The Story of Us ~* February *~ Hilton Head South Carolina: "I've got to hand it to Carly. When she runs away from home she sure does it in style." Lucas slings his duffle bag over his shoulder and picks up his mother's suitcase. "It's like a house on MTV Cribs." Bobbie casts a sideways glance at her son. "Your father and I are going to have to have a talk about what you're watching when you stay with him." She looks down at the piece of paper in her hand. "This must be the right address." "Michael! If you don't get that snake out of here this second. . ." Bobbie and Lucas can't help but exchange grins. "It's the right address." They walk up the path to the two story colonial style house, and follow the sound of voices around the side of the house. Bobbie reaches over the small gate and let them into the pool area. Realizing they hadn't been spotted yet, Bobbie lets herself have a few minutes of watching her daughter and grandson. When Carly left Port Charles she'd been so pale and thin Bobbie was sure she could count all of Carly's ribs and vertebrae, dark circles were smudged under her eyes, but worst of all was the look *in* her eyes. A helplessness and sadness Bobbie hadn't seen since Carly lost her second child. "Aww! Mama it's just a little garden snake! He won't bite!" Michael offered Carly the snake again only to have Carly recoil in mock horror. "A snake! Save me Jason! Save me!" Bolting from the lounge chair, Carly made a clean dive into the pool. She surfaced pushing her hair off her face and laughing. Bobbie has to swallow around the lump in her throat. Carly just looked so *perfect*. Happy and smiling and relaxed for the first time in months. Tanned and toned. Her hair bleached a little lighter from the sun and the chlorine. Michael's normally auburn hair was mellowed to a soft strawberry and she could count at least fifteen new freckles on his face. Jason lay sprawled on his back on a blue inflatable raft, just out of reach of Carly and Michael's back and forth splashing but he never took his eyes off of them. They made such a sweet picture Bobbie almost hates to interrupt. Lucas however has no problems with it. Dropping their bags and stripping off his t-shirt Lucas gets a good running start and leaps into the pool screaming 'Cannonball' like a lunatic. The shock waves soak Michael at the edge of the pool, send Carly under and overturn Jason's raft. Leaving the bags, Bobbie walks over and scoops Michael up. When Carly and Jason surface, Bobbie waves. "Well, I don't know if I can top that entrance so I guess I'll just say 'Hi'." "Mama! It's about time you got here." Laying her palms flat on the pool deck, Carly pulled herself out of the water. "And why'd you have to bring the brat with you? What's the matter? Couldn't you find a good kennel?" "Very funny Caroline." Lucas pulls himself out and shakes water off like an overgrown puppy, spraying everyone again. "Now I know things are back to normal, my kids are taking shots at each other." Bobbie lets Michael down and pulls Carly into a hug, ignoring the fact her daughter is soaking wet. "I'm so glad you're all right. I've been worried about you but I should know better. You look great. All of you. Now where's Morgan? I bet he's gotten so big since I saw him!" Kitchen: Jason pokes around in the refrigerator and pulls out the bowls of fruit and pasta salads along with a plate of cold cuts from the deli down the street. "Jason?" Closing the refrigerator door with his foot, Jason sets the plate down on the butcher block island. "Hey. You and Bobbie unpacked?" "Yeah." Lucas snitches a piece of turkey from the plate while towel drying his hair with the other hand. "Uh, I gotta tell you something. I don't think you're going to like it." "What is it?" "Sage Alcazar. She's in some of my classes at PCH. She's been hanging around the diner. . ." Lucas picked at the turkey. "At first I thought it was because Dillon and Georgie are always hanging out there now. But she's been flirting with me." "Did you tell her about Carly?" "No!" Lucas flinches at Jason's angry tone. "I'm stupid but I'm not THAT stupid! I didn't tell her anything, but one night Mom was in the kitchen and she said something about us visiting you guys. I saw Sage at the door eavesdropping." Lucas admits. "So the next day I bought two bus tickets for New Mexico and left them sort of peeking out of the top of my trig textbook. I know she saw them cause she left the diner in a hurry." Jason grudgingly has to give the kid his due. "That was good thinking." Lucas sighs in relief and sat down at the kitchen table. "But it was close. And it's gonna get closer. Between Sonny and his guys and Alcazar and *his* guys Kelly's is starting to look like the No Name. People aren't coming in as much because two of the biggest mob bosses are hanging out having coffee and bothering the hell out of my mother. Not to mention Faith in the basement running the Cellar. Mom's losing money faster than she can make it. Uncle Luke hasn't shown up lately, not that he's a big help when he is around, but at least it makes Mom feel better. The whole thing's a mess." Jason reaches into the freezer and pulls out a neat stack of $100's. "Take this. Use it for whatever you and Bobbie need. As for Kelly's, why don't you get Lucky to tell all his cop friends that if they wear their uniforms they can get free coffee and chili?" "Hmm. That could work." Lucas pockets the money. "You're going to bring Carly home right? I mean, once she's got her head together and everything." "That's up to Carly." Jason goes back to setting up dinner while Lucas walked around the kitchen. Spotting a book on a shelf he picked it up and read the title out loud. "Living with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Practical Guide for Daily Life." He looked at Jason. "A little light reading? My dad has this book." "It's got some good information in it." Thumbing through the index, Lucas read some before addressing Jason. "This isn't for you is it? It's for Carly. I thought Carly was okay. If she's still sick she needs to go back to the hospital." "She's not sick. But she's not the same either." Jason pulls out five plates and set them at the table then adds one more for Francis' replacement Stephen. Francis was back in Port Charles making sure Sonny and Alcazar's every move was reported back. "More time in the hospital isn't going to change that. More time away from her kids won't make anything better." "I guess not. But if she's not sick, why do you need a 'Guide to Daily Life'? I mean. . ." Lucas faltered over the next bit. "Can't *you* teach her how to live with a brain injury?" "Carly's is different." Jason answers matter of factly. "The accident took away most of my memory. In some ways it was like a lobotomy. The bullet did something else to Carly. She's still Carly. But there are some other things. She gets headaches sometimes. She doesn't sleep good. Sometimes she gets depressed. But there are things that can make it easier on her. That's what the book talks about." "Can I borrow this?" When Jason nods Lucas turned back to the introduction and started reading. Nursery: "I just can't believe how big he is." Bobbie's voice is hushed over the crib where her youngest grandson sleeps. "He's just beautiful." "Sometimes when I hold him I just can't believe he's mine." Carly taps Bobbie's shoulder and they walk out of the nursery together. "I felt the same way with Michael too." Bobbie is silent for too long, and Carly cocks her head to one side studying her mother's soft, sad features. "What is it? What's wrong?" Bobbie snaps out of it momentarily and slides her arm around Carly's waist. "Nothing honey. Nothing's wrong at all. Just thinking." "About what?" "I was all set to come down here and bring you home. But now?" Bobbie's hand cups Carly's cheek. "I don't remember the last time I saw you look as relaxed as you do right now. Relaxed. Happy. Content. And I was just thinking how sad it is that you had to leave your home to get that way." "Everything is so easy here Mama. You know I've spent most of my life making things complicated. But I don't have to do that. It's just me and Michael and Morgan. I've missed so much with them this year. The whole time I was kidnapped Michael was going through hell without me. When I was in a coma Morgan was taking his first breaths without me. It's the second time I haven't been the first person to hold my son." Unwanted tears flood Carly's eyes and she dashes them away with the backs of her hands. "I left Michael when he was a baby because I couldn't deal with it. And I paid for that. I've always felt like I've been playing 'catch up' to be his mother. But this time, I was *ready*. I wanted to fix everything I did wrong with Michael but I couldn't. I didn't get a chance to." "I know baby. I know. And I know all about playing catch up with your kids. Trying starting 20 some years late." Bobbie gives a small watery laugh, on the verge of tears herself. "So listen to me all right? I love you and I miss you. But if you don't want to come back to Port Charles I'm behind you 100% and I'll come to you wherever you are. I want you to do whatever you have to to stay this happy." Sniffling, Carly hugs Bobbie. "I'm really glad you're here. Now how long can you stay?" "Lucas has to be back in school in a week. But I can stay as long as you want me here." "The hospital doesn't need you?" "I've been laid off, Honey." "What? Why? Are they crazy? You're the only person on the staff I would trust my life with!" Linking her arm through Carly's, Bobbie follows her daughter down the stairs into the family room. "Well they didn't exactly lay me off. I have enough seniority that they couldn't force me- but the hospital is hemorrhaging money left and right. With the Cassadines bankrupt and the Quartermaines broke since AJ left town with all their money the whole thing's a mess." "So what have you been doing with yourself?" "Running the diner mostly." Bobbie answers, leaving out the fact she'd spent more than her fair share of time tap dancing around Sonny lately. But Carly hadn't brought Sonny up once so far into their visit and Bobbie wasn't about to jinx it. "Don't worry Carly. Everything is under control." "Huh." Carly shrugs. "What?" "I guess it must be genetic. When I say everything is under control no one believes me either." "Sweetheart, I'm fine. And most of all I'm here with both my kids and both my grandkids. Everything is just *perfect* in my world right now." Kitchen: "What are you doing?" Coming in from his run, Jason grabs a glass out of the cupboard and fills it with ice from the freezer door and water. "Just give me a minute." Carly immediately turns her attention back to the computer screen. "Mama and Lucas took Michael to the video store and Morgan's asleep upstairs." She finishes typing something and turns to Jason. "I've been doing some online shopping. I hope you don't mind." "Have I ever?" "Good." Carly looks expectant. "Well?" Jason gulps down more cold water, hiding his smile. "Well what?" "God! Jason you're supposed to ask me what I've been shopping for!" "Oh. I didn't know." Lowering his glass, Jason asks patiently. "Carly, what have you been shopping for?" "Stock. Lots and lots and lots of stock. Consider it a belated Christmas present. There's some for you, me, Mama, and some in trust for Michael and Morgan." Setting his glass in the sink, Jason walks over to the kitchen table and turns the computer screen to face him. "ELQ?" "As of right now we hold 37% of all ELQ stock. The other 63% is all tied up with the Quartermaines. We can't get at all of it, but we don't need to. All we really need is another 14%." "Why do you want controlling interest in a company that's going under?" Jason knows the answer even before Carly says anything and he wishes he'd taken some aspirin with his water. "Because once we have controlling interest we can do anything we want. Including name you CEO." Carly's face lit up as she spoke. "Actually Bobbie's the one that gave me the idea. Did you know she was laid off? The hospital is starting to make *huge* cuts. The Cassadines are broke so they can't pick up the tab anymore. The Quartermaines don't have any money. There was a group of doctors that wanted to buy General Hospital a while ago but things are so bad now they won't even consider it." Jason's brain immediately goes to work to pare Carly's monologue down to the essentials. "I don't want to run ELQ." "How do you know? You haven't tried it." "I know." "Then what are you going to do? You can't go back to work for Sonny. You can't work for someone else. Unless you plan on taking over someone else's territory. . ." "I can buy Jake's. Free pool. Free beer. Free pretzels. Could be worse." "You'd be bored in a year." "I can open up another bike shop." "And you'd be bored in less than a year. Come on Jason. Neither one of those are challenging. You're smart. You know business in a way a bunch of ivy league brats never will. I saw you when you ran the territory. You loved it. All the decisions, all the pressure, you were great at it. ELQ's the same kind of thing. And if you really hate it you can hand it all over to Ned or Justus and still rake in the money. It's perfect." Jason's hand rubs through his hair. "It's not perfect Carly. Running ELQ means dealing with the Quartermaines. The old man would be all over me. They all would. It's not my idea of perfect." Perfect hell maybe. Jason thinks. "If you want ELQ, take it. It's all yours. You'd probably have Edward eating out of the palm of your hand in a week." "Me? I don't want ELQ." She grinned. "But once you're CEO you can help me get Deception back. I liked Deception, I was *good* at it." "They say you're supposed to stick with what you know." "Hey! Don't think you're getting off the hook that easily! Come on Jason. Just give it a try." "Why? Why's this so important Carly?" "Because I want you to be happy. I know working for Sonny made you happy and I know that you gave that up because I asked you to. I figured this would be a good way to make it up to you." "Carly I chose to come with you. I could have gone back to Port Charles but I didn't. You're not responsible for me." "I chose to leave Sonny. I could have gone back to Port Charles but I didn't. You're not responsible for me either but here we are. Just think about it okay? We've got to go back to Port Charles eventually. Wouldn't it be better to have some leverage when we do? ELQ's a pretty nice security blanket." "Not for me. Not ever." Jason stands up and leaves the kitchen. He hopes it's the last he'll hear about ELQ, but he knows better. Pool: "Carly, what are you doing on that computer? I swear I've been here a week and I've barely seen your face except at breakfast and dinner." Bobbie calls out from the middle of the pool as Carly again situates herself underneath a big umbrella with a laptop and Morgan in a stroller. "Nothin' Mama." "Sure. Nothin'. I'll bet 'nothin'." Bobbie mutters. "Nothin' is what gets that girl in trouble every time." "Did you say something Mama?" Carly calls out. Stroking over to the pool wall, Bobbie pokes her head up, sticks her tongue out and replies very sweetly. "Nothin' Caroline." Going back to her laps, Bobbie tries to stave off the uneasiness over whatever it is Carly isn't up to. The lazy days in Hilton Head were giving way to even lazier nights. Life with Jason and Carly centered mainly around the pool and the house. Lucas had met a few other teenagers in the neighborhood and spent most of his nights 'hanging out' with his new friends. But so long as he made it home at a decent hour, Bobbie wasn't too concerned. He spent his whole summer helping out Tony at the clinic so he'd really earned his mini vacation. Now he was headed back home to stay with his father for the next few weeks. Bobbie had warned him to avoid the diner until she got back. She trusted Lucas to keep his sister's secret, but she didn't trust Sonny or Alcazar not to try and manipulate him. Bobbie's thoughts were interrupted by a long, loud 'woo hoo' from Carly. Carly jumped up from her seat at the patio table, scooped Morgan up and planted a wet kiss on the baby. "Whose Mommy is the smartest best Mommy in the whole world? Morgan's Mommy is!" "Caroline. . . what are you talking about?" Walking over to the steps in the shallow end, Bobbie climbs out of the pool and reaches for her towel. "What?" Jason and Michael walked through the back gate carrying groceries at the same time and Carly shot Jason a smug look. "Five percent down. Nine more to go!" Jason took the bag from Michael. "Who?" "Lila of course. She's always had a soft spot for me. Not to mention the HUGE soft spot she has for *you*." "Carly. . ." Bobbie was shocked. Jason was practically growling. "Leave it alone." Carly held up her hands in a placating gesture. "I will! I promise. After another nine percent." "You can get one hundred percent and I'm still not going to do it." Jason replied before carrying the groceries inside. "Carly. . ." Bobbie begins. "Don't Mama. Don't poop on my party." Upstairs in Jason's room, Jason pulls out his cell phone and dials. "Hello?" "Justus. It's Jason." "Let me guess, you're calling about the ELQ stock? When I told Lila what you were planning she couldn't sign it over fast enough. She's getting old Jason, she doesn't really want to be bothered with ELQ anymore. Alan's next but I don't think he'll be a problem. Four percent of his stock in exchange for funding the hospital is a pretty small demand. It shouldn't take me more than a couple of weeks to get the rest of it together." "Carly's got you buying up ELQ stock from inside the family?" Jason wants to swear but it's his own fault for thinking there was a chance Carly would drop it once she got the idea in her head. "CARLY? I thought those messages were coming from you!? All of my e-mails came from your computer!" "Which Carly has access to." Jason sighs and leans against the French doors leading out to the balcony over looking the pool. "Carly came to me with her idea. I turned it down." There's a long, heavy sigh at the other end of the phone. "And Carly being Carly took that 'no' to mean 'yes'. Of course she did. Well damn Jason I'm sorry about this but I can't exactly undo it." There's a pause. "But Carly's history aside, it's not a bad idea. The Quartermaines refuse to change their lifestyle in any way. They're going under. All of the servants have quit because their last paychecks bounced. Reggie's the only one left and he's only hanging on because of Lila." This time Jason does swear, roundly and creatively with all the colorful language picked up from years on the loading docks at the coffee warehouse. "Look - give me an account number. I'll have some money wired into it -" He checks his watch. "It won't get there until business tomorrow, but it'll be there. Take what you need to pay everyone up and give them each a $500 bonus if they come back." "Does this mean you want me to continue with Carly's ideas?" "That's between you and Carly. I don't want anything to do with ELQ. I just don't want Lila to be uncomfortable or worried about money. You and Carly are going to have to work out the rest." Justus was still letting out a few curses of his own when Jason hung up. Going down to the pool, Jason sat down at the patio table and pulled the laptop away from Carly. "Hey! Excuse me Mr. 'I'm not interested' I'm trying to work here!" Jason pulls up his e-mail account and sure enough there are more than fifty e-mails directing Justus to buy up ELQ stock. Where he should buy it from and how to get it. Unsurprisingly none of the e-mails are signed or give any indication who they're from. "I talked to Justus." "Oh? How is he?" "Confused. It seems that he thought he was getting all this ELQ stock on MY behalf." Carly worries her lower lip between her teeth. "You don't say! I wonder what gave him that idea?" Jason leans forward so close to Carly that her eyes cross trying to keep him in sight. They're literally nose to nose. So close he can count her freckles. "Carly." "Jason." "I don't want ELQ." "Sure you do. You just don't know it yet." Jason is out of his seat as soon as the words leave Carly's lips. He hoists her out of her chair and slings her over his shoulder. Ignoring the indignant squeals he carries her calmly to the edge of the deep end. "JASON! Put me down! I don't want to get wet!" "Sure you do. You just don't know it yet." . . .and drops her in. Calmly he collects his laptop and walks into the house planning on putting away the groceries and coming up with something for dinner. A short while later Bobbie comes down the stairs dressed in a pair of jeans and a long green knit top. "Need some help?" "Sure." Jason gestures to the pile of salad stuff on one end of the counter. "I thought we'd have steaks tonight." "Sounds great to me. I never knew I could work up such an appetite doing next to nothing. Must be all the fresh air." "Maybe you just don't get enough to eat when Lucas is around." Jason replies pulling the steaks out and setting them on a plate. "Tell me about it. I swear that boy eats so much I don't know where he puts it all." Bobbie rolls up her sleeves and begins washing lettuce. "He had a really great time. I think we needed this vacation." "He told me things have been hard at the diner since we've been gone." Bobbie sighs. "Sonny says that his guys are watching out for me. Alcazar says the same thing. It's ridiculous." She hurries to add. "But that doesn't matter. All that matters to me is that my daughter's safe and happy. This -" She waved a hand to indicate the house. "This is really working. All of it." Jason almost feels bad for disillusioning Bobbie, but he doesn't want her blind sided either. "Carly's working on a hostile takeover of ELQ." "WHAT?! Oh God Caroline. What are you thinking?" Bobbie slumps against the counter, her hands braced on either side of the sink. "WHY?" "Don't ask me." "Jason you can't really be serious about letting her do this!" Jason wiped his hands with a kitchen towel. "Bobbie, does Carly ever listen to me when she really wants something?" "But it's crazy. What is Carly going to do with ELQ?" "She's going to give it to me." Jason answers. "But I told her if she took ELQ she'd have to deal with it. I'm not getting involved." Jason looks over at Bobbie when she snorts. "What?" "Well come on Jason. Carly can talk you into just about anything. If she's so determined you should have it, you're going to wind up with it one way or another." "I know what people think Bobbie, but I *can* and I *do* say 'no' to Carly." "Of course you do Jason. It's not like Carly's ever convinced you to do anything against your better judgment before right?" She gave him a patronizing pat on the arm and began working on the salad again. "So, where are Carly and the boys going to live when you all come back to Port Charles to run ELQ? I don't think your Penthouse would be a good idea. And the house where Morgan was born, well that would definitely be a bad idea. . ." Jason tunes out the rest of Bobbie's talk of houses. There was no way he was going to get dragged into something that was never going to happen. He doesn't believe in 'hypothetical'. Family Room: "Carly. Go away." Jason grits out softly. He lay sprawled bare chested and bare footed on one of the sofas with Morgan sleeping soundly on his chest. He'd been peacefully reading a book on Ireland to the baby when Carly came in with a suspicious look in her eyes. "No. Just tell me what you would do if someone had something you wanted and they wouldn't let you have it." Carly tapped her foot on the carpeted floor. "I'd shoot them." Jason answers dryly. "Well as much as I'd like to shoot your mother Bobbie says I can't." Carly returns slumping down into a rattan chair. "I'm so close, but if Monica doesn't let Justus have that bit of stock. . ." "I don't want to hear it. I don't want to ever hear about ELQ again. If you think I'm going to change my mind just because you keep talking about it or because Bobbie is already picking you out a house then you're wrong." "Mama's picking out a house for me?" Jason started to groan, but stopped when Morgan shifted position. "Go away Carly." "Aww. Morgan's not the only one that gets cranky without his nap." Carly crossed the room and plucked the travel book out of Jason's hands. "Why don't you get some sleep? I'm taking Mama and Michael out to lunch and then we're going to do some shopping. You should stay here and take a nap. We'll talk about ELQ when I get back." "Take Francis with you." "Just give in Jase. You know it's inevitable." When Jason manages to fall back to sleep he dreams of being chased through Port Charles with the entire Quartermaine clan carrying torches. . . Port Charles Grille: "I have to admit Justus I'm surprised you're interested in buying the hospital. I didn't think the Quartermaines were solvent." Justus' smile is enigmatic. "They aren't. I'm representing another interested party. They would like to review the numbers and see if it's something they're willing to take on in its current condition." "Any chance you'll divulge who these investors are?" "Not really. I'm not authorized to do anything like that until they've seen the numbers. I was under the impression that your family had an interest in seeing the hospital sold promptly." "Maybe. But that doesn't mean we want to sell to just anyone. The hospital is very important to Nikolas. That's why we've waited this long to sell." "There's not a lot of room for sentiment in good business. I know your family has a history with the hospital, but we both know that holding onto it this long didn't help matters any. The financial situation is twice as bad now as it would have been if you'd sold it off first." He sips at his coffee. "General Hospital is bleeding money and staff at an alarming rate. I know both Audrey Hardy and Bobbie Jones chose to accept pay cuts before agreeing to temporary lay offs in order to save money for more of the less experienced staff." "Your investors are very well informed." Alexis produces several computer disks. "All of General Hospital's financial records are here. These should answer any questions and if not, please feel free to call me." "I should have an answer in the next forty-eight hours." Justus stands when Alexis pushes away from the table. "Dinner Friday night and we can discuss it then?" "What if you don't have an answer by then?" Alexis allows Justus to help her with her coat. "Then we'll just have dinner and save the business for another day." "Counselor are you trying to mix business with pleasure?" A flash of white teeth. "Well it would certainly be a pleasure to do business with you Counselor." Justus' hands linger for a moment on Alexis' shoulders before slipping away. "I need to talk to you." Courtney strides purposefully into the dining room, ignoring Alexis and focusing on Justus. "Here? Friday at seven?" Justus asks before Alexis could leave. "I'll be here with bells on." When Alexis left the restaurant, Justus' attention turns to Courtney. "What can I do for you?" "You can tell me why Jason is doing this to me?" Courtney brandishes the divorce papers. "These came. AGAIN! I didn't sign them before and I'm not signing them now! Not until I talk to Jason!" "Have a seat." Jason really owed him one. Justus hates handling divorces more than any other legal practice. It was always messy. Always emotional and no matter how convinced one party might be that things would go smoothly, they never did. "Courtney I don't know anything about Jason's reasons. I just know what he's asked me to do. Now he's filed for divorce and you can contest it or not. But I have to tell you, Jason doesn't need your consent to end your marriage. If he wants to go to the Caribbean he can get a divorce in a matter of 48 hours." Justus' wrists rest on the edge of the table revealing perfectly starched cuffs. "I don't think you want to fight this in court. If you do I'll be forced to call Officer Brian Beck to the stand and I'm sure you can imagine what I'll be asking him." "I don't know what you're talking about!" "Well I have a private investigator who had evidence to the contrary. You know Courtney if you're going to cheat on your husband you shouldn't do it on the floor at Kelly's. You never know when the Health Department is going to stop in." "You're disgusting! Jason would *never* hire a private investigator to follow me! Jason loves me!" Justus nods. "You're right. In fact I bet Jason will be really pissed that I did. But between you and me who do you think he'll be the angriest at?" He sighs tiredly. "You should sign the papers. A marriage doesn't work with only one person." "If Jason wants a divorce then he has to come back and tell me to my face." Courtney drops the papers in Justus' lap. "I'm not signing anything until Jason comes home." "That's your decision. I'll inform Jason." Justus is relieved when Courtney stalks out of the restaurant once more leaving him in peace. Even if it was just momentary. "There you are." Motioning for a passing waiter, Justus orders. "A double scotch straight up please." Turning back to his second uninvited guest of the evening he forces a smile. "Tracy." "Don't try and charm me. I want to know what you did to my mother that made her give you her ELQ stock!" Tracy's voice raises with every word. "That stock is mine." "Lila didn't seem to agree." "Everyone *knew* Mother's stock would go to me eventually. You had to do something to her. And now I hear that you've gotten stock from my brother too. If you think you can just call yourself a Quartermaine and that entitles you to anything you're mistaken. . ." "You just answered your own question. Being a Quartermaine doesn't entitle you to Lila's stock. And for your information I am every bit as much a Quartermaine as you are. Besides it makes Edward so happy to see me take an active interest in the company. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't turn over some of his own shares." Tracy's face flushes an unbecoming shade of deep purple and her voice rose and was even more abrasive than usual. "How dare you? You're not a Quartermaine you're one of Daddy's mutts. You aren't the first one and I doubt you'll be the last one that comes out of the wood-" "Pile?" Justus offers in a dangerously silky tone. Tracy comes to a halt. "Woodwork." "Why Tracy, don't tell me you're getting politically correct in your advanced years? Doesn't matter anyway. I've got Lila's stock. I'm keeping it along with Alan's stock as well as any other stock that comes my way. If I were in your shoes I would reevaluate my attitude otherwise there will never be a place for you or your sons at ELQ." "Now you listen here Justus. I won't be threatened by the likes of you." "Tracy, can't we all just get along? I don't want to fight with you. It's not going to help the family to have us at each other's throats and it's certainly not going to help ELQ." "Don't pretend you care about ELQ. You're just out for whatever you can get." "That gives us something in common then don't you think? Besides Tracy you're tilting at the wrong windmill. I don't want ELQ. I probably wouldn't even take it if someone served it up on a silver platter." Tracy's eyes narrow into dangerous slits. "Then you're fronting for someone. Who?" "What gives you that idea?" "You are. Who are you getting all this stock for? If you think Daddy's going to just let you deliver his company to some outsider. . ." Finished with his drink, Justus left money for the bill. He gives Tracy a smug smile. "Who says it's an outsider?" Tracy grabs the front of Justus' suit coat and demands. "Which one of them is it?" "I beg your pardon?" "Skye or AJ? Which one of Alan's little nightmares is it?" Prying her fingers loose, Justus smoothes down the front of his jacket. "Don't worry Auntie. You won't have to wait too long before you find out."   Hilton Head: Sitting out at the pool side, Jason surreptitiously looks through the e-mail records of Carly and Justus' correspondence. He knows Bobbie and Carly are inside watching a movie so there wasn't a chance Carly could catch him showing an interest in her plans for ELQ. She'd never let him hear the end of it. Paging through the most recent batch of messages, Jason clicks on one from Justus. Carly - Just wanted to let you know that everything is in place. The board meeting is set for April 1st in the Oak Room at the Port Charles Hotel. If you're not there I'm going to have a hell of a lot of explaining to do. Justus Going through the other messages Jason's not surprised to see Deception come up more than once. It was typical Carly. Hand her a multibillion dollar conglomerate on a silver platter and she wants the multimillion dollar perfume company. Carly - There's not much I can do about Deception. Even though the Cassadines are going under faster than the Titanic, Nikolas is determined to hang on to his mother's company. I'm having dinner with Alexis tonight to discuss the hospital sale, maybe I can get her to convince her nephew that selling Deception is his best option. By the way, I don't suppose there's any chance Jason's changed his mind about ELQ is there? I'm really not happy at the thought of being left holding the bag. Justus Jason snorts. If Justus didn't want to risk being left holding the bag he should have been more careful about who he was doing business with. Scrolling back he finds an e-mail entitled. 'Damn You Carly'. Carly - I'm sure you know by now that I've talked to Jason and I know that he wants nothing to do with your little pet project. I don't like being lied to and I especially don't like having my valuable time wasted so you can play games with your ex-in-laws. You can consider our business relationship over. Justus Switching to the sent messages, Jason finds one sent by Carly from the same day. Justus - Quit your whining. It doesn't matter whether or not Jason's on board it's still a good idea or you wouldn't have agreed to it in the first place. Look, you got the ball rolling and there's no going back now. Why not keep on with things the way we discussed and see what happens? If worst comes to worst we can bundle up all the ELQ stock and give Edward a heart attack by making Jax CEO. Carly Looking through the ELQ quarterly reports Jason has to admit that Carly was right. AJ had left ELQ in the worst possible shape. It was ripe for a takeover and if Jax weren't so distracted by his latest girlfriend he would have smelled the blood in the water, raided ELQ, chopped it up into blocks and sold it off piece by piece months ago. He reads messages for about an hour before the sliding glass door opens and Michael runs out. "Jason! Jason!" Turning away from the computer, Jason gets out of his chair. "What is it?" "It's Mama! She's hurting again! Really bad!" Michael grabs Jason's hand and pulls him into the house. "Grandma's with her but she won't stop crying." Running into the family room Jason finds Carly curled on the couch holding her head while Bobbie kneels beside her trying to talk to her. "Honey? Carly baby you have to tell me exactly what's going on. I can't help you if you don't talk to me." She casts a helpless look at Jason. "Has this happened before?" "Whenever she gets too tired or stressed. It happened once in Florida while we were there and I took her to the E.R. He said there isn't anything they can do except sedate her." Jason places a hand on Michael's shoulder. "Michael - go turn out all the lights between here and your Mom's room. Then turn on the fans in her room okay?" Michael was already out of the room by the time Jason finished talking. "Bobbie I've got Imitrex in my bathroom cabinet. And a pitcher of ice water, a bucket and a cold towel." Jason crouches down so that his lips are near Carly's ear and whispers. "Carly? I'm going to pick you up and take you upstairs. Don't open your eyes. It's going to be okay." "It hurts Jason." "I know. Put your arm around my neck." Lifting Carly Jason is painfully aware of how fragile her body really is. It's easy to forget in the face of her larger than life personality. Jason carries her up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom. "It's okay. Bobbie's going to bring you your medication and then you can get some sleep." He brushes her hair away from her face. Michael stands at the end of the bed holding on to the post. When he speaks it's in his quietest voice. "The lights are off and the curtains are closed Mama. I just left on the bathroom light. It's safe to open your eyes." "Thank you Mr. Man." Bobbie comes in quietly, sets down the pitcher of ice water and an empty waste basket just in case and hands Jason the damp cloth for Carly's forehead. She carefully loads a dose into the injectible pen and looks at Jason. "Arm or thigh?" Jason eases one side of Carly's skirt up to reveal her thigh. "I can do it." Bobbie lightly swabs the area with a sterile wipe. "One. Two. Three." She presses the pen against Carly's skin and holds it for five seconds to make sure all of the medicine is in Carly's system. When she's through she brushes Carly's cheek and coos. "All over now. It's all over now baby. You're going to be fine." Sliding into bed behind Carly, Jason turns her until her cheek rests over his heart. " "Jason?" "Shh. Go to sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up." Bobbie stood at the foot of the bed, a frown on her face until she felt Michael tugging on her hand. "Yeah baby?" "Mama needs to sleep. She always feels better when she wakes up. Let's finish the movie." Down in the kitchen, Bobbie fixes Michael a quick snack. She's still bothered by Carly's headaches and Michael's matter of factness about the whole thing. Damn it all to hell. "Michael honey I'm going to give Lucas a call just to make sure he's doing all his homework. Why don't you go back and finish the movie then you can help me make some dinner?" "Okay." Once Michael is out of the room Bobbie reaches for her cell phone and dials Tony's pager. He calls back a few minutes later. "Tony. Carly's having screaming migraines. Do I need to get her back to GH?" She can hear Tony settling into his office chair. "How often? What other symptoms is she having? How long's this been going on?" He fires one question off after another. "Jason says that they happen when she's too tired or too stressed. He took her to an E.R down here and they said there wasn't anything they could do." "Well they're probably right Bobbie. You know how lucky Carly was to even come out of the coma at all much less with as much function as she did. There's bound to be some lingering injury. I can phone prescription in for something for the pain if you want. And of course I'd prefer to see her in my office." He sighed. "But I get the feeling that's out of the question." Bobbie toys with a refrigerator magnet. "Sorry Tony, I'm having a 'mother moment' and not a 'nurse' moment. One minute Carly and I are talking about her maybe coming home and the next minute she's crying and she can't even open her eyes." "Well you're entitled to a few 'mother moments'. Look Bobbie, I want to tell you that everything is going to be fine and that Carly's brain is going to heal and she'll be herself again but we both know there are no guarantees. Anytime something happens to the brain it leaves behind evidence of it. Carly could have mood swings, depression and these headaches for the rest of her life. Why don't you sit down with Jason and Carly and get a good history starting with the day she got checked out of the hospital. Fax me a copy and I'll have a look at it. If I have to I'll find you someone down there who can see her." "Thanks." Bobbie felt herself relax a little bit at a time. She never wanted to see Carly in pain, but having her in pain so far away, well it scared her. They'd come so close to losing her so many times in the last year she hated the idea of losing her when she was just finally starting to be happy again. Haunted Star: "Well Justus, isn't this a surprise? Twice in one week." "Just the lady I was looking for." Justus remarks as Skye approaches. "Need to get lucky?" Skye blushes when he raises his eyebrows. "Oh God. Can I try that again?" Justus' nod is magnanimous. It's actually fun watching the normally cool and remote Skye Chandler get flustered. "Why were you looking for me?" Her arms over her chest, Skye looks at him thoughtfully. "You know I had the strangest conversation with Aunt Tracy the other day." "Really?" "Yeah. She accused me of planning a hostile takeover of ELQ." Smiling, Justus mimics her pose so that they stand as mirror opposites of one another. "Well? Are you?" "It's been known to happen. But at the moment no, I'm not planning one. How about you?" "Nah. I'm lousy at business. I've never had a head for numbers." "You're just representing someone who *is* interested is that it?" "My Granny Mae used to say 'anything's possible in this greatest of all possible worlds'." "I like that. But that doesn't necessarily answer my question." "It answers it as much as I intend to." "So, you've got Lila's stock. And you've managed to wrangle some of Alan's stock away from him. And Ned's too busy being threatened by you to make any kind of deal. Tracy's too much of a witch to make any deals with anyone, Monica's paranoid. Edward's Edward. If I had to guess I'd say you're here to make me an offer I can't refuse." "I know that AJ left you his voting rights in the company." "Yeah, it was AJ's last little joke. He left me voting rights in a company he put on the brink of fiscal destruction. If you'll look carefully I'm not laughing." "No you're not, and that's a genuine shame. I'm authorized to offer you four times the value of your stock." "What if I want ten times?" At Justus' look, Skye throws back her head and laughs loudly. "You should stick to the courtroom counselor. See, I already know that you need my stock to make, what? Fifty-one percent? I'd say I have a better position to negotiate than you." Justus waves a hand towards a baccarat table. "What do you say we play a few hands and we'll see what kind of position you're in when we're though?" "All right." Moving to an empty table Skye taps off the dealer standing there. It was really too early to have all the tables open to the public anyway. "Take twenty and come back out on relief." The girl disappears into the employee only section of the ship and Skye motions for Justus to take a seat. "What are the stakes?" "One percent of stock per hand?" Justus unbuttons his jacket and sits down. "Just to keep things interesting." "You're prepared to give me a percent of ELQ stock for every hand you lose? What's your mysterious client going to think about that?" "The only way they'll find out is if I lose. I don't intend to lose." Pulling the shoe over to her, Skye places her fingers on the first card. "What makes you think I won't cheat?" "I'm a lawyer. If you cheat I'll know." He flashes his pearly whites. "Takes one to know one." Reaching into the tray, Skye pulls out a stack of chips. "Let's say each of these is worth 1% of stock. Now. . ." She sets up her own bet. "Are you betting with the house or the player? The odds are always in the house's favor." "Isn't that the truth? But call me an eternal optimist." Justus leans casually back in his chair. "Well Lady Luck, let's see what you've got." The first cards are dealt. Justus receives a five and a two. "Seven. Not bad." "I'll take another card." "You want to hit seven?" "Sure. I'd hate to be accused of falling short." "You're crazy." Skye pulls out another card and laid it face up in front of Justus. "How-?" "Nine. I believe this round is mine. Double or nothing?" Twenty minutes and ten hands later Justus has all the stock Carly and Jason need to make their move on ELQ and he has a lovely companion for dinner. "I'm not one to back out of a deal," Skye begins over appetizers. "so the stock is yours. But I've got to know how you did it." An enigmatic smile crawled over Justus' features. "Divine intervention." Jason feels Carly shift in his arms. "Hey." "Hey." "You haven't been sleeping lately?" "Just the last couple of nights. I really wasn't tired today though. I thought I'd be okay." "Want some water?" "Nah. I'm good." Carly's fingers pluck at the material of Jason's t-shirt. "I saw you you know." "Saw me what?" "Reading my e-mails. I saw you through the window." "It's my computer." It never fails to amaze Jason. Carly could go from crying her eyes out to working an agenda in the bat of an eyelash. "Then they're your e-mails and you can figure out how to make ELQ a success again." "If I say no this time will you just accept it as my final answer and leave me alone to fix bikes for the rest of my life?" "Sure." "Really?" "No. Not really." Carly smoothes Jason's shirt repeatedly in a petting motion. "Because I know you'll love this. I know it'll make you happy. I'm not going to stop until you try it." "Then my answer is yes. . ." Jason's finger covers Carly's lips before she could begin gloating. "But my answer is yes with conditions." Carly nips at Jason's finger. "Strings?" "Yes. The minute you start working too hard and not sleeping enough we're going to come back here for four weeks no matter what else is going on at ELQ or Deception. I'm not going to let you be in pain for any reason." "Ja-" "I'm serious Carly. Taking care of yourself is nonnegotiable." "I didn't get a headache just to spite you Jase. I couldn't sleep." "You should have woken me up. I could have read you Morgan's Ireland book." "Well that would have put me back into a coma." Carly grumbled. "Don't turn into a sleep Nazi. Sonny was a food Nazi the whole time I was pregnant. I don't need another mother hen." "I don't need ELQ. You want me to be CEO and I can do that. But if you're sick or locked up in your room with the lights out then that's where I'm going to be, not in some boardroom." "Jason, I want to take care of myself. I don't like feeling this way. I don't want to miss out on more time with my kids." Jason's hand strokes Carly's face. "I know that. But you have to ask for help when you need it. Have I ever said no to you?" "Okay. I'll turn over a new leaf. On one condition." "Now you're giving me terms? Carly I don't think you understand what coercion means." "You need new clothes to be a CEO." "I have suits." "Those are from when Michael was a baby." "So?" "I hate to break it to you Jase- but those suits won't fit you anymore." "What?" "Well you kind of porked out there for a while. They'll all be too big on you now." "Porked out?" "It was really cute. There was just more of you to love." Carly eases her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. "But you'll still need new clothes." "I did *not* 'pork out'." "It was probably just Graciella's cooking. I mean it's nothing to be ashamed of. And you've lost it all and kept it off. What'd you use? Weight Watchers? Jenny Craig?" Carly walks into the bathroom and runs the water in the sink, she pokes her head back out with a toothbrush in one hand and the toothpaste in the other. "So, when we head back to Port Charles we can stop in New York city and pick up some clothes for you." Jason pulls himself out of bed and shrugs. "You don't need me there to pick out my clothes." "Never mind. I can shop at Wyndham's online. All your clothes can be waiting for us when we get back. Speaking of which - Mama better start looking for a house as soon as she gets back." Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle. . . a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl. And the anticipation nurtures our dream. ~Barbara Winkler