Chapter 8
Wednesday Morning
Paris
“They are not going to believe this back home.” Robin babbled as she finished up
her letter and put it in the expensive overnight envelope. She turned to the man
sitting on her small couch with a huge smile. “So, tell me what else has
happened? I want to know it all. Are you going to return to Port Charles?”
The man smiled back. “Okay, okay, one question at a time. Yes, I'm going back to
Port Charles, soon as in tonight. There are some things I need to take care of.”
~*~*~
Thursday Evening
The PC Airport
The tall blond man stepped off of the plane and took in a deep breath of fresh
air. “Ah, good old Port Charles. Home sweet home.”
He gripped his duffel bag in one hand and looked around. “What to do first? Meet
my oh so mysterious contact and find Cassadine? Or go see my girl?” A reckless
smile covered his face. “Go see my girl of course.”
Cassadine could wait. He wouldn't know I'm on his tail. He probably isn't even
aware of the fact that the WSB is on his tail. And besides, it's been years
since I've last seen my girl, with her long blond hair and ready smile; I've
missed her so much.
A tall sleek dark-haired woman bumped into the blond man. “Hey, move it Blondie.
And get your mind on the mission, not your woman. We've got a Cassadine to
catch.”
The blond turned around in surprise. “Layla? What are you doing here?”
Layla propped her hand on her hip and looked at the man she called Blondie. “You
didn't think you could complete this mission without your partner, now did you
Blondie? I know how distracted you can get and the WSB can't afford any
distractions.”
“Layla, Cassadine is my mission. You were taken off after what happened in
Prague. This has become a revenge mission for you.”
Layla flipped back her long black hair, revealing the black patch that covered
one eye. “Cassadine took my eye and he's going to pay. Time to take care of the
garbage, Blondie.”
“Don't call me, Blondie.” He warned her for the umpteenth time. Ever since they
became partners years ago she had taken to calling him by that nickname.
“There's no way in hell I'm calling you Frisco. What a ridiculous name.”
~*~*~
Friday
Carly's alarm went screeching off. She groaned, reached out and slammed down the
off button. She went to snuggle back up to Alex but then realized that he wasn't
there. Where'd he go? Oh yeah, Carly thought, his beeper went off in the middle
of the night. Carly turned onto her back and tried to remember if she had to go
into work today. She reached for the small calendar by her bed and checked the
date. Realizing what day it was, Carly's hand flew to her mouth. She sat up in
bed and struggled to breathe. She pressed her hand tightly to her stomach and
began to rock back and forth.
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” Carly mumbled over and over again as she
stared at the calendar.
Carly whispered to herself. “You think it wouldn't still hurt but it still does.
God it still does.”
There was a light knock on her door. Carly's eyes flew to the door. It's
Michael, she thought, he can't see me like this. Carly wiped away a tear that
had trickled down her cheek and placed a fake smile on her face. She replaced
the calendar.
“Come on in Mikey.” Michael quickly opened the door and jumped up on the bed.
Carly brought him in for a tight hug and a kiss. She tried to laugh as he made a
face and wiped away her kiss.
“You're up awfully early, Mr. Man.”
Michael shrugged. “I just felt like getting up early. Where's Uncle Alex?”
“He had to go chase the bad guys. He said he was sorry he couldn't be here this
morning. Is that okay with you?”
Michael nodded. His next question completely shocked her. “Mommy, why are you so
sad?”
“Whatever gave you that idea? I'm not sad at all.” Carly tried to say
cheerfully.
Michael just looked at her doubtfully. “It's okay to be sad Mommy.” Then Michael
gave her a hug.
“Oh, honey, I needed that.” Carly was touched by the fact that her macho, don't
kiss me, son would actually be in tuned with her feelings.
“Is it because today's the day Daddy died?” Michael asked innocently. Carly had
told him all about Jason.
“Um, yeah but it's not going to bother me the way it used to. You know what? I'm
going to call in and take the day off and you don't have to go to school today.
You and me are going to spend the whole day together. Would you like that?”
“Sure!” Michael started bouncing up and down on the bed.
“Good, now go wash up and I'll call work and Betty.”
~*~*~
“Rise and shine.” Sly sang out and tickled Emily under her nose. Emily batted
his hand away.
“Go away.” She mumbled and tried to pull the covers back over her head. She had
stayed up late last night, helping Nik with his 'surprise' and in between it
all, crying her eyes out. Sly ripped away the blankets.
“You have a class in an hour. Time to get up, sweet cheeks.” Sly grinned down at
her but his grin slowly disappeared when he noticed how red her eyes were. “Em?
Babe, what's wrong?”
“Sly… today's the an-anniversary of Jason's death.” Emily started to cry again.
She had thought she cried enough the night before. Sly pulled her into his arms
and started rubbing her back.
“Em, I'm sorry, I forgot all about it. What can I do?” He murmured.
Emily just shook her head. “There's nothing you can do. I'll be fine. Hey, it's
been six years now. Time to get over it.” She pulled away from Sly.
“But Em, you can still grieve.”
Emily nodded and wiped away the traces of her tears. “I know. I should however
go and see how Carly's doing. She was away at Ferncliff when Jason died and
every year the reminder hits her hard. I don't know how she can stand having his
urn in the living room.”
~*~*~
“Did you send the flowers?” Victor wanted to know.
“Yes, sir. They should be there soon, sir.” Higgins assured him.
“Did you include the card?” Victor wasn't in the mood to tolerate anymore screw-
ups.
“Yes, sir. I made sure myself.” Higgins nodded.
“Good. I want everything to be perfect for today. Can't have my daughter
hurting, now can I?”
~*~*~
Later That Day
Carly was sorting through the mail and was surprised to see an overnight express
envelope from Paris. The meaning of the card inside nearly made Carly start
crying again but she held herself in check. If passing the urn in the living
room all day couldn't make her cry then a card from Robin Scorpio wouldn't do
it.
“I can't believe she’s still sending these to me. It's been 6 years.” Carly
whispered that but then she began to laugh bitterly. “Of course she would never
forget. She was there when it happened. Unlike me.”
Not wanting to deal with whatever sappiness Robin had written this year and not
wanting to deal with the feelings it would dredge up, Carly tossed it away with
the rest of the junk mail, unopened.
There was a knock on her door. Carly went to answer it and was surprised to see
Bobbie on the other side.
Bobbie immediately asked. “Why didn't you go to work today?”
Carly ignored her question. “Good morning Bobbie. Would you like a cup of
coffee? There's some left. I can reheat it if it's cold.” She started for the
kitchen. Bobbie quickly followed.
“Carly, don't ignore me. Why didn't go you go to work?”
Carly flipped on the coffee machine. “Momma, I decided to spend the day with
Michael, that's all.”
Bobbie laid a comforting hand on Carly's arm. “Carly, I know what today is and
if you're having a bad day because of it, I would like to help you.”
Carly shrugged. “I can handle it all by myself. It's been 6 years. It doesn't
hurt as much.”
“Really?” Bobbie stared at her trying her best to read her daughter.
“Really.” Carly stared back. “I only took the day because I wanted to spend more
time with Michael, that's all.”
Bobbie reached for her and hugged her. It was clear that she didn't believe her
but she wanted to. “You don't always have to be strong, Carly, but if acting
like it was any other day helps you then it's okay with me. However, if you need
me, just beep me at GH and I will be here in a flash.”
Carly nodded and tried to hold back the tears that were threatening. The phone
range and she picked it up. “Hello?” Bobbie waved goodbye and left.
“Hey, baby, it's Alex.”
“Alex! Just the voice I needed to hear.” Carly smiled.
“So that means you missed me?”
“Desperately.”
“That's what a guy likes to hear.” She could practically hear him smiling over
the phone.
“If you like that, what 'til you hear what else I have to say later.” Carly
laughed. “What time should I expect you tonight? I really need to see you.”
“Um, Carly, don't get mad but…”
“Don't get mad? Is that your way of telling me that you won't be here tonight?”
Carly demanded.
“Carly, baby, sweetheart…” Alex began but was cut off again.
“Get to the point, please!” She snapped.
“Because of this case I'm working on, I have to go out of town for a few days,
I'm sorry.”
“Yeah, I bet you are.” Carly said sarcastically. “Michael's going to be so
disappointed.”
“Don't be like this, baby,” Alex pleaded, “it's out of my control.”
“‘It's out of your control, it's out of your control',” Carly mimicked. “Well, I
don't care how 'out of your control' it is! Tonight of all nights, the one night
when I need you the most, *you* have to go out of town.”
“What's so important about tonight? If there were anyway I could get out of this
I would but I can't.”
“It's just… never mind, if you can't be here there's no reason I should even
tell you. Could you just drop by on your way out of town?”
“Um…”
“You're not there all ready, are you?” Carly screamed into the phone.
“Baby, I…”
“How long have you been there? Since you left my bed? Why didn't you tell me?”
“I…”
“No! I don't want to listen to anymore of your pathetic excuses, Alex!” Carly
slammed the phone down and fought the urge to cry. I can't cry, this isn't
something to cry over. It's not that big of a deal. It's not that important.
Today is just like any other day, Carly tried to tell herself but she knew she
was lying. I hope Michael didn't overhear Alex and me. She went to check on him
and saw he was still in the living room watching his beloved cartoons.
The doorbell rang again and Carl went to answer it. She was surprised to see AJ
standing there holding a bouquet of flowers. Carly groaned inwardly, she was not
in the mood for AJ. She gestured towards the flowers. “Oh, AJ, you shouldn't
have.”
“I didn't.” He thrust the flowers at her. “The delivery guy showed up at the
same time as me. Why aren't you at work?”
Carly took the flowers from him and pulled out the card. “How'd you know I
wasn't at work?”
Carly read the card and it's short, unsigned message puzzled her: “There is
someone out there that feels your pain and would help you get through today if
allowed.” She frowned. What a weird card, I wonder who sent them.
“I called your job and they said you took the day off. So I came around looking
for you.”
Carly walked into the kitchen to find a vase for the flowers while AJ trailed
behind. “Why? To try and persuade me to let the Qs see more of Michael? They're
lucky I let them see him at all. I only started doing it for Lila and Em and now
that Em's moved out and Lila's gone, well…” She opened a cabinet and took a vase
that Bobbie had given her last Christmas.
“No, I'm not here for that however…” Just then Michael came into the kitchen for
a snack. “Hey, Michael.”
“Uncle AJ!” Michael was delighted to see his favorite uncle.
“What's up?” AJ squatted down to Michael's height and gave him a hug.
“Nothing. Mommy and me are spending the whole day together, just us two. We're
going to ice skating in the park *and* the movies later.”
“Wow. Sure wish I could come.” AJ smiled.
Michael shook his head. “You can't because it's just going to be mommy and me.
It's our special day.”
“Darn the luck.” AJ grinned. “Maybe next time.” Michael nodded.
Carly decided it was time to get rid of AJ. She never liked having him around
Michael for too long. “Mikey, did you come in for a snack?”
She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a small Tupperware bowl full of fruit
salad and a pitcher of lemonade. She poured a glass of lemonade and handed it
and the fruit salad to Michael. “Here you go. Go watch some more TV until it's
time to go, okay?”
Michael nodded, grabbed his snacks and went back into the living room.
AJ watched him go before standing up and turning to Carly. “Couldn't wait to get
him out of my presence, huh? Carly, Jason's dead, he won't mind it if you
actually start to like the family and me. We're not bad people.”
Carly couldn't believe he would talk about Jason. “Yeah, you're really not bad
for people who like to steal babies.”
AJ rubbed his temples. “You're going to keep bringing that up aren't you? You're
never going to forgive and forget?”
“No, I'm not.” Carly spat out. “Now if that's all you came here to say, I would
like it if you would leave. Now.”
“Carly, you know why I came here. It's why I come here every year. Monica wants
the urn.”
“No!” Carly cried. “She can't have it!” Every year, Monica asked for the urn and
every year Carly denied her.
AJ sighed. “Look, Carly, the family and I are sick of doing this year after
year. We want Jason's urn.”
“Your Jason died years before my Jason did. That is not Jason Quartermaine in
there, that's Jason Morgan and he would have never wanted the Quartermaines to
have any part of him, dead or alive. Robin knew that and that's why she gave
Sonny the urn and not you.”
“Well then, shouldn't the urn be with Sonny?” AJ demanded to know.
“Sonny gave me the urn because he knew how much it meant to me and because Jason
was Michael's father. Now get out of here and don't come back!” Carly said in a
near shout. She didn't want to upset Michael.
“Carly, we will get the urn.” AJ warned as he turned to walk out.
“Oh, please, you Quartermaines don't scare me. Haven't you learned that by now?”
Carly taunted him from behind. “You couldn't get Michael and you're not getting
Jason!”
Carly slammed the door behind him and started pacing back and forth. Today just
can't get any worse can it? First Alex leaves me and then Monica sends the
Quartermaine whipping boy over for the urn. Why can't today just be like any
regular day? All I want is to spend some time with my son and forget that Jason
ever died.
There was a knock on her door. Argh! Carly silently screamed. Why is my place so
popular all of a sudden? This had better not be AJ again, she thought as she
yanked open the door. “What now?” She began to say before she noticed that it
was Laura standing there with Lulu and not AJ like she thought.
“Laura, uh hi? What are you doing here?” Carly frowned.
Laura smiled. “I realized that today was the anniversary of Jason's death and I
thought that maybe you would like some time alone. So, Lulu and I came to take
Michael off your hands for today.”
“My mother didn't put you up to this?”
“No. I came up with this all on my own. So?” Laura arched her eyebrows.
Carly shrugged. The way things have been going today, she wasn't in the mood to
go ice-skating. “Michael? Come out here, sweetie.”
Michael came bouncing out of the living room. “Is it time to go all ready? Hi
Aunt Laura, hey Lulu.”
“Mikey, do you want to go with Aunt Laura today?”
“But I thought we were going to spend today together, just the two of us. You
promised!” Michael stomped his foot. Carly had to hide a smile. Michael could be
just like her at times, especially when he doesn't get his way.
“Well, sometimes plans change, Mikey. We can go some other time.” Carly offered.
“Michael, Brooke Lynn's better and she told me she wants to play Detectives
today.” Lulu spook up, mentioning Michael's favorite game. “And you know we
can't play Detectives unless there are three of us.”
A light sparked in Michael's eyes. “Detectives? Mommy, I'm going go with Aunt
Laura and Lulu, okay?”
“Okay.” Carly had to laugh at how quickly his mood changed.
Michael gave Carly a big hug and said, “Don't forget, Mommy, it's okay to be sad
sometimes,” before walking out with Laura and Leslie Lu.
Carly just shook her head. 'It's okay to be sad.' Michael's little bit of advice
rang in her head as she walked slowly into the living room. She paused in front
of the bookshelf that held what remained of Jason Morgan. Someone at GH had made
a mistake and instead of some John Doe, Jason had been cremated. When Carly had
learned about this, she cried nonstop for a whole day. Dr. Evans had decided to
let her out of Ferncliff for the funeral and she had wanted one last chance to
see Jason and say good-bye. But because of some goofball, she was robbed of that
chance!
Carly reached for the urn and slumped down on the floor, holding the urn in her
arms. “I usually try and ignore you most of the year because thinking about you
is just too hard, you know? It's because I just miss you so much. You've missed
everything. You didn't get to see Michael's first step or to see what a handsome
little boy he's growing into. He looks nothing like me and except for Bobbie's
red hair; he takes after no one in either family. You would say he looks likes
himself.”
Carly laughed a little and wiped away a few tears that had begun to trickle down
her face. “Um, so much is happening around here. Sonny is being a jerk and so is
Alex, can you believe that last month he wanted me to take you out of the living
room? When I asked him if he would like it if I put you in the bedroom by my bed
he shut up pretty quick. Uh, Eve, you didn't know Eve but she's become a great
friend is getting married to Chris. Geez, you don't care about these people.”
“What else is going on? Emily has gotten free of the Quartermaines. She moved
into an apartment with Elizabeth Webber, Lucky's ex-girlfriend. Uh, after Lila
died things had gotten out of control and she couldn't stand it there anymore.
Speaking of Lila, is she… is she there with you? Lila was always a sweet woman,
she even liked me! Emily's so energetic. She doesn't model anymore but she's now
into photography. She's still with Sly. He's a good kid.”
“Uh, Robin's Robin. You know she's in Paris now. I guess she's fine. She writes
to me every year just to make me cry I know. Mike misses you and so does Sonny.
They may not say it but they do. I know the Q’s do. Alan and Monica were
devastated after you died. I guess they had hoped that Jason Q would come back
to them. Monica keeps trying to get you but I won't let her have you. I know how
you feel about them and their need to posses everything.”
“Thanksgiving's coming up. We're going to do a big family dinner. Last
Thanksgiving I took Michael over to the Q’s for a slice of pizza. Yup, they
still can't have turkey. I think they've finally given up on that. I did manage
to sneak in a slice of Bobbie's turkey for Emily. I guess I'll take him over
there again this year. I haven't decided yet.”
The tears were now streaming down Carly's face. “Oh, um, Michael is becoming
such a smart little boy who wants to know everything that goes on in the world.
It must have been all those travel books and motorcycle repair books you used to
read him. He even gives me advice now. He told me 'it's okay to be sad
sometimes. What a smart little boy he is. Sure he can be a pain, I call that the
Q influence, but I love him all the same. You would have loved him so much
Jason. I tell him about you all the time the way you did for me when I was
locked away. I show him the pictures of you and tell him how smart you were and
how handsome you were and how you loved him.”
Carly hugged the urn to her body. “Oh, God, Jason, I wish you were here so much.
You don't know how much I miss you and how I wish I had had a chance to tell you
that I loved you. I really did.”
Carly stretched out on the carpet still holding the urn, her tears racking her
body. Suddenly strong male arms lifted her up and carried her over to the couch.
She was set down on someone's lap and she turned her face into his chest.
Soothing hands stroked her hair and the side of her face. Even though she all
ready knew who was holding her, Carly looked up to see his face.
“Sonny.” She whispered.
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