Chapters 34 & 35

 

GH2005. 34 The More Things Change...

 

Outside of Katherine's hotel, Mac and Felicia sit in an inconspicuous
grey sedan munching on Outback burgers. Felicia looks through
Katherine's opened bedroom window with binoculars while Mac changes the radio station.
Mac:"I'm trying to decide when to have the talk with Evan."
Felicia doesn't look up from her binoculars. "What talk?"
Mac sighs. "You know, the talk we talked about my having with him."
Felicia shakes her head. "You're more confusing than Lucy sometimes. Ohh
right-- the talk about his last girlfriend. You sure he's ready to talk
about that?"
Mac shrugs. "Don't know. Amanda said to tread lightly. That when
Michelle died Evan was inconsolable. Once he got through it; he never
talked about it again. I don't want to push him away, but I can't ignore
how much Emily looks like Michelle."
Felicia:"Well, maybe it's just a coincidence. I mean, Evan is so sweet,
I can't see him as harmful."
Mac sighs. "Kevin was sweet too. I totally trust him now, but there was
a time when I was kept on my toes with him."
Felicia shoots him a glare. "You were kept on your toes? Hello, It was I
who got stalked. I've forgiven him too, and I'm glad we were able to
repair our relationship. I'll be honest Kevin did cross my mind when I
was thinking about Evan and Emily. Mac, what happened with Kevin was
very different. You can't jump to conclusions because of that."
Mac:"I'm not jumping to conclusions. I'm upset that I wasn't around for
him when he was a kid. I wasn't able to help him through Michelle, or
t-ball or anything else for that matter. I want to help him now. We're
bonding honey, and I think now's the best time to talk to him about it."
Felicia starts to jump up and down. "OH MY GOSH!! Jackpot! Scott Baldwin
is in her room!"
Mac reaches for the binoculars. "Let me see."
Felicia pulls back. "No way bucko, I'm being kind enough to let you spy
on your ex-girlfriend. If you think I'm letting you near these to look
into her bedroom, you are sadly mistaken."
Mac sighs. "Fine, I'll listen to their conversation then."
Felicia watches them as Mac listens. "What are they saying?"
Mac:"I'm not telling! You want the binoculars then use them."
Felicia gets pouty. "PLeeaaassee! Come on-- what are they saying? He
kissed her when he came in and it was quite a kiss."
Mac nods. "It would make sense considering their conversation. They're
working together to milk Nikolas out of his money. DAMN, Stefan was
right. I think we'll just continue to record this conversation and then
head over to Spoon Island."
Felicia nods. "Do you think she's aged better than me? She doesn't even
appear to have a wrinkle from this view."
Mac cocks an eyebrow at her. "Which view is that?"
Felicia:"You'll never know. So has she?"
Mac kisses her cheek. "No one aged as well as you, honey. No one."
Felicia smiles. "Good answer, that couch would've been really hard
tonight."

Lois walks out of the shower and joins Ned in their room at The
Quartermaine Mansion. He wraps his arms around her and for a moment they just sit in silence. Kissing the top of her head and breathing in her
clean scent, Ned smiles as he looks at her. Even with all the grief he
feels at the loss of Brenda, Lois can still make him breathless, bundled
in her terry cloth robe, looking so beautiful, yet so sad.
Lois cuddles up next to him. "I miss her, Nedly. I can't believe Bren is
gone."
Ned holds her tighter as his voice cracks with emotion. "I miss her too.
No matter how many people I alienated, I could always turn to Brenda.
She was the sister of my heart. Rendy reminds me of her."
Lois smiles through her tears. "Yeaah, we sure named her right. Spunky
yet so sweet. Think she'll raise as much hell as Brenda did?"
Ned shakes his head. "Probably, but not for the same reasons. Rendy has
us to turn to. One thing I could always relate to with Brenda was the
lack of caring parents. WE were both loners in that sense. That's
probably why we were both so drawn to you, baby. You were raised by the
most loving people on earth, and it showed. In all the chaos of mine and
Bren's life you were our salvation. I know she loved you for that."
Lois hugs him tightly as she begins to cry freely. "It's not fair. First
Stone, then Sonny, now Bren! Why Nedly why? They were good people. They
didn't deserve to die so young."
Ned rocks with her gently. "I don't know why. Why was Paul killed? Dylan
doesn't have a father now. Why were good people like Gail and Lee
Baldwin slain in their own home? It doesn't make sense, and no-- it's
not fair. But look at Robin. She's a miracle. Robin's been given the
chance at life. There is no reason to it; all I can say, baby, is that
we just have to enjoy life while we're here."
Lois looks up at him. "I couldn't stand to lose you or one of the girls.
I don't think I could take it."
Ned nods. "I'm not going anywhere, baby. You and me against all odds."

At the Port Charles Airport Jax spots Lucky holding Sonni by his exit
gate. Sonni spots her father and runs to him. "DADDY!!!!"
Jax falls to his knees and opens his arms to embrace the fearful child.
She begins to ramble. "They won't let me see Mommy. I kept asking!!
Daddy, make them let me see Mommy!"
Jax caresses his daughter's face and feels the tears well up again. She
looks just like his Brender except Sonia had his eyes. He kisses the top
of her head and then points to an older lady. "Mrs. Sweeten is here to
take you to lunch. Daddy has to talk to Lucky and then he'll join you,
okay?"
Sonni clings tightly to him. "NO!! No!! I won't leave you!"
Jax hugs her."I'll be right back, luv. Just go with your nanny. Daddy
promises to explain everything to you, okay?"
She nods and reluctantly runs to her nanny. Jax watches her leave and
doesn't see Lucky approach him.
Lucky:"She's a wonderful kid. Reminds me of Lulu when she was that age."
Jax turns to Lucky with the tears spilling over his cheeks. "How?"
Lucky leads him to a corner table and takes a seat. "Right now they're
calling it an accidental overdose. I don't believe she took the pills
though."
Jax shakes his head and states firmly. "Brender would not have taken
pills. She beat that habit a long time ago. She wouldn't risk it now
that we have Sonni."
Lucky nods. "Look, Sonni found her. I think she knows her mother is
dead. She's just in denial. Lulu found my Aunt Ruby and it really messed
with her for a while. You might want to have her looked at later."
Jax looks horrified. "She found her mother dead? Oh my GOD! This just
continues to get worse. She didn't take the pills, so who killed my
wife?"
Lucky looks at him square in the eye. "My first guess was you. I mean
she was divorcing you, you didn't want her to."
Jax becomes extremely angry."I loved Brender with all my heart! Contrary
to what people believe, I know she loved me too. Maybe not as much as I
wanted her to, or in the way I needed her to-- but she did love me. We
had a daughter together. I could never..."
His voice cracks as he begins to sob silently. Lucky looks around and
then touches Jax's shoulder. "Look, I believe you. It was just my first
reaction. Who hated Brenda?"
Jax gains control and shakes his head. "No one really. She's had an
obsessed fan here and there, but no one that I could see linked to this.
Alexis hated her, but I can't see her doing this either."
Lucky looks offended. "I KNOW Alexis would never do anything like that.
Sure, she thought Brenda was worthless, but she would never do that to
anyone. Look, I'm not helping matters sitting here. I want to talk to
Garcia. I'm sorry about Brenda. I cared for her too. Let me know that
Sonni is okay."
Jax nods. "I'll keep you posted, Lucky, thank you for taking care of
things while I was away. Sonni needed me and I wasn't here to help her.
That'll never happen again."

Matt Clark sits in the interrogation room looking nervous as Alex and
Taggert pace back and forth. "Look, I told you. My prints were on the
bottle 'cause I work at the hospital. I put supplies into cabinets and
stuff. I probably touched that bottle and a thousand other ones."
Alex shakes his head. "I've seen you work before. You wear latex gloves."
Matt shifts slightly. "Not always. I get hot in them or I get busy and
forget sometimes. Look this is a waste of my time."
Taggert pounds his fist on the table. "Wasting your time? Boy you'd
better wake up right now and start talking. I don't think you're bright
enough to pull this off yourself. Now you're a known burglar..did that
Baldwin robbery go bad and you and your partner have to off them?"
Matt shakes his head. "I never robbed the Baldwins! I've never killed
anyone! You've got the wrong guy!"
Alex looks confused. "Why did you change your name, Matt? When we busted you the first time, your name was Reynolds."
Matt looks defensive. "My mom remarried and I took my stepfather's name.
My real father walked out on us. Look, I want a lawyer."
Taggert looks smug. "Your lawyer's kicking up daisies. Watcha gonna do?
The only person that would've given a rat's backside for you, you
killed!"
Matt slams his fist into the table. "It wasn't me, man! I'm being set up!"
Taggert looks at Alex. "He's being set up. Gee-- we never hear that."
Alex nods. "Okay, a lawyer has been called. You can wait here till he
arrives."
They leave him alone and walk to the front of the station. Scott Baldwin
arrives. "I'm here to represent Matt Clark."
Garcia and Taggert exchange looks.
Garcia."Scott, I think you might want to sit down."

Stefan listens again to the tape Mac and Felicia gave him. He has now
memorized the conversation and still seethes with anger as Nikolas walks
in. Nikolas hears Katherine's voice and becomes infuriated. "YOU BUGGED HER?"

 

 

Chapter 35 Rite Of Passage.

Nikolas looks at Stefan angrily. "Answer me!"
Stefan takes a seat and then addressed Nikolas. "Due to your lack of
knowledge, I will ignore that insolent tone and order you just bellowed
at me."
Nikolas shakes his head. "You never stop! Nothing changes with you! I am
now THE Cassadine and I demand an explanation at once!"
Stefan looks amused. "Oh, is this the part where the child shows his
father what a strong and powerful man he is by acting like a toddler
having a temper tantrum? Nikolas, I do not wish to fight with you and I
will explain everything to you. First, however you shall compose
yourself and take a seat. When you are ready to act like an adult, I
will be more than ready to treat you as such. I hope you will decide to
make haste in the matter though, for we have important matters to
discuss."
Nikolas fumes at being addressed in such a condescending fashion, but
backs down and takes a seat, knowing Stefan will not continue until he
does so. "Fine, I'm sitting. Explain."
Stefan nods. "Very well. You walked in on my listening to a tape that
Mac and Felicia made of Katherine and Scott Baldwin. It is quite
revealing. I'm sure you have questions...."
Nikolas cuts him off. "Mac and Felicia? Why are they bugging Katherine,
and why would they give you the tape?"
Suddenly Nikolas understand the situation. "You hired them to investigate Katherine! I don't believe you! No, I take that back, this screams your name. Am I so naive in your eyes that you feel the need to spy on my relationships?"
Stefan looks wounded. "Nikolas, you know me better than that."
Nikolas nods. "Yes, I know you best of all. You still don't trust me. I
am an adult, a father myself, and you don't trust me. I suppose I must
have failed you."
Nikolas looks at Stefan with his eyes filled with anger and pain and
Stefan sighs. "Obviously, I'm the one who's not trusted here. Nikolas, I
trust you. I also know how easy it is to fall in love with the charms of
Katherine Bell. I was once duped by her. It's she, I do not trust, and
now you will see I was correct in my judgement. I know this is painful
to hear, but Nikolas she is using you."

Nikolas sighs. "Of course she is. I'm no fool. She is using me to anger
you. Perhaps in a sense I was doing the same. We have a child together
now though. That changes things. I will not walk out on my child or allow him to not know who I am. I know how painful that can be for a child."
Stefan feels the pain pierce his heart as he studies Nikolas face. So
many years have passed, yet Nikolas was still so angry. Nikolas feels
Stefan studying him and recants. "I don't hate you or my mother. Both of
you think that at times, but it is not true. I have many emotions buried
regarding that situation, but hate is not one of them. I just don't
understand why you chose to betray me?"

Stefan clasps Nikolas hands in his own. " I did not betray you, Brephos.
These are steps taken to protect you, just as I always have and always
will. If you listen to the tape you will see that I was correct."
Nikolas shakes his head. "I have no reason to listen to that tape. You
have violated Katherine's privacy and I won't take part in it!"
Nikolas rises to leave but Stefan grasps his shoulder. "Sit. I am not
requesting that you listen to this tape. I am insisting. Your family
obligation demands that you take matters such as this seriously. If you
want to be angry with me then do so. Do not neglect your role in this
family by ignoring something as important as this."
Nikolas rises and walks over to the cassette player. He hits play and
listens.
Katherine laughs. "Of course everything is going according to our plan.
I told you I knew him like the back of my hand. He's as happy about the
pregnancy as I am."
Scott sounds unsure. "I don't know, Katherine. From what I hear Stefan
is a very intelligent man, doesn't he suspect anything?"
Katherine:"Sure he suspects, but so what? He pushed Nikolas off a cliff
and never looked back. Took Nikolas awhile to even tell Stefan that
Nikolas knew. I know everything there is to know about Nikolas and I can
keep him playing the game my way. You just need to relax. Don't tell me
the last time you've made love was with me."
Scott laughs. "You're so confident in your sexual appeal; aren't you?"
Katherine purrs. "I can make men turn from women half my age and look at
me. Let me ease some of that tension. In a few months I'll be so big you
won't find me attractive anymore."
Scott:"You'll always be attractive. So, we're agreed-- no paternity
test, right?"
Katherine laughs. "I told you; it's probably Nikolas' kid, but no
paternity test. I know you don't want any more kids. This kid is the
next Cassadine heir and he's going to make all our dreams come true."
Scott:"Well, let's hope so. We can't afford for this to blow up in our
faces. I've managed to help you out though. Nik's ex-wife Gina is
beautiful and very charming. I plan on dating her quite often if she's
interested. The added bonus is that it should keep Nikolas concentrating
on you, and leave Gina to me."
Katherine:"This is even better than we ever planned on. Stefan dumped me
to go to Laura. I get revenge on them both, marry a handsome charming
man, live the good life and have a child."

Nikolas turns the tape off and looks at Stefan with anger blazing
through his eyes. He begins to pace silently and Stefan waits for him to
speak. Like a caged animal, Nikolas picks up a Ming vase and shatters it
against the wall "DAMN HER!!!!"
Stefan jumps at the sudden outburst but doesn't say anything He knows
Nikolas well enough to let him be. He patiently waits for Nikolas to
calm himself. NIkolas looks at the vase and mumbles something barely
recognizable. Stefan speaks calmly. "I'm sorry Nikolas, I didn't hear you."
Nikolas turns to him, tears brimming in his eyes as he fights back his
anger and whispers. "Mother was afraid Lulu would break that vase."
Stefan thinks back to young Lesley Lu chasing Timoria and nearly
knocking over that very vase. As if he heard his name in Stefan's
thoughts, Timoria appears and runs up to Nikolas. Nikolas picks her up
and cuddles her to his cheek. The cat purrs at his stroking and Nikolas
seems to calm down a little. Stefan watches them for a moment then turns and pours a shot of Brandy into a glass. He motions it to Nikolas. "This might calm you a little."
Nikolas smiles realizing the test. "You always told me that a Cassadine
man's second greatest weakness was alcohol and to never turn to it when
confronting the first! So, no thank you."
Stefan smiles. "You do listen. Perhaps I should practice what I preach,
don't you think?"
Nikolas laughs.
Stefan:"What is so amusing?"
Nikolas :"It never fails to strike me when I hear you use an
Americanism. It sounds so different. I am sorry for my outburst earlier.
I guess I haven't quite grasped the lesson on fighting my impatience."
Stefan watches Timoria climb into Nikolas' lap and smiles. "You get that
from your mother. I love her dearly, as I do you. How are you going to
deal with this, Nikolas?"
Nikolas: "Confront her. I will no longer be played a fool. That child
might be mine, but if it is, it won't be raised by that conniving wench."
Stefan nods in agreement. "A paternity test will take care of
determining if the child is yours. If it is, Alexis will be ready to take Katherine to court to win custody of the child. I am sorry this happened, Nikolas. I had hoped my instinct was wrong."
Nikolas nods sadly. "I had hoped you were wrong as well. Mother says I
hide my heart. That I am afraid to truly show someone emotion. And she
wonders why?"
Stefan looks at him concerned. "Not all women are like Katherine,
Nikolas. Perhaps you should talk to Kevin."
He shakes his head. "No, I realize not all women are out to use me. Gina
only wanted to love me, yet look how that turned out. She said she
couldn't stay with me because I wouldn't let her in. It wasn't because I
didn't want to, I wanted to more than anything. I was afraid if she knew
me, she would no longer love me. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lay this on you."
Stefan looks him in the eye. "I miss this. It has been years since you
opened up to me and really told me how you felt. I thought I had lost that part of our relationship. Nikolas, there has been only one woman truly in my heart. I did not allow her in-- she made her own way. I could not stay away from her. I spent years watching her live her life with another man. And though I always hoped one day to be reunited, planned and schemed for it, I never expected it. I was given the chance, Brephos. One day you will meet someone who drives you as crazy as much as she makes you happy and allowing her into your heart won't be an option because she will already be there. When you find her, you will know. Take this in stride and handle it as I know you are capable. I am so proud of you."
Nikolas looks at him with disbelief. "Proud of me? I allowed a woman to
make a fool of me."
Stefan smiles. "And are the first Cassadine to do so? I think not; it
is practically a rite of passage maybe this more than your birthday is
the test of being THE Cassadine. You allowed yourself to listen to that
tape. Some people's pride would have kept them from seeing the truth.
You are a man now."
Nikolas hugs him quickly and then kisses his cheek. "I am proud of you
too. For once you didn't keep a secret from me. That is progress."
Stefan watches Nikolas walk from the room and sighs. "God help Katherine Bell."

NEXT

 

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