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Title: Just Between Friends
Author: speedy
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Expecting her second child and caught up in a mafia war, Carly Corinthos has a secret that will change the lives of everyone she knows.
Disclaimer: I'm not the Rat, so obviously the characters aren't mine. I'm just borrowing them for awhile.
Notes: Just moving this over from my now defunct website. This veers off canon right before the panic room fiasco in 2003.
Chapter 11
Carly read through her file again. The file for her case was kind of slim, but it had her complete history, as well as a history of Charlotte. The risk assessment for Charlotte listed her as a non-risk, wanting only personal retribution, and unlikely to blow her cover. Frisco even added the comment that Charlotte's retribution could buy them time in building their case against the Alcazars.
Retribution. What a word for taking over a life, convincing everyone that Carly loved that she was Carly, not the woman who was trapped in a cold, dank cellar dungeon in a South American fortress because some psycho arms dealer couldn't deal with the fact Brenda didn't love him. Retribution just didn't cover what Charlotte had done.
But there was years missing from Charlotte's file, the years after the accident. Just a brief paragraph about a mix up at the hospital and her being listed as Jane Doe, then the time she'd spent tracing Carly's every move in Port Charles. Nothing about how she went back to her family or how she found Carly in the first place.
The big question in Carly's mind right now was how. It gnawed at her. And she didn't have enough information to even hazard a guess.
She heard a knock on the door and slammed the laptop shut, hurriedly hiding all traces of the WSB from sight. Sure that everything was clear, she answered the door. Her breath stuck in her throat when she saw Jason standing on the other side.
"Jason," she said breathlessly, surprised to find him on her doorstep.
"Hi," he said, smiling. He waited for a moment, then spoke. "Can I come in?"
She returned his smile and shook her head, almost disgusted with herself. How dumb, to not invite him in! "Yes, of course!" She closed the door behind him. "Uh, sorry about that."
"No problem."
In his hands she noticed a laptop. "What's with the computer?"
He looked down at it, then back at her. "Felicia said something at the party last night that you work with computers. We're having problems with this one, no one has been able to figure out what it's doing. I was hoping you might take a look at it. Maybe you'll be able to fix it."
She thought for a moment. She really didn't know much about computers, although she had picked up enough through their various covers to fix Frisco's a couple times. But it was Jason's and it meant she'd have to see him again... She smiled flirtatiously. "I can take a shot at it, but I give you no guarantees."
"That's fine. I really appreciate you trying," he said, handing her the malfunctioning machine.
She set it down near Frisco's on the coffee table. "I'm surprised you came by. I thought you'd be on your honeymoon."
"We're getting ready to leave, but Courtney's still packing. Sonny's guy gave up on it, I thought I'd bring it by while I had time."
"What's there to pack?" Carly snorted. She smiled anxiously as she realized how snarky she'd sounded.
Jason chuckled, oblivious to her tone. "Yeah, tell me about it. But at least she won't be as bad as my ex-wife."
She'd heard how much of a clothes horse Brenda was, she could just imagine what traveling with her would be like. "Where are you going?" she asked, changing the subject slightly.
"Sonny's got a place on Martinique."
"Nice place."
"Have you ever been there?"
"A couple of times," she answered, looking down sadly. This whole conversation was making her uncomfortable and it didn't help Jason was showing his usual lack of emotion, as if she were just another outsider. She couldn't read him and she wasn't used to it.
"You and Frisco going anywhere?"
"No, in fact he just got a job at Luke's Place. He started today."
"So you'll be staying around for awhile?"
Yeah, until Charlotte gets exposed for the fraud she is, she thought bitterly. "We still haven't mind up our minds yet. Andy wants to spend a little time with his daughters."
Jason winced slightly, Maxie's reaction from the party still fresh in both of their minds. "Good luck with that."
"I'll tell him you said that."
He glanced at his watch. "I should be getting back. Hopefully Courtney will be done packing."
Carly closed her eyes, not wanting to watch him leave and not wanting to say what she knew she should. Frisco would be griping at her if he could see her. He'd once said in his line of work, to be considered good, you had to be able to boldface lie to those who loved you the most about who you were. This was just another challenge for her to face, just like breaking out of Alcazar's compound was. She got out of there in one piece, she survived Luis Alcazar's men coming after her, she'd survived two years with the super annoying Frisco Jones. She could handle this too. With a new resolve, she opened her eyes again and gave Jason a sweet smile. "Enjoy your trip."
Frisco sighed. He was sitting at Luke's desk, going through piles and piles of invoices and receipts. One of the distributors had called asking about their payment. As manager, it was technically Frisco's duty to take care of it, although the job was supposed to just be cover and he'd made that clear to Luke. But since the aging club owner had mysteriously disappeared not long before the call came in, Frisco was the one left to deal with the problem. The longer he dug through all the paperwork, the itchier his trigger finger was getting.
A knock on the door startled him. He looked up and found Felicia standing in the open doorway.
He somehow doubted this was a purely friendly visit. "Checking up on me, Princess?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.
"You can't blame me for having doubts," she said, closing the door behind her. She sat in one of the chairs across from him. "What is it that Luke hired you to do?"
"I'm the new manager," he replied coldly. She just gave him a faint, awkward smile. He softened towards her some. He didn't want to argue and bicker with her. He wanted this stay to be pleasant and not end with so many hurt feelings, like his other few visits had. "I'm driving myself nuts trying to figure out his filing system," he told her halfheartedly. "I have to find an invoice that needs to be paid and I can't make any sense of this mess. Do you happen to know his filing system?"
"Yeah, just pile it on the desk and leave it for the manager to figure out," she said with a little grin.
Frisco couldn't help but grin a little as well. He wouldn't be surprised if it was the truth, but the little teasing was nice. "That's just wonderful." He sighed in frustration, his grin fading. "Your doubts assuaged now?" he asked unsurely.
The blonde looked down. "Frisco, I just came to talk," she said softly.
"About?"
"You never introduced me to your new wife."
"You never came back over."
"What's her name again?"
He rolled his eyes. Felicia knew damn well what her name was, she was just playing games with him. He'd been through this more than once with her. "Robin," he said, a touch of annoyance in his voice. "Look, I've got a lot of work to do. Why don't you tell me why you came."
"I came to talk about the girls. Last night really upset Maxie."
He exhaled sharply, knowing what was coming. "She's mad at me. I get that. I don't need any lectures on why."
She took a deep breath, her eyes apprehensively meeting his. "I think maybe it's best if you don't see the girls."
Frisco's heart dropped. He couldn't believe she'd just said that. That she could look him in the eye and rip his heart out like that. "You can't be serious!"
"You're going leave again, Frisco. You told me that much yourself." He opened his mouth to protest, but she stopped him. "I don't care why. They're going to be hurt when you take off without a word to anybody. I'll have to pick up the pieces of the broken hearts you created, like every other time you've dropped in and out of our lives. I'm not going to let it happen this time."
"So you're just going to take away what might be my last chance to get to know them?"
"You better believe I am."
"They're not kids anymore, Felicia. You can't protect them from the world."
"No, but I can protect them from you."
Her voice was laced with iciness and a determination Frisco had not seen in her in a very long time. "What the hell does that mean?" he shouted angrily. "Damn it, Felicia! I'm their father! They don't need protecting from me!"
"Don't give me the good father crap!" she shot back, matching his tone. "We were never your priority! You never gave a damn about us!"
"You are so wrong, it's not even funny," he scoffed.
"Oh yeah?" She got up and leaned over the desk. "I can count one hand the number of times you've seen Georgie, and that includes this visit. The WSB is number one with you and it always has been." She stepped back, crossing her arms. "Everything else is second," she said, her emotions seeping through her determined exterior.
"If you didn't like it, maybe you should've stuck with as-exciting-as-a-root-canal Colton."
"At least I know he would've been there for me and the girls."
"You're one to talk. You're not exactly mother of the year either."
"Excuse me!"
"Does this office bring back memories, Princess?" he sneered. "The whole time I've been in here digging through the mess Luke left for me, I've had ignore the thought that you two, both married I might add, got it on right here on this very desk."
"I screwed up once. And I've been trying to make it up to them ever since. You, you've been one big screw up our daughters' entire lives."
Frisco jumped out of the chair and rounded Luke's desk. "You can't keep me from them, Felicia," he said emotionally, getting in his her face. "I won't let you. This is between them and me now."
"Well, they don't want to see you. You're not a part of their lives anymore."
"If that's the way Maxie feels, she can tell me that herself."
Another knock interrupted them. Carly opened the door and sauntered inside. She stopped when she saw the blonde. "Uh, hi," she said, glancing between the two. "I just came by to see if I could steal you away for a late lunch."
"Sure. Felicia was just leaving," Frisco replied coldly, staring just as coldly at his ex-wife.
Carly smiled uneasily at the older woman, not sure of what to do. "So you're Felicia?"
Felicia smiled sarcastically. "You're the new wife."
"My name's Robin."
The blonde stepped toward her. "I wish you luck. He's far from being decent husband material. He'll leave the second the WSB comes calling again," she said, glancing angrily back at Frisco.
"Well, we all have our faults, don't we?" Carly replied, shrugging. "Your loss, my gain." She smirked as Felicia left in a huff. "It was nice to meet you, Felicia," she called to the other woman, not even trying to sound sincere, then shut the door. She turned back to her husband, the smirk still on her face. "That certainly went well."
"Yeah," he snorted.
"I'm impressed, Frisco. You really brought out the big guns," she said, dropping her purse on the chair Felicia had just vacated. "You wasted no time in throwing Colton in her face. And the office sex comment, that was good." She smiled deviously. "I must be rubbing off on you."
"Please don't eavesdrop on my conversations, Carly," Frisco growled.
"I couldn't help it. You were loud enough to be heard all the way down the hallway."
"I am not in the mood for this," he groaned.
"Are you in the mood to make a phone call for me?" she asked hopefully.
"What kind of phone call?"
"The WSB kind. I want some information."
"Charlotte?"
Carly nodded. "I want to know how she found me. I want whatever your little minions can get me."
"Consider it done." Frisco looked at her sheepishly. "You want to help me look for a missing invoice?"
Chapter 13
Author: speedy
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Expecting her second child and caught up in a mafia war, Carly Corinthos has a secret that will change the lives of everyone she knows.
Disclaimer: I'm not the Rat, so obviously the characters aren't mine. I'm just borrowing them for awhile.
Notes: Just moving this over from my now defunct website. This veers off canon right before the panic room fiasco in 2003.
Chapter 11
Carly read through her file again. The file for her case was kind of slim, but it had her complete history, as well as a history of Charlotte. The risk assessment for Charlotte listed her as a non-risk, wanting only personal retribution, and unlikely to blow her cover. Frisco even added the comment that Charlotte's retribution could buy them time in building their case against the Alcazars.
Retribution. What a word for taking over a life, convincing everyone that Carly loved that she was Carly, not the woman who was trapped in a cold, dank cellar dungeon in a South American fortress because some psycho arms dealer couldn't deal with the fact Brenda didn't love him. Retribution just didn't cover what Charlotte had done.
But there was years missing from Charlotte's file, the years after the accident. Just a brief paragraph about a mix up at the hospital and her being listed as Jane Doe, then the time she'd spent tracing Carly's every move in Port Charles. Nothing about how she went back to her family or how she found Carly in the first place.
The big question in Carly's mind right now was how. It gnawed at her. And she didn't have enough information to even hazard a guess.
She heard a knock on the door and slammed the laptop shut, hurriedly hiding all traces of the WSB from sight. Sure that everything was clear, she answered the door. Her breath stuck in her throat when she saw Jason standing on the other side.
"Jason," she said breathlessly, surprised to find him on her doorstep.
"Hi," he said, smiling. He waited for a moment, then spoke. "Can I come in?"
She returned his smile and shook her head, almost disgusted with herself. How dumb, to not invite him in! "Yes, of course!" She closed the door behind him. "Uh, sorry about that."
"No problem."
In his hands she noticed a laptop. "What's with the computer?"
He looked down at it, then back at her. "Felicia said something at the party last night that you work with computers. We're having problems with this one, no one has been able to figure out what it's doing. I was hoping you might take a look at it. Maybe you'll be able to fix it."
She thought for a moment. She really didn't know much about computers, although she had picked up enough through their various covers to fix Frisco's a couple times. But it was Jason's and it meant she'd have to see him again... She smiled flirtatiously. "I can take a shot at it, but I give you no guarantees."
"That's fine. I really appreciate you trying," he said, handing her the malfunctioning machine.
She set it down near Frisco's on the coffee table. "I'm surprised you came by. I thought you'd be on your honeymoon."
"We're getting ready to leave, but Courtney's still packing. Sonny's guy gave up on it, I thought I'd bring it by while I had time."
"What's there to pack?" Carly snorted. She smiled anxiously as she realized how snarky she'd sounded.
Jason chuckled, oblivious to her tone. "Yeah, tell me about it. But at least she won't be as bad as my ex-wife."
She'd heard how much of a clothes horse Brenda was, she could just imagine what traveling with her would be like. "Where are you going?" she asked, changing the subject slightly.
"Sonny's got a place on Martinique."
"Nice place."
"Have you ever been there?"
"A couple of times," she answered, looking down sadly. This whole conversation was making her uncomfortable and it didn't help Jason was showing his usual lack of emotion, as if she were just another outsider. She couldn't read him and she wasn't used to it.
"You and Frisco going anywhere?"
"No, in fact he just got a job at Luke's Place. He started today."
"So you'll be staying around for awhile?"
Yeah, until Charlotte gets exposed for the fraud she is, she thought bitterly. "We still haven't mind up our minds yet. Andy wants to spend a little time with his daughters."
Jason winced slightly, Maxie's reaction from the party still fresh in both of their minds. "Good luck with that."
"I'll tell him you said that."
He glanced at his watch. "I should be getting back. Hopefully Courtney will be done packing."
Carly closed her eyes, not wanting to watch him leave and not wanting to say what she knew she should. Frisco would be griping at her if he could see her. He'd once said in his line of work, to be considered good, you had to be able to boldface lie to those who loved you the most about who you were. This was just another challenge for her to face, just like breaking out of Alcazar's compound was. She got out of there in one piece, she survived Luis Alcazar's men coming after her, she'd survived two years with the super annoying Frisco Jones. She could handle this too. With a new resolve, she opened her eyes again and gave Jason a sweet smile. "Enjoy your trip."
Frisco sighed. He was sitting at Luke's desk, going through piles and piles of invoices and receipts. One of the distributors had called asking about their payment. As manager, it was technically Frisco's duty to take care of it, although the job was supposed to just be cover and he'd made that clear to Luke. But since the aging club owner had mysteriously disappeared not long before the call came in, Frisco was the one left to deal with the problem. The longer he dug through all the paperwork, the itchier his trigger finger was getting.
A knock on the door startled him. He looked up and found Felicia standing in the open doorway.
He somehow doubted this was a purely friendly visit. "Checking up on me, Princess?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.
"You can't blame me for having doubts," she said, closing the door behind her. She sat in one of the chairs across from him. "What is it that Luke hired you to do?"
"I'm the new manager," he replied coldly. She just gave him a faint, awkward smile. He softened towards her some. He didn't want to argue and bicker with her. He wanted this stay to be pleasant and not end with so many hurt feelings, like his other few visits had. "I'm driving myself nuts trying to figure out his filing system," he told her halfheartedly. "I have to find an invoice that needs to be paid and I can't make any sense of this mess. Do you happen to know his filing system?"
"Yeah, just pile it on the desk and leave it for the manager to figure out," she said with a little grin.
Frisco couldn't help but grin a little as well. He wouldn't be surprised if it was the truth, but the little teasing was nice. "That's just wonderful." He sighed in frustration, his grin fading. "Your doubts assuaged now?" he asked unsurely.
The blonde looked down. "Frisco, I just came to talk," she said softly.
"About?"
"You never introduced me to your new wife."
"You never came back over."
"What's her name again?"
He rolled his eyes. Felicia knew damn well what her name was, she was just playing games with him. He'd been through this more than once with her. "Robin," he said, a touch of annoyance in his voice. "Look, I've got a lot of work to do. Why don't you tell me why you came."
"I came to talk about the girls. Last night really upset Maxie."
He exhaled sharply, knowing what was coming. "She's mad at me. I get that. I don't need any lectures on why."
She took a deep breath, her eyes apprehensively meeting his. "I think maybe it's best if you don't see the girls."
Frisco's heart dropped. He couldn't believe she'd just said that. That she could look him in the eye and rip his heart out like that. "You can't be serious!"
"You're going leave again, Frisco. You told me that much yourself." He opened his mouth to protest, but she stopped him. "I don't care why. They're going to be hurt when you take off without a word to anybody. I'll have to pick up the pieces of the broken hearts you created, like every other time you've dropped in and out of our lives. I'm not going to let it happen this time."
"So you're just going to take away what might be my last chance to get to know them?"
"You better believe I am."
"They're not kids anymore, Felicia. You can't protect them from the world."
"No, but I can protect them from you."
Her voice was laced with iciness and a determination Frisco had not seen in her in a very long time. "What the hell does that mean?" he shouted angrily. "Damn it, Felicia! I'm their father! They don't need protecting from me!"
"Don't give me the good father crap!" she shot back, matching his tone. "We were never your priority! You never gave a damn about us!"
"You are so wrong, it's not even funny," he scoffed.
"Oh yeah?" She got up and leaned over the desk. "I can count one hand the number of times you've seen Georgie, and that includes this visit. The WSB is number one with you and it always has been." She stepped back, crossing her arms. "Everything else is second," she said, her emotions seeping through her determined exterior.
"If you didn't like it, maybe you should've stuck with as-exciting-as-a-root-canal Colton."
"At least I know he would've been there for me and the girls."
"You're one to talk. You're not exactly mother of the year either."
"Excuse me!"
"Does this office bring back memories, Princess?" he sneered. "The whole time I've been in here digging through the mess Luke left for me, I've had ignore the thought that you two, both married I might add, got it on right here on this very desk."
"I screwed up once. And I've been trying to make it up to them ever since. You, you've been one big screw up our daughters' entire lives."
Frisco jumped out of the chair and rounded Luke's desk. "You can't keep me from them, Felicia," he said emotionally, getting in his her face. "I won't let you. This is between them and me now."
"Well, they don't want to see you. You're not a part of their lives anymore."
"If that's the way Maxie feels, she can tell me that herself."
Another knock interrupted them. Carly opened the door and sauntered inside. She stopped when she saw the blonde. "Uh, hi," she said, glancing between the two. "I just came by to see if I could steal you away for a late lunch."
"Sure. Felicia was just leaving," Frisco replied coldly, staring just as coldly at his ex-wife.
Carly smiled uneasily at the older woman, not sure of what to do. "So you're Felicia?"
Felicia smiled sarcastically. "You're the new wife."
"My name's Robin."
The blonde stepped toward her. "I wish you luck. He's far from being decent husband material. He'll leave the second the WSB comes calling again," she said, glancing angrily back at Frisco.
"Well, we all have our faults, don't we?" Carly replied, shrugging. "Your loss, my gain." She smirked as Felicia left in a huff. "It was nice to meet you, Felicia," she called to the other woman, not even trying to sound sincere, then shut the door. She turned back to her husband, the smirk still on her face. "That certainly went well."
"Yeah," he snorted.
"I'm impressed, Frisco. You really brought out the big guns," she said, dropping her purse on the chair Felicia had just vacated. "You wasted no time in throwing Colton in her face. And the office sex comment, that was good." She smiled deviously. "I must be rubbing off on you."
"Please don't eavesdrop on my conversations, Carly," Frisco growled.
"I couldn't help it. You were loud enough to be heard all the way down the hallway."
"I am not in the mood for this," he groaned.
"Are you in the mood to make a phone call for me?" she asked hopefully.
"What kind of phone call?"
"The WSB kind. I want some information."
"Charlotte?"
Carly nodded. "I want to know how she found me. I want whatever your little minions can get me."
"Consider it done." Frisco looked at her sheepishly. "You want to help me look for a missing invoice?"
Chapter 13
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