Remarks: I wanted to say thanks for those of you who remembered this story and were willing to read it after such a long layoff. I really wanted to thank Evil But Friendly Rival for her amazingly flattering words (and no I didn't pay her, but I would've if I would have thought of it). Along with everyone else who took the time to R&R.
Steph
What If…
Chapter 35
Penthouse
Breakfast had never been a meal that Jason had gone out of his way to eat. He would eat something if it was put in front of him, but if nothing was there he didn't miss it. Since meeting Rory however, he'd begun eating breakfast almost every day, whether he wanted to or not. Of course at times she called breakfast, brunch but it was the same meal to him. Rory may be petite but she loved her food. She was a firm believe in three meals a day plus several snacks. The only problem with the breakfast scenario was that Rory didn't know how to cook. But there were times she didn't let that little fact stop her. Apparently this morning was one of those times.
"How the hell can someone get bread stuck in a toaster?" Rory griped to the food gods. Unaware she was being watched she continued in her goal of making breakfast. On the third try she managed to find the drawer that held the silverware and unearthed a fork and headed for the now smoking toaster. She needed to get the bread out of there before the smoke alarm upstairs went off. She'd already destroyed the one downstairs and didn't feel like racing upstairs to destroy the other one.
At the last second she remembered to unplug the toaster before sticking the metal fork inside it to pry the wedge of toast free. "Come on you sonofabitch." The last part of the word ended on a yelp as the toast popped free, cleared the toaster and landed with a thud on the counter. Surprised Rory stared at it for a minute then shrugged. "That'll work."
The noise of an angry sounding hiss reached her ears and that probably meant trouble, cautiously Rory turned around to identify where it was coming from. The last time she'd heard a sound like that was right before a coffee cup had shattered. This time it was the coffee pot. Pitch-black liquid like sludge was spilling over the side of the pot onto the burner causing it to sizzle.
"Jesus." Irritated Rory muttered under her breath, mutters quickly turned into curses when some of the coffee splashed on her hand when she switched the overflowing pot for a coffee cup. "I'm never doing this again."
"That might be a good idea considering we don't have renter's insurance." Amused Jason made his presence known and came close to laughing when she spun around and he saw dark streaks on her face.
"You're awake." Rory stated the obvious as an accusation.
"So are you and its not even 9:00." Crossing his arms he leaned against the doorjamb and eyed her suspiciously. "Your wide awake when you don't have to be, your in a kitchen trying to cook when you can't, and your making oil spill coffee when you hate the smell of it. What are you up to?"
Bristling Rory turned away to replace one coffee cup with another as the black sludge continued to drip from the filter. Maybe she had used too much water to fill this thing.
"No answer. Now I know your up to something." Jason's words came from directly behind her, his hands came to rest on the counter caging her in. "So what prompted the toxic spill?"
Irritation, which for the better part of a half an hour had been directed at inanimate objects during her futile breakfast making effort, now turned on him. "Obviously I was attempting to make breakfast for you, though why I bother for a stupid jerk is beyond me." Shoving hard at one of his arms she moved past him towards a small table in the corner of the room.
Turning Jason belatedly noticed the table that had been carefully if uniquely set for two. The plates were mismatched as were the glasses, but it was obvious that special effort had been made. There was a pale yellow flower drowning in a tall water glass in the center of the table. Also on the table was a platter of some of the blackest items he'd ever seen, in fact he had trouble recognizing what they were supposed to be. It was only the charred pan in the sink that still smelled that made him realize it was bacon. On the plate itself were the runniest eggs he'd ever seen in his life. They were more yellow then white and definitely not fluffy. His gaze shifted to his girlfriend who was sitting stiffly at the table and muttering under her breath. It didn't take him long to realize he was in trouble.
Penthouse
Across the hall storm clouds of a different sort were forming although one half of the occupants was blissfully unaware of the oncoming trouble.
"Are you sure?" Conscious of Carly being upstairs Sonny kept his voice low as he spoke into the phone. Pausing to listen he absently began drumming his fingers on the desk. "Things are moving quicker then I expected them to. We might have to step up our plan." Glancing at his watch he knew it was time to wind things up.
"Keep me informed. If things keep progressing like this you'll need to prepare for visitors by the end of the week." Sighing Sonny hung up the phone and moved over to the fashionably laid out table. As usual the sights and smells coming from the table were both pleasing to the eye and the pallet. Filling his plate with some of the food his mind turned over the information the phone call had revealed. He'd expected movement in Puerto Rico once Jason made his presence known in Port Charles, but he was surprised it was so soon. Hearing Carly descend the stairs he pushed the problem of Puerto Rico to the back of his mind in order to share a nice breakfast with his wife. Rising he pulled out her chair and kissed her cheek. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you." Carly smiled, settled in her seat and began filling her plate with the delectable dishes he prepared every morning. Biding her time she waited for him to take a bite of his Eggs Florentine before striking. "If you think I'm going to let you send Jason to Puerto Rico after he just got home you've got another thing coming."
Surprised Sonny swallowed the food whole and the move set off a coughing fit that brought tears to his eyes. Through the tears he could see his wife was well prepared and waiting to continue the discussion.
Penthouse
"You did all of this for me?" Jason took the empty chair. "You didn't have to."
"Obviously."
Hearing the bite in her voice he knew he had indeed made her mad. "I'm sorry. You caught me by surprise. You don't cook very often, so I didn't know what to think."
"And naturally you decided I was up to something because there was no way in hell I would ever just do something for you without an ulterior motive is there?" Disappointed for some reason Rory crossed her arms over her chest and refused to look at him.
"No." At that remark Jason realized that besides making her angry he'd also hurt her and he didn't like that. "I was just surprised."
Hearing the tone of his voice Rory relented slightly and glanced in his direction. Maybe she was being a little unreasonable. After all it wasn't his fault she'd been burned by coffee, splattered with bacon grease, not to mention fallen off the chair when she'd beat the hell out of the smoke alarm when it went off. "I just … I know last night was hard for you, and I just wanted to do something." When Jason eyed the charred bacon she shot to her feet. "Forget it." She'd barely taken a step when he caught her and pulled her on his lap. "Let me go. I don't want to talk to you." She tried to squirm free.
"Then listen." Jason fought to hold her in place. "What you did last night for me was just what I needed, you listened to me, you held me."
Irritation forgotten Rory stopped struggling. "Yesterday was a hard day for you emotionally, I wanted to be there for you."
"You were and I needed that, I needed you." Now that she'd stopped struggling he shifted his hold until it was more like an embrace. "Is that what all this was about? Taking care of me?"
Mortified Rory shrugged and looked away until he caught her chin and made her meet his eyes. "You always do so much for me and it doesn't seem like I do anything for you. I'm the one that has all these neuroses that you have to talk me down from, I just wanted to show you I could be the one there for you when you needed it. This disgusting mess was just another way of showing how much I care for you."
"You do more then you think." He leaned forward until their foreheads touched. "You don't have to cook for me to show me. In fact I wish you wouldn't."
Amused Rory laughed and Jason grinned. He did seem better then last night. And as much as she wanted to believe talking to her had been the magical cure she had a feeling that a large part of his relief came from Monica's call informing him of her plans to have a biopsy today. "Because of that remark I'm going to make you eat this." Rory warned him and while he digested those words she scrambled from his lap and moved into the kitchen proper.
"The table is set for two aren't you joining me?"
"Eat that road kill?" Rory shuddered and pulled out a box of Krispy Kremes from the cupboard. "I made this for you Jason. Here's my breakfast." Taking a seat she looked meaningfully at his plate, which now held a rapidly congealing egg. "Enjoy."
Penthouse
"Carly," Sonny gasped when the coughing fit passed then paused to take a sip of his juice to soothe his throat before going on. "Back off. This is business it has nothing to do with you." With that pronouncement he fully expected the conversation to end in one of two ways. Either with her trademark stomp upstairs and slamming of the bedroom door, or her to sit at the table with a sullen look on her face until he left.
"You're wrong Sonny this does concern me." Carly replied calmly and could tell her response caught him off guard, which was exactly where she wanted him. Noticing that and realizing she needed every edge she could get she decided to keep this calmness angle going for as long as she could.
"Let it go," he warned her.
"Not until I've had my say." Again her tone was calm and again the surprise was evident on his face. This thing was definitely working. Perhaps she should try it more often. "I know you called Jason here because of some problem you have, most likely in Puerto Rico," she held up a hand to stop his outburst. "I'm not asking what problem I'm just saying what I think."
Unnerved by his excitable wife's demeanor Sonny withdrew to study her. This was a side of Carly he hadn't seen before and he wasn't sure how to handle it.
"Now your ready to send him to Puerto Rico to take care of the problem and you shouldn't do that," she continued.
"You don't have a say in my business," he reminded her coldly and headed for the desk.
"Does Jason?" Carly kept after him, both physically and emotionally. "Don't ask him to leave. Not now, not after what he's just gone through. Don't make him choose, it's not fair to him."
Surprised and uncomfortable Sonny lashed out. "What do you mean? Are you talking about Rory? The police haven't even declared if the car wreck was an accident or not."
Insulted Carly forgot her plan and snapped a retort. "Don't treat me like an idiot Sonny. I have ears I know what's going on. The police know as well as you that someone tried to kill Rory last week so don't even try to deny it."
Ignoring her comment he began shoving papers into his briefcase. Whoever was talking around her needed to be shut up and soon. The last thing he needed was for her to start worrying. When Carly began worrying she began planning and that was never a good thing.
"How can you be so cruel? He's your best friend and you want him to leave Rory for what could be days when someone is trying to kill her?" Carly yanked the papers from his hand to make him look at her. "We both know that if he decided to go he'd be thinking about her, and I'm no expert but I imagine his focus would need to be on his job not split between his job and worrying about Rory back here. And because it's business," she sneered the word. "He can't bring her with him."
Unnerved by her knowing and accurate assessment of the situation, an assessment he had yet to make Sonny pulled the papers from her hand, shoved them in the case and readied himself to leave.
"Don't do it to him." Carly pleaded for her best friend. She had decided to play the Rory angle because she knew if she'd used herself or Michael he'd shut her down immediately, but the more she spoke the more she believed what she was saying. She had made a promise to start looking out for Jason to try to make up in some small way for all the pain she'd caused him and she meant to keep her promise.
Uncomfortable with the feelings she was arousing in him Sonny lashed out again. "How do you know all this? Have you been eavesdropping again? Or going though my desk?"
Stung Carly drew back then wearily shook her head. "I thought we were getting past this. For some reason I thought last week you'd taken a step and realized that you can trust me. I see now I was mistaken. " She was angry with him but more then that she was hurt and that was why her tone was more tired then accusatory.
"I know these things because I'm smarter then you give me credit for. I know how to keep my ears open and read between the lines, I even know when to keep my mouth shut." Seeing the doubt in his expression caused her even more pain and she headed for the stairs. "Did it ever occur to you that if you took a chance and confided in me more often. If you trusted me enough to confide in me just a little bit I might not have this overwhelming need to know absolutely everything in order to feel secure?" When he stood there looking at her, a surprised expression on his face she sighed and headed upstairs.
Penthouse
Being careful not to spill the coffee in his cup that could at best be described as sludge Jason settled carefully on the off white sofa. Sitting next to him Rory munched happily on the last of her doughnut. He was tempted to set the sludge on the coffee table, but didn't. Rory had stopped him from eating the breakfast at the last possible second but he thought it was in his best interest to at least try the coffee she'd made him.
"Are you okay about everything?"
Drawn from his study of the coffee Jason looked over at her and smiled. "You have sugar," he gestured then rubbed the white powdery substance from the corner of her mouth and licked it from his finger.
"Enjoy it that's about the only part of me that's sweet." Rory's smile was mocking.
"Yesterday was strange. When Emily told me that Monica might be sick it hit me hard, much harder then I expected. I meant what I told Monica I never wanted to care about her, much less love her, in fact I wasn't aware I did until yesterday."
"That's understandable sometimes our real feelings only show in periods of intense emotion." Rory pointed out.
"Its just I always considered myself closer to Bobbie then Monica."
"You probably are and always will be," she shifted until she was sitting cross-legged beside him. "Bobbie will always be easier for you to be around then Monica because as much as she may care about you she doesn't need you the way Monica does."
"That's true, Monica always presses for more." Sighing heavily he barely resisted the urge to groan. "She's probably going to push even harder after yesterday."
Sensing his unease Rory smiled softly and brought a hand to his face. "Your probably right. And because Monica always pushed you while Bobbie didn't it was easier for you to talk to her. And it makes sense because although Bobbie may have watched you grow up and even changed your diapers at one point she didn't raise you, Monica did."
In light of Rory's statement his memories of the times in the hospital and at Jakes when he had engaged in half-hearted flirtations with the redhead took on a whole new meaning to him.
"Are you okay?" Concerned Rory took the coffee cup away from him and put it on the table. "You got this really weird expression on your face. I don't think you should drink this, you might get sick."
Jason was smart enough not to correct her mistaken reason for his unease. "I'm fine."
Rory eyed him suspiciously for another minute before deciding he was probably telling the truth. She also knew he was ready for a change of subject. "You want to hear my news?"
"What news is that?" As excited as she suddenly was he was surprised she'd kept it to herself as long as she had.
"I found a job." Rory announced proudly. "I'm going to be working at the Oasis."
Jason didn't even blink he merely waited.
"Would you have believed the morgue?" Rory asked after a minute of waiting for a reaction.
"Yes."
"Good because I almost took that job." She decided not to sulk at his less then pleasing reaction. "Instead I'm going to be working with Alexis. She needed some temporary help and I fit the bill."
The choice caught him by surprise. "You normally don't like desk jobs."
"I know but I figured this would give me an opportunity to bone up on the law. With Uncle Gabe sooner or later I'm going to need to get him out of another scrape, it's only a matter of time." When he grimaced she smothered a laugh. Gabe and Jason had a unique relationship that was a constant source of amusement for her. Before she could tease someone knocked on the door.
"That's probably Sonny." Jason remarked after a quick look at his watch.
"In that case." Rory quickly climbed on his lap and kissed him hard, his arms were coming around her when she broke the kiss and headed for the door. "Come on in."
Forcing a smile Sonny did as she requested. Instantly the smile faded and his nose wrinkled in disgust. "What is that smell?"
Putting a hand on her hip Rory glared at him. "I cooked. You want to make something of it?"
Having just left one volatile woman Sonny was in no mood to cross swords with another one and held up his hand in surrender. "I just wondered."
Deciding to ignore the obvious lie Rory turned to Jason. "I'll see you later."
"Where are you going?" Jason got quickly to his feet. "Francis isn't here yet."
"Relax I thought I'd just go annoy the blonde across the hall." Rory replied and before either man could react she headed for the door pausing only to pick up a small bag from the desk chair.
"Don't even bother." Jason shook his head at Sonny. Grabbing his jacket he stepped outside just in time to hear her knock on the other door.
"Open up Blondie."
Carly yanked the door open. "It's about damn time you got here." Catching sight of Jason and her husband she flushed then slammed the door after Rory stepped inside.
"Do I want to know what their up to?" Sonny wondered aloud.
"Probably not." Jason stepped past him and onto the elevator Johnny had waiting.
Sonny looked at the closed door for a minute longer before getting on. The doors closed and the elevator began its slow descent. They made it three floors before Sonny turned on Jason in obvious disgust. "Don't you ever get curious?"
Penthouse
"It's about time you got here." Carly led the way into the kitchen heading for the hall leading to the back rooms. "I've been waiting forever."
"You need to get a hobby then," Rory trailed at a leisurely pace.
"Did you get everything you need?" Carly demanded.
"Yes." Spying bacon that looked like bacon she quickly nabbed it.
"Then lets get this over with." Carly headed down the hall and soon realized Rory hadn't followed her. Huffing out an irritated breath she stepped back into the kitchen. "Is there a problem?"
"Carly what crawled up your ass and died?"
"What?"
"You've been snapping at me since I got here," Rory commented between bites of cold bacon. "I'm used to your sniping but this is different. I'm taking the heat for someone else and I don't like it. What happened? Did you and the dimpled don have a fight?"
"Stop avoiding the subject either you can open the door or you can't. If you can't let me know I'll stop wasting my time with you and find someone who can." Turning away Carly stalked down the hall.
In the instant before she turned Carly's eyes had given Rory the answers she sought. Carly and Sonny did have a fight and judging from Carly's attitude it had been a bad one. Understanding Carly's current tactic of avoidance she decided to play along with it. "Of course I can open it." Rory bragged and headed for where the secret panel was and quickly popped it free before opening her bag to take out the tools she needed. "Were you able to accomplish your one and only task Blondie?"
The insulting tone got through the leftover hurt from her fight with Sonny. "Before Sonny bought this place in about 1993 the penthouse was owned by Sean Donley who lived here with his wife Tiffany Hill. Tiffany owned the local TV station so I doubt the room is hers."
"And Donley?" Rory's primary focus was on what she was doing but she couldn't help being curious at who had the room built.
"He used to be the Police commissioner." Carly announced with a hint of distaste.
"Figures," Rory jeered. "Got it." She crowed then sat back on her haunches to watch as a piece of the wall seemingly vanished inside of the wall at large. "After you." She offered while she packed up her tools.
Carly didn't need the offer repeated. Entering the room was like stepping into a cheesy old sci-fi television show. There was a huge curved desk that took up most of the lower wall space on three of the walls. Above that there was a ring of 6 TV monitors that surrounded a huge old-fashioned computer monitor. The wall without the desk held another piece of ancient electrical equipment that included a huge tape reel for recording and several buttons that lit up, as well as an old gray filing cabinet.
Rory gasped then spoke in a whisper. "I think that's a Commodore computer. I've never seen one of those outside of an antique store." Amazed at her find she moved closer and crouched to take a look at the computer base. "Oh my god."
"What?" Carly spun around at the cry expecting to find trouble.
"This computer has slots for those huge floppy disks. You know the ones that were actually floppy that coined the name," Rory explained in awe.
"Jesus I thought you were being attacked." Carly grumbled.
"I didn't think these relics even existed anymore. Man I bet this thing predates Windows." Rory cautiously touched the keyboard half expecting it to dissolve.
Carly's fascination wasn't limited to the relic computer. Studying the TV monitors she tried to figure things out then decided to pick the brain of the person who obviously knew more about this stuff then her. Even though she would never admit that. "Do you think these still work?"
Distracted by the question Rory looked up at the configuration of screens. "Probably."
Frustrated by the less then verbal response Carly barely held onto her temper. It figured. The motor mouth would turn quiet the one time she wanted her to talk. "How do you turn them on then? I don't see a switch anywhere."
Annoyed by the interruption Rory looked up from her position by the computer, annoyance soon faded into interest and she got to her feet and considered the possibilities. "They probably run off the same power feed the computer does. In fact I imagine the computer actually controls them. This is probably a computer monitoring setup. Donley probably had cameras in the elevator, the hall, maybe even the penthouse. Sounds like he didn't trust anyone, including his wife. Hmmm wonder if he was a dirty cop."
"Could the cameras have been long range?"
"Doubtful." Rory turned on the flashlight and crouched to look under the desk where the power unit was. "I don't think this has enough juice in it for anything long range. I could be wrong but I bet it was all localized. Besides he was just a cop what else would he need to see?"
"Could you get the computer and these screens back on?" Carly crouched beside her, sniping forgotten in the face of illicit enterprise.
"Getting the power back on will be the easy part. All it should take is a simple splice and a patch through," Rory got to her feet and leaned against the desk. "The tricky part will be the computer. If this doesn't have Windows on it that means it has an operating system on it that I'm going to have to research. And given this guys paranoia with the cameras, he probably has passwords that I'll have to get past."
"Does that mean you can't?" Carly egged her on by acting condescending.
Even though Rory was aware of what Carly was doing she couldn't help but respond to it. "I can handle my end the question is can you handle your end?"
"What do you mean?"
"While I'm researching this stone-age version of computer life you need to dig into the life of Sean Donley. We need to know this guy backwards and forwards when it comes time to crack his passwords. If the memory on this thing hasn't been wiped he probably used something that will be personal to him."
"I can do that." Carly agreed. "One last thing. This is our secret. No one else, not Jason or Sonny can know about this room and what were doing."
"I can live with that," Rory hid her excitement she'd been hoping the blonde would make that a condition. "In that case you have another assignment. You need to find out when the penthouse gets swept for bugs. My theory is the reason this room was never discovered before now is because there was no power running to it. I can show you how to cut the power when you're not in the room but we still need to know when their coming so were not caught unaware."
Spying was one thing Carly was very good at. "Consider it done."
"Then you got yourself a deal Blondie." Rory held out her hand.
"Just don't let me down shorty." Carly warned her before taking it.
Penthouse
Rory was still jazzed by the illicit feeling of breaking and entering when she let herself back into Jason's penthouse. It wasn't the same thing as cracking a safe but she was in such withdrawal when it came to safe cracking every little thrill she could find helped. Running her hands over her tool case she longingly remembered a time when they were used quite frequently. Of course that was before Jason and the stupid bet. Who knew that such a dangerous man could be such a stick in the mud when it came to her breaking into safes.
"Rory?"
Jason's voice drifted down the stairs. Panicked she looked for a place to hide her tool bag. Hearing his tread on the stair she dropped the bag to the floor and kicked it under the couch, then quickly leaped on top of it. "I thought you left." She tried hard for nonchalance.
"I forgot a file." Holding it up Jason paused when he noted her flushed expression. Sonny probably had a right to be concerned. Her and Carly were up to something and knowing them it wasn't going to be good.
Catching the suspicious look on his face Rory decided a distraction was called for. "Do you have to leave right away?"
"I have 20 minutes." Jason watched in guarded amusement as she shifted until she was perched on her knees on the arm of the couch.
"Only 20 minutes?" Reaching out she took hold of his waist pulling him closer, then using his body as leverage pulled herself up until they were eyelevel. "That really sucks. I was going to suggest we sit on the couch and make out until you had to leave. But 20 minutes," pausing she drew a finger over his bottom lip, "you'd just be getting all hot and bothered when you had to leave."
Recognizing the challenge in her eyes and knowing that she expected him to walk away from it he decided to surprise her. Before she could guess his intent he was kissing her. She barely began to respond when he stepped back from the couch taking her with him. Automatically her legs wrapped around his waist for support, as soon as that happened he stepped forward until he felt the arm of the couch then he let gravity take its course. Her eyes opened in surprise when they began to fall back on the couch. Jason was careful to brace his fall with his arm at the last possible second so he wouldn't crush her. The whole maneuver took less then a second but the effect on both of them was long lasting.
Rory let out a gasp of surprise when her back hit the cushions but that was all she had time for before his mouth was on hers again. The distraction was definitely providing some unexpected benefits and soon the reason why she'd started the whole thing faded from her mind completely. Running her hand over his back she pulled his shirt free of his jeans seeking the heat of his skin. Jason's lips left her mouth to rove her face, her jaw, then down the column of her neck. His breath on her skin caused her to shiver, his tongue on her skin caused her to moan, his teeth on her skin caused her to buck. Shifting she brought her hands around to the front of his jeans and unzipped them. Without warning Jason rolled them from the couch to the floor. This time he landed on the bottom, with her on top. The coffee table that was perilously close was quickly shoved away by Jason, before he rolled again so he was on top.
Rory couldn't help but smile at the move. For the first time since taking him by surprise immediately after her accident he wasn't being careful with her during their lovemaking. The playfulness had finally returned and she welcomed both it and him with open arms. Tugging on his jeans she tried to work them down his hips and at the same time keep her lips on his. Recognizing the futility of the action she broke the kiss to tug them down far enough for her needs. Tangling a hand in her hair Jason pulled her head back to kiss her again, nipping at her lip she opened to him but the kiss was all to brief for her liking as he shifted again and moved down her body.
Not bothering to remove her shirt he kissed her breast through her clothes and the effect was extremely erotic. The friction of the clothing mixed with the heat of his breath rubbed against her straining nipple and nearly drove her insane. Their love life had always been overpowering but it hadn't been this extreme or quick for a long time. Jason pulled at her jeans for a time before giving up and plunging a finger inside of her through the silk of her panties, reacting immediately Rory bit his shoulder.
Where once there might have been playfulness now there was nothing but need. She fumbled for his wallet and the condom she knew was there. His mouth never seemed to leave hers, their hands somehow found their way around the barrier of clothes they had neither the time nor inclination to remove. Soon but not quickly enough for her sanity he was inside of her. The intensity that had been building between them was strong, the unexpectedness of the lovemaking, the speed in which it had progressed, the heightened awareness between them, everything was designed to feel rushed, but it didn't. Because at the core of their soul existed the unspoken love.
Taking one of her hands Jason buried the other in her hair and lifted her head until their eyes met. Emotion swam in her eyes when she pulled his head down to hers and kissed him as they went over the edge, as always, together.
Though not a singer, Rory couldn't help singing a little ditty as she descended the stairs in her second outfit of the day. Her little interlude with Jason had been magical. She had to admit she definitely preferred his version of making out to hers, although she doubted she would have been able to handle it at age 16. She was pulling a brush through her hair when a knock sounded on the door. "What happened did you have another 20 minutes to kill?" Rory's smile of welcome died when she opened the door and saw a thin man, with dark curly hair standing there. Shifting her gaze she swallowed hard when she met the eyes of the elderly woman in the wheelchair he was pushing.
L&B
The storeroom was cool and dim, the only light came from a single bulb in the center of the room making the rows far away from the center dark, though not pitch black. Because of that a flashlight was a necessary item if anyone wanted to spend more then two minutes inside of the room. Emily didn't care about the darkness or the coolness of the room, she was drawn to the other aspect the room offered her, the quietness. After the last few weeks all she wanted was peace and quiet and that was exactly what she was getting. Since entering the storeroom an hour ago to do inventory she hadn't seen or heard anyone and for that she was relieved.
When Ned had called that morning reminding her of her promise to do inventory her first reaction had been to turn him down. She had agreed to do it back when she could stand to be in the same room as Nikolas. Now there was no way she was going to willing go into Nikolas territory. Ned had refused to take no for an answer, and it was only when he let it slip that Nikolas was going to be out of town at meetings all day that she'd agreed to come in and keep her promise.
It wasn't that she didn't want to see Nikolas. It was just after their tense scene yesterday, she needed some time to rebuild her defenses where he was concerned. If he kept pushing her when she wasn't prepared there was no telling what she might let out. She'd told him the truth yesterday, she was tired of being hurt by him and had no desire of getting her heart stomped on again.
The flashlight in her hand flickered and went out and the unexpected action drew her from her thoughts. Groaning Emily hit the side of it trying to move the batteries around hoping to get the connection to spark again. There was still light in the room but not enough to read the labels where she was sitting and without that inventory was pretty much a bust. Sighing she got to her feet and reached for her clipboard. She came up short when she thought she heard a noise. "Ned is that you?"
When there was no response Emily began to get nervous. Sonny had phoned to tell her that Zander had left town but there was no guarantee he hadn't returned. Holding her breath she listened for the sound she thought she'd heard but it didn't come again. Eventually she convinced herself it must have been her imagination and began moving. She had only taken a step when the noise came again and this time it was closer. Someone was definitely in the storeroom with her and whoever it was didn't want her to know it.
Turning in a circle Emily searched for some avenue of escape but saw nothing. On one level she knew the degree of fear she was feeling was unreasonable but couldn't help it. Hearing another noise she retreated until her back hit the concrete wall and there was no place left for her to go. She had finally identified the noise as footsteps and they sounded close and coming closer. Terrified but dry-eyed she looked around for a weapon besides the plastic flashlight that she already had a death grip on and spotted what could be her salvation. There was a space between the wall and the edge of the rack that held the supplies she had been cataloging. It would be a tight fit but she should be able to squeeze through to the aisle on the other side and once there she could make a run for it. Slowly so she wouldn't make a noise and give herself away she worked her way into the tight space.
The footsteps reverberated in her head and she knew she didn't have much time. She was afraid of what would happen if Zander caught her here alone. Finally making it to the other side she saw a shadow at the head of the aisle grow smaller and knew that he was in the aisle she'd just left. Taking off she hurried down the aisle for the door. About halfway down a hand reached through the rack and caught her arm stilling her in her tracks and causing her to scream in surprise.
Penthouse
"You must be Rory. I'm Lila Quartermaine and this is Reginald. I hope you don't mind us dropping by unannounced but we were running errands in town and I wanted to come by. May we come in?" Lila took control of the situation in her normal steamrolling fashion.
"Uh, sure." Shell-shocked Rory stepped back to let them in and noted Reginald's pasty expression, hopefully she wasn't that white. Taking a breath to prepare for battle she shut the door and turned to face the room. Reginald had pulled one of the easy chairs out of the way and parked Lila next to the couch.
"I'll be outside if you need anything."
When Lila nodded Reginald headed for the door, which Rory quickly barred. There was no way in hell she was going to be left alone with the grand dame of Port Charles. "Stay."
"That's okay I'll be fine outside."
"You have to stay." Rory hissed, desperate she seized on an idea from her discussion with Carly, and leaned closer to whisper. "The hall is being swept right now."
"I can avoid a vacuum." Reginald trailed off when he caught her drift. "Oh."
"Have a seat Reginald," Rory pointed to the couch.
"Yes please join us," Lila called she was attuned enough to pick up on Rory's nerves and was willing to do what she needed to calm them.
Giving into the inevitable Reginald turned and headed for the living area and took the easy chair across from Lila.
Glaring at him because the bastard took the chair she wanted to sit in Rory had to count to ten before wiping the glare from her face and headed for the couch. Habit had her sitting on the arm of the couch, almost immediately she shot back up. Somehow she didn't think ladies perched on furniture like cats did. They more then likely sat perfectly posed with their legs crossed at a perfect angle.
"This is an unexpected surprise." Rory awkwardly sat on the couch that was not designed for a short person to sit comfortably on and cross their legs. "Jason's not here right now but I can call him."
"No please don't bother him. Actually I'm here to speak with you," Lila smiled sweetly.
Swallowing hard Rory tried to think what she could have done to warrant such a visit. Her thoughts were soon sidetracked by a horrifying idea. What if part of the condom wrapper was still on the floor? Somehow she thought ladies didn't leave condom wrappers lying around. Hell they probably didn't even know what they were. "Really?" She murmured absently and began scanning the floor for a tell-tell sign of silver.
"Yes." Lila was puzzled by Rory's distraction. "Are you alright?"
"What?" Rory looked up and smiled at the woman. "I'm sorry you said you were here to see me?"
"Yes. I know we were to have lunch last week but your accident altered those plans," puzzled Lila paused when Rory kept looking at the carpet. Her actions intrigued Reginald enough that he too began scanning the floor.
The sound of nothing penetrated Rory's distress and she quickly looked up. This was not going well. What was she supposed to do with unexpected guests besides shove them out the door? "Would you care for something to drink?"
"That would be nice."
Reginald immediately got to his feet. "I'll get it."
"No I'll get it." Rory took off after him but the thin man was quicker then he looked and he reached the door to the kitchen before she did.
"I'll bring something out." Reginald said smugly before disappearing into the kitchen.
"Rat bastard." Rory muttered as her escape plan fell through. Sighing heavily she headed for the couch, a knock came from the door and she practically leaped to answer it. "Carly." Before the blonde had a chance to answer Rory had grabbed her arm and yanked her inside the room.
"What's your problem?" Carly pulled her arm free.
"Carly is that you?" Lila called.
Surprised Carly turned towards Lila then back at Rory who looked a little pale and her eyes narrowed in speculation. Carly moved to take Lila's hand and kissed her weathered cheek then took a seat on the couch. "It's good to see you."
"You to. I've been meaning to call you to schedule a visit with you and Michael."
"Next week," Carly promised. "As long as its just you."
"I made tea." Reginald announced, his step faltered when he spotted his old foe Carly then he continued on. He had produced a silver tea set complete with teacups on a silver-serving tray. He had managed to unearth a milk container, sugar container and even found a platter of cookies.
Rory eyed the man and the tray in amazement. Where in the hell did he find tea? Much less the rest of that stuff? She lived here and she'd never seen any of that junk before. How had there been cookies in the cupboard and she hadn't sniffed them out? Her level of unease continued to rise until she saw the glares that passed between Reginald and Carly. Dislike. Now there was something she could understand and deal with. Feeling slightly better she took a seat next to Carly on the couch.
"Perhaps you can convince Rory and Jason to have lunch with me on Thursday. Edward will be out of the house at a Chamber of Commerce meeting. Can you tell her I'm quite harmless?" Lila realized the value of allies.
"I'm sure that will be no problem." Carly noted Rory's strange tension and even stranger quietness. It seemed Rory was spooked by the idea of spending time with Lila. Carly knew fear when she smelled it and she knew what to do about it … pounce. "You're not afraid of Lila are you?"
Rory shot her a glare, saw Lila looking at her and forced it from her face. "It's just I don't know Jason's schedule."
"Jason would clear his schedule for Lila," Carly kept up the pressure with a wry grin on her face.
"I'm sure it will be fine," she spoke through gritted teeth. "I just can't commit until I check his schedule or even mine, I start my new job tomorrow."
Deciding one more push was necessary Carly leaned closer and spoke in a stage whisper. "If you don't want to go just say so. Don't make all these excuses. Lila will understand you have no desire to get to know her."
Infuriated Rory didn't even try to hide her anger. "I never said I didn't want to get to know her. If she wants us there on Thursday we'll be there on Thursday."
"Perfect, be there around 1:00." Lila knew when it was time to retreat. "Reginald." The prompting wasn't necessary he was already by her side.
"What?" Confused Rory blinked in her direction then realized what Carly had tricked her into agreeing to.
"I'll call you," Carly walked them to the door.
"Thank you dear." Lila whispered. At the door Reginald turned the chair around so she could face a trailing Rory. "It was nice to meet you finally. I hope our next meeting will be longer and we will have the opportunity to get to know each other better. Until then." Lila nodded and then gave some sort of signal to Reginald who turned her again and headed for the elevator.
"I'm so glad Emily warned me about Rory and her resemblance to Elizabeth," Lila murmured when the door closed behind them. "That would have been quite a shock if she hadn't."
"I wish she would have warned me." Reginald complained. He had a feeling he was going to be dreaming of ghosts tonight.
"Poor Reggie," Lila chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better I think we took Rory by as much surprise as she took you."
"That's true," he conceded when the elevator doors closed.
Penthouse
"You want to tell me why you were so wigged out about meeting Lila?"
"I'm not wigged out." Rory snapped and when Carly gave her a bullshit look she realized she might have overreacted. "She just caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting her. And if she had arrived a few minutes earlier it would have been really messy."
"Why?" Almost immediately the implication of Rory's statement and look she was receiving hit Carly and she shuddered. "Don't answer that."
Sensing her uncomfortablness Rory smiled slightly, picked up the tea dishes and headed for the kitchen. "You seem to get along pretty good with her. Did she accept you right away?"
"Lila pretty much accepts everyone." Carly nibbled on a stale cookie. "About the only person she couldn't stand, at least according to the gossip, was Katherine Belle. Of course Katherine was a lying manipulative bitch who threatened the family by getting involved with Ned."
Rory considered the description of Katherine carefully. She lied on occasion, had been manipulative in the past and definitely been called a bitch before. Hopefully that didn't lump her in the same class as this Katherine Belle person. Holding her breath to ward off the acrid smell of the breakfast that wasn't Rory entered the kitchen and almost dropped the tray. All signs of her disastrous breakfast attempt had been cleaned up.
"Problems?" Carly moved past an immobile Rory.
"The rat bastard not only found and made tea he cleaned up my mess." Rory griped and slapped the serving set on the counter next to the still drying pans.
"Reginald?" Carly considered the nickname for Lila's lackey and thought it appropriate.
"Yes," she hissed.
"And the big deal is?" Carly asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Rory faced her. "It's…" she trailed off, "because," Carly crossed her arms, a sardonic expression on her face and waited. "Oh shut up."
Thoroughly amused Carly headed back into the living room. The trip to the penthouse had definitely been entertaining and had given her plenty of ammunition to use in the coming days.
"What happened to this Katherine?" Curiosity was the vice that always spelled doom for Rory.
"She's dead." Carly's reply was blunt. She waited until she reached the door before turning around. "Of course her death was a long time coming. First she was poisoned while she was living at the Quartermaine house. The police never figured out who did it but there was a lot of speculation. Later she got tossed off a parapet on Spoon Island, she returned from the dead about 6 months later only to die after a fall from the same parapet about a year after that." Satisfied she had left Rory with plenty of things to chew on she tossed a small screwdriver on the desk. "You left this at my place." With that Carly left.
Lost in thought Rory's moves were more by habit then conscious choice. Settling in the oversized leather chair she absently twirled the screwdriver in her fingers. Poisoning Jason hadn't mentioned that being a trait of his family, of course there was a good chance he didn't know or care. He didn't care so why the hell did she? Groaning Rory pounded her head on the desk.
Grumbling Rory rubbed at her now aching temple. That move did nothing to give her answers it only served to give her the start of a headache. Still trying to figure out the reason why Lila Quartermaine spooked her so much she poked at some envelopes on the desk and was quickly distracted by one that had her name on it. It didn't matter the letter was from General Hospital and was no doubt another bill for something her insurance wouldn't cover it was a distraction when she needed it. And because it was a medical bill it would take hours to decipher what the hell it meant in layman's terms.
Pushing her strange reaction to Lila to the back of her mind she opened the bill and set about figuring it out. She decided to make a quick scan of the entire billing procedure, what she was charged, what the procedure was, why it was performed, how much the insurance paid, and how much she had left to pay off with money she didn't have. All was going well until she got to the bottom of page three.
"This can't be right." Rory read the entry again but the code didn't change, the cost for the procedure didn't change. And the longer she stared at those seemingly innocuous black numbers the angrier she got. Crumpling the bill in her hand she grabbed her coat and walked out the door. Ignoring her promise not to go anywhere without Jason or Francis she pounded on the elevator button until it arrived then took it down to the garage level. She had the keys to the Durango in her hand when the screech of tires behind her caught her attention. Once she turned around and recognized the driver the keys quickly disappeared and she waited until the red truck pulled up beside her.
"I thought we had an agreement." Francis reminded her from the driver's seat of the truck. If he'd been five minutes later she'd have been gone and it would've been his ass. "You don't go anywhere without me or Jason."
Hating the fact she'd gotten caught Rory decided to bluff. "I wasn't leaving I was waiting for you. You were supposed to be here at 2:00, its 2:00 I wanted to get a head start on things." She opened the passenger door and climbed into the truck. "Drive."
"Where to M'Lady?" His voice dripping with sarcasm he waited for the glare he knew was coming.
"Mr. Francis you really don't want to push me right now," Rory gave the only warning she was going to. "We're going to the hospital."
Francis obligingly put the truck into gear and traversed the route out of the garage he'd just come up. Something had definitely happened to set her off and he couldn't help but be relieved that it wasn't him.
"Mr. Francis," Rory began an idea slowly forming. "In your opinion what is the most painful way that a person can die?"
"Fire." His answer was immediate and the memory vivid.
"That could work. Lock him inside a crematorium and turn on the ovens," she nodded. "I could get behind that."
"We locking up anyone in particular?" Francis asked more out of curiosity then concern. He had gotten used to her outlandish plots and schemes, and knew most of them were just talk.
"Freak boy." Rory sneered his newly christened name then leaned back in the seat to plot what else she could to him.
Warehouse
The legitimate business of the partners of the Corinthos Morgan warehouse long since concluded Sonny was just finishing bringing Jason up to date on the information that Taggert would sell his soul to hear.
"Things are moving faster in Puerto Rico then planned." Jason commented after a minute.
"Greed." Sonny's answer was simple. "Eventually it makes everyone stupid and cocky." And that was exactly what he'd been counting on. He knew with Jason making his presence known up here they'd get results down there. Soon it would be time to deal with the traitors in his organization. He wanted to send a very clear message this time that even though he may be located in Port Charles he knew what was going on in Puerto Rico and wouldn't tolerate traitors.
Throughout the morning he had replayed his conversation with Carly. He didn't know if he could admit it to her but she had made some valid points. Other conversations had been going through his mind as well. Ever since Jason had returned to town with Rory things had been changing, and in a small way he'd been changing. If Jason hadn't been in town he was positive he wouldn't have asked Carly to accompany him to Manny's funeral. Jason had changed as well, perhaps it was time to see just how much.
"If things keep moving like this a trip to Puerto Rico will be necessary probably by the end of the week, early next week at the latest."
Sighing Jason closed the ledger book and pushed back from the desk he'd been working at. "I know."
Sonny waited but the usual offer to follow up on things wasn't made. Noting that he continued on. "What would you say if I asked you to go and handle the final moves to solidify things after we deal with the traitors? You'd also need to send a message to everyone along the pipeline that I'm aware of everything that goes on in my organization even if I'm in Port Charles, and traitors won't be tolerated."
Instead of answering Jason got to his feet and walked to the small window that boasted a partial view of the water and the docks.
Sonny had intentionally phrased his words as a question instead of an order to see what Jason would do. "I'm asking what you want to do. I'm asking for your input. Are you finally ready to give it to me?"
"I don't want to go." Jason turned from the window to face him. Once the words were out he knew they were the correct ones and he didn't feel the guilt he thought he would in saying no to his best friend. "There's to much going on in Port Charles right now, and even with you and Francis watching Rory." He shook off the explanation he was unused to giving. "I don't want to go. Especially not when it could take anywhere from days to a week to get everything settled down there." He was about to continue when he caught the grin on Sonny's face. "What?"
"Do you realize that's the first time you've refused to do something for me in the course of business because of how it would effect you and someone your involved with?" Sonny asked.
Uncomfortable Jason shifted on his feet. "When you fired me I kept working."
"This is different." Sonny sighed and let the final piece of guilt he'd been carrying around go. The guilt had been there ever since he'd brought Jason into his world, and for a time cost him Robin, and later for wrecking any hope he may have harbored of being a family with Michael and Carly. Finally he was free of that guilt. He now knew without a doubt that Jason had someone in his life that was more important then his job and more importantly he had someone who put Jason first.
Not seeing the point of arguing about things long since resolved Jason let it go. "I'm not going." His tone indicated that it was a statement not a question. "Who else do you trust to do the job?"
"I originally thought Francis," he saw Jason shake his head. "But since Rory doesn't seem to trust anyone but him I figured Johnny could handle things easily enough." Sonny gestured at his closed door. "He doesn't have the contacts Francis does but he's loyal, good, though not as good as you. You agree?"
"He's good, gets the job done. He also won't take it as an insult if after he returns from Puerto Rico he goes back to being your personal guard," Jason took his chair again. "But if he handles everything in Puerto Rico okay you might think about bringing him inside the door for some of your meetings."
Sonny merely nodded. For now it was the Puerto Rico trip for Johnny when things were in position. After the rats down there were taken care of then he'd make decisions about the makeup on this end of the organization. Having gotten what he wanted from Jason it was time to change the subject. "How's Rory's job search going?"
"She found one, starts it tomorrow."
"Where's she working?"
Distracted by the numbers he was crosschecking in the ledger he barely spared Sonny a glance. "The morgue."
It took Sonny a minute to process what he'd heard. "Did you say the morgue?"
"What?" Again Jason's answer was distracted.
"Jason." Sonny snapped getting his friend's attention. "Did you say she got a job at the morgue?"
"Yes." Jason agreed. "But she decided not to take it."
"Thank Christ for small favors."
"She was going to then she got another offer at the last second and decided to take that one instead," Jason explained. "She's going to work for Alexis."
Settling in his chair Sonny considered the idea and the longer he did the more amused he became. "When they're in a room together who do you think will do most of the talking?"
Confused Jason glanced in his direction.
"Your perfect for Rory you hardly speak. But Alexis could give her some serious competition," Sonny finished with a grin.
General Hospital
What was it about hospitals that made people act so friendly? So freaking false? People who were probably nothing more the selfish, road rage bastards outside of the place suddenly turned into mindless cheerful grinning idiots once they were patients. Didn't people realize that if you were wearing a gown with a slit down the back that caused a draft any haunted house would be proud of, and were sitting in a chair that was normally being pushed by another person, you shouldn't be happy and waving at people you didn't know? He figured it was something the hospital did to a person when they checked in. But they only did it to the people who they were going to let wander the halls of the place in their ugly robes. They probably doused them with some odorless gas that zapped their mind and turned them into drooling, smiling zombies, Luke concluded as he waved to another one of the people he'd just been describing.
"You still here?"
Turning away from the no teeth, gooey wide mouth grin of the elderly woman in the pea green robe Luke focused on his sister. "We weren't finished."
"We were as far as I was concerned." Bobbie kept her focus on refilling the charts in her hand. If she paid to much attention to Luke she'd never get rid of him or his outlandish conspiracy theories.
"Barbara Jean." Luke would have spanked her like he did when they were kids if the damn counter hadn't been in his way. "You know this girl showing up in this town with her supposedly identical face to Elizabeth can't be coincidence."
"What about the old theory that everyone has a twin?" Bobbie turned to him.
"Ha." Luke scoffed at the idea.
Crossing her arms over her chest she decided it was time to deflate his overblown ego in a way only little sisters could. "I seem to remember a time when Bill Eckert was walking around town with your face, of course he had more hair then you."
Luke sent a withering glare in her direction but any retort he might have made was lost when his attention was drawn to the people who just stepped off the elevator. Or rather he should say the woman who got off the elevator. Until that instant he'd relied on others assessment of the resemblance between this Rory and Elizabeth. Now he knew they were right, it was like looking at a walking, talking and unless he was mistaken furious ghost of Elizabeth.
"Bobbie." Rory called out then belatedly noticed the man in the black coat holding a stocking cap. "Sorry I'll wait."
"No go ahead." Luke noted that there wasn't a flicker of recognition in her eyes when she looked at him and he shifted to the side so she could approach and he could observe.
"If your sure." Rory made a half-hearted attempt to be nice but had already focused on the nurse. "I once worked as a data entry specialist for a billing office for an insurance company did you know that?"
Puzzled Bobbie shook her head.
"It was so boring I only made it about a month before quitting but I still remember some of the codes that were assigned for specific procedures. Those codes were universal and used pretty much by all hospitals and insurance companies." She held out a crumpled set of papers and pointed to one entry in particular. "Like this code here, which is the universal code for a DNA test."
Knowing instantly where this was going and how badly it was going to get Bobbie couldn't help groaning.
"I know I'm not a doctor but I doubt even the most desperate doctor would try to pad a bill by tacking on a DNA test to a car accident victim." Warming to her diatribe Rory sucked in a breath and continued. "Then I remembered something. The last thing I had to do before I could be released a big eyes nurse with these wild corkscrewed brown curls came in to take some blood from me. At the time I let it go, because at the moment I was so desperate to get out of here I would have kissed that idiot doctor who treated me. But now I'm putting the pieces together and it's smelling awfully rank, and it leads back to your twisted nephew."
Bobbie darted a look in Luke's direction but her brother was strangely silent.
"Either Lucky is a vampire and needed lunch or he wanted my blood to perform some sort of clandestine DNA test to prove I'm his long dead girlfriend." Rory finished.
"If you are his girlfriend you wouldn't be the first person in this town to come back from the dead." Luke commented and drew her furious glare in his direction.
"Excuse me?"
"I've returned from the dead once, my wife has done it twice, hell my best friend just recently returned after being dead and buried for more then 20 years," he explained.
Rory nodded slightly at the strange pronouncement. "I'd say you have a weird family."
Luke bristled at that remark. "Even Edward Quartermaine was presumed dead for about a year." Seeing the interest in her eyes he explained. "He lived on an island for a year while his family and everyone else thought he was dead."
The man explained things with such glee that he couldn't help but remind her of her Uncle Gabe. That caused her to respond in kind. "What about this woman Katherine Belle?"
Luke gave a reluctant nod he hated to be reminded of Katie Belle and the blunder he continued to blame on his partner in crime at that time Alexis. No one liked to remember failure and that had been a blunder of epic proportions. What really burned his ass was not only did they fail to get Helena they didn't even knock off Katherine.
Meanwhile Bobbie had been studying the bill and her stomach sank when she realized the girl was probably right. "Rory."
"Save it, your expression says it all." Rory grumbled. "Why the hell did he have blood drawn when a mouth swab would have been so much easier?"
"He probably ordered the blood thinking you wouldn't get suspicious." Bobbie explained.
"Yet another reason to get pissed at him. Causing me unnecessary pain." Rory grumped. "Bobbie this is getting ridiculous he needs help, professional help because he obviously isn't wrapped that tightly. And why do you keep looking at him whenever I comment on freak boy?" She demanded when she saw the nurse glance at the man she'd just been speaking to.
"Because this is Luke Spencer, Lucky's father." Bobbie introduced them reluctantly.
Surprised and a little embarrassed Rory swallowed hard then decided the hell with it. Lucky was a freak and if he didn't already know that it was time he learned. "I'm sorry for you."
"Be nice," Luke warned her, but whether she heard him he didn't know.
"You." Rory cried when she spotted a familiar person.
Lucky's head came up with a start when he heard her voice and even though the expression on her face was less then pleasant he still smiled at her. "Hello."
"Don't hello me." Rory advanced on him. "What were you thinking sneaking my blood like that?" Seeing him flush confirmed her suspicions. "Your nuts your realize that don't you? What will it take for you to realize that I'm not your sainted girlfriend back from the dead?"
Puzzled and unsure if she'd heard correctly Carly paused in her approach then continued on when she placed the voice. Stepping into the large open space that housed the nurse's station she came up short to watch the confrontation between Rory and her cousin.
"I'll never accept it because it's not true." Lucky's voice was as quiet as hers was sharp. "You're Elizabeth Webber. The DNA test will prove that to you and everyone else. But I don't need any test to prove it to me. I know who you are already."
Frustrated Rory let out a muffled groan and paced away a few steps and decided to change tactics. "You may be right Lucky." She waited for his eyes to fill with hope before cruelly killing it. "Elizabeth Webber may be alive somewhere in this world. If she is I say more power to her. I can totally understand her faking her death to get away from a freak like you."
Lucky recoiled at her deliberate viciousness.
"Rory you don't understand." Bobbie tried to intervene.
"No." She cut her off determined to be as mean as necessary to get through to him. "He's the one who doesn't understand. He doesn't seem to realize I'm not Elizabeth Webber. That no one in their right mind would want to be Elizabeth Webber."
"Elizabeth?"
The soft question from directly behind her had her spinning around ready to blast whoever had dared call her that, but the words died unsaid when she met the elderly woman's eyes. The light blue eyes were filled with such hope that quickly turned to shock and then glazed over entirely. Rory only had an instant to try to catch the woman when she passed out.
"Audrey." Bobbie scurried towards her and Luke was there quick enough to take her weight from a struggling Rory. Everything was quiet as Luke carried her towards the small waiting room off the nurse's station and Lucky soon approached her side.
"Who was that?" Rory asked.
"Your Grandmother," Lucky identified her and lightly touched her arm to get her to look at him. "Don't you see Elizabeth? She recognized you just like I did."
Stepping back from him she shook her head at Francis when he began to approach. She was so tired of this. Tired of everyone in this town thinking she was someone else. She knew who she was and wasn't. She had very specific memories of her life. What was the big deal with proving it once and for all to stop all the questions?
"Who did you call? The Saint?"
"What?" Lucky asked in puzzlement.
"Did you convince saintly Sarah to come in and participate in your farce of a test?" Rory demanded.
Lucky nodded.
"Fine." Decision made Rory's tone turned brisk. "Have Bobbie contact me when she gets into town and we'll schedule a by the book DNA test in which all the parties are present and aware of what is going on."
A large smile blossomed on Lucky's face, finally she was going to know the truth. Once she did she wouldn't fight him anymore. She'd turn to him to help get her memory back.
"Until then you have to leave me alone. No more sneak attacks with stupid memory books, no more showing up where I am. You have to stay the hell away from me," she ordered.
As much as Lucky hated her request he decided to give into it. Even though he hated being separated from her even for a minute he didn't want her to change her mind about taking the test. "Okay I'll stay away."
"And once the test comes back and proves I'm not Elizabeth Webber. You never bother me again." With that Rory decided it was time to leave.
"Correction, once the test proves what I already know that you're really Elizabeth I won't leave your side until your memory returns," Lucky countered.
"Listen you little freak you keep talking like that and they'll need DNA to identify…" infuriated and more then ready to physical damage she advanced on him.
"And were leaving now." Carly intervened by taking Rory's arm and pulling her towards the elevator.
"I'll be in touch soon Elizabeth." Lucky couldn't help pressing his luck.
Pulling free Rory turned on him. "Have you taken a good look in a mirror lately Lucky?"
Uneasy with her expression he shook his head.
"Why on earth would anyone including your Elizabeth want to get anywhere near someone like you? Your clothes still smell of alcohol, your eyes look wild and your quick slides into anger don't exactly foster trust. Any woman in their right mind would cross the street when they saw you coming."
Lucky's face lost all color, Carly pulled Rory onto the elevator that Francis was holding for them and Rory waited until the doors closed to begin cursing. Biding her time Carly eyed Rory in amusement. While Francis hoped they would wait to start picking at each other until they were out of the elevator. The space was awfully tight for these two if they really got to sniping the way they were known to.
Winding down at least temporarily Rory was the first off the elevator when the doors opened. Crossing the lobby she entered the courtyard and waited. As much as she'd like to keep walking she knew it would be better to stay and face Carly now rather then give her time to fortify her ammunition. Carly and Francis soon joined her but the blonde remained quiet until Rory's patience snapped. "Okay talk."
Carly barely looked up from her perusal of her fingernails. "I don't know what you mean."
"Knock it off Blondie I'm not in the mood. Either speak now or forever hold your peace."
Gauging her frustration level Carly decided to start. "So … Elizabeth Webber."
"What about it?"
"Nothing, it's just interesting," Cary's response was blasé.
Glaring at her Rory took a step closer to the blonde. "Its not my fault the stupid twit had my face and the freak upstairs thinks I'm her."
"Lucky can be a pain," Carly conceded. "But he does have a point now that its been pointed out to me I can see why he's so freaked."
Sighing heavily Rory perched on a stonewall that surrounded a small garden. "Did you know her?"
"I didn't know her." Carly grimaced slightly as a long buried memory came to her.
Rory saw the grimace and hoped it was something good, something she could use to counter all the how great Elizabeth was crap she kept getting shoved on her. "But?"
"The only thing I remotely remember about her is the time Bobbie made a comparison." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Rory tense. "One day she compared me with Elizabeth and summed it up by wondering why I couldn't be more like Elizabeth."
Stricken Rory paled rapidly and put a hand on her stomach. "I think I'm going to be sick."