After arranging for her neighbor to come watch Aiden for the evening, Carly and Johnathan headed to a nearby bar to hash out the ground rules of Johnathan becoming part of his son's life.
John was on his fourth Crown & Coke when Carly caught him staring at her. He remembered how her deep, warm, green eyes used to sparkle like emeralds after they made love. How she still had that light sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose. How she had that sensitive little spot just….
"What are staring at?" she glared.
"You," he admitted.
"God," Carly muttered, rolling her eyes.
Someone put a slow number on the jukebox. Johnathan flashed a trademark smile and held his hand out, "Can I have this dance?"
Carly sat there dumbstruck. Seriously? She crossed her arms over her chest and glared coldly, "Are you that drunk? Or just an ass?"
"What?" Johnathan sputtered.
"I thought we were here to discuss how you were going to become part of Aiden's life not "Let's get John laid"."
"It was just a dance, for old time's sake," he replied quietly.
"No. You were hoping to use that ol' Hillstrand charm to get what ever you want."
"You don't seem to mind Andy's 'Hillstrand' charm," he shot back.
"We aren't here to talk about Andy. We're here to talk about Aiden," she reminded him.
At that moment their waitress stepped up to the table, "Can I get you another round?" she asked in a sugary sweet voice. When the couple had first come in, she thought they were having a lover's spat, now she was pretty sure they weren't together. The man was definitely hot, and if his friend didn't care to take him home, well, she was more than willing.
Carly snorted at the calf eyes the waitress was giving Johnathan, "No thank you. We're good."
The waitress ignored Carly, and batted her eyelashes "What about you, hon?"
"Um, sure. Thanks darlin'," Johnathan's gaze wandered over the woman taking in her bottle blond hair, boobs falling out of her too tight top and skirt that left nothing to the imagination. He winked at her and was about to say more when Carly slammed her glass down on the table.
"OH MY GOD! Get your eyes off the giraffe with boobs. We're here to talk!"
The waitress smirked, "Well, if he's interested…."
Carly threw her hands in the air and laughed, "Honey you can have him. Just make sure he wraps his shit up. You don't want him leaving you knocked up and no family or friends around to help you out do you?"
The waitress looked at Carly then at John. Unsure what to do or say next.
"Go ahead John, tell her I'm lying," Carly taunted. "Oh. That's right, you can't because it's true."
The waitress backed away from their table, disgust plain on her face.
Johnathan watched as she walked away, "She looked at me like I was scum."
"If the shoe fits…"
"Do you hate me?" he asked quietly.
Carly shut her eyes and took a deep breath, "I did. For a long time. But not anymore."
"Why not anymore?"
"Because I decided that you weren't worth hating."
A new waitress brought his drink to the table. She slapped it down in front of him, sloshing the contents on the table. "Asshat," she muttered as she stomped away.
"Do you want me in Aiden's life?" he asked suddenly.
"The question is, do you want to be in his life?" she replied. "Frankly I haven't thought about you being there in a very long time. Same as the hate. Just hurt me, didn't do any good. So I let it go."
John was quiet for a few minutes then suddenly exclaimed, "I don't like him calling Andy dad."
"Andy and I are getting married, John. There's nothing you can do about that. Andy, Aiden and I have talked about this. Its' none of your business what he calls Andy."
John's face flushed, "I won't have my son calling another man…"
"We've been through this," said Carly with exasperation.
John sat back, a glint in his eye, "What are you gonna do about it? What if I decide to just let it drop in front…"
Carly watched his face for a moment. He really thought he had her in a catch-22. Carly sighed resignedly then reached into her purse. She pulled out an envelope and pushed it across the table.
"What's this?" he asked confusion plain on his face. He went to open it.
"It's a restraining order. Come near me or Aiden and I'll have your ass thrown in jail. When Andy gets done fishing then you, he and I will sit down together. I'm done talking to you until then." Carly got to her feet to leave.
Johnathan grabbed her arm to stop her. "Carly I loved you," he blurted out, pulling her close. He intended to kiss her.
Tears filled her eyes and she jerked away from him. "I loved you too John." With that she left and hurried back to her house. She thanked her neighbor and checked in on her sleeping boy. Turning off the lights she dialed the SAT phone on the Time Bandit.
"Yeah?" came a voice she didn't recognize.
Mike was at the wheel, "He's sleeping. Who's this?"
"Carly. Can you tell him to call me as soon as he can? Its not an emergency, but we need to talk. It's about Johnathan."
Three hours later Andy came back to the wheelhouse to relieve Mike. "Hey boss, your Carly called. Said she needs to talk to you ASAP. Something about John. You think that's where he went?" The family drama was the whispered talk of the entire crew, including Scotty.
"Oh yeah. I'd bet the boat on it." A brief flash of fear knifed through Andy's heart. What if she decided that being with John would be easier in the long run. Once certain Mike was out of earshot, he dialed her number.
"Hey, sorry to wake you hon," he said after her groggy hello.
"No, s'okay. How's the fishing?" She yawned.
"No bad, not great. How'd things go with John?" Did he really want to know?
"Real bad. Apparently he has a big issue with you being "daddy"," she answered. "He threatened to tell Aiden the truth."
"How'd you handle that?"
"Handed him a restraining order," she said flatly.
"You what!" he exclaimed surprised.
"That's why I called. Figured I'd better give you a heads up." She wasn't sure if she should tell him about the almost kiss or not.
"Anything else?" he watched a wave crash over the bow of the boat.
Carly curled up in the chair she was sitting in. "He tried to kiss me, said he loved me," she admitted quietly.
Andy's heart skipped a bit and his throat choked up, "Oh."
Carly could hear the fear in his voice, "Andrew Hillstrand, I love you. Once upon a time I loved your brother. But he killed that love when he deserted me and his baby. You're the one I want to be with. You're the one who loves Aiden as a son. Don't ever doubt that."
The weight lifted off his chest, "I love you too."
"And I don't intend to keep that RO in place, but I needed that safety net until you're back. I know how hot headed and stubborn he can be. When opi's over, the three of us will sit down together."
"That'd be great. I gotta go, the weather's coming up. I love you.
"Love you too Andy." The line went dead. Carly put the phone back on the charger and slipped into bed. Reaching over she pulled Andy's pillow closer to her, a hint of his scent still lingered. For a long time she stared at the wall wondering how all this mess was going to work out.
In his hotel room Johnathan cleaned out the mini-bar. The more he thought about Carly and Aiden the more he drank. Then he thought about his brother and his anger boiled up once again. She was his, the boy was his and Andy had no right to either of them.
Thanks for all the reviews! Keep them coming! And a special thanks to IrishCaptain… "Giraffe with boobs" was her creative description of a bimbo that I borrowed from the Summer RP. It's too good not to use!