Kelly's-

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Carly asked Courtney as they walked into the restaurant that was owned by Carly's mother, yet managed predominately by Courtney's father, who was also Carly's father-in-law. "I mean… after everything that happened to Lois last night, I'm not so sure that I should be leaving Sonny alone."

"Sonny's a big boy, Carly," Courtney replied as she pulled out one of the chairs at one of the tables and sat down. "I think he can handle it. After all, Lois is fine. Thankfully…"

"Yeah…"

Courtney looked over at Carly, who was still standing, "You know, you almost sounded like you meant what you just said, almost sounded like you were grateful that Lois didn't end up dead…"

"Courtney!" Carly was not amused, she was very offended. "How could you say something like that to me?"

"Because I know how many times that you've wished that Lois would fall off the face of the Earth, especially now that she's been back in town ever since Christmas. Look, Carly, I'm not trying to accuse you of doing anything that would hurt Lois, I don't even think that you're capable of such a thing, but I'm not going to sit here and try and sooth your battered ego and say that you treat Lois like she's a person that you even think is a human being."

"All right, you win," Carly sat down across from Courtney. "You're right, I don't like Lois at all, in fact, I probably have wished that she would just keel over and die more times than I would care to admit, but last night, when I saw my husband, when I saw the fear in his eyes as he realized that he could be losing someone who was that important to him, I realized that I never wanted Sonny to deal with something like that. I'm not saying that I'm going to start being buddy-buddy with Lois, or that I'll even be able to stomach being around her the next time I see her, but I am saying that… okay, I don't even know what I'm saying."

"I think I know what you're saying, even though I can't tell you what you're saying, because I don't know if I can say it right, either."

Carly sighed, "I really was afraid for her last night, Courtney. And not just because of what she means to Sonny, but because she has a daughter… and there are so many things that would go through my head if something like that happened to me. I would be thinking about what I would be leaving behind, Michael, Morgan, even Damian on some level. I just wouldn't be able to let it take me without a huge fight. I didn't want Sonny or Brook or even Lois to deal with something like that."

"Who knew you could be so humanizing…"

Carly rolled her eyes. "For a best friend, you certainly do rag on me a lot."

"You know I'm only kidding. This back and forth insult fest seems to work for Dillon and Damian." She had overheard a few of their little spats, some of the comments that were flung back and forth were particularly damming, but in the end they were always able to laugh about it and act like nothing had happened. Maybe it was because they were boys, though. "Seriously, though… you might not notice it, Carly, but you have changed a lot recently."

"I think it has to do with the fact that I spent all that time thinking about my father, you know? When Morgan… when he almost died, I thought about everything that I cared about. I knew what it felt like to think that I was going to lose the baby while it was still inside of me… but that was a kind of pain that I've dealt with before." She didn't want to think about it, but it was true, Carly had known the pain of losing a child, as had Courtney. Thankfully, for Carly at least, she was able to have another child. Courtney wouldn't be so lucky. "But the pain of thinking about waking up in the morning and not being able to hold my baby after he had come out of me… that was just something that I never wanted to deal with again, and it really changed me."

"I'm sorry that you weren't ever able to get any leads on your father, Carly," Courtney reached over and touched her hand gently, "I know how important it was to you that you find some sort of information on him. Even with all of Sonny's resources, to not find anything, that must have hurt."

"What hurt more was the way that everyone was trying to tell me that I shouldn't have done it," Carly admitted. "It still hurts me when I think about it, Courtney. The way that Sonny, my mother, even Jason, the way that they all tried to tell me that finding my dad was going to be a bad idea. It's like… it's like they weren't even trying to think of it in another way, they all automatically assumed that I was going to have trouble accepting who my dad really was."

"I'm sure they were just trying to protect you, and, let's face it, when things don't go your way you tend to act a little irrationally."

"Well that's just my right as a woman."

"I know that, but they didn't want to see you get hurt. We all love you, Carly, and even though we know how much pain you go through thinking that your father isn't out there wondering about you and what would have happened if you would have been in his life, there's always going to be something here, in Port Charles, with me and with everyone else. We're always going to be here for you, no matter what."

"Well, if it isn't my favorite daughter, and my favorite daughter-in-law," Mike, coffee in hand, poured the girls' a cup each, just the way that they liked it. Only Corinthos-Morgan brand coffee for the two of them, it would be a sin to drink anything else, just like it would be a sin for him to provide anything else. "Are you here to eat, or just here for something to drink?"

"Both, actually," Carly said, smiling at Mike, "your daughter and I decided that we were going to take one of our infamous days together."

"So, I won't say that I knew that you were going anywhere when Sonny complains about the credit card bill?"

"That's why I love you, Mike, because you know when to keep your mouth shut."

"I stay out of these things as much as possible." The last thing that Mike needed was to deal with distancing himself even more from his son than he already had. "I'll give you two a few minutes to decide on what you want, and then one of you can just flag me down, all right?" It was early, and Elizabeth hadn't arrived yet, but he could handle it.

"Hey, Mike, wait a second, would you?" Carly requested. Mike stopped and turned around again. "Have you seen my mother lately?"

"No, not recently, why?"

"She's just been acting really strange the past couple of days, I just wanted to see if you had talked to her, maybe you knew something."

"No, Bobbie hasn't told me anything, Carly. I'm sorry, if I could tell you anything that would help you, I would."

"No, its fine, I just thought that you might know. If you think that you might have an idea… please."

"You'll be the first person I call. And if you…"

"Don't worry about it, I'll pass it along," Carly nodded as Mike walked away. She then sighed, distraught over the fact that she still didn't know why her mother was acting so oddly as of late. It started at the docks, and then it was the other night at the hospital. What was going on?

Scorpio Household-

She tried to wake up rejuvenated, but she couldn't. The sting of betrayal was still too fresh and painful. She wanted to wake up a completely different person, no longer worried about being with Damian Zuniga-Corinthos, casting away another part of herself that was no longer of any use to her, but she couldn't. Try as she might to have forgotten about him, she couldn't. She loved him far too much, she still did, and that was why it hurt as much as it did, because she cared about him that much. It wasn't like that with Kyle, it hurt, but once she realized that she never truly loved him, it didn't hurt as much. If someone tried to say that she didn't truly love Damian she would tell them that they were full of it, because she did.

Maxie slipped out of her bed and felt the bare spot where her bracelet had once been held. The missing link made her more than a little sad, and she wanted to find it again, but she fought the urge. No, it wasn't going to be the same anymore, and it would only serve to remind her of what she had lost, which she didn't want. She didn't want any more painful memories. She just wanted to move on with life, like he had. If only she would have known that it was coming. Never had she thought about him cheating on her… but then Sonny was his father. Like father like son. He would hate that comparison, but she didn't care because it was the truth.

As soon as she made her way towards the vanity she felt the chopped up pieces of picture that pricked at the skin of her foot when she stepped on them. She looked down and felt the tears well up in her eyes. Was it really over? Yes, it was. She couldn't deny what she had seen, and she had seen the two of them holding each other tightly. Maybe he knew about her being at Kelly's and just pretended that he didn't know so that she wouldn't think that he really was cheating on her, maybe that was why he sounded like he truly meant everything that he said, in an effort to fool her, and she had fallen for each and every single word.

Maxie had a few classes that she needed to attend, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to do it. She wouldn't be able to concentrate. It was college, she was no longer mandated to attend, but it wasn't that simple. She was still living at home, and if she did stay home Mac would find a way to find out what was wrong, and then she would tell him and he would either be thrilled beyond belief, or go and try to hurt Damian in some way. Neither was really something that she wanted to deal with, although the second option did seem like something that would have been fun. Despite the pain that he had caused her, she didn't want to make him feel the same way. That was something the old Maxie would have done, and, when they were good together they were really good.

"Honey?" Mac gave a gentle knock on the door. "I know how much you love to sleep in, and since I'm not needed in the office for a little while I thought I would make sure that you got up for school. Maxie…"

Maxie quickly stood up and swept the pieces of the pictures into the nearby trash bin with her hand, hoping that each and every one of them was hidden enough from her father so that he wouldn't be suspicious. "I'm up, dad, don't worry."

"Can I come in to make sure?"

"Yeah, if you want."

Mac didn't waste any time walking into the room. He immediately saw her by the vanity, "Well, it looks like you really are up." Something seemed out of place, though. Something about her appearance. It took him a few seconds, as he wasn't exactly the most observant father on the planet, but when he saw what was missing he did comment on it, "Where's your bracelet at?"

Maxie felt her hand move over to the spot where it used to be the moment that he had mentioned it. She felt like crumbling and telling him everything, but she decided against it. She needed to figure things out for herself, didn't need or want daddy coming and giving any sort of advice that would cure all her woes. "I'm cleaning it right now, it fell into the soil of one of the plants downstairs while I was watering them the other day, and it got really dirty…"

"You look so beautiful with it on. I can't say much about your boyfriend that is good, Maxie, but he really did pick out a nice Christmas present for you… made me feel like I wasn't giving you enough."

Maxie walked over to Mac and hugged him tightly, "You gave me everything that I would ever need, dad. Trust me, no matter what Damian could have given me it would have never even equaled all that you have given to me throughout the years. He never gave me stability…"

"Really?"

"Not like you, at least," she didn't want to lie to herself about their relationship. It might have been painful to admit that they were meant for each other at one time, but pushing those memories away? That seemed even worse on some level.

"Well, at least you're taking care of it. What do you have to do at school today?"

"You know… a few classes. It's early in the semester now, and since it isn't high school anymore I always take new classes. I'm still doing my general education." She was thinking about trying to transfer in to PCU instead of the community college, but decided against it now. Why would she want to go somewhere that her ex-boyfriend went? Maybe she would look into finally leaving Port Charles. She didn't really have much reason to stay.

"Well, just so you know I won't be in for the rest of the day. Even though I have a late start, I also have to leave the office pretty late, so you and your sister are going to be on your own for the night. If you have any problems, you know that you can reach me whenever…"

"Yeah, on your cell."

"Maxie, I don't want you bringing him in to this house, do you understand me?"

"Relax, daddy, the last thing you need to worry about right now is something like that happening." She never wanted him to set foot inside of her house ever again.