Just Between Friends - Chapter 21
Title: Just Between Friends
Author: speedy
Fandom: General Hospital
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 20
Blondie acting like Charlotte was Miss Innocent was grating on Carly's nerves. As was Bobbie, her mother, pampering the lying bitch. She had to sit on her hands just to resist the urge to pull out her gun and shoot all three of them. At the moment, even Ferncliffe looked better than sitting in this pit of hell known as a hospital room.
Even after several tries, she hadn't gotten a hold of Frisco or Jason. They still weren't answering their cells. She knew something had to be going down. Neither would leave their phones off for this long otherwise.
There really wasn't any reason for her to stay. The immediate danger had passed. She wasn't family, she wasn't a friend, and Michael was back at the penthouse.
"I think I'm going to go," she said softly to Courtney.
Blondie gave her sickeningly sweet smile. "Okay. It was great that you stayed as long as you did."
Carly smiled hesitantly. "No problem."
"Give us a call if you get a hold of Jason."
"I will."
Carly waved at Bobbie as she left. Charlotte half-smiled at her. A real smile, without her usual sneering bitterness.
Wonders never cease, she thought as she walked to the elevator. She pressed the down button. Maybe now that she'd done something nice, Charlotte would give her life back.
Her momentary good fortune didn't last. As the elevator doors opened, only one person was inside. Tony.
A perfect topper to a perfectly awful day.
She smiled politely, only because she had to, and stepped inside. "Hello, Tony."
"So what brings you by the hospital?" he asked as the doors closed, smiling flirtatiously. "This floor's not a hint, is it?"
Carly couldn't believe he was smiling like that at his own sister-in-law. She chuckled nervously, not knowing how to react. "Uh, no. I was just visiting someone," she told him, not that it was any of his business.
"Who? I didn't realize you knew anyone here in Port Charles."
More evil thoughts for her to repress. Running into people she desperately wanted to stay away from was reaching record proportions. Ugh, why did she have to be stuck in an elevator with Tony of all people in this hospital?!
"I was visiting Carly Corinthos."
"Oh," he said, his demeanor changing. His face fell, going from upbeat to down in nothing flat. "I heard she was admitted this afternoon. I hope the baby is alright."
Carly couldn't help it, her whole body tensed at the mention of her. It didn't matter if it was Tony, someone she couldn't stand most of the time. The imposter was getting concern the bitch didn't deserve. All because they thought she was Carly.
"I'm sure they'll both be fine," she replied robotically, swallowing her bitterness.
If Tony noticed the change in her, he sure didn't show it. "It was probably all of the excitement with Sonny."
She looked at him strangely. The kidnapping wasn't common knowledge, or so she thought.
Tony did notice her confusion. "Bobbie told me about Sonny being missing."
That explained it. Bobbie was opening her big mouth again. "Oh."
Carly let out a relieved sigh when the elevator doors opened and she stepped out into the first floor hallway.
Tony stopped her, touching her shoulder. "Hey, is my brother still at Luke's?" he asked. "I'm just getting off shift and maybe the three of us could have a drink or something."
She didn't know what to say. Working for the mob wasn't exactly an appropriate answer. "No, he's, uh, busy with, um, something."
"Let me guess. He's working again," he replied, resigned. He shook his head slightly. "I should've known the inactive stuff wouldn't last."
Okay, maybe the truth was better this time.
"He's helping Jason find Sonny," she confessed.
He groaned. "Even worse!" He ran a hand through his short graying hair, just like Frisco did sometimes when something was bugging him. "Andrew's too damn helpful for his own good sometimes."
"Huh?" she asked disbelieving. She may have said he was helpful to Bobbie earlier, but she certainly didn't mean it.
"He likes to fix other people's problems. Always has. That's why he's stuck with the WSB for so long, I guess. His chance to make the world a better place, no matter what it does to himself or his own life."
This was a side of Frisco Carly hadn't really seen, not like this anyway. She was one of those, she supposed. He had definitely stuck himself out for her. He'd indulged her need to see her son, even though it put them at risk. The mess they were in now was proof of that. And he was trying to help her come home for real...
Damn it, that was one more thing to hate Tony for. He was making her think nicely of the most annoying person on the planet. After Blondie, of course.
Tony sighed. "This isn't the first time my little brother's been dragged into a dangerous situation by helping someone. At least I know he's not going to come home obsessed with some girl this time."
"He's done this before?"
"That's how he got with Felicia. He was helping her hide from these guys that were after a ring..." He stopped. "You probably don't want to hear about her."
No, Felicia wasn't at the top of her list of things to talk about it, although the story had piqued her curiosity. However, if it meant staying with Tony any longer than necessary, she could fake a little jealous over the ex-wife. "Not really."
"You know, maybe we could go and get a drink, just the two of us. I haven't gotten much of a chance to really talk with you yet."
She cringed. He was doing it again, giving her that flirty smile that made her want to shoot him again. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Look Tony, it's been a long day..."
"Of course," Tony replied, understandingly. "Tell my brother to give me a call whenever you see him again."
Carly nodded and smiled halfheartedly. She headed for the lobby and the main entrance, trying to get Tony's flirting out of her mind. Time to go back to the penthouse and wait.
Frisco and Jason arrived back in the warehouse and surveyed the damage. Spent shells covered the blood soaked floor, with the occasional dead body... Clean up was going to be hell.
Casualties were more on Alcazar's side, helped along after the fact by Corthinos no doubt, but casualties were causalities. A couple men were tied up and heavily guarded, but between the dead and captured, it looked like a good portion, in not most, of Alcazar's men had gotten away. Frisco still couldn't help feeling like this had been part of the plan.
Sonny was free, talking with Johnny. He rubbed his wrists, where the ropes had been. Jason walked ahead, obviously wanting to get to his boss and friend.
"Remember, their guns are mine," Frisco told the younger man.
Jason turned and nodded, but Sonny looked at Jason in confusion. "What's he talking about?"
Jason looked down guiltily. "Frisco is going to take the guns to the PCPD. It was part of the deal..."
"Why did you make a deal with a WSB agent? You didn't need his help."
"I did it for Courtney and Carly. And it was because of Frisco's resources that we figured out where Alcazar was holding you so fast."
Frisco was surprised the young man didn't mention the drug charges. The guns were part of the deal to get the charges dropped. Baldwin wanted hard evidence against Alcazar. Without the man himself, the guns were all they had left. Everything else would be tainted or circumstantial.
"Jason..."
"Sonny, we'll talk about it later!" Jason snapped. "All he needs are guns from Alcazar's side."
"None of yours better make it in there either," Frisco added. "I'd like to keep the record clean, please."
Sonny opened his mouth to speak, but Jason held up a hand to stop him. "We'll keep up our end of the bargain." He pointed down at the bloody leg of Frisco's jeans. "Our doctor can take care of that, if you want."
Frisco leaned down and felt through the hole. It wasn't bad; he knew it was only a graze. He knew what a gunshot felt like, and this was nothing. Looked worse than it actually was. "It's only a scratch. Don't worry about it."
"Let's get out of here, before the cops show up," Sonny ordered. He headed for the door with the other men, but Jason stayed behind. He turned, looking at the younger man. "You coming, Jason?"
"I will in a minute. I'm going to help Frisco."
Sonny didn't argue. He gestured for Johnny to stay as well and left with the rest of his men.
"Johnny, go get the gear out of the van," Jason ordered. He turned and faced Frisco. "How do you want to do this?"
"Grab the guns by the barrel," the agent told him. "Be careful not to smudge any prints."
The two men began gathering guns, piling them while waiting for Johnny. He returned quickly and followed his boss' lead. The three men worked quickly and silently, trying to finish before Alcazar's clean up crew or the police arrived.
Carly sat alone on the sofa. The penthouse was silent. Michael was asleep when she'd returned. Leticia had left for the night. The place was empty, except for the guards on the doors. Just her, in the home she'd made first with Jason, then with Sonny.
She didn't bother turning on the TV, she was too jumpy to be interested in it. Max had told her something big was going down, both Frisco and Jason were involved. He wouldn't tell her any more than that, but she was sure they'd found Sonny. It couldn't be anything else.
With a sigh, she got up and looked out the window. Bulletproof glass, a safety feature from the days that ex-spies had inhabited the place. The view was something she'd seen who knows how many times. The docks were visible in the distance, so she'd looked out this window more times than she wanted to remember. She worried, as she always did about the 'business'. Yeah, Sonny and Jason always came back, but she vividly remembered all the times it wasn't in one piece. Like the first time she slept with Sonny, while Jason was out getting shot.
Carly closed her eyes, trying to get that image out of her head. She didn't need that right now. No one was going to get shot, they would all be okay. They had to be.
She sat back down on the sofa and waited in the cold silence.
Sonny came out of the shadows, along with his bodyguards, when the three men emerged from building. "Done?" he asked, looking at Jason.
"Yeah, we're done," Frisco answered for him. Sirens could be heard in the distance, coming closer. "Alcazar's cleaning crew will probably beat the cops here."
"Thank you, Jones. You can go now," Sonny told the agent dismissively.
Frisco rolled his eyes. That's all he was going to get, despite putting his life in jeopardy for the man. "Fine," he sighed.
Jason dumped the bag of guns in the van. "Johnny will drive you over to the police station," he said quietly. "Thank you, Frisco, for all your help. I mean it."
The younger man was sincere, Frisco could see. Probably just thankful to have his friend back and in one piece. "No problem, Jason."
"Are you going to square things with Baldwin?"
"I'll take care of him, don't worry about it."
"Good luck with Mac," the younger man said knowingly.
"Thanks."
"I owe you. For Sonny and for the charges."
Without another word, Jason walked away.
"Are you ready to go, Agent Jones?" Johnny asked.
Ready to confront Mac Scorpio and finally release the anger that had only been building since Jason had told him about Maxie? Hell yes! "Let's go."
Cheering. That was what was coming through the door, Carly decided. The voices were too muffled to understand what was being said, the only one she could pick out was Max.
The door opened and Carly stood up anxiously. A few men entered. They were here when she and Frisco first showed up and had gone with Jason to find Sonny. They were smiling and happy. A good sign, finally.
She gave them a weak smile and gestured for them to be silent, pointing to the upstairs. They nodded in understanding.
Sonny was next, followed close behind by Jason. His face was bruised and he was obviously exhausted. "Holding down the fort, huh?" he asked teasingly, looking at Carly.
"Yep."
"Are Michael and Carly upstairs?"
She hesitated. "Michael is. He's asleep."
"Where's Carly?"
Carly looked down. She knew how Sonny would react. This would be his first child and the idea it was in danger would throw him, like her miscarriage had. She crossed her arms and took a deep breath. "She's in the hospital. She was cramping this morning."
She could see the fear in his eyes, plain as day. "Cramping?"
"It stopped, but the doctors wanted to keep her for observation," she replied, trying to reassure him. "They thought the cramps were probably brought on by stress."
"She and the baby are okay now, right?" Jason asked, concerned.
Carly smiled a little. "They were when I left a little while ago. Courtney and Bobbie are there."
"Okay, I'm going to go to the hospital," Sonny said, rushing for the door.
"Leo, Jimmy, go with him," Jason told the bodyguards.
"I tried to call you to let you know what was going on," Carly said, reaching out to touch Jason's arm. "Uh, Andy too."
"We were busy busting Sonny loose."
"I figured as much." She looked around and realized Frisco wasn't with them. She felt the panic begin to grow. "Where's my husband, Jason?"
"He had to go deal with something. He'll, uh, probably be awhile."
"He's okay, isn't he? He's not hurt or anything..."
"No, he's fine. He's just... Tying up a loose end."
He was lying, she could tell. And he was looking rather guilty about it. Jason never lied, but he was lying to her now. "What loose end?" she asked suspiciously.
"I really shouldn't... I'm sure he'll tell you about it later."
She decided to leave it alone. She was going to ask Frisco what happened anyway. "I'll make sure he does the second he gets home."
"I can give you a ride back to the loft, if you want."
She smiled. "Sure."
"Just let me call and check in with Courtney first."
Pollyanna. Of course! Who could forget her! Carly plopped down on the sofa, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "No problem."
Chapter 22
Author: speedy
Fandom: General Hospital
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 20
Blondie acting like Charlotte was Miss Innocent was grating on Carly's nerves. As was Bobbie, her mother, pampering the lying bitch. She had to sit on her hands just to resist the urge to pull out her gun and shoot all three of them. At the moment, even Ferncliffe looked better than sitting in this pit of hell known as a hospital room.
Even after several tries, she hadn't gotten a hold of Frisco or Jason. They still weren't answering their cells. She knew something had to be going down. Neither would leave their phones off for this long otherwise.
There really wasn't any reason for her to stay. The immediate danger had passed. She wasn't family, she wasn't a friend, and Michael was back at the penthouse.
"I think I'm going to go," she said softly to Courtney.
Blondie gave her sickeningly sweet smile. "Okay. It was great that you stayed as long as you did."
Carly smiled hesitantly. "No problem."
"Give us a call if you get a hold of Jason."
"I will."
Carly waved at Bobbie as she left. Charlotte half-smiled at her. A real smile, without her usual sneering bitterness.
Wonders never cease, she thought as she walked to the elevator. She pressed the down button. Maybe now that she'd done something nice, Charlotte would give her life back.
Her momentary good fortune didn't last. As the elevator doors opened, only one person was inside. Tony.
A perfect topper to a perfectly awful day.
She smiled politely, only because she had to, and stepped inside. "Hello, Tony."
"So what brings you by the hospital?" he asked as the doors closed, smiling flirtatiously. "This floor's not a hint, is it?"
Carly couldn't believe he was smiling like that at his own sister-in-law. She chuckled nervously, not knowing how to react. "Uh, no. I was just visiting someone," she told him, not that it was any of his business.
"Who? I didn't realize you knew anyone here in Port Charles."
More evil thoughts for her to repress. Running into people she desperately wanted to stay away from was reaching record proportions. Ugh, why did she have to be stuck in an elevator with Tony of all people in this hospital?!
"I was visiting Carly Corinthos."
"Oh," he said, his demeanor changing. His face fell, going from upbeat to down in nothing flat. "I heard she was admitted this afternoon. I hope the baby is alright."
Carly couldn't help it, her whole body tensed at the mention of her. It didn't matter if it was Tony, someone she couldn't stand most of the time. The imposter was getting concern the bitch didn't deserve. All because they thought she was Carly.
"I'm sure they'll both be fine," she replied robotically, swallowing her bitterness.
If Tony noticed the change in her, he sure didn't show it. "It was probably all of the excitement with Sonny."
She looked at him strangely. The kidnapping wasn't common knowledge, or so she thought.
Tony did notice her confusion. "Bobbie told me about Sonny being missing."
That explained it. Bobbie was opening her big mouth again. "Oh."
Carly let out a relieved sigh when the elevator doors opened and she stepped out into the first floor hallway.
Tony stopped her, touching her shoulder. "Hey, is my brother still at Luke's?" he asked. "I'm just getting off shift and maybe the three of us could have a drink or something."
She didn't know what to say. Working for the mob wasn't exactly an appropriate answer. "No, he's, uh, busy with, um, something."
"Let me guess. He's working again," he replied, resigned. He shook his head slightly. "I should've known the inactive stuff wouldn't last."
Okay, maybe the truth was better this time.
"He's helping Jason find Sonny," she confessed.
He groaned. "Even worse!" He ran a hand through his short graying hair, just like Frisco did sometimes when something was bugging him. "Andrew's too damn helpful for his own good sometimes."
"Huh?" she asked disbelieving. She may have said he was helpful to Bobbie earlier, but she certainly didn't mean it.
"He likes to fix other people's problems. Always has. That's why he's stuck with the WSB for so long, I guess. His chance to make the world a better place, no matter what it does to himself or his own life."
This was a side of Frisco Carly hadn't really seen, not like this anyway. She was one of those, she supposed. He had definitely stuck himself out for her. He'd indulged her need to see her son, even though it put them at risk. The mess they were in now was proof of that. And he was trying to help her come home for real...
Damn it, that was one more thing to hate Tony for. He was making her think nicely of the most annoying person on the planet. After Blondie, of course.
Tony sighed. "This isn't the first time my little brother's been dragged into a dangerous situation by helping someone. At least I know he's not going to come home obsessed with some girl this time."
"He's done this before?"
"That's how he got with Felicia. He was helping her hide from these guys that were after a ring..." He stopped. "You probably don't want to hear about her."
No, Felicia wasn't at the top of her list of things to talk about it, although the story had piqued her curiosity. However, if it meant staying with Tony any longer than necessary, she could fake a little jealous over the ex-wife. "Not really."
"You know, maybe we could go and get a drink, just the two of us. I haven't gotten much of a chance to really talk with you yet."
She cringed. He was doing it again, giving her that flirty smile that made her want to shoot him again. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Look Tony, it's been a long day..."
"Of course," Tony replied, understandingly. "Tell my brother to give me a call whenever you see him again."
Carly nodded and smiled halfheartedly. She headed for the lobby and the main entrance, trying to get Tony's flirting out of her mind. Time to go back to the penthouse and wait.
Frisco and Jason arrived back in the warehouse and surveyed the damage. Spent shells covered the blood soaked floor, with the occasional dead body... Clean up was going to be hell.
Casualties were more on Alcazar's side, helped along after the fact by Corthinos no doubt, but casualties were causalities. A couple men were tied up and heavily guarded, but between the dead and captured, it looked like a good portion, in not most, of Alcazar's men had gotten away. Frisco still couldn't help feeling like this had been part of the plan.
Sonny was free, talking with Johnny. He rubbed his wrists, where the ropes had been. Jason walked ahead, obviously wanting to get to his boss and friend.
"Remember, their guns are mine," Frisco told the younger man.
Jason turned and nodded, but Sonny looked at Jason in confusion. "What's he talking about?"
Jason looked down guiltily. "Frisco is going to take the guns to the PCPD. It was part of the deal..."
"Why did you make a deal with a WSB agent? You didn't need his help."
"I did it for Courtney and Carly. And it was because of Frisco's resources that we figured out where Alcazar was holding you so fast."
Frisco was surprised the young man didn't mention the drug charges. The guns were part of the deal to get the charges dropped. Baldwin wanted hard evidence against Alcazar. Without the man himself, the guns were all they had left. Everything else would be tainted or circumstantial.
"Jason..."
"Sonny, we'll talk about it later!" Jason snapped. "All he needs are guns from Alcazar's side."
"None of yours better make it in there either," Frisco added. "I'd like to keep the record clean, please."
Sonny opened his mouth to speak, but Jason held up a hand to stop him. "We'll keep up our end of the bargain." He pointed down at the bloody leg of Frisco's jeans. "Our doctor can take care of that, if you want."
Frisco leaned down and felt through the hole. It wasn't bad; he knew it was only a graze. He knew what a gunshot felt like, and this was nothing. Looked worse than it actually was. "It's only a scratch. Don't worry about it."
"Let's get out of here, before the cops show up," Sonny ordered. He headed for the door with the other men, but Jason stayed behind. He turned, looking at the younger man. "You coming, Jason?"
"I will in a minute. I'm going to help Frisco."
Sonny didn't argue. He gestured for Johnny to stay as well and left with the rest of his men.
"Johnny, go get the gear out of the van," Jason ordered. He turned and faced Frisco. "How do you want to do this?"
"Grab the guns by the barrel," the agent told him. "Be careful not to smudge any prints."
The two men began gathering guns, piling them while waiting for Johnny. He returned quickly and followed his boss' lead. The three men worked quickly and silently, trying to finish before Alcazar's clean up crew or the police arrived.
Carly sat alone on the sofa. The penthouse was silent. Michael was asleep when she'd returned. Leticia had left for the night. The place was empty, except for the guards on the doors. Just her, in the home she'd made first with Jason, then with Sonny.
She didn't bother turning on the TV, she was too jumpy to be interested in it. Max had told her something big was going down, both Frisco and Jason were involved. He wouldn't tell her any more than that, but she was sure they'd found Sonny. It couldn't be anything else.
With a sigh, she got up and looked out the window. Bulletproof glass, a safety feature from the days that ex-spies had inhabited the place. The view was something she'd seen who knows how many times. The docks were visible in the distance, so she'd looked out this window more times than she wanted to remember. She worried, as she always did about the 'business'. Yeah, Sonny and Jason always came back, but she vividly remembered all the times it wasn't in one piece. Like the first time she slept with Sonny, while Jason was out getting shot.
Carly closed her eyes, trying to get that image out of her head. She didn't need that right now. No one was going to get shot, they would all be okay. They had to be.
She sat back down on the sofa and waited in the cold silence.
Sonny came out of the shadows, along with his bodyguards, when the three men emerged from building. "Done?" he asked, looking at Jason.
"Yeah, we're done," Frisco answered for him. Sirens could be heard in the distance, coming closer. "Alcazar's cleaning crew will probably beat the cops here."
"Thank you, Jones. You can go now," Sonny told the agent dismissively.
Frisco rolled his eyes. That's all he was going to get, despite putting his life in jeopardy for the man. "Fine," he sighed.
Jason dumped the bag of guns in the van. "Johnny will drive you over to the police station," he said quietly. "Thank you, Frisco, for all your help. I mean it."
The younger man was sincere, Frisco could see. Probably just thankful to have his friend back and in one piece. "No problem, Jason."
"Are you going to square things with Baldwin?"
"I'll take care of him, don't worry about it."
"Good luck with Mac," the younger man said knowingly.
"Thanks."
"I owe you. For Sonny and for the charges."
Without another word, Jason walked away.
"Are you ready to go, Agent Jones?" Johnny asked.
Ready to confront Mac Scorpio and finally release the anger that had only been building since Jason had told him about Maxie? Hell yes! "Let's go."
Cheering. That was what was coming through the door, Carly decided. The voices were too muffled to understand what was being said, the only one she could pick out was Max.
The door opened and Carly stood up anxiously. A few men entered. They were here when she and Frisco first showed up and had gone with Jason to find Sonny. They were smiling and happy. A good sign, finally.
She gave them a weak smile and gestured for them to be silent, pointing to the upstairs. They nodded in understanding.
Sonny was next, followed close behind by Jason. His face was bruised and he was obviously exhausted. "Holding down the fort, huh?" he asked teasingly, looking at Carly.
"Yep."
"Are Michael and Carly upstairs?"
She hesitated. "Michael is. He's asleep."
"Where's Carly?"
Carly looked down. She knew how Sonny would react. This would be his first child and the idea it was in danger would throw him, like her miscarriage had. She crossed her arms and took a deep breath. "She's in the hospital. She was cramping this morning."
She could see the fear in his eyes, plain as day. "Cramping?"
"It stopped, but the doctors wanted to keep her for observation," she replied, trying to reassure him. "They thought the cramps were probably brought on by stress."
"She and the baby are okay now, right?" Jason asked, concerned.
Carly smiled a little. "They were when I left a little while ago. Courtney and Bobbie are there."
"Okay, I'm going to go to the hospital," Sonny said, rushing for the door.
"Leo, Jimmy, go with him," Jason told the bodyguards.
"I tried to call you to let you know what was going on," Carly said, reaching out to touch Jason's arm. "Uh, Andy too."
"We were busy busting Sonny loose."
"I figured as much." She looked around and realized Frisco wasn't with them. She felt the panic begin to grow. "Where's my husband, Jason?"
"He had to go deal with something. He'll, uh, probably be awhile."
"He's okay, isn't he? He's not hurt or anything..."
"No, he's fine. He's just... Tying up a loose end."
He was lying, she could tell. And he was looking rather guilty about it. Jason never lied, but he was lying to her now. "What loose end?" she asked suspiciously.
"I really shouldn't... I'm sure he'll tell you about it later."
She decided to leave it alone. She was going to ask Frisco what happened anyway. "I'll make sure he does the second he gets home."
"I can give you a ride back to the loft, if you want."
She smiled. "Sure."
"Just let me call and check in with Courtney first."
Pollyanna. Of course! Who could forget her! Carly plopped down on the sofa, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "No problem."
Chapter 22