Liz Webber yawned as she poured coffee. She was pretty sure Ruby was in violation of some child labor law by making her work the closing shift on Friday night and the opening shift on Saturday morning. Or perhaps she was just plotting with her grandmother to ensure she had no chance at a social life. That was probably it. Never mind that Sarah got to basically do whatever and go wherever because of course Sarah would never do anything wrong!

XXXXXXXX

Melissa McKee-Murdoch yawned as she pulled the door open and stepped into Kelly's Diner. Originally when she agreed to meet Alysha for breakfast at Kelly's at nine, before wedding dress shopping, she hadn't been working Friday night. But somehow, Amy Vining needed yet another day off for yet another undisclosed reason and she ended up having to pick up the shift. Then of course, because of all the pacemaker drama, she hadn't gotten out of the hospital until almost 6:30 even though her twelve-hour shift should have ended at six AM. At that point, she decided she didn't really have enough time to actually sleep so she went to the gym, went home, showered, and had Chase drop her off at Kelly's on his way to spend another Saturday locked in his office working on the Kaylee Reynolds trial.

Ironically, or perhaps just the reality of living in a small city, when she sat down at an empty table Melissa realized that right across the diner sat Kaylee Reynolds herself and her attorney, Justus Ward. Kelly's Diner seemed a strange place for a case conference, or perhaps they were really just enjoying Ruby's pancakes. It really was none of her business and, unlike Amy Vining, she could accept that.

As Melissa dismissed that thought, an anything but cheerful brunette appeared at her elbow. "Are you ready to order or do you need a menu?" she asked.

"I'm meeting a friend but how about some coffee while I wait?" Melissa asked. She smiled when the teen scowled a bit as she stalked off to grab the coffee pot. She reminded Melissa of herself a bit when she had been younger. She had waitressed at Kelly's throughout most of high school and even during nursing school. She didn't miss it.

The waitress, who's nametag proclaimed her as Liz, returned with the coffee pot and started to pour coffee while she covered a yawn with her spare hand.

Melissa was quite sure that yawn would not be well received if it was caught by Ruby. She knew that all too well from experience. She hadn't exactly been one of Ruby's favorite employees, but she was Bobbie's foster daughter which had provided a certain amount of job security even if she hadn't been sure that was actually any kind of gift when she had been sixteen and seventeen. "Thank you," she offered.

Liz shrugged. "Yeah, no problem," she mumbled before she stalked back across the diner to replace the coffee pot.

Melissa took a sip of her coffee and then looked up at the door after hearing the familiar jangle. She raised her hand as Alysha walked in.

"Sorry, I ended up working last night and Dr. Devlin was on call so I spent all night praying my symptomatic bradycardia patient didn't deteriorate into actual asystole. Eventually Dr. Quartermaine came in and recognized that heart rates in the twenties are not compatible with long life so she took the patient to the cath lab and put in a pacemaker which was great but also meant I had a ton of extra preoperative paperwork to do at the end of shift and of course I didn't get out on time. So, right now there is just not enough coffee in the world," Melissa said as Alysha sat down.

"Should we just reschedule the shopping part?" Alysha asked.

"Aren't you and Alex getting married in the beginning of January? If your dress ends up needing any kind of alterations, I think we're already cutting it close," Melissa said.

"I guess, I don't know, I've never done this before," Alysha said.

"I got my dress from Wyndam's but it was too loose through the lower torso so they had to temper that part and it was barely ready on time and my mother in law is practically besties with Shelly," Melissa said.

"Who is Shelly?"

"Shelly Wyndam. Her husband, Paul, is the Wyndam heir," Melissa said.

"Ok, I still have no idea who that is other than I guess they own the department stores," Alysha said.

"Yeah, Chase and I are kind of from different worlds in many ways," Melissa said. She offered the words with much more lighthearted nonchalance than she really felt most days. As much as Eleanor Murdoch was, at least outwardly, perfectly kind to her and as much as she assured herself that she had married Chase not his high society family she often felt on the outside looking in.

XXXXXXXX

Justus Ward regarded his client carefully. Attorneys couldn't suborn perjury so he had learned quite quickly to be careful what questions he asked. The justice system was predicated upon the presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt and it became very difficult, if not impossible, to provide a proper defense if either element was pierced. Of course, the whole point of the trial was for the prosecution to pierce the presumption of innocence beyond any doubt.

Admittedly the prosecution was only about one and a half days into their case because Wednesday was a trial dark day for Judge Lombardi and the Thursday morning session had been taken up by opening statements but Justus had yet to see anything beyond circumstantial evidence. Chase Murdoch had spent four hours parading through witnesses to Kaylee's altercation with Dr. Dorman the day before he died. He had painted a clear picture for the jury that his client had blamed Dr. Dorman for her brother's death. Of course, that didn't mean she would murder anyone.

"I just want this over with. This trial is killing my parents and I'm going to end up losing an entire semester of college at this rate," Kaylee said.

Justus decided this was not the time to point out that unless the jury returned a not guilty verdict, she would miss out on a lot more than a semester of college. Kaylee was twenty-one years old; she should have her whole life ahead of her.

"ADA Murdoch told the judge he anticipated that he would need three more days to present the state's case so between Judge Lombardi taking a trial dark day and Monday's holiday that will take up all of next week. That means we won't even get to start presenting our defense until the week of October twentieth. I will take at least a full week myself so I doubt the jury will even be able to start deliberations before the thirtieth," Justus said.

"So, we could potentially have a verdict on Halloween? I'm not superstitious but that sounds a bit ominous," Kaylee said.

Justus supposed it would be even more ominous to have a verdict on the thirtieth since, in his experience, when juries came back that quickly they did not acquit.

XXXXXXXX

Scott Baldwin pulled the door open to Kelly's Diner and waited for Danielle to step inside. "So, Lucy really went through with it and married Rex, huh?" he asked as he followed her into the diner.

Danielle sighed. "Yes, she did. Maybe the worst part is that I think she actually loves him," she said.

Scott sighed himself as he pulled out a chair for Danielle. He had a hard time believing anyone could love Rex. His wife certainly hadn't and Dominique had basically loved everyone. But Lucy was a creature of habit. As long as he had known her, she had buried her grief in a new relationship, built it up quickly, and then gotten badly burned. From what he understood she had married Dr. Tony Jones about three months after she had miscarried Jake Meyers's baby. That marriage had barely lasted a year and resulted in a contentious divorce as Lucy tried to pillage as many of Tony's assets as possible.

Apparently, his brother in law, Dr. Alan Quartermaine had been Lucy's next target, however, their relationship had never existed beyond Lucy's dreams. In a way he supposed that Alan's fidelity had started a chain of events that had resulted in Lucy's second unplanned pregnancy. He supposed it had also been his second unplanned pregnancy as well. Of course, in 1989, when he had pushed a for a prenatal paternity test which showed he was indeed the father of Lucy's baby, he had no idea that Karen Wexler was his daughter.

Their baby's heart had stopped somewhere around nineteen weeks. When he had visited Lucy in the hospital after her D&C she had made it clear that she had hated him. He had wondered if he hated her as well.

July 11, 1989

Scott Baldwin hesitated outside the door to Lucy Coe's room on 2 North clutching a peace lily. When Bobbie had called him and told him that Lucy Coe's name had shown up on the OR for a D&C for a fetal demise he had been conflicted over his next move. Of course, he had been conflicted most of the two months which he had known he was the father of Lucy's baby. Lucy had made it perfectly clear that she didn't want him to be the father of her child. She had explained how he was ruining her plan to have Alan, who she had never actually had sexual relations with, claim her child. Scott had been sure she was insane.He had accepted that Lucy wasn't going to make it easy for him to be a father to his child. His sister, Monica, ironically the wife of Lucy's desired father of her child, had advised that he offer to pay her medical bills for the pregnancy and then give her some space. She had said pregnancy could be a wonderful time but it could also be confusing and stressful.

He had taken Monica's advice. But then Bobbie had called and broken to him that his child would never be born alive. He was pretty sure she had likely broken some patient confidentiality rule to share that information and he didn't want to get her in trouble. So perhaps his best approach would have just been to mourn for his child away from Port Charles. Yet he hadn't been able to do that. So, he had carefully shown up at the hospital just in time to catch Lucy walking in for her procedure. He had felt a bit deceitful allowing her to believe it was a chance meeting but he had. Now Lucy's procedure was over and Scott was working up the courage to face her.

"Is Lucy resting?" Jessie Brewer RN asked as she approached Lucy's room.

Scott shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure," he said.

"You're still working up your courage to face her?" Jessie asked.

"I just don't want to make this harder for her, you know," Scott said.

"This is a loss you need to get through together. You're the only other person who can begin to understand this loss for her; you are the father of the baby she is grieving."

Scott didn't have the heart to admit that as much as that was true, it was not the way Lucy wanted to view the situation. So, he took a deep breath instead and forced himself to open the door to Lucy's room. When he stepped inside, he saw that she was lying on her side with her back to the door. He heard her breath catch as if she was crying not to cry. He swallowed a lump of his own unshed tears as he laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Lucy," he said.

Lucy whipped around onto her back so quickly that Scott had to brace himself. Amber eyes glared in his direction. "You should be! You had to force the issue that this was your child! I don't want your child! Don't you understand the only way I could make myself love this baby was to pretend it was a Quartermaine? You forced me to face the truth and that is why I lost this baby. If you had just left well enough alone, I know I could have convinced Alan that this was his child. I could have."

"Lucy, I know you're grieving but that is ridiculous!" Scott said.

"I'm not grieving! Why would I grieve for a baby I never wanted in the first place? You should go. Go!"

Scott set the peace lily down on the table. "I'm going to go. I'll take care of all the arrangements for the baby," Scott said. He figured it was the least he could do.

They had buried the baby in the Baldwin Family plot at Memorial Cemetery. They had a simple graveside ceremony with his family. Lucy did not attend. Scott had made one more attempt to reach out to her before leaving town. She had seemed even more furious than she had been in the hospital so he had just tried to let it go.

"You don't think she loves Rex?" Danielle asked.

Scott forced himself to let go of the painful memories. "I guess only Lucy knows where her heart lies," he said.

"But you know her pretty well," Danielle said.

"I thought I did," Scott said sadly. As much as Lucy frustrated him almost always, and as much as she had hurt him both directly and indirectly in the past; he had come to trust and appreciate that she did love Serena. Yet, even when he had tried to explain that Dominique herself wouldn't have wanted her daughter around Rex, she hadn't respected that. All of that had caused him to question if he really knew her at all.

Or maybe he knew Lucy better than she knew herself, as ridiculous as that sounded. He could see that she was falling back into familiar patterns and throwing herself into a new relationship with the first guy who came along to avoid the grief she should be facing from the loss of her baby with Kevin. He could see that. Unfortunately, the first guy who came along was a threat to his daughter. As much as he wanted to extend grace he could not, and would not. risk Serena's safety. As he met Danielle's eyes he realized that once again the timing fit almost to the day, just a decade later. Lucy had miscarried her child with Jake Meyers in July 1987 and married Dr. Tony Jones in October 1987. She had miscarried Dr. Kevin Collins's child in July 1997 and married Rex Stanton in October 1997.

"I know this hard is for you. I was serious when I told you I would do anything I could to help you and Serena," Danielle said.

"I appreciate that. For now, I think the best thing you can do is be there for Serena. I'm glad you and Karen are going to be able to go to the Fall Carnival at her school this afternoon."

Danielle seemed to relax at those words. "Of course, I love spending time with Serena and as I've gotten to know Karen more I really like her as well. When you called this morning I was afraid you would want me to testify against Rex or something," Danielle said.

Scott knew that at some point he might need that but he also knew that could put Danielle herself in danger and she was his wife's baby sister. Dominique would want him to protect her at almost all costs. "I hope it won't come to that," he said. He noted how Danielle's shoulders tensed at his words. He really hoped it wouldn't come to that.

XXXXXXXX

Brenda Barrett glanced at the clock when she stepped into Kelly's Diner and realized she was more than thirty minutes early to meet Robin. For someone who struggled with punctuality, this was a rarity but somehow, she had just needed to get out of the Quartermaine house. So, almost as soon as Monica walked in from the hospital, she had blurted out that Alan and Emily were running; Kirk and Dylan were supposed to be getting ready for their soccer game; Katelyn was ready for junior swim team and out in the rose garden with Alli, Serena, and Lila; and she was late to meet Robin for breakfast. Monica seemed a bit overwhelmed by that update, or maybe she was surprised to hear Robin was back in town, but she had just told Brenda to have fun and went off to take a shower. A better nanny probably would have offered to wait until Monica was out of the shower but Brenda was not that person so she just grabbed her keys and walked out the door.

As she made her way to the counter, she offered Scott Baldwin and his sister in law a quick smile and wave. Then she realized that the blonde woman with Justus Ward was Kaylee Reynolds. Brenda offered an awkward smile in Kaylee's direction. They had been friends during the two months they shared a dorm room at Port Charles University and even after that. Things had just gotten awkward after Allison had come clean to her parents about Kaylee's brother Matt's drug use, Alan and Monica had taken the position that they would have wanted to know so they went to the Reynolds and, at least as Brenda understood it, were not well received. All the awkwardness only amplified after Matt's death and the revelation that Dr. Pierce Dorman had been his supplier.

"Well, I see your friend is here, I'm going to get working on those additional witness subpoenas," Justus Ward said as he stood up from the table. "Brenda," he said with a nod as he stepped away from the table.

Justus thought she was meeting Kaylee for breakfast?Was it possible that Lila had gotten the message wrong? "Umm, hi," she said as she started to absently pull out a chair.

"You don't have to feel you have to sit down. I understand if you don't want to be seen with an accused murderess," Kaylee said.

Brenda cringed. She had spent so much of her life feeling like she had a scarlet letter permanently emblazoned on her chest. She pulled the chair out the rest of the way and sat down. "No, it's fine, anyway, I know you didn't do it," she said.

Kaylee's eyes widened. "Does that mean you know who did kill Dr. Dorman?" she asked.

"No, I didn't mean that. I just mean I know that you wouldn't kill anyone, not even a sociopath like Pierce Dorman," Brenda said.

"I appreciate that. I also appreciate whatever you said to your fiancé that convinced him to pay for my defense," Kaylee said.

Brenda was a bit curious about what Sonny had told Kaylee, but she didn't want to ask. She hadn't been opposed to Sonny paying Kaylee's legal expenses but she was quite certain he was writing checks to Justus much more because whoever had actually killed Dr. Dorman was one of his enemies than because Kaylee was her friend. "Sonny isn't my fiancé anymore, and I think he is helping you as much because Pierce Dorman was a menace as because we're friends but, if I encouraged him to do the right thing, I'm glad."

"I'm sorry, I guess I got the impression that you and Sonny had more postponed than outright cancelled the wedding," Kaylee said.

Brenda refrained from asking when Kaylee had last spoken with Sonny. When he had called off their wedding, he had made it quite clear that she wasn't safe in his world. She was still working on accepting that. "I think perhaps that is optimistic thinking on both of our parts. Perhaps Ned has a point when he says unfortunately sometimes love just isn't enough."

"Perhaps…" Kaylee said rather wistfully.

"Are you and Raoul having problems?" Brenda asked.

"Good question, and if I ever get a chance to speak to him for even five minutes, I guess we could discuss that. Apparently all first-year medical students eat, sleep, and breathe anatomy lab. I'm probably being melodramatic. I knew we were going to be apart this year since he got his SUNY Brooklyn acceptance right before Christmas. I kind of grasped that medical school was intense and he wouldn't have a lot of time. guess I just didn't realize we would be apart while I was on trial for a murder I didn't commit. To be fair, he offered to defer a year but I told him that was ridiculous."

"But now you regret that?" Brenda asked.

"Logically, absolutely not!"

Brenda could understand that. Logically, she almost grasped that perhaps walking away was the most loving thing Sonny could do. That didn't mean it didn't still hurt more than she could explain. "Logically, I should move on from Sonny," she said.

"But you can't?" Kaylee asked.

"Not really."

"So, are you just showing up everywhere on Jasper Jacks' arm because your modeling contract requires that?"

Brenda hesitated. Technically, Kaylee was pretty close to the truth but Jax would be furious at the implication that he needed to pay someone to be his date. Never mind that he had essentially written exactly that into her contract. "Jax is my good faith effort to move on," she said.

"And how is that working?" Kaylee asked.

"Well, I suppose my sister would approve. Or I think she would," Brenda said.

"Do you see her more now? That's good, right?" Kaylee asked.

"Actually, I haven't seen Julia since last December when she and Ned had some board meeting in Pennsylvania. They traveled together for some reason and she left Cooper here while they were gone."

"I guess I was presuming she had met Jax."

"Oh, I'm sure she knows him, or at least knows of him. Julia knows everyone, or at least anyone successful and potentially useful," Brenda said.

"I see," Kaylee said.

"Really?"

Kaylee laughed. "No, honestly, not much at all. But then my mom teaches kindergarten and my father is a foreman at the ELQ Pharmaceuticals Production House. I live a simple life, or I did. On that note, I was supposed to go to the library after meeting Justus. I have a paper due in Child Development on Monday. Yes, I know if I get convicted of this murder, I didn't commit none of that will matter but I'm channeling some optimism, at least today," she said as she stood up.

Brenda also stood up and hugged her friend. "Optimism is good, it works for AJ. Seriously, I hope this all works out, I do believe in you, and I'll try to be a better friend."

"You're a fine friend," Kaylee whispered before she turned to go.

When Brenda sat back down at the empty table, she thought about what Kaylee had said. She was almost certain she had never had a simple life. She had grown up in a mansion in California with absent parents and servants who tolerated her at best. At twelve she got banished to Briarton-Griggs for boarding school. She graduated three semesters early which her father seemed to view as more of an inconvenient annoyance than an accomplishment. He had been on wife number three by then. Her stepmother, who also happened to be her aunt, basically hated her. So that led her at least indirectly to applying to Port Charles University and modeling for Deception Cosmetics. She had met Robin Scorpio on her flight to Port Charles.

January 1, 1994

"Are you sure your friend won't mind giving me a ride?" Brenda Barrett asked uneasily as she followed the short brunette she had met on the plane down the ramp into the arrival gate at Port Charles International Airport. "I can totally get a cab or something like that I'm sure."

"Lois won't mind. Actually, her boyfriend's family owns part of the cosmetics company you're modeling for," Robin said.

"Deception?" Brenda asked warily. She wondered if telling Robin about that on the plane had been a mistake.

"Yes, supposedly it was a courtesy buy in because the company was started by Dominique Baldwin and her husband's sister is married to Dr. Alan Quartermaine. Or that was Lucy's opinion, but I think that was mainly because she was trying to get ELQ to invest in Temptations and Edward said her business plan had more holes in it than Swiss Cheese."

"What is Temptations?" Brenda asked as they stepped into the terminal.

"It's a dress line, formal high fashion that kind of stuff. Some of it's a little scary but some of it's nice. Oh, there is Lois," Robin said pointing to a woman with very dark almost black hair, olive skin, and, in surprising contrast, very blue eyes.

Brenda hung back slightly as Robin jogged across the waiting area to her friend.

"How was your flight?" Lois asked

"It was ok, it's not exactly the Quartermaine Jet but some of us live simpler lives. So how was last night?" Robin said.

"Amazing!"

"Good, Stone was kind of worried but I knew it would go ok. Thanks for picking me up since Uncle Mac was being all paranoid about Stone doing it. Oh, this is Brenda Barrett we're going to give her a ride too, she's going to be the new spokes model for Deception."

"My sympathies," Lois said.

"Sorry I should have explained. Lois and Katherine Bell aren't exactly friends," Robin said.

"Oh," Brenda said unsure what else to say. "Also, I wouldn't exactly consider myself their spokes model it's just two photo shoots one next Thursday and one the Tuesday after that but I'm going to PCU in the fall so I figured I would get settled and stuff."

"You sound very organized, waiting to start college is sometimes a good plan," Lois said.

"Would you please tell my Uncle Mac that, he might actually listen if you said it," Robin said.

Lois laughed. "Sorry, Robin, I am not going there with your uncle. Anyway, maybe it will be good for you and Stone to have some time apart, absence often makes the heart grow fonder."

"I thought you said you got into Harvard? You would really turn that down for this guy he must be really special," Brenda said as they collected their luggage and made their way to Lois' car.

"He's special enough to not want her to sacrifice her dreams for him, Brenda," Lois said.

"It isn't really sacrificing. PCU is a good school," Robin said.

"Yeah, but it isn't exactly Harvard. My sister got her MBA from there," Brenda said.

"Really when did she graduate? Ned went to law school there," Lois said.

Brenda thought for a moment. "I guess in 1985. She's moving to Seattle in another month which is a little frustrating I guess we're just destined to be on opposite coasts."

"Are you really close? Not geographically I mean," Lois said.

"Umm we kind of weren't for a while but her son is great. I have the coolest nephew, he just turned seven."

"So, he's the same age as Dylan," Robin said.

"May I ask who Dylan is?"

"Ned's little brother," Robin said.

"So, is Ned the infamous boyfriend?" Brenda asked.

Lois blushed slightly. "He kind of is the family black sheep, but I think that's why I love him."

"Sorry I didn't mean anything bad. Robin mentioned that your boyfriend's family owned part of Deception."

"Their company has some shares in some diversified profile or something like that. I don't really understand it. The less Ned and I discuss his family the better."

"Oh, are they really snobby rich?" Brenda asked. That could basically describe her stepmother and all of her friends.

"Basically, and I'm sure they hate my Brooklyn accent. Nedly was married before too, to some gold digger, and I guess she ended up with quite a nice alimony settlement which I'm sure just makes him more of a black sheep. His grandmother is sweet, but his mother, don't even get me started."

Brenda and Robin both laughed.

Remembering that conversation Brenda remembered Ned describing Lois to Jax as his beautiful and gregarious wife at Sonny and Lily's wedding. Gregarious was a great word for Lois; after all who invited basically complete strangers to spend the weekend with them?

January 1, 1994

"I can't believe you're letting me stay here for the weekend," Brenda said as Lois led her into her apartment.

"Well, your other option is some annoying hotel until you can look for something more permanent on Monday. I think there are a few apartments in this building available or you can see if Ruby has any rooms available."

"Ruby?"

"Ruby Anderson, she owns Kelly's Diner and rents some rooms upstairs. That's what I would do if I was you because it's kind of a younger crowd and you'll meet people. Of course, if your parents visit all the time with no notice then you probably need your own place."

"No, I don't think that will be a problem," Brenda said sadly.

Lois touched her shoulder. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm just homesick," Brenda lied. It was hard to really be homesick for a home that was never really yours in the first place. Plus, it wasn't like she was close to her father, or that he hadn't taken Stacia's side and agreed that it would really be better for everyone if she left. She didn't miss her father; she had given up on him being the kind of father she had read about in books years ago. She missed Bree, her adorable little sister who was too young to understand or really probably even remember she had ever existed; and she missed Cooper, her nephew who was really the only person in the family who loved her.

"Do you want to call your parents? I don't mind."

"No, it's ok I'll call them after I have an address and a phone number," Brenda lied. There really wasn't any point in talking to people who kicked you out of their house.

"Are you sure? My Ma would completely loose it I think if I had moved across the country and not called her."

"Well it's not really my mom, Stacia is my stepmother."

Lois reached out and pulled Brenda into her arms which surprised her. The next thing she knew they were both sitting on Lois' couch. "Oh, honey I'm sorry. How old were you when your mom died?" Lois asked.

"Oh, she isn't dead, she and my dad divorced a while ago. But they had been separated for a few years before that, it wasn't really until he wanted to marry Stacia that they finalized the divorce. I haven't seen her in years though. I went to boarding school and stuff when I was younger."

"So, did Ned some place up in Vermont."

"Mine was in Maine but probably equally cold. Briarton-Griggs Academy," Brenda said.

"That name sounds familiar for some reason?"

"It's kind of annoyingly pretentious. It's not actually the greatest school but people think it is. If your boyfriend has sisters they might have gone there," Brenda said.

"Just one, and she's two."

"So, his mom must be on at least a second family, right?"

"Yes, she married a shrink when he was in high school and Dylan and Shannon are her kids with him."

"So, do I get to meet this guy?"

"Sure, you can come with me tonight. You aren't twenty one yet are you?"

"No, is that a problem?"

"No, it shouldn't be just don't plan on drinking and everything will be cool."

"Oh, I don't drink. So where are we going?"

"I'm the entertainment director at a club called Luke's Place. It's a neat place, it's where I met Ned actually."

"That sounds like a cool job."

"Yeah, it's been fun. I'm ready for my day job to take over though," Lois said.

"What is that?"

"Oh, I own a recording studio with Sonny. It's kind of small but I think we're going places, I hope."

"That sounds even cooler. Robin said she had cool friends. So, does her boyfriend work for you?"

"Stone? Yeah you will meet him tonight too. He's a really good kid."

"Why does Robin's Uncle hate him then?"

"Because he's dating Robin mostly. Well, and he lives with Sonny who used to own a strip club before. He sold it about a year ago but I think a lot of people still hold that against him."

"How did you meet Sonny?"

"I've known Sonny forever; I don't know since I was four or five maybe. He and his mother used to live on our street and he played baseball with my older brother. At some point he started spending more time at our house than his own and he completely moved in with my parents his senior year of high school when his stepfather tried to kill him."

"Like really tried to kill him?"

"Deke used to beat him pretty badly and eventually you have to start fighting back I guess but it made it worse. Deke was cop, he just wasn't a great shot though fortunately."

"He actually tried to shoot at him?"

"Supposedly he was cleaning his gun and didn't realize the safety didn't catch but Sonny never went back when Deke was there again. He'd still sneak over and visit his mom some she died my freshman year of college."

"That's really sad. Is his father still alive?"

"Deke died a year before his mom. I think his biological father is alive somewhere but Sonny hasn't seen him in years," Lois said.

XXXXXXXX

Robin Scorpio was surprised to see Brenda already sitting at a table in Kelly's Diner when she arrived. Punctuality wasn't Brenda's thing so she had to wonder what exactly was up with that.

"Hey! I told Lila ten o'clock so I'm sorry if she told you the wrong time," Robin said as she joined Brenda at the table.

"Lila told me the correct time. Contrary to popular belief, I am not always late!" Brenda said.

Yikes! Robin thought as she pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. "I didn't really mean to imply that, sorry," she said.

"It's ok. Jax gave me this whole lecture on the importance of punctuality so I guess I'm just being oversensitive, as my sister would say."

Robin wasn't sure exactly how to respond. Sometimes Brenda's self-depreciation was a bit much. Of course, old habits died hard, and she had spent the better part of almost four years being Brenda's cheerleader. "So, how is the Jacks Cosmetics thing going?" she asked.

Brenda shrugged her shoulders. "It is modeling, stand still, look pretty," she said.

"But you like that, right?" Robin asked.

Brenda shrugged her shoulders again. "I guess, or maybe I do. At this point does it really matter?"

"What do you mean?" Robin asked.

"I don't know, forget I said anything. So, anyway, how is school?"

"It's fine, I guess," Robin said.

"Well, that sounds encouraging," Brenda said.

"It's actually fine, it's just a lot of work."

"Do you have a break because of Columbus Day?"

"Not really, I have classes on Monday actually. I just came back because of the wedding."

Brenda raised an eyebrow. "Wedding? Did you and Jason reconcile and then elope or something? He was at the Quartermaines yesterday saying goodbye to Lila and Carly."

"Why was Carly at the Quartermaines?" Robin asked.

"Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you; Ned and Carly got married two weeks ago," Brenda said.

"What? Why would Ned marry Carly?"

"Purportedly they are both committed to raising their child in a marriage of cooperation and mutual respect."

"Ned and Carly have a child? When did that happen? Is that why he and Lois divorced?"

"Carly is pregnant now and I guess Ned is the father of that baby," Brenda said.

Robin shook her head. She wasn't sure what game Carly was playing. She had feared that Carly could be pregnant with Jason's child. Jason had admitted he had slept with her, a lot! She had forgiven that. Or maybe she had. Then she was almost certain she had heard Carly admitting that her baby was Jason's child when Jason had been shot during the summer. But then Carly had continued planning an ostentatious wedding with Dr. Tony Jones and Jason had seemed oblivious to the possibility that Carly's child could be his so Robin had let it go. "How is that even possible?" she asked.

"Are you really asking that? Obviously at some point she and Ned must have had unprotected sex," Brenda said.

Robin rolled her eyes involuntarily and shook her head again. "Yes, Brenda, I understand the concept of human reproduction. It was more like what was Ned thinking and why would he sleep with that?"

"That's a bit harsh. I understand you and Carly aren't friends but she is still human. No, she isn't Lois, but no one is, and yeah last winter was a pretty dark time for Ned so he might not have been super responsible about protection or maybe the condom broke. It's really so not my business."

Robin rolled her eyes again. "Oh please, I'm sure the Quartermaines asked all of my questions and more. They can't be happy about this marriage."

"I sense Edward is just excited about another grandchild. I think Lila befriended Carly when she was hanging around with Jason so maybe she actually is happy about this. Monica and Alan are always so respectful and kind that it can be hard to tell what they really think but they certainly haven't said anything negative about Carly.

"What about Tracy?"

Brenda shrugged her shoulders. "According to AJ, she toasted them at the reception, welcomed Carly to the family, and assured her thatthe entire Quartermaine family loved Ned and they would certainly come to love anyone Ned loved so fiercely," she said.

Robin smiled. She was pretty sure that Tracy highly doubted her son loved Carly and it was basically her eloquent way of saying screw you to Carly politely. "Somehow I doubt Ned loves Carly," she said.

"Again, not really any of my business," Brenda said.

Brenda seemed a little annoyed so Robin decided to let it go as a brunette teen appeared at their table.

"Are you ready to order," their pouting waitress asked.

"I just want some tea. Sorry, Robin, I already ate because Monica got stuck in the cath lab putting in a pacemaker or something so Lila made breakfast and after she ground up all those nuts for the oatmeal, I couldn't exactly say no," Brenda said.

Robin involuntarily rolled her eyes again. Quartermaine Breakfast was usually heart healthy but rarely drama free. She had attended more than her fair share of them as there were many months that she spent more nights sleeping at the Quartermaines than her own home. Her mother had considered play dates free baby sitting so Robin had still been having extended playdates and sleepovers with AJ Quartermaine in junior high. "I'll have the scrambled eggs with toast and orange juice,"she said.

"Why does the waitress look familiar?" Robin asked.

"That is Elizabeth Webber. She is Audrey Hardy's granddaughter. I guess her father did residency with Alan and Monica. She and her sister are staying with their grandmother for the school year while their father is in Bosnia. She has hung out with Emily and Allison at the Quartermaines a few times."

"Oh, so, I guess if you thought Jason could have eloped you have no idea where he is either?" Robin asked.

Brenda shook her head. "Although based on the intensity of his goodbye with Carly, I'm guessing he won't be back in Port Charles anytime soon."

That was not the answer Robin had wanted.

"Ok, but that reminds me, you never told me what wedding you came back for," Brenda said.

"Lucy Coe married Rex Stanton at Chez Nous last night. I was in the bridal party."

"Ok, maybe that explains why Monica is even more on edge," Brenda said.

"Why would Monica care who Lucy marries? I mean I know Lucy lusted after Alan for years but I thought she finally got over him when she got involved with Kevin," Robin said.

"I don't think Monica really cares who Lucy marries except now she will probably be forced to make sure Lucy isn't bringing Serena around Rex."

"Why would that be Monica's responsibility? Scott Baldwin is basically the most overprotective dad out there," Robin said. She had been raised by Mac Scorpio, so, if she was picking up on it there was definitely something there.

"True, but Serena has been staying with Alan and Monica since last Saturday," Brenda said.

"Why?"

"Scott got arrested and that triggered an emergency shelter hearing."

"Scott Baldwin got arrested? What did he do?"

"It was alleged that he raped one of his office interns. She is sixteen so the DA is filing charges for rape 1."

"Wow!" Robin said. That was definitely not what she had been expecting. Although that seemed to be the theme for her life. Her Uncle Mac had resigned from the PCPD and gone off to New Jersey to help Felicia with some case. Bobbie Jones had joined them. Jason had basically out of nowhere decided his life was too dangerous for her. Basically, nothing was as she expected.