Chapters 85 & 86
Chapter 85 Life Is A Box Of Chocolates
Emily and Lila talk alone in the main living room. Lila dabs the corners of her eyes with a lace handkerchief. "Oh my dear, I so wish you didn't feel like you had to leave. Isn't there any other way? I shall miss you terribly."
"I'm sorry, Grandmother, I have to leave to find my own way." Emily wipes away a few stray tears. "But I promise to visit often. So much you won't even know I'm gone."
"Tell me your plans, dear. Will you be going to high school in the fall as expected?" Lila asks, making an effort to sound upbeat.
"Actually, it's better than that. I'll be going to PCU in the fall." Emily smiles tremulously, silently grateful that Lila is being so understanding. Leaving her will be the hardest of all. "I'll be taking my GED test next week, passing won't be a problem. I have a job waiting tables at Kelly's and I'm renting a room upstairs. I really believe this will all work out."
"Of course it will, my dear. I have complete faith in you." Lila smiles at her sadly and opens her arms. "Come give me a hug. I find myself in need of one about now."
Emily and Lila embrace for a long time, both of them crying fresh tears. "I love you, Grandmother." Emily whispers before pulling away.
"As I do you, darling." Lila delicately dabs her tears away and her voice becomes matter of fact. "Now, you must stop by with regular reports on your progress. I will of course be visiting you often. And if there is anything you need, you just have to ask."
"Thanks Grandmother, I'll remember that." Emily replies, fighting the urge to sob. Leaving is much harder than she expected. She mentally shakes herself. No, you can't go back now, this has happen. "I have a favor to ask."
"Anything, my dear."
Emily shifts uncomfortably. "I haven't told Mom and Dad yet. And I'd like to tell them myself."
Lila nods immediately. "Of course. I wouldn't dream of betraying your trust. But I assume you will let them know soon?"
"This afternoon."
Cassidy stands in her boss's office, waiting for him to finish his phone conversation. She resists the urge to pace, but can't completely stifle the shaking of her hands, as she thinks to herself, 'I know I'm making the right decision, so why am I so nervous? Jail would be better than this. Don't kidding yourself, there's a good chance you'll be in jail by the end of the hour.'
Her thoughts are interrupted by the silence. Her boss is done. She turns to face him and finds him typing on his computer furiously. "Sir," she says quietly, to get his attention.
"Just a sec, Cassidy.... Okay." He looks up from his computer to give her his full attention. "I assume you're being here has something to do with Jerry Jacks' mission..."
"Not directly, sir."
Her boss continues as if he didn't hear her. "I'm afraid we still don't know where he is. It doesn't look good, I'm afraid. It's very likely he's been killed or taken prisoner."
"Actually, sir, I was going to tell..." Her brain registers what her boss just said and she stops abruptly. "What?! Jerry's missing?"
"Yes," Her boss answers distractedly."Isn't that why you're here? You've heard about his MIA status, haven't you?"
Cassidy pales suddenly and quickly takes a chair to keep from stumbling. Instinctively, she holds her gut. "I hadn't heard... " She looks up at him with a piercing gaze. "Tell me everything."
"He knew going in there was a good chance he'd be killed or taken prisoner. If there is one flaw with Jacks it's his damn blasé attitude toward being kidnapped. Sooner or later it was going to bite him in the butt." Her boss pauses to light up a cigarette. "When he first arrived in Tehran, he made contact with us to say he had arrived safely. We haven't heard anything since and it's been 4 days."
Cassidy finishes for him. "And he was supposed to call you days ago, wasn't he?"
Her boss bows his head and steeples his fingers. "Yes. And while Jerry's been known to be out to contact, it's never been for this long...."
"I want to go find him." Cassidy's face is set with determination.
Her boss shakes his head emphatically."Out of the question. Don't be ridiculous, Cassidy. You know we never send women operatives into that part of the world alone. Women are particularly vulnerable to kidnapping and violence given the culture's view of unaccompanied women. And I can't risk more than one operative on the rescue mission. Simmons is coming in for a briefing this afternoon."
"That's it then." Cassidy's voice is devoid of emotion.
Her boss gives her an assessing look. "So you said the real reason you came to see wasn't Jerry. What was it?"
Cassidy makes a snap decision. She can't go to jail wondering if Jerry's okay. "I just wanted to know if there are any new instructions in the Cassadine investigation now that Jerry's moved on."
"No, same as before. I don't expect we'll find anything." The boss returns his attention to his computer, her cue to leave.
Cassidy stands unsteadily and walks gingerly to the door. She turns as she's about to leave. "You'll keep me informed on news about Jerry?"
The boss answers without looking up. "Yes, I'll keep in touch."
Lulu comes dashing through the house. "I'll get the door, Mommy!"
Laura follows close behind. "Look through the window before you let anyone in, honey."
"It's Stefan!" Lulu pulls the door open and jumps into his arms.
Stefan staggers slightly under her enthusiasm. "Hello, Angel. Well now, that is a unique way to answer the door."
Stefan puts the wriggling girl down and she drags him into the house. Laura's face is stone. "Stefan. You didn't call me to tell me you were coming."
Stefan smiles genially, brandishing a small photo album. "I was in town to see the photographers for Nikolas' wedding. I thought you would want to see the proofs."
"Pictures of the wedding?!" Lulu gasps in delight. "Can I see?"
Stefan allows himself to be dragged to the couch by Lulu. "Of course, but you mustn't touch the photographs."
Laura's eyes flash angrily at Stefan over Lulu's head. "You shouldn't have come without calling."
Lulu flips through the photos, chattering the whole time while Laura sits stiffly off to the side. Once Lulu has seen them all, Laura says. "Lulu, I want you to go to your room now. Stefan and I need to have a talk."
Lulu protests. "But Mommy, I want to..."
Laura's voice becomes unusually stern. "I said go to your room, please."
Lulu knows better than to fight that tone of voice. Reluctantly she gets off the couch. "Can I come down later and see Stefan?"
"No, he will probably be gone after we're done."
Lulu, crestfallen, gives Stefan a hug before leaving. She walks up the stairs slowly.
"You are angry with me." Stefan says quietly. "I meant no offense..."
"Excuse me.." Laura interrupts, then calls out. "Lulu, I didn't hear your door close. Go to your room, NOW."
Lulu gets up off the stairs and slams her door shut loudly. She slowly creeps back to the top of the stairs, where she can hear everything in the living room.
"As I was saying," Stefan continues. "I didn't mean to offend you by coming over here without an invitation. I thought you would enjoy seeing the pictures."
"A call to tell me the proofs were ready at the photographers would have been sufficient. You used this as an excuse to come by," Laura says in an accusing tone.
Stefan shrugs helplessly. "If you will tell me what I have done to offend you, I will try to correct it. I thought we were at least friends, Lasha."
Laura shakes her head. "We stopped being friends the night of the wedding. What happened that night should never have happened and can never happen again."
The Quartermaines, consisting of Emily, Edward, Lila, Monica, Alan, and AJ, gather in the living room at Emily's request. Emily stands in front of them wringing her hands, waiting for everyone to quiet down.
"I have an announcement." Emily says loudly, to get everyone's attention. She sees their expectant faces looking at her and starts to lose her nerve. "Boy, this is going to be so hard. I love all of you so much. You've all done so much for me, helping me stay sober, giving me a home when my mom died, loving me even when I didn't deserve it. The last thing I want to do is hurt any of you."
"Oh my God!" Alan exclaims. "You're pregnant. I'll kill Spencer with my bare hands!"
"I am not pregnant," Emily answers with an exasperated roll of her eyes. "Give me some credit."
"There's no reason to be afraid, Emily," Monica says. "You can tell us anything. We love you no matter what."
"Let her get to it in her own way," Ed says, gruffly interrupting. "She knows we love her."
"Put a sock in it, Father," Alan snaps. "Monica and I are her parents and we'll deal with her as we see fit."
"Oh, and the two of you did such a GREAT job with the Dorman situation." Edward crosses his arms stubbornly.
"Please, this is MY meeting!" Emily yells loudly in an attempt to regain control of room. "Like I said, I have something to tell all of you."
"Go on, dear." Lila replies gently. "We're all listening."
Emily takes a big gulp before continuing. "I'm moving out."
The following uproar is explosive; the family begins yelling at Emily and each other, each one trying to be louder than the other in an effort to be heard. Finally, AJ, having enough of the situation, shrilly whistles to quiet them down. "Everyone shut up and let Emily speak!"
Monica jumps in before Emily can get a word in. "Moving is out of the question, Emily! You're underage, and until then, you are our responsibility. I can't believe you'd even suggest such a crazy idea."
"Crazy or not, I'm going,'' Emily replies, her voice gathering strength. "I already have a room rented and I've moved my stuff out."
Alan and Monica exchange stunned glances. "Forget it, Emily." Alan says with conviction. "I won't allow it. I'll have your bank account frozen and your car privileges revoked. There is NO way you're walking out that door. You are too young and innocent to be out on your own. The decision's final."
"I didn't call this meeting to get your permission." Emily counters. "It's already done. I don't need a car to leave. And I have a job to pay for the room I rented."
Monica changes tack. "Why Emily? Why do you want to leave? Are you really that unhappy?"
The look of hurt on Monica's face is almost Emily's undoing. "I'm not doing this to hurt you or Dad," she says gently. "I'm doing this to save myself. I'm afraid if I stay here any longer, I'll lose myself. This family has a way of taking over your life. Ned, AJ, Justus, Jason, me.. we've all had to fight to be ourselves, to have our own destiny. If I don't
get out now, I'm afraid I'll lose myself to the craziness."
"Whatever the problems are that are stifling you, we'll fix it," Monica says in a pleading voice. "We don't solve problems by running away from them."
Alan cuts Monica off. "No Monica, stop. We aren't giving into this teenage rebellion. It won't do Emily any good. This is about our refusal to let her see Lucky, and we can't let her threats to leave keep us from doing our jobs as parents."
"Listen," Emily says. "This isn't a teenage rebellion, this isn't a threat, and this isn't even about Lucky. This is about my becoming an adult. Just because I'm underage doesn't mean I'm not ready to strike out on my own."
"Let the poor girl have some breathing room before you destroy her, like you did with your other children," Edward says crassly. "I say if she's ready to strike out on her own, then let her. She has a good head on her shoulders and more common sense than the two of you put together. Do you really want to see her turn out to be drunk or brain damaged? Let her go for God's sake!"
"Oh like you know how to be a decent father," Alan snipes back. "You did such a great job with Tracy and me. And since when do you support her leaving home?"
"Will you all please stop blaming each other!" Emily screams in frustration. "I'm leaving and that's final. I'm going upstairs to get my last bag. I'm staying in a room above Kelly's if any of you want to know where to reach me. Good bye."
"Don't you dare walk out that door, young lady!" Monica yells back. "We are still your parents."
Emily continues walking towards the door, undeterred by Monica's outburst. She kisses a crying Lila, a somber AJ, and hugs Edward warmly on her way out.
Alan clenches his fists in helpless rage. "Emily, consider the car confiscated from this moment on. You take that car and I'll have you arrested for theft. Don't test me on it. You will be back in this house before the night is through."
Emily turns briefly as she leaves, carrying herself with dignity. "I could give a damn about the car. I love you all, I just can't live here any longer."
Chapter 86 Consequences
"Any chance we had of becoming friends was blown out of the water the night of the wedding. What happened that night should never have happened and will never happen again." Laura says adamantly.
Stefan sighs inwardly. Her stand isn't unexpected, but nonetheless it's exasperating. Even with her current obstinate attitude, he finds her breathtakingly lovely. "I admit, the timing of what happened between couldn't have been worse, but the feelings cannot be denied. You wanted me as much as I want you." He stares at her, daring her to deny it until she flushes pink and looks at the floor. "Even now, you can't deny that," he whispers.
"Whether I wanted to make love to you that night or not doesn't matter now. What does is that it can't happen again. I can't have an affair with anyone, least of all you."
"You think I want an affair?" Stefan shakes his head in derision. "You don't know me very well then. I am IN LOVE with you, Lasha. I have always loved you. You have known that for years."
Laura furiously fights back the tears that threaten to fall. How could he make this so hard for her? If only he hadn't said those words. He forced her to break his heart over and over again. "And you know I don't love you in the same way, Stefan. I love Luke." She pauses. "I will always love Luke. Even now that he's dead. I can't be with anyone, least of all you, his bitter enemy."
Stefan shakes his head. "No, I cannot accept that.... not after the night we spent together."
Laura keeps going. "Stefan, this attachment between you and Lulu has to severed. She'll only end up hurt."
"I would NEVER hurt LesleyLu!" Stefan protests, his eyes ablaze with outrage.
"Not intentionally, no. But I see how much she's come to rely on you. I've allowed you to fill the void since her father's death. She's starting to see you as a father figure." Laura takes a deep breath before continuing. "You can't be her father, Stefan, not ever. I made a mistake letting her get so close to you, a terrible mistake. Now it's time to correct it. She'll only be hurt more down the line if I allow it continue."
"I am sorry, Laura, but you are wrong about this." Stefan replies, his voice tight with restrained emotion. "Dead wrong."
"Believe this as true. Lucky despises you with everything that he is. He almost killed you a few short months ago, remember? By some fast thinking and dumb luck, you didn't end up dead. My son just found out his father's good friend and business partner worked for you. How do you think that makes Lucky feel? He hates you more now than ever." She opens the front door to show him out. "The last thing Lucky needs to find out is that his mother slept with the enemy and his sister adores him like a father. He'd kill you for sure. So any type of relationship between us is out of the question. As for Lulu, I'll make sure her contact with you is kept to a bare minimum."
Upstairs, a silently sobbing Lulu slips back into her bedroom before she can be seen.
Kelly's diner around dinner time. Lucky sits at the counter, Jason and Benny sit in the corner sipping coffee as they confer. Carly comes out of the double doors from the kitchen and looks at her watch again. "Where is she? If she isn't here soon, I'm going to be late to pick up Anthony."
Lucky rolls his eyes. "Her shift doesn't start for another 10 minutes, she'll be here."
"I know I know." Carly shrugs sheepishly. "I guess I've gotten pretty spoiled."
"You've always been spoiled, Carly.You should give her a raise or a promotion." Lucky hangs over the counter to grab the coffee pot and pour himself some. "You know, if she were legal, I'd steal her out from under you. And not just because she's my girlfriend either.
Carly swats him with her order pad. "Brat!"
Five minutes before her shift begins, a harried Emily comes through the door with an overnight bag. "Sorry I'm late!" Lucky stifles a laugh as he exchanges glances with Carly. Emily looks exasperated. "What?! I'm not THAT late."
Carly shoots a glare at Lucky and turns back to Emily. "You're not late at all, Emily. Lucky's just giving me a hard time."
"Okay, I'm just going to run upstairs with my bag, I'll be down in a flash." Emily dashes upstairs.
A moment later, Monica, Alan and AJ arrive at the diner. AJ spies Jason and heads over to talk to him. Monica and Alan, who both look livid, confront Carly and Lucky. "Uh oh, here comes trouble," Lucky whispers to Carly.
"Lucky Spencer, YOU are responsible for this." Alan accuses then turns to Carly. "Tell me Carly, what made you think you could rent a room to my underage daughter?"
"You better rip up that lease if you have any hope of staying out of jail and keeping your job at the hospital," Monica adds.
Carly shifts nervously. "I didn't rent it to a minor, I..."
"She rented the room to me." Jason breaks in, AJ standing behind him.
Monica is shocked. "What?! You KNEW about this?"
Jason shrugs. "Yeah, she said she needed to get out of the house. Sounded like a good idea, so I signed the lease with her."
"How could you do that, Jason?" Alan asks. "I know you have no regard for your own safety, but she's just a young girl!"
"Stop! All of you!" Emily breaks in from the bottom of the stairs. "This is my place of work, I won't have you causing a scene. Take it outside."
"You're coming home with us, young lady, and that's final!" Alan tries to take Emily's arm but she evades him.
Emily glares at him defiantly. "No! I'm working. If you keep making a scene, I'll call the cops and have you thrown out!"
"Let's take it outside, shall we?" AJ says. Jason nods and starts walking to the door.
"Fine, you guys fight about it outside, I have to work!" Emily grabs an apron off a hook and wraps it around her waist.
Monica leans over to Alan. "AJ's right, let's go outside."
Monica, Alan, AJ and Jason walk outside. Jason speaks first. "You keep hounding Emily like that and she'll run farther than Kelly's to get away from you."
"He's right, Dad." AJ pipes in. "At least we know she's safe here.
"Safe?!" Monica yells. "This is not a safe neighborhood! Kelly's was broken into three weeks ago."
"It's safe now." Jason replies. "I have a guy living here now. He'll look after Emily and Kelly's Diner. Carly just installed a new security system. Nothing's going to happen to her here."
"I think if you try and force her home, Mom, she's just going to take off again." AJ adds. "And who knows where she'll go next time? We have to give her credit. She thought this one out."
Monica wipes a stray tear from her eyes. "I hate it."
"So do I," Alan says sadly. "But they have a point. At least we know she's here. She has a roof over her head and a job."
"She's out little girl! She's supposed to be home with us!" Monica starts to cry again and Alan pulls her into his arms.
Jason starts to get antsy, uncomfortable with Monica's crying. "I promise I'll look out for her. I've gotta go."
"Thanks Jason," Alan answers. "Again."
"I'll meet you guys at home." AJ pats Alan on the back and goes back into the diner AJ sees Emily leave a table and hails her. "Hey, Em."
Emily runs into his arms and holds him tightly. "Thanks for being here."
"Not a problem." AJ pulls back and brushes the hair out of Emily's face. "Mom and Dad aren't happy, but they aren't going to try to force you to go home."
Emily is relieved. "Thank God. I'm sure you helped convince them."
"It was Jason mostly." AJ smiles at her. "You should have told me, you know. I could have helped."
She nods. "I know, but it seemed like you had enough to deal with, having just gotten out of rehab and all."
"True." AJ gives her another hug. "You need anything, anything at all, call me."
"I will, I promise."
A morose Stefan sits alone in his study sipping a drink of vodka. The images of making love to Laura flash through his mind. He picks up a picture frame and in it is a rough sketch of Laura sleeping peacefully after their night of making love. He had drawn it from memory the following morning, never had he enjoyed drawing as much.
Downing his drink, he picks up his sketch of Lulu drawn a couple months before. Her impish smile looking back, haunting him. "Angel," he whispers, tracing the outline of her face. "Your mother made a foolish decision today, one that hurts us all. What if I fail to change her mind?" His face becomes rock hard with determination. "I will not fail you, Angel."
.
Meanwhile, a sleeping Laura dreams....
Stefan and Laura lie together under the sheets in Stefan's bed. Laura lies on her back while Stefan props himself up on one elbow, stroking her hair and her face. Laura closes her eyes and enjoys his caress. It feels wonderful to be cherished again, to be happy. She never wants it to end.
Laura opens her eyes to smile at Stefan. "What are you thinking about?" She reaches her hand up to brush a stray lock of hair of his eyes. God, how she loved this man's touch.
Stefan lowers his mouth to hers for a drugging kiss. "Mmmmm, I was thinking how exquisite you are. How much I want to make love to you again.... and again." He continues the kiss and he pulls her underneath him so he's lying squarely on top of her.
Laura moans when he frees her mouth to kiss her neck. She digs her fingers in his hair, tugging until his mouth returns to hers. "I can't think of anything I want more....."
Laura bolts upright. "Stefan!"
