« Hey Jax, how's Port Charles ? » Jerry said as soon as Jax picked up.
"Fine as far as I know. Actually, I'm in Paris looking for my ex-wife."
"Ah, did Alexis get herself in some sort of trouble again? You should hand that problem over to Ned. You should still be on your honeymoon with your latest wife. I've got to tell you, postponing your honeymoon in order to help out that other woman was a big mistake. I don't care if she was Brenda. You got money. Buy her some protection. Personally I think your wife is a saint for being so understanding and not dropping your sorry ass when she found out that you took a bullet for Brenda. The last time I talked to mom, this Skye woman was all she could talk about."
"You obviously haven't talked to mom lately."
"Well, it's been about a month or so. Don't give me that I should call home more often crap. Unlike you, I'm not a goody two shoes. I fully believe in living my own life to the fullest and that doesn't always include calling home to get my parent's opinion on whatever I'm up to."
"If you called home then you would know that Skye and I are divorced."
"See, told you it was a mistake. What the hell did you do wrong?"
"Why are you assuming that I'm the one who screwed up?"
"Because unlike mom and dad, I know better than to think that you are perfect. And from what mom said, this Skye woman was someone who would fight for you until the bitter end. Therefore, you're the one who had to have screwed up."
"I caught her in what I thought was a lie and I walked out the door and into Brenda's bed. When she said that she wouldn't divorce me, I used the power of attorney that she had given me to arrange a divorce before the week was out."
"Just wait a minute. From what I remember from our last phone call, didn't you lie to her about Brenda? Man you had some nerve throwing whatever it was in her face."
"I know. That doesn't even begin to cover it. And to make matters worse, it turns out that Brenda isn't even really Brenda. Apparently Alcazar took some other woman, brain washed her, and had plastic surgery to make her look like she was Brenda."
"What the hell! The last time we talked you said that the crazy bastard shot you to get you out of the way of getting to Brenda."
"Well, apparently, he did want me out of the way. It turns out that we were protecting the wrong woman. Brenda was never in any danger. She was just the diversion."
"Then who?"
"He was after my wife the entire time. According to what Brenda was able to remember from therapy, it was all about Skye. I was supposed to see Brenda and leave my wife. He tried to kill off Sonny to make sure that his fake Brenda couldn't run to him."
"Well that makes sense. Brenda always did love him the most."
"Hey!"
"It's the truth Jax. If Sonny were a free man, Brenda would run to him. You were always just the fill in."
"Well don't you just know how to feed my ego."
"From what I hear, you need a good kick in the ass."
"To make a long story short, Alcazar followed Skye to Paris. I don't know what exactly happened in the mean time, but she managed to loose him yesterday. Alcazar's men are turning over every stone possible to find her."
"You intend to get to her first."
"Someone has to save her."
"My brother, the white knight. Did it ever occur to you that maybe she doesn't want your help. In fact, from everything I have just heard, she has just as much reason to run from you as she does from this Alcazar person."
"She needs my help."
"I agree that she may need help, but somehow I doubt that she wants yours."
"Is there some reason you called, other than to annoy me?"
"Yes actually. I just met the latest love of my life and she says that she knows you."
"What's this latest redhead's name?"
"How do you know about her red hair?"
"Jerry, you may date woman of all shapes and colors but you only say that you are in love when the woman has fiery hair."
Jerry laughed. "You know me to well. Her name is Toni Calloway."
"No I don't recall ever meeting her."
"She seemed to know our mother too."
"No, sorry, the only woman with red hair that I have introduced to our parents lately was Skye."
'Really,' Jerry thought. "Never mind. I thought that it was an alias anyway. She was just trying to get my attention. So tell me about this missing wife of yours. Is she beautiful?"
"Gorgeous."
"So was she a model like Brenda or did she have some other brainless job."
"Why do you keep picking on the intelligence of the woman I date?"
"Because, outside of Alexis, you don't seem to date woman with much of a brain."
"Cloe was in business."
"Please, the woman designed dresses. After you met her, how many times did you tell her what to do in order to run her business better? How many times did you step in when other companies where clearly taking advantage of her? The woman may have known everything about fashion but she knew nothing about running a business. Quite frankly, I'm surprised that Alexis gave you the time of day. Smart woman usually intimidate you."
"Skye's intelligent and she's a red head. You would probably like her. She took over ELQ and she ran it quite well until I gave the controlling stocks away to her grandmother and her grandmother gave control to her husband."
"And why exactly did you do that?"
"Skye did something that I didn't approve of.."
"And you felt the need to punish her for doing something that you didn't agree with. Did it ever occur to you that it isn't your place to judge how others live their lives. Like I said Jax, you don't know how to handle a woman who cannot only think for herself, but also doesn't need your approval. I'm surprised that Alexis put up with you for as long as she did."
"Thanks a lot."
"Anytime. So you finally managed to get a woman who is beautiful and smart and from what mom said, worshiped the ground you walked on, and you left her for a memory of a woman who loved someone else. You know Jax, you don't deserve her."
"Perhaps not, but I love her and I intend on finding her and protecting her from Alcazar."
"I wish you luck. I've got to go. I have a date to keep with the latest love of my life."
"Who's name your not even sure of."
"So what? Unlike you, I like a little mystery."
"Even if it is a lie?"
"Get off of your high horse Jax. Not even you live up to the standards that you try to apply to the people you care about. Think about that while your are searching for your ex. I will talk to you latter."
---
'I wonder why I'm so nervous,' Skye thought as she checked the mirror one last time to make sure everything looked right. 'Damn, I wish that I had kept a few more pieces of my jewellery.' She had sold everything except her wedding ring and the bracelet that Jax's mother had given her. Skye fingered the earrings that she had boughten at the store. It wasn't exactly her normal style, but they matched the dress. Skye dressed to dazzle her date tonight. The dress was sleeveless, cut high in the front and low in the back. It was the perfect shade of blue. "Jax once bought me a dress in this same colour." Skye smiled and smoothed a hand over her flat stomach. She looked down where her hand lay. "It's hard to believe that there are two little ones in there. I wonder what you are going to be like. Will you have red hair like me or will you be blond or black like your fathers? Will you be boys or girls or one of each? Knowing Alcazar, he probably tried to order the doctors to make his a boy. I guess it really doesn't matter. Either way, your still mine."
Skye reached into her purse and took her medication. "You know, I don't envy you two in there. I haven't a clue what this stuff does or how it will affect you but those doctors sounded pretty sure that the three of us wouldn't survive without it. But I don't like to take things blindly for to long. As soon as we conclude our business with your Uncle Jerry, we will have to see about finding a doctor who wouldn't be on either of your fathers' payrolls. I've been reading this file and what they did looks extremely complicated. But then, everything in my life has always been complicated so why would I expect this to be any different."
Skye heard a knock at the door. "Oh that must be your uncle Jerry." Skye soothed her hand over her stomach one last time. "Now behave yourselves. We do not want to give the man a bad impression by making mommy run for the toilets."
Skye checked to see who was there then opened it. "What the. they're beautiful Jerry."
"May I come in?"
"Of course. You know most dates bring cut flowers arranged in some sort of bouquet. I don't think that anyone has brought me the entire plant before."
"If I had cut this flower from the plant, it wouldn't have looked nearly as lovely. To truly appreciate the view, you need the entire plant."
Skye looked at the Flowers in amazement. "It's beautiful. I don't think that I have every seen this before. What is it?"
Jerry flushed slightly. "You know what? I'm not exactly sure. I saw it and I thought it was perfect for you. Between being told not to pick the flowers, getting the instructions for watering and sunlight, and bargaining over the price, I forgot to ask."
"Bargaining over the price? No, I don't want to know where you got it. After some of the stories that I have heard, it was probably someone's garden."
Skye saw the slightly guilty expression on Jerry's face and laughed. "It was someone's garden. I hope they got a good price for it."
Jerry laughed. "I probably paid more for it than if I had boughten it at a more conventional location."
"Good for them. Now I believe that you were taking me to dinner."
"This way my lady." Jerry led Skye to the restaurant downstairs. "I reserved a table."
"You mean your aren't going to spirit me off to some fancy location and dazzle me?"
"Now I know that you spent time with my brother. No, Flying off to some exotic location is more his style than mine. I prefer to spend the time getting to know that lady that I am with and letting them get to know me."
Skye smiled at Jerry. "I think that I like that. No tricks, no gimmicks, no razzle-dazzle. I'm looking forward to learning more about you."
Jerry helped Skye into her seat and then sat down. "I believe the deal was that I provide dinner in exchange for the chance to uncover some of your secrets."
"So it is."
"So where did the name Toni Calloway come from?"
"You don't believe that it's my real name?"
"You know Jax well enough that you have met my parents. The stories you tell prove that fact. I talked to Jax today. He never heard the name before. There for you go by another name."
"Toni Calloway is the name I used on my fake licence as a teenager to get in bars."
"It is a little more than that or you wouldn't have a passport with that name on it connected with your face."
"That was a present from my first husband. I've never actually used it before."
Jerry lifted an eyebrow. "Never?"
"Okay, maybe a couple of times. As far as I know, he's the only one who knows what was on my fake licence. It is a good thing that no one looked at it to closely or they would know that it is out of date."
The waiter came over and asked them what they would like to drink. Jerry ordered a white wine and Skye asked for juice. At Skye's order, Jerry smiled knowingly.
"So, Toni, what do you need me to do for you."
"You have some unique skills that I need to put to use."
"These skills would be?" "I was told that you cleaned up some money for the mob a few years ago."
Jerry looked disappointed. "Thanks, but no thanks. I have had enough trouble with the authorities over laundering illegal funds."
"You won't be handling illegal funds. You will be handling my money with my permission. I can't get to my accounts right know without alerting everyone who is looking for me to my location. I want you to move my money someplace where no one except me will be able to find it. I want everyone to loose the trail who is following it."
"Exactly what kind of trouble are you in?"
"The kind that requires that I may have to disappear for a long time."
"The kind that say involves a certain international criminal that goes by the name of Luis Alcazar, Mrs. Jacks."
Skye's mouth dropped open. "How did you.how long have you known?"
"For sure? You just confirmed it. As for how? You're an alcoholic. You can't drink alcohol. You ordered juice."
"Lot's of people don't drink."
"I talked to my brother today. The only red head that he has introduced to his parents in recent years is you. You were all my parents talked about the last time I called them."
"You obviously haven't talked to your parents in a while."
"Let me see, how did he describe you? Beautiful, intelligent, known to be secretive when it suits your purpose to be so, and currently on the run from some very nasty company. The only a handful of people knew that I was in Spain. I assume that you found out my location when I called Jax."
Skye nodded.
"Jax is turning this world upside down looking for you."
"You have got to be kidding. The last time I saw Jax, he couldn't get away from me fast enough to be with his so called first love."
"It turns out that Brenda isn't really Brenda after all."
"This is supposed to matter to me because?"
"He is looking for you. He wants to be with you."
"No offence, but I sure as hell don't want to be with him. He screwed me over to be with that cheap imitation. You say that it wasn't even really Brenda. Is that supposed to make it all right? He didn't even leave me for the real thing. He left for a memory. Why the hell would I want to go back to that?"
"Among other things, he could help protect you from Alcazar."
Skye stood up and grabbed her purse. "I don't need protection. I have been watching my back just fine for years against Alcazar. I will continue to do so. I am not some child that needs to be led around on a string. I know what needs to be done. If you won't help me then I will find someone who will."
Jerry grabbed Skye's hand. "Skye wait. You don't need to run. I'm not saying no."
"You will help me?"
"Yes."
"Fine as far as I know. Actually, I'm in Paris looking for my ex-wife."
"Ah, did Alexis get herself in some sort of trouble again? You should hand that problem over to Ned. You should still be on your honeymoon with your latest wife. I've got to tell you, postponing your honeymoon in order to help out that other woman was a big mistake. I don't care if she was Brenda. You got money. Buy her some protection. Personally I think your wife is a saint for being so understanding and not dropping your sorry ass when she found out that you took a bullet for Brenda. The last time I talked to mom, this Skye woman was all she could talk about."
"You obviously haven't talked to mom lately."
"Well, it's been about a month or so. Don't give me that I should call home more often crap. Unlike you, I'm not a goody two shoes. I fully believe in living my own life to the fullest and that doesn't always include calling home to get my parent's opinion on whatever I'm up to."
"If you called home then you would know that Skye and I are divorced."
"See, told you it was a mistake. What the hell did you do wrong?"
"Why are you assuming that I'm the one who screwed up?"
"Because unlike mom and dad, I know better than to think that you are perfect. And from what mom said, this Skye woman was someone who would fight for you until the bitter end. Therefore, you're the one who had to have screwed up."
"I caught her in what I thought was a lie and I walked out the door and into Brenda's bed. When she said that she wouldn't divorce me, I used the power of attorney that she had given me to arrange a divorce before the week was out."
"Just wait a minute. From what I remember from our last phone call, didn't you lie to her about Brenda? Man you had some nerve throwing whatever it was in her face."
"I know. That doesn't even begin to cover it. And to make matters worse, it turns out that Brenda isn't even really Brenda. Apparently Alcazar took some other woman, brain washed her, and had plastic surgery to make her look like she was Brenda."
"What the hell! The last time we talked you said that the crazy bastard shot you to get you out of the way of getting to Brenda."
"Well, apparently, he did want me out of the way. It turns out that we were protecting the wrong woman. Brenda was never in any danger. She was just the diversion."
"Then who?"
"He was after my wife the entire time. According to what Brenda was able to remember from therapy, it was all about Skye. I was supposed to see Brenda and leave my wife. He tried to kill off Sonny to make sure that his fake Brenda couldn't run to him."
"Well that makes sense. Brenda always did love him the most."
"Hey!"
"It's the truth Jax. If Sonny were a free man, Brenda would run to him. You were always just the fill in."
"Well don't you just know how to feed my ego."
"From what I hear, you need a good kick in the ass."
"To make a long story short, Alcazar followed Skye to Paris. I don't know what exactly happened in the mean time, but she managed to loose him yesterday. Alcazar's men are turning over every stone possible to find her."
"You intend to get to her first."
"Someone has to save her."
"My brother, the white knight. Did it ever occur to you that maybe she doesn't want your help. In fact, from everything I have just heard, she has just as much reason to run from you as she does from this Alcazar person."
"She needs my help."
"I agree that she may need help, but somehow I doubt that she wants yours."
"Is there some reason you called, other than to annoy me?"
"Yes actually. I just met the latest love of my life and she says that she knows you."
"What's this latest redhead's name?"
"How do you know about her red hair?"
"Jerry, you may date woman of all shapes and colors but you only say that you are in love when the woman has fiery hair."
Jerry laughed. "You know me to well. Her name is Toni Calloway."
"No I don't recall ever meeting her."
"She seemed to know our mother too."
"No, sorry, the only woman with red hair that I have introduced to our parents lately was Skye."
'Really,' Jerry thought. "Never mind. I thought that it was an alias anyway. She was just trying to get my attention. So tell me about this missing wife of yours. Is she beautiful?"
"Gorgeous."
"So was she a model like Brenda or did she have some other brainless job."
"Why do you keep picking on the intelligence of the woman I date?"
"Because, outside of Alexis, you don't seem to date woman with much of a brain."
"Cloe was in business."
"Please, the woman designed dresses. After you met her, how many times did you tell her what to do in order to run her business better? How many times did you step in when other companies where clearly taking advantage of her? The woman may have known everything about fashion but she knew nothing about running a business. Quite frankly, I'm surprised that Alexis gave you the time of day. Smart woman usually intimidate you."
"Skye's intelligent and she's a red head. You would probably like her. She took over ELQ and she ran it quite well until I gave the controlling stocks away to her grandmother and her grandmother gave control to her husband."
"And why exactly did you do that?"
"Skye did something that I didn't approve of.."
"And you felt the need to punish her for doing something that you didn't agree with. Did it ever occur to you that it isn't your place to judge how others live their lives. Like I said Jax, you don't know how to handle a woman who cannot only think for herself, but also doesn't need your approval. I'm surprised that Alexis put up with you for as long as she did."
"Thanks a lot."
"Anytime. So you finally managed to get a woman who is beautiful and smart and from what mom said, worshiped the ground you walked on, and you left her for a memory of a woman who loved someone else. You know Jax, you don't deserve her."
"Perhaps not, but I love her and I intend on finding her and protecting her from Alcazar."
"I wish you luck. I've got to go. I have a date to keep with the latest love of my life."
"Who's name your not even sure of."
"So what? Unlike you, I like a little mystery."
"Even if it is a lie?"
"Get off of your high horse Jax. Not even you live up to the standards that you try to apply to the people you care about. Think about that while your are searching for your ex. I will talk to you latter."
---
'I wonder why I'm so nervous,' Skye thought as she checked the mirror one last time to make sure everything looked right. 'Damn, I wish that I had kept a few more pieces of my jewellery.' She had sold everything except her wedding ring and the bracelet that Jax's mother had given her. Skye fingered the earrings that she had boughten at the store. It wasn't exactly her normal style, but they matched the dress. Skye dressed to dazzle her date tonight. The dress was sleeveless, cut high in the front and low in the back. It was the perfect shade of blue. "Jax once bought me a dress in this same colour." Skye smiled and smoothed a hand over her flat stomach. She looked down where her hand lay. "It's hard to believe that there are two little ones in there. I wonder what you are going to be like. Will you have red hair like me or will you be blond or black like your fathers? Will you be boys or girls or one of each? Knowing Alcazar, he probably tried to order the doctors to make his a boy. I guess it really doesn't matter. Either way, your still mine."
Skye reached into her purse and took her medication. "You know, I don't envy you two in there. I haven't a clue what this stuff does or how it will affect you but those doctors sounded pretty sure that the three of us wouldn't survive without it. But I don't like to take things blindly for to long. As soon as we conclude our business with your Uncle Jerry, we will have to see about finding a doctor who wouldn't be on either of your fathers' payrolls. I've been reading this file and what they did looks extremely complicated. But then, everything in my life has always been complicated so why would I expect this to be any different."
Skye heard a knock at the door. "Oh that must be your uncle Jerry." Skye soothed her hand over her stomach one last time. "Now behave yourselves. We do not want to give the man a bad impression by making mommy run for the toilets."
Skye checked to see who was there then opened it. "What the. they're beautiful Jerry."
"May I come in?"
"Of course. You know most dates bring cut flowers arranged in some sort of bouquet. I don't think that anyone has brought me the entire plant before."
"If I had cut this flower from the plant, it wouldn't have looked nearly as lovely. To truly appreciate the view, you need the entire plant."
Skye looked at the Flowers in amazement. "It's beautiful. I don't think that I have every seen this before. What is it?"
Jerry flushed slightly. "You know what? I'm not exactly sure. I saw it and I thought it was perfect for you. Between being told not to pick the flowers, getting the instructions for watering and sunlight, and bargaining over the price, I forgot to ask."
"Bargaining over the price? No, I don't want to know where you got it. After some of the stories that I have heard, it was probably someone's garden."
Skye saw the slightly guilty expression on Jerry's face and laughed. "It was someone's garden. I hope they got a good price for it."
Jerry laughed. "I probably paid more for it than if I had boughten it at a more conventional location."
"Good for them. Now I believe that you were taking me to dinner."
"This way my lady." Jerry led Skye to the restaurant downstairs. "I reserved a table."
"You mean your aren't going to spirit me off to some fancy location and dazzle me?"
"Now I know that you spent time with my brother. No, Flying off to some exotic location is more his style than mine. I prefer to spend the time getting to know that lady that I am with and letting them get to know me."
Skye smiled at Jerry. "I think that I like that. No tricks, no gimmicks, no razzle-dazzle. I'm looking forward to learning more about you."
Jerry helped Skye into her seat and then sat down. "I believe the deal was that I provide dinner in exchange for the chance to uncover some of your secrets."
"So it is."
"So where did the name Toni Calloway come from?"
"You don't believe that it's my real name?"
"You know Jax well enough that you have met my parents. The stories you tell prove that fact. I talked to Jax today. He never heard the name before. There for you go by another name."
"Toni Calloway is the name I used on my fake licence as a teenager to get in bars."
"It is a little more than that or you wouldn't have a passport with that name on it connected with your face."
"That was a present from my first husband. I've never actually used it before."
Jerry lifted an eyebrow. "Never?"
"Okay, maybe a couple of times. As far as I know, he's the only one who knows what was on my fake licence. It is a good thing that no one looked at it to closely or they would know that it is out of date."
The waiter came over and asked them what they would like to drink. Jerry ordered a white wine and Skye asked for juice. At Skye's order, Jerry smiled knowingly.
"So, Toni, what do you need me to do for you."
"You have some unique skills that I need to put to use."
"These skills would be?" "I was told that you cleaned up some money for the mob a few years ago."
Jerry looked disappointed. "Thanks, but no thanks. I have had enough trouble with the authorities over laundering illegal funds."
"You won't be handling illegal funds. You will be handling my money with my permission. I can't get to my accounts right know without alerting everyone who is looking for me to my location. I want you to move my money someplace where no one except me will be able to find it. I want everyone to loose the trail who is following it."
"Exactly what kind of trouble are you in?"
"The kind that requires that I may have to disappear for a long time."
"The kind that say involves a certain international criminal that goes by the name of Luis Alcazar, Mrs. Jacks."
Skye's mouth dropped open. "How did you.how long have you known?"
"For sure? You just confirmed it. As for how? You're an alcoholic. You can't drink alcohol. You ordered juice."
"Lot's of people don't drink."
"I talked to my brother today. The only red head that he has introduced to his parents in recent years is you. You were all my parents talked about the last time I called them."
"You obviously haven't talked to your parents in a while."
"Let me see, how did he describe you? Beautiful, intelligent, known to be secretive when it suits your purpose to be so, and currently on the run from some very nasty company. The only a handful of people knew that I was in Spain. I assume that you found out my location when I called Jax."
Skye nodded.
"Jax is turning this world upside down looking for you."
"You have got to be kidding. The last time I saw Jax, he couldn't get away from me fast enough to be with his so called first love."
"It turns out that Brenda isn't really Brenda after all."
"This is supposed to matter to me because?"
"He is looking for you. He wants to be with you."
"No offence, but I sure as hell don't want to be with him. He screwed me over to be with that cheap imitation. You say that it wasn't even really Brenda. Is that supposed to make it all right? He didn't even leave me for the real thing. He left for a memory. Why the hell would I want to go back to that?"
"Among other things, he could help protect you from Alcazar."
Skye stood up and grabbed her purse. "I don't need protection. I have been watching my back just fine for years against Alcazar. I will continue to do so. I am not some child that needs to be led around on a string. I know what needs to be done. If you won't help me then I will find someone who will."
Jerry grabbed Skye's hand. "Skye wait. You don't need to run. I'm not saying no."
"You will help me?"
"Yes."