Chapter 17

Carly shifted on the couch and looked at the floor.  Sonny patiently waited for 
her to answer him.  He didn't care what her answer was anyway.  He was 
determined to get her to stay even if he had to force her to. He wasn't about to 
let Carly Spencer go.

"Um," Carly started to bite down on her lip but the warning look from Sonny 
stopped her.  "Is my old room still available?"

Sonny fought the urge to laugh in triumph.  He nodded instead. "Yes, it's been 
waiting for you." Like I have, he added silently.

"Now don't take this as a sign or nothing."  Carly started.  "It's just for a 
few days, three or four, at the most. And I might not even stay if Alex doesn't 
want me to."

Sonny cocked his head to the side.  "You're not going to let him tell you what 
to do are you?"

"I love him, Sonny."  Carly said quietly.

"Right."  Sonny stood up and walked around the couch.  "That's why you're 
staying with me."  He mumbled under his breath.

"What did you say?"  Carly twisted on the couch to look at him.

"I said, I'll send Vinnie and Carlos with you, when you go for your things and 
Michael." He lied.

"I don't need guards."  Carly protested.

"Luke thought you were in enough danger that you needed guards and just because 
you know about the Cassadines doesn't mean you're still not in danger." Sonny 
warned.

Carly sighed.  "Okay, whatever."  She got up from the couch.  "I might as well 
as do this while I'm still a little out of it.  I'll worry about my decision 
later on tonight."

"What?  You're going already? Fine, I'll have dinner ready for you when you get 
back. How about that?"  Sonny smiled at her, his dimples winking.

"Just the happy homemaker aren't you?"  Carly grinned. She was glad she could 
laugh at something right now.

"Only for you." Sonny said. "Only for you." 

Carly laughed as she headed for the door. "Vinnie and Carlos will be waiting for 
me when I get downstairs right?"

"I'm calling thing right now."  Sonny went over to the desk and picked up the 
phone and let the guards know that Carly was on her way down.

~*~*~

Maxie had just climbed in her window when her door started to open. She dived on 
her bed where she'd left her schoolbooks and tried to look as she she'd been 
studying. She let out a sigh of relief when it turned out to only be Georgie. 

"Thought I was Mom?"  Georgie smirked. She flopped down at the end of Maxie's 
bed. 

"No.  I knew it was just you."  Maxie lied smoothly. She rolled off her bed and 
crossed over to her bureau. She picked up her wastebasket and started tossing in 
her makeup.

Georgie stretched out.  "Well you're lucky she's still sleeping. You can't keep 
sneaking out and I won't keep covering for you."

"You don't have to.  I won't be sneaking out anymore."  Maxie picked up a bottle 
of lip-gloss and studied it before chucking it with the rest of her stuff.  It 
was too dark. Lucky probably wouldn't like it.

"What are you doing?"  Georgie frowned.  "And what do you mean you're not 
sneaking out anymore.  You're actually going to listen to Mom for once?"

"I decided that Mom already has enough to deal with.  Like Robbie, the baby, 
you… Dad." Maxie furiously threw a black lipstick into the garbage.  "And I 
decided to chance my look."

"Change your look?  Does that have anything to do with say… Lucky Spencer."

"You don't talk about Lucky and I don't talk about Neil Kanelos." Maxie shot a 
look at Georgie who held up her hands in surrender.

"Deal… did you ever find Dad?"  Georgie asked out curiosity and that's all she 
told herself.

"Yeah, I found him and I wish he had never come back!" Maxie swore.

~*~*~

Layla was her way to the Port Charles Hotel to scout around for Victor when she 
saw Nikolas walking towards her with a dejected look on his face. No matter what 
the true nature of her relationship with Stefan and the Cassadines may be, she 
actually liked Nikolas.  He stole her heart when he was just a little boy. 
Quickly changing her plans-Victor would no doubt still be at the hotel tomorrow-
she went up to Nikolas. 

"Nikki, darling what on earth happened to your face?"  She asked.

Nikolas looked up.  "Layla, hello.  Didn't think I would run into you again."

"Yes, well, I'm always there when you least expect it. Now what is with the 
extremely pitiful look on your face?  Does it have to do with that Webber girl?" 
Layla arched her eyebrow.

"Webber girl?'  Nikolas asked in confusion. 

"That Elizabeth chit who broke your heart.  You were very upset about her at 
lunch."  Layla reminded him.

Elizabeth, he hadn't given her much thought after lunch.  He had been thinking 
about Emily all this time. "I…this doesn't have to do with Elizabeth."  He told 
her.

"Oh, it doesn't?"  Layla looked like she wanted to know exactly who put that 
look on his face but he could she wasn't going to push it. "Well now I think I 
just have to do something about that look myself then.  It is up to me to 
entertain you.  Where were you off to?"

"I was heading for the island.  I was going to go over some papers and maybe go 
riding to clear my head."

"Riding it is!"  Layla said cheerfully.  "Ignore the papers."

"But my uncle will…" Nikolas began to protest. 

"Forget your uncle.  I will explain it to him."  Layla smiled.

~*~*~

"Wait here."  Carly told the guards before slamming shut the door behind her as 
she slammed into the Brownstone.  She hurried into her apartment. 

Alex popped his head out from the kitchen.  "You're back."  He smiled. He wore a 
white apron covered with orange spots over his suit.

Carly stopped short.  She had forgotten about Alex. Okay, she hadn't forgotten 
about him.  She had just placed him in the back of her mind along with the other 
things she didn't want to think about.  How was she going to explain her and 
Michael staying with Sonny? 

"Alex, hey."  Carly nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.  "What's 
all that stuff on your apron?"

Alex grimaced as she looked down at himself.  "Macaroni and cheese. Michael 
hated the meatloaf and I was going to buy him pizza so we… compromised.  He's 
upstairs coloring."

"You didn't have to make him anything special.  You should have just told him to 
eat the meatloaf."  Carly said.  

"Carly, he made The Face."  Alex did a quick impression of Michael's famous 
pouting face that usually got him everything he wanted. Carly started to laugh.

"Oh, yeah.  How could you stand up to that?"

"I love to hear you laugh. Is everything cool now?" He started to reach out and 
touch her cheek but pulled back when he saw the cheese on his fingers.

Carly dropped her head and rubbed at her forehead.  "I don't think it will ever 
be cool again. But I'll get through with this. What happened when you arrived?"

Alex wiped his hand on the apron.  "They were all clearing out. Luke and Bobbie 
were having some sort of argument about it all but luckily Michael was engrossed 
with his video game so he didn't know what's going on."

"Good.  I don't know how I'm going to explain this to him."  Carly flopped down 
on the couch.  Alex came up behind her and began to gently rub her shoulders.  
"I don't know if I'm even going to tell him."

"Where did you go?" Alex asked quietly. He hated the fact that he hadn't been 
with her when she needed someone. 

"I went for a walk like I said I would.  I ended up by the docks." Carly half 
lied.  Sonny's penthouse overlooked the docks.

"Oh."  Alex nodded.  He was going to say more but the phone rang.  

Carly flew off the couch in case it was Sonny calling to see what was holding 
her up.  She grabbed the phone and said breathlessly, "Hello?"

"I need to speak with Garcia."  Demanded a deep voice.

Carly made a face as she realized who was on the other end.  "It's Taggert." She 
dropped the phone down, not caring if it made a noise in his ear. She walked 
away.  "Tell him to say hello next time he calls you on my line."

Alex picked up the phone. He spoke in hushed tones with Marcus.  He hung up and 
regretfully came over to Carly. "Uh, baby…"

Carly nodded to herself.  She had been expecting this. "You have to go out of 
town."

"For a few days but I will tell them no. I'll tell them to send Taggert; he 
sounded like he was itching to go. I want to be here with you." Alex said 
softly.

But Carly's mind was already whirling.  With Alex going out of town she could 
stay with Sonny for a few days…just to get a clear head about the situation and 
to keep Michael safe, of course.  Alex would never have to know and he wouldn't 
get upset.

"Well, if they really do need you…"

Alex shook his head.  "Don't be like this.  I wasn't here for Jason's 
anniversary. I want to be here for this."

Carly leaned over and gave him a quick kiss.  "You are such a sweet man and I 
don't deserve you."

Alex ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her back for another kiss.  
"Yes, you deserve me and I'm not going."

"You are going and that's final."  Carly stood.  "When do you have to leave?"  

"Right now would be very good actually." Alex said.  "I have to stop by my 
apartment and pick up a few things."

"Then go.  Before I change my mind and handcuff you to the bed." Carly smiled.

"Sounds like something we should look into when I get back."  Alex took her into 
his arms. "Give me a kiss goodbye."

Carly wound her arms around his neck and offered up her lips in a long deep 
kiss.  Alex took a step back when he finally stopped for a breath of air.  "Wow, 
with a goodbye kiss like that you bet your bottom dollar I'll be rushing home."

Carly grinned and wiped her lipstick from his mouth.  "Go.  I'm missing you 
already."

Alex reached behind him and untied his apron.  "I'll say goodbye to Michael and 
let Bobbie know you're back.  She's very worried about you."

"I'll bet she is."  Carly muttered.  She walked him to the door and watched as 
he went to see Michael.  She waved as he came past her again and waited until he 
was out the door and at his car before heading for her room. She grabbed an 
overnight bag from her closet and went into Michael's room.  She began to stuff 
handfuls of clothes into the bag.

She heard her door slam and she knew that Bobbie had shown up.  She continued to 
pack for Michael.  

"We have to talk."  Bobbie said from the doorway.

"No we don't because I'm not talking to you."  Carly stated as she picked up the 
framed picture of Jason and Michael from Michael's nightstand.  She gingerly 
laid it in the bag. She grabbed a few things that she knew Michael wouldn't be 
able to do without.

"What are you doing?  Are you running away?"  Bobbie demanded to know.

"I'm not running away, I'm just taking a little vacation.  Michael and I are 
going to where the Cassadines can't get at us.  Don't worry it will only be for 
a few days."  Carly finished up with Michael's things and zipped the bag closed.

"Are you going out of town?"  Bobbie asked.

"No, I am not."  Carly brushed past her and went back into her bedroom.

"Then were are you going?"

"I'd rather not tell you."  Carly went to her closet and started pulling out 
suits for the week. She crossed over to her lingerie drawer. She was about to 
pull out a few lacey pieces of underclothes until she remembered that she was 
going to Sonny's place.   She immediately grabbed a handful of her cotton 
underwear instead.

"Carly, you can't avoid this."

"I can. You just watch me!"  Carly stuffed another bag with her own things.  She 
whirled around to face Bobbie.  "What… what was that this afternoon?  Huh?  How 
long have you known?  How long has any of them known?  And what about Luke?"

"You don't seem to be in the right mood for this discussion." Bobbie said. 
"We'll talk later when you've calmed down more."

"You wanted to talk?  Let's talk now.  This is the most calm I am ever going to 
get about this because the more and more I think about it the angrier I get.  
Was today supposed to be some sort of payback? Because I thought we were past 
that. Mama."  Carly glared at her accusingly.

Bobbie held up her hand in defense.  "Yes, we have moved past that. This wasn't 
done to hurt you.  It wasn't supposed to have been like that.  Victor and Luke 
weren't supposed to be here. I… this is all very hard to explain."  Bobbie 
sighed.

"You know, you're right.  Let's talk about this some other time. I'm going to 
take my son and we're going to go some where safe for a few days.  I'll call." 
Carly picked up the bags and Bobbie moved back as she went by her.  She stopped 
short as something popped into her head. "Has Emily been by?"

Bobbie nodded.  "Yeah, she said to tell you never mind and that she was staying 
with Sly instead."

Carly arched her eyebrow.  "Really?" Well it was obvious to her that Emily 
hadn't told Sly the truth yet but it was only a matter of time.  Emily was too 
honest for deceit.

~*~*~

Luke strode into Stefan's office not even pausing to knock on the door.  Stefan 
was seated in his chair; he had been expecting him to show up.  Luke was no 
doubt upset about what had happened at the Brownstone. Luke took a puff of his 
cigar and waved it around.  He seemed to take delight in smelling up the office.

"Stefan, man, you gotta do something about the guards.  Lulu could make her way 
past them and not break a sweat."

"I knew you were coming and I told them to let you past."  Stefan said simply.

"Aw, you did that for me?  You shouldn't have."  Luke mocked. "Alright, enough 
with the pleasantries. You know why I came."

"This afternoon at the Brownstone."  Stefan answered.

"Yeah, that little stunt you and Uncle dear pulled on little Caroline was not 
cool.  In case you didn't notice she isn't big on surprises."

"She is my daughter and I will claim her as such."  

Luke rolled his eyes.  "Right, who says she wants you to claim her? She's 
already wondering where you were all those years ago.  You should have 'claimed' 
her before we knew she was a Spencer.  Would have made things a lot easier on 
ya.  She's not the type to enjoy being 'claimed' because someone else was going 
to do it first."

"Are you done telling me about my daughter?"  Stefan asked.

Luke thought it over. He took another puff of his cigar and knocked the ash onto 
the floor. "Yeah, I'm done.  Just watch out and see if she doesn't come gunning 
for ya."

He headed for the door and barely jumped out of the way when it was opened from 
the other side.  He scowled at Nikolas, who had opened the door. "Watch it, 
princey-boy.  Could have hurt someone."

He eyed Layla and she hoped that he wouldn't say anything to blow her cover. She 
watched, as he looked her up and down in a leisurely manner. He winked at her 
and started to smile slowly.  "But I can see why you were in such a hurry. 
Couldn't wait to show this one off to uncle, huh?"

"It's always a pleasure, Luke."  Nikolas sneered.  He turned to Stefan.  "Layla 
will be dining with us, Uncle."

"If you don't mind, Steffie."  Layla said sweetly.

"Steffie?" Luke almost choked on his cigar.  "Now, that's cute. But then again 
Layla… that's a nice name… very nice. Luke Spencer." He shot out his hand for 
her to shake it.

Layla wrinkled up her nose and backed up.  "I'm sorry, sir, but your cigar is 
tickling my nose and it's going to make my dress smell. Could you please…?"

Luke nodded.  "Some other time.  I'll see you around… Layla."  He threw Stefan 
another look.  "Don't forget what I said about Caroline." He walked out the 
office.

"What was all that about?"  Nikolas demanded.

"I was handling the… Carly situation and things ran afoul this afternoon." 
Stefan said.  "So Layla, I see we are to be pleased with your prescience twice 
in one day."

"You'll soon be sick of me, I fear." Layla teased.

"Never." Stefan tossed back. He smiled back at her and she smiled at him.  
Nikolas cleared his throat to remind them he was still in the room.  

"I'm going to go upstairs and get changed and I will see if Mrs. Landsbury can 
find some suitable riding clothes for you, Layla."

"Riding?"  Stefan said.  "You have some very important papers to go over and…"

Layla moistened her lips.  "Come on Steffie, let him go riding. Why don't you 
come along and we'll make an outing out of it?"

"Well…"

"Please."  Layla demanded softly.  If she was going to blow off her mission for 
another day, she might as well have some fun.

~*~*~

The doorbell rang over and over and Felicia made her way over to get the door.  
"Guys!  Dinner's here!" 

Lately Felicia hadn't felt like the Suzy Homemaker and she has resorted to 
buying take out for dinner almost every night.  It was that or eat Mac's 
cooking.  The vote for takeout was unanimous. Felicia could hear the pounding of 
her offspring's feet as they ran down the stairs.  "Walk!"  She said.

"Mac is running too!"  Georgie said.

"God, you are such a tattletale." Maxie muttered as she headed for the kitchen 
to set the table.

"I am not."  Georgie countered.

"Are too."  They soon settled into the age-old 'are not-are too' rhythm as they 
went. Robbie following quickly as he tried to keep up with his big sisters. His 
"me too!" could be heard as he tried to get into the conversation.

Felicia had to laugh at the antics of her family.  At times, they could actually 
be charming.  She grabbed her purse and opened the door as she went through it 
looking for her wallet.  "Okay, how much do I owe you?"

"Just my daughters' love and trust."  Frisco said in the doorway. He was 
carrying the bag containing the Scorpios' meal of chicken and assorted side 
dishes. Felicia grabbed the bags and ignored what he said.

"Thanks for getting our dinner. I'll see you around."  She started to close the 
door in his face but he stuck his foot in it.  "Frisco, I will slammed this door 
on your foot."

Mac walked into the hall to see what was taking Felicia so long. "Hon, what's 
the hold-up?"

He spotted Frisco standing in the doorway.  "You!" His eyes narrowed and 
hardened. Before Felicia knew what was happening he'd punched Frisco in the eye 
knocking him out on the floor.