October 12, 1997
Port Charles, NY
Twenty members of the Quartermaine extended family sat down to brunch at the long maple table in the dining room. Prime Rib, spinach quiche, rice, steamed brocolli and carrots, croissants, fresh fruit, and juice beckoned from the buffet sideboard as family patriarch Edward Quartermaine stood up at the head of the table. "I just wanted to say how nice it was for us to finally get Sunday brunch back into the dining room," he began.
"Edward, it isn't like there was some great conspiracy to keep you from the dining room. I've told you before this table doesn't accommodate more than twenty-two people with any elbow room to speak of. We fit today because there is a smaller group," Dr. Monica Quartermaine said.
"Then, obviously, we need a bigger table," Edward informed his daughter in law.
"That would require a bigger dining room and we are not doing any more remodeling this year!" Monica asserted.
"You should probably listen to her, you know, since it's her house and all," Dr. Mark Henry Quartermaine told his uncle. His father, Dr. Henry Quartermaine, had died during his service in a MASH Unit during the Vietnam War and he had lived with his Aunt and Uncle during his final two years of high school and all of college. Part of that time he had actually lived in the house owned by his cousin by marriage, Dr. Monica Quartermaine.
"Well, my son gave it to her so it isn't like I am without any rights here, you know," Edward protested.
"You always have the right to remain silent, dad. I've told you that before," the Honorable Tracy Quartermaine-Grabler said.
"You aren't amusing," Edward said with a snort.
"I think Katelyn was going to give the blessing," Dr. Alan Quartermaine said as he smiled across the table at his youngest daughter.
Three-year-old Katelyn Quartermaine beamed as she stood up and pushed her blond curls back from her face. "Emily taught me this one. Her first mommy used to say it," she said as she reached for the hands of her sisters on either side of her and waited for the rest of the table to join hands and bow their heads.
"Be present at our table, Lord. Be here and everywhere adored. These mercies bless and grant that we may feast in fellowship with thee. Amen!"
"Amen," Edward's voice boomed and echoed from the acoustics of the cathedral ceiling and rotely another chorus of amens came from around the table. It was followed by a wail over the baby monitor.
"Now those are Quartermaine lungs," Dr. Mark Henry Quartermaine said proudly as he hopped up from the table and started out of the room to go collect his daughter from the nursery in the west wing.
Beth Quartermaine looked more abandoned by than appreciative for her husband's quick departure. Yet, she managed to force out, "Thank you, honey, umm sorry for the disruption!"
"Never apologize, all babies are precious and we love having Kensi around, wails and all. I hope she is excited that she will be getting a new little cousin this Christmas," Lila Quartermaine said.
"Yes, that will be nice for her I'm sure. I meant to ask do you know if you are having a boy or girl?" Beth asked.
Carly Ashton wasn't sure why she felt so put on the spot. She glanced desperately at her husband.
"It looks like a little boy," Ned Ashton said proudly.
"Oh, that is nice, Lila mentioned that you are using a Beatrix Potter theme for the nursery and I found the sweetest little Tom Kitten, Benjamin Bunny, Squirrel Nutkin, and Jemima Puddle Duck framed prints when I was in Wyndam's shopping for Kensi's Christmas Dress. With Mark's call schedule I never know when we will actually make it family events so I just had them shipped to you," Beth said.
"Thank you so much! The nursery is still a work in progress; the furniture is being delivered from Wyndam's on Tuesday and then I'll get started on the actual decorating so the timing is perfect," Carly said. She glanced hesitantly at Ned as she spoke and was somewhat reassured when he took her hand under the table.
"You're so welcome, and if you need any help with the nursery definitely feel free to ask. Since we moved back to Port Charles when Kensi was about seven months old I basically got to do the nursery twice," Beth said.
"But you loved every minute of it!" Mark said when he came downstairs with their sixteen-month-old daughter Kensington Quartermaine in his arms.
In quick succession a pager went off, the phone rang, and the doorbell chimed. Fourteen-year-old Allison Quartermaine leapt up from the table. "I'll get the phone."
Half of the table reached for their pagers but Alan came up the victor, or the odd man out, depending on perspective. He glanced at it. "We have a pediatric trauma en route, I have to go back to the hospital," he said as he stood up and gave his wife a quick kiss. The doorbell peeled again in the background.
"I guess I'll get the door," AJ Quartermaine said to no one in particular.
"Doesn't anyone appreciate the sanctity of Sunday dinner? You know, if you had let me keep my butler then your son wouldn't have to run for the door like a commoner, Monica," Edward Quartermaine grumbled as he returned to the table with a plate of food as Alan left the dining room.
Dr. Monica Quartermaine just shook her head.
"Mom, Audrey Hardy is on the phone for you. Somehow, she is of the belief that Sarah spent the night here last night," Allison said when she came back into the dining room.
"Have either of you seen or spoken with Sarah recently?" Monica said as she locked eyes with both of her older daughters.
"I haven't seen Sarah since Spanish class on Thursday," Emily said.
"I'm pretty sure I saw her in passing in the halls on Friday afternoon. We don't have any classes together. Liz was working at Kelly's on Friday night when Em and I met Lucky there after Emily's cross-country meet."
"Yeah, that's right," Emily agreed.
"Ok, well, thanks, I guess I'll go deal with Audrey," Monica said as AJ entered the room with Maggie Carpenter from Children's Services.
"Ms. Carpenter, hello! I'm sorry but I thought that you were coming over to supervise Scott and Serena's visit at three. It isn't quite one yet," Monica said.
"I'm not hungry. I can see my daddy now!" Serena Baldwin said as she bounced up from the table.
"Perhaps I had the time wrong. Let me just check with central office. Do you have a phone I could use?"
Monica looked at her dubiously as if she questioned her story somehow. "Of course, unfortunately Mrs. Hardy is waiting on the main extension to speak with me so just give me a minute. Emily and Allison, if you could help Katelyn and Serena fix plates at the buffet while we're straightening all of this out that would be much appreciated. Serena, your father would want you to eat and that needs to happen before you visit with him," she said then she finally slipped from the room.
The whole situation made Carly tired. She might have joined in with a few of the nursing students in mocking the uber professional Dr. Monica Quartermaine but she was starting to see that she really was a good mom. Something Carly was very afraid she would not be.
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Dr. Monica Quartermaine took and released a few cleansing breaths as she made her way down the East Hallway to the foyer where she presumed Allison had answered the phone. From the click of heels, she knew that the social worker was in pursuit although not quite keeping pace. Monica covered miles every day just rounding at PCGH so she was used to walking briskly.
Monica forced a smile before she picked up the receiver. "Hello, Audrey, how can I help you?"
"I was just wondering what time I should come by to collect Sarah? I wouldn't want her to wear out her welcome, not that she could of course. She definitely is Jeff's daughter," Audrey said with a punctuating laugh.
Monica wasn't sure exactly why Audrey Hardy had believed that the sun had rose and set behind Sarah's father's head each day but she had accepted that she had. Personally, once she had gotten to know him well, she had found Dr. Jeff Weber a bit of a selfish and entitled brat. Despite Jeff's delusions to the contrary, she had no regrets about ending their relationship when they were first year medical students. Three years later when they somehow both ended up at PCGH for residency she had tried to be kind and compassionate but Jeff had just exploited that at every turn to try to resurrect their relationship. The fact that she had married Alan six months before they started residency had been irrelevant from his perspective.
"I thought Allison explained that Sarah isn't here and she hasn't seen her since school on Friday. I also spoke with Emily and she says she last saw her Thursday afternoon in Spanish class," Monica said.
"Well, why didn't you call me Saturday afternoon? I dropped Sarah off at the football game, anticipating that she would go home from the game with Allison."
Hmm maybe because I spent most of Saturday afternoon in the cath lab at PCGH and then had to throw together a dinner party. Or maybe because I had no idea Sarah was even supposed to be here! Monica thought but she didn't think Audrey wanted to hear any of that.
"I'm sorry for the miscommunication but our entire family attended the Fall Carnival at Lilac Park Elementary so no one attended the football game. I also confirmed that neither of my daughters invited Sarah to spend the night here. Have you checked with any of Sarah's other friends?" Monica asked.
"I can't believe that her best friends are not more concerned that she is missing!" Audrey exclaimed.
Monica was pretty sure that both of her elder daughters would list Faith Ward, Lucky Spencer, Amy Reardon, Josh Barrington, and even Sarah's younger sister Elizabeth before than Sarah herself if listing a best friend but that seemed unkind to point out to Audrey. "I think Allison didn't realize you were concerned she was missing. I can have the girls reach out to some of their other friends and see if anyone knows anything. Have you checked with Liz, maybe Sarah told her something," she suggested.
Audrey snorted. "Sarah isn't like your daughters. She is a good girl!" she said before disconnecting the call.
Monica just shook her head. "Ms. Carpenter, the phone is available now if you would like to make your call," she said.
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Maggie Carpenter knew before she even picked up the phone that she was more than two hours early for Scott Baldwin's supervised visitation. She had received an anonymous tip that the Quartermaines were allowing Mr. Baldwin unfettered and unsupervised access to his child and she had hoped to catch them complicit. She had failed. So, as an attempt to preserve some credibility, she would call into their central case line and confirm the three o'clock appointment.
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Elizabeth Webber quickly buried her face behind her geology textbook, when she heard the kitchen door open, so her grandmother wouldn't realize she had been laughing. If was kind of hard to not laugh since even through the closed door she had heard her grandmother's rant and the way she had slammed down the kitchen wall extension. While it would certainly be sad if Sarah was actually missing or something else horrible had happened to her Liz was sure that wasn't actually the case. It was far more accurate that Sarah had just gotten caught in a lie. Of course, since it was Sarah, Liz was sure that all would be magically forgiven as some misunderstanding.
"Elizabeth, did you forget to give me a message?" Audrey Hardy asked.
Liz lowered her book slightly. "No, no one called for you," she said.
"Are you sure, Elizabeth? This is very important."
Liz rolled her eyes behind the camouflage of the book. "No one called!" she said.
"So, you haven't heard from your sister at all?" Audrey Hardy rephrased the question.
Liz gave up and closed the textbook and laid it on her lap. "I haven't spoken to Sarah since she was complaining I was making too much noise in the bathroom while I was getting ready for work yesterday morning. That was before six since apparently Ruby thinks it is perfectly reasonable for the same person to close Friday night and open Saturday morning," she said.
"Oh Elizabeth, I am sure that Sarah would have only said something to you if you were being unreasonable. Sarah is not one to complain needlessly. Well, come along, your sister is missing we must go down to the PCPD," Audrey Hardy said as she started towards the coat closet.
"Maybe I should just stay here, you know, in case Sarah comes back," Liz said.
Audrey Hardy just snorted, grabbed her purse, and stalked out her own front door.
Liz waited until she heard the car pull away before she turned on the stereo. She wasn't totally heartless.
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Oh crap!Sarah Webber thought when she woke up in a pile on the floor of Tiffany Peterson's living room and realized it was one o'clock in the afternoon. The night before had been great! Tiffany's parents were out of town on some cruise so Jamal and Zander had brought "party favors" and it had been the kind of party until you drop and then sleep where you fall but reality would be biting hard if she didn't get her butt back to her grandmother's house and soon. Part of the problem was that she had carefully told her grandmother she was spending the night with Alison, knowing her grandmother would presume she meant Allison Quartermaine. She had actually planned to spend the night with Alison Barrington and figured she could always use that as plausible deniability if needed. She had just hoped that wouldn't be needed.
Sarah dug through her bag for a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and an oversized sweater. She would take a quick shower and then figure out how to get home. But as she made her way into the bathroom, she realized she had the perfect plan.
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Lucky Spencer rummaged in the refrigerator for anything edible. He came up with milk that was two days past the expiration date and some condiments. Since his mother had left to relocate near some rehabilitation program his grandmother was in, in North Carolina in July, his father had pretty much abandoned cooking or grocery shopping so slim pickings were typical.
Lucky tossed the milk carton in the trash and closed the refrigerator door. He knew he could go to Kelly's but he seriously just wanted to be able to sleep in on Sunday morning and grab a bowl of cereal on his couch. Was that really so much to ask?
While Lucky was debating his options for food the phone rang. He grabbed for the kitchen extension. "Hello," he said.
Sobs echoed from the other end of the line. "Hello," he repeated.
"Oh, thank heavens, you're home, Lucky!" Sarah said.
"Is everything ok, Sarah?" Lucky asked. If Nikolas had hurt her, he would seriously kill him!
"I hope so. I'm at the Country Club with Ali and her parents and I tried to call Grams to let her know I would be a little late getting home but I'm not getting any answer. I'm like so afraid something happened to her!"
"Did you want me to stop over there and check on her?" Lucky asked.
"I think I'll only feel better if I see her with my own two eyes. Is there anyway you could come and pick me up?"
He could do that. He would do that. "Sure, it will take me about fifteen minutes to get over there though."
"Ok, just hurry, please! I'll meet you outside the gates so we can get to Grams' as soon as possible."
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I am really getting too old for this, Detective Ross Janelle thought as he listened to Audrey Hardy sob about her missing granddaughter. "So, you last saw Sarah Saturday afternoon?" he asked.
"Yes, I dropped her off outside the stadium. She is a Varsity Cheerleader at PC High and was cheering for the game against Brethen. She was supposed to go to Allison Quartermaine's for a sleepover after the game but she never arrived there."
"How was she supposed to get to the Quartermaines?"
"Well, I presumed that Monica or Alan would drive her."
"Had that been arranged beforehand?"
"Well I just presumed but when I called there looking for Sarah, Monica insisted Sarah had never been there and that they hadn't even gone to the football game."
"When did you speak with Dr. Quartermaine?"
"Right before I came here. She had the audacity to suggest that I should call some of Sarah's other friends and see if she was there, as if Sarah would lie to me."
"Did you do that?" Detective Janelle asked. He supposed it was possible that the Quartermaines were holding a minor against her will but it seemed more likely that Sarah Webber had used spending the night with Allison Quartermaine as a cover story for some other activity her grandmother was unlikely to approve.
"I assure you Detective Janelle that I know my granddaughter. She does not lie!" Audrey asserted.
"So, it is your belief that your granddaughter is being held against her will in the Quartermaine Mansion?" Detective Janelle asked.
To her credit, Audrey Hardy looked a bit aghast at the suggestion. "I never said that! I assure you; I am not defaming the Quartermaines. I was more afraid that Sarah was abducted after the football game," she said.
Detective Janelle realized that could be possible, even if unlikely. Although it appeared that the Quartermaines had no idea that Sarah planned to come to their house or intention to pick her up after the game. That led him to believe that Sarah herself had no intention of going to the Quartermaine Mansion. Of course, he supposed that if Sarah had other plans which she didn't want to share it was always possible that she met with foul play in the course of those plans. He hoped that wasn't the case but he would need to proceed as if it was until she was found.
"I wasn't suggesting defamation, however, Dr. Quartermaine's suggestion to talk with Sarah's friends was a good one. It is where we will need to start as well. So, could you give me a list of her friends?"
"Emily and Allison Quartermaine are probably her best friends. Although I must say they aren't being very good friends now. If the roles were reversed, I am sure Sarah would be out looking for them."
"Ok, I will definitely follow up with the Quartermaines but what about other friends?"
"She is dating Nikolas Cassadine; his family owns Spoon Island now."
Detective Janelle groaned internally. He remembered the drama that had ensued when the prince himself had been missing earlier in the year. "Have you checked with Mr. Cassadine?"
"I don't appreciate that implication Detective Janelle."
"Ma'am, I assure you there is no implication of impropriety. Ok, I'm going to go speak with the Quartermaines and then I'll head out to Spoon Island. Why don't you go home in case your granddaughter shows up there? I'm going to stop back at your residence once I've done that. If you could have a list of the rest of Sarah's friends and a few recent photos we could use that would be incredibly helpful.
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Elizabeth Webber seethed when she saw Lucky Spencer navigate into a spot in front of the Wilburs's lawn. He walked around and opened the door for Sarah and then walked her up to the front door. So, Sarah had been with Lucky? Life was just not fair! Biting back a few tears she stomped up the stairs to her room and slammed the door.
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Sarah Webber breathed a sigh of relief when she stepped into her Grandmother's house and wasn't immediately met with Audrey's judgmental eyes. Of course, there was still the issue of Lucky following behind like a lost puppy dog. "Thank you so much for bringing me home. I'll think I'll be ok now. It looks like Grams didn't answer the phone because she was out. She probably got called into the hospital or something," she said.
"Do you want me to wait while you check upstairs and make sure she hasn't fallen or anything?"
Sarah really just wanted him to leave. But she smiled sweetly and said, "Oh my what if that did happen? Yes, please let me check upstairs."
As she went up the stairs, Sarah had a moment of reflective guilt. Lucky's scenario could be possible. It wasn't like her grandmother was young; she had turned sixty-seven in June.
But when Sarah reached the upstairs hallway, she heard only music coming from Lizzie's room. The bathroom was empty and the door to her grandmother's room was open. When she poked her head inside, she saw that the bed was made which made it more likely that her grandmother was out rather than injured somewhere in the house.
"It looks like she must be out. I don't see any sign of her upstairs. I have a bunch of studying to do so thank you again for the ride."
"Oh, no problem!" Lucky said. He gave his shoulders a shrug as if it was all no big deal.
Sarah decided she was going to hold him to that. She started towards the door and opened it. "Well, thank you," she said again.
Eventually Lucky filed out.
Finally!Sarah thought as she went into the kitchen to make a sandwich.