![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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 22
Frisco glanced at his watch as he stepped out of the elevator. He was supposed to be at Luke's soon, but he had to stop at the hospital first. He needed to get Carly away from Sonny, Jason, and Charlotte. Staying at the loft was no longer an option.
Neither he or Carly had slept much the night before. She'd patched up the graze on his leg, telling him repeatedly that he really needed stitches, but screw that. He wasn't interested in going anywhere near the hospital. They'd talked more about moving, an idea she wasn't entirely unhappy with. He knew how she felt and he understood her reluctance, how she hated the idea of leaving her son again, so he'd offered her a compromise. He'd suggested they move to the Brownstone. She'd be close to her mother and brother and have a chance to still see Michael. They would be away from the mob and he had the advantage of knowing the place inside out. Win-win, they'd both decided.
Frisco looked around the nurses' station, but the only person nearby was Alan Quartermaine. He walked around to the other side, where the older doctor was focused on a chart. "Hey, Alan," he said, leaning on the counter. "How's it going?"
Alan looked up in surprise. "Frisco, hello! How's the honeymoon going?"
"Not a private investigator in sight," Frisco joked, smiling uneasily.
The doctor laughed embarrassedly. "Glad to hear it. Are you looking for Tony? I think he's on duty today."
Frisco's jaw setting as he pushed the anger back. "No, I'm not," he replied, trying to sound as normal as possible. "I'm looking for Bobbie."
"She's assisting Monica in surgery this morning. I'll tell her you're looking for her when she gets out."
"Great. Thanks."
"Do you want me to give her a message?"
"I was just wondering if there was an apartment open at the Brownstone. That's all."
"Actually, she's got a full house at the moment."
"You're sure about that?" he asked dubiously.
"Someone asked about it just a couple days ago," Alan told him. "She said she didn't have any more room. She's been renting to some of the young residents around here, those apartments don't stay empty for long these days."
It was times like this that Frisco wished he'd had a Plan B.
"Well," he said disappointedly, "I guess I don't need to talk to her now."
"If you need a place to live, my daughter Skye has a house she's trying to rent out."
"Skye?" he asked dutifully, already knowing the story from the files. Skye Chandler, Alan's daughter by Rae Cummings, an old college friend of Tony's. She'd been at the reception/party at The Cellar, but he hadn't gotten the chance to meet her. "Did I miss you and Monica having another kid?"
"My wife would probably kill you for that," Alan replied, sighing as he rubbed his forehead. "It's a long story. Anyway, Skye has this cottage just outside of town and she's looking for someone to rent it to. It's a nice place, with plenty of room for Maxie and Georgie. I can set up a meeting with her if you want."
He knew the cottage. According to the file, Ms. Chandler had gotten it as part of her divorce settlement from Jasper Jacks, who had inherited it from the not-so-dead Brenda Barrett, who was the reason for the divorce - not to mention Frisco and Carly's current predicament - in the first place and had bought it after being left at the alter by Sonny Corinthos. The cottage had also been once home to Robin Scorpio, her boyfriend Jason, "his" child Michael and Michael's mother Carly.
Yeah, that was going to go over well.
The cottage had already been cleared by the WSB for Robin's security, it would do again for Carly. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best situation he could come up with on short notice.
"That'd be nice, Alan," Frisco replied. "Just tell her to stop by Luke's when she has time. I'm usually there till seven."
Carly was sitting on the sofa folding laundry. Frisco had actually done most of the laundry before he left, but she'd been left with the folding.
She'd been thinking about their move. One advantage to Frisco's decision was they'd have to leave the loft. She was not the least bit sorry she wouldn't be reminded of Blondie anymore. Good riddance, she couldn't get out of this place fast enough.
Living at the Brownstone wouldn't be so bad. The only downside was she'd end up having to still be around Charlotte. But to see Michael, Bobbie and Lucas, she could deal.
She heard a knock on the door, catching her off guard. She wasn't expecting anyone and she was alone... A thousand terrible images flashed in her mind as she walked the short distance from the sofa to the door.
She opened the door to once again find Courtney on the other side. Instead of crying, the young blonde looked angry. "Hi, Courtney," she said, smiling cautiously.
Blondie pushed past her silently.
"Come right on in," Carly muttered under her breath, annoyed.
Blondie spun around. "I don't know what you think you're doing here..." she sneered.
Carly was confused. Yesterday, Courtney was singing a different tune. "Excuse me?" she said, interrupting the blonde.
"I'm going to tell you now. Whatever your plan is, it won't work. So don't even bother."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I'm sure," Courtney shot back snidely. "I think you should leave."
"Leave?" Carly asked, dumbstruck.
"Yeah. Consider the offer withdrawn. I want you out of my apartment."
She snorted in annoyance, putting her hands on her hips. "Why are you so mad? What the hell is going on with you today? You jump off the Courtney happy train at the wrong stop?"
"Oh, just give it up. You know exactly what I'm talking about," the young woman sneered.
"No, I don't," Carly replied firmly.
"You are not going to destroy my family. I won't let you. I want you out of here by tonight. Leave the keys on the counter."
She left, pushing past Carly again.
Carly knew Charlotte had said something to Miss Clueless, but she had no idea what. The only reason she put up with Courtney was because of Blondie's connections to Michael and Jason. The imposter had just cut off her closest connection to her son and she was going to pay for it.
She sighed, not yet sure what to do. "I think this means war."
Frisco pressed the button on the elevator. According the sign, it was on the first floor. The surgical floors were at the top of the hospital, middle of the day, he had a long wait.
Hopefully Luke would actually be working today. He didn't think he could take an entire shift standing up. His injured leg was throbbing from the little standing he'd already done. Not to mention the work he needed to catch up on. The last thing he needed today was to be covering for Luke.
"Leaving without saying hello, little brother?"
Scratch that, Luke wasn't the last thing he needed.
Frisco turned his head to see Tony walking towards him. He said nothing. He didn't want to even see his brother.
"Cat got your tongue?"
"I don't care to speak to jackasses who feel the need to lie."
"What have I lied about?" Tony asked in confusion.
"Well, it would've been nice to know about Maxie's OD," Frisco shot back, his voice dripping with false sincerity. He glared at his older brother. "I expected this from Mac, but not you. I expected you to be honest with me."
The doctor sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't think about it."
"I can see how a little thing like that would slip your mind," he said, rolling his eyes. "It's not like she died."
"Don't be flippant."
"Me? Flippant? Surely you jest."
"You're mad at me. I get it," Tony said, pushing his brother away from the elevators to a semi-private corner of the waiting area. He dropped the chart that had been in his hands on a nearby table. "Just drop the attitude, Andrew."
Frisco could feel his heart rate jump a few points. "Do you get it?" he asked, challenging Tony. He could barely control the emotions raging inside him. He felt like he was going over the edge. He frustratedly ran a hand through his hair. He took a few steps away, trying in vain to gather his thoughts. "You're behaving like she was just another patient, Tony!" he shouted, losing all pretense of being calm. "She's your niece! My daughter! She's only alive today because she has your daughter's heart! And you just treated her like any other patient coming through the ER!"
"What else was I supposed do, Frisco?"
"Oh, I don't know, Tony," Frisco said sarcastically. "Talk to her, maybe? Find out why she'd do something so stupid?"
"Like she was going to tell me anything."
"How the hell do you know? You didn't even try! You left it up to a virtual stranger! To the mob!"
Tony closed his eyes, the realization coming to him. "Jason told you."
Frisco grabbed the doctor's coat. "I shouldn't have had to hear it from him! I should've heard it from you!" Tears welled up in his eyes as the hurt began to replace the anger. "My little girl almost died, Tony! Why the hell didn't you tell me?"
Tony tried to comfort his brother but Frisco shoved him away. "I'm sorry, Frisco. I'm so sorry," he said regretfully. He led Frisco to a sofa and pushed him to sit down. "Frisco, she's fine, I swear. If it had been more serious, we would have tried to contact you."
"Like someone called me about the kidnapping?" Frisco scoffed.
"You've kept yourself out of the loop, little brother."
Frisco put his head in his hands. "I know she's hurting and very angry," he said softly. "And I know whose shoulders a large part of the blame falls on. I know I've basically turned into Dad, with the whole absentee non-parent thing..."
"Dad wasn't absent."
"He might as well have been."
"I'd say your blame is more than a large part."
That cut through him like a knife in the heart. His older brother could wound him like no one else, besides Felicia. "She's a teenager, that automatically makes her insane to begin with. I know the stuff with Felicia and Luke hurt her pretty badly too. I'm not alone in the blame category."
"It started with you leaving," Tony reminded him.
Frisco couldn't argue with that. It was the truth, and where Maxie was concerned, the why didn't really matter. "I don't want to talk about this, Tony. I didn't come here to see you," he said defeatedly, standing. "I need to get to work."
He started to walk away, but Tony stopped him. "Frisco, I know it's useless and it won't change how you feel, but I wasn't trying to keep Maxie's OD from you. I'm sorry."
"I'm sure you are."
Screw the elevator, Frisco headed to the stairs.
Frisco was slumped in Luke's chair, a glass to his lips when Carly strolled into the club. He was morose, staring off into space with a file open on the desk in front of him.
"Raiding the old man's personal liquor supply," she said, dropping her purse on the desk. "I think that's an executable offense."
"Ask me if I care," Frisco mumbled impassively.
She was too excited to deal with his crummy mood. "So, what did Mama say? When are we moving in?"
"We're not."
"What?"
"Brownstone's full, no room."
"So where are we going to live?"
"Loft'll have to do us for a little while till something else gets worked out. I've got a lead on a..."
She dropped into a chair. "We've been kicked out," she told him, annoyed.
Frisco's eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"Courtney's convinced I'm plotting against her family." She rolled her eyes. "She wants us out immediately."
He sighed. "Damn it."
"You said you had a lead? Did the agent in Florida come up with something?"
"I meant on a new place. I ran into Alan Quartermaine at the hospital. His daughter has a house she's renting out."
"That Skye chick he introduced me to? Snotty redhead?"
"You met her?" he asked uninterestedly and she nodded in response. "He was going to send her here to talk to me about it, but she hasn't been by yet."
"What kind of place is it?"
He pushed the file towards her.
She looked at the papers, flipping through them. The pictures, the address, she recognized all of it. "Brenda's cottage?" she asked irritably. "How the hell did she get her hands on that?"
"She got it from Jax in the divorce, after he dumped her for Brenda."
"It all comes back to freaking Brenda!" she shouted, the fury boiling inside her. "The crazy, spoiled bitch isn't worth it!"
A hint of a smirk appeared on his lips. "I knew you'd love the idea."
She jumped up and slammed the file down on the desk. "You're not seriously considering this, are you?"
"Do we have a choice?" he answered flatly.
"We always have choices," she replied uncertainly.
"How long do we still have the loft for again?"
"Our bags are packed," Carly grumbled. She hated admitting he was right.
"Well, there's your answer," Frisco replied. "This is our best bet under the circumstances."
A shadow appeared in the doorway and knocked on the open door. Felicia leaned against the doorframe, smiling politely. "Can I talk to you, Frisco?" She looked at Carly, anything but polite. "Alone?"
Frisco stood, glancing at Carly, and crossed his arms. "There's nothing you can say to me that you can't say in front of her."
Carly silently watched the scene with interest, looking between the two former lovers. Felicia was obviously uncomfortable with the new wife's presence.
"Frisco..."
He seemed to falter for a moment, but his voice was unyielding. "She's my wife, Felicia. Get used to dealing with her."
"Fine," the blonde sighed. She walked over to the desk, stepping between Frisco and Carly. "Mac told me you stopped by the station yesterday."
"I'm sure he told you the whole story."
"I thought we should talk about it."
"A little late for that, don't ya think?" he scoffed bitterly.
"If you're trying to make me feel guilty for not calling you, it's not going to work."
Carly rolled her eyes. "How about for not saying anything when he got back to town?" she piped in, not able to keep her mouth shut. "It's not like this is your first opportunity."
Felicia shot her a dirty look. But when she turned back to Frisco, the blonde looked as sweet and sorry as humanly possible. "I'm sorry if you were hurt, Frisco, but..." she trailed off softly.
"But what, Felicia? She's my daughter, too. I had a right to know."
"What difference would it have made, Frisco? You wouldn't have come rushing home and by the time you did show up, it was over. Maxie doesn't even like talking about it."
Frisco closed his eyes, shaking his head. "That's not the point and you know it. I should have heard about the overdose from you, Felicia. Not a virtual stranger."
"Then maybe you shouldn't have left in the first place. You were the one that walked away."
"With your blessing."
"I promised to take care of things here and I have. You're the one that's lived like we don't exist."
Carly rolled her eyes, but stayed quiet.
"Look, if this is all you have to say..." Frisco said, sighing.
"She's fine, Frisco. Mac and I are dealing with the drugs."
He laughed bitterly. "Cutting me out again."
"She won't even speak to you. What good do you think you're going to do?"
"Hey, secret agent man!" Luke called down the hall, interrupting them. "Fiery redhead on the phone for you!"
Skye. Carly had halfway hoped she wouldn't show.
"Thanks, Luke," Frisco shouted back. He looked back at his ex-wife. "Anything else I should know about my daughters, before I hear about it from someone else?"
Felicia shook her head.
"Then we're done here."
The blonde walked to the door, while Frisco picked up the phone. Carly stopped her, suddenly feeling protective. "If you're lying, he's not the one you should be worrying about," she warned, keeping her voice low. "Got it?"
Felicia smirked. "Enjoy him while you can. The honeymoon will be over soon enough and he'll leave you just like he left us."
"Keep telling yourself that," Carly said, watching the older woman leave. She turned back to Frisco, who was just hanging up the phone. "Well?"
Luke joined them, smiling curiously.
"She wants to meet us at the cottage tomorrow. She doesn't have any time today."
"What are we supposed to do for tonight?"
Frisco shrugged. "Get a hotel room, I guess."
"What about the apartment upstairs?" Luke asked.
"Aren't you living there?" Carly asked, annoyed.
"I'm sure you could always crash at Tony's."
Anything was better than that, even Luke. She smiled at Frisco. "Luke's couch is fine with me."
"Whatever," Frisco said halfheartedly, slouching down in Luke's chair. "I don't really care."
"Gee, don't sound so excited about it," Luke replied, offended. "See if I do something nice for you again."
Frisco looked at him dubiously. "I'm still waiting for the first time."
"Uh, hello?" Carly interrupted. "One of you want to drive me back over to the loft to get our stuff?"
"Just to show you how generous I am, I'll do it," Luke offered.
He left the office a little too quickly for Frisco and Carly. "What mess are you leaving me, Spencer?" Frisco shouted, as Carly followed her uncle out of the club, snickering.
Chapter 24
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 22
Frisco glanced at his watch as he stepped out of the elevator. He was supposed to be at Luke's soon, but he had to stop at the hospital first. He needed to get Carly away from Sonny, Jason, and Charlotte. Staying at the loft was no longer an option.
Neither he or Carly had slept much the night before. She'd patched up the graze on his leg, telling him repeatedly that he really needed stitches, but screw that. He wasn't interested in going anywhere near the hospital. They'd talked more about moving, an idea she wasn't entirely unhappy with. He knew how she felt and he understood her reluctance, how she hated the idea of leaving her son again, so he'd offered her a compromise. He'd suggested they move to the Brownstone. She'd be close to her mother and brother and have a chance to still see Michael. They would be away from the mob and he had the advantage of knowing the place inside out. Win-win, they'd both decided.
Frisco looked around the nurses' station, but the only person nearby was Alan Quartermaine. He walked around to the other side, where the older doctor was focused on a chart. "Hey, Alan," he said, leaning on the counter. "How's it going?"
Alan looked up in surprise. "Frisco, hello! How's the honeymoon going?"
"Not a private investigator in sight," Frisco joked, smiling uneasily.
The doctor laughed embarrassedly. "Glad to hear it. Are you looking for Tony? I think he's on duty today."
Frisco's jaw setting as he pushed the anger back. "No, I'm not," he replied, trying to sound as normal as possible. "I'm looking for Bobbie."
"She's assisting Monica in surgery this morning. I'll tell her you're looking for her when she gets out."
"Great. Thanks."
"Do you want me to give her a message?"
"I was just wondering if there was an apartment open at the Brownstone. That's all."
"Actually, she's got a full house at the moment."
"You're sure about that?" he asked dubiously.
"Someone asked about it just a couple days ago," Alan told him. "She said she didn't have any more room. She's been renting to some of the young residents around here, those apartments don't stay empty for long these days."
It was times like this that Frisco wished he'd had a Plan B.
"Well," he said disappointedly, "I guess I don't need to talk to her now."
"If you need a place to live, my daughter Skye has a house she's trying to rent out."
"Skye?" he asked dutifully, already knowing the story from the files. Skye Chandler, Alan's daughter by Rae Cummings, an old college friend of Tony's. She'd been at the reception/party at The Cellar, but he hadn't gotten the chance to meet her. "Did I miss you and Monica having another kid?"
"My wife would probably kill you for that," Alan replied, sighing as he rubbed his forehead. "It's a long story. Anyway, Skye has this cottage just outside of town and she's looking for someone to rent it to. It's a nice place, with plenty of room for Maxie and Georgie. I can set up a meeting with her if you want."
He knew the cottage. According to the file, Ms. Chandler had gotten it as part of her divorce settlement from Jasper Jacks, who had inherited it from the not-so-dead Brenda Barrett, who was the reason for the divorce - not to mention Frisco and Carly's current predicament - in the first place and had bought it after being left at the alter by Sonny Corinthos. The cottage had also been once home to Robin Scorpio, her boyfriend Jason, "his" child Michael and Michael's mother Carly.
Yeah, that was going to go over well.
The cottage had already been cleared by the WSB for Robin's security, it would do again for Carly. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best situation he could come up with on short notice.
"That'd be nice, Alan," Frisco replied. "Just tell her to stop by Luke's when she has time. I'm usually there till seven."
Carly was sitting on the sofa folding laundry. Frisco had actually done most of the laundry before he left, but she'd been left with the folding.
She'd been thinking about their move. One advantage to Frisco's decision was they'd have to leave the loft. She was not the least bit sorry she wouldn't be reminded of Blondie anymore. Good riddance, she couldn't get out of this place fast enough.
Living at the Brownstone wouldn't be so bad. The only downside was she'd end up having to still be around Charlotte. But to see Michael, Bobbie and Lucas, she could deal.
She heard a knock on the door, catching her off guard. She wasn't expecting anyone and she was alone... A thousand terrible images flashed in her mind as she walked the short distance from the sofa to the door.
She opened the door to once again find Courtney on the other side. Instead of crying, the young blonde looked angry. "Hi, Courtney," she said, smiling cautiously.
Blondie pushed past her silently.
"Come right on in," Carly muttered under her breath, annoyed.
Blondie spun around. "I don't know what you think you're doing here..." she sneered.
Carly was confused. Yesterday, Courtney was singing a different tune. "Excuse me?" she said, interrupting the blonde.
"I'm going to tell you now. Whatever your plan is, it won't work. So don't even bother."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I'm sure," Courtney shot back snidely. "I think you should leave."
"Leave?" Carly asked, dumbstruck.
"Yeah. Consider the offer withdrawn. I want you out of my apartment."
She snorted in annoyance, putting her hands on her hips. "Why are you so mad? What the hell is going on with you today? You jump off the Courtney happy train at the wrong stop?"
"Oh, just give it up. You know exactly what I'm talking about," the young woman sneered.
"No, I don't," Carly replied firmly.
"You are not going to destroy my family. I won't let you. I want you out of here by tonight. Leave the keys on the counter."
She left, pushing past Carly again.
Carly knew Charlotte had said something to Miss Clueless, but she had no idea what. The only reason she put up with Courtney was because of Blondie's connections to Michael and Jason. The imposter had just cut off her closest connection to her son and she was going to pay for it.
She sighed, not yet sure what to do. "I think this means war."
Frisco pressed the button on the elevator. According the sign, it was on the first floor. The surgical floors were at the top of the hospital, middle of the day, he had a long wait.
Hopefully Luke would actually be working today. He didn't think he could take an entire shift standing up. His injured leg was throbbing from the little standing he'd already done. Not to mention the work he needed to catch up on. The last thing he needed today was to be covering for Luke.
"Leaving without saying hello, little brother?"
Scratch that, Luke wasn't the last thing he needed.
Frisco turned his head to see Tony walking towards him. He said nothing. He didn't want to even see his brother.
"Cat got your tongue?"
"I don't care to speak to jackasses who feel the need to lie."
"What have I lied about?" Tony asked in confusion.
"Well, it would've been nice to know about Maxie's OD," Frisco shot back, his voice dripping with false sincerity. He glared at his older brother. "I expected this from Mac, but not you. I expected you to be honest with me."
The doctor sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't think about it."
"I can see how a little thing like that would slip your mind," he said, rolling his eyes. "It's not like she died."
"Don't be flippant."
"Me? Flippant? Surely you jest."
"You're mad at me. I get it," Tony said, pushing his brother away from the elevators to a semi-private corner of the waiting area. He dropped the chart that had been in his hands on a nearby table. "Just drop the attitude, Andrew."
Frisco could feel his heart rate jump a few points. "Do you get it?" he asked, challenging Tony. He could barely control the emotions raging inside him. He felt like he was going over the edge. He frustratedly ran a hand through his hair. He took a few steps away, trying in vain to gather his thoughts. "You're behaving like she was just another patient, Tony!" he shouted, losing all pretense of being calm. "She's your niece! My daughter! She's only alive today because she has your daughter's heart! And you just treated her like any other patient coming through the ER!"
"What else was I supposed do, Frisco?"
"Oh, I don't know, Tony," Frisco said sarcastically. "Talk to her, maybe? Find out why she'd do something so stupid?"
"Like she was going to tell me anything."
"How the hell do you know? You didn't even try! You left it up to a virtual stranger! To the mob!"
Tony closed his eyes, the realization coming to him. "Jason told you."
Frisco grabbed the doctor's coat. "I shouldn't have had to hear it from him! I should've heard it from you!" Tears welled up in his eyes as the hurt began to replace the anger. "My little girl almost died, Tony! Why the hell didn't you tell me?"
Tony tried to comfort his brother but Frisco shoved him away. "I'm sorry, Frisco. I'm so sorry," he said regretfully. He led Frisco to a sofa and pushed him to sit down. "Frisco, she's fine, I swear. If it had been more serious, we would have tried to contact you."
"Like someone called me about the kidnapping?" Frisco scoffed.
"You've kept yourself out of the loop, little brother."
Frisco put his head in his hands. "I know she's hurting and very angry," he said softly. "And I know whose shoulders a large part of the blame falls on. I know I've basically turned into Dad, with the whole absentee non-parent thing..."
"Dad wasn't absent."
"He might as well have been."
"I'd say your blame is more than a large part."
That cut through him like a knife in the heart. His older brother could wound him like no one else, besides Felicia. "She's a teenager, that automatically makes her insane to begin with. I know the stuff with Felicia and Luke hurt her pretty badly too. I'm not alone in the blame category."
"It started with you leaving," Tony reminded him.
Frisco couldn't argue with that. It was the truth, and where Maxie was concerned, the why didn't really matter. "I don't want to talk about this, Tony. I didn't come here to see you," he said defeatedly, standing. "I need to get to work."
He started to walk away, but Tony stopped him. "Frisco, I know it's useless and it won't change how you feel, but I wasn't trying to keep Maxie's OD from you. I'm sorry."
"I'm sure you are."
Screw the elevator, Frisco headed to the stairs.
Frisco was slumped in Luke's chair, a glass to his lips when Carly strolled into the club. He was morose, staring off into space with a file open on the desk in front of him.
"Raiding the old man's personal liquor supply," she said, dropping her purse on the desk. "I think that's an executable offense."
"Ask me if I care," Frisco mumbled impassively.
She was too excited to deal with his crummy mood. "So, what did Mama say? When are we moving in?"
"We're not."
"What?"
"Brownstone's full, no room."
"So where are we going to live?"
"Loft'll have to do us for a little while till something else gets worked out. I've got a lead on a..."
She dropped into a chair. "We've been kicked out," she told him, annoyed.
Frisco's eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"Courtney's convinced I'm plotting against her family." She rolled her eyes. "She wants us out immediately."
He sighed. "Damn it."
"You said you had a lead? Did the agent in Florida come up with something?"
"I meant on a new place. I ran into Alan Quartermaine at the hospital. His daughter has a house she's renting out."
"That Skye chick he introduced me to? Snotty redhead?"
"You met her?" he asked uninterestedly and she nodded in response. "He was going to send her here to talk to me about it, but she hasn't been by yet."
"What kind of place is it?"
He pushed the file towards her.
She looked at the papers, flipping through them. The pictures, the address, she recognized all of it. "Brenda's cottage?" she asked irritably. "How the hell did she get her hands on that?"
"She got it from Jax in the divorce, after he dumped her for Brenda."
"It all comes back to freaking Brenda!" she shouted, the fury boiling inside her. "The crazy, spoiled bitch isn't worth it!"
A hint of a smirk appeared on his lips. "I knew you'd love the idea."
She jumped up and slammed the file down on the desk. "You're not seriously considering this, are you?"
"Do we have a choice?" he answered flatly.
"We always have choices," she replied uncertainly.
"How long do we still have the loft for again?"
"Our bags are packed," Carly grumbled. She hated admitting he was right.
"Well, there's your answer," Frisco replied. "This is our best bet under the circumstances."
A shadow appeared in the doorway and knocked on the open door. Felicia leaned against the doorframe, smiling politely. "Can I talk to you, Frisco?" She looked at Carly, anything but polite. "Alone?"
Frisco stood, glancing at Carly, and crossed his arms. "There's nothing you can say to me that you can't say in front of her."
Carly silently watched the scene with interest, looking between the two former lovers. Felicia was obviously uncomfortable with the new wife's presence.
"Frisco..."
He seemed to falter for a moment, but his voice was unyielding. "She's my wife, Felicia. Get used to dealing with her."
"Fine," the blonde sighed. She walked over to the desk, stepping between Frisco and Carly. "Mac told me you stopped by the station yesterday."
"I'm sure he told you the whole story."
"I thought we should talk about it."
"A little late for that, don't ya think?" he scoffed bitterly.
"If you're trying to make me feel guilty for not calling you, it's not going to work."
Carly rolled her eyes. "How about for not saying anything when he got back to town?" she piped in, not able to keep her mouth shut. "It's not like this is your first opportunity."
Felicia shot her a dirty look. But when she turned back to Frisco, the blonde looked as sweet and sorry as humanly possible. "I'm sorry if you were hurt, Frisco, but..." she trailed off softly.
"But what, Felicia? She's my daughter, too. I had a right to know."
"What difference would it have made, Frisco? You wouldn't have come rushing home and by the time you did show up, it was over. Maxie doesn't even like talking about it."
Frisco closed his eyes, shaking his head. "That's not the point and you know it. I should have heard about the overdose from you, Felicia. Not a virtual stranger."
"Then maybe you shouldn't have left in the first place. You were the one that walked away."
"With your blessing."
"I promised to take care of things here and I have. You're the one that's lived like we don't exist."
Carly rolled her eyes, but stayed quiet.
"Look, if this is all you have to say..." Frisco said, sighing.
"She's fine, Frisco. Mac and I are dealing with the drugs."
He laughed bitterly. "Cutting me out again."
"She won't even speak to you. What good do you think you're going to do?"
"Hey, secret agent man!" Luke called down the hall, interrupting them. "Fiery redhead on the phone for you!"
Skye. Carly had halfway hoped she wouldn't show.
"Thanks, Luke," Frisco shouted back. He looked back at his ex-wife. "Anything else I should know about my daughters, before I hear about it from someone else?"
Felicia shook her head.
"Then we're done here."
The blonde walked to the door, while Frisco picked up the phone. Carly stopped her, suddenly feeling protective. "If you're lying, he's not the one you should be worrying about," she warned, keeping her voice low. "Got it?"
Felicia smirked. "Enjoy him while you can. The honeymoon will be over soon enough and he'll leave you just like he left us."
"Keep telling yourself that," Carly said, watching the older woman leave. She turned back to Frisco, who was just hanging up the phone. "Well?"
Luke joined them, smiling curiously.
"She wants to meet us at the cottage tomorrow. She doesn't have any time today."
"What are we supposed to do for tonight?"
Frisco shrugged. "Get a hotel room, I guess."
"What about the apartment upstairs?" Luke asked.
"Aren't you living there?" Carly asked, annoyed.
"I'm sure you could always crash at Tony's."
Anything was better than that, even Luke. She smiled at Frisco. "Luke's couch is fine with me."
"Whatever," Frisco said halfheartedly, slouching down in Luke's chair. "I don't really care."
"Gee, don't sound so excited about it," Luke replied, offended. "See if I do something nice for you again."
Frisco looked at him dubiously. "I'm still waiting for the first time."
"Uh, hello?" Carly interrupted. "One of you want to drive me back over to the loft to get our stuff?"
"Just to show you how generous I am, I'll do it," Luke offered.
He left the office a little too quickly for Frisco and Carly. "What mess are you leaving me, Spencer?" Frisco shouted, as Carly followed her uncle out of the club, snickering.
Chapter 24
◾ Tags:
