfriend before Zander who had a knack for making out with other girls while he was dating me."

"That is just another variation of the ass species." Rory sat next to Emily. "Zander no doubt falls in that species as well. But there's another species he falls into the emasculated rat bastard grouping."

Emily recognized the attempt at humor but couldn't respond to it.

Turning serious Rory shifted to meet Emily's eye. "It's not that you couldn't see who Zander was. You didn't want to see the truth. You cared about him and the part you cared about was all you wanted to see. On top of that you had all of these people telling you how wrong Zander was for you and if you looked too closely at him you might find out they were right. You once told me that one thing holding you back from breaking up with him was fear of being told I told you so by everyone you knew."

"And that's just more proof that I'm an idiot. Staying with him because I don't want to look like a fool isn't exactly a bright move."

"Your not the first person in the world to make that mistake Emily."

Shaking off her encouraging words Emily got to her feet. "You know the truth about me, you know everything. You above everyone know how foolish and stupid I was. How can you stand to be around me?"

"Because you did nothing wrong." Rory got to her feet as well.

"Don't you see if you hadn't been with me I probably still would be in the dark about the full extent of his plan?" Emily asked.

"And that's supposed to be a bad thing?" Fed up Rory lost her patience. It was time for some harsh life lessons.

Startled by the vehemence Emily turned to look and was caught off guard by the cool expression on Rory's face. It was a look she had never seen before. And for the first time ever looking at her she didn't even get a whisper of Elizabeth in her mind.

"For some reason you seem convinced that because you trusted someone you cared about not to hurt you intentionally, and then once you found out he did you still wanted to believe there was some decency left inside of him. For some strange reason you believe that looking for the good in people, especially in people you care about is foolish."

"You would never be in this position."

"This isn't about me or how I think. God do you have any idea how lucky you are?" Rory demanded. "Do you have any idea what its like to walk into a room and constantly be sizing the room and its occupants up, checking for cops, sizing up potential marks, doing a mental price check on items you can fence in the room? Bare in mind that you need to do this within a few seconds of walking into any new place, within a minute of meeting any new person you need to be aware of what type of scam would work on that person if any, and you damn well better be able to smell if their a cop or not. And don't even get me started about checking for additional exits in every room or building you enter in case you have to make a quick getaway."

Emily's mind reeled at the description Rory was painting for her. Somehow she knew what Rory was describing was the life she lived, perhaps still lived. She had considered Rory a person who loved to laugh and joke all the time, someone who was perfect for her too serious brother. When in fact it looked like she spent quite a lot of time looking over her shoulder and on guard.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about and that's a good thing." Unaware of Emily's thoughts Rory continued on. "You don't want to be like me Emily. You have it made, if anything I want to be like you. You believe in the good in people and with a few exceptions here and there I bet that's what you get. That's a rare thing, hold onto it, don't curse it. Believe me you don't want things to change, because if they do you might change and trust me you won't like that." Surprised and a bit mortified that she went off on a tangent like that it was Rory's time to fall quiet and study the water as the sky grew darker and darker.

"I thought," Emily hesitated then decided to let her petty worries out. "I thought you were embarrassed that I wasn't able to make the connection as quickly as you were."

"Jesus do you have that wrong." Rory laughed. "And here I figured I horrified you so much you were probably going to go to Jason and ask him to please dump the crazy psycho."

"Psycho?" This time Emily didn't fight the amusement. "Your not a psycho. He had a psycho in his life before and your nothing like Carly."

Rory couldn't help but laugh at the characterization of Carly, which Emily joined. In that moment Rory felt that the tentative bonds of friendship were still in place if not even stronger and for that she was relieved.

"So are we okay?" Emily asked when the much-needed laughter passed.

"I hope so. How are things going with you? Have you seen Zander yet?"

"No." Emily paused when a new thought occurred to her. "Have you seen Jason?"

"Not since he left with you this morning." Rory's mood was light with relief and that changed the instant she saw Emily's expression.

"You need to find him." Emily urged. "Now."

"Why? Did something happen? Did you tell him about Zander?" Rory immediately began to worry about damage control with the law if she had.

"No its about…." Emily stopped. It wasn't her place to tell. "He needs you now Rory. Go to him."

Nodding Rory gestured at Francis and some of her anxiety must have shown on her face because he hurried in their direction.

"We'll talk later." Emily understood the rush.

Rory's thanks were tossed over her shoulder, her mind already focused on Jason. She couldn't help but remember how tortured he had looked that morning when he'd left the penthouse. Whatever Emily talked to him about wasn't good and if Emily was still concerned she couldn't help but be worried. "I need to get home." She told Francis and hurried for his waiting truck.

Port Charles Hotel

When one walked through the doors of the Port Charles Hotel their eyes were treated to the sight of one of the most luxurious hotels anywhere on the east coast. Despite its decidedly low brow name the hotel itself boasted an elegance that drew the rich to it. Most especially the hotel catered to the rich that had been so for centuries and could trace their ancestry back to the Mayflower. The newly minted rich were tolerated of course, after all money was money. But on the whole if the person's ancestry couldn't be traced back at least to three generations of blue blood they were considered rather déclassé.

There was a time in the early 90's when the hotel had begun to cater to the young wealthy of the world. Going so far as to stage rock bands in one of the bars on weekends. But that didn't go over well with the denizens that had been coming to the hotel for years and their disapproval was felt in their absence.

That all changed once the elder Quartermaine wrested control of the hotel back from his grandsons and the interloper Julia Barrett. The hotel soon returned to the traditions that had been carved over 100's of years and order was restored. The controlling elite once again had a place to take tea and look down their collective noses at the rest of society.

Located inside the hotel was the P.C. Grille, one of the most expensive and best restaurants in town. The waiting list for lunch even on the habitually slow Monday was still pages long. There was never an empty table, it simply wouldn't be tolerated, and rarely was there a bill less then three figures. And that was exactly the way Edward Quartermaine liked it.

Another thing he liked was peering into the adjacent bar and being unable to see the bar due to all the people surrounding it. To him every clink of ice hitting a glass was the same as money in the bank. And money, next to Lila, was his holy grail. Some might argue that money meant more to him then anything else, but that would be untrue. Lila and their broad, if underachieving family did come in ahead of money. Although he had to admit sometimes money ran neck and neck with the extended family, though never so with Lila.

His children either legitimate or illegitimate had been a constant source of frustration and disappointment to him. They would show these flashes of absolute ruthlessness and then follow it up with such stupidity he was forced to question their lineage. There had been many times in the past several years that he wished he had made his presence known in Bradley Ward's life before he died. Now there was a son a man could be proud of. But no matter how much his children vexed him, Tracy most especially he still had vivid memories of her refusing to give him his nitroglycerin during his "heart attack", he did care for them, and in Alan's case he even loved.

Sadly the next generation was turning out the same way. AJ was unreliable with his as of yet uncontrollable drinking. You could never be certain if the man you were getting would be the one time city councilman or the town drunk. Dillon was still in high school and having been raised primarily by Tracy one had to wonder how the boy would turn out. Besides if he invited Dillon to town Tracy would no doubt take that as an invitation to come to town as well. Whenever Tracy was in Port Charles trouble and treachery soon followed.

Justus had isolated himself in Philadelphia and thus far resisted every overture made in his direction. Besides the promise Justus once showed had been tarnished somewhat because of the fact he never seemed to overcome his grandmother's death and killing Damian Smith. Edward could understand missing Mary Mae, he still missed her and played her music often just to reminisce. As for his continued confliction over beating Damian to death with a baseball bat, he believed it was past time that Justus buried that concern and got over it. It wasn't like Damian was a saint or anything.

Ned, once his shining beacon of hope, the person he had so carefully groomed to be his successor, had become a disappointment. The one person in his family that was the most like him had been the one that let him down the most. At times Ned fancied himself a rock star, as such he couldn't be trusted to stick to the company full time. Emily, delightful as she was, showed no interest in business and besides she lacked the killer instinct that was needed to make a business thrive. Besides at times her choices could be dubious, at least her choices in boyfriends.

As for Jason, Edward gave a soft sigh. The boy wasn't stupid as he once feared he was after the accident. Jason also possessed the ruthlessness that was necessary in a Fortune 500 company. If he could ever get the boy out from under the sway of that infernal criminal Sonny Corinthos he would be a perfect fit at Quartermaine Enterprises.

Until that happened Edward was forced to focus on the youngest generation of Quartermaine successors. Since Ned had tucked Brook Lynn upstate with Lois as a 10 fingered guard dog that only left him with one focus. Of course Michael would have been his primary focus anyway. After all a great grandson was of critical importance in the grand scheme of things. Eventually he planned on returning Michael's rightful name of Quartermaine to him and that would insure the continuation of the Quartermaine family name.

To start the ball rolling in his plan to reclaim Michael Edward spied his unsuspecting quarry sitting at a table and moved in for the kill. "Carly. You look lovely as always." Giving her his most charming smile he bent down and kissed the cheek she offered then took the seat across from her.

Amused Carly leaned back and twirled a pen in between her fingers. "Edward you're in a good mood. What happened? Take over some unsuspecting company?"

Edward chuckled. "That's on tomorrow's agenda."

"Then what do I owe this visit to?" Carly's suspicions of the old man were well earned. He might have snowed her in the beginning because of her strong desire to be both accepted and respected. It hadn't taken long or very many warnings by Jason for her to realize the truth of the old man's caginess. Edward might still charm her on some level but she had learned to be very wary as well.

"Do I need a reason to visit with my favorite ex-daughter in law?"

If Carly hadn't been wary before that remark definitely would have put her guard up. Watching him carefully she reached for her water glass and took a sip. "Now I'm your favorite? Funny I seem to remember a time when you threatened me with Ferncliff among other things."

Waving her words off the way one would shoo a fly Edward again used his charm. "That was years ago Carly. The circumstances of the time brought out the worst in us all. I'm sure you're not the type to hold a grudge."

Carly leaned forward. "Actually I've been known to hold a grudge for twenty years."

"I knew there was a reason I liked you." His eyes twinkled in merriment but there was truth in his words. "We're very much alike."

"If were so much alike you can probably smell a snow job as quickly as I can."

"My dear," he patted her hand. "One day you'll realize I'm not the grand enemy you make me out to be. In fact I can be quite a good friend to those I care for."

Carly continued to eye him suspiciously but as of yet she hadn't been able to discern his motive in approaching after all this time.

Catching the speculation in her eyes he decided it was time to leave. He had made initial contact and that was enough for today. It would take a lot of time and a lot of careful planning to get past her guard. "I'll leave you to your work." He got to his feet. "Lila will be wondering where I am."

Carly's countenance softened at the mention of the great lady. "Tell her hello from me."

"I will."

"Mama." A little redheaded missile darted his way through the tables with the recklessness that kids seemed to possess leaving a string of near accidents in his wake.

"Mr. Man." Carly automatically picked the little boy up and settled him on her lap.

"Guess what? I saw Daddy Jason today and he gave me a kan – a kang…" Michael stuttered.

"A kangaroo." Carly provided the word automatically even as she looked up at Edward. "Sonny will be here soon."

Edward understood the warning. "It was good to see you again Carly, Michael," he hesitated wanting to touch the little boy but at the last second turned away. He didn't want to show an extreme bit of interest in Michael too soon. If he did Carly would shut him down. He also knew he could only speak to her when she wasn't with that mobster she was married to.

However as he was walking away from the table his focus wasn't on Carly or even his great grandson, it was on his grandson Jason. It seemed the prodigal had returned to town. Edward wondered if it was time to start opening discussions with the boy again.

Lakeview

The elevator seemed to be traveling slower than usual. Then again everything seemed to be moving slowly. Since leaving the docks time seemed to have crawled, every single red light in the world seemed to be in front of them, not to mention idiot Sunday drivers out cruising on a Wednesday night. The bastards.

"The Durango and the bike were downstairs, he's probably upstairs." Francis offered reassurance in the guise of an offhand comment. He wasn't sure what had occurred during her discussion with Emily but whatever it was sure lit a fire under his charge.

"I know," Rory smiled briefly as the doors finally opened. "If Jason is home you can go. I'll be with him the rest of the night."

"Okay." Francis was used to this from her. Unlike some of the guard detail he'd pulled in the past Rory was always aware of him waiting outside for her. She never had him hang around unnecessarily. It was a trait others could learn. But then again most of the people he'd guarded in his career hadn't placed limitations on his detail.

Grabbing the door handle she was relieved when it turned easily, opening it her eyes searched the dark room until she spotted his silhouette framed in the window. Turning she nodded at Francis who headed for the elevator. Walking inside she locked the door behind her. Dropping her coat on the floor she set her bag on the desk and crossed the room towards him. She didn't need light to read the tension in his frame, it became more and more evident with every step she took towards him. Jason was hurting and he was hurting bad.

Saying nothing Rory wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face against his back and held on. There was no response from Jason. His hand didn't come to rest on hers, he didn't sigh in relief, but he didn't pull away either. Gradually Rory began squirming, being careful not to let go of him she maneuvered until she was holding him, her head on his chest, her hands locked loosely around his back. Her move forced him to uncross his arms so she could rest her head on his chest. It took several more minutes but eventually his arms came around her and he rested his chin on her head. When she heard him sigh she took her first easy breath in what seemed like hours. Rory was content to hold him for as long as he needed her. It was her turn to be here for him.

Jason was a little surprised at the way she had wormed her way into his arms, but then realized he shouldn't be. It was the same way she had wormed her way into his heart. In the hours since leaving the hospital he'd indulged in the unusual pastime of reflection. It was true what he'd told Monica. He'd never intended to care about her. And in the beginning it had been easy not to. But like Rory she had found a way inside his heart and he had grown to care for her. The idea she might get sick wasn't one he was prepared for. The thought she could die wasn't one he had even contemplated. Thought death may be something he was more aware of then most people it didn't seem right in her case.

Tightening his hold on Rory he buried his face in her neck, his hand fisting in her hair as he pulled her closer and drew in her scent. And because she was quiet, because she was just content to hold him and not press for answers, but most importantly because she was there he pulled back so he could see her eyes and told her.

Parking Garage

Rubbing at the ball of tension that had suddenly formed at the base of his neck Francis started his truck but didn't put it in gear. His mind remained on the couple in the penthouse above. He hoped Rory and Jason weren't fighting again. He'd only been around them as a couple for about a week now but he knew that anytime in which they were fighting wasn't going to be pleasant for anyone, especially him.

Putting the car in gear he realized he didn't have much say in the matter. If they were fighting he'd have to deal with it. He'd learned early on that he needed to be on his toes when it came to Rory. It seemed that she was determined to get to him in some way or the other and he never knew which angle she was going to take at any given time.

Applying for a job at the morgue was a classic illustration of that. Now that he could let his amusement show the smile that graced his features made him look years younger. He almost wished she had taken the position at the morgue. He would have loved to have seen Sonny's face when he found out the news, not to mention Johnny's. Johnny had a little known phobia of morgues. Rory working there, being there every day would have given him ammunition to use on Johnny for months. Francis was still laughing at the thought when he pulled through the electric gate of the underground parking garage and headed for his apartment.

Behind him the Lakeview Towers gleamed proudly in the night for another minute then abruptly went dark. Every light in the majestic tower went out in the same instant. In fact every light, in every building on that side of the street went out at the same time, while the buildings across the street continued to burn brightly into the night.

Transformer

Moving quickly to his car Marin checked his watch, according to his calculations he should have a 27-minute window before power could be rerouted and restored to the Lakeview. That should give him enough time to get to the towers and do the necessary reconnaissance work. Once the recon was complete he would be ready to put his plan into action.