The Story of Us ~* June*~   Part III General Hospital: "This shouldn't be a long meeting. We just need to review the costs for the new AIDS wing." Justus said as he stepped into the elevator with Jason on one side and Skye on the other. All three of them had what Justus liked to think of as their 'game faces' on. Jason stone cold, a face that would send all but the bravest board members scurrying for the door. Skye's expression inquisitive with just the right hint of hauteur to keep the masses guessing. Justus' own game face a slightly toned down version of the face he wore into court. The hospital was proving to be more difficult to drag out of the red ink than ELQ. There were so many critical areas that couldn't be cut without sacrificing patient care and no one was willing to do that. So they were stuck. It wasn't the most ideal time to open the new multi-million dollar Stone Cates Memorial AIDS Wing but almost all of the funding for the wing had come from private donations; i.e. Sonny Corinthos, and everyone was eager to get it up and running. "Of course that won't be all." Skye reached out and smoothed Justus' red silk tie against his shirtfront. "Monica's got some problem with the new intern class. General Hospital just isn't getting the kind of diversity it should. She wants to start looking for interns, residents, fellows from outside of Port Charles." "How do you know what she's going to bring up?" Jason shot Skye an indecipherable look. "Family grapevine. Monica told Alan, Alan told me." The elevator slid to a stop and Skye walked out in front of Jason and Justus. "She would have told you directly herself Jason except you're intimidating as hell and completely inaccessible." "I'm accessible enough." "Well apparently not if I'm hearing more about your hospital than you are." Skye replied lightly. "I get it. The Quartermaines are the anti-Christ and must be shunned at all costs. But really, isn't that just the tiniest bit silly? The only Quartermaine proven to be a biter and possibly contagious is Tracy and no one listens to her. The rest of them just want to be able to deal with you in a reasonable manner without having to go through Justus and a pat down." Justus watched the exchange carefully. He knew Skye and Jason were on opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to being Quartermaines. Jason was the golden child, the one everyone wanted who wanted nothing to do with them, while she was the outsider who wanted nothing more than to be a part of their family. He had to give her points for her timing. Jason wasn't expecting a lecture before the board meeting. During, naturally. Afterwards, most certainly. But as far as Justus knew no one had been able to get a shot in before. He felt a warm glow of pride. His baby was beautiful, smart and adorably sneaky. Realizing that Justus had no plans to intercede on his behalf, Jason stalked off ahead of them. "Nicely done Ms. Chandler. Now he's going to be extra terse during the meeting." "Ha. If Jason were any more 'terse' he'd be mute." Deception: "Hello in here! Anybody home?" Carly cringed at the sound of Lucy's voice coming from the outer office. She looked at Elton with a pleading expression. "Please, ten minutes and then I've got a conference call." When Elton looked rebellious, Carly sweetened the pot. "Ten minutes, I've got a conference call and I'll get you a full spa day." As Lucy's dark head appeared in the office doorway, Elton sprung up. "Lucy! Darling! You're positively glowing!" He rushed over and guided Lucy into a soft chair after copious air kisses. "Carly remember you have that conference call with Thailand in ten minutes." "Right. Thank you Elton." Carly nodded before turning her attention to Lucy. "What brings you here?" "Conference call to Thailand? Very interesting. You should tell Elton that it's 4am there right now." Lucy said with a twinkle in her eye. "Don't worry I'm not staying long. I'm actually meeting Doc downstairs for a little lunch. Anyway I wanted to see if you could try talking to the florists. I've been on the phone with them all day and I think they're just sick of my voice." "What's the problem?" "Normally the flowers for the Nurse's Ball are donated. This year our usual supplier couldn't do it. So we're working with a new florist. And he promised us three months ago that he would donate the flowers and the labor and delivery costs. Now he's saying he won't deliver the flowers until we've paid him." Lucy dug into a leather bound folder. "This is the contract he signed. I've tried everything and I'm about ready to go over there and beat him to death with a dozen long stemmed roses. Maybe you can get somewhere with him." She handed over the contract. "I'll go over there this afternoon and talk to him face to face." Carly took the contract and set it on the top of her 'In' box. "Anything else?" "Amazingly enough? No! Everything else is just going wonderfully! The caters, the musicians! I actually think we're running right on schedule this year! Do you know when the last time that happened was? NEVER." Lucy beamed. "I swear you're some kind of good luck charm or something." She pushed her hair off her face. "I really didn't think I could pull it off by myself this year." Her hand rubbed unconsciously over her belly. "The girls have been giving me a hard time." "Girls<?" Carly choked out. "Twin girls." Lucy sighed. "Between me, Serena, Christina and now these two my poor Doc is completely outnumbered." "I have a hard enough time keeping up with Morgan. I can't imagine if there were two of them." "I'm very good at multi-tasking. I should head back to my office and try and get some of the work done that actually pays the bills." She stood up. "But I want to thank you. I know I sort of twisted your arm but you've been such a big help." Sort of?< Carly nodded. "Aside from the orchestra it's been fun." "Oh pooh! Those prima donnas! If they give you any more trouble hide all their resin." "I'll remember that." Looking around the redecorated office, Lucy nodded. "Oh good. You brought some color back. I mean, Laura had her share of problems and I'm sure decorating wasn't on the top of her list, but really! All white? What on earth was she thinking?" General Hospital Boardroom: "If there's no new business. . ." Justus began. He knew it was futile. Where the Quartermaines were concerned there was always new business. "If we're going to open the new wing we need to fill all of the positions." Justus looked at his notes about the AIDS wing. "Who's left?" "Assistant Director." Monica answered. "I presume you've got someone handpicked for the job?" "Yes. She's bright, gifted, dedicated, she's a little short on experience but I think what she lacks in experience she more than makes up for in other ways." Monica passed Justus the resume in front of her. "Two weeks ago Robin Scorpio contacted me about the position and I added her name to the list of candidates. I think she's the most promising. I want the board's approval to go ahead and offer her the job." There it was. The bombshell. Jason had known the meeting was going way to smoothly. Everyone was watching him, expecting some kind of reaction and for the briefest of moments he was tempted to give them one. He didn't appreciate Monica using his past against him. Actually, not against him, against Carly. Robin in Port Charles didn't mean anything to *him* but everyone in the boardroom knew it could mean nuclear winter for Carly. Assholes. And everyone wondered why he tried to avoid the Quartermaines most of the time. "We can call it to a vote." Justus suggested giving Jason a minute. "Because Robin and I had a relationship I'm going to excuse myself from the vote. You vote, then let me know what the decision is and I'll make a decision of my own." Jason picked up his papers and walked out of the boardroom. One time when they'd been bored in court Brenda had tried to teach Jason tic-tac-toe. It only took him about three games before he realized how pointless it was. A no-win situation. That's how he was feeling about Robin's job offer. If he said 'yes' everyone would be assuming he wanted Robin back. If he said 'no' everyone would be assuming he thought she was a threat to his new life. Neither of which were true. And he didn't care at all what 99% of the population thought, but the last thing Carly needed when her nerves were on edge was to have Robin back in town and working at the hospital. He pinched the bridge of his nose outside the elevator. Great. The hospital was Carly's pet project and he was the one getting the headaches. He was just about to step into the elevator when he heard the distinctive 'whir' of Lila's electric wheelchair. "Jason! Darling! I'm so glad I caught you." She smiled up at him. "And I thought Reginald was crazy when he wanted to put a bigger motor in this." She patted her chair fondly. "It turned out to be a good investment." "Grandmother." Jason leaned down and kissed the powered cheek she presented to him. "I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you before the meeting." "I wanted to invite you over to the house for dinner." Lila shook off Jason's immediate objection. "Please darling it would be so wonderful to see you outside of a business function." "I don't really feel like eating with them." Jason said pointedly. "I know. Your mother is meddling. She can't help it. Anymore than an old grandmother can help meddling." Sharp blue eyes twinkled. "A poor, old, feeble grandmother who would so love an evening with her grandson. . .." "Not fair." "That's the most wonderful part of growing older Jason, you don't have to play fair. Just ask your grandfather. Please. Bring Carly to dinner. You could even bring Michael and Morgan if you really wanted to make my night perfect. And they would give you the perfect excuse to leave right after dessert." "Grandmother -wouldn't you rather come to dinner at our house? You haven't been over since we've moved in and Mrs. Landsbury is a good cook." "Very nice counter offer but I would like a full family dinner. I swear I won't ask again. What can it hurt?" In the time it took him to answer her question Jason managed to count 17 things it could hurt. But he still found the words 'What time?' coming out of his mouth. 1825 Falling Waters: "THEY'RE OFFERING WHO A JOB?" Jason walked to the dressing room and pulled off his jacket. "Robin." "Robin Scorpio is coming to work for you in the hospital that I made you buy?" "Robin isn't going to be working for me. She'll be working for Alan. If she comes at all. The board was still making their decision when I left. I told them to let me know and then I would make the final decision." "Perfect." Carly dropped the magazine she'd been reading on the bed. "Let me guess who came up with it." "Carly it doesn't matter. You don't have anything to do with the hospital and I only sit on the board. Almost everything is done by Alan with Justus as the acting counsel." "Every single time Robin Scorpio gets in the middle of my life things go to hell." Carly knelt in the middle of the bed watching as Jason took off his shoes and socks on the end of the bed. "That's what I'm trying to tell you. She's not going to be in your life. You've got this house, you've got Deception and ELQ and anything else you want. Robin's not a threat." "Robin's always a threat." "Only if you let her be." Jason twisted and pulled Carly onto his lap, pushing hair off her face and holding her to his look. "She's not a part of my life anymore. She won't be a part of Michael's life ever. She's not a part of Deception. She never has to set foot in your house. Robin doesn't touch our life. But if it's going to make you flip out? I'll turn down her application." "I trust you Jason." Carly put her hand on his face. "No. You don't." Jason answered directly. "You want to trust me. But you never do. I'm telling you that Robin's not a problem. She doesn't have any power over you. She can't take anything away from you and you don't believe me." "That's not true! I trust you! YOU I trust! Robin I don't trust! She always has the power to ruin everything because she's the anointed one! She's the daughter everyone always wanted. She's the best friend. She's the sister who can do no wrong. She's the girlfriend who never goes away. She never accepted us. She never got us. And when you wouldn't do what she wanted she ruined us. We just got back everything she took away!" Carly scrambled to climb off of Jason's lap only to be held there by two strong hands on her hips. "Bullshit." "Excuse me?" "Nobody accepts us Carly. Robin understood us just fine. That's why she could never deal with us." Jason's hand slid around to Carly's back, rubbing it in slow circles. "Where am I?" "I thought your short term memory was good?" Carly sniped. Jason felt some of the tension easing off. "Where am I?" Carly relaxed and placed her hands on his chest. "You're where you want to be." "Yes. And now I'm *exactly* where I want to be." Jason rolled over trapping Carly beneath him on the mattress. "If you think having sex is gonna fix this you're crazier than I am." Carly murmured. "I don't. I'm hoping it will keep you from killing me when I tell you we're going to the Quartermaine's for dinner." Jason replied while tugging Carly's shirt off. Yanking at Jason's belt, Carly tossed it over the side of the bed. "You think? Tell ya' what. I'll flip you for it." Putting all her strength in it Carly shoved Jason over onto his back and straddled him. "Oops. You lose." Jason laid back with his hands over his head. "Doesn't feel like it." "Okay. I'll go to dinner." Carly conceded after a minute. "It could be fun." "You can't give Edward a heart attack." Jason immediately began rethinking taking Carly anywhere. "And no slapping Monica." "I wouldn't dream of it." Carly cooed softly. "I'll be the perfect guest." She ripped open Jason's shirt. "I'm gonna need to bring bail aren't I?" Jason groaned. "Couldn't hurt." Carly stripped off her bra and ground lightly on Jason's lap. "Jase?" ". . .yeah?" "Is that a penis in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" Jason laughed. "yeah and yeah." "Just checking." "Check all you want." "You don't mind?" "I really don't mind." Carly scurried off of Jason and started into the bathroom, slipping out of her shoes and skirt. "I would but I've got to get ready for dinner." "Carly. . ." "It's not what I had planned for the night but if you insist." "Carly!" "How soon we can finish all depends on how fast you can get me out of there." Charles Street Clinic: Lucas was still putting away construction paper and pipe cleaners an hour after the last of the kids were gone and scratching his head over the fact they'd managed to get glitter on the ceilings. The actual 'camp' part of the Juvenile Diabetes Camp was actually the restored building next to the clinic which had a lot of athletic equipment in a large gym on one level and up a level was the arts and crafts area. Some days they took special trips out to the zoo or the botanical gardens, wherever they could. Lucas' group was the 5 to 10 year olds. They were exhausting but fun. Once the last fleck of glitter was off the walls, Lucas went down the stairs and began to pick up the bright red rubber balls from their dodge ball game and stuff them into a mesh sack in the closet. A quick sweep of the floors and he was done for the night. Outside it was just starting to cool off and his t-shirt clung to his damp skin as he went from the air conditioned building to his Jeep. He stopped with his hand on the door when he heard Tommy calling out from across the street. "Lucas!" "Hey man! We gotta stop meeting like this!" Lucas watched as Tommy crossed the street in an easy jog. "I just got out of work. What are you doing down here?" "Looking for a place to live." Tommy held up the classifieds. "Any luck?" "I think so. The last place I looked at wasn't too pricey. You got plans tonight?" "No. What have you got in mind?" "I was thinking about giving Maxie and Georgie a call and maybe all of us going out and grabbing some dinner." "Sounds good." Lucas looked down at his glittery khakis and paint smudged Polo. "I need to get a quick shower and change though. You want to come back with me to Carly's while I change? We can call The Girls on the way and have them meet us someplace." "Okay." Tommy waited while Lucas unlocked the Jeep door. "I'll even be nice to their boyfriends if they bring them along." "Dillon's okay." Lucas slid behind the wheel and buckled his seatbelt. "He's crazy about Georgie." "And Maxie's boyfriend?" "You know how when we were little our moms used to always say 'If you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all'? Well. . . this is me NOT saying a whole lot." Tommy laughed deeply. "Got it. I can be the disapproving older brother type." "I don't know. Maxie and Georgie had a rough couple years with their mom and I think Kyle's just around to tick Felicia off." "What about you?" "Me?" Lucas concentrated on the road in front of him. "Yeah. You bringing a girlfriend?" "I'm not dating anyone." "I didn't mean to strike a nerve." Tommy said quietly. "Remember I've been gone a while." Lucas' jaw unclenched. "Sorry. It's - complicated." "No problem. I know how it can be. My grandmother wants me to graduate, come to work at General Hospital, get married and give her a dozen or so grandkids." "That doesn't sound so awful." "I wouldn't mind working at GH." Tommy nodded thoughtfully. "But the rest of it, I'm not ready to start thinking about marrying anyone." "Well you don't have to start worrying about it until you graduate. My mom's pretty happy with Michael and Morgan. I don't think she'd say 'no' to a few dozen more but at least she's not after me about it." Lucas pulled the Jeep up to the gate and offered Ethan a sympathetic wave. Poor guy was finding out that being in Carly's doghouse was no fun. "Woah. Nice little place your sister's got here." Tommy whistled. "I know, but be it ever so humble there's no place like the Taj Mahal." Lucas climbed out of the Jeep and led Tommy through the front door into the foyer. "You can wait in the library if you want. Call Maxie from there. It'll just take me a few. . ." Lucas paused on the stairs as Carly and Jason came down them dressed to go out. "Wow Carly. You clean up good." "Thanks. That means a lot from a guy wearing a lime green Polo." Carly snarked. "Ooh somebody's cranky." "We're going to dinner at the Quartermaine's." Carly said by way of explanation. "Lila got all moist eyed and soft voiced and Captain Marshmallow here caved like a trailer park in a hurricane." Lucas snorted. "Well you two crazy kids have a good time. Carly, Jason this is Tommy Hardy. Tommy my sister and Jason." Lucas made brief introductions not wanting to delay Carly's evening another second more. "Tommy and I are probably going out with Maxie and Georgie - we haven't decided where or when yet but if I'm gonna be late I'll give you a call." "Why don't you stay in?" Carly offered. "Mrs. Landsbury was already planning on making enchiladas and guacamole and salsa. You could have dinner, swim, watch movies, play some pool, whatever." "Are you sure? You're not gonna feel like a crowd when you get home." Lucas predicted. "I won't be able to hear you unless you scream bloody murder. Stay. Have a good time." "Thanks!" Lucas wasn't all that surprised by the offer. In spite of her prickly exterior Carly was always generous with the people she loved. Inviting 5 or 6 teenagers over to eat her out of house and home and play in her house was nothing. "We'll keep it down. And if you want me to rescue you from the Quartermaines just page me and I'll call and tell them I need you home." He offered knowing it could easily come to that. "Have fun. Keep bail money handy in case things over there don't go well." Lucas nearly cracked up at Carly and Jason's identical grim expressions. Cocktail party at the Quartermaines or a stint in hell - hard to tell which Carly would pick. Quartermaine Mansion: "I do not want that woman in my house!" Monica protested even as she put in a pair of pearl and diamond teardrop earrings. Alan stopped and stood behind his wife at her vanity table, placing his hands on her shoulders he bent down and pecked her cheek. "Monica, I know how you feel about Carly. . ." "I hate her. I hate her for what she did to AJ and Jason and to this family. She's destructive. Just look at what she did to Tony!" "I think Carly's done a lot of things she should answer for, but you can't blame Tony or AJ or Jason's actions on her. They're all grown men responsible for themselves." "So this doesn't bother you in the slightest. That woman broke up Jason and Courtney's marriage." Alan choked. "You hate Courtney." "But Carly's worse. She's a train wreck waiting to happen. I can't believe you don't see that." "Monica, sweetheart I have no illusions about Carly. But, you have to look at the bigger picture. Carly's done something no one - not Courtney, not even Robin could do as much as they loved him. Carly's brought Jason back to us." Monica twisted in her seat. "Don't you think I know that? I know that! I can't help but hate her a little for that too." Her expression turned sad. "It's horrible knowing that the only reason our son wants anything to do with us is because of Carly Roberts. It's not because he loves us it's because Carly wants to have control over us." "You can't think of it that way." Alan pulled Monica to her feet and hugged her tightly. "After all this time the door's open. Even if it's just a little crack. Does it really matter how it happened?" "I'm venting." Monica breathed out. "I'd rather do it now than stick my foot in my mouth when they get here." "You can always vent to me." Alan took a step back and held himself up for inspection. He couldn't remember the last time he'd dressed for any occasion without Monica having final approval. The truth was Monica had an eye for detail that escaped him. It was what made her such a skilled surgeon and such a formidable wife. "Do I pass?" "You're very handsome Dr. Quartermaine." Monica brushed a miniscule piece of lint off one of Alan's lapels. "Rakishly handsome in fact." "You should watch what you say Dr. Quartermaine. I have a very jealous wife." Monica chuckled. "And don't you forget it." "Ready to go to the lions?" Alan took Monica's hand and rested it in the crook of his arm. "I'll bring the whip if you bring the chair." "Maybe later."