The Story of Us ~* March *~ Kelly's: Hearing the chimes over the door, Bobbie called out through the kitchen window. "I'm sorry but we're closed. The coffee pot's off and I was just coming out to lock the door." Coming out of the kitchen she wipes her hands on a towel, stopping just inside the doorway. "Sonny." "Bobbie we need to talk." Sonny approaches the counter and glances down. Spotting several real estate brochures he lifts one and flips through it. "Is this for Carly?" "I take it you got served with your divorce papers today?" Bobbie asks taking the brochure and the others and stuffing them behind the counter. "Is that what you wanted to talk about?" "I know you spent a month with Carly wherever the hell she is. And now she's filing for divorce. Justus served me this morning." "That's right. I was with Carly for a month. She looks great. She's relaxed. Being away from the stress in Port Charles is doing wonders for her." "But she's coming back?" "That depends on you." Bobbie answers flatly. "So you really need to think about this before you decide whether or not to sign those divorce papers. My daughter is not coming back to Port Charles until you sign the papers." Sonny holds up his hand. "No offense Bobbie but I don't want to talk about this with you. I want to talk to Carly. Now, you can tell me where she is or I'll find out on my own." "That's an empty threat Sonny. She's been gone for two months already and you haven't been able to find her. Carly's stronger and healthier and happier than I've seen her in two years. She and the boys want to come home. But she's not coming home for you Sonny or to you." "Carly's my wife. We took vows. And the only way our marriage is over is when *we* decide it. And that's not going to be before I talk to her. She shouldn't be out there somewhere. She needs to be in the hospital. Did she tell you she's having all kinds of crazy thoughts about Alcazar?" Bobbie's jaw works tensely as she struggles to hold her temper in check. "My daughter isn't crazy. And no, she didn't mention anything about Alcazar the entire time I was with her. Now her 'crazy' thoughts are what made you go out and try and kill the man in front of a half dozen witnesses and most of the PCPD right? I'm just trying to get this straight. Your ex-girlfriend comes back to town. And Carly sees you kissing her on the docks. Your brother makes Carly think she's been unfaithful to you and holds it over her head for months even going so far as to make her question who the father was of her child. Your brother kidnaps Carly and keeps her locked in a cage in his house. While she's missing you're playing games with FAITH in public. Your enemy takes Carly from her little cage and kidnaps her to his private yacht. Carly finally comes home and Alcazar uses the ghost of your dead wife to haunt you. And even though everyone around you told you it was a trick you pushed Carly away. You made yourself insane and left Carly to pick up the pieces. And when she had enough, when she walked away - YOU shot her in the head while she was delivering her baby putting her in a coma. Don't you talk to me about VOWS. Is that your idea of LOVING my daughter? Is that your idea of CHERISHING my daughter? HONORING my daughter? If this is your idea of BETTER then God help Carly when the 'worse' comes she'll end up in that grave yard next to Lily!" Sonny bites back his own angry words but just barely. "I can't change what's happened. I can just make things better. I want to make things better." "And all Carly wants is out of your marriage. She wants peace. She wants to be happy and close to her children and she can't have any of those things if she's married to you. You talk a good game about loving Carly. About loving your family about wanting to keep them safe. Well guess what Sonny boy?" Bobbie leans across the counter and jabbed Sonny in the chest. "It's time to *prove* it. Right now your family is safe and happy. But they're only that way without you. It's time for you to be a man and let them go. You've chosen the life you want to lead. And now Carly's chosen the life she wants." Hilton Head: "Okay. That's it. I'm done." Jason stacks all of his papers into a neat pile, closes the lid of his laptop and set the laptop on the papers. "If I have to look at another projection I'm going to have to kill the computer. You done looking at houses?" Catching the determined gleam in Jason's eye, Carly shakes her head. "Give me another half hour then I'm done I swear." She'd told Jason that if she didn't have a house picked out by the end of the day he could pick one. Bobbie had been feeding them scores of real estate brochures since she'd gone back to Port Charles and currently Carly was 2/3 of the way through the stack. "I'm gonna swim." Jason strips off his t-**** and dove into the deep end. Carly watches him swim for several minutes, openly admiring the way his lean body sliced through the water, every muscle rippling just below the surface. Sighing, she turns back to the project at hand. House. House hunting. Playing house. Playing doctor. Playing doctor with Jason. . . Shaking her head Carly firmly turned her attention back to the photos Bobbie sent. In the grand tradition of the thing you're looking for being in the last place you look, Carly finds the perfect house at the bottom of the stack. Ten thousand square feet, five bedrooms, five bathrooms, an indoor pool, cathedral ceilings, bay windows, dining room, a home office, six fireplaces, skylights, a guest house and - Carly could feel herself practically swoon. Radiant flooring. All that room, a view of the water and HEATED FLOORS. With a silent prayer of thanks to her mother and the real estate gods, Carly fires off an e-mail to Justus instructing him to make the owner an offer. Any offer. Anything they want just so long as they can move in the first of April. Pleased with herself, Carly decides she and Jason worked hard enough to deserve a reward. "Jason, I'm done. I'm gonna go check on the boys and scrounge some dinner. What do you want?" Jason reaches the end of the pool wall and poked his head out of the water. "I think there's some pasta salad and cold chicken in the fridge." "Back in a minute." A bottle for Morgan, a bedtime story for Michael, and thirty minutes later Carly comes out to the pool carrying tray of food and four bottles of beer. "Dinner's on." Using the remote she turns on the small CD player that sits between two lounge chairs and does a little dance over to the table. I can hear her heart beat for a thousand miles And the heavens open every time she smiles And when I come to her that's where I belong Yet I'm running to her like a river's song She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love Pulling himself out of the pool, Jason shakes water from his hair and body before reaching for a towel. "You pick a house?" "Yep. You're going to love it." He grabs a bottle of beer, lines up the cap on the edge of the table and pops it off with a flick of his wrist. "Neat trick. Maybe you're right. Maybe you should have just bought Jake's." Carly teases. "Now you tell me. I think it's a little late for that." "Oh well. You'll just have to settle for being a CEO." Carly pats his face. "Poor baby." "I could handle being CEO of Jake's." "Well, if you're a good little chief executive I might stage a hostile takeover and buy you Jake's. After all I'm gonna need a place to dance." Carly takes the open beer from Jason's hands and sat down at the edge of the pool dangling her feet in. "How about this? You go for six months without giving me a stroke and *I'll* buy it for *you*?" "Only six months?" Carly tilts her head up as Jason sits down at the pool's edge next to her. "You're right. Not very realistic. How about three?" "Very funny! I'm gonna miss this. The new house has a pool but it won't be the same." "We don't have to go back. And we don't have to stay." Jason reassures her quietly. "You never have to stay anyplace you don't like. There's a lot of world out there. You and Michael and Morgan can have any of it you want." "It's funny, a lot of guys promise women the world. But mostly it's just a lot of talk. But I know it's true when you say it." Setting aside her beer, Carly scrambles to her feet. "Oh! I picked you up a little present when Michael and I were shopping in town today! Don't move I'll be right back!" And she disappeared into the house. Left alone, Jason finishes his beer and set aside the empty. Port Charles seems like more than a plane ride away, it was a whole different life from where they were at now. Three months and everything was different. It was like coming full circle. It always came back to him and Carly against the rest of the world and it probably always would. "Found it!" Carly slid the door shut as she came back out. "Close your eyes and hold out your hands." "Carly. . ." "Come on. Just do it." Carly crouches down beside Jason, sitting on her heels. Heaving the obligatory sigh, Jason closed his eyes and held out his hands. He feels a small, cool, heavy object being dropped into his palm. Keeping his eyes closed he turned it over feeling the smooth surface broken only by the initial 'J'. He felt himself smiling even before he opened his eyes. "A keychain." "It's one of those traditions like you told Michael about when we left Port Charles." Carly lifted the sterling silver keychain from Jason's hand. "I know it's corny and it's not something a *normal* person would give you but we're not normal and you know how much that first keychain meant to me." She places it back in Jason's hand and closes his fingers around it. "It was home and family and things that never felt real to me until you gave them to me. That's what this is." Jason lays his hand over hers, massaging her fingers with a light touch. "I know what it means. And I don't - Carly I don't take it for granted. I'm not going to let you down again." He lifts his hand and brushes a thumb over her cheek. "Ever. And nothing that happens is going to change that. Nothing is going to change *us*." Holding Jason's gaze with her own, Carly leans in closer, her breath tickling his lips. "Nothing?" They keep their eyes open through the slow, tentative kiss. As good as Carly is at hiding her motives she's never been good at disguising her emotions and they flit across her face as the kiss goes on and on. Fear of rejection. Relief at acceptance. Comfort from the familiar. But most of all ignition of the spark that's always there between them beneath the surface waiting to set off a bon fire. Jason's hand cups the back of Carly's head. His fingers play with the soft tendrils that have escaped her French twist. He presses their foreheads together until they're a breath away from a kiss. "Carly. . ." And Jason's voice comes out raw. They're treading close to the edges of their friendship and he has to know that it's what she wants. "Carly this isn't a fantasy. It's real. I'm real." Carly's fingers dig into Jason's shoulders. "I know that. I'm tired of fantasies Jason. I'm sick of waking up alone." Her fingers flex, holding him even tighter. "You're real. I can touch you." One hand let go of his shoulder to slide down his bare chest and stop over his heart. "And I can taste you." Her mouth sips delicately at Jason's lips for a flutter of a kiss. "And I want you." Her lips whisper over Jason's cheek and settle at the curve of his ear. "Can I have you?" Jason's fingers massage the back of Carly's head and neck as he takes slow deep breaths. Finally he pulls back just enough to drown in velvet brown eyes. He doesn't answer because the answer is in the kisses that follow. It's in the way he pulls her closer until Carly's almost straddling his lap right up until they go too far and fall backwards into the pool. Wrapping an arm around Carly's waist, Jason pulls them both to the surface only to hear Carly's laughter. "Typical huh? It wouldn't be me if it wasn't a disaster." She shoved her hair off her face. Holding on to the wall with one hand, Jason pulls Carly flush against his body kissing her over and over again. "I don't know. I think I like you wet." "Yeah?" Another kiss. "Yeah." Jason can feel Carly's lips moving over his face, working down his throat and licking over his Adam's apple. She licked up the side of his neck tasting chlorine and Jason, taking little nips just under his chin while Jason's hand cupped her butt and pulled her closer than any two people should be while still separated by clothing. Jason hissed at the feel of sharp teeth on the side of his neck. "Carly-" "Hmm?" "We need to get out of the pool." "Mmm." "I don't have anything out here. . ." Pulling back slightly, Jason smiles. "Upstairs." "Upstairs." Carly repeated. "Good idea." Brownstone: "Lucas we're not through talking about this! I want to know where you were last night!" Bobbie keeps herself from stomping her foot, but just barely. "Your dad says you didn't come home until three in the morning! You know your curfew's midnight on Fridays and Saturdays." "I *know*, all right? I screwed up and Dad's grounded me for the next two weekends. We were supposed to go to the hockey game next week and now I can't. I'm sorry Dad was worried but he already tore into me all day today. I don't want to talk about it." Bobbie can only watch as Lucas stomps upstairs. She counts to five and hears the perfunctory door slam. She can still remember the good old days when it took nothing more than a warm hug to get Lucas to spill all of his woes. But lately the harder she tries the more secretive he gets. Tony was just as baffled. They'd reached an agreement in the second year of joint custody that while Lucas would have to obey the same rules at both houses if he got punished it was only at the scene of the crime. Tony had joked that there was no reason for BOTH of them to suffer. Still distracted by Lucas' increasingly rotten attitude and snarly behavior, Bobbie's almost surprised by the ringing of the doorbell. Pulling open the door, she smiles warmly. "Hi. Please come in. I'm so glad you could make it. I know your days off are few and far between." "Thank you. I must confess I was surprised when I received your invitation." "Here, let me take your coat." Reaching out, Bobbie takes the older woman's coat and hangs it in the hall. "Please come in. I have some freshly made coffee if you'd like." "Yes. Thank you." Leading the way into the downstairs living room, Bobbie motions for her to take a seat on the sofa. After pouring coffee and offering cream and sugar she gets down to the purpose of the unlikely visit. "Mrs. Landsbury I asked you here to offer you a job. It's not for me, but with my daughter Carly. As you've no doubt read in the papers Carly's had a difficult year." Bobbie waits for a brief nod from Mrs. Landsbury before continuing. "For the last three months Carly's been living out of the state trying to recover from an accidental shooting. Because of the shooting Carly's had to make some changes in the way she lives. The most important of those changes is to reduce stress. Now, eliminating stress is hard for anyone, but for Carly, for Carly it's impossible. If you accept the position your job would be to make sure that things at home run as smoothly as possible. That would mean coordinating things with a personal driver for Carly, any security that she might need as well as cooking meals and handling any entertaining she might do." Mrs. Landsbury takes a sip of coffee, her expression neutral. "I see." "I know that you've worked for the Cassadines for almost thirty years." Bobbie says. "But I also know that things haven't been the same since Stefan's absence and now his death. And you take care of only one person and Wyndemere is enormous. I don't know your plans, if you're going to stay on with Nikolas or if you plan on retiring, but I know that when I thought of filling this position for Carly your name is the first one that came to mind. I know you're not stranger to unusual living situations. I know that while I was living at Wyndemere I never once had to think about anything in the house because you handled everything right down to a diabetic menu for my son. In a way it's the same thing with Carly. Sugar makes Lucas sick, stress gives my daughter horrible incapacitating migraines." "How often does she have these migraines?" "Whenever she's under too much stress or too tired. She also doesn't sleep well." Bobbie shudders at the memory. "While I was visiting her I witnessed one and I don't ever want to see her go through another one as long as I live." "And how many children does your daughter have?" "Two. A 6 year old son named Michael and a four month old son named Morgan. Michael will be in school all day at Queen of Angels." Bobbie hesitates, not sure how to explain Carly's relationship with Jason. "Along with Carly and the boys, Jason Morgan will be living with them. Jason's pretty self sufficient so I don't think you'd have any problems with him. But if there are problems or something comes up you don't know how to handle you'll probably need to bring it to Jason first." Bobbie points out. "As for salary, I know that Jason is more than generous with competent employees. You'd be able to essentially set your own salary and you'd have the run of the house." "I must admit this is something of a surprise." Mrs. Landsbury sets aside her coffee. "But you are correct in observing that my role in the Cassadine family is coming to an end and I have been looking for other employment elsewhere." "I wish I could say that you have all the time in the world to think about your answer, but I'm afraid there's a bit of a time crunch. Carly and Jason need to be back in Port Charles on April first for the ELQ board meeting. That means I have to find them a house and get it closed on and moved into in the next three weeks. I could definitely use your help." Mrs. Landsbury seems to be doing more than a few calculations in her head before she answers. Nodding decisively she finally replies. "I will give Master Nikolas notice this evening. While I finalize things at Wyndemere for my replacement I will be free to assist you in setting up your daughter's household." "You'll take the job?" Bobbie squeaks. She hadn't really expected her sales pitch to work on Mrs. Landsbury and certainly not so fast. She'd had visions of a suitcase of hundred dollar bills and groveling but apparently that wasn't going to be necessary. "Thank you. I know Carly and her boys will be in the best hands possible." "Now, if you will excuse me I must make arrangements. Please contact me once you've found Mrs. Corinthos a suitable home." Bobbie winces. "Please. I think it would be better if you addressed Carly as Ms. Caroline at least until she tells you something different. She and Mr. Corinthos are not going to be on amicable terms when she gets home." And why would they be when they were barely on amicable terms before Carly left? But Bobbie keeps that last thought to herself. "Of course." Hilton Head: Rolling over, Carly's cheek brushes over the warm skin of Jason's chest. They'd finally fallen asleep but only after they were too exhausted to do anything else. She hadn't even had the strength to put on Jason's t-shirt but Jason had slipped it over her head minutes before she fell into the best sleep she'd had in months. She opens her eyes to meet Jason's crystal blue gaze. "Morning." "Morning." Jason shifts a little to allow Carly to curl even closer to him under the sheets. A finger comes up and nudges a lock of blonde hair off her face. "Regrets?" "No." "Good. But you're going to have to swim alone today cause I don't think I'm getting out of bed for the next week." "Did I wear you out?" Carly stretches from her fingers to her toes like a cat in the sun and doesn't bother trying to keep the smug from her voice. "Yep." Jason nods, but winces at the movement of his neck. He lifts a hand to the side of his throat. "I think you left teeth marks." "Good. Gotta mark my territory." Carly lifts her head and inspects the deep purple bruise. "That'll do it." "Territory?" "Umm hmm. But don't worry. You're more than any old piece of territory. You're like Rodeo Drive." Carly's hand pets Jason's chest soothingly before trailing her fingers down his stomach and tickling just below his belly button. Jason intercepts Carly's hand and brings it up to his lips kissing the fingertips. "If you start something we're never getting out of this bed." "And that's a problem?" Carly uses her free hand until Jason grabs that one as well. "It is when we're moving back to Port Charles in three weeks and there's a million things we should be doing." Still holding Carly's hands captive Jason throws back his head as she starts to use her mouth in sucking kisses down his chest. "Carly you're killing me." Jason sits up straight when the bedroom door creaks open and Michael appears holding Morgan in his arms. "Jason? Do you know where Mama is?" Michael comes to a halt just inside the bedroom. "Oh! You're here!" "Hey Mr. Man." Carly smiles ruefully at Jason and pushes her hair out of her eyes to grin at Michael. "Whatcha' doin' up?" "Saturday morning cartoons. Morgan was making fussy noises and I was bringing him to you." Carly pats the bed in front of her. "Well, come on up." She takes the baby from Michael and helps him climb up on the four poster bed. Michael crawls up to the head of the bed and crawls under the covers between Carly and Jason. Almost as soon as Carly holds Morgan he stops is fussing. "Look at this! All my favorite men in one place! I'm the luckiest woman alive."   1825 Falling Waters Drive: Pulling up to Carly's new house, Bobbie feels a surge of satisfaction. It's absolutely perfect. Fortunately the previous owners who had built the place were eager to sell. Acrimonious divorces were like that. No one had ever lived in the mansion and it was in almost pristine condition even before Mrs. Landsbury began to tackle the entire process of moving in. Furniture started arriving in a steady trickle the day after the house was purchased and continued on until it was a flood. Thanks to Carly's itchy mouse finger and Jason's laptop Wyndham's was sure to have a sound fiscal year. Six complete bedroom sets, a full kitchen that most chefs would kill for, enough nursery and baby supplies for a maternity ward, linens, decorative accents, home entertainment centers, a den including a Wurlitzer jukebox, full sized pool table and bar, and an entire truck of clothing and accessories all carefully labeled 'Jason', 'Carly', 'Michael' or 'Morgan'. Little kid and big kid toys abounded and it was up to Bobbie and Mrs. Landsbury to sort it all out. In the first week of her employment Mrs. Landsbury had already earned her entire year's salary. Reaching the front gate, Bobbie pulls over to the keypad and enters in the security code and waits while the heavy iron gates slide open before pulling the rest of the way up the drive. Climbing out of her car, Bobbie runs into the head of Jason's considerable security team. Francis. Bobbie knew he used to work for Sonny but she hadn't remembered him until they'd been introduced. And once they'd been introduced Bobbie kicked herself for ever forgetting him. Francis was drop dead beautiful quiet and soft spoken and most of all wickedly efficient. "Hi Francis. Is Mrs. Landsbury here?" Pulling two large duffle bags out of the back of a Cadillac Escalade Francis slings the duffle bags over his shoulders and nods. "She's working on getting everything the way she wants it in the kitchen. And the guys are moving into the guest house out back." "Here. Let me get the door for you." Bobbie pushes open the front door and steps aside to let Francis pass. "What's all this?" She steps over a pile of wires and tools in the doorway. "Sorry about the mess I've been putting the final touches on the security system all morning." Setting the bags carefully on the floor, Francis unzips them and pulls out a control panel. "The video cameras are working all around the property. From the stables to the guest house to the pool. The whole perimeter is covered. I just need to wire everything together to one master control." Looking up he flashes a dimpled grin that makes him look even younger. "Don't worry this is gonna be the safest house on the block. Not even the mayor's mansion has this kind of security." "Do I want to know how you know what kind of security the mayor's mansion has?" Francis shakes his head. "Nope." "Alrighty then. I'll leave you to it." Walking through the halls Bobbie is impressed again at how much has been accomplished in so little time. There isn't a doubt in her mind that Carly is going to love her new home. The only cloud on the horizon is Sonny. He still hasn't signed the divorce papers as far as Bobbie knew and she could kick herself for not counting on him putting up a fight. It was always the same with Sonny. He always wanted what he couldn't have. Oh he might kick Carly out and call her names but God forbid that anyone else ever look at her. Frowning, Bobbie pulls out her cell phone and dials Justus' number. "Hello?" "Justus, it's Bobbie. Has Sonny sent you back the divorce papers yet? I'm starting to get worried. Carly's serious about not coming home until he agrees to the divorce and the visitation she's outlined." "No. He hasn't gotten back to me. I've got an hour free later this afternoon. I think I'll drop by the penthouse and see if I can't reinforce the seriousness of the situation. He probably thinks that if he holds out long enough Carly's going to get impatient and contact him." A beat. She won't will she?" "Carly means it. If Sonny wants to see Michael and Morgan again he'll sign those papers. And Justus - I mean it too. If Sonny screws this up for Carly you can tell him that I still know how to use a scalpel in some really creative ways." "Ouch. Got it. I'll let you know what happens after I talk to him." "Thanks Justus." Hanging up Bobbie is slightly reassured. She knows that Justus has a lot riding on Carly and Jason coming home in time for the ELQ board meeting. She had to keep telling herself that they *will* come home because she doesn't think she can face the idea of not watching her grandsons growing up in her own backyard. Bobbie walks into the kitchen and is met by the smell of hot coffee, the sight of gleaming professional grade appliances, and the clack clacking of fingers on a keyboard. Mrs. Landsbury sits at a small desk in the corner of the kitchen glancing through a cook book and entering information into the computer. "Mrs. Landsbury." "Hello." Mrs. Landsbury lifts her head and rises from the desk. "That nice young Francis assembled my computer for me. I was just entering Ms. Caroline's food preferences as we discussed into my program and generating a series of menus." Bobbie nods. "I always wondered how you managed to come up with just the right thing all the time." Mrs. Landsbury removes her glasses. "Technology is a wonderful thing. Would you like some coffee or tea? There are fresh scones." "Coffee and I would love one of your scones." Bobbie removed her coat and hangs it on the rack by the back door of the kitchen. "I just wanted to stop by and see if there was anything else you needed. But it looks like you have it all under control." "I believe so. With a relatively few minor exceptions the house is in perfect order." Mrs. Landsbury produces a scone and a cup of coffee. "When you're through perhaps you would like to go through room by room?" "Sounds wonderful."   Penthouse: Dara stops when Sonny's guard Max holds up a hand. "I have to search you." "Excuse me?" "No one gets in to see Sonny without a pat down." Reaching into her pocket Dara pulls out one of her business cards. "You can tell Sonny that if he wants to talk to me he can call my office and make an appointment. Of course I can't guarantee that I'll have any time to see him in the next six months, but that's his decision." Groaning, Max takes the card into Sonny and emerges a few minutes later. "He says you can go in." "Thanks." Walking over the threshold Dara is struck by how sterile and cold the penthouse seems. It's almost like stepping over a one of the velvet ropes at the Port Charles museum. "You're very scary Dara. Max was shaking in his shoes when he came in here. I'm glad you're on my side." Sonny emerges from the kitchen holding a tea tray. "Can I get you something to drink?" "First, just because I occasionally work for you it doesn't mean that I'm on your side Sonny. Secondly I want to know what was so important that you had my secretary clear my appointments for the afternoon so I could see you." "Justus Ward called. He's coming to pressure me to sign divorce papers." Sonny answers simply. He brings the tray out to the dining room table and sets it down. "Carly's filed for divorce?" "She says she's not coming home until I sign divorce papers and agree to her custody arrangement. I need you to read the papers and the custody agreement before I sign them." "You're not going to fight it?" "I've held out for almost a month but Bobbie says Carly won't even consider coming back until I sign. I can't talk to my wife if I don't know where she is. And I miss my kids." "Well if you sign the divorce papers she's not going to be your wife anymore." Dara tries to point out. "Carly and I have been married three times and divorced twice. We always wind up back together again." Sonny runs his hands through his hair. "And all of this is because of what happened to her. The accident, it's got her thinking all screwed up. Once she's herself again she's going to want to come home and I don't want to make it hard on her." Dara opens her mouth to respond to that, but is cut off when Max opens the door and announces. "Justus Ward. . ." "Send him in." Sonny hold out his hands for Dara's coat. "Staying?" Dara takes off her coat, pulls out her reading glasses and takes a seat at the dining room table without bothering to acknowledge Justus' arrival. She immediately begins reading through the standard petition for divorce. Except that much to Dara's surprise Carly isn't asking for any alimony or child support with the exception of a condition that Sonny pay for both boy's education through college. Full medical and dental coverage for both boys. Visitation wasn't unreasonable. If Sonny agreed to it he'd have Michael every other weekend and Morgan on Sunday afternoons only until the baby was older and would be on the same schedule as his brother. Sonny also got one week in the summer. Of course there were conditions. A nanny or sitter pre-approved by Carly had to be present at all times and any violations of the agreement rendered it null and void and Sonny would lose all rights to visitation with both boys. Reaching the end of the petition, Dara translates all of it to Sonny. "There's something else that's not in those papers." Justus adds. "Carly doesn't want you coming to her house. Ever. Bobbie's agreed to drop Michael off for his visits or Leticia Juarez can pick him up but you're not to set foot on the grounds or in the house." Justus pulls up a chair and sits down across from Sonny. "Now Carly didn't put that condition in her request for a divorce against my advice. In fact my advice was for her to take out a restraining order and given the nature of her 'accident' I don't doubt that she would have been granted one. Instead she prefers to keep that off the record." Sonny reaches for the papers. "I'll sign them." "And?" Justus prompts patiently. "And I won't come to her house. It's not like I even know where she's going to be living." Dara places her hand over Sonny's. "You need to think about this before you sign these. The terms in this are very clear. I hate to use the word 'ironclad' but that's essentially what they are. If you have any doubts. . ." "You've had a month to think them over. And Dara's right. The terms are ironclad. And my client is prepared to stay out of Port Charles until you sign. The longer you put off the inevitable the longer it will be before you see your kids again." Outside the penthouse, Dara stops to pull on her gloves. "That was a little too easy for you don't you think?" "Of course it was. Sonny doesn't believe that Carly's serious. He doesn't think she's really divorcing him. It's called megalomania." Justus presses the button for the elevator. "I have to admit Dara I never expected to find you working for Sonny Corinthos. And they say politics make for strange bedfellows." Smarting, Dara shoot back. "If I remember correctly Justus you crawled into bed with Jason and Sonny long before I did." "This town is getting rather incestuous isn't it?" "More so every day."   For winter's rains and ruins are over, And all the season of snows and sins; The days dividing lover and lover, The light that loses, the night that wins; And time remembered is grief forgotten, And frosts are slain and flowers begotten, And in green underwood and cover Blossom by blossom the spring begins. - Algernon Charles Swinburne, Atalanta in Calydon