Author's notes: This is back too! ;) More on Faith's background and the whole situation gets to Carly... Rach- lol, I was working on this when you replied to Taking Chances! Nice timing! ;) Logan, fairiangel, Brnady, Rena, and Teri- thank you!!!


Carly couldn't get her mind off Faith. She'd had so few good friends, she couldn't stand to lose one over something so stupid. She felt so bad for upsetting her friend on what was probably an already terrible day. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned Sonny and just let the woman vent about her dead husband. She didn't need to know Sonny was her ex-husband. Carly should've just left her mouth shut.

She gone upstairs to apologize to her, but the dimwit substitute secretary told her Faith had taken some time off, to Carly's disappointment. So she had left a message with the secretary for Faith to call when she returned to work. She'd tried to get Faith at home as well, but that proved fruitless as well. The Texan was nowhere to be found.

It had been a week and Carly had heard nothing. More than once the thought of going to Port Charles and shooting Sonny had crossed her mind. "Damn him," she muttered for what seemed like the millionth time that week, throwing down her pen.

"Everything okay?"

Andrew's voice jolted her out of her thoughts. "Everything's fine, Andrew," she replied, smiling. "I was just thinking."

"Care to share?"

She smirked knowingly. "Don't you have a plane to catch?" she asked, changing the subject. She had pretty much blown him off all week, her mind on Faith and Sonny. Her new relationship wasn't the first thing she wanted to deal with when the last one was still haunting her. Another thing for her to feel bad about. Andrew didn't deserve it.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered, rolling his eyes. "Actually, I'm waiting for Mike. She's supposed to meet me down here."

"So I finally get to meet the infamous Mike?"

"And you must be the infamous Caroline," a female voice said from behind Andrew. A blond woman about Andrew's age walked up to her desk and extended her hand to Carly. "Mike Reyes."

Carly shook her hand, smiling at the older woman. "Caroline Benson. Nice to meet you."

"No, it's nice to finally meet you after all I've heard," she said, throwing an amused glance at Andrew. "Ready to go yet, Jones?"

"Let me get my stuff," he grumbled. He retreated to his office, glancing suspiciously back at the two women.

"How's Faith?" Carly asked, concerned, as soon as Andrew disappeared.

Mike smiled weakly. "She's alright. She just needed a few days to herself." She paused. "Faith told me what happened. It's not your fault, Caroline. You just threw her for a loop. She's had a hard time with Joe's death, hiding from your ex and all."

Carly's heart jumped in her throat. "Hiding?" she repeated shakily.

The older woman's face fell guiltily. "You didn't know?" She watched Carly shook her head. She sighed, pulling up a nearby chair and sitting down. Andrew stepped out of his office and looked between them, confused. "Jones, lose yourself for a couple minutes," she ordered. He just rolled his eyes and went back into his office, shutting the door behind him. Mike turned back to Carly. "Faith was working for your ex-husband in New York, that's how she met Joe. She got on his bad side and Joe offered to protect her. When he was transferred to Miami, he got her a job in the local office. Shortly after that they got married, then the order was handed down. Faith was devastated, but she decided to stay. One of Corinthos's men found out she was there and started harassing her."

Carly sighed. "Roy diLucca?"

"You know him?"

"He was almost my stepfather. I think he's still good friends with my uncle."

"Ah, yes. The infamous Luke Spencer. I've heard quite all about him. Sounds like an interesting guy," Mike said amusedly. "Yeah, diLucca was the one harassing Faith. The Bureau moved her here to protect her. So far they haven't found her."

Carly put her head in her hands, her elbows resting on the desk. "I feel terrible for telling her about Sonny."

"Caroline, don't beat yourself up over it. She wouldn't found out sooner or later. It really isn't your fault," Mike assured the younger woman. "Just give her a little while, she'll come around."

"I hope so," she replied softly. She hated the thought of losing a friend and she hated what Sonny had done.

She cringed, fear taking over. If Sonny had found Faith in Miami, maybe he could find the both of them here...

Carly could feel Mike's eyes watching her, watching her reaction. "If he hasn't found her, I doubt he'll find you either."

She frowned sadly. "We'll see. I don't think he's given up on me yet."

Mike glanced at her watch. She got up and opened the office door. "Let's get moving, Jones," she said to Andrew inside. She gave Carly a sympathetic smile. "It was nice to meet you. Faith should be back to work in a day or so. I'm sure things will be better."

Andrew stood in the doorway, bags slung over his shoulder and his arms crossed. "Anything I should know about?"

"Just girl stuff," Mike answered vaguely.

"Whatever," he replied, amusedly rolling his eyes. "The fort's yours Caroline, until I get back."

"Enjoy your trip, " Carly said, matching his amusement. She watched Mike and Andrew walk down the hallway together, Andrew giving her one last wave before disappearing from sight.

Carly rushed into the office, leaning against the door as she closed it behind her. Mike's words began to sink in. All this pain because of Sonny. Faith's life, her life, Michael's life... All practically void because of him. What kind of life could she and Michael have on the run? What kind of life did Faith have hiding from the man who murdered her husband? When Sonny finally found her again, he'd find Faith again. She couldn't risk her friend like that. And Andrew... God, what would Sonny do to Andrew? She told herself that Andrew was a WSB agent, he could handle Sonny, but it didn't stop from being scared of her ex-husband all over again. She squeezed her eyes shut, her tears spilling down her cheeks as she let herself break down.

~*~

Carly had no idea how long she'd been sitting quietly in Andrew's office. She had moved from the door to the floor, sitting with her back against the wall, near the windows behind his desk. She should be doing her job, but she just couldn't force herself to move.

These times were few. Normally she was too busy worrying to let the enormity of her situation overwhelm her. Besides, she'd never been one to just sit and cry. She had always been a woman of action. Okay, her actions usually blew up in her face or came back to haunt her, but she never sat around whining like Liz or Robin. She had a problem, she took care of it. But Sonny was the one problem she'd run from like a weakling. Totally un-Carly.

But there wasn't anything else she could've done, she knew. It had taken all her strength to leave the husband she loved and it was taking all the strength she could muster for her son to keep going.

The phone rang again. She finally picked herself up off the floor and answered it.

"Caroline?" Andrew's concerned voice said through the phone line. "Is everything alright?"

"Fine," she said, less than convincing.

"Sure? I called a while ago and you didn't answer."

"I was just away from my desk for a little while," she lied. "No biggie. Is there something you wanted?"

"No, I was just checking up while I had a free minute. You looked kinda upset when we left."

"I'm fine, Andrew. Really."

"Did Mike say something..."

"No!" she snapped.

He sighed. "What did she say? I know she can be pretty brash sometimes..."

"It's nothing, Andrew," she insisted, rubbing her forehead. "It's not her. Don't worry about it, okay?"

"Okay, I'll drop it, but you know I'm around if you want to talk about it."

"I appreciate that, Andrew."

She hung up the phone with a sigh. She had a good thing in DC. A good man, a good job, friends. A life away from the mob, away from Sonny, away from all the mistakes she'd made in the past. She had to do something about Sonny.

Carly picked up the phone and dialed General Hospital's number. "Bobbie Spencer, please."