Switching Places
Chapter 19
If at first you don't succeed try and try again.
Sam was getting frustrated; she could not get close to Sonny. Having to work had hindered her so she had conned an old mark in New York and was using the money to live. Now she had the added worry of this annoying blond who seemed to know way too much about her.
Seeing the man she was looking for coming out of the studio apartments, she didn't understand why if he worked for Corinthos he lived in a rundown studio. Seems like he could have afforded a much nicer place. Walking towards him she listened in on his call with his girlfriend.
"Carly, I will be there in a few minutes. Look, I will talk to you when I get there. Yes, I know that last night would have been perfect but--. Yes, I know. Look I just want it to be perfect, so do you think you can wait for this. Carly, we can talk about this later." He said firmly as he hung up on the blond.
Seeing Sam once again hanging around, he placed the sketchbook Elizabeth wanted in the SUV, before walking over to find out what she was up to. "Miss McCall, it really isn't safe down on the docks."
"Thanks, I will be fine. Do you have a minute?" She had seen him with Elizabeth a few times, so she knew things weren't looking to good for the harpy named Carly. The blond looked like he was interested in her, not the woman he was always talking to on the phone.
"Not really, I'm supposed to be meeting my girlfriend. Are you in some kind of trouble, I see you out here a lot."
"I just like the peace and quiet."
"Be careful, the docks aren't safe for anyone, let alone a pregnant woman." He said walking away.
Alexis was getting tired of people checking up on her, first there was her friends, as well as Carly. Elizabeth had requested to work on that floor so that she could be near. Then there was Sonny and Brenda, who had been tossed out rather gleefully by Carly, saying that listening to the two of them arguing was bad for Alexis.
But the worst had been Mac Scorpio and Taggert. They seemed to think that since they had gotten her to the hospital they had a stake in her pregnancy as well. Mac had been by three times already and Taggert had threatened Jax and Ned when they had upset her.
Looking at the machine that was recording her daughter's heartbeat, she was grateful to see that it was steady and strong. Dr. Meadows had admitted her for the rest of her pregnancy saying that her life and that of her child was at risk. Wondering when her assistant would be here with the files she had requested she looked out the small window and saw Courtney Matthews hovering around Elizabeth and what looked like Zander.
"Cute pink scrubs there." She snarked. "Guess Jason isn't supporting you, shows how much you really matter to him, if he is letting you work."
"Courtney, as a member of the staff here, I can have you placed on 24 hour involuntary admittance to the Psyche ward. I wouldn't piss me off. Zander, I don't know what to tell you. I have no idea where Roy is. Why don't you try finding some way to clean yourself up before Emily comes home?" She said shaking her head in disgust.
"I could care less that Emily is returning she dumped me remember? Besides I'm with Courtney now." He said not wanting to admit he wished he wasn't, she was getting on his last nerve.
Courtney looked at the man standing next to her; yes they were sleeping with each other, but together? Not in this lifetime. Seeing Carly coming towards them she called out to her friend.
Groaning at the mess she created in Courtney's life, Carly couldn't help comparing the way Elizabeth handled things the first around with the way Courtney didn't even try. She needed to help her friend get her life back on track. She would become Courtney's Jiminy Cricket. Swearing at herself mentally she swore that she would never again watch a cartoon with Michael.
"Zander, I need to speak with Courtney, could you excuse us." She said shouldering the man out of the way. Once they were in the chapel, Carly said "You are wasting your life, what are you doing with him?"
"It's just temporary; I don't like being alone." She said.
"Your brother wanted to send you to school; he gave you money to go. Why not do it?"
"I want to be like you Carly; I don't want to work, not if I don't have to."
"Courtney, where did you get the idea I don't work. I have been helping out here at GH; I have been redecorating Jason and Elizabeth's place. I have been taking care of things for Momma at the diner."
"Yes, but its not like you get paid for it. All of that stuff is what I want to doing. Except here at the hospital, too many sick people. Besides, I want to live in a fancy house and hire someone to do my decorating, like rich people do on TV. I bet Elizabeth just loves living in that swanky penthouse, must be quite a step up from where she grew up. She probably just tossed around some of those knitted blankets and her paints; it must have been terrible to have to deal with her sense of style." Courtney smirked.
Carly shook her head, had she really been this petty; she had heard similar words out of her mouth before but this time they bothered her. "For the record, Elizabeth and Jason asked me together, and she only protested my getting rid of the leather sofa."
"Of course she did, she wouldn't know the way a real home with rich people should look. Why would she?"
Carly thought back on the talks she had with Elizabeth and Alexis about growing up and said "Courtney, Elizabeth's parents are rich, really, really rich. Quartermaine rich. They live overseas as doctors, she used to be an art student, so she understands the concept of color. One more thing, I picked that sofa out for Jason, the only reason I removed it was that the two of them fell asleep on it and it wasn't comfortable."
"Really if her parents are so rich why was she working in a diner and now as a lowly nurse. If I was rich, I wouldn't change bedpans."
"Courtney, you need to get over this, Jason isn't going to suddenly turn up and save you like some knight in shining armor then whisk you off to his tower castle. It isn't going to happen. Start living in the real world and realize that you aren't some kind of damn heroine like Sleeping Beauty. Grow up; realize that life isn't like that."
"Maybe not for you, but I will get what I want."
"No you won't. Look if you don't want future with Zander, dump him, find someone new and move on with your life." She said exasperated with the blond and her pie in the sky dreams.
Elizabeth finished her shift, then went to class, seeing her grams coming her way, she groaned as the elderly woman stiffened and walked the other way. "Grams, do you have a minute?"
"Why, do that you can talk to me like you have been? I'm only looking out for your best interests, Elizabeth."
"No Grams, I wanted to let you know that with the holidays coming up, I hope you can get over this dislike of Jason and try to get along."
"I can't. I refuse to lose you to the violence of his world. I read the papers; I know that this Mr. Alcazar is causing problems for him."
"Grams, I love Jason, I am in love with him." She said simply.
"That love will get you killed." She said as she walked away from her granddaughter.
"Elizabeth, do you have a minute?" Asked Brenda. "Jason asked me to meet you here, but didn't say when."
"I'm supposed to bring Sonny and you to the office, there is someone he wants the two of you to talk to."
Catching up with the mobster, Elizabeth took the two of them to the office, and suggested they get comfortable. When Dr. Drake entered she was shocked when he came over to her and said "You look just like your mother, my dear. I knew Anne from when I worked here years ago."
Elizabeth was uncomfortable but she had to straighten him out, "Dr. Drake, my mother's name is Carolyn."
"I'm sorry, when I heard your name and that you were Jeff's daughter, I just assumed." He said a bit embarrassed. "Is this the young woman I'm supposed to talk to?"
"Yes, this is Brenda Barrett, and her husband Sonny Corinthos."
"Okay, Well I went over the files Mr. Morgan sent, and then the samples here, Mrs. Corinthos, the doctor who treated you lied. You are not sick, except for a high concentration of some rather toxic drugs. Other than going through withdrawal, you will be fine." He said assuring the model whom looked stunned.
"But my mother? She was ill; I have seen the test results."
"Your mother was sick, there is no doubt about that, but you are not. My dear, you should live a long and healthy life."
She sat there stunned, so Elizabeth escorted Noah Drake to the elevator and thanked him for helping. "Elizabeth, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you. It's just seeing you in those operating scrubs, reminded me of Annie."
Elizabeth was still thinking about Dr. Drake's words when Bobbie and Carly walked up. "Bobbie, do you recall a nurse named Annie?" She asked.
"Annie, do you mean Annie Logan?" Bobbie did not want to recall her past with the nurse nor her jealously of the woman's relationship with Jeff Webber and then Noah Drake.
"I guess so, Dr. Drake was here consulting on a case, and he told me that I reminded him of her."
"Only superficially, you have dark curly hair and are a nurse. She was much taller and had brown eyes."
Elizabeth just wanted to go home and see Jason. Telling Francis, she would see him in the morning, she tossed her knapsack on the sofa and dragged her butt up the stairs to take a shower.
As she got out she could hear two male voices, knowing it was probably Sonny and Jason, she was shocked to hear them raised in anger. Walking to the landing she heard Sonny yelling at Jason saying he had no right to tell Brenda the truth, that it should have been up to him.
"Sonny, if you had lied, it would have made you no better than Luis Alcazar. I did the right thing. Now if you will excuse me, I have every intention of spending the evening here alone with Elizabeth before leaving for Puerto Rico in the morning."
Walking back into their bedroom, Elizabeth sighed, the day after tomorrow was Thanksgiving, and it looked like she would be spending it alone.
"Hey, I thought I heard you up here." He said coming in and pulling her into his arms. "I gather it didn't go well with Brenda. She told Sonny since she wasn't sick, she wanted a divorce."
"I left them alone; I didn't want to be in the middle of it. I overheard you arguing." She admitted.
"I'm sorry about Thanksgiving, I hope to make it back in time for dinner. There were some major discrepancies in an account. I have to go and check it out. I know that you won't be with your grams, so why don't you go over to the Quartermaines." He suggested. "They invited us." He said kissing her shoulder, wishing he could send someone else, but knowing that he had to be the one, otherwise Luis wouldn't get the message. Lately it seemed like all he did was run after someone else's problems.
"So, does that mean I can get a ride on the bike?" She teased as he grabbed her and tossed her over his shoulder.
Chapter 20
"Will you marry me?"
Elizabeth found herself blindfolded outside her studio door and told to wait there. "Jason, I have already seen the studio."
"Not like this, just wait." He said entering and plugging in the lights. Walking back to the door, he gently eased her in and down on the leather sofa. "Okay, you can remove it."
Elizabeth looked around seeing the tiny Christmas lights. "They are here for a reason, would you please spend Christmas with me, in Venice. I would love for us to start the New Year there." Jason had started to propose, but wanted to make sure she would agree to the trip.
"Any place you are, I want to be." She said softly leaning in the lightly kiss him.
"I would love that, but do you think you could do that for the rest of our lives?" He asked.
"Yes, I can't imagine not being with you. It would be like losing the other half of my soul." She said.
"So you will marry me?" He asked hesitating.
"Yes, I love you so much Jason, you are the man I want to spend the rest of my life with, the man I want to have babies with, the man I want to see when I wake up in the morning for the rest of my life."
"Good, because I want that too." He said as he removed the box from his jacket pocket. Slipping the ring, on her finger he brought her hand up and kissed the ring, as a promise that nothing and no one was going to come between them.
Sonny watched as Brenda stormed around the penthouse, one minute demanding a divorce, then next trying Jax again, and then finally threatening to kill Luis Alcazar. He could not help wishing she would calm down, there was nothing worse than an annoyed high maintenance wife was, after Carly that was the last thing he wanted.
"How dare he? He stole years of my life, lying to me, I lost Jax because I refused to come home thinking I would be a burden. What am I going to do?" She asked whirling and confronting Sonny. "How soon can we fly to the Dominican Republic and get a divorce?"
"Jason was heading to the Casino. It will have to wait until he gets back. Then we can end this marriage, if that is what you want." He said flashing his dimples and trying not to argue with her.
"Of course that it what I want. I married you so that Jax couldn't get under my skin again, so that I wouldn't ruin his life. Now I'm free, there is nothing holding me back." She said smiling, and then asked him "So does that mean you will get back with the blond harpy?"
"Carly and I are over, we have both moved on. No, I think I will spend a few weeks on the Island, after we get things under control." He said not admitting he was hoping she would come with him. The Aussie was not the man for her, he would try but it would never actually work, not anymore.
Carly entered the hospital room, to see Jax trying to convince Alexis to help him get a divorce for Brenda. "Shouldn't you be home, concentrating on your wife? You know the one you left at the altar?" Asked Carly, she had forgotten how much this Jax had annoyed her. While she had wanted Brenda with him, it had only been for the sake of her marriage, other than that; she had always wondering why Skye hadn't cut his balls off and fed them to him.
"Why don't you mind your own business?" He asked the intrusive blond. "Look, I have an idea, why don't you go over and see if Sonny is ready for round four, leaving Brenda for me."
"Sonny and I are over, as for the two of them, it won't last. Jax, you know you are a real ass, you stood in a church and swore in front of her family to love her always, but Skye was abandoned for someone who doesn't even want you. I suggest you take a good look in the mirror."
Alexis silently cheered her on, but knew that Brenda was in Jax's blood and until they finally dealt with it, he would chase after the former model. "Carly, is that my milkshake?" She asked hoping to diffuse the situation.
"Yes, one vanilla milkshake, and one order of apple pie. All Okayed by Dr. Meadows." She said handing it over, then walking towards the door, she said to Jax "Alexis needs her rest, you need to leave."
Zander was furious, who did she think she was, telling him to get out, it was his apartment. "Why don't you move back to that hovel you call a studio, this is mine." He said waving his arms around.
"Rosie and I know when we aren't wanted. Don't we girl?" She said as she grabbed her stuff, "I want my share of the money."
"Here, this is all there is left, you spent most of it." He said tossing the last two thousand dollars at the blond. "Why don't you go and see if your brother will let you stay with him, wait that's right. He told you that until you apologized to Elizabeth and Jason you had to stay there."
Brenda entered the Port Charles Hotel, getting a room, then called Jax and invited him to visit her. Then grabbing her purse let to return to the lobby to wait.
Carly saw AJ sitting at the bar and walked over. "I hope that is water."
"After seeing Skye for the last few weeks, it will always be water." He said shuddering, his sister had climbed into a whole lot of bottles and the sight was making him sick. "What are you doing here, Carly?"
"I was actually looking for you. Reginald told me you might be here." She said. "I'm taking Michael to New York to the circus I invited Monica along. I just wanted to be the one to tell you, not Edward." She said proud of herself for acting like a grownup.
""Thanks, but grandfather lost the ability to hurt me when he pulled the rug out from under my feet. Losing my trust fund, having to work for a living, gave me the strength to walk away when he starts in. I keep hoping that Skye will learn that lesson."
"AJ, sounds like you have grown up."
"Carly, don't sound so patronizing, I might forget I'm am adult." He said thinking about dumping the bowl of pretzels over her head.
"Well, well if it isn't my ex-husband in a bar, don't you think you might want to save a little bit of that pittance you make on the docks?" Snarked Courtney as she entered with the bellboy standing at the entrance with Rosie.
"Dogs aren't allowed in the restaurant, sweetheart." AJ snarled.
"Rosie is still standing at the entrance." She said snottily.
"I wasn't talking about Rosie, more like the bitch in heat I was married to, How are things; are you still chasing after my little brother while sleeping with the cheap imitation of him."
Carly wanted to defend her friend, but had to admit AJ and her both were in the wrong. So all she said was "Courtney why are you here?"
"I'm checking in, Zander and I split up and I don't want to move into the studio, just yet." She said not admitting that she had been evicted for not paying rent. "Carly, I have to go, before I say something mean to him."
Walking into the elevator, Courtney heard someone say hold the door. Seeing the rich and handsome man in a suit, she smiled and said "Hello, my name is Courtney. Are you and your wife a guest here?"
Smiling at her, he said "Not married, but I am looking. So Courtney are you staying here with your husband?"
Seeing the look of interest in his face, she said "No, I'm divorced, my ex-husbands family used to own this place. So are you in town for business or pleasure?" She asked with an arch of her eyebrows.
Ric just laughed as Sonny's sister tried to flirt with him, this might be easier than he had expected. "That depends, on my job interview. I'm hoping to move to town and am looking for clients for my law firm. I'm Ric by the way. Ric Lansing."
Carly saw that Courtney had left her stupid dog with the bellboy when she had rushed off into the elevator. Remembering her promise to help get the girl back on track she went to relieve the man of the dog, but Rosie refused to move.
Standing at the exit, AJ was trying to ignore the situation, but groaning and shrugging his shoulders he walked back and said "Here, I will take him, but if you don't want her tossed off the balcony you had better come along."
Sonny was furious; Luis had laughed in his face, saying that it was obvious he wouldn't hold on to Brenda either. That she was always going to choose Jax. Getting into the elevator, he sniffed the air, the small box smelled like his ex-wife's perfume. Maybe Carly was meeting someone. Smiling because that would mean she was finally out of his life, he went back up to see Brenda, he knew she had taken one of the penthouse suites.
Two hours later, Jason and Liz were driving by the Port Charles Hotel to see the police and a medical examiner van arriving. Stopping when they saw Mac flagging them down, Jason couldn't help wondering if he was going to need the services of an attorney.
"Morgan, for once, you aren't the suspect. However, it looks like your sister is. Skye was found on the balcony of Luis Alcazar's suite, drunk out of her mind. He had taken a header off the penthouse floor. Would you please let someone in the Quartermaine family know."
"Commissioner, we have a problem, it looks like the red head wasn't the murderer." Announced Taggert as he walked up. "Anger boy, have anything you want to confess? If not this is a police investigation, so get out of here."
"Wait, Elizabeth, how is Alexis?" Asked Mac.
"She is doing better, that is all I can say." She said, "I heard that Felicia is allowing the girls to return home."
"Yes, two days from now. Mr. Whiskers can't wait." Neither could Mac, the crazy cat had taken to haunting his room at night, making him feel even more alone, it made his wish he hadn't overridden the girls wish that Elizabeth take care of it.
Carly could not believe what she had done, what was she thinking. She had been delaying sleeping with Sonny, then for tonight to happen. Oh god, what was she going to do?
Courtney was grateful for the warm body next to her; she now had an alibi, for when Sonny came looking for her. Thinking about the fact that they had drunk almost an entire bottle of wine, she tried to recall the events of the evening. The last thing she remembered was the man kissing her stomach as he inched up her body, she really hoped this wasn't the only time they would be together, he was rather good at that.
Sam was shaking as she slipped into Lucky's room, she was sure he was fast asleep and that she could say she had come in earlier than she did, it would help that Lucky seemed to be well liked by most people in this town.
Jax exited through the garage, trying to avoid looking like he was running, but he had no idea the proper etiquette for disposing of dead bodies, unlike Corinthos. Stopping to watch as the van with Alcazars body drove away, he snorted, not that Corinthos did his own dirty work anyhow. Too bad that Skye didn't get along with Jason, he would have been able to hide the body.
Brenda screamed when she felt the hand around her mouth, then relaxed when she heard Sonny say "What are you doing, you should know better. I told you I would deal with him."
"It's my problem; I have no intention of being indebted to you any longer than I have to."
AJ could here knocking on the door, so grabbing the robe from the bathroom, he opened it to see Taggert standing there.
"Quartermaine, what aren't there enough rooms at that palatial mansion, were you grew up, you're the fourth member of your family staying here tonight. Look I need to know if you heard anything around midnight?"
AJ could recall the sounds he had been hearing about midnight but he didn't want to remember eliciting them anymore than he want to admit who had been making them. "No, this is Courtney's room. Why are you asking about noise?"
"Luis Alcazar was tossed off the balcony, your sister confessed but there is no way she had the strength or was sober enough to toss the man. I think you had better come down to the station, I think we need to talk."
AJ groaned there was no way this was going to end well. "Let me get dressed, do you want to come in?"
Taggert entered the room while AJ grabbed his clothes that were scattered around the room and went to the bathroom, as he dressed he recalled the activities that had gone on here and knew that no good deed went unpunished. Why else would he have found himself sleeping with his ex-wife.
Entering the bedroom part of the suite, he saw that the blond was still asleep and seemed to be almost knocked out, he knew that somehow this would all be his fault.
Ric was feeling rather smug, no one knew of his connection to Luis Alcazar and the dumb blond would give him cover if he needed it. Grabbing the towel from the heated bar in the bathroom, he walked over to take a shower, wanting to cleanse off the woman he had slept with.
Elizabeth was feeling bad, when she went to the hospital the next morning, but seeing Carly waiting when she got off the elevator with Francis, she said "What happened to you?"
"Nothing, everything is just fine." She answered nervously. "I have to leave soon, Monica and I are leaving to take Michael to the circus."
Elizabeth had done everything but flash the ring in the blonde's face, but she had seemed so completely distracted that she just sighed and walked to the hub where the head nurse was talking with her grandmother. Taking it off and slipping it on the chain she was going to wear it on at work, she couldn't help feeling disappointed that Carly hadn't noticed her engagement ring.
Mac looked at the tapes and sighed, it seemed like the one for the penthouse floor was not working but he had everyone and their mother spending time at the hotel last evening. Alan and Monica Q, Skye, AJ who was walking with Carly and the dog his daughters had found that summer. Brenda and Sonny, along with Jax, Courtney Matthews, the former waitress at Kelly's who was pregnant, as well as a young girl and finally the mystery man staying in 1543, named Ric Lansing, an attorney who was moving to town to open a law firm.
Taggert was salivating at the idea of bringing in Corinthos, but Mac had ordered him to wait. A little visit was in order he thought with a grin.