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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 7
Carly glanced at the clock on the coffee table again. She'd put away all their things and cleared out any reminder of Jason and Courtney. She'd rearranged everything but the furniture twice. She was starving, but she wanted to wait for Frisco. She stood up and went to the window to look out. The view was a bit different from the dump they'd been in before, but it was still somewhat comforting, just seeing the city she called home after being away for so long.
She sighed, turning away from the window. She was ready to finally admit it. She was worried about Frisco.
She sat back down on the sofa and turned on the TV. She flipped through the channels, not finding anything she even remotely wanted to watch. She'd been trapped in so many safe houses in the last two years, she could've sworn she'd seen every movie ever made.
There was a knock on the door and she turned the TV off. It couldn't be Frisco, he wouldn't have knocked. She looked through the peephole to see who it was. She never opened the door for strangers, but on the other side was no stranger. It was Tony.
She debated on opening the door. She really didn't want to see Tony. In fact, he was last on her list of people to see. But she wasn't Carly to him. He wasn't here to see her, he was here to see his brother.
Tony knocked again. She really should open the door for him. She'd tell him Frisco wasn't there and he'd leave, simple as that. Yeah, simple.
Carly pasted on her best fake smile and opened the door. "Hi," she said in her fake accent. "Can I help you?"
He looked surprised. "I'm looking for Frisco Jones."
"Frisco?" she asked, trying to be confused. "Oh, you mean Andy. He's not here," she told him, moving aside to let him in.
"Is he going to be back soon?" he asked, looking around. "I was hoping to talk to him."
"Um, I don't know when he's going to be back. Can I tell him you stopped by?"
"Yeah." He started to turn to leave, but stopped. "Oh, I'm his brother, by the way. My name's Tony."
"He's talked a lot about you. I'm Robin."
"It's nice to meet you, Robin."
Just then, Frisco appeared in the doorway. "Tony, what are you doing here?"
"We were just introducing ourselves," Carly told him.
"I wanted to talk to you," Tony said somberly.
"How'd you know where to find me?" Frisco asked, a little perturbed.
"What, you think you're the only detective in the family?" Frisco just looked at him, unbelieving. "Okay, Bobbie told me. Here," Tony said, handing his brother a piece of paper. "That's the information for the wedding party that Carly's throwing."
Frisco glanced at the paper. "She invited you?" he asked his brother, handing the invitation to Carly.
"No, Bobbie did, after Sonny told her that they'd invited you two as well. She thought if the party was going to partly be for you, that I should be there and that apparently didn't upset Carly too much."
"What's The Cellar?" Carly asked, interrupting them.
"Carly's club," Tony answered. "It's in the basement of Kelly's."
"Small club," Frisco snorted.
"She broke down a wall and found another room. It's a pretty nice place."
"It was nice of you to bring this by, Tony," Carly said politely. She glanced between the two brothers. "I think I'm going to go find something to do in the bedroom," she said as she retreated, leaving the two men relatively alone. At least as alone as one could get in a loft.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Frisco asked coldly, as soon as she disappeared.
Tony was still looking at where she had been. "I can't believe how much your wife looks like Carly, except for the dark hair," he told his little brother. "Sonny even said something to Bobbie about it."
Frisco sighed. His patience was already drained. He didn't feel like listening to small talk at the moment. "Tony."
The doctor turned his attention back to Frisco. "I'm sorry about this afternoon," he said quietly.
"Bobbie chewed you out, didn't she?" Frisco scoffed.
"No. She did however remind me that I've probably come closer to losing you permanently than I ever want to know and I should take you when I can get you because I don't know if I'm ever going to see you again." Frisco just sat down on the sofa, saying nothing. Tony sat next to him. "I was just mad. I went five years without hearing from you and I've talked to you a handful of times in the last five. I used to wake up in the middle of the night wondering if you were still alive and I'd be so worried I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep."
As if Frisco needed a reminder of all the people he'd hurt after getting the cold shoulder from his daughters and ex-wife. He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, Tony."
"Don't tell me you're sorry. Tell me you're staying."
"For the time being."
Tony sat back and sighed. "What is this? A vacation?" he asked bitterly.
"I'm off active duty temporarily."
"You're going back." It wasn't a question, but a statement long accepted as fact. Something he'd heard many times before.
"I'll have to at some point."
"You don't have to."
"Yes, I do, Tony," Frisco said insistently. "I can't walk away."
"You can do anything you want, Frisco. You've got people here who love you and need you. What about your daughters?"
Frisco sighed again. "They don't need me," he said, the sadness and desperation he felt sneaking into his voice. "That was made infinitely clear to me tonight. Maxie would prefer I wasn't around anyway."
"That would change if you stuck around," Tony told him, sounding more sympathetic.
He wanted to stay. He did. But it just wasn't possible as long as Cesar Faison was alive. "Look, Tony. I don't have a choice. I will have to go back."
Tony's bitterness returned. "And to hell with the rest of us."
Frisco closed his eyes. Those were Felicia's words exactly. "It's not like that."
The doctor opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. "I'm going to go before I say something I regret," he said, walking to the door. "Congratulations on the marriage. Hopefully she'll be better to you than Carly was to me."
Frisco just watched his brother leave. Carly emerged from her hiding place. "Hopefully she'll be better to you than Carly was to me," she mimicked sourly. "What kind of comment was that? Did I mention I didn't like him?"
"Stuff it, Carly. I'm not in the mood," he grumbled.
She sat next to him, careful to keep a safe distance. Last thing she needed was him flying off the handle and hitting her, however unintentional. "Didn't go well with the girls?" she asked cautiously.
"Define 'well'."
She grimaced. "That bad?"
He didn't answer immediately. "Well, I didn't get the door slammed in my face, so I guess that's a plus."
"What happened?"
"Got in a fight with Felicia, despite my attempts not to, got a few frosty glares from Mac, you could've frozen all of Africa with the welcome I got from Maxie, and I think Georgie was just being polite."
She put a hand on his shoulder gently, trying to comfort him. "You know, someone once told me the opposite of love was not hate, but apathy. Hate requires you to care first."
"I think that was me," he said, the slightest hint of a smile appearing on his lips.
She smiled, slowly moving closer to him. "If Maxie hates you, that means she still cares about you."
He frowned. "So what does that say about Georgie?"
"She probably didn't know how to react," Carly surmised.
"She did look shocked, so did Felicia," he said, turning his head to look at her. "Lucas tipped off Maxie. I think she asked Mac to come over knowing I was probably going to stop by."
"Why?"
"To make a point," Frisco scoffed. He looked down, playing with his wedding ring. "Felicia was a bit more blunt about it," he told her quietly. "She out and out told me Mac is their father."
Carly had never really cared anything about Felicia before, but that comment made her want to go over to that house and punch the woman's lights out. "Ouch."
"I guess she's right," he said, sighing. "They had him while I..."
"You didn't have a choice, Frisco," she reminded him.
"I know, but it doesn't make me feel any better."
"I know what'll cheer you up," she said excitedly. "Why don't we go to Luke's and I'll buy you some cheese fries?"
He shook his head. "I'm not hungry."
"Aw, come on! We haven't eaten since this morning!" she urged, getting up and trying to pull him up with her.
"So go get some take out from Kelly's," Frisco snapped, roughly pulling his hands away from her. "I don't feel like eating."
"Fine," Carly huffed, pouting slightly. "I'll go without you."
Carly opened the bag and pulled out a fry. Lucky for her, Lucas had still been working and he didn't make her pay for dinner, as a wedding present he told her. It was still a little weird to hear her little brother call her "Aunt Robin". She still cringed when she heard that name, she was never going to forgive Frisco for choosing it.
"Well, well, well. Look who we have here."
Carly looked up to see Charlotte standing in front of her, smirking. "Charlotte," she said icily.
"I always wondered when you'd show your face around here again."
Carly narrowed her eyes at her old friend, still not sure what to make of her actions. "Why'd you do it, Charlotte?"
"Why'd I do what?" the woman asked, laughing bitterly. "Reclaim the life you stole from me?"
"I didn't steal anything from you," Carly replied defensively. "You were my best friend, Charlotte. I would've given anything to know you were still alive."
"You took my name, my identity. Am I just supposed to forget that?" she sneered, getting in Carly's face.
"I would never have done it if I'd known."
"Oh, save the excuses, Caroline. You stole my life, so I took it back."
Charlotte turned and walked away, leaving Carly still wondering why. Her friend had never been this vindictive towards her before. Something just wasn't adding up.
Chapter 9
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 7
Carly glanced at the clock on the coffee table again. She'd put away all their things and cleared out any reminder of Jason and Courtney. She'd rearranged everything but the furniture twice. She was starving, but she wanted to wait for Frisco. She stood up and went to the window to look out. The view was a bit different from the dump they'd been in before, but it was still somewhat comforting, just seeing the city she called home after being away for so long.
She sighed, turning away from the window. She was ready to finally admit it. She was worried about Frisco.
She sat back down on the sofa and turned on the TV. She flipped through the channels, not finding anything she even remotely wanted to watch. She'd been trapped in so many safe houses in the last two years, she could've sworn she'd seen every movie ever made.
There was a knock on the door and she turned the TV off. It couldn't be Frisco, he wouldn't have knocked. She looked through the peephole to see who it was. She never opened the door for strangers, but on the other side was no stranger. It was Tony.
She debated on opening the door. She really didn't want to see Tony. In fact, he was last on her list of people to see. But she wasn't Carly to him. He wasn't here to see her, he was here to see his brother.
Tony knocked again. She really should open the door for him. She'd tell him Frisco wasn't there and he'd leave, simple as that. Yeah, simple.
Carly pasted on her best fake smile and opened the door. "Hi," she said in her fake accent. "Can I help you?"
He looked surprised. "I'm looking for Frisco Jones."
"Frisco?" she asked, trying to be confused. "Oh, you mean Andy. He's not here," she told him, moving aside to let him in.
"Is he going to be back soon?" he asked, looking around. "I was hoping to talk to him."
"Um, I don't know when he's going to be back. Can I tell him you stopped by?"
"Yeah." He started to turn to leave, but stopped. "Oh, I'm his brother, by the way. My name's Tony."
"He's talked a lot about you. I'm Robin."
"It's nice to meet you, Robin."
Just then, Frisco appeared in the doorway. "Tony, what are you doing here?"
"We were just introducing ourselves," Carly told him.
"I wanted to talk to you," Tony said somberly.
"How'd you know where to find me?" Frisco asked, a little perturbed.
"What, you think you're the only detective in the family?" Frisco just looked at him, unbelieving. "Okay, Bobbie told me. Here," Tony said, handing his brother a piece of paper. "That's the information for the wedding party that Carly's throwing."
Frisco glanced at the paper. "She invited you?" he asked his brother, handing the invitation to Carly.
"No, Bobbie did, after Sonny told her that they'd invited you two as well. She thought if the party was going to partly be for you, that I should be there and that apparently didn't upset Carly too much."
"What's The Cellar?" Carly asked, interrupting them.
"Carly's club," Tony answered. "It's in the basement of Kelly's."
"Small club," Frisco snorted.
"She broke down a wall and found another room. It's a pretty nice place."
"It was nice of you to bring this by, Tony," Carly said politely. She glanced between the two brothers. "I think I'm going to go find something to do in the bedroom," she said as she retreated, leaving the two men relatively alone. At least as alone as one could get in a loft.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Frisco asked coldly, as soon as she disappeared.
Tony was still looking at where she had been. "I can't believe how much your wife looks like Carly, except for the dark hair," he told his little brother. "Sonny even said something to Bobbie about it."
Frisco sighed. His patience was already drained. He didn't feel like listening to small talk at the moment. "Tony."
The doctor turned his attention back to Frisco. "I'm sorry about this afternoon," he said quietly.
"Bobbie chewed you out, didn't she?" Frisco scoffed.
"No. She did however remind me that I've probably come closer to losing you permanently than I ever want to know and I should take you when I can get you because I don't know if I'm ever going to see you again." Frisco just sat down on the sofa, saying nothing. Tony sat next to him. "I was just mad. I went five years without hearing from you and I've talked to you a handful of times in the last five. I used to wake up in the middle of the night wondering if you were still alive and I'd be so worried I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep."
As if Frisco needed a reminder of all the people he'd hurt after getting the cold shoulder from his daughters and ex-wife. He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, Tony."
"Don't tell me you're sorry. Tell me you're staying."
"For the time being."
Tony sat back and sighed. "What is this? A vacation?" he asked bitterly.
"I'm off active duty temporarily."
"You're going back." It wasn't a question, but a statement long accepted as fact. Something he'd heard many times before.
"I'll have to at some point."
"You don't have to."
"Yes, I do, Tony," Frisco said insistently. "I can't walk away."
"You can do anything you want, Frisco. You've got people here who love you and need you. What about your daughters?"
Frisco sighed again. "They don't need me," he said, the sadness and desperation he felt sneaking into his voice. "That was made infinitely clear to me tonight. Maxie would prefer I wasn't around anyway."
"That would change if you stuck around," Tony told him, sounding more sympathetic.
He wanted to stay. He did. But it just wasn't possible as long as Cesar Faison was alive. "Look, Tony. I don't have a choice. I will have to go back."
Tony's bitterness returned. "And to hell with the rest of us."
Frisco closed his eyes. Those were Felicia's words exactly. "It's not like that."
The doctor opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. "I'm going to go before I say something I regret," he said, walking to the door. "Congratulations on the marriage. Hopefully she'll be better to you than Carly was to me."
Frisco just watched his brother leave. Carly emerged from her hiding place. "Hopefully she'll be better to you than Carly was to me," she mimicked sourly. "What kind of comment was that? Did I mention I didn't like him?"
"Stuff it, Carly. I'm not in the mood," he grumbled.
She sat next to him, careful to keep a safe distance. Last thing she needed was him flying off the handle and hitting her, however unintentional. "Didn't go well with the girls?" she asked cautiously.
"Define 'well'."
She grimaced. "That bad?"
He didn't answer immediately. "Well, I didn't get the door slammed in my face, so I guess that's a plus."
"What happened?"
"Got in a fight with Felicia, despite my attempts not to, got a few frosty glares from Mac, you could've frozen all of Africa with the welcome I got from Maxie, and I think Georgie was just being polite."
She put a hand on his shoulder gently, trying to comfort him. "You know, someone once told me the opposite of love was not hate, but apathy. Hate requires you to care first."
"I think that was me," he said, the slightest hint of a smile appearing on his lips.
She smiled, slowly moving closer to him. "If Maxie hates you, that means she still cares about you."
He frowned. "So what does that say about Georgie?"
"She probably didn't know how to react," Carly surmised.
"She did look shocked, so did Felicia," he said, turning his head to look at her. "Lucas tipped off Maxie. I think she asked Mac to come over knowing I was probably going to stop by."
"Why?"
"To make a point," Frisco scoffed. He looked down, playing with his wedding ring. "Felicia was a bit more blunt about it," he told her quietly. "She out and out told me Mac is their father."
Carly had never really cared anything about Felicia before, but that comment made her want to go over to that house and punch the woman's lights out. "Ouch."
"I guess she's right," he said, sighing. "They had him while I..."
"You didn't have a choice, Frisco," she reminded him.
"I know, but it doesn't make me feel any better."
"I know what'll cheer you up," she said excitedly. "Why don't we go to Luke's and I'll buy you some cheese fries?"
He shook his head. "I'm not hungry."
"Aw, come on! We haven't eaten since this morning!" she urged, getting up and trying to pull him up with her.
"So go get some take out from Kelly's," Frisco snapped, roughly pulling his hands away from her. "I don't feel like eating."
"Fine," Carly huffed, pouting slightly. "I'll go without you."
Carly opened the bag and pulled out a fry. Lucky for her, Lucas had still been working and he didn't make her pay for dinner, as a wedding present he told her. It was still a little weird to hear her little brother call her "Aunt Robin". She still cringed when she heard that name, she was never going to forgive Frisco for choosing it.
"Well, well, well. Look who we have here."
Carly looked up to see Charlotte standing in front of her, smirking. "Charlotte," she said icily.
"I always wondered when you'd show your face around here again."
Carly narrowed her eyes at her old friend, still not sure what to make of her actions. "Why'd you do it, Charlotte?"
"Why'd I do what?" the woman asked, laughing bitterly. "Reclaim the life you stole from me?"
"I didn't steal anything from you," Carly replied defensively. "You were my best friend, Charlotte. I would've given anything to know you were still alive."
"You took my name, my identity. Am I just supposed to forget that?" she sneered, getting in Carly's face.
"I would never have done it if I'd known."
"Oh, save the excuses, Caroline. You stole my life, so I took it back."
Charlotte turned and walked away, leaving Carly still wondering why. Her friend had never been this vindictive towards her before. Something just wasn't adding up.
Chapter 9
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