The Story of Us ~* April *~ Part II Penthouse: Dara favors Max with a smile when he opens the door for her. Apparently their last meeting had made an impression on him and he hadn't asked her to be patted down since. "Dara. I wasn't expecting you." Sonny rises from his desk, seemingly grateful for the distraction. "Here. Let me take your coat." "Thanks. I wanted to stop by and fill you in. First- the divorce papers are filed and you have a court date the first week of June." She watches Sonny carefully expecting some sort of reaction and is surprised when he merely shrugs. Denial thy name is Sonny Corinthos. "Secondly I've established educational trusts for Michael and Morgan in the amounts you've specified." She produced copies of the paperwork which Sonny looked over. "This is good work Dara. Thank you. Now I have something I want to talk to you about. I need a lawyer on retainer. Someone who knows the PCPD system and most importantly knows how to work it…" "I know where this is going Sonny but I'm not prepared to be that lawyer. I may be a little cynical around the edges about the judicial system these days &endash; and I know I've made exceptions in the past. But I'm not ready to stand in a courtroom and defend what you do on a regular basis." She leans forward on the sofa. "And maybe it makes me a hypocrite. I'm willing to take your money for one thing, but not the other. I don't know. I do know that part of me still believes in right and wrong and that part thinks you should go to prison for breaking the law with impunity." She shakes her head. "That being said, I don't think I'm the one you want to be calling from the police station at midnight." Concluding, Dara bites her lip. She's definitely said more than she planned to, and a damn bit more than she should have. Telling Sonny Corinthos he belonged in prison was probably on par career wise with slapping Scott Baldwin's face and telling him to 'kiss my black ass'. Sonny sits back on the sofa and crosses one leg over the other, his arm stretched out over the sofa cushions. The half-smile on his face is testament to the fact she hasn't covered her nervousness well enough. "I guess that answers that question." "I-" Dara clamps her mouth shut. She's not about to start apologizing for speaking her mind now. Not even to the all mighty Sonny Corinthos. "I'm willing to represent you in your divorce. And in setting up the trusts for your children." "There's one other thing I'd like you to help me with." Sonny comments seriously. "I need you to draw up a will."   Queen of Angels Primary School: "Nervous?" Carly fiddles with the strap to Michael's backpack. "Nope." Michael answers confidently. "It's just school Mama. I'll be home at 4:00." Michael pats his mother's hand while he looks out the limo window as the car pulls up in front of the school. "LOOK! Daddy's here!" The second the limo stops, Michael had the door open and is out of the car before Carly can even process it. "Daddy!" Michael runs straight into his father's arms and Sonny scoops him up. "Michael!" "I missed you so much!" "Me too! The penthouse isn't any fun unless I'm stepping on your Legos in the middle of the night." Sonny kisses the top of Michael's head. "But I heard from your Grandma Bobbie that you were having a really great time with your Mom." "We were! The house had a pool and everything! Lucas came and he taught me how to ride a skateboard! Mama won't let me do it in the new house though." "That's great buddy! I bet you're the best." "Michael you need to get in and take off your coat and put your books in your desk." Carly walks up to the pair and hands Michael his book bag. "You've only got about ten minutes before the bell rings and you know Sister Maria doesn't like it when you're tardy." She smiles for her son. "And you're going to spend the weekend with your Dad starting tomorrow when you get out of school so you can tell him all about our trip them and you can even show him your pictures." Michael gives Sonny another hug. "I have to go. If I'm late Sister Maria puts my name on the board and I have to stay in from recess for ten minutes! I'll see you tomorrow! Bye Mama! Bye Daddy!" "Have a good time Mr. Man. Francis or Ethan will pick you up." Carly adjusts the gloves on her hands once Michael is gone. "Sonny-" "Carly--" Sonny laughs into the awkward pause. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" "I &endash;" "We can sit inside the church. Father Coates is in his office. He won't mind." Carly nods and follows Sonny into the empty church. "Michael's really looking forward to this weekend." "Me too. I wanted to let you know I've cleared my schedule. I'm not going to work on the weekends Michael's with me. Anything that comes up, one of Benny's kids can handle it. Courtney's living in Jason's old penthouse so she's going to be there this weekend too." "Michael will like that." Carly waits until Sonny's sitting before choosing a pew across the aisle from him. "You don't have to do that you know? I'm not going to hurt you. I don't ever want to hurt you again. That's why I signed the divorce papers. Bobbie made me realize I was hurting you even more by keeping you out of Port Charles. I don't want to do that." "I'm not sorry that I left Sonny. I had to leave. But I'm sorry I left the way I did. I should have told you." "How are you? I mean Bobbie said that you were doing good. You look good Carly." Sonny smiles and rests his chin on his hand. "And Michael looks happy too." "I'm doing better." Carly removes her gloves. "And Michael's been great. He's got so many pictures to show you of Morgan and of him in the pool." Sonny reaches over the aisle and lightly touches Carly's hand. "I'm glad you're happy. I just wanted you to know I'm not going to try and change your mind. But if you need anything for you, for the boys. I'm gonna be there." "I need to go, Morgan's going to be up soon and I want to give him his morning bottle." Standing Carly notices Father Coates coming out of his office. "Caroline. It's wonderful to see you again." "Hi Father Coates. I was just dropping Michael off at school. He's so excited to be back." "Well we're glad to have him. Please tell him I'll look forward to seeing him in Sunday school. And I hope to see you at mass." "I've got to go. It was nice seeing you again." Carly cast a weary glance at Sonny before walking through the church doors. Returning to the car, Carly slides into the back seat. "Take me home." 1825 Falling Waters Drive: "Everything looks just wonderful Mrs. Landsbury." Walking into the kitchen Carly bounces Morgan on her hip and heads immediately for the freezer. She plucks a frozen waffle out of a box in the back. "Ms. Caroline, surely you don't intend to eat that…" Mrs. Landsbury looks horrified. Carly waves the waffle. "What? This? No, I'm not very hungry right now. This is for Morgan. He's teething and the cold helps his gums." She sticks the waffle in the baby's mouth. "Plus? Built in drool cups." "I see." Cruising around the kitchen, Carly pours herself a cup of coffee and takes a seat at the kitchen table. When the housekeeper doesn't move, Carly looks up. "Is something wrong?" "No ma'am." "Oh please don't call me that. Carly's good. Ms. Caroline sounds so dignified when you say it that's okay too. But please no 'ma'am'." Carly begins to scrutinize the woman's stiff looking at attention posture and sighs. "Look, Mrs. Landsbury I know you're great at what you do. Just anyone couldn't have gotten this place in such good shape on such short notice. And your cooking is great and everything." "But?" "We're not the Cassadines. We're more like the Osborne's. And I don't think you're going to enjoy working for us very much if you can't loosen up a little. I don't like to eat in the big dining room because it's too stiff and I can't see Michael all the way at the other end of the table. I can get my own coffee and if I'm getting one for myself I'll probably even offer to get one for you. You don't have to stand at attention every single minute. We don't shoot the help." Carly pauses for a minute. "Usually." Relaxing, Mrs. Landsbury chuckles dryly. "Then this will certainly be an improvement over my last position." She pours a cup of coffee for herself and returns to the week's menu plans she'd been working on when Carly entered the kitchen. Carly balances the baby on her lap and begins playing peekaboo with him earning one delighted giggle after the other. The truth was that Morgan has more stamina than she does. He'd play peekaboo all day if he could. Fortunately when Michael was home he got a kick out of entertaining his little brother. Otherwise Carly would have developed a case of 'peekaboo' elbow. There's a buzzing noise from a telephone on the desk and Mrs. Landsbury picks up. A minute later she announces. "Ms. Caroline there's a Justus Ward here to see you. Shall I have Francis send him up?" "Sure. Would you mind bringing a coffee tray into the den? Thanks." Standing, Carly carries a cooing Morgan out of the kitchen and down the hall. In the den, Carly kisses Morgan and blows him a kiss before she sets him down on the colorful alphabet rug in the corner with all of his favorite toys. A few minutes later Mrs. Landsbury appears in the doorway with Justus standing behind her. "Mr. Ward." She carries the coffee tray into the center of the room and sets it on the table nestled between two sofas. "Thank you." Carly motions for Justus to come in. "I thought you would be at ELQ with Jason today." "Carly I don't think Jason needs me to hold his hand on his first day at work." Justus unbuttons his jacket and takes a seat. Peering around the corner of the sofa, he spots Morgan playing with a bucket of brightly colored blocks. "He's so big now." "I wasn't thinking about Jason needing you to protect him. I was thinking about you protecting the rest of the Quartermaines when Jason finally loses his temper and tosses Edward out a window." Carly answers knowingly. "Jason called me this morning. Said that Edward's called him 12 times. And that was before lunch." Justus pulls a face. "Ouch. Glad it's Jason's mess, not mine." "Tell me about it. So, what have you got on Deception?" "Nothing you're going to want to hear. Nikolas sold it about two weeks ago under the table to Lucy Coe." Justus pours his own coffee. "Now I've arranged a meeting for you with Lucy for next month…" Carly opens her mouth to interrupt. "I tried to press for one sooner but you don't know Lucy. Nobody makes her do anything she doesn't want to do. She's going out of the country with her new husband and their kids for a few weeks to Ireland. She says she'll see you when she gets back." "Damn. I don't want to wait on this. Lucy's a flake. What if she changes her mind while she's gone?" Carly frowns. She was hoping to get Deception back up and running but Lucy Coe was putting a crimp in her plans. "I don't think that'll be a problem. Everyone knows Lucy loves that company. She's the one that started it. If I were you I'd use the time coming up with a good pitch." Letting out a deep breath, Carly nods. "That's a good idea. But I want you to draw up papers so I can have them ready when she gets back." "You're that sure she'll sell to you?" "I can be persuasive when I want to be. Just ask Jason." Port Charles Hotel: Jason's first act as CEO of ELQ is to let Margie his secretary go home six hours early. By ten in the morning she'd logged 23 phone calls from various members of the Quartermaine family including four from Tracy that made her cry and six from Edward that made her sob hysterically. Once she's gone, Jason tosses a steno pad at Stephen. "Congratulations. You've just been promoted. Answer the phone and put anybody *but* the Quartermaines through to my office." The guard laughs and takes a seat at the desk, grateful to be off his feet even if the assignment is only temporary. Normally when he was watching Jason's back it was go go go without a chance to catch a breath. "And what do I do if they come and see you?" Jason pokes his head back out of the office and answers deadpan. "You have a gun, shoot them." Unsure whether or not Jason's serious, Stephen removes his suit coat revealing a crisp white shirt and leather holster holding a sidearm. All the better to head trouble off at the pass with. Inside the office, Jason returns to the sofa where he'd been sitting reading through page after page of contracts ELQ has out for various building projects as well as their current distribution contracts. He figured he had better start out with what he knows best and work from there. He works until a knock at his door forces him to look up and find Stephen pointing to his watch. "Carly called the desk. She told me to remind you to have lunch." Jason rolls his head on his shoulders, trying to work out a tight knot in the muscles between his shoulder blades and briefly considers chucking it all and going home for lunch or going home, working up an appetite and *then* having lunch. But discards it knowing that Carly would flay him alive for skipping out on the first full day as CEO. "All right. Let's grab something from the Grille." "Sounds good to me." Stephen grabs his coat from the back of his chair and slips back into it. "What have you been doing out here?" "Playing Tetris. Talking to Quartermaines. That broad- what's her name? Dark hair- HUGE mouth came by." "Tracy." Jason supplies and rubs his temples. "I didn't hear any shooting." "She left quietly." Stephen answers. "After she propositioned me. I ought to sue for sexual harassment. I feel so cheap and tawdry." Lifting his hand from his head, Jason glowers at him as they step into the elevator. "Do I look like I'm laughing?" "Sorry Boss." Still chuckling, Stephen pressed the button for the hotel lobby. "There was one message from your grandmother. She sent a bouquet of beer." At Jason's look, Stephen nodded. "You heard me. Twenty four beers from around the world." He reached into his pocket and dug out the card. "I put them in the fridge in the break room. And all my grandmother sent me were socks. Your grandmother's a real class act." Accepting the card Jason reads it. "'I knew you wouldn't appreciate flowers as much. All the luck and love in the world Lila.' I'll call her after lunch." The doors part and Jason steps off the elevator just outside the Grille. Automatically Stephen steps back and lets Jason choose a table before taking a seat a discreet distance away. He knows Jason hates having protection on him and Jason and Francis had fought about it for at least an hour that morning. No. Jason wasn't in the life anymore. But that didn't mean he was safe. Faith Roscoe was still out there. She still had a grudge and an itchy trigger finger. Ric Lansing was ADA and Lorenzo Alcazar might be out of the country but he still had Capelli in his back pocket. Jason automatically gravitates to the quietest part of the restaurant, the bar and takes a seat right at the bar before ordering a chicken sandwich and fries. "Jason! There you are!" Closing his eyes Jason pretends that he's hearing things and that the old man isn't standing directly behind him. "I've tried getting a hold of you all morning young man! Why haven't you returned any of my phone calls? Don't think just because you're CEO that you can run my company into the ground and I'll just sit by and let it happen!" "I haven't returned your phone calls because you don't have anything I want to hear. I can run ELQ any way I want because I *own* it. And you're going sit by and let me do it because you know you're screwed if I don't. I'm going to fix ELQ and you all are going to get rich, but I'm not going to answer to you. Not now, not ever." Jason accepts the draft the bartender puts in front of him and takes a much needed drink. "Now see here…" "If I want input from the family," Jason pauses, unable to think of any situation in which he'd want input from the Quartermaines. Then a slow, evil smile settles on his face. "If the family has any problems with how I run ELQ or has any complaints you can give them to Justus. I won't hear anything that doesn't come from him." Jason's pretty sure that Justus won't try and work him ever again. "Fine! Then I'll call Justus." "Be my guest." Once Edward walks back into the main restaurant, Jason's food arrives and he digs in. He's just about ready to go back to the office, or as he's already started to think of it 'the cage'. When he sees Sonny coming towards him out of the corner of his eye. "Jason. I heard you were here." Confronted face to face with Sonny, Jason can feel the anger that's been pinned down since Carly's first migraine three months ago leeching its way to the surface. "Sonny. What do you want?" "I want you to know I saw Carly today when she dropped Michael off at school." Sonny bites out, his arctic tone a perfect match for Jason's. "Why are you telling me?" "Because I want to make sure you understand. You're never going to keep me from Carly or my kids again. You get *one* chance to betray me Jason. I'm never going to forget that and I'm not going to let you do it again." "I don't want to hear it Sonny." Jason replies in soft tones. "What?" "I said I don't want to hear it! You talk all the time Sonny. You talk about what's YOURS and you talk about betrayal but you don't have a fucking clue!" Jason fairly explodes off the bar stool and whirls around. "I've done everything you've ever asked me to. I've never questioned you. I've never betrayed you. And the only thing I ever asked was to watch out for Carly. To keep Carly and Michael safe." Jason takes a threatening step into Sonny's space. "You betrayed the trust *I* had that Carly was safe with you!" Jason can see that they're drawing a crowd but it's on the periphery of his anger. Months he's bit his tongue about Sonny because Carly never wanted to talk about it and because he didn't want to upset Michael But Carly and Michael aren't with him now. They're at home waiting for him but not before he makes sure that Sonny understands everything. "Carly is *my* wife. Michael and Morgan are *my* sons. You know I'll do what I have to to protect what's mine…" Sonny lets the threat hang in the air for a split second before Jason is grabbing him by the throat and propelling him across the bar and up against the wall. Max reaches into his jacket, only to be stopped by Stephen's crushing grip on his hand. "Think would you?" Stephen snaps, still keeping an eye on the action. "Right now this is just a fight. It's a couple of guys fighting over a woman. Happens all the time. My little brothers tussle almost every day. No big whoop. But you draw, you pull that gun out and it's a whole new situation. Things'll get messy and somebody'll be leaving in a black bag. Let 'em go." "I didn't take anything from you Sonny. Carly came to me because she can trust me and she can trust her kids with me. You *were* her husband but she doesn't belong to you." "And you think she belongs to you? You think you're gonna make her happy? Why now Jason? You couldn't make her happy before! Hell! That's why she came to me in the first place because you couldn't give her what she needed. What she wanted." Sonny breaks Jason's hold and plows his fist into Jason's face. "You had everything Sonny but you trashed it. You trashed it when you shot Carly. You trashed her &endash;" Jason recovers and hits Sonny in the gut with all his strength. "You trashed her life." He pulls back and strikes again. "You destroyed her trust." When Sonny is doubled over, Jason pulls him up by the hair and hits him in the face. "Then when she woke up different you punished her for it. You made her think she was crazy for not loving you again when she was just seeing you clearly for the first time for the rotten." Jason hits Sonny with every word. "Lying. Selfish. Destructive. Piece. Of. Shit. You. Are." By the time Stephen and Max break up the fight there are no customers left in the Grille, most of the barware is smashed, half the tables overturned and none of the chairs are where they started. "This isn't over Jason." Sonny wipes blood from his split lip. "I made you the man you are today and you better believe I can break you." Jason holds his ribs as he walks towards the exit. "You're wrong Sonny. You didn't make anything except a fucking mess." Gatehouse: A rapping on the side widow makes Francis jerk up from under the desk and crack his head. "Shit!" He stands up to see the last person he'd ever expected to. The kid from the Balor. "What the …" Pulling on his jacket, Francis steps outside. "What are you doing here?" "Funny. I was just going to ask you the same thing." His eyes crinkle at the corners when he smiles. "We've got to stop meeting like this. People will say we're in love." "If you weren't sure about being gay before I think quoting show tunes pretty much clears that up." Francis snaps. The last thing he was prepared to deal with was an underage stalker. He worked hard to keep professional and personal separate in his life. "Look. You need to go." "Why? What if I took your advice from a couple nights ago and I know what I want and I'm here to beg you to take me to bed or lose me forever?" He took another step closer to Francis and smiled. In spite of himself Francis actually finds himself laughing at the kid's pure nerve. "Sorry. I'm saving myself for marriage." "So what do you do here?" The kid gestured to the front of the gate. "Gardener? Lemme guess you're just Carly's type. You must be the pool boy." "You know Carly?" Francis tries to quell the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Because he *knows* that things just got far too complicated for his tastes. "Yeah. You could say she's like a sister to me. Hell, most days you could even say she *is* a sister to me." Francis opens his mouth, but closes it again as Stephen pulls up to the gate and he gets a good look at Jason in the front seat. "What the hell happened to you?" Jason shakes his head impatiently and Stephen mouths 'Sonny'. Opening the gate with one hand, Francis reaches for his phone with the other. "I'll call Mrs. Landsbury and make sure she's got a first aid kit waiting for you." Once the car starts up the driveway, Francis turns his attention to the other source of the throbbing in his skull. "Lucas, it's Lucas right? Shit. I must have just missed you down in Hilton Head." He rubs his face. "Once Carly sees the shape Jason's in I don't think she's going to be up to company. Why don't you come back another time?" "Carly's gonna take one look at Jason and she's gonna flip." Lucas pulls out his cell phone and dials. "Who are you calling?" "My mom. She can patch Jason up and Carly won't have to worry about it so much." Lucas explains while the phone at the diner rings. "Mom? Jason got his ass beat by Sonny. He just pulled up to the gate and is headed into the house. I bet he could use a good nurse. Know any? Okay. See you in a few." Lucas puts his phone back in his pocket. "She's gonna be here in a few minutes and wants me to stay put." Lucas peered around Francis into the small office of the gatehouse. "So, how are we gonna kill time until then?" "Jason!" Jason sighs at the sound of Carly's voice. He was hoping to get a little better cleaned up before she could see him. "I'm fine." "Yeah. Sure. Tell me that when you're not bleeding." Carly flicked her attention to Stephen for a split second. "You and I need to talk about the definition of 'bodyguard' and where you screwed up." "Ms. Caroline, I have the first aid kit in the kitchen." Mrs. Landsbury appears out of nowhere, herding them down the hall. "It's not Stephen's fault. He was watching my back." Jason declares pulling off his jacket with a wince. Carly reaches out and begins working on the buttons of what used to be a white shirt. "Well he did a crappy job of it…" The shirt opens and Carly can see angry looking bruises forming on his chest. "And he didn't watch your front so great either." Jason hisses through his teeth as the shirt comes off. "You should have gone to the hospital." "I tried to tell him that." Stephen offers and immediately regrets it when Carly turns her 'You're on My List and I Don't Mean Christmas List' death glare on him. "Oh Jason…" Carly sucks in a breath at the sight of the bruises practically covering him. "Damn." She reaches out tentatively only to have Jason catch her fingers in his hand and bring them to the side of his face. "Carly, look at me." He coaxes softly. "I'm home. I'm fine." When she finally looks him in the eyes he kisses the palm of her hand. "Now you can put everything you learned in nursing school to good use." Laughing, Carly reaches for the antiseptic. "I flunked out of nursing school Jason, I don't think I was cut out to be Florence Nightengale. But, if you want me to wear the uniform tonight I'd be glad too." "Uh, I don't know about him…" Stephen began. Carly jerked her thumb to the kitchen door. "Doghouse. Now." She said referring to the guesthouse out back where Stephen and Ethan lived. "Woof." Once Stephen is gone, Jason allows Carly to start cleaning up the cuts on his face. "It really wasn't his fault. Besides, he was punished enough. I had him answering phones all day. And I think Tracy grabbed his ass." "You got hurt on his watch. He's lucky I don't deliver him to Tracy in nothing but a g-string." "He's already talking about suing for sexual harassment." "Well if he hadn't screwed up I might have considered giving him hazard pay for dealing with that old battle ax." "I couldn't have put it better myself." Entering the kitchen Alan carries his doctor bag and is followed by Bobbie, Francis and Lucas. "What are you doing here?" Jason's voice is sharp with more than a slight edge of 'Who the hell let you in?'. Bobbie steps in the way of Jason's anger. "Lucas called me when he saw that you were bleeding and your father was with me when Lucas called. Looking at you I can say you're pretty lucky that he was." She moves aside so that Alan can see what she's seeing. "Think the ribs are broken?" Jason sighs. "Nothing is broken." "And you developed x-ray vision when precisely?" Bobbie moves Carly to one side and touches Jason's ribs. "I've had broken ribs before. A *lot* I'd know if they were broken." "Mind if I offer a second opinion?" Alan interrupts before Bobbie can reply. With a resigned nod, Jason lets Alan sit in the chair in front of him, pull out a stethoscope and listen to his lungs and heart and do other doctor things that irritate him, but he doesn't have a choice about it because if he sends Alan and Bobbie away then Carly will ride him all night about it, and frankly he has other, more enjoyable ideas about Carly riding him all night. Through the entire examination, Jason keeps himself focused on Carly, ready to put an end to all of it at the first sign she was too tense. "You're right. No broken ribs." Alan announces. "And I don't think there's any damage to the kidneys from where he kicked you, but if you start passing blood you need to get to the emergency room." Alan probes the gash just over Jason's left eye. "I don't think this needs stitches, but I want to clean it and glue it shut." "Glue?" "Yeah. Elmer's glue. You can fix *anything* with it." Alan replies deadpan. "Don't worry. It's surgical glue. It's designed for skin." "The stuff's really cool Jason and you don't have to worry about looking like Frankenstein from the stitches either. Dad used it last summer when I cut myself all to hell on that dumb dude ranch he took me to." Lucas pipes in from his place leaning against the doorframe. Although his words are meant for Jason, he's busy studying Francis from beneath lowered lashes while the guard studiously ignores him. Finished, Alan pulls off his gloves and puts everything back in his bag. "You're going to be stiff in the morning." Jason can see the wheels turning in Carly's brain and the smart ass reply forming on the tip of her tongue. "Thanks for coming." "You're my son." Alan answers matter of factly. "I should congratulate you on finding a convenient scapegoat for father. He's been phoning Justus every hour on the hour since you told him that was the only way he'd have any input. Tracy and Ned too." "Mama! I'm home!" Michael runs into the kitchen at full speed but comes to a crashing halt against Carly when he sees Jason. "Jason?" "Hey buddy." With a little help from Bobbie, Jason eases into the clean t-shirt Mrs. Landsbury produced out of nowhere. "What happened? You look awful!" Carly placed an arm around Michael's shoulders. "Jason got in a fight. That's all baby." Michael digests this and gives his opinion. "Sister Maria says fighting is bad. You should have taken a time out when you got mad." "That's right Mister Man. And Jason knows fighting is bad so he has to go to his room until dinner, he doesn't get any dessert and he has an early bedtime tonight." "All three?" Michael's eyes widen. "When I get in trouble I usually just have to do one!" "I know. Your Mom's tough." A hint of a smile works its way into Jason's voice. "But she's fair." Michael's attention turns to Alan who is watching the by-play silently. "Are you a doctor?" "Michael. This is Dr. Quartermaine." Bobbie introduces quickly. "You live in that big house on the hill." Michael snaps his fingers. "When I was there to see my biological dad the lady with red hair showed me the whole house and she told me everybody that lives there. You're my biological daddy's daddy." Crouching down to eye level, Alan nods. "That's right Michael. I'm your grandfather. It's very nice to meet you." He holds out his hand somberly which Michael shakes. "Your father AJ is my son. And your uncle Jason is my son, and the red headed lady's name is Skye. She's my daughter. And I know you know my other little girl Emily." "She's always nice when I see her in the park." Alan reaches into his medical bag and produces a sucker. "Usually when I patch my patients up I like to give them something for being brave. But I think your uncle Jason is too grown up for one of these. Would you like it instead?" Michael casts a careful look at Carly who nods before he accepts the candy. "Thank you Grandpa." Alan swallows. "Any time Michael." He straightens. "Now I have to get back to the hospital before paperwork devours my desk." Jason nods. He'd called an emergency hospital board meeting for Monday which gave Alan three days to put everything in order. Satisfied that Carly and Michael were fine with Alan's presence, Jason says cheekily. "If you have any trouble, make sure to call Justus. Day or night." "I'll give you a ride back." Bobbie motions to Lucas. "Come on Lucas. You'll have to visit another time." Lucas pushes away from the doorway and nods. "Yes I will." And oddly enough the words come out halfway between promise and threat. "Why didn't you inform me sooner that Carly was back in Port Charles?" Alcazar demands as he steps out of the limo in front of his building. "You said not to disturb you while you were on vacation with your niece. Morgan just brought her back a matter of days ago." "She's not back with Sonny is she?" "No. According to my sources she and Morgan have taken a house just outside of town on, " He looks down at his notebook. "1825 Falling Waters Drive." "Morgan lives with her?" Alcazar rubs his face. "That makes some sense. It's not as if he can go back to work for Sonny now." "No, he can't. He's just been named CEO of ELQ. He and Corinthos were seen brawling at the Port Charles Grille just yesterday. They shut the place down." "Really? Now that is interesting. I never considered Jason to be the type to go for legitimate business. And what about Carly? Is she all right? How are the children?" "Michael returned to school at Queen of Angels this morning, no sight of the baby yet. And Mrs. Corinthos has hardly been seen outside the gates of the estate." "I want someone on the inside. I don't care who. A guard. A nanny. A cook. Housekeeper. Someone who can keep me informed of everything that goes on in that house." "I'll put someone on it right away." "Also arrange for a dozen red roses to be delivered to Carly. No message, just my initials." Alcazar pauses outside the door of his penthouse. "And get Dillon Quartermaine over here as soon as possible. Have one of the guys pick him up." "Yes sir." "Carly, I don't need that. I'm fine." Jason calls into the bathroom. "Jason, you're hurt." Carly tests the bath water with her fingers. "All right. Get naked." "Finally." Jason tugged his belt out of the loops of his pants and dropped it on the settee at the foot of their bed. In a matter of minutes he's out of his shoes and socks. "Let me rephrase that. Get naked and get in here." "The direct approach. I like it." Still moving gingerly because of his bruises, Jason walks naked into the bathroom. "Get in the *bathtub*." "I don't take baths." "Little boys who get in fist fights their first day of work take baths. Now either you can get your sore ass in here or I'll call Mrs. Landsbury up here to give you a sponge bath. Either way." Jason grumbles something under his breath, but knows that the path of least resistance is always best with Carly. And that maybe if he gives in now, she'll give in later. Not bothering to test the water first, Jason is in before he realizes that it's boiling hot and liable to scald a few layers of skin off him. "Shit! It's hot!" "It's a bath you big baby. It's supposed to be hot." Carly places a hand on Jason's shoulder and pushes him back slowly in the tub. "You'll get used to it, now lie back." Knowing now the last thing a lobster must feel Jason eases back and takes a deep breath. "What'd you put in here?" "Bath stuff." At Jason's panicked expression Carly shakes her head. "No, not the stuff I use. It's some I got just for you." "Doesn't smell flowery." "You're not the flowery type." Carly puts down a folded towel before she reaches for a washcloth and wets it. Kneeling on the towel she starts at Jason's feet. "You don't have to…" Jason immediately protests. "Shh. I'm busy. Close your eyes." "Carly…" Jason twitches as her fingers find a sensitive spot on the sole of his foot, but instead of keeping the touch light and ticklish, Carly uses her thumb to press deep into his arch prompting a sigh of satisfaction. "Good?" "Mmm." "I'm glad." Continuing with the other foot, Carly works her way up one leg, then the other stopping just inside his thighs before starting on his chest. She uses just the lightest of touches around the abraded skin. "You know, it's weird even though you were just across town I kinda missed you today." "I haven't been gone for more than a few minutes in the last few months." Jason murmurs finding it hard to keep his eyes open with his bones slowly dissolving in the hot water under Carly's soft touch. "There were a couple of times I almost leaned over my desk to ask you something." He moans again as Carly's nimble fingers dig into his shoulders working out the knots put there by too many Quartermaines and not enough beer. "Once I get Deception back we'll be in the same building." Carly reaches for the bottle of shampoo. "Hold your breath." She pushed him under the water to wet his hair and pulled him back up. "And we can have long lunches." Pouring a small amount of shampoo in her palm, Carly rubbed them together and began making slow circles through Jason's short hair. "Or we can just move headquarters here and never have to leave the house." Jason suggests as Carly's fingers tickle around his ears. "And just to keep Edward away we can get some dogs. Pit bulls. Very hungry pit bulls." Through with Jason's hair, Carly rinses the shampoo out and orders him to get out of the tub. Ignoring his protests Carly dries him thoroughly and leads him to the bedroom. When he's sprawled on his back, Jason reaches out a hand to pull Carly down with him only to have her dance out of reach. "Uh uh." "Carly…" "No." "Car-o-line…" Jason calls. "Come here." "Nope. Jason you take care of me all the time. I mean all the time. Not tonight. Tonight I'm taking care of you." Carly dims the lights and standing at the foot of the bed removes her shirt revealing ruby lace and pale skin. Next comes the sash that holds her skirt together. Undone with a flick of the wrist while she keeps her eyes locked on Jason's. "Carly. Come. Here." Jason's voice is rough. "I will." Looking at Jason through the fall of hair over her face, Carly grins and places one knee on the bed. "Eventually." Starting at his ankles, Carly runs her fingers over Jason's legs. When he sits up to pull her the rest of the way up, she simply takes her hands off him and sits back on her heels. "Eh eh eh. Play nice." "Carly." "Lie back down and be a good boy. I'm having fun. I'll let you know when I get to the good stuff." Collapsing back against the pillows, Jason groans. "I think I'll know." "I hope so." Satisfied Jason will remain where she wants him, Carly continues her slow exploration of his body. Later, Carly slides off Jason's hips and collapses beside him. She throws her leg over his and nestles her cheek into the curve of his shoulder as one of Jason's arms curls around her waist. "Still don't take baths?" Jason plants a kiss on the top of Carly's head. "I can make exceptions. I'm flexible." "I'll say." "Go to sleep Carly."   Firehouse: "I need an aspirin." Looking at Justus laid out on the sofa rubbing his temples, Skye coos in sympathy. "Poor thing." "Skye &endash; don't mock my pain." Justus mutters. "It's been like this all day. I could kill Jason." "And yet, you keep picking up the phone." Crossing the room, Skye places a cold cloth on Justus' forehead and hands him a bottle of water from the fridge. "You're a masochist Justus." "What?" "It's true. Your phone's been ringing off the hook since I got here and you know Edward or Ned or Alan or Monica are on the other end of the line, but you still pick it up every single time. Believe me, I know a masochist when I see one." Justus lifts the edge of the washcloth. "What do you want me to do?" Skye takes his cell phone from his hand and switches it off. Then, rising from the sofa she reaches behind his table top phone and unplugs it. Walking around the living room she systematically disconnects every device that could conceivably be used to relay information from his computer to his television even going so far as to open the box at the front of the house and disconnect the doorbell. Returning to the sofa, Skye makes Justus sit up before placing his head in her lap. "All better." "God. What have I gotten myself into? I mean, there are only so many hours in one day. Where are they all finding the time to call me? I think Monica's last call came while she was in the middle of some man's bypass!" Skye leaned her head back against the sofa. "Where there's a will there's a way and whatever else the Quartermaines might lack, it's certainly not will." She massages Justus temples absently. "The Quartermaines needs two things to function. A scapegoat and a savior. Right now, Jason's the scapegoat and you're the savior." "Me? I don't think so. If I were more the scapegoat I'd have a set of horns." Justus pulls Skye's hands down so that her arms are around his neck, hands resting on his chest. "This whole thing is a nightmare." "But there's a tiny part of you that loves it." Skye rubs Justus' chest lightly. "There's something to be said for being the person behind the scenes pulling the strings. Admit it, you've had *fun* arranging Jason the prodigal's return to the family. I've seen you." "Well it doesn't always suck." "But I do agree, the calls are out of control. I think, and I can't believe I'm saying this. You need to take a page out of Jason's play book. Not the wear leather and shoot people…" Skye openly ogled Justus' lean body. "Okay &endash; not the shoot people. But the part where Jason has some pretty clearly defined boundaries. You should have those too. It looks like you're going to be the middle man for a while, but that doesn't mean you're on call 24/7. Tell them you aren't going to answer *any* calls unless they go through your answering system. Tell them you'll be in your office twice a week and set aside two hours on those days to deal with them." "You make quite the Lady Macbeth." "Don't be ridiculous I could never be Lady Macbeth, I would have worn gloves." Justus groaned and covered his eyes with the cold cloth. "I hate Jason."   1825 Falling Waters: Hearing a knock on the bedroom door, Carly rises from bed and pulls on her robe leaving Jason sleeping soundly. She opens the door to find Mrs. Landsbury standing on the other side with a disapproving look on her face. "Yes?" "Ms. Caroline there is a Mr. Ric Lansing here to see Mr. Morgan in regards to the incident at the Grille this afternoon. He's brought two officers with him." Mrs. Landsbury sniffed delicately. "He was quite insistent." "Leave him in the foyer and tell him I'll be down in five minutes." "Very well." Closing the door, Carly reached for a pair of jeans and an old sweatshirt of Lucas' with 'P.C.H.S Track' across the front of it. She runs her fingers through her hair before leaving the bedroom and heading down the hall to the stairs. "What are you doing here Ric?" "Hello Carly. We received complaints of a brawl in the middle of the Port Charles Grille. Jason and Sonny went at each other until there was hardly a stick of furniture left standing in the place. But then, I'm sure you knew that. Where's Jason?" "Before you go arresting anyone Ric, why don't you and I talk?" Carly walks down the stairs and heads for the living room, motioning for Ric to follow. Once they're alone, Ric drops the A.D.A routine and reverts to his normally sulky behavior. "What do you want Carly?" "I want you to get the fuck out of my house and leave Jason alone. You don't have any business here." "Well the District Attorney's office feels differently." Carly sits down on the sofa and pulls one leg up under her. "What's that saying? If you want to look skinny hang out with people who are fatter than you? I guess it's the same thing with respectability. If you want to look respectable just hang out with people even more *sick* and corrupt than you are." "Listen &endash; I don't need lessons in morality from you." "Well you need them from someone Ric. And you know, if the PCPD got so many complaints about the fight in the Grille, why didn't any cops show up until *now*? A fight like that must have gone on for at least an hour. Maybe you and Scott were hoping they'd kill each other?" "What matters is that I'm here now and we need to deal with this." "No." Ric arches an eyebrow. "No?" "No. Because you're a smart boy Ric. That's why I let you work on the club with me in the first place. And because you're a smart boy you know that this is a nuisance bust. You're just jerking Jason and Sonny's chain. And you know that the harder you push Jason the harder he's going to push back. I mean, he's not Sonny. He's not your brother and I don't think you want to test his patience anymore than you already have." "Is that some kind of threat?" "Just stating the facts Ric. But you know, go ahead. Send your cop friends upstairs to drag Jason out of bed and down to the police station. I'm sure it'll make you feel all superior for the couple hours it lasts. But when it's over you might not have a career." "What are you talking about Carly?" "Just the fact that Jason's the head of ELQ, and believe it or not that actually means something to the people in Port Charles. All this time Jason's been the black sheep of the Quartermaine family, but now he's in control and everyone knows it. Jason's always had power, but now… it's a whole new kind of power when you're part of the system isn't it? I mean, hypothetically Jason could start donating money and support to a campaign for&endash; oh, let's just pick a name out of hat, Justus Ward to be the new District Attorney. I'm betting you wouldn't be able to keep your job with Justus in office. You'd go right back to being the petty ante little ambulance chaser you are…" "I don't have to stand here and listen to this." "Good. Then leave." "Not until I talk to Jason." Hearing a sound on the steps leading down into the living room, Carly turns her head. "Michael? Honey? What are you doing out of bed. You know you've got a big day tomorrow with your Daddy." When Michael doesn't move or take his eyes off Ric, Carly stands up and moves to his side, kneeling down in front of him. "Michael? Baby." She captures his chin in her hand and tries to force him to meet her eyes. "It's okay Michael." The next thing Carly knows she's shoved aside and Michael lunges himself at Ric punching and kicking furiously. When Ric catches him by the arms, immobilizing him Michael throws his head back and the scream that comes out rips a hole through Carly. "JASON! HELP! HELP! HELP ME!" There's a thundering of feet coming from all different directions and Carly can't tell whether they're the police or her own security but none of it matters. She snatches Michael from Ric's grasp and carries him out of the room. Sitting down on the stairs in the foyer, Carly cradles him close murmuring over and over. "It's all right baby. Nobody is taking me anywhere."   Penthouse: "I don't think you want to go in there Ms. Jensen." Max cautions as Dara walks towards him. "He's not in the best mood tonight." "Yeah? Then we're pretty evenly matched." Dara answers. "Open the door Max." "Seriously Ms. Jensen, he's already in rough shape. I don't think he can take another twelve rounds." The door behind Max opens and Sonny stands in the doorway. "You heard the lady. Let her in Max." "Jesus Christ Sonny! What happened?" Even in the low lights of the penthouse Dara can see Sonny's painfully swollen face. "Ran into a brick wall. A couple of times." Sonny answers. "Can I get you a drink?" "No thanks." "I hope you don't mind if I have one?" Walking stiffly to the bar, Sonny feels the pull of the tape his doctor had put on his ribs. It's a good reminder of how unbelievably stupid he'd been to get into a fight with Jason. He was lucky Jason didn't kill him. "You look like you need it." Dara waits patiently while he pours his drink and sits down gingerly on the sofa, lacking his usual fluid grace. Once he's seated though and she's reasonably sure he's not going to pass out or throw up on her, she starts in on him. "I had a client cancel his meeting with me today. And oddly enough when I spoke to him, Mr. Nash mentioned that you'd informed him to find himself another lawyer. Care to explain why I shouldn't smack you?" "Would you mind sitting down while you rip me a new one?" Sonny waved to the ottoman in front of him. "My neck is killing me." "If you can't take a punch you shouldn't be fighting." Dara retorts sharply. "You know, a little sympathy never killed anyone." "Want sympathy? Find a candy striper. I'm here to talk about business. My business. Louis Nash owns and operates one of *the* largest auction houses in the country. I can't afford to casually throw away business like that." She frowns. "And if this is your way of trying to strong arm me into representing you on a full time basis…" Sonny takes a careful sip of scotch, grateful Jason hadn't managed to knock loose any teeth and while it burns going down it's a good kind of burn. Dara finishes her diatribe and waits for a response. "Well?" "Louis Nash is a fence." Sonny explains. "He's a fancy high priced fence but don't let the silk suits fool you. I thought after our last conversation that you didn't want to get into anything heavy. So I had a talk with him. And anyway, you shouldn't be taking on clients like him without knowing what happened to his last lawyer. Ken Carlson's six feet under after trying to make a deal with the Feds to bust Nash." "How do you know?" Dara mentally smacks herself for asking. "Forget it. I don't want to know. In fact &endash; don't ever tell me how you know any of this." "You got it." Sonny rubs his temples. "We finished here?" Max pushes open the door, letting Scott Baldwin and two uniformed officers into the penthouse. "Hate to break up this cozy little scene Corinthos but you're coming down to the station." Scott shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels. "Why Dara. Funny meeting you here. Kinda sad though." "Why's that Scott?" "Well you know, the bright A.D.A throws her career away in a heated moment now you're cavorting with the enemy." "This? This is your idea of 'cavorting'? Really, you need to get out more." Dara glances at the officers. "And what's the entirely bogus charge this time? Did my client jaywalk? Litter? Whistle in church? Come on Scott, just dazzle me with your brilliance." "Shouldn't talk that way to me Dara. Your bridges with my office are already singed. I'd hate to see you burn them for good." Scott waved a hand at Sonny. "As for Muhammad Ali over there he and Jason Morgan got in a good old fashioned brawl at the Port Charles Grille. There were all sorts of witnesses and property destruction the whole thing was a real brouhaha from what I hear. So we're gonna bring both the naughty little boys down to the station and see if we can't make them see the error of their ways." "I don't suppose you have one of those little pieces of paper lawyers like to call 'a warrant' do you Scott?" The look on Scott's face tells Dara everything she needs to know. "Aren't you a little old to be going on fishing trips? Did you really think you could barge in here and Sonny was just going to follow you quietly down to the police station without a warrant? I can guess what happened, it's Thursday night and you interrupted Judge Gellar's poker game. He probably told you to get lost right? Right. Well, here's the good news. You're two for two tonight because now *I* am telling you to get lost. And stay lost until you manage to stumble on an arrest warrant." She looks to the police again. "And Martin, Iverson you know better than to let this blow hard use you for his own personal Gestapo." "Very good Dara. Sonny's got you trained already." Scott sneers. "Keep it up and you can be the next Alexis Davis. And we all know what kind of bonus she got from Corinthos." "Shut up and get out Baldwin." Sonny orders. "Now." "Hey- listen Sonny. If you and Morgan wanna kill each other, that's more than okay with me. In fact, I'll even lend you a gun to do it. Just don't go doing it in the middle of the Grille. You two kids have a good night." The door slams and Max lets out an appreciative whistle. "Damn. You are good." "Thanks." The corners of Dara's mouth turn up slightly. Nothing like a compliment from the muscle of a mob boss to brighten a girl's day. She looks to Sonny. "You and Jason were fighting in the middle of the Port Charles Grille?" "I don't want to talk about it." Sonny answers stiffly. "You eat?" "You mean today? Or is that just a general question?" "Funny lady. Do you want to eat? I need to cook something." "I could eat." "Come with me then." Sonny leads the way into an elaborate chef's kitchen. "Nice set up." "Wine?" Pulling two bottles from the shelf, Sonny lets Dara decide which she'd prefer before setting a menu around it. When she chooses a crisp, light Pinot he's thinking fettuccini alfredo. Something simple, something quick and something heavy enough to absorb some of the pain pills he'd taken earlier with scotch to help his back. "What can I do to help?" "Talk." Sonny guides Dara to a cushioned seat just out of the way while he pulls ingredients out of the fridge and begins piling things on the counter. "Talk?" "Yeah. You talk. I cook. We both eat. Everyone's happy." "I can *do* something. Make a salad, whatever." "Not in my kitchen." Sonny shakes his head. "Nobody cooks in here but me, and occasionally my dad but that's only because there's no stopping Mike short of an atomic bomb." Sonny unfastens the cuffs of his shirt and rolls up the sleeves to his elbows. "Why were you in such a rotten mood when you got here?" "You scared off a potential client. Isn't that reason enough?" "Nah. You were pissed. You don't seem to take business that personally. So I figure it's got to be something else." Fascinated by the effortless way Sonny moves through the kitchen, like one of the shows on the Food Network, Dara forgets to be irritated by his nosiness and begins talking.   1825 Falling Waters Drive: When Mrs. Landsbury walks into the living room it resembles a movie she'd seen years ago about the infamous O.K Corral. Francis, Stephen and Ethan on one side, weapons drawn with two police officers looking distinctly unnerved while Mr. Morgan has ADA Lansing by the throat and had a gun pressed to his temple. Clearing her throat and making no sudden movements, Mrs. Landsbury ignores the police presence for the moment. "Mr. Morgan. Ms. Caroline and Michael are sitting on the steps in the foyer. I'm sure they would appreciate seeing you. Ms. Caroline is quite distressed." Jason drops his gun and leaves the room without another word. "You're out of here Lansing." Francis declares sharply. "Unless you've got a warrant or about fifty more cops outside you're getting the hell out of here. Now we're going to put down our guns and so are your boys and we're all going to walk to the door like civilized gentlemen." A cold edge settles over Francis' features. "And if you ever put your hands on Michael again for any reason I'll personally slit your fucking throat. That's a promise. One civilized man to another." Ric rubs at his throat. "Glad to hear we're all civilized here." Taking the lead, Francis steps to Ric and walks with him to the door. "You know, you ought to be. From what I hear the last guy that tried kidnapping one of Carly's kids ended up with a hole in his chest this …" Francis motioned with his hands. "big. Francis shudders. "Sounds icky to me." Outside in the driveway, Ric whirls on the two police officers. "A hell of a lot of good you two did me." Officer Jerome Fouch removes his hat, walks up to Ric standing toe to toe with the A.D.A. "I've been on this force for 20 years kid. I don't take lectures from some slick snot like you. Tonight you not only made yourself look like an ass you endangered me and Thompson. I know what you did to that woman and frankly, just between us I think Morgan shoulda ripped your head off and pissed down your neck. In case you don't know, but we got a union and I can promise you that I'll be filing a grievance with my rep first thing in the morning. You wanna write me up slick? Go right ahead. I dare ya." Thompson adds his own voice to the mix. "Goes for me too. And Scorpio will back us all the way. The DA's office is supposed to help us not make our jobs impossible. You and Baldwin keep it up and you're going to find the next time you've got your ivy league ass up against the wall we're not going to waste out time covering it. You and Baldwin need us a hell of a lot more than we need you. You know what they say, 'What do you call 100 dead lawyers at the bottom of the Port Charles River? A good start.' Now I'm going home to kiss my wife and kid goodnight. Hope you brought your walkin' shoes buddy cause you're not getting back in my car." Indignant, Ric pulls out his cell phone only to find the battery dead just as the first drops of rain begin to fall. Carly places a kiss on Michael's cheek as he snuggles up against her back. They'd decided to let him sleep in their bed for the night and after only a few minutes of fighting sleep he'd drifted off. Turning, Carly rested her cheek against Jason's shoulder, careful not to bump him. "How are you?" Jason pulls Carly's arm around his waist. "Mad. I can't believe his nerve." "I'll get a hold of Justus in the morning and see if he can get a restraining order against Ric. If he can't, or if Ric won't listen…" Jason leaves the thought unfinished knowing that Carly knows exactly what he's thinking. "He will." Carly's hand rubs soothingly over Jason's chest. "He's basically a coward Jase. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him if he keeps this up you'll throw all the Quartermaine weight behind Justus in a run for the DA's office." His mind already leaping ahead, Jason captures Carly's hand and lays it over his heart. "Carly, please. No politics. You're not getting me into the Mayor's office." "Hmm… Mr. Mayor and the First Lady Caroline…" "I'm serious Carly. No." "We'll talk about it in the morning." Turning, Jason cups the back of Carly's head and pulls her in for a kiss. When they finally separate he looks her directly in the eye and murmurs. "No. We. Won't." "Okay." Snuggling close, Carly pats his cheek. "Goodnight Jason." The sun was warm but the wind was chill. You know how it is with an April day. When the sun is out and the wind is still, You're one month on in the middle of May. But if you so much as dare to speak, a cloud come over the sunlit arch, And wind comes off a frozen peak, And you're two months back in the middle of March. - Robert Frost