He moved slowly and deliberately on the crutches. He had a large white cast on his leg. Just when he thought he had found his rhythm, he would trip again. He was taught to carry himself with poise and confidence, but the crutches made that impossible. Instead he looked like a clumsy fool.
Nikolas was grateful that he had quickly recovered from his concussion. Actually, he was relieved that he was not injured more badly. He wondered how Sheba was. He had sent one of the Cassadine servants to take care of her in his absence. It wasn't Sheba's fault that she threw him. He was pushing the horse too hard.
Nikolas continued on as his thoughts drifted to Stefan. He wondered how he was dealing with Luke Spencer. He shook his head. That was one alliance he never would have been able to predict. Then again, he had thought that Stefan was dead. Nikolas silently reprimanded himself. He should have realized that it was not true. He shouldn't have accepted it so easily.
Nikolas thought about his own strange history with death. It seemed that nearly everyone in his life who had died had been resurrected: Laura, Katherine, Lucky, and now Stefan. Of course, Katherine had died again later. Despite everything she did to him, Nikolas still missed her a little.
As he finally rounded the corner going back towards his room, he saw a young woman sitting on the hallway floor crying. Normally, Nikolas would have continued on; the sight of someone crying in the hospital was pretty normal, unfortunately. However, when he took a closer look at the girl, he realized he knew who it was. Even though he was upset with her, he hated to see her cry. He paused by her as he spoke. "Olivia."
*-*-*-*-*-*
Luke came blowing into the cabin, but he didn't startle Stefan, who was looking over some bank information. "You've returned from your mission," was all he said.
Luke sneered. "Yes, Charlie, and not a hair out of place."
Stefan looked quizzically at Luke. "What are you blabbering about?"
"Charlie's Angels, a TV show from the 70s…" Luke started to explain, then stopped. "Forget it. It's not my job to fill you in on the high points of American culture."
"But I trust you accomplished our goal?" Stefan asked, looking back at the paperwork in his hands.
Luke cracked a small smile. "Yes, and it was quite entertaining. Too bad your mother wasn't there to witness it. Maybe I could have ended this thing a whole lot quicker."
"Patience, Spencer," Stefan said slowly. "You will have your revenge, and so will I. Then Helena will be out of our lives permanently."
Luke gingerly took off his coat, which revealed that his right forearm was wrapped in gauze. He sat on the floor across from Stefan.
"Did you injure yourself?" Stefan asked curiously. It really didn't matter to him one way or another if Luke was hurt, but right now, he needed Spencer healthy to complete the plan.
"You could say that," Luke said, not really wanting to broach the subject. "Did you make any progress with that information?"
"I think I may have found a way to access some of her bank accounts, ones she thinks no one knows about," Stefan said, pleased with his work.
"Then with this and my work today, we may finally be getting somewhere." Luke felt the fire of anger build in his chest for Helena and the things she did to Lucky. Revenge couldn't come soon enough.
*-*-*-*-*-*
Helena stepped onto her yacht. "Our contacts at the hospital have confirmed that Lucky's brainwashing is complete?" she said to Andreas.
"He's thoroughly convinced that he raped Ms. Webber," Andreas said, opening the door to the hallway.
"Perfect. Then he'll alienate himself from everyone, which is exactly what we want. Faison and his men did a wonderful job. There's no way that one psychiatrist will be able to reverse all of our hard work."
Andreas opened the door to Helena's stateroom. Helena stepped in, and stopped dead in her tracks, causing Andreas to bump into her. "You idiot!" she screamed as she looked at her room, which was a shambles. The furniture was overturned, the curtains torn; her possessions were scattered all over the room. "How could you let someone do this?" she said as she walked further into the room to assess the damage.
"But Madame, I was with you the entire time we were away from Port Charles," Andreas said nervously.
"But you appointed the guards who allowed this to happen. They must be punished." Helena sighed. "It will take days for this mess to be cleaned up." Her mind turned to who could have possibly done this. The most logical suspect was Luke Spencer. She walked over to her king size bed, which still appeared to be in one piece. She gasped when she looked at the cream colored bedspread. There was a message on it, written in blood.
"You're next, mother."
*-*-*-*-*-*
Emily sighed as she walked up to Sly's apartment. She hadn't spoken to him in the past few days, but her mother finally convinced her to break her silence. Emily was surprised that Monica was encouraging her to talk to Sly. Monica explained that being angry at Sly wasn't going to help anyone in the long run. They all had to work together for the sake of the baby.
Emily walked up to the door, and she heard the sounds of Sly's acoustic guitar. Emily wasn't surprised. What else would he be doing? She knocked on the door.
Sly wrote the last of his lyrics down, then bolted to the door. He was happy to see Emily, all wrapped up in a blue winter coat complete with hood. He smiled. "Emily! I'm so glad to see you. Come in."
Emily stepped into the small room. "Thanks." She took off her coat after he closed the door.
"I'm glad you're here, because I think that I owe you an apology." Sly looked at Emily, searching for a hint of forgiveness in her face.
Emily nodded. "I'm listening."
"I'm sorry about the way that I barged in on you and Juan. I thought he was going to hurt you," Sly said softly.
"Even though Juan can be a jerk, you and I both knew that he wasn't going to hurt me," Emily said with a sigh. "I could have understood if you mistook the situation, but then you had to order him to stay away from me. It seemed awfully sexist to me, like I couldn't take of myself and the baby," Emily said honestly.
Sly sighed. "I didn't mean for it to come off that way. I'm confident in your ability to protect yourself, and our child." He paced a bit. "But you've got to understand something, Emily. I-I promised myself that I would always protect the people I loved from danger. And I never want our child to have to go through what I went through," he said quietly. "I know what it's like to be cornered, defenseless. So even though my logical mind knew that Juan wasn't going to do anything, a deeper part of me reacted, and I freaked. I thought he was going to hurt you and the baby, and I couldn't have that. So I rushed in like a hot head and 'rescued' you. I'm sorry if I acted like a possessive, controlling jerk. It's the last thing I wanted."
Emily sighed. "Now I understand a little better where you're coming from."
Sly looked at her hopefully. "So you forgive me?"
Emily smiled softly. "Of course I do, Sly. We're just going to have to work on working together."
"Sure, sure," Sly said, sitting down in his chair. "So, how have things gone since you went back home?"
Emily looked at her hands. "Well, no one really knows what to say, so it's been pretty quiet. I'm sure Grandfather has some opinions, but so far he's kept them to himself."
"That's good," Sly said, picking up his guitar.
"And I finally went to the doctor's. I'm officially now two months pregnant," Emily said, still amazed at the whole situation.
"Wow," was all that Sly said. He similarly found it hard to believe.
"You're going to have to start coming with me, you know. Dr. Newmann said it's important for both parents to know exactly what's going on with the pregnancy."
"Of course I'll be there, Emily. Nothing is more important than keeping you and the baby healthy," Sly said firmly.
"Good. We're in this together, for better or worse." Emily was eager to change the subject, so she observed the notebook that was lying on the table next to Sly. "Were you in the middle of writing a song when I came?"
Sly looked over at the notebook. "Actually, I was just finishing up. Would you like to hear it?"
"I'd love to," Emily said with a smile.
"Ok, it needs some work, but here goes." Sly began playing a song with a medium tempo.
Ever since I was a child you
always said that I should understand the rules
You take some and give less
Sit high above the rest...don't you
As I ask a simple question
Cuts me off with his reply
He's been practicing for decades
Now he thinks I have the time
He flows in and out of riddles
Looking me straight in the eye
But it seems like something's missing from the days when he was more my size
Emily observed Sly as he played the song. Even with the dark lyrics, Sly always seemed to draw a special kind of joy from playing music. It was written all over his face. It seemed like something he was born to do.
Ten years older and I've finally
found my pride
This old man comes rolling home to die
Old feelings make it hard to decide just what it means to me
Sly had spent the past few days working on the song. He had actually started it a few months earlier, but he never seemed to find the inspiration to work on it. He felt a need to pull it out and try it again after his visit with his parents.
Everything exists 'tween black
and white
You can twist and distort the most blatant of lies
Or just offer up solutions practiced only in your mind
I lost half my life to wisdom
So forgive me if I come off sounding bitter
If my words push you away
If I seem surprised to see you lying here in front of me
Just consider what you're asking and give me a little time
I'm still having trouble breathing cuz up to now I've never seen you cry
Emily watched as Sly formed the chords of the song with his left hand, and strummed with his right. She realized it was a special kind of gift to be able to play an instrument. Ned had it to a certain extent, but she really saw it in Sly. She saw his undeniable chemistry, his magic.
Ten years older and I've finally
found my pride
This old man comes rolling home to die
Old feelings make it hard to decide just what it means to me
No son of mine
Should I be sleeping
No son of mine
As if you never understood that I don't need your help
Don't have to save me from myself
Or take me out to prove that I should live my life like you
As I ask a simple question
Cuts me off with his reply
He's been practicing for decades
But I am listening this time
He flows in and out of riddles
Stories change without the wine
But at least he seems much clearer on how it feels to be my size
Ten years older and I've finally
found my pride
This old man comes rolling home to die
Old feelings make it harder to see just what it means to me
What it means to me
Sly finished the song, then looked expectantly at Emily. "So, what did you think?"
Emily smiled. "It was great, Sly. Very deep."
Sly laughed. "Did you expect anything else? I'm a deep kind of guy. I'm probably too serious for my own good."
Emily shook her head as she laughed. "Well, I wouldn't change a thing."
Sly grinned. "Are you talking about the song, or me?"
Emily smiled at Sly. "Both."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Livvie looked up in surprise. Only one person called her Olivia, besides her mother. She wiped a tear from her eye. "Nikolas."
"What are you doing in the hallway?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?" she asked with hurt in her voice.
Nikolas sighed. "I was merely asking what was wrong. If you don't want to talk to me, fine," he said, as he turned away.
Livvie sighed as she stood. "Nikolas, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take this out on you. It's just, my mother's in a room down the hall, and I don't know if she'll ever get better."
Nikolas' body ached from his short walk. He had to lie down, but he wanted to hear what Livvie had to say. "Why don't you come to my room, and we could talk," Nikolas said.
Livvie followed Nikolas the short distance to his room, and tried to help him into bed, but he refused. "Nikolas, what happened to you?" she asked.
"Riding accident," Nikolas said tersely. He still felt hurt by Livvie's lies, even though he hadn't seen her in weeks.
Livvie's eyes were downcast. "Oh, I'm sorry."
Nikolas could tell that Livvie was in a tremendous amount of pain, so he tried to go easier on her. "I'm going to be fine. Now tell me about your mother."
Livvie sighed as her brown eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Nikolas, so much has happened since I saw you last. Everything just fell apart."
Nikolas couldn't help but feel a little moved by her anguish. "Just start at the beginning."
Livvie sat gingerly at the edge of Nikolas' bed. "It all started after I revealed my identity to everyone," she said, and she noticed Nikolas wince a little at the comment. "It just started this whole downward spiral for my mother…" Livvie paused, and corrected herself. "For Rachel." She could feel her hands shaking as she continued. "All of these lies just came pouring out." Livvie looked away from Nikolas. "I found out that Rachel isn't my mother at all. My aunt Grace is." Livvie got choked up. "And my father is Kevin Collins."
Nikolas was shocked. Kevin had a daughter? "Wow. That's a lot to handle."
"But it gets worse, Nikolas. It turns out that my mother was working to cure a disease that has afflicted my grandmother, and Grace. She was experimenting on people here at the hospital without their permission. And she tried to kill Lucy…" Livvie started to openly cry. "I knew that she had lost her mind. I tried to help her; I tried. I stayed with her, and then I told her that I would meet her on the docks after she prepared for us to leave. But I called Kevin instead." Livvie sobbed quietly. "Oh God, I just sent her over the edge. She said that I betrayed her, after everything that she's done for me. Then she jumped into the water to kill herself."
Nikolas tried to take a deep breath. It almost sounded as twisted as any story the Cassadines had to offer.
"Kevin jumped in to rescue her. And I couldn't do anything, Nikolas. I couldn't because I was too afraid. I can't swim," she explained. "They were under for such a long time. But Kevin managed to bring her out of the water."
"So she's recovering now?" Nikolas asked.
Livvie sighed. "No, Nikolas. My mother may never recover. She's gone. I mean, she's still alive, but mentally, she's locked up somewhere deep inside of herself. I don't see anything behind her eyes anymore." Livvie shook as she cried. "We have to send her away to a mental hospital."
Nikolas didn't know what to say to her. So instead, he pushed aside his anger and hurt. He reached out and carefully embraced her. He held her gently as she cried in his arms.
*-*-*-*-*-*
Sonny Corinthos smiled as he saw his wife descend the stairs. "Hey. How's Michael?"
Carly returned the smile. "He's fine. I just put him down for his nap."
Sonny returned to looking at some paperwork for the warehouse. "Are you going to see Lucky again?"
"Not today," she said wistfully.
"I'm surprised. You've been there almost every day," Sonny said.
"What can I say? We've bonded." She sighed. "He's in such a rough spot."
Sonny was about to respond when there was a knock at the door. "Yes?" he said.
Johnny poked his head in the door. "Juan Santiago here to see you."
Sonny nodded. "Send him in."
Carly was confused. As far as she knew, Juan hadn't seen Sonny in months.
Juan walked in with a grave look on his face. "Thanks for seeing me, Sonny."
"Sure, Juan. What do you want?"
Carly moved away. "You know, why don't I give you some privacy?"
"No, that's ok, this won't take long." Juan sighed. "I just wanted to say goodbye."
"Goodbye? Juan, what's happening?" Sonny asked, his brown eyes reflecting his confusion.
"I'm leaving Port Charles tonight, and I'm going home to Puerto Rico."
"What about Emily?" Carly asked. "I mean, if you want to tell us."
Juan tried to suppress the feelings of anger and regret that sprung to his mind when someone said Emily's name. "Well, we broke up."
"I thought you were in love with her," Carly continued.
Juan took a shaky breath. "I am… I was. But she doesn't feel the same way. She cheated on me, and now she's going to have a baby with another man."
Sonny exhaled slowly. "Whoa."
"And I didn't see it coming at all. I was so stupid! She was always acting weird when Sly was around."
Carly couldn't believe her ears. Little Miss Emily Quartermaine is pregnant, she thought. After that lecture I gave her and everything. Wait a minute. Sly? Isn't he related to me or something?
"I'm sorry, Juan," Sonny said, even though he couldn't help but think of the situation he and Carly were in not too long ago.
"Yeah. But Sonny, I wanted to thank you for everything. I mean, I know we didn't get off to the best start, but you've really been kind to me. And I wanted to make sure you knew how much I appreciated it," Juan said slowly.
Carly slipped away to leave the two men alone. She softly ascended the stairs.
"You're Lily's son. I know she would have wanted me to take care of you. I'm sorry I didn't do such a great job of it," Sonny said.
"Hey, Sonny, it wasn't your fault. I was the stupid one," Juan said. "And I'm ok now."
Sonny smiled sadly. "I wish you well, Juan."
Juan smiled wistfully at Sonny. "Thanks. As much as I'll miss everyone here, I'm looking forward to going home. I've missed Puerto Rico."
Sonny walked with Juan to the door. "Vaya con Dios, Juan."
Juan smiled. "Y usted también."
Carly waited impatiently as the phone rang. "Hello," Bobbie answered.
"Hi, Mama," Carly said.
"Carly! This is a nice surprise."
"Why is it a surprise that I'm calling you?" Carly shook her head. "Never mind. Tell me, are we related to someone named Sly?"
"Yes, he is my late cousin's son. Why do you ask?"
Carly sighed. "Oh boy, do I have something to tell you…"
Song Credit: "Question Everything" by Evan Sula-Goff. Performed by 8Stops7 on their album, "In Moderation."