Chapter 70 & 71
GH2005.70 Making Plans
Alexis walks into her kitchen at the Hardy home. She looks at a zoned
out Mark staring blankly into space. "How about some coffee?"
He turns to her and blinks his eyes. "Huh?"
Pouring some ground coffee into a filter, she smiles over at him. "What
would you like for breakfast?"
Tom Hardy's booming voice echos through the kitchen. "Don't answer that,
Mark! It's a trick question. As much as I love my wife, I have to tell
you-- she can't cook to save her life. So, if she will kindly step away
from the kitchen, I'll take care of whatever damage that's already been
done."
Mark smiles weakly as Alexis swats her husband with a kitchen towel.
"Fine, I'll never cook again."
Stone lets out a cheer as he walks into the kitchen. "You promise,
Mommy?"
Scowling, Alexis finally breaks into a grin. "Okay, little boy, just for
that I'm baking your next birthday cake."
Tom calls over to Stone. "She's bluffing. She loves cake too much to
chance a baking disaster."
Shaking his head, Mark takes in the scene. They're so happy together.
The feeling of intruding overwhelms him, as he rises from his chair.
"I'm going to grab a shower and head over to the hospital."
Placing her hand on his arm, Alexis smiles comfortingly. "Let's
compromise. You take a shower, join us for breakfast and then I'll drive
you to the hospital. I have business over there this morning."
"Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes." Mark walks off as Stone takes a
seat next to his mother.
"He looks sad, Mommy. Is there anything we can do for him?" His dark
brown eyes remind Alexis of Sonny, the way his eyes used to pierce her
soul with a mere glance.
"Honey, we're doing all that we can right now." Alexis strokes his curly
brown hair away from his eyes and looks down at the paper he is holding.
"What's this?"
Holding up the drawing of a rainbow proudly, Stone pronounces. "A
picture for the baby. Hospitals are dreary."
Tom ties his apron around his waist and begins to make pancakes. "I'm
sure both Mark and Adam will love the picture, Stone. It's very
thoughtful."
Mark stands under the hot water, his eyes closed as his tears mix with
the water. Letting out a long sob, He sinks to floor in the shower and
holds his knees with his hands. Rocking back and fourth, he looks up at
the ceiling. "Why, Damn it! Why did you do it? Things were changing for
us, baby! (His voice cracks.) I had a job; we had Adam-- why did you
need the drugs?" Unable to speak further, Mark breaks into gut
wrenching sobs as he tries to rock away the pain.
Alexis picks up her ringing cell phone, and answers briskly. "Hardy.."
"Cassadine. I need you." Nikolas sits at his desk, his face as hard as
stone as he looks with distaste at his wedding photo to Gina.
Alexis walks out of the kitchen and into her bedroom. "Nikolas, I'm a
little busy today. Robin's assisting on the autopsy of Crystal Monroe.
I have to take Mark to the hospital, deal with Mercy's chief of staff,
and try to help Mark get settled in here."
"I am moved by your generosity to the child, Alexis, but this is
important as well. I told Gina everything."
The air leaves Alexis lungs for a moment, as she lets the news set in.
"Are you insane? If Gina tells Scott, he will go straight to Katherine,
and she could run. We have no idea if the child she carries is your son
or not. You may lose him before you ever have the chance to find out!"
"The lecture is unnecessary, Alexis. I need to know what I can do
legally to keep Katherine from running." Placing the photo face down in
a desk drawer. He waits her answer.
Feeling her anger rising, Alexis fights to control her voice. "Short of
locking her up on the island, there isn't much that you can do. Look,
don't do anything else. I'll go to Mercy as planned, and take care of my
business there. Jason will probably be able to come and check on Mark.
Then I can deal with this. Nikolas, how many times will you allow your
emotions to overrule your better judgement? Let's hope Gina thinks you
are just being a meddling fool, and won't go to Scotty with news of your
outburst."
Slamming his fist on his desk, Nikolas replies firmly. "She's the mother
of my daughter. I cannot just sit back and allow her to become a pawn
in Baldwin's plan. Let the coward come after me, and I will deal with
him directly. He is using Gina to get to me, and I will not allow it. I
don't give a damn what the costs are."
Hanging up the phone, Alexis rubs her temples wearily. "Just another fun
day keeping the Cassadine gate."
Mark pulls his t-shirt over his muscular chest and takes a look at
himself in the mirror. His eyes are bloodshot from his tears, but for
the most part he doesn't look to bad. He finds some visine and drops a
couple drops into each of his eyes and then takes another look. " Adam,
I won't fail you; I'll find out who killed your mother. I will ensure
you have a bright future-- one that your mother and I were denied.
History won't repeat itself. I won't let it."
He leaves the bathroom and walks back into the dining room. Once again
all eyes focus on him with the same look of compassion and pity that
makes him want to hurl. He feels a tug at his shirt and looks down at
Stone smiling at him. "I made something for your son."
Mark takes the picture and feels the tears threaten to overflow. He wins
the battle over his emotions, and kneels down next to Stone. "Thank you.
I know Adam will like the rainbow in his room."
Stone places a hand on Mark's shoulder and replies solemnly. "Don't
worry, by the time Adam comes home, I'll have lots of pictures for your
room."
Mark rises and takes a seat at the table. He is in awe of the amount of
eggs, pancakes, and bacon that placed before him. "Wow, I don't think I
can eat all of this."
Tom laughs good naturedly. "Give it your best shot. Teenage boys are
known for their appetites. If you don't finish it up, I'll just call
Lucky Spencer over. That boy can eat, though he's so lanky you'd never
know it."
Mark watches as Alexis and Tom begin to banter over breakfast and smiles
to himself. "Maybe this won't be so bad." He thinks as he digs into his
breakfast.
Robin Morgan walks into the nursery. Jason sits next to the incubator,
stroking the tiny arms of Adam Morgan Monroe. "Hey you."
Without turning from the incubator, he asks. "What's the verdict?"
She lets out a angry sigh. "There were needles marks between her toes.
Jason; those weren't there before. She died because of the anesthesia
and heroin mix. The anesthesia further depressed her already heroin
affected system. Her heart and lungs just couldn't function. Jase,
it's the same heroin that Mai-Ling died from; it has to be! Crystal
wasn't an amateur when it came to taking heroin; this stuff was so
strong that it knocked her out. Damn those incompetent fools! She'd have
made it, if they had taken the time to do a drug screen."
Jason looks at the tiny baby in the incubator and replies coldly. "What
about Adam? Any drugs in his system?"
Robin looks at his charts and shakes her head. "No, he's clean. That's
one reason that I know the heroin was so strong. It hit her so fast
that it didn't have time to pass through the placental barrier before
the accident. If he would have been born an hour later, it would have
been in his system. Adam's just very underweight. He could have some
problems due to the premature birth, but I honestly think they can be
handled; Mark won't lose his son too."
"I have to talk to him about funeral arrangements. I will be paying for
her expenses."
Robin places a hand on his shoulder and squeezes. "This isn't your
fault, Jason. You can't blame yourself."
He turns to her, his eyes cold with hatred. "It's my neighborhood, and
someone slipped through with this poison. I'm going to find out who, and
it's not about to happen again."
Leaning over him, she kisses his cheek. "I have every confidence in your
ability to handle this, I just don't want to see you punishing yourself
for something you had no control over. Remember when I lost my first
patient? (Putting a finger on his lips as he begins to interrupt her)
Listen, you told me that my job was to help people. That I took an oath
to save lives, but no matter how hard I try, I can't save everyone.
Jase, neither can you."
Jason goes back to stroking the infant's arm and replies simply. "But
that's the difference between us, Robin; I don't want to save everyone--
only mine."
GH2005.71 Early Morning Visitors
The bright light shining in her face causes Lucy to hold her arm up to
cover her eyes. "Who are you?? What do you want?"
There's nothing but silence as Lucy moves toward the light. "I know
you're out here. Why are you following me?? What do you want??"
The light disappears and Lucy is left alone in some woods. She looks
around anxiously trying to figure out where she is. The wind causes the
trees to sway. The sound frightens her, as she begins to run toward a
path.
Tripping, she spirals down the side of the path. She hears evil laughter
fill the woods as she picks herself from the the ground, brushing off
the leaves and dirt from her dress. "WHERE ARE YOU?? SHOW
YOURSELF--DAMN YOU!!"
The laughter increases to a volume that makes her cringe. She covers her
ears and sinks to her knees. "STOP!! STOP!!"
"LUCY!! Wake UP!!" Cassidy shakes Lucy, gently trying to wake her from
her nightmare.
Lucy rises from the bed covered in a cold sweat. She grabs onto Cassidy
and shakes as she holds her. "I could hear them...I could hear people
in the woods."
Cassidy strokes Lucy's hair and tries to calm her. "Luce, it was just a
dream. No one's here, but you, Serena and me."
Looking at her with fear filled eyes, Lucy shakes her head. "I can feel
it, they're still watching." She grabs her stomach as the babies kick
her. "It's okay, babies, Mommy won't let anyone hurt you." Looking at
Cassidy, she repeats with determination. "No one will harm my children.
I need to talk to Scott."
"Scott? Why Scott? I can call Kevin." Cassidy reaches for the phone, but
Lucy stops her.
"I know you don't have a very high opinion of Scotty, but I need him. He
can help, and if I call Kevin, he'll rush back here. I want him to
finish his book tour, so that when I'm ready to deliver the kids, he
will be at my side."
Taking Lucy's hand into her own, Cassidy smiles at her with concern. "I
have no opinion of Scott. I just don't want anyone taking advantage of
you, Luce. How about I call Lucky and see if he feels like crashing on
the couch for a few nights."
"Okay, call Lucky, but I still need to see Scotty. Serena is his
daughter; he has the right to know what's happening." Lucy picks up her
cell phone and dials the familiar number as Cassidy walks from the room.
Scott Baldwin groans at the sound of his phone ringing. He reaches past
Gina's sleeping body, and picks up the extension. "Baldwin."
"Collins. Scotty, I need to talk to you."
Scotty's pulse begins to race as he hears the anxiety in her voice. "I'm
on my way over, Luce." Hanging up the phone, he emerges from bed, and
grabs his jeans.
"I didn't expect you to leave me for a married woman." Gina's voice
startles him.
"Lucy needs to talk to me; there's nothing more to it. You gonna be okay
here?"
Gina looks into his piercing blue eyes and melts. "I'm teasing. Is there
anything I can do for Lucy?"
Scott looks at his watch and laughs. "At 630 am? I don't think so. Get
some more sleep, you're pulling a double shift starting this afternoon."
She giggles at him and uses his shirt to pull him closer to her. "I
expect you to wake me up in a more desirable way than my alarm clock
will, right?"
"You know me too well. I'll be back as quickly as possible." He brushes
a kiss across her lips before leaving the room.
Gina props herself up on his pillows and sighs. "Nikolas, you've sunk to
a new low. Scott would never do the things you accused him of."
Karen Scanlon smiles as she feels her husband trail kisses down her
back. "It's to early for this."
Joe whispers in her ear, seductively. "You used to enjoy this-- no
matter what time of day it was."
Turning over to face him, she wraps her arms around his neck and smiles.
"I still do, but 630 in the morning is pushing it after I worked 'til 2
am. You have to be at work at 730, don't you?"
Kissing her forehead, he laughs playfully. "That's correct, Dr. Scanlon.
I traded with Julie so she could make her doctor's appointment."
Stretching, Karen laughs. "Thank goodness Dr. Goldstein is back. You
have no idea how many people are pregnant in this town right now. I'm
exhausted."
Joe mumbles to her, as he begins to trail kisses over her chest. "You
love working in OB. That's why you chose it as your field. Babe, do you
think we should have another baby?"
Pulling him towards her, she looks him hard in the eye. "Unless you plan
on being the one who carries him or her, I don't think so. WE have three
beautiful kids. I think we've done our
job. Now, all we have to do is raise them." Pushing him on his back, she
lays on top of Joe and whispers seductively. "But, we can still pretend
we're trying to create another baby."
Running his hands down her back, Joe laughs. "I like they way you think,
Doctor."
Lucky sits on the couch next to Cassidy, trying to concentrate on what
she's telling him. "Slow down, Cass. First of all-- Yeah, I'll stay, but
exactly what's goin' on? And why is Lucy outside with Baldwin, rather
than talking to Kevin?'
Cassidy shrugs her shoulders. "Scott's here, and I guess she thinks he
won't overreact like Kevin will. Anyway, some wackos took some pictures
of Lucy and Serena. They also sent a roast duck here last night, but I
didn't tell Lucy about that. I don't want her anymore freaked than she
already is."
Lucky takes the pictures from Cassidy, and shudders. "This is beyond a
simple little joke. You called Mac Scorpio yet? If not, then pass me the
phone. He can help."
Cassidy stops him. "Mac's my brother's best friend. I don't think Lucy
will go for that."
With a calm voice, Lucky replies. "She doesn't have much choice. She has
Serena and the babies to think about."
Lucy watches with a mix of anger and disbelief as Scott raves in front
of her. He paces back and forth at the duck pond.
"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, LUCE? You can't be chasing down bad
guys, you're pregnant. I'm calling Kevin. This nonsense has gone on long
enough."
Lucy stands in front of him, shaking with anger. "The hell you will. I
asked you to help me. If you don't want to help, fine, but you will not
call Kevin!"
Scotty places his hands on her shoulders and looks her hard in the eyes.
"You have to consider your health as well as the babies. If you aren't
going to do that, then I'll be damned if I won't call Kevin and have him
do it. I won't be responsible for you losing another baby, Luce."
He turns from her and walks towards the pond. Trying to calm himself, he
scolds himself. "Great going Baldwin, get her more upset."
Lucy looks at him curiously. "Responsible for me losing another baby?
What are you talking about, Scott?"
"Luce, I knew you were pregnant last time I was in town. I still had you
help me track down Rex so that I could get Serena back. That stress
probably cost you your baby." Scott turns and faces her, his face full
of regret. "I'll never forgive myself for that. You're now asking me to
stand by and watch you chance another pregnancy. Luce, you're my best
friend, the mother of my daughter, but I can't do it."
Lucy's eyes fill with tears as she walks towards him. "Mother of your
daughter?"
He nods and fights back tears. "You're the one who gives her make up
tips, the one she tells her boy troubles to. You're the one Dominique
wanted to be Serena's mother. The one I want to be Serena's mom, since
Dom can't be."
"You never told me that before. Oh Scotty, I don't want to endanger my
babies either, but there has to be a way to do this that doesn't involve
telling Kevin." She hugs him tightly as he kisses the top of her head.
"We bring Mac and Felicia into this. If Mac insists we tell Kevin, then
that's the final word. If he agrees to help without calling Kevin, then
I won't call Kevin either. That's the best I can do, Luce."
Lucy slaps him playfully on the arm. "Okay, fair enough. Let's go in and
talk to Cassidy and Lucky. They need to be kept up to speed."
Scotty groans playfully as he follows her towards the lighthouse.
"Great, Luke Spencer-- the next generation, color me happy."
Karen Scanlon knocks on her father's door and waits for an answer.
Noticing his car gone from the driveway, she balances the groceries on
her hip and uses her key to enter the house. "Time for you to start
eating real food that doesn't involve takeout, Dad. Joe and I renting a
house of our own has done horrors to your eating habits."
Karen walks into the house and as she walks to the kitchen, she runs
into Gina, covered only in a towel, in the hallway. Gina gasps as Karen
looks at her with surprise. "Oh man."
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