Carly walked down the stairs, pulling the jacket she wore more tightly against her body. The cold New England winter had just set in a few weeks ago, but seemed to be keeping strong. She glanced idly at her watch, checking the time. She was early, which was something new for her, so she slowed in her steps. Seeing no one around, she took a seat on the bench facing the water.
The past couple of days had been simply weird. After she'd gotten home from the hospital, Bobbie had actually become a pain in the ass, fluttering about and trying to make her 'comfortable' in any way she could. But that comfort had not come and still eluded her today. In fact, she'd probably been on edge more in the past few days than she could ever remember in her life.
Just knowing he lurked around the corners of Port Charles, being able to pop up at anytime, scared her out of her usual stillness. Always on the move, she'd tried to go on with her normal life. After the doctor's recommeded days of rest, she had returned to her job and duties as a mother. But with that, she'd also been on the lookout for him. She just couldn't deal with seeing Darin right now. The whole fact that he was even around, so near her, blew her mind.
She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear the approaching footsteps. It was the hand on her shoulder that frightened her into awareness.
"Carly, calm down," AJ said, stepping back a little at her edginess.
"Jesus Christ, AJ, don't do that," she screamed at him, trying to shake the tingles of fright that still buzzed over her.
"I'm sorry. I just...I saw you sitting there and I wanted to talk to you."
Carly looked him over. If there was something consistent about AJ Quartermaine, it was the fact that he was put together. Maybe not so much on the inside as what people saw, she corrected herself. The man had more insecurities than she had time to name, but he always tried to present himself as a stable, put together, corporate executive. But looking at him now, she wondered what had happened since seeing him last that had changed him so drastically.
Seeing her perusal of him, AJ gave a crooked smile. "What, you don't like the new me," he asked, giving a brief twirl so she could get the full picture.
"What's going on," she asked suspiciously, taking another look at her watch. She was still early, but something told her that would change soon.
"Nothing really," AJ told her, taking a seat on the bench.
"Okay then, I'll just be leaving," she told him, ready to go anyway. Being around AJ, especially with all that had transpired over the past couple of weeks, was not something she really enjoyed, mostly stemming from her own guilt.
"I actually wanted to talk to you for a minute," he spoke, stopping her.
She turned around to look at him, waiting for him to continue.
"You think you can stand to sit by me for a second," he asked sarcastically.
Rolling her eyes, Carly walked over to sit by him on the bench, but not too close. "What is it AJ," she asked. She tapped her foot loudly on the wooden dock, her impatience growing.
"Look Carly. I know we're d-div--"
"Divorced," Carly put in, trying to hurry him up.
"We'll its not official yet," he said, though he should get used to saying the words. "Okay, whatever. But I don't want that to affect our relationship with each other. We're still Michael's parents. Both of us. And if we stand any chance of raising our son with each other's help, we have to learn to be civil, or at least try. Michael deserves that much, don't you think?"
Carly looked at him, weighing the words he had just spoken. On the one hand, he was right. Michael was the best thing that had ever happened to her and she loved him unconditionally. As much as it peeved her, she knew AJ carried the same feelings for Michael, probably even stronger from the fact that he'd missed so much of their son's life so far. But the other hand, the mean spirited side of her that never liked anyone to win but herself, wanted to just get up and walk away. Like she should give consideration to someone who would do anything to keep her tied to him, including using their son as a bargaining chip, in a marriage without love or even something as simple as respect.
"What's this all about AJ. I have somewhere to be," she told him. She stopped tapping her foot at seeing his own growing agitation.
"Where," he asked, though off the topic at hand.
"You really don't want to know," she told him, standing to just leave. He put a hand on her arm, gently pushing her down. Before she could raise her voice in a yell, he held up his hands in surrender.
"Sorry," he told her. "Look. The reason I'm dressed like this," he began, looking down at the pair of blue jeans and t-shirt he sported, "is because I've been doing work on my place."
"Your place," she asked. "The Quartermaine's are re-decorating," she wondered out loud. Just her luck they would do something she actually enjoyed the second after she left.
"No," he said, looking horrified at the idea. "My place. You know, in the custody agreement. I have to get my own place," he tried to recall her memory.
"Yeah," she said, it just dawning on her. "So, you found one. That's great. I'm sure Michael will like it, when his time with you comes up," she added.
"I wanted you to come see it. Both of you," he ammended at her raised eyebrow. "I mean. You're his mother. You should check the place out, give it your approval."
"Never thought I'd hear those words," Carly said sarcastically.
"Oh, come on Carly," AJ said. "I'm trying here. You could at least put forth the effort. I should be angry as hell. You slept with my brother, got pregnant, and now we're getting divorced. It's actually too perfect when I think it over. Everything you want just landed in your lap, just the way you planned it to be. I'm actually trying to move on with my life, do this one thing for my son, and all you can do is sit there and sneer at me."
AJ stood. "I won't expect you to come, but if you do don't forget to bring Michael," he told her, pulling a card out of his back jean pocket. He set it on the bench, looked at her, then walked away.
Waiting until she couldn't hear his footsteps any longer, Carly looked at the card, picking it up slowly. On it was written an address: 8309 Phoenix Drive, along with his number. Stuffing the card into her pocket, she got up and continued to Kelly's.
Darin walked into the small diner, taking a seat at the counter. After giving his usual order to Tammy, he opened the newspaper he'd bought at a nearby newsstand and began to read it. Nothing stuck. Folding the paper back up, he set it on the counter. He'd been trying to think of a way to see Caroline, but nothing had come to him. He was at the road's end and thinking he should probably just go and knock on her door. Of course, he'd probably get a black eye by doing that, but he didn't know what else he could do.
Since he'd walked away at the hospital, they hadn't met. He made himself available, always having his meals here, walking along the docks several times a day... Anywhere he thought she'd be, he tried to be too. But when Caroline didn't want to be seen, she wasn't, and as a result they had yet to run into each other. He didn't even know what he'd do if they did. From the reaction he'd already received, he was pretty sure she wasn't eager to see him, much less sit down and have a conversation with him.
But that was what he needed. He needed to apologize for having left the way he did. He needed to tell her how much he'd missed her. She needed to know what she meant to him so long ago hadn't changed over the years and that he still needed her in his life. It was silly, really. He was an adult now. Ten years had gone by since that summer when they'd fallen in love. He should have gotten over her, found someone else to love.
And he'd tried to do it too. But even with the best relationships he'd had, there always came a time for comparisons. When the woman he was with did something that Caroline would never do, or said something she'd never say, or act in a way that was totally unlike Caroline, it was time for her to go. They never measured up because he'd never gotten over her. And even if they couldn't work, even if she had moved on with that guy, Corinthos, he still had to put closure to their relationship. Else, he'd always wonder what if and that wasn't something he wanted to do.
Thanking Tammy when she set his plate down in front of him, Darin picked up his sandwhich to take a bite when footsteps coming down the stairway turned his attention.
"Hey, you," Hannah greeted as she walked over to take the seat beside him.
"Hi, yourself," Darin said. He put his sandwhich down, wiping his hands on a nearby napkin. "Seems like I see more of you everyday," he told her with a small smile.
"Yeah, well this town is much smaller than you'd actually think. You're the one who's always here, though. It's almost as if you're waiting around for something...or someone," Hannah hinted.
Darin returned his attention back to his plate, nodding his head a little. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Though, I don't really want to go into it." he told her giving her a serious look.
Hannah shrugged. "Okay. Then, we'll just talk about the weather."
Darin rolled his eyes, playfully. "Oh, come on now. I think we've come far enough to move our conversations into much deeper territory such as say...baseball."
"Baseball," Hannah exclaimed with a laugh. "Oh, well, I don't know. I'm more of basketball girl than anything."
"Now you're the one who's pulling my leg," Darin said with a chuckle. "Everyone knows that baseball is an American pasttime. You can't live in this country and not know anything about baseball. Yogi Bera, Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth--"
"Babe Ruth? Now, who is he," she asked with a mock confused look on her face.
"Oh come on," Darin groaned loudly, catching the attention of the few customers that inhabited the resteraunt.
The two were so caught in playful conversation that they didn't hear the door open, didn't see the guard enter, didn't even notice Sonny until Tammy greeted him.
"Hey Tammy," Sonny returned her greeting, all the while staring holes into the back of Darin's head.
Hannah turned around. "Sonny," she barely got out before Darin turned to look between to two of them. "Don't tell me you know him, too," Darin asked incredulous.
"You know Sonny," Hannah asked Darin, not taking her eyes of the man who had just entered the building. Finally glancing away, she only then saw that Darin's usually friendly expression was now masked with what any onlooker would describe as anger.
"Darin," she called out to him, placing a hand on his arm.
A movement that did not go unnoticed by Sonny. "Good to see you move on so quickly," he spoke in a low tone.
Hannah immediately removed her hand, standing to face Sonny. "That's not how it is," she told him, stepping closer only to have him step back.
"Really... Well, that's how it looks."
"As if you would know," Darin finally put in. He now stood behind Hannah, glaring over her shoulder at the man who had ruined his lunch.
"What are you doing here," Sonny asked, his attention far removed from the woman standing between them.
"I'm eating lunch. What the hell does it look like I'm doing," Darin asked, taking a step closer. At the same time, Sonny moved toward him. It wasn't until both men felt a hand on thier chest that they remembered Hannah was standing between them.
"You should move out of the way Hannah," Darin spoke, staring at Sonny.
"I agree," Sonny murmured, his dark eyes never leaving Darin's.
"Maybe the two of you should just calm down," Hannah told them in a raised voice.
"And for once, I can actually agree with you."
All three turned to see a very angry Carly standing just inside the doorway of Kelly's.