Chapters 40 & 41
Chapter 40: Aftermath
Robin and Jason exchange a worried glance. Robin listens to Evan explain
Mac and Felicia's accident on the hotel room phone while Alexis
explains the entire nightmare to Jason on his cell phone.
Evan sighs. "That's pretty much the entire story. Emily is bringing
Maxie and Georgie to the hospital. I'm going to stay with them until Dad
and Felicia are released. I promise, everything is under control. Their
only real message to you was for you and Jason to stay where you are and
enjoy your honeymoon."
Robin shakes her head. "How can I possibly stay? Uncle Mac, Felicia, and
Alexis are all nearly killed and I'm supposed to stay here and enjoy my
honeymoon? I think I can speak for Jason and myself when I say we're on
our way home."
Evan: "Look, I totally understand where you are coming from, but I can
hear Alexis on the next phone and she's insisting you and Jason stay put
as well. Everything is handled here. You'll make everyone a lot happier
if you try and salvage your honeymoon. Tonight, I'll have the girls give
you a call. You can listen to them tell you the same thing. Robin, we
don't really know each other, but you're my cousin-- family, and as
family I'm begging you to enjoy some time with your new husband. The
chaos will still be here when you get back."
Robin laughs gently. "Spoken like a true Scorpio. Okay, if Jason wants
to stay, I will, but Cousin, I assure you I'll expect everyone accounted
for when I get home, and lots of details."
Evan laughs. "Promise. Enjoy yourself, and we'll talk when you get
back."
Robin. "Give the girls and everyone hugs from me. Evan, I'm really glad
you're here. They're going to need you tonight. I can't wait 'til we can
really get to know each other."
Evan smiles. "I'm looking forward to it too. I'll take care of the girls
tonight and will give everyone your love. They have Dad and Felicia in a
room together so when you call them just ask for room 213."
Robin groans. "Oh no, a room together? I hope the nurses are getting
paid double."
Evan busts out laughing. "I hear ya. Okay-- take care of yourself. See
ya when you get home."
He hangs up the phone spotting Emily and the girls.
Alexis weeps softly on the phone. "I know, Jason, but I can't forget he
died trying to protect Stone and me. Janice took care of Taggert, but my
god, she lost her husband. I thought I was past all of this. I thought
losing Sonny was the last act of violence. I was kidding myself. I'm a
Cassadine and my son is a Corinthos. This will never end."
Jason grimaces. "I'm sorry, Alexis. George was a good man. Don't worry;
I'll take care of Janice. I can't say you're wrong about the violence,
but you need to keep in mind-- this was one man, hell bent on revenge.
He destroyed a lot of people's lives. He's gone now, and I assure you,
you'll always be protected. I gave Sonny my word, and I'll never let
anything happen to you and Stone. I should've had more protection on
you."
Alexis shakes her head. "No, don't you dare turn this around. Jason, how
many times did I try and tell you I didn't need protection anymore? I
was with Tom; I had a new life. You saved my son and me tonight. I will
never forget that. No one could have predicted that Taggert was behind
this. Please, just take care of Janice. I will see to George's funeral
arrangements. Oh, how am I going to explain this to Stone? He loved
George like an uncle."
Jason fights back his emotion. "Alexis, lean on Tom. He helped you about
Sonny he can help with this. I'll be home tonight to take care of the
arrangements."
Alexis firmly replies. "NO. You are going to stay with Robin. Taggert
won't succeed in ruining any more of your honeymoon. I will have Tom
help me with Stone. I have Stefan to help me with the arrangements and
to provide further protection. Take care of Robin and enjoy your time
together. I insist."
Jason moves restlessly. "I have to take care of you and Janice."
Alexis smiles. "I have Joseph and Benny here. They will take care of
things until you come back. Sonny would never want you to cut short your
honeymoon."
Jason relents. "Okay, I'll call Joseph. Alexis, don't go anywhere by
yourself. Robin and I will be home tommorrow."
Evan escorts Maxie and Georgie into Mac and Felicia's room. Georgie runs
to Felicia while Maxie makes a beeline for Mac.
Maxie hugs him tightly. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Mac smiles at her and wipes her tears away. "We're fine."
Maxie looks over at her mother who's hugging Georgie tightly. She winks
at Maxie. "We're already arguing, ask the nurses."
Evan laughs. "They surely are, in fact, I think I saw the nurses drawing
straws to see who has to check on them."
Maxie and Georgie laugh as Mac and Felicia fake annoyance.
Mac: "Some help you are. They're probably just fighting to come in.
Felicia and I are pretty popular you know."
Felicia nods. "Yeah, that's right-- they all want to wait on us! Shame
on you, Evan."
Evan holds up his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay, sure they're banging the
door down to get in here. Tell you what, how about I make up for my
lapse in judgement by taking care of my beautiful little sisters
tonight?"
Georgie looks up at him curiously. "You're our brother?"
Maxie rolls her eyes. "Well, yeah silly. He's Mac's son which makes him
our step brother."
Georgie looks at her annoyed. "He didn't say step sisters; he said
sisters."
Evan smiles at her. "Sister is shorter. So whatcha think? Movies and
some pizza tonight?"
Georgie nods. "Cool."
Maxie feigns shock. "Wow, she said cool to you! You have totally won her
over."
He laughs and Georgie rolls her eyes at Maxie. "You're such a dweeb
sometimes."
Maxie laughs and tousles her hair. "Older and wiser then you, squirt."
She turns back to her parents. "You promise you're okay?"
Felicia nods. "We're fine, baby. Go have pizza and watch movies with
Evan. You guys can probably take us home tomorrow."
Mac smiles at Evan. "You sure you're up to this?"
Evan laughs. "Oh yeah, I think I can handle these two. They look
harmless enough."
Georgie winks at him slyly. "Looks can be deceiving."
Evan nods. "Right you are Georgie, right you are. So, Maxie, you have
your license yet? "
Maxie nods. "Yeah, Lucky taught me to drive last summer."
Mac and Felicia exchange fearful glances at the memory then laugh.
Evan continues. "Well, I caught you checking out my Ram a few days ago,
you want to give it a try?"
Maxie eyes light up. "I can drive your truck? Really? It's like a V8
right?"
Evan laughs. "Yep, so you interested?"
She nods and grabs the keys. "Wow, this will be so cool."
Georgie looks up at Evan. "So, does this mean when we get home you'll
take me for a ride on your motorcycle?"
Evan winks at her. "Shhh don't tell the 'rents, but yeah why not? You
have to wear the helmet though."
She nods her head solemnly. "I promise."
Felicia:"OK, you be careful! All of you! I don't want a Scorpio family
outing to the ER tonight okay?"
They all laugh and agree to be careful as they walk out of the room.
Mac turns to Felicia and grins. "I think we're all really connecting
now. They seem to like him."
Felicia laughs. "Sure they do, he's letting one drive his cooler than
cool truck and is taking the other on a motorcycle ride. What's not to
love? Seriously, you're right though, our strange little family is
really a family. I'm glad Evan decided to let us in."
Mac smiles at her. "Me too, and I'm really glad my beautiful wife and
daughters are letting him in. I love you, Honey."
Felicia blows him a kiss. "Love you too, now about my driving...."
Chapter 41: Time Passes By
Lucky knocks on Carly's door, using his keys when there's no answer. He
slowly walks in. Then he catches a glimpse of her curled up on the
couch. She is crying softly as she holds on to the blanket wrapped
tightly around her. Wordlessly he eases on to the couch next to her
pulling her to him gently. Carly wraps her arms around him sobbing as he
rocks her. Neither say anything as he soothes her. Kissing the top of
her head, Lucky silently thanks God that his cousin is okay.
Lucky feels the anger rise as he remembers his Aunt Amy losing her life
at Taggert's hands.
Stroking Carly's hair gently, he whispers. "It's okay, darlin'; I'm
here."
Carly lets out a scream. "Why? Why did he want to kill me? Damn Taggert
for wrecking hell on our lives! It was supposed to be me! He wanted to
kill me! I saw him and Matt together! Why didn't I put it together? I
could have stopped this! Mac said I saw something between Taggert and
Matt Reynolds. I don't remember anything, Lucky! I don't remember! Help
me remember! Fix it
Lucky! Fix it!"
Lucky hugs her tightly as she sobs. "Carly, I want to help, darlin', but
you had no way of knowing what Taggert and Matt were up to and how it
involved you. Do you ever even remember seeing them together? Cut
yourself some slack, and take this slowly. You're pushing yourself too
hard right now. Hell, I know how I felt when I heard it was supposed to
be you. I can only imagine what you're feeling."
Pulling away, she looks at him sadly, tears falling over her cheeks.
"It's my fault. Amy was covering my shift! I killed your aunt. Why are
you here?"
He shakes his head then cups her face in his hand. "You didn't kill Amy;
Taggert did. I'm just thanking God he didn't get another shot at you.
That he wasn't able to be around long enough to get the chance! You and
me, we're family, darlin'. You know that. If anything happened to you...
I'm here to stop this self hatred thing you've got going on. Yeah, I'm
mad as hell Amy's gone. I'd kill Taggert if he wasn't already dead. I'm
here for you, Carly. Let me help you."
She reaches out to him and hugs him tightly. "I love you so much, Lucky.
I know I don't say it very often. I never told Uncle Luke I loved him.
He died before I could. You'd think I would have learned by now-- people
leave so fast, without warning. I want anyone else I care about to know
how I feel about them. I really do love you. You help heal the loss that
occurred when Luke died."
Lucky nods. "I love you too, and Carly, baby he knew you loved him. You
healed the same void. You and me, two of kind eh?"
She smiles. "Yeah, you're always there when I need you. Only you knew
that I would be here in a rut right now." Carly looks up at the sudden
knocking on the door.
Lucky smiles. "Someone else knew to check on you. Want me to get it?"
She nods and he goes to the door. He finds Bobbie smiling at him. "Hey
there Lucky."
Lucky hugs her tightly. "Hey Aunt Bobbie."
Bobbie whispers. "Is Carly up to seeing me?"
He nods. "Carly, I gotta jet, but Bobbie's here to see ya."
He breezes over to her and gives her a peck on the cheek. Lucky shuts
the door behind him. Carly wipes her eyes and stands to greet Bobbie.
"Hi, is there a problem with AR?"
Bobbie shakes her head. "No, he's with Tony. I came by to check on you.
Are you okay?"
Carly nods. "Sure, I'm fine."
Bobbie smiles understandingly. "You need to be a little more convincing.
I heard about Taggert and all the other details. Oh Carly, I'm so glad
you're okay."
Carly looks at her surprised. "Why? I figured you'd be upset he couldn't
make good on his intentions."
Bobbie looks at her clearly wounded. "Are we still there? I thought we
were making some progress. Carly, you're my daughter."
Carly laughs through her tears. "Some daughter. I ruined your marriage.
You must still hate me."
Bobbie shakes her head. "No, I don't hate you. I can't forget what
happened with Tony. Carly, you're a mother now. You must understand that
bond. Could Anthony ever do anything so bad that you'd honestly hate
him? I'm not saying anger. I mean HATE."
Carly shakes her head. "Never."
Bobbie smiles. "I love you, Caroline. From the moment you were born 'til
today for every day that I'm alive. You're my daughter. Nothing will
ever change that."
Carly looks at up at her. "I love you too, Mama. I always have. I'm so
sorry. I never should have treated you the way I did. When I found out I
was pregnant I finally understood what Luke told me all along. He kept
insisting you gave me up out of love and I wouldn't listen to him. I was
so full of contempt and hate. I just wanted you to feel the pain I felt.
Then, here I was older than you, pregnant and considering adoption."
Bobbie looks at her surprised. "Adoption? I never knew."
Carly sighs. "No one did. Tony was furious with me for sending you the
custody papers. I knew it was over. I couldn't see how I was going to be
able to raise him on my own. Then you and Tony were there. You helped me
get back into the nursing program. Luke helped me find a decent place to
live. Tony even went to Lamaze with me. Lucky ran to the store for my
cravings. Everyone was around helping me. All I could think of was you
at sixteen, trying to survive and doing the only thing you could to
ensure that I would have the chance you didn't have. I wanted to run to
you, to say I was sorry and that I understood, but everything was still
so raw. I still wanting Tony, and you were still so angry with me. Luke
and you weren't even speaking; you found out he knew who I was. When we
got back from mom's funeral, you made up with him. We agreed to be civil
to each other and I honestly figured that was as much as I could ever
expect."
Bobbie nods. "I wanted to forge a relationship with you, Carly. Luke
told me too, but I kept getting these 'stay away from me' vibes. I just
told myself time would tell, and we could make up for all the lost time.
I never accepted that you and I wouldn't make amends and forge a
relationship."
Carly blinks back her tears. "When Luke died, I thought it was over. He
was the one who always included me in the Spencer family stuff. He was
the link. I never expected you to agree to help me by being the guardian
for Kelly's. Mama, you were such a godsend--helping with AR and
everything. I
let so much time go by. I don't want to let any more. I'm so sorry,
please, can you ever forgive me for destroying your marriage? For not
telling you who I was? Can you ever really forgive me?"
Bobbie takes her hand and squeezes it. "It's forgiven. I want to stop
wasting precious time too. You're my daughter, and I really love you."
Carly hugs her tightly and sobs. "I love you too. I love you too."
Bobbie cries with her as she hugs her.
Lucky smiles as he walks away from the door. Reaching his car, Lucky
then drives out to the cemetery. Walking to the familiar place, he dusts
off the words 'This is only a temporary setback' and smiles. Placing a
cigar by the tombstone, he sits in front of it. "They found their way
back to each other. You always said they would, but to be honest... I
had my doubts. You'd think I would've learned to stop doubting you by
now. I know you see them, Dad. Wherever you are, I know you saw them
reunited. I can just see ya gloating, dying to tell someone you told
them so. Carly was right today though. We still need you. It seems like
everything just spins out of control. I know you want me to take care of
everyone, but I can't seem to handle it the way you did. Aunt Amy's
gone. Lu forgets more and more of her Spencer side the
longer she's on the Island. Stefan's good to them though, Dad. You know
that too, I'm sure. I can't help thinking you must hate it. That I let
you down when Mom and Stefan got married. I don't know anymore. All I
know he wasn't as bad as you thought. I know you called the truce, but
Dad did you ever really mean it? Or did the feud die with you? Is any of
this even making sense to you? I need you so much. You could sort this
out for me. You'd tell me how to get Emily back. I lost her due to my
damn pride. I always figured she'd be around. I let time creep up on me
and now she's in love with someone who's not me. I miss you so much."
Lucky sits in silence for a moment then rises, wiping the stray tears
from his eyes. Walking away,he hears the thunder ripple through the sky
and smiles. "I know you miss us too."
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