The Story of Us ~* April *~ Part I ELQ Board Meeting: "All right let's get this farce over with." Tracy blows into the conference room with a scowl on her face and her claws bared. "What's he doing here?" She points an accusatory finger at Nikolas. "Get out." Turning to Emily, Tracy sneers. "I know you're not really a Quartermaine - so I'll explain it to you in small words so you'll be sure to understand it. This is a board meeting. Only stockholders are allowed. Once again - board meeting not prom. Leave your date at the door." Emily links her arm through Nikolas'. "Actually Aunt Tracy I gave Nikolas half my stock in ELQ. Nikolas has some really good ideas about what to do about ELQ and I think the board should hear them." Snorting, Tracy takes a seat at the head of the table. "What could he possibly have to offer? He's already driven his own family into the ground." "Oh Tracy, will you please shut up?" Alan and Monica walk into the conference room together and take seats beside one another. "Nikolas, it's good to see you. Any ideas you have will be appreciated." Alan looked at his sister. "By some of us." "Of course they won't. Why should his ideas be any different from the rest of ours?" Tracy checked her watch. "Daddy should be here by now." "Why? You want to slit my throat promptly?" Edward grumbles from the doorway. "I know you're up to your ears in this Tracy. So why don't you get it over with hmm? Reveal to everyone your brilliant strategy that will leave this family in the poorhouse once and for all!" "Come on grandfather. You should know better. This can't be one of my mother's plans." Ned replies sharply. "For the simple fact that it worked. None of her plans ever works." Justus enters the conference room carrying a briefcase. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I've gathered you here today. . ." At the daggers being shot his way, Justus grins. "I just always wanted to say that." "So are you going to name yourself CEO and run our company into the ground or just gloat?" "I've told you already Aunt Tracy. I don't want to run ELQ. In fact you couldn't pay me enough to make me take the reigns of either the company or this family. I told you I represented outside interests." Edward points an accusing finger at Jax. "I knew it! I knew it would be you! You-you-you Aussie carpetbagger!" "I'm sorry to say this takeover isn't mine." Jax shakes his head and turns to Skye. "Yours?" "Not this time. I just held on to enough stock so I wouldn't miss out on the fun." She gestured grandly to Justus. "Mr. Ward won most of my stock." "If it's any consolation Ms. Chandler you're the best I've ever had on any table." Skye's face flushes to the identical shade of her hair and Emily nudges her in the ribs. "Oh would you two get a room already and let's get on with this?" Tracy snaps impatiently. "If you really are representing an outside interest then where the hell are they?" "I just spoke to them a few minutes ago and they were detained at the airport. They should be here shortly. In the meantime I've been asked to pass out a list of cuts that will be effective immediately at ELQ and all of its subsidiaries." "Cuts?" Edward's hand shoots out and snags one of the packets as soon as Justus can retrieve them from his briefcase. "What cuts? WHAT? These are unacceptable!" "That's right Edward. Cuts. Money coming in isn't going to be enough to save this company. ELQ needs to get back to basics and this plan is going to do that." Justus continues to distribute the kill lists. "And there's no playing favorites anymore. If a company hasn't turned a profit in the last two years it's dead weight and it's *gone*." "This is ridiculous! You've cut at least 50% of the companies and left more than 75% of the charities!" Tracy's voice rises with every word. "If we cut all of the charities we'd have almost twice as much capital." "Sorry Ebenezer. That's not part of the plan. And do you really want to deal with the bad publicity that comes from shutting down free clinics and battered women's shelters? I didn't think so. The charities are going to be sorted out but they're not what's causing the problem." "And what do you think the answer to the problem is? Because as far as I can see Justus you're doing a lot of house cleaning without bringing anything to the table." Ned bites off after flipping through pages of cut companies, most of which he brought in at one point or another. "Me. I'm what Justus is bringing to the table. And I'm what's going to keep ELQ from going under." Jason appears at the head of the conference table. "Any questions? Problems? You can bring them to me." Amazingly enough it takes 2.5 whole seconds before the screaming starts. Jason knows this because he checks his watch. "WHAT? OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Not amazing is the fact the screaming starts with Edward. "Alan! This is all your fault!" Still in shock, Alan's head whips around to glower at his father. "What is my fault you old coot?" "One of your ingrate sons robs us blind and the other reprobate comes back to finish us off! Why don't you just stick a dagger in my heart?" Carly comes out from behind Jason and pats Edward's shoulder. "Monica's the heart surgeon. If anyone's likely to cut you it's her. I'd sleep with one eye open." Then it's Monica's turn to shriek. "What is that woman doing here?" "Looking after my investment." Carly replies calmly. "Excuse me? Your investment?" Ned feels the bile rise in his throat at the idea of Carly Corinthos actively involved in ELQ. Jason's smile is anything but reassuring. "Don't worry Ned. It's my company." Carly twines her arms around Jason's. "But I bought it for him." Outside the hotel Carly is practically skipping to the limo. "I take it things went according to plan?" Francis asks with a smile. Carly pats his cheek. "Frankie, if you've never tried bending your in-laws over a barrel and screwing them blind you really should." Laughing at both the nickname and Carly's euphoric mood, Francis opens the limo door. "Home." Jason instructs climbing in behind Carly. "Admit it." "Admit what?" The door shuts after him and Jason leans his head back against the seat, his stillness in direct contrast to Carly's bouncing off the walls. "That was *fun*. You had *fun*." Carly sing songs. "I didn't. Business isn't fun. It's a way to kill time between bike rides and pool games." Jason gives a little grunt when Carly slaps his chest with the back of his hand. "Other things are fun. Not business." "You are such a rotten liar. I saw you Jason. You were in control and you loved it." Jason catches Carly's hand before it can connect again. "It didn't suck." Sensing that Carly wants to press it even further and bully an admission out of him, Jason changes the topic. "It'll be better to be home. I want to see this house you've been talking about for the last few weeks." Carly gives him another little jab and a look that says she knows what he's doing, but lets it go for the moment. "Oh Jason it's perfect. And Bobbie says that everything I ordered came in and it's all set up including that great, big, lovely bed." She crept her fingers up Jason's arm. "You know, we really should do something nice for Bobbie. I mean she's gone to a lot of work to make this all happen so quickly. Justus too." "Justus is getting paid a lot of money. And he's having a lot of fun sticking it to the Quartermaines." Jason notes the route Francis takes in getting them to the house. The location is just far enough outside town to be private, but just over the bridge from anything they might need. The limo pulls to a stop in front of solid looking iron gates. Rolling down the divider, Francis points out. "No one gets on the property without going through this gate. There's a gatehouse to the left - someone's usually standing a post there. There's video surveillance all around the perimeter all the way up to the front door." Jason can tell Carly could care less about security, she's too busy craning her neck trying to see every inch of their new home. Pulling up the driveway the trees thin out revealing the sprawling house and grounds. "It's even more incredible in person. I can't believe I live here." Carly is out of the limo the instant it stops moving. "Jason! Come on!" Following Carly, Jason takes note of his surroundings matter of factly. The best part is watching Carly's expression as she takes in every brick, every window, every chimney. The front door opens and Michael starts to run out without his coat on but Bobbie stops him. "Mama! What took you so long? Come and see! This house has *everything*!" Michael bounces with nearly as much impatience as his mother while he waits for them to cross the threshold. "How do you like it Mr. Man?" "It's the best! There's even a pool! And my room has the best view and there's even a game room! It's so cool!" "Just a second Michael." Jason turns to Carly, his hand on her arm stopping her from walking through the door. He easily picks her up and slings her over his shoulder carrying her over the threshold in spite of the fact her laughter makes it hard to keep a grip on her. Setting her right side up inside the house, Jason looks at the strange expression on Michael's face. "Tradition." "Oh. Okay. Come on! You have to see everything!" "Michael honey, why don't you take Jason on the tour of the house, I need to borrow your mother for a few minutes?" Bobbie prods gently. "Okay." Reaching up Michael grabs Jason's hand. "Let's start with my room!" "Mama I don't know what to say. Everything is so beautiful." Carly reaches out and pulls Bobbie into a warm hug. "Thank you." "Me? You're thanking the wrong person honey. All I did was find the house." Bobbie pats Carly's back. "Mrs. Landsbury here did all the really hard work." She motions for Mrs. Landsbury to come closer. "Carly - this is Mrs. Landsbury. Mrs. Landsbury this is my daughter Caroline." "A pleasure to meet you Ms. Caroline. I hope you find everything to your liking." When they are alone again Carly sighs. "And what mausoleum did you find her in?" "Wyndemere." Bobbie answers. "And honey if you don't believe another thing I say believe me when I say that woman is going to be your best friend in the world. She's an excellent cook and she runs a household better than anyone I've ever seen. You won't have to think about a single thing except you and the boys." "You stole the Cassadines' housekeeper? Have you been spending time with Luke?" Carly looks towards the doors the housekeeper disappeared through. "They're not going to - you know, put a curse on me or anything are they?" Bobbie considers it for a moment. "You know, I'm not really sure." She wriggles her fingers at Carly and makes 'oooh ooh' noises. "Curse of the Cassadine Housekeeper!" Carly swats her hands away. "Stop it! You're certifiable you know that?" "Certifiably happy to have my daughter home and that's the truth. Now, come on and let's catch up with Michael and Jason and you can tell me all about the board meeting." "Well- on the down side, none of them actually died. Though Edward did reach for the nitro a couple of times. That was kinda fun." "Carly. . ." "Hey! Justus is the one that started playing 'keep away' with it." Haunted Star: Leaning over the baccarat table, Skye waves to acknowledge Jax and quickly counts down the chips and enters the closing amount into the pit podium, then has security lock the table down. "Hey there stranger. Long time no see." Skye motions for the bartender to bring Jax his usual. "That was some board meeting." Jax's lips curve into a smile. "You know, about ten minutes into things I started hearing the theme from Loony Tunes." "Oh thank God! I wasn't the only one! I kept waiting for Edward to drop a safe on Jason's head!" "I was a little disappointed the takeover wasn't one of yours." Jax accepts the drink but leaves it on the bar, turning to face Skye. "No. I think I know better now. I've been thinking about AJ a lot lately. The way he held on longer than he should have. The Quartermaines were never going to treat him any differently but he kept going back for more. What's that they say about insanity? It's doing the same thing over and expecting different results." Skye runs fingers through her hair. "I'd rather not get to the same place as AJ. Maybe it's time for me to take a step back. If they want me, they know where to find me." Leaning against the bar, Jax spots Justus walking towards them. "They certainly do." He murmurs before greeting Justus. "Hello." "Jax. Good to see you again." "That was quite the coup you and Jason staged." "Actually, Carly and I staged the coup. We can only hope Jason will be a benevolent ruler." Justus replies with a chuckle. "Of course it never occurred to either of you that Jason isn't qualified and is in fact a known criminal. Or didn't you care about that when you put him in charge of ELQ?" "Now let's be fair Jax." Skye interrupts smoothly. "Unqualified and criminal encompasses just about every single CEO ELQ has ever had starting with that old reprobate Edward." Justus' eyes dance with humor. "Isn't that the truth? So you see Jax I'm just upholding a long held Quartermaine family tradition." He touches Skye's arm lightly. "I'm actually here in hopes I can convince you to join me for dinner." Giving Jax a consoling pat on the arm, Skye nods. "Sorry Jax, you'll need to drown your sorrows with another dealer tonight." Turning to Justus she motioned towards the dining room. "Shall we?" Justus places his hand at the small of Skye's back. "The pleasure is all mine." Once they're in the dining room, Justus holds Skye's chair for her and pushes her in. "I don't think Jax approves." "I'm sorry about that. Jax is always a little sulky when someone else starts playing with his toys." Plucking the napkin off the table, Skye smoothes it across her lap. "Are we talking about ELQ or you?" "Me?" Skye's eyes lifted from the menu in front of her, a look of genuine surprise in them. "No. I'm an ex-wife. Species wife-us interuptus. Somehow I've become Jax's mother confessor." "Skye, as an almost man of the cloth myself, let me reassure you. Jasper Jacks does not look at you like a mother." Unwilling to give any credence to Justus' claims, Skye makes a joke. "Thank God. Jane Jacks runs five miles a day. The woman's insane." "What do you like to do for physical activity?" "I run, but not every day. I kick box." She smiled ruefully. "And since my last run in with Faith Roscoe I take swimming lessons twice a week." Justus' expression changes from flirtatious to concerned at the mention of Faith. "What type of 'run in'?" "The kind that had me shoved overboard in early December." "She pushed you overboard knowing you couldn't swim?" "I think that was part of the kick for her." Skye shudders at the memory of icy water starting to fill her lungs and going under for the third time when Luke finally managed to drag her up. "She really is psychotic now isn't she?" Justus mutters almost to himself. "You mean she wasn't always? Wait. You *know* Faith?" "Knew. Past tense." With a visible effort Justus shakes off old memories. "But you know what? I'd rather not talk about the past. I prefer to stay in the present and at present I feel like celebrating." Accepting the change of topic, for the moment, Skye nods. "You have quite a bit to celebrate. That was some very slick maneuvering you did." "I aim to please." Justus lifts his water glass in salute. "To good business." "To good business." "And even better company." Justus adds clinking his glass against Skye's. "And even better company." Gatehouse: "Um- excuse me?" Hearing a tapping on the glass, Francis looks up from his book. Gate duty sucked and since he was head of security he could easily have let himself out of it but he was a big believer in not assigning his guys to do anything just because he didn't want to be bothered with it. He pushes open the small door on the side of the building. "Can I help you?" "I hope so. I'm looking for Jason Morgan." Grabbing the sheet from his desk, Francis glances at the list of deliveries and possible visitors that Mrs. Landsbury had provided. "Your name?" "Morgan. Courtney Morgan. Jason is my husband." "Just a second." Shutting the door again, Francis dialed the main house and Jason's office. "Jason? Your wife is here. Should I let her up?" Francis can almost hear his employer pinching the bridge of his nose and looking pained. "Yeah. Let her up. If Carly comes back buzz me when she gets through the gates." "Gotcha." Francis pressed the button opening the gates. And opened the door to his makeshift office. "You can go up. Just follow the main drive up, past the trees and to the left. Can't miss it." Courtney smiles brilliantly. "Thank you." She walks back to her car and pulls through the gates. When she reaches the front door and rings the bell Jason opens it. "Courtney." "Jason! I almost didn't believe you were really back." Courtney peers around Jason. "This place is incredible. Aren't you going to invite me in?" "Courtney I didn't invite you here. How did you know about this place?" A hurt look crosses Courtney's face but she quickly puts on a strained smile. "I pulled a Carly." When Jason doesn't respond she explains. "You know - I eavesdropped. One of Sonny's guys came to the penthouse while I was there with Mike and he said that you guys were back and that he'd found where you were living." Courtney brushes past Jason and steps into the foyer. "We really need to talk. There are so many things I need to tell you. I want to explain. . ." With a sigh, Jason shuts the door. "We've talked. We talked before I left. You couldn't live with me anymore. I tried to respect that because it's your decision. And when I left I filed for divorce so that you could have the life you wanted." Jason folds his arms over his chest. "But Justus tells me you won't sign the divorce papers. Why Courtney? Let's just *end* this. I don't want to hurt you." "I know that. And I don't want to hurt you either. That's what makes this so hard." Courtney wraps her arms around herself. "It's not hard. You wanted out of our marriage and I'm giving you a way out. I'll take care of you. What ever you need. But I'm not going to go back and forth trying to convince you to change your mind." Taking a step forward, Courtney touches Jason's chest. "But that's the thing Jason. You don't have to change my mind. I've been doing a lot of thinking since you've been gone. Thinking about us, and how good it was. And we took vows you know. For better or worse. And they meant something. I just, I just panicked. And I can't promise not to do that again but I can tell you I won't leave you again. I haven't been happy since you left." Jason steps back. "I know we took vows Courtney and I know they mean something. But a marriage only works if you accept who someone is. You can't. You say you can now but what about five months from now? What about six months from now? What if something happens and I have to handle it? Are you still going to be there when it's all over with or will you be back in your room at Kelly's?" "But that won't happen now that you're. . ." Courtney bites her lip. "Now that I'm what? CEO of ELQ? Is that why you're here? I have a job you can live with now?" "Come on Jason! That's not fair and you know it! I loved you when you were working for Sonny and I love you now." "This isn't about us loving each other Courtney. This is about what you can live with. It doesn't matter what job I have Courtney. I'm still me." Courtney snaps. "Why now Jason? You've had a million chances to go to work for ELQ or do anything but work for my brother but you never have! What's so different now? You leave town with Carly without a single word to anybody and three months later you're back and you're living in this huge mansion working for ELQ. Why?" "This isn't my house Courtney and it's not really my company." Courtney swallows. "Carly. I should have known! She's the only one you'd make all these sacrifices for. Carly's the only one you would even consider changing your life for. Never mind that she's married to your best friend and has two children with him. Never mind that she's *my* best friend. Just forget that Carly is the one that tore everything apart because she couldn't keep her hot little hands off Lorenzo Alcazar!" Jason clenches his teeth and replies very quietly. "And before all of that Carly was my best friend. Before the broken marriages. Before the separations. Before he slept with Alexis Davis. Before the kidnappings. Before he put a bullet in her head Carly was my best friend. Before she was in a coma. Before she woke up *different* than she was. Before all of that she was my best friend and she still is." Jason closes his eyes and tried to reign in his temper. "You don't know what I know. You don't know what that bullet did to Carly. She's not the same. She's never going to be the same again. So don't talk to me about things you have no idea about." "The shooting was an accident! You said so yourself! You told Sonny it was an accident and that he shouldn't blame himself!" "That's because I knew Carly wouldn't want me to kill him." Jason's answer is frostbitten. "I knew she'd forgive him eventually. And she did. Carly doesn't hate Sonny. She can forgive him but I won't. You're right, it was an accident. But it's an accident that happened because Sonny get out of control when he's mad. It's one thing when he's self-destructing on his own. He's taken Carly and Michael and Morgan down with him for the last time. There won't be another 'accident'. Ever." Courtney recoils from the starkly threatening tone in Jason's voice and the cold look in his eyes. "I can't believe you're talking like this. It's like you're a totally different person." "This is who I am Courtney and I'm not sorry for it. It's good you found out who you were married to before it was too late. I want you to sign the divorce papers and I don't want you to come here again. The next time you want to contact me do it through my lawyer." "Your *lawyer* had a private investigator follow me while you were gone! Did you know that? Did you hire him? Because if that's true then you're right. I don't know you." Courtney throws the door open. "In fact I don't think I ever knew you at all." She runs from the house in tears and climbs behind the wheel. Park: "What's the matter fag?" "You gonna go running home to cry to your mommy?" "I know you were checking me out in the locker room faggot." Lucas comes to a dead stop at the words, sure they were meant for him. And slowly, with his heart thudding in his throat he turns to identify who was talking to him. Instead he's relieved to find no one even close by. But the relief doesn't last for more than the second it takes him to realize that the voices are talking to someone. Rounding the corner by the fountain, Lucas spots Guy Tucker backed against the fountain by Kyle and Kyle's roving posse of morons. "Hey." "Lucas! What's up man? We were just having a chat with the pervert here." "Yeah?" "Yeah." Kyle knocks Guy's books out of his hands. "Come on fag pick 'em up." Roving moron #2 adds his voice. "Yeah. Bend over. Isn't that what you pervs like?" "Kyle, aren't you still on probation? You know commissioner Scorpio is just waiting to bust you. And Brad aren't you still grounded?" "But what about the pervert?" Lucas shakes his head sadly, walks over to Guy and hands him his books. "He's not a pervert." "Yeah? And how'd you know Jones?" Kyle sneers. "Because. I'm a pervert and he's never at the meetings." Lucas walks over to Kyle and stands eye to eye with him. "Get lost Radcliffe." "Come on guys. Let's leave the lovebirds alone." Lucas watches as Kyle and the Roving Posse of Morons swaggers away. "Idiots." He mutters under his breath. "Nice bunch of friends you've got there." Guy grabs some of the papers that fell to the ground when his books were knocked out of his hands. "Friends? Nah. Kyle's almost an in-law." Lucas turns back to Guy. "My cousin Maxie is his girlfriend. She's working on turning her life into one of those Lifetime Movies of the Week. All she needs now is a teenage pregnancy and for Farrah Fawcett to play her when the time comes." Guy laughs at that. "I think Maxie's the one that told him. I told Georgie, Georgie told Maxie. . ." "And Maxie told Cro-Magnon man. Figures. Why didn't you just tell them it wasn't true?" Lucas asks curiously. Guy stuffs his books in his backpack with a sigh. "This is the sixth high school I've been to in the last three years. I've never made a big deal of it. I've never marched in any pride parades, but I'm not going to let some asshole like Kyle Radcliffe make me ashamed." He shrugs. "Besides I figure I came out to my family, after that who cares?" "Was it hard?" Guy casts Lucas a sideways glance. "I live with my grandparents now." "That sucks." "Not really, once I explained to my grandmother that it didn't mean I wanted to wear her dresses she was fine with it." Guy looks at Lucas. "Thanks for getting rid of Kyle." "Just remember to mention his probation. After the crap he pulled with Maxie I don't think he wants to get even higher on Mac Scorpio's shit list than he already is." Lucas stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I was on my way to Kelly's for something to eat, you headed that way?" "I could eat." The boys walk across the park to Kelly's and take seats by the doors. "So your parents flipped when you told them?" Guy turns over his coffee cup when Penny comes over and greets them both with smiles. They order a couple of burgers and Guy sits back sipping coffee. "It wasn't so much that they found out." He shrugs. "I mean, I don't think they would have been doing cartwheels no matter how they found out, but the way they did, it just got ugly." "Do you mind if I ask how?" "I was in AP English at my last school and for 50% of our grade we had to work on a research project. It had to be something that had been in the news recently. And when I was going through the paper in the library the period before our topics were due there was an article about homosexuality and whether or not it's genetic, or socialization or what. So that's what I picked for my topic." Guy shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. Anyway, about a week later we handed in our thesis statements with some rough outlines. I get mine back and my teacher's written 'See Me' across the top of the paper in big red letters." "Oh man." "See? And that was my reaction too. Anyway, after school I went to Mr. Crandell's room and we talked. See, my topic got his attention and he gave me a list of books and publications I should read for my research." "He was gay too?" "Yep. And he helped me find a lot of information." Guy spread his napkin in his lap as Penny brought their food. "Anyway, long story short. Mrs. Finch the P.E teacher overheard us talking in the halls one day and she reported Mr. Crandells for 'inappropriate behavior towards a student', the school called my parents, they wanted to know what made me pick that topic for my paper, why I didn't just write a paper on the rainforests or something like that. The whole thing just turned into a nightmare. They decided that he *converted* me to homosexuality." Guy rolled his eyes. "Like there was some kind of queer crusades. Men in brightly colored mesh shirts on horseback riding through the lands convincing teenagers to 'Go Gay or Go Home'." Laughing, Lucas almost shoots Coke out his nose. "I can see how they might freak." "Well my parents aren't *bad*. They're politically correct and all that stuff, they wear AIDS ribbons and they don't laugh at gay jokes. They even know the statistics about how many kids are gay in the U.S. And they're fine with all of it. They're just very big on the concept of 'Not in my backyard' you know?" Guy grabs a french fry from the plate between them. "So they thought I might like living with my grandparents better. Who knew? They were right." Looking up, Lucas catches sight of his Mom coming out of the kitchen and waves her over. "Hi honey." Bobbie walks across the diner and lays a hand on his shoulder. "Mom, this is Guy Tucker. Guy, this is my mother Bobbie Spencer." Holding out her hand, Bobbie smiles warmly. "It's good to meet you Guy." "I don't think I heard you right. This has to be your sister. . ." Guy turns his dazzling smile on Bobbie. "You're far too young to be Lucas' mother." Lucas groans. "Oh come *on*! Man, you just got yourself free coffee for life!" Firehouse: Noticing the front door slightly ajar, Jason only knocks perfunctorily before drawing a gun from his holster and pushing open the door. "Justus?" His foot brushes Justus' tuxedo jacket as Jason inches farther into the firehouse. Stopping at the bottom of the steps, Jason can see a tipped over end table and lamp along with more clothes. "Justus?" He whirls up and around at the sound of footsteps on the stairs. "Woah! Easy there cuz. It's seven years bad luck to shoot your lawyer." Justus holds up his hands as he descends the stairs. Jason immediately re-holsters his gun. "You shouldn't leave your front door open. I knocked but no one answered. I thought you were robbed." Running his hand over his unshaven face, Justus looks around the trashed living room. "Things might have gotten a little out of hand. Come into the kitchen and we can talk. I've got to get some coffee on." Following Justus through the living room, Jason notices a silky looking white blouse draped over the upstairs banister. "So what brings you here at. . ." Justus peers at the clock on the stove. "Eight in the morning?" "Courtney came to the house as soon as she heard we were back in town." "Damn. Was Carly home?" Setting the coffeemaker Justus pulls out cream and sugar. "What did she say?" "Carly was with Bobbie. She said she's not going to give me a divorce." Jason takes a seat at the small kitchen table. "She also said that you had a private investigator following her." He leaves the 'what the hell were you thinking?' unsaid. "You asked me to facilitate your divorce. It seemed like a logical step." "I don't want to know what you found. Any of it." Jason's hands spread out in front of him. "I don't want to hurt Courtney anymore than I already have." "Then you've got a problem. Because I've talked to her and she is nothing if not determined to stay married to you." "Try talking to her again. If she still won't agree I'll fly down to the Bahamas and take care of it there." The coffeemaker beeps and Justus pours three mugs - two black and one very light and very sweet. He's about to excuse himself to go deliver the third one when the kitchen door swings open and Skye walks in talking. "I had to borrow one of your -" She stops abruptly at the sight of Jason sitting inches away. Justus looks Skye over, disappointed to note that she's dressed for the outside world. She's still wearing the black skirt from last night but instead of her blouse she's wearing a periwinkle man's shirt with white collar and cuffs and a fine white pinstripe. The tails of the shirt are tied at her waist and the multicolored necklace that had hung almost to her knees last night is wrapped around her throat several times to make a choker with layers that disappear beneath the open collar of the shirt. "That's my favorite shirt." "Is that coffee for me?" She takes the mug of sweetened coffee gratefully and gulps down half of it. "You could have asked. That's my favorite shirt." "Don't be a baby. You'll get it back. Just as soon as you sew the buttons back on my blouse." "Now wait a minute. . ." "You rip 'em off. You sew 'em back on." Skye takes another sip of coffee and looks back and forth between Justus and Jason. "ELQ business I should know about or personal business that I couldn't care less about?" "Personal." "Right. Then I'm gone. Thanks for the coffee." She grins. "And everything else." Justus glares at Jason and follows Skye out of the kitchen. "You could stay." "Sorry. I've got a full day at the Haunted Star." Skye lets Justus help her on with her coat. She fluffs her hair out from the collar and turns around. "Later." "Dinner?" Justus knows he's not playing the game properly but 'proper' has very little to do with his appreciation for Skye. "If you're not sick of the casino by now I'll have the chef send something to my suite." "Sounds good." Reaching out, Justus lays his hands on Skye's hips and pulls her close enough for a kiss. "You look damn fine in my favorite shirt." "Flattery won't get you everywhere Counselor." "Well then I'll just have to keep trying it and see where it *does* get me." Justus watches until the door closes before returning to the kitchen. "You know Jason. This is not how I planned to spend my morning." "You sure you want to trust Skye? She's a train wreck waiting to happen." Justus sinks back against the kitchen counter, holding his hand to his head in a dramatic swoon. "Damn. I never thought I would live to see the say." "What?" "You'd turn into our grandfather. For a minute there you sounded exactly like the old man." "I'm just telling you." "Jason- you might be qualified to give me advice in business and if I ever want to pick out the best gun to kill someone with you're the first person I'll ask, but considering who you have in your bed I don't think you're in any position to give me advice on women." Balor: Francis is halfway through the parking lot before he sees the same blonde kid he'd seen inside the club. He's standing under one of the lampposts talking on a cell phone near Francis' Escalade. He stops and digs in his pocket for his keys, overhearing the phone conversation. "Guy! What do you mean you're not inside? Well where the hell are you?I don't care what you're doing! Get back here and pick me up you prick. If I miss curfew again I'm busted. No. I can't call a cab dickhead - my wallet's in my jacket and my jacket is in your car and your car isn't *here* because you're an prick." Not sure what makes him wait for the kid to get off the phone, Francis climbs into the SUV and rolls down the window. "Do you need a ride?" "What?" The kid nearly jumps out of his skin. "I asked if you need a ride. I'm headed back through town." "Um. . ." Smiling, Francis can almost hear the boy's mother's voice warning him not to accept rides from strangers. But he doubts the kid's mother ever covered accepting rides from strangers at three in the morning in the parking lot of Port Charles' premiere gay club. "I'd appreciate it." Teenage logic finally winning over caution. Waiting for his passenger to get in. Francis tries ignoring the voice in his head berating him fro even getting within 100' of this chicken. The car door slams and suddenly they're alone in a very confined space. "Where to?" "Charles Street." Clever kid. Francis wheels out of the parking lot. At least he's not just giving out his address. They ride in silence for a few minutes before the kid speaks again. "Is it always like that?" He makes a vague gesture with his hands. "So - you know, out there?" "Balor? Pretty much only on the weekends. The rest of the time it's fairly tame." "I can't picture it." "Next time drive yourself or keep cab money on you." Out of the corner of his eye Francis can see the blonde turning a few different shades of pink. "I don't think I'll be going back. I mean, drinking's okay and all but it's not worth going so far out of my way for it." "I see." "It's the truth. Everyone knows it's easier to get served in gay bars. That's the only reason I was there." "Hey, you don't need to explain to me. I'm just a dirty old man who picks up strange kids in parking lots." Francis replies calmly. The kid was a mirror to his own adolescence and he feels a constriction in his chest knowing the path the kid's taking will be anything but easy. It's not easy for a person to convince themselves they aren't gay. Francis knows that from first hand experience it takes a lot of denial and self-delusion and in the end the effort's not worth it. By the time he'd been ready to admit the truth to himself he was exhausted with the lying. "You're not that old." Francis grimaces. Somehow those words coming from that face make him feel even older. "Thanks kid." "I'm not a kid." Pulling down Charles Street, Francis is relieved that the ride is almost over. He can't tell which is more painful. The kid's denials or the knowledge that admitting the truth wasn't guaranteed to make him any happier or less confused. He brings the SUV to a stop at the end of the block and puts it in park. "Here you go. Charles Street." He can't help but notice the kid's not getting out. "Need something else?" "How'd you know?" Francis assumes he's not asking how he knew Gigli would bomb at the box office. "The first time I kissed my track coach gave me some idea." And Francis can see it coming in the way the kid undoes his own seat belt and twists in the seat. And he puts up a hand to stop it but one thing he'd forgotten about his own adolescence is the desperation of it and it makes the kid faster and stronger than he expects. The kiss is hard and sloppy and filled with such raw hunger his fingers come up and curl around the kid's sandy blonde hair and hold him in place before he remembers the million reasons it would be suicide to kiss him back. Holding the boy absolutely still, Francis releases a frustrated breath. "Listen kid, do me a favor? And don't go trying that crap with just anyone you meet at the bar all right? The world isn't always nice to pretty gaybies like you. I'd hate for you to learn that the hard way. Go home." Even in the dark SUV hurt and rejection is practically stamped across the boy's beautiful features. Unwillingly Francis remembers the sharp slap of similar words from his track coach. Nothing like passing a little humiliation on to the next generation. 'Asshole' he thinks to himself. Still holding the him by the nape of the neck, Francis sighs and pulls him back within kissing distance. Blue eyes shut leaving only smudges of long lashes on his cheeks as the boy's lips part just slightly. Slamming the door on anything resembling common sense, Francis presses his lips to the younger man's. Smooth and hot and more than a little greedy. Finally Francis pulls back, common sense having kicked down the door in just the nick of time. The boy's lips chase his, catching them in another hungry kiss that ignites something deep in Francis' gut. It's a visceral reaction that almost has him chucking everything right out the window. Taking a deep breath he pulls back again, this time holding the kid until his eyes open. "Figure out who you are and what you want and come back in five years." This time instead of hurt, pure insolence flashes through the boy's eyes. "What if I already know?" "Then you're a quick study." Francis grins. "But you're still too young for me." "How do you know?" "Because only someone very young would ask me that." Francis leaned over and opened the passenger's side door. "Goodnight." -