Edward Quartermaine had to admit that he had been wary when he had heard that his eldest grandson was about to embark on marriage number three. In his experience, the third time was rarely the charm. But at eight o'clock at night Ned was sitting in his study working on real estate contracts for the townhouse community ELQ was planning to build in New Jersey. Voluntary after-hours work had been a hard sell with either of Ned's prior wives but apparently Carly had suggested that Ned could certainly find something to work on with his grandfather while she joined the women's bible study Lila and Monica were hosting.

"I think this should do it. I put a survey and appraisal clause in mainly to give us an opportunity for downstream negotiation if we need it," Ned said as he pulled a stack of papers from the printer.

"Did you let the agent know we are submitting an offer?" Edward asked as he started to read through the stack of papers.

"My assistant reached out to them this afternoon. Once you sign the offer, I'm going to fax it and then I will overnight the original and the check."

"I appreciate your timely attention to this," Edward said as he reached for a fountain pen from his desk.

"Well, Carly can't drive so she suggested I should be productive while waiting for her."

"Do you mean she can't drive because of the pregnancy?" Edward asked.

"She has never had a license. Apparently one of her best friends was killed in a car accident in high school and she just never wanted to learn after that. I was going to ask Grandmother if she might consider sharing her driver, Reginald."

"Your Grandmother is hosting the Junior League tomorrow. Perhaps Carly would like to attend that. You know, Ned, there isn't anything wrong with a woman recognizing that her husband will more than provide financially so she can contribute her talents to programs to help the less fortunate. To those whom much is given, much is expected," Edward said. Perhaps there was something to the third time being the charm after all.

"If Carly wants to join Grandmother in her charity work, I think that could be great. She has also talked about wanting to go back to school and finish her degree and I would certainly support that as well," Ned said.

Edward refrained from suggesting that perhaps next semester when Carly had an infant was not the time. That wouldn't go over well for various reasons, including that he had advised Ned's mother to go back to school when he was an infant. Of course, that had been different; Tracy had needed something to pull her out of the abyss after the dissolution of her marriage. Business classes and aspirations of working at ELQ had given her a purpose. Anyway, Lila had been available to raise Ned who was only about seven years younger than their youngest son, John Arthur Quartermaine.

XXXXXXXX

Scott Baldwin opened his front door to find his late wife's sister standing on his front porch. He hadn't seen Danielle since a week earlier when she and her fiancé had joined him, Serena, and Karen for dinner. He had kind of presumed she had heard about his arrest through the grapevine and decided she wanted nothing to do with him. It had stung but he had let it go. He hadn't exactly had a choice.

Danielle looked uncomfortable, or cold, or perhaps both. "I think we need to talk," she finally said.

"Why don't you come in? It's supposed to get down into the lower 40s tonight," Scott said.

Danielle stepped inside and followed him into the living room. She sunk down into one of the wing chairs beside the fireplace but continued to shiver.

"Maybe I should turn the heat up," Scott offered.

Danielle shook her head but didn't speak.

"So, what can I help you with?" Scott asked after sitting down on his own couch.

"I should have come to you sooner but I guess I didn't realize that Rex would stoop so low. In retrospect, I probably should have," Danielle said.

"What do you mean?"

"When I first met Rex, I thought he was great. I mean he basically materialized, said he was my Uncle and paid for my junior year tuition. I was a mess; my grandparents had just been murdered and my financial aid was getting cut so the timing was perfect. In retrospect, that should have made me even more wary."

"I'm sorry," Scott said. He wasn't sure what else to say. Danielle had never mentioned her grandparents before. He knew that her mother was a long-term resident of Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital. He supposed that likely meant they had raised her.

"It isn't your fault. It was just a difficult time. It was before I met Jake and I felt like I was so alone," Danielle said.

"I wish you and Dominique had the chance to know each other."

"I do too, although my other half-sister didn't exactly welcome me warmly."

Scott laughed. "Katherine Bell? She reserves her warm welcomes for men with millions. I should know, I was one of her marks."

"You were?"

"It wasn't one of my finer moments. I wasn't in a good place after Dominique's death; I was lost without her and had this tiny dependent baby who I loved more than life but was terrified of messing up. Katherine showed up at Dominique's Memorial and claimed she was Dominique's long-lost best friend. One thing led to another and a few months after that Lucy Coe and Damian Smith were objecting at our wedding."

"You married Katherine Bell?"

"No, Lucy showed up with the proof that Katherine was actually sleeping with Damian and had been scheming with him to get access to my money before we got to the vows part so we never went there."

"So, then what happened?"

"We didn't marry. I took a job in Vancouver, WA. I came back about a year later to represent the goddaughter of a colleague in an attempted murder trial. Katherine was still in Port Charles and had discovered that she truly was Dominique's sister. I decided Dominique would have given her a second chance and supported her becoming the next Deception Cosmetics CEO."

"Is that why Lucy hates her so much?"

"I think that is one factor. They also fought over Damian Smith but even before then I think they just both have abrasive personalities which can be hard to mesh together."

"I like Lucy, but I could see that."

"You said you didn't know Rex would stoop so low, what did you mean?" Scott asked.

"I came to Port Charles more because Rex threatened me if I didn't than because Jake was moving for residency. I was supposed to get a job working in your law firm."

"But Rex decided he had better use for you at Deceptions?" Scott asked.

"No, the Deception Cosmetics thing was my idea. I knew it was Dominique's company and it was a way to avoid being used by Rex without fully standing up to him which I really couldn't have done three months ago. He wasn't thrilled about what I had done but he went along with it for some reason maybe because I was getting close to Serena."

"So, this was all just an act?" Scott asked. Ironically, that was what he had feared at first. That was why he had met with Danielle several times before he ever let Serena know she even existed.

"No, I wanted to know my Stanton family. Yes, Rex told me to reach out to you and Serena but I wanted to and I've never told Serena anything that didn't truly come from my heart. I let myself believe that Rex really did just want to maintain Serena's Stanton connection. But now I realize that I was just naïve and Rex didn't give up his original plan he just found someone else to carry it out. He always told me I wasn't irreplaceable."

"So, what was Rex's plan?" Scott asked. He was afraid he already knew. He wasn't sure if he felt vindicated or terrified.

"He wants to convince the court that he is the best person to have custody of Serena."

"Over my dead body!" Scott fumed.

"That is why I refused to help him once I got to know you and Serena. I know I should have been more honest from the start and I would understand if you never wanted to see me or let me see Serena but I'm hoping you will give me a second chance."

"So, what did Rex want you to do specifically?"

"I never would have done it, even before I knew you, I wouldn't have done it. I told Rex that it was wrong from the start," Danielle insisted. She started to tremble and wrapped her coat more tightly around her.

"So, you were supposed to get a job in my office and then what? Lie and claim that I had raped you?" Scott asked.

Danielle slowly nodded her head as the tears started streaming down her face. "I'm sorry, I promise I never would have done it and I thought Rex knew that and actually understood it was an insane plan. Or I thought that until I heard about your arrest. I'm sorry."

Once again, Scott didn't have words.

XXXXXXXX

Dr. Alan Quartermaine joined his wife in the kitchen where she was washing teacups after bible study. "Finally, alone, at last!" he said as he reached into the drawer for a clean dish towel and began to dry the cups from the dish rack in the other side of the main sink.

"I'm sorry, I sensed you really needed to tell me something and of course my parents were here and then half the women of the church were here," Monica said as she added several saucers to the dish rack.

"I guess by now your parents know that if I'm late for dinner it's the reality of our call schedule and not a reflection on the company."

"Dinner was spontaneous, I was a bit flustered after Rex Stanton and Lucy Coe showed up so I called my dad."

"Lucy and Rex Stanton came here?" Alan asked.

"Unfortunately, they did and it was basically as ridiculous as that time Lucy showed up here to try to convince me that you were the father of her baby even though you had never actually been together outside of her delusions. Now Rex Stanton wants to take custody of his great niece."

"I'm sorry; fortunately, I can't see Judge Preston going along with that."

Monica laid the final cup in the dish rack and let the water out of the sink. "I hope you're right. So, what did you want to tell me earlier?" she asked.

Alan reached for the last three cups to dry. "I had a rather unsettling encounter with Tony earlier."

"Over a patient?"

"Not really, I mean it was down in the ED and I had just finished putting in bilateral chest tubes and a central line in a trauma patient but he wasn't involved in that. He just asked me if I had approved his leave request," Alan said.

"His leave request? Is he going on a trip? Maybe that could be a good thing and give him a chance to reset."

Alan opened the cupboard and started putting cups and saucers away. "Apparently he wants to take paternity leave in December."

Monica raised an eyebrow as she wiped out the sink. "What?

"I received it yesterday and I truly thought he had filled it out a few weeks ago before he realized that Carly's baby wasn't his. You know his secretary is notorious for sitting on completed paperwork."

"But he actually wants to take time off to care for Ned and Carly's child?"

Alan put the final cup inside and closed the cupboard. "He accused me of violating his FMLA rights so I told him to submit the official FMLA forms as expeditiously as possible."

"Are you afraid he plans to challenge for paternity?"

"It appears he plans to try. This is really none of my business, but I presume that Ned married Carly because he was certain that he was the father of her child. I presume there was a prenatal paternity test done which showed that. So, I don't see how Tony can be the father and I worry that he won't handle that well."

"I think that is a very valid concern. I understand that this has been a difficult couple of years for Tony. His daughter died. He learned his wife was having an affair with Damian Smith. It had seemed that he and Bobbie might come back together but then he had his own affair with Carly and Bobbie filed for divorce. I think he had a lot invested in Carly's baby justifying all of the messiness before their conception and he needs to hold onto that."

"That is very insightful but unfortunately I think it is also very true and that doesn't bode well for any of us," Alan said.

"No, probably not, but I don't think we're going to resolve this tonight and we both have early days tomorrow so let's go to bed," Monica said. She reached for her husband's hand and led him from the kitchen.