Breaking Away Chapters 3 -4
Chapter 3 ~*~
"Laura!" Katie Wright motioned Laura over through the doorway of her office. "There is someone I would like you to meet."
When Laura joined her supervisor, she was stunned to find Stefan sitting in her office.
"Laura Spencer this is Stefan Cassadine, he's our major benfactor. He's just pledged a contribution to the shelter enough to allow us to triple our capacity."
"Hello Laura." Stefan nodded.
"Stefan."
"The two of you know one another? Great! I have an appointment with a contractor in ten minutes, Laura, I was wondering if you would give Mr. Cassadine a tour of the facilities, and let him in on what it is that we do here."
Damn. The man was like her shadow. Every time she thought she could step back and get a good look at her life, *poof* there was Stefan. And he didn't seem to realize that she knew he was hunting her. It was subtle, well, as subtle as Stefan could be. When she and LuLu went for icecream at the Port Charles Grille, there he was. Sitting quietly on the terrace, always alone, and always studying her. "If you'll come this way?" Laura left the office. "How are you Stefan?" She asked as they made their way out of the offices, and into the main complex of the shelter.
"I hope you realize that this was not planned Laura. I had no idea that you were working here."
"Stefan, I've given up trying to guess what you do and do not know. I don't have the energy to stay one step ahead." Laura indicated a room to the left. "This is the daycare. We average about 15 children in our daycare." She could feel his presence directly behind her. And while a part of her resented him being here, a part of her new life, a small part of her welcomed his company. But she was determined not to let that show. Stefan's greatest strength came from always sensing an opponent's weakness. "You couldn't choose a more worthy charity Stefan. The work that this shelter does is extremely needed. Right now there are 100 beds, and we still turn people away each night, of course there's an effort to find a bed at some of the other homeless shelters in the county, but it's never easy."
"And you volunteer your time here on a regular basis?" Stefan asked.
"No, I am a counselor here. I work with the children." Laura faced Stefan, and reading his surprise smiled. "I do have a degree in social work."
"I never knew that."
"The job is fulfilling." Laura continued the tour. "Now I'll take you down to the residence quarters."
~*~
Finishing their tour, Laura and Stefan end up in her small office. It is decorated warmly in bright colors and filled with houseplants. Laura takes a seat behind her desk. "Now Stefan, that you have inspected yet another part of my life, would you care to comment?" She asked knowingly. "After all, this tour of how Laura Spencer spends her days is going to be extremely costly."
"Laura, I. . . ."
She'd never noticed how he toyed with his ring when he felt exposed. It was a useful bit of information to store in the back of her mind. "Stefan, I am not going to keep playing this game. It's become a grown-up version of hide and go seek." She templed her fingers beneath her chin. "I'm not going to be your quarry. No more meetings by circumstance, or manufactured crises."
"If artifice is the only way that I can see you." Stefan acknowledged. "Then I will do what I must. It is not my intention to make you feel trapped. But at the same time I will not relinquish my feelings for you."
"It has less to do with feeling trapped than it does respect, Stefan." Laura explained. "If we are even going to be friends, I need to know that I can trust your word. That when I ask for time, you are able, and willing to give it to me."
"How do I demonstrate a willingness to leave your side when that is the last thing that I want? I have done it unwillingly for two decades. You've offered me a taste of what I want, only to snatch it away in the name of "freedom"?"
"I'm not exiling you from my life forever." Laura rose to her feet and circled the desk, so that she was face to face with Stefan. "In fact I miss your company." She felt no shame in confessing the fact simply because it was the absolute truth. She missed their time together. But she was not willing to sacrifice her newfound sense of self to maintain their relationship. Stefan had the tendency to takeover everyone and everything around him. She needed to set some ground rules. "What if there were a time limit? Say two weeks between now, and the time where we can spend time together. Two week where I can walk to work without wondering if you are climbing off the launch. Two weeks without urgent phone calls summoning me to Spoon Island to return a hair ribbon I lost 18 years ago. Two weeks with no intentional contact ,Stefan."
"What purpose does this serve?"
"It shows me whether or not I can trust you to keep a promise to me." Laura answered, undaunted by his dark frown. "And if you can't respect my wishes, or try to use Nikolas to get close to me, then there won't be any looking back. I'll move on with my life. I've lived the last two years of my marriage with a man that no longer respected me. I am not going to make that mistake again." Seeing his reluctant agreement to her terms written on his face, Laura smiled. "I have an appointment in five minutes. Our agreement starts now."
Stefan checked his watch and in an unexpected move caught Laura's face between his hands, tilting it to his lips. Softly they brushed against her own, once, twice, and a third time.
Stunned, Laura grasped Stefan's wrists in her hands, planning to pull away, when his head lifted and he brushed his lips against her eyelids, forcing them closed. She could feel a fine tremor in the hands that cradled her face so delicately, as if he were holding spun glass. The reverance in the kiss nearly brought her to her knees, but she found the willpower to take a small step back, breaking contact with him.
Reading the question in her eyes, Stefan gave a small smile. "With a mere five minutes left, I felt the desire to take something to live on."
Laura lifted Stefan's wrist. "I would reciprocate, but your five minutes are up." She warned sternly. "Please vacate the premises." She added as Stefan turned to leave.
"Two weeks, Laura. Not one minute more." He warned seriously.
~*~
The Brownstone.
"So there Tony was being the same sweet guy as always, and out of nowhere Scott Baldwin came over and told him to go away."
Bobbie pulled her head out of the refridgerator. "Scotty? Really? What did he have to say?"
"Just convincing Tony to move on." Carly set the table. "You and he go way back don't you?"
"He was Laura's first husband." Bobbie answered, "And I was as in love with him as you are with Jason."
Carly snorted. "And look at how far I've gotten!"
"You might not believe this Carly, but I used to know exactly where you were coming from." Seeing her daughter's incredulous look, Bobbie laughed. "Compared to the stuff *I* did, your tricks are strictly minor league!"
"Did it work?"
Bobbie carried the sandwhiches over to the table. "Sure did. For about ten minutes and then Scott made a bee line for Laura. You can only trick someone into loving you for so long."
"I'm starting to get that." Carly replied sitting down at the table. "I'm letting go of Jason."
Bobbie choked on her iced tea. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me Bobbie! I'm sick of being a pain in Jason's. . . "
"Good for you!" Bobbie smiled. "I'm actually proud of you Carly. You're really getting things together. Have you thought about what you want to do?"
"You mean job wise?" Carly rolled her eyes. "Bobbie, I was a great big zero as a Physical Therapist."
"It doesn't have to be in the health care profession." Bobbie pointed out.
"I was kind of thinking about a job I could do at home. I'd like to be with Michael till he starts school. Any bright ideas?"
"Actually, Lucas came up with one." Bobbie studied her daughter, Carly seemed more, level since the trial had begun. She was still impulsive, but that self-destructiveness that had marked her earlier behavior was gone. Their relationship had never been stronger. Throughout the trial Carly had come to lean on her, and maybe even respect her. "He likes your stories. He said that you should write them."
"The ones I tell Michael?" Carly took a bite of her sandwhich and chewed thoughtfully. "Don't you need a publisher for that?"
"Well, if you're interested, I could ask Felicia about her publisher."
"I didn't know she was published."
"She hasn't been yet, but she's got some friends in the business." Bobbie suggested. "If it's something you would be interested in, you should just sit down with Micahel, tell him some of your stories, and record them, then type them up."
"Wow! I could be an author." Carly's eyes glimmered. "How much does a book sell for?"
"Hold up a minute Carly, it's not QUITE that easy. The publisher would have to accept the book, and a lot of authors get rejected. And even the ones that DO get published aren't getting rich."
"But it can't hurt to try right? And it would be the perfect job for me. I could be at home with Michael and get paid to make up stories!"
Chuckling at her enthusiasm, Bobbie nodded. "Yeah, it does."
Feeling better about her future, Carly mentally begins to make a list of the stories that she should send to a publisher.
~*~
"No. "
"Scott, the club is the perfect place to shoot." Lucy's head was throbbing. She and Scott had been arguing in circles about the infomercial.
"I'm not gonna pay Luke Spencer so that we can film a romantic fantasy in his club!" Scott's chin jutted out.
"Scott, this isn't 20 years ago. Luke's isn't the Campus Disco, and you're not married to Laura anymore. The club is perfect, it's what this infomercial needs, and it's where we're gonna shoot it."
"What is your problem today Lucy? You're being a -"
"Careful how you finish that sentence Baldwin." Lucy warned. "You're being unreasonable, and I'm through arguing. " She propped her feet up on her desk. "Now, on to other business."
"This isn't over."
"Yup. It is. You lose. I win. Buh-Bye." Lucy lifted a silver frame off her desk. "Serena."
"Yeah, Apple Sauce is going all out." Scott plucked an apple off of his desk and bit into it with a satisfying "crunch".
"We need to talk to her Scott. We're not getting married." Lucy began, she didn't want to do this NOW, but she was tired of putting it off. She and Scott had to figure things out between themselves, and then present a united front for Serena. The little girl didn't deserve the confusion in her life.
"Are you so sure?" Scott teased.
"Yes." Lucy answered seriously. "Scott, you and I can't keep on doing this. I love you. I've always loved you even when I hated you. But it's not the same as being in love. And it's not the same kind of love that you and Dominique had." She perched on the edge of his desk. "And it's comfortable. I love being with you, and having this family with you, me and Serena. But you know me, I don't do comfortable."
"No, you don't. But Lucy we keep coming back to each other for a reason."
"Scott, tell the truth." Lucy prods. "Are you in love with me? I mean as madly, passionately, deeply in love with me as you were with Dominique?" She leaned across the desk studying his eyes.
Thinking for a moment, Scott shook his head. "I don't know."
"Scotty, I can see it in your eyes. You love me. But you aren't in love. I've SEEN you in love and you're a whirlwind. You laugh, and curse, and jump up and down, nobody can reign you in. It's not like that now." She sighed. "And you know what? I'm ready to stand on my own two feet. I've always had this problem, I define myself by the man that I'm with. Now I'm ready to define myself. I don't need to be with a man to tell me I've got a heart. I can feel it beating Scott. It can be happy, or sad just like anyone else's. No one has to tell me that."
"Lucy, nothing about you is like anyone else's." Scott took a seat on the other corner of his desk and nudged her with his shoulder. "I never doubted you had a heart, or even that you could stand on your own. You don't need a man. You're the one that convinced yourself that Kevin brought out the good in you. Ya' know, I never tell you this, cause I figured after all these years you would already know that I love you, and respect the hell out of you and what you've done with your life." He lowered his voice conspiritorially. "I kinda respect you. I mean you're pretty cool for a girl." He heaved a dramatic sigh. "And if you can't appreciate a guy like me, and vow to be my love slave for eternity, then I'm afraid I can't see you anymore. A man's got to think about his reputation."
He understood. Scott always got gruff when he was being sweet. "Now we've got to REALLY talk to Serena. Both of us. Cause we're still family right?" It was hard to ask, but she had to know for sure.
"Don't be a box of hair Lucy." Scott scowled. "Serena loves you, I love you, you love me. We're a happy family."
"Difference is Baldwin I'm happy cause life is good. You're happy cause of the Prozac I've been slipping in your applejuice."
~*~
A knock on the penthouse door brings Carly out of the kitchen. She was exhausted. Michael started to run a fever last night and he'd kept her up most of the night. He was sleeping now in his crib, but she didn't believe for one second that Crab Fest '99 was over. She opened the door to see Sonny, and felt her temper flare just from the sight of him. She bit her tongue though, trying not to let Corinthos or his superior attitude get to her. "Hey Sonny."
"Jason here?" Sonny brushed past her as if she didn't exist.
"No. He's not and I'm busy." Carly held open the door. "If you'll excuse me, I'll tell Jase you came."
"I know your track records with passing on messages Caroline." Sonny taunted. "So if you don't mind I'll just wait."
"But I do mind Sonny." Carly's brown eyes were filled with loathing. She hated this guy, he always wiped his feet on her, but that had to stop. "I have things I need to get done today. And I don't need an audience."
"What do you have to get done today? Scheming how to get Robin further away than Paris?" Sonny smiled a Cheshire grin. "Did you know she's coming home?"
"Robin? Really." Carly kept a perfectly impassive face. "I'm surprised she has the guts. If she does, and if she stays, then maybe she's not a coward." Carly moved to the desk by the door and lifted her organizer. Michael's checkup was today. There was an infant C.P.R Class that she wanted to attend.
"Robin is NOT a coward!" Sonny snarled. "She's had more to deal with in her life than you cna ever imagine! And she does it! She doesn't hide behind anyone, not even Jason. If you were half the woman that Robin--" Sonny can't get out the rest of the sentence before Carly's laughter drowns him out. "What's so funny?"
"If I were half the woman Robin is. . ." Carly snorted. "There are too many things wrong with that sentence for me to explain it to you. Okay? Get out of my house Sonny. Go break someone's legs or something."
"Listen Carly. When Robin gets home you may as well pack your bags, and get out. Jason would step on your face to get to Robin. You got this chushy set up because she had enough class to leave."
"And now she's come crawling back. What does that say about her "class"? Didn't last long did it?"
"You're a --"
"Oh please, Sonny. You're not creative enough to come up with any original unsults. So don't hurt yourself trying. I want you to go away now." Carly threw open the door and waited for him.
"Fine, just remember that everything you've got here depends on Robin. She left and you moved in. She came back before and you were out. She left, you're back. She's back. . .how long do you think it will take Jason to kick you out again?" Sonny asked on his way out the door.
Carly shut the door and staggered to the couch. She felt like she'd gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson. She was helpless. She'd asked Sonny to leave and he wouldn't. Telling Jason would get her nowhere fast. She hated Sonny. With all her heart and soul. But in the midst of all the ugliness Sonny spewed was a kewnel of truth. She was living there by Jason's sense of duty. And duty didn't make a home. Reaching her decision, Carly lifted the phone and dialed her mother's. "Mamma?"
Chapter 4
"You ready Pumpkinhead?" Lucy asked fishing a $20 bill out of her wallet.
"Hey there ladies." Luke strolled into Kelly's. "What ya up to on this pretty day?" He asked taking note of their worn clothes, the gloves and garden tools in a wicker basket. "A little gardening?"
"We're planting flowers in the park." Serena volunteered. "Today was my Mommy's birthday. So Lucy and I are gonna plant a bunch of flowers for her. Lucy says she'll like them. Then we're gonna plant some pansies around Maxie's cousin's grave."
Surprised, Luke looked at Lucy. "B.J?"
"Yeah. Every spring. Have to be real careful with pansies, they're so delicate." Lucy informed him. "Pansies were B.J's favorite flower. Anyway, we've go to get started otherwise we'll be up all night!" She handed Serena the bill and the money. "Take this up to the register and tell Liz to keep the change, 'K?"
"That's a nice thing you're doing Lucy." Luke pulled out a chair and straddled it. "I forget that you were B.J's mother too."
"She was special. And planting the flowers is a little thing that I can do." She answered. "What's on your agenda for today?"
"I'm having lunch with Sonny, and Jason, and we're talking about a new club." Luke answered. There was something different about Lucy today. Sadder. He could tell by her eyes."Is there something wrong darlin'?"
Lucy swallowed. "I'm okay Luke. I-" At that moment Serena returned.
"I'm ready. Are you coming today Mr. Spencer?" Serena leaned close to Luke, and appeared to study him closely. "Can I ask you a question Mr. Spencer?"
"Only if you call me Luke darlin'. Mr. Spencer sounds awfully grownup." Luke smiled. He liked this kid. She was sharp.
"Luke Darlin'." Serena began. "Where do you keep your other face?"
"Excuse me?"
"Daddy said you've got two faces. When he and Lucy were pretending not to fight, Daddy said you had two faces and you always would!"
Oh God! Scott's big mouth had struck again! Lucy clapped her hand over her mouth and glanced at Luke helplessly.
"Out of the mouths of babes huh Luce?" Luke grumbled lowering his head so that Serena could get a better look. "See? Only the ugly mug in the front. No second face." He smiled.
"Hmm. Daddy must have been wrong." Serena smiled shyly at him. "You're not ugly."
"Why thank you Miss Serena." Luke grinned. Yeah, he definately liked this kid. "If ya need anything Luce, lemme know."
"Got ya!" Lucy gathered up their gardening stuff in one hand, and took Serena's hand with the other. "Let's go! Let's go!"
~*~
~*~
"I'm done Jason." Carly spoke softly. She was too tired to fight anymore. "Sonny was here, and Michael is with Bobbie. I'm moving out."
"Carly! You can't!"
"Jason, this isn't my home. You let Sonny walk all over me. I told you before. I am not Brenda Barrett. Or Robin Scorpio! I'm nobody's punching bag. The hell with Sonny! You would NEVER let that man talk to Robin like that! You would NEVER let that man talk to Laeticia like that. So why is it that because the great Sonny Corinthos doesn't like me I don't deserve any respect?"
"You never show him any." Jason whipped off his leather jacket.
"PLEASE! What am I supposed to do? Kiss his ring? No way. I care about you Jason, and you are Michael's father. I even love you. But no man is worth getting spit on. I learned that from Tony. I never thought it would be a problem with you, cause you're my friend." She took a deep breath. "Bobbie's giving us one of the apartments at the Brownstone. This is our number, call or come by whenever."
"We can work this out." Jason could feel a knot in his stomach churning his insides.
"Not this time Jase. You know what? I have ALWAYS stood up for myself. All my life, and fought my own battles. I may not have always won, but I knew how to stand up for myself and protect myself. You know what? I think I deserve someone that will stand up for me." She dropped the piece of paper with the phone number on it on the desk. "I'm through with being a consolation prize, or just a warm body." She adds before shutting the door, not with her typical slam, but instead quietly, and finally.
~*~
