Episode 115

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Episode 115

Scene 1:

Georgia woke from her dream feeling the curve of a man next to her and smiled. The last time Ian had spent the night, he had been out of bed before she had a chance to enjoy his presence. Curling closer to him, she rested her head on his shoulder, sighing with content. If only she could wake like this every day, she thought wistfully, feeling Ian stir. He stretched and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer still.

"Mmmm...this is the way I like to wake up," she moaned softly.

"Really? I'll have to remember that," Ian replied stifling a yawn. "At least neither of us has to be anywhere this morning ."

"Ooooh, yeah. Saturdays are good days to stay in bed," Georgia agreed. She stared up at the vaulted ceiling listening to the sound of the rain beating against it. She sighed thinking about the eviction notice still sitting on her coffee table.

"That was a sad sounding sigh," Ian commented shifting to look at her. "Do you need cheering up?"

"No, I'm fine. I was just thinking that I'm going to miss this apartment. I'm moving next week."

"Are you leaving town?" Ian let go of her and rolled to face her, leaning his head in the palm of his hand. Georgia smiled pushing her hair off her shoulder.

"No...but I can't afford this place alone on what I make. So, next week I am moving in with...well I guess she's not technically a friend. But she is the sister of someone I consider a friend," Georgia explained. Ian threw his head back and laughed. "What? Did I say something to amuse you?"

"Georgia," Ian started controlling his outburst. "You have a unique way of viewing things. So, what? You're moving in with some complete stranger?"

"Not really. Well, okay, yes. But then again, almost everyone in this town is a complete stranger to me. Except you...and Dr. Stafford and Dr. Gennaro. But Galen Gennaro is a bit of a head case if you ask me." She rolled facing Ian. "I'm glad you got ER Head and not him."

"Really? Well, that deserves a thank you, Nurse Corelli," Ian replied sliding closer to her delivering a series of shivery kisses to her neck and shoulders. Georgia sighed happily this time, relaxing as his hands stroked her bare arms. She closed her eyes, getting lost in the morning, only to be jolted out of it by the harsh buzzing of the doorbell.

"Expecting someone?" Ian asked pulling away from her.

Georgia sighed and pushed the quilt back. "It's probably the landlord," she said heavily. She didn't want a confrontation with Ian here. Ian put a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"Stay here," he insisted. "I'll get rid of whoever it is." She grinned gratefully at him and fell back onto the mass of pillow. He grabbed the quilt to cover himself, winking as he walked out into the living room. She could get used to having Ian around. She closed her eyes and let herself imagine what Ian would be like as a boyfriend, a luxury she had never allowed herself when she had lived at home with her mother.

Gina had been too reliant on Georgia for any relationship to blossom. Besides, she reminded herself, there wasn't much to choose from in New Jersey. Here though, there was a number of single men to meet. And since this was a wealthy little town, most of them had money. Not that money mattered to her. She'd never had it growing up and not much since becoming an adult but a little security would be nice.

She heard the door slam and smiled to herself. Ian certainly took care of that quickly. She slid out of bed, grabbing the closest thing at hand which happened to be Ian's tailored shirt. She slipped into it, pulling it close to her. It covered just enough of her for decency's sake but left enough showing to tempt Ian back to bed. She padded down the hallway to the living room, catching sight of Ian's strong back and pausing at the end of the hall.

"Don't you want to come back to bed?" She asked in a seductive voice leaning against the wall. Ian turned slowly. Her smile disappeared as she locked eyes with her mother who glared at Georgia. Jay stood just behind Gina matching their mother's expression though, Georgia was certain, for an entirely different reason.

"As appealing as that sounds," Ian replied, his brows pulling together in a frown. Georgia hugged the lapels of Ian's shirt to her waiting for the onslaught.

"Georgia Louise Corelli," Gina said coolly. "Who is this man and why is he wearing your grandmother's quilt?"

Scene 2:

"Miss Gennaro?" Liza lifted her head as her new assistant knocked on her door. She still wasn't quite used to answering to the formal name but she would in time. "There's someone here to see you..."

"Thank you Jennifer. But do you think you could schedule an appointment for them tomorrow? I have somewhere I need to be by noon," Liza replied.

"No, I think you'll see me now," Hallie said sliding past Jennifer. Liza swallowed hard, returning Hallie's hard stare as best she could. Hallie looked ready for battle and willing to draw first blood. Jennifer looked expectantly at Liza but it was Hallie who dismissed her. "You can leave. This is important between your boss and myself," Hallie said spitting out the word Boss as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.

"It'll be all right Jenn," Liza said rising from her seat a little. Jennifer nodded and slipped out of the office closing the door behind her. "What do you want Hallie?"

"So informal?" Hallie said throwing her purse on the end table Liza had bought at a flea market as a final touch to her redecorations. She looked around the room, turning her nose up at the new colors and furniture. "Honestly Liza, I thought you had more taste."

"I happen to feel more comfortable in this..."

"Well, I suppose if you like shabby chic it's all right." Hallie picked up a porcelain ballerina from Liza's desk and turned it over in her hands. "But second hand does suit you I guess."

"What do you want, Hallie?" Liza demanded again settling back into her chair.

"You want me to get to the point? Fine. My husband filed for a legal separation from me," Hallie said wandering to the bookshelf Liza filled with old books. "I would say that it took me by surprise..."

"But it didn't." It was a statement of fact. Hallie was a sharp woman.

"Of course not. In fact, I'm surprised that it took him so long." Hallie turned and gave Liza a searching gaze. "After all, you two have been an item for a while now."

She said it so quietly that Liza almost missed it. Hallie knew then. At least there would be no more hiding and sneaking around. "Yes, we have. And I'm sorry Hallie."

"Are you? Well, my heart isn't broken, Liza. Far from it. Luke and I never loved each other. It was a business arrangement from the beginning." She paused in front of a row of pictures staring at Matthew's first studio portrait. "Do you think Luke will marry you once he's free of me?"

"I...I don't know. We haven't discussed it," Liza answered. Hallie's nonchalance was unnerving but there was something Hallie wanted to say. Liza had worked for Hallie long enough to know when her brain was working overtime. She had something she wanted to say and Liza wasn't afraid to hear it. She was stronger than Hallie. She'd already been through more crap than Hallie could ever heap on her. Bring it on, Hallie, she thought.

"Oh? Well, Luke is honorable, I suppose he'll do the right thing after all."

"All right, Hallie. I know you didn't come here to wish me well. Why don't you say what's really on your mind?" Liza blurted out. Hallie's wandering came to an abrupt halt in front of Liza's desk. She set the ballerina back carefully and leaned forward, her eyes narrowing to cat-like slits.

"Think you can handle it?" Liza nodded confidently. "All right. Let's cut out the niceties then. I don't care that you slept with my husband. I don't care that he thinks he's so in love with you that he'll divorce me. Like I said, that was all a business deal. He's served his purpose...which I'll admit now, wasn't much. My ex was more helpful than Luke was in getting ME secured for me."

"You mean the man you cheated on Luke with?" Liza shot back. "Oh yes, Luke told me all about how you met him in Richmond that weekend you said you were going to Savannah. You're a fool, Hallie. Luke is wonderful but you never gave him a chance."

"Spare me," Hallie said rolling her eyes. "I know what kind of man Luke Conlan is. He's vain and self-centered and ambitious. He's also foolish and self-destructive. I would venture to say that you are the one who doesn't know Luke Conlan. Then again, he doesn't know you either."

"What are you talking about? Of course he does. I've been nothing but honest with him since the day we met!" Liza snapped, getting irritated with Hallie's game. "Which is more than you can say. I never played Luke for a fool, cheating and lying like you have."

"Haven't you though?" Hallie said suddenly drawing away from the desk. "Your lie is quite substantial after all."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"No? Let me give you a hint." Hallie picked up the picture of Matty and walked back to the desk. "Your son has no idea who his father is. That's sad."

"His father is a drug addict and I refuse to discuss my son with you!" Liza said through gritted teeth.

"His father is a drug addict? That isn't the information I have, Liza. In fact, I think that is your lie. Your son's father isn't a rich kid drug addict. Don't even try to convince me that he is. No...I know who it is. And I think he would be very interested to know that you've been lying to him since Matthew's birth."

Scene 3:

Maura picked up her bag at the baggage terminal, ignoring Rick's attempts to speak to her again. She was tired of having the same argument. How many times could she tell him that she had no intention of suing for visitation rights and that he held no rights at all as far as she was concerned. She had seen Tristen and that alone was enough to make her realize how right her decision had been so many years ago.

She could see only too clearly the real picture of what life would have been like if she had told Rick the truth and they had married for the sake of the baby. Instead of growing to love Tristen, he would have become resentful of her presence and Maura would have resented his feelings and that was simply not the atmosphere in which to raise a child. They would have made each other miserable and Maura was simply unwilling to believe that any child could be happy in that situation.

She could hear Rick talking on his cell phone as she emerged from the terminal, scanning the area for a taxi. She had no intention of driving back to the Glen with Rick right now. She had far too much to think about without his added pressure on her. Instead, she would find a nice place to have lunch and call Kevin or Noah and see if they would make the drive to pick her up, preferably Noah. He asked fewer questions.

"Maura, wait," Rick said just as she raised her hand to flag a driver. She turned, annoyed at his mere presence.

"What?" She asked letting her irritation show.

"What are you doing? Aren't you coming back to Conlan's Glen with me ?" He asked, his cell phone still pressed to his ear.

Maura sighed heavily and dropped her arm. "Actually, I was thinking that I might like to stay here for a bit and get a ride from Noah later," she replied. Rick frowned, lines cutting into his forehead.

"Wait a minute," he said, though he wasn't sure who he was speaking to: her or the person on the other end of his cell phone. "Say that again." He paused and stared at Maura for a moment, his eyes widening. "That bastard," Rick muttered after a moment. "There's no way to fight it? Fine. Thanks Greg." He ended the phone call, shoving the phone into his breast pocket.

"Something wrong?" Maura inquired sharply.

"Well I guess we won't have to worry about what to do about Tristen any longer," he replied. "Bruce Ford has pretty much made sure you and I will never see our daughter again."

"What are you talking about?"

"He filed a restraining order against us for starters. And my lawyer thinks he's working on an injunction to keep either of us for suing for custody or visitation rights."

"Are you saying you already spoke to your lawyer about custody?" Maura asked, turning to face him. Rick at least had the decency to look momentarily embarrassed. "Oh my god, Rick! You said you just wanted to see her!"

"I did. But things change, Maura. You of all people should realize that."

"Then I'm glad Bruce is stopping you. I won't help you, you know," she said sternly. "I don't want custody of Tristen. She's happy where she is and she loves Katie and Bruce and they love her. I won't jeopardize her happiness because you're feeling...insecure!"

Rick glared at her for a moment before raising his hand and flagging down the next taxi. "Go on then, Maura. Go wait in a diner somewhere for Noah to come get you. Think about what you've denied me and Tristen. Don't look at me that way, Maura," Rick warned opening the cab door. "You took a lot from me when you left. You've taken a hell of a lot more from Tristen. Think about that while you wait. Think about how you ruined your daughter's life."

Scene 4:

"Well?" Gina demanded after Georgie had returned wearing her own robe instead of her boyfriend's shirt. The man, however, had stayed frozen to the spot defiantly. Jay would have laughed if Gina wasn't so upset by the image they had been assaulted with as the door opened. Georgia Corelli had always been the responsible one, the one Gina could count on in any crisis. And here was this half naked man answering the door with only Granny Gin's quilt to cover himself.

Jay looked to where Georgie stood framed in the doorway. He could see that same streak of defiance in her now that she had shown when she had told Gina she was leaving Jersey. Her gaze flicked from Gina to the man beside her before she spoke.

"What are you doing here Mom?" Georgia managed to say in a confident voice that belied what Jay knew she had to be feeling. Standing up to Gina Corelli was never an easy thing.

"Don't change the subject, Georgia. Tell me who this is," Gina said firmly. Jay saw the man flinch slightly before drawing himself up importantly.

"I'm just a friend," he started but Georgia put a hand on his arm stopping him.

"Don't bother, Ian. She doesn't really want to know who you are. All she wants," Georgia said more to Gina than to Ian. "All she wants is for me to feel like I'm 16 again so she can waltz in here and take over my life."

Fighting words. Jay recognized the tone in Georgia's voice and stepped in to help. "Ian?" He said to the man. "Why don't I help you get your things together." Ian nodded and turned back into the hall towards the bedroom. Jay gave his mother a pointed look and muttered, "Be nice," before following Ian.

Ian was already in his jeans and shrugging into the shirt Georgia had tossed on the bed. He looked up as Jay entered raising an eyebrow at him curiously. "If that is Georgia's mother, than you must be...?"

"Her brother. Jay."

"Wonderful," Ian replied buttoning his shirt. "I suppose you're going to give me a warning or something along those lines?"

"Actually, yeah, I was. But not the kind of warning you think I'm going to," Jay said casually, hearing the rising voices of his mother and sister. "Georgia's a nice girl...dependable, sensible, and all that. This isn't about her. It's my mother you want to watch out for."

Ian stared at him incredulously. Jay could read that look well enough to know that Ian wasn't a man who let himself get upstaged by anyone let alone a female. He shrugged casually, hoping Ian would at least listen to the warning.

"Your mother?" Ian repeated. "Good enough. Thanks for the warning. But Georgia and I are just friends, there's nothing serious going on here."

"Doesn't look like that to my mother," Jay answered. "Look, I don't care what Georgie does or with who. My mother though, she's very particular about who her kids hook up with. She's been trying to make me apologize to my ex-wife for the last year." Ian grinned but held his reply. "Just don't say I didn't warn you."

Ian nodded, pausing for a moment to listen at the door. Voices were still raised but Ian opened the door regardless. "Wish me luck," he said as he left the room. Jay watched as both his mother and sister quieted long enough for Ian to say goodbye to Georgia and a 'nice to meet you' to Gina. The guy had virtually no idea what he was getting himself into.

Scene 5:

"I don't know what you're talking about," Liza replied as calmly as she could though her heart was pounding furiously inside her chest. Hallie's expression remained the same, dangerously calm and indifferent.

"Don't play dumb. It isn't very becoming on you, Liza." Hallie leaned over the desk, smiling grotesquely. "I do know the truth of it even if you want to play stupid. Don't you think Joshua Benton would have a few things to say if he knew about Matthew?"

Liza's blood ran cold at Joshua's name. Hallie couldn't know that. No one did. Except... Daniel. He could easily have told anyone, she realized. Daniel Benton was like that. Especially when he was doped up. Once upon a time, Danny could be counted on but since his drug habits had gotten so out of control, there was no telling what he would do.

"You wouldn't dare," Liza managed.

Hallie's smile disappeared replaced by an intense gaze that seemed to go right through Liza. "Wouldn't I though?" Liza's eyes widened in fear as she realized, perhaps too late, just how pissed off Hallie was about Luke's legal steps. "That's right, Liza. I would love to see you suffer. Do you want to know why?"

What could she possibly say to that? Yes, Hallie, tell me why you hate me so much? Tell me exactly why you married a man you didn't love and then treated him like crap. Tell me why he found someone better to spend his time with. Then tell me Hallie, why you're so upset to be out of a marriage you didn't want be in, in the first place. She stayed silent instead of replying watching Hallie's face contort angrily making her look more like a barracuda than ever before. Jory was right about her.

"Don't want to answer? Smart girl. But I'm going to tell you anyway. You see, Luke and I did have a deal. And granted I may have made a mistake with Stephen Roth, but I didn't let it get in the way of the deal. I married Luke even when Stephen begged me not to. I held up my end of the bargain. But Luke...well I don't know when you started sleeping with him, but suffice it to say he didn't hold up his end." She pulled back away from the desk, smiling again. "I like you Liza. Believe it or not. But Luke has to be punished for humiliating me. The best way to do that, is to hurt you. I'm sorry but there it is."

"You're seriously twisted, Hallie," Liza muttered. "Why don't you just give him the divorce and walk away?"

"That would be the simple and naive thing to do wouldn't it?" Hallie countered. "I'll give him the divorce. But he won't get what he wants."

"Of course he will..."

"I'm afraid not Liza. Here's the deal, I'll give Luke his divorce. But you are going to walk away from him. If you don't, I tell Joshua Benton about Matthew. I think you would probably lose that custody battle, don't you think? After all, he must have a judge or two in his back pocket."

"You wouldn't dare," Liza said trailing off at the murderous gaze Hallie gave her.

"Just watch me sweetheart. Think about it. You have about a week to decide if you would rather have a liar and an adulterer as your boyfriend or your son. Your decision."