Author's notes: Goblz- thanks as always! And no, you didn't miss anything, lol. She hasn't put anything together yet. Carly doesn't know that Frisco's first name is Andrew and Bobbie told her he's in the Middle East... ;) Brandy, CharmedOne4- thank you so much!!!


Standing at her desk, Carly decided Andrew was right. Two days and she was ready to punch Braden's lights out. She'd found out why he was called Mr. Sticky Hands. Two days and he'd done nothing but cop a feel at every opportunity, despite her objections. If touched her ass one more time, she'd take Andrew's gun and relieve the bastard of the appendage he was thinking with.

"Miss Benson," Braden called from his office. "Did you get the files I asked for?"

Carly turned around, a fake smile pasted on her face. "Yes, I did."

He was leering at her again from the doorway. "Can you bring them in here?"

She sighed and picked up the stack of files she'd spent the morning collecting. She walked into the office and placed the stack in the middle of the desk. Braden closed the door behind her. Not a good sign.

"There's the files," Carly told him dismissively, trying to get by her boss and out the door. The last thing she needed was to lose this job in the first week.

"You don't have to leave so soon, Miss Benson."

"I have a lot of work to do," she insisted.

"It can wait a little while..." he trailed off, squeezing her behind.

That was it, this guy was history. "Hands off buster!" she yelled. "I have had enough of you pawing me!" Without a thought, she pulled her fist back and slammed it into his nose.

Carly stormed out of the office, grabbed her purse and didn't look back.

~*~

"You hit him?" Sarah asked incredulously. Carly just nodded. "You really hit him?"

They were sitting Sarah's cubical, drinking coffee. Carly had gone to see her friend after Mrs. Milner had dismissed her for the day. For investigation, the older woman had said. Whatever she meant, it made Carly nervous.

"All he did was paw me at every opportunity!" Carly defended herself.

"That's all he does with anyone in a skirt. If he didn't know so much, I'm sure he would've been fired years ago." Sarah giggled. "You'll be the envy of every female agent now. You have no idea how many women have wanted to slug Braden and didn't have the guts to do it."

"That's nice. Now I just have to wait to find out if I still have a job."

"You have a job. No secretary's been fired because of him yet. They'll just reassign you," Sarah assured her.

"I hope so. I really need this. Michael needs this. We can't just keep running from Sonny."

"It'll be okay, I swear. You have nothing to worry about. Besides, Andrew would die before he let Sonny get near you."

"What do you mean?" Carly asked in confusion.

Sarah looked at her as if she was most clueless person in the world. "That man's fallen hard for you!"

"How do you know? You said you hadn't even met him!"

"I had a meeting with him yesterday, so I've met him now," the British agent answered, sticking her tongue out. "But the word is out! Andrew's a happy guy."

"So, he's happy," Carly said, shrugging. "What does that prove?"

"He wasn't before he met you."

"It's only been a couple of weeks!"

"Sometimes that's all it takes," Sarah replied with a shrug, grinning. "The people saying he's happier know him better than I do, so I'd say that's a pretty good sign. You've got him hooked."

Carly sighed. "Well, we'll see," she said dismissively. "Michael should be out of school soon, so I'm going to go pick him up. I'll see ya later."

Sarah waved as her friend left, shaking her head and giggling to herself.

~*~

Carly heard the distinct digital sounds of a video game coming from the living room as she was making dinner. "Michael, is your homework done?" she shouted to her son.

"Yes!" the boy yelled as he played his game.

"Then come set the table."

"Okay!" The game stopped and Michael came running into the kitchen. "What are we having?" he asked, grabbing the plates Carly had set out for him.

"Lasagna."

The doorbell rang, surprising Carly. She wasn't expecting anybody, but maybe her son had asked a friend over. "I'll get it!" Michael yelled, running to the door before his mother could say anything.

Carly stopped what she was doing and listened to the door opening, a sense of fear running over her. It was silly, she knew. Sonny wouldn't have found her this quickly. He wouldn't be looking for Caroline Benson yet. But she couldn't help being afraid.

"Hey, sport!" a male voice said as soon as the door opened.

"Andrew!" Michael cheered.

Carly walked out of the kitchen and smiled. "Hey you!" she said, giving him a hug.

His lips brushed her cheek. "Heard a rumor about you."

"A good one, I hope," she said with an anxious grin.

"I would say so," he replied, grinning proudly. "Wish I could've seen Braden's face when you decked him."

Carly rolled her eyes. "I can't believe he actually thought I'd go for that."

"Really! It's not like any of his secretaries have given in before."

"So, how did your trip go?" she asked, changing the subject. "I wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow."

He shrugged. "It went alright. I have to go back in a couple months, though."

"I thought you were going to stay tonight to see your daughters."

Andrew's smile faded as he solemnly looked down. "They didn't want to see me," he said quietly.

Michael quickly wrapped his arms around Andrew's waist. "I want to see you!"

Carly joined in on the hug. "I do, too," she said quietly.

"I'm glad somebody does," Andrew answered, kissing Carly's cheek again and ruffling Michael's hair. "So what smells like it's starting to burn?"

"Oh no!" Carly cried, pulling herself away from the two men in her life and ran into the kitchen. She pulled the skillet off the burner and started stirring the saucy mix.

"So what's for dinner?" Andrew asked, coming up behind her, the sounds of Michael's video game starting again from the other room.

"Lasagna. You want to join us?"

"Okay." He looked at what she was cooking. "That does not look like lasagna."

Carly rolled her eyes. "It's Hamburger Helper. I'm not exactly a good cook."

"Aha," Andrew said, backing away and leaning against a counter. "I'll have to have you two over. I can make the real thing, not that box stuff."

"Well, good for you. Not all of us are that talented."

"Hey, I learned. I've been on my own for too long not to know how to cook a few things. Lasagna isn't that difficult."

"My talents do not lay in the kitchen, okay?"

"Well, what kind of woman can't cook?" Andrew sighed melodramatically. "Guess I'll have to look somewhere else for a wife..."

"Why you son of a..." she trailed off as she angrily smacked him on the arm.

"Hey, I was just teasing!" Andrew said, putting his arms up in self-defense. "Cooking is not high on my list of priorities, alright?"

"Could your ex-wife cook?"

"She's learned over the years, but when we were together, she was terrible," he answered. "Who did the cooking in your marriage? Or was it all take out?"

"I married a gourmet cook."

"A gourmet cook, huh? Interesting."

"He was a very good cook and he loved it. He'd get upset if I tried to do anything in the kitchen." Carly tenderly touched Andrew's cheek. "So the girls didn't want to see you?"

"No." He shook his head and sighed sadly. "They said they had plans. Maybe next time, yadda, yadda, yadda."

"What do you think?"

"They don't want to see me, Caroline. I told them I was going to be in town and I wanted to see them. They could've told me then if they already had plans. They still can't just tell me no."

Carly kissed him lightly. "Maybe you should tell them that. Tell them how you feel."

"I don't want to force them into anything."

"Telling them how you feel isn't forcing anything. You have the right to feel the way you do. The least they can do is be honest with you. You're their father."

"I haven't been their father in a very long time. That title goes to their stepfather. He's the one that's been there for them. I've spent all these years concentrating on my work, not my family."

"That doesn't mean they can't be honest with you."

Andrew smiled sadly and kissed her again. "I'll think about it. Is that good enough for right now?"

Carly slipped her arms around his neck. "It's fine."

"Are you two going to kiss again?" Michael complained, leaning against the doorframe.

"What's it to you, Mr.Man?" Carly asked, looking scolding at her son, then at a giggling Andrew.

"That is so gross, Mom!"

She rolled her eyes. "Go sit down, Michael. It's time to eat."

"Hey, Andrew?" Michael said seriously, getting the man's attention. "Your daughters are pretty dumb if they don't want you. I think you're pretty cool."

"Thanks, Michael," Andrew said as the boy left the room, followed by a smiling Carly.