Chapter 72

'So Bo has another daughter.' Patrick Lockhart said thoughtfully.

'Yeah. According to my reliable source, Bo had no idea she existed until he got word that her mother who he thought been dead for years was actually still alive somewhere. Before she ever hooked up with Bo she was involved with a royal... the ruler of some country; kind of like Monaco- Alamainia.'

Patrick's eyes widened. 'You're not talking about Lawrence Alamain.'

'That's the one; Bo's current wife was promised to him but she ditched him and moved to Salem, not long after Hope disappeared. But apparently Alamain did all he could to drive them crazy before he finally got her away from Bo, with his aunt's help. What they didn't know then was that Carly was carrying Bo's kid.'

'Who told you all this? Who is your so-called reliable source?'

'That guy that got transferred... Gus Pascal. He was Vivian's bodyguard.' Dean replied, impatient to continue his tale.

'Alright, go on.'

Dean told him the rest; about how Olivia defended her mother and their return to Salem. Patrick listened with interest and amusement at the relish in Dean's voice. 'You loved that part, didn't you?'

'Hearing that Hope got ousted by a beautiful blueblood... you bet your ass I enjoyed it! She deserved it and more; it was all her fault anyway. I couldn't stop laughing... I really wish I was there to see the look on her face!'

Patrick shook his head, struggling not to laugh himself. 'Forget Hope Brady; let's decide who we grab once we get out- Olivia or the new Mrs Brady?' He looked at the newspaper clipping of Carly and Bo yet again, nodding appreciatively at Carly.

'Olivia's Lawrence and Vivian's sole heir; she's up to her neck in dough. I say we take her.'

'You also mentioned Olivia killed Alamain so from the sound of things she's a hell-cat, she won't be easy to pin down. Hell, she sounds like her old man and we both know him all too well.'

'No kidding.' Dean grimaced, vividly picturing his last encounter with Bo; Bo's fists viciously pounding his face. 'But come on, how difficult will it be to handle a sixteen year old girl?'

'Lawrence underestimated her, didn't he?' Patrick pointed out. 'The moment he turned his back, she stabbed him... she took the first chance she got. Gus told you all about this girl; she'll take her very first chance to turn the tables on us if we hold her hostage, she sounds too smart for her own good. I say we take her mum instead; all those years of having only each other, Carly's obviously her weak point. She'll shell out more than enough cash to get her back.'

'No good.' Dean shook his head. 'She won't have access to the bulk of her money until she's 21 or something. Her Mum's got more than enough too; I say we nab Olivia instead. She'll know the real meaning of pain if she tries anything funny. Actually...' Dean added, smiling grimly. 'What say we nab them both?'

'Yeah... and how will be able to get our money, Mr Plan Man?' Patrick asked sarcastically.

'Through Carly Brady's brother, Frank Leuschner; a loaded blue-blood himself and the trustee of Olivia's estate. Olivia can't get access but he can. Come on man, this is a better option; nab Bo's wife and kid... we'll get our money and teach Bo a lesson; two birds with one stone.'

'Oh I'm all for that!' Patrick's expression turned grim. Bo had lured Hope back to him and she'd foolishly succumbed, in spite of the fact she was carrying his baby. He knew from the bottom of his heart that the baby girl was his despite the paternity results and the whole time he'd been in prison it had enraged him that they were raising his kid together. Hope had used him for momentary pleasure just to hurt Bo and then she'd gone back to him! But soon, very soon Bo was going to get his comeuppance... because his eight year sentence was almost up. In two weeks he was going to walk out a free man and begin his revenge, with Dean's help. He thought about his daughter but only briefly. There was no way she was ever going to recognise him as her father after being raised by Bo Brady and there was no room for her in his life once he was on the run with his own share of the ransom. Not for him the paternal instinct; so he could care less about the little brat. He couldn't wait to make the acquaintance of Olivia and the new Mrs Brady. Carly especially intrigued him.

:::::

Dr. Connors moved the ultrasound wand across Carly's gel covered stomach; nodding at the screen. 'Well everything looks okay, nothing to worry about.' Grinning down at Carly, Bo kissed her forehead.

'Oh... wait.'

Carly's smile vanished instantly. 'What, what's wrong with my baby?' she said, her voice laced with panic. Bo gripped her hand, looking worried as well.

'Hang on... hold still Carly.'

'You can't expect me to hold still if there's anything wrong!'

'Princess, calm down now.' Bo squeezed his arm.

Bo and Carly anxiously watched the screen and then Dr. Connors' thoughtful expression as he moved the wand again. To their great relief, the obstetrician's face broke into a smile. 'Well... well... looks like you guys will have to get two sets of baby clothes and stuff- you've got twins in here.'

Carly let out a gasp.

'Are you serious?' Bo exclaimed in amazement and delight.

'I'm getting two heartbeats and look closely...' he pointed at the monitor, 'There's the other baby.'

'Oh my God... Oh my God Bo...' Carly whispered, hugging him tightly as he put his arms around her. 'We're having two babies!'

'Two babies...' he replied softly, kissing her on the lips. 'This is just so great, I can't believe it myself!'

Dr. Connors smiled indulgently. 'Congratulations. But Carly, you know it may not be an easy birth. There's a possibility you might have to go through C- Section if they turn out to be pretty large infants.'

'Even if they are, I want to have a proper birth.' Carly argued.

'That won't be a good idea, not at your age. Now do you want to know the sexes?'

Bo and Carly looked at each other then shook their heads firmly.

'Fine then. Make sure you keep taking your vitamins and if you have any problems let me know, okay? Here...' he handed them the just printed sonogram photos. 'And also important, lots of rest when you can. Maybe you should talk to Kayla about giving you less work to do.'

'Good idea.' Bo said before Carly could reply. 'I'll talk to her myself.'

'Bo.' Carly hissed but he ignored her.

'Excellent.' Dr. Connors parted her arm. 'I'll leave you two alone, congratulations again.'

'I'm not going to ask Kayla to do that.' Carly said as soon as the door closed behind them.

'You heard what the man said; you need to take it easy from now on. I know you said you wanted to work until you got maternity leave but twins, princess! You need real rest.'

Carly slipped her slacks back on and took off the gown, tossing it at Bo who caught it deftly, looking at his wife carefully. Her stomach now had a noticeable bulge and her breasts seemed to have grown even larger overnight. 'You know me Bo. I hate being inactive.' She said, reaching for her silk blouse.

'So do I but I'm not the one who's pregnant here. Kayla will understand especially if your health's at risk.'

'My health's not at risk; I just might not have an easy birth.'

Bo threw up his arms, exasperated. 'And she says it so calmly too!'

'I'm far from calm Bo.' Carly confessed as she buttoned her blouse. 'I'm not exactly a spring chicken and while I'm not scared about carrying two new miracles; I'm already worried about them; right now I'm praying they'll be healthy.'

'They will be...okay?' Bo drew her to him, holding her. 'And you're going to be okay too, princess. But I don't want to keep worrying about you so please, I want you to have a word with Kayla about lessening your workload. Will you promise me you'll do that?'

Carly sighed. 'I should've known you'd play the worried husband card... alright I will. Shall we go break the news to Caroline that the family's expecting another set of twins?' She suddenly grinned at him. 'Oh God... suppose I'm carrying two boys who are going to turn out exactly like you?'

'And what the hell's wrong with me, if you don't mind me asking?' Bo asked, mock sternly.

'A lot of things that would've had you fed to the hounds by my father but I love you anyway; too much I think sometimes.' Carly pulled his head down for a quick kiss. 'And I'm going to love little Aurelius and Fredrick as much as I love their papa.'

'Oh hell no!' Bo said firmly as she led him out by the hand. 'We've already discussed this princess... no Fredrick and definitely no Aurelius, no way. If we are going to have boys, they aren't going to be tagged with names that will have them get their asses kicked in the school yard.'

'What do you want us to call them then, Mutt and Jeff?' Carly taunted, making their way to the elevator.

'Ha, Ha...very funny, NOT.' Bo pressed the elevator button and they entered.

'Samson and Darius?' Carly persisted as the doors closed. 'Starsky and Hutch?'

'Carly Brady, I love you but you're really pushing it.' Bo warned.

'I got a better one, Romulus and Remus.'

Bo grabbed her by the shoulders, glaring down at her laughing face. 'Carly, cut it out before I get...' he suddenly broke into laughter himself, squeezing her hard. Carly giggled, pressing her face against his. 'Look at us going at this; we don't even know if it's going to be boys in the first place.'

'If they are girls then it makes our job easier; we already decided on Allyson, we'll just have to choose a name for the other one.'

'Anything but Juanita.'

'Bo...'

'No means no!'

And the argument went on all the way to the Pub.

:::::::::::

EJ kissed Olivia tenderly, pressing her hard against him. 'I'm so sorry I have to leave like this, angel.'

'No, no... your father needs you. And I can't expect you to stay here with me while he's sick.' EJ had received an urgent message from Kate informing him that Stefano had suddenly taken ill. 'I just hope it's nothing serious.'

'He's diabetic so it is something serious. I just hope Lexie's doing all she can for him. I'll call you as soon as I get home, alright?'

'Alright.' Olivia hugged him tightly, inhaling the scent of his aftershave. 'I love you.'

'And I love you too.' Stroking her hair, he kissed her one more time. 'I have to go now.'

Olivia nodded, her face stoic but utterly miserable inside. 'I've enjoyed our time together.'

EJ cupped her face with his hands. 'So did I. But it's not over between us, it's only the beginning... okay?'

'Okay.' She smiled faintly before pulling away. 'You better go before you miss your flight.'

Looking at her one last time, EJ hoisted his flight bag over his shoulder, blew her a kiss before departing. Olivia watched him leave, sighing. Tamara stepped forward, slipping her arms round her friend consolingly. 'You okay, sweetie?'

'The plane hasn't even taken off and I miss him already. Seems I have turned into a softy after all, Tam.'

'Never mind... it suits you.' Tamara smiled. 'And it's what love does to a person. Look at what it's done for EJ there; he's a whole new man because of you.'

Olivia turned to look at her, her expression sober. 'You know what, instead of heading to Veracruz next week, let's just go back home.'

'What?' Tamara exclaimed. 'You actually want to cut our vacation short because you want to get back to EJ so soon?'

'It's not that, with him gone I won't be much fun to be around now, I'll probably spend the rest of the time brooding. And I miss my parents, Ma especially.' Olivia argued.

'Olivia, the point of this trip was for you to have some real freedom for the first time in your life, come on now... don't be this way.'

But Olivia's face was stubborn and determined. 'Tam, I'm sorry but I really don't feel like being away from my family a moment longer and I won't be the best of company if we stay on and we might even end up fighting. You want that?'

Tamara hesitated then shook her head, exasperated. 'No, I wouldn't. Okay, you win.'

Olivia hugged her. 'Thank you and don't worry, I will do all I can to make it up to you.'

Tamara shrugged. 'No need to do that, I understand. And it is true about home being where the heart is.'

Arm in arm the young women left the airport, Olivia feeling much better. She was going back to Salem.