| Hidden Within Chapter 3 |
| Author’s Note: This is for entertainment purposes only. The characters in this story belong to ABC TV and “General Hospital”. *********************************************************************************************************** “I need to speak with Alexis.” Carly’s hand shook as she held her cell phone, on the verge of hysterics. After listening for a moment, she lost her cool. “Damn it, Kristina, just put her on the phone!” After a brief pause, Carly heard the phone being shuffled around. “Hello,” Alexis said, sounding thoroughly annoyed. “Alexis, I need your help,” Carly said, hating the sound of the words even as they rolled off her tongue. “Carly, tell me what’s wrong.” Alexis stated, immediately going into lawyer mode. “I… I was in an accident,” Carly stammered, glancing up at the police officer driving the cruiser to the station. “I’m being taken to the PCPD right now.” “Don’t say anything until I get there,” Alexis instructed her client. “Alexis – where’s Sonny?” Carly asked hesitantly. Alexis paused, frowning from the sheer awkwardness of the situation. “He had to go to Mexico, Carly,” she told her, somewhat surprised that Carly didn’t already know Sonny’s whereabouts. “Oh, okay.” Carly grew silent, lost in thought. “Carly, are you still there?” Alexis implied. “Yeah, I’m here,” Carly told her, snapping out of her reverie. “Good, I’m on my way. Remember – don’t say a word!” Alexis hung up the phone, gave Kristina a good-natured glare for her earlier rudeness to Carly, then hurried out the door of her penthouse. It hadn’t even occurred to her to ask Carly who else had been involved in the accident. *********************************************************************************************************** “Can’t you drive any faster?” Skye asked irritably. Taggert refrained from making a smart comeback, knowing that the woman beside him was going through hell at the moment. “We’re almost there,” he told her. He glanced over at his passenger and was astonished to see her crying. “I’m sure Jax will be fine,” he gently reassured her. Skye simply nodded, letting her guard down momentarily. True, she had been in a few rather ugly situations involving Taggert and the rest of the PCPD, but she could tell that there was a softer side to this man sitting beside her, and at the moment he was telling her what she needed to hear. Ten minutes later, Skye was anxiously awaiting word of Jax’ condition in the ER. “Why isn’t anyone telling me anything?” she remarked to no one in particular, even though Taggert was sitting nearby. “I’m sure we’ll hear something soon,” he said calmly. Skye turned and glared at him, but her glare softened when she saw genuine concern on his face. “Why are you still here anyway?” she asked somewhat gruffly. Taggert smiled wryly. “I do have some police business I have to take care of, Ms. Chandler Quartermaine.” Skye waved her hand as she rolled her eyes. “Skip the formalities, okay? Skye is fine, none of this Ms. Blah-blah-blah. Frankly, it just gives me a headache.” Taggert repressed a chuckle as he studied the woman in front of him. There was definitely more to her than what he had first thought. “If Jax…” he stopped himself after seeing a look of fear flit across Skye’s face. “When Jax awakens, I need to ask him to describe exactly what happened. We usually get the best information from someone if we can talk to them as soon as possible after they awaken,” he explained, mentally kicking himself for scaring her. Skye nodded in understanding, even though her brain wasn’t able to comprehend much of anything at the moment. “Skye?” Skye turned and saw Monica coming down the hallway. She quickly hurried over to her stepmother. “Have you been taking care of Jax?” she asked breathlessly, her brow knitted with worry. “Yes, I have,” Monica told her, slightly surprised by the pang of pity she felt for the younger woman. “Why don’t we sit down?” Monica suggested, but Skye shook her head vehemently. “No, just tell me what’s going on,” she demanded stubbornly. “Alright.” Monica took a deep breath, glancing at Taggert before continuing. “Jax has suffered severe trauma to his head. In addition to that, he has a few broken ribs, one of which punctured his heart. I’m afraid we’re going to have to do open-heart surgery to repair the damage.” Skye’s eyes widened as Monica delivered the news of Jax’ critical condition. Her head swam as Monica continued to describe the various other injuries that Jax had incurred. She forced herself to concentrate on what Monica was saying. “If you know how to reach his family, Skye, they really should be notified,” Monica told Skye gently. Skye glanced up at Monica sharply. “So, what… you’re saying he could die?” she asked in an anguished voice. Monica hesitated before answering, but it was too long a pause for Skye. “Well, if you think he doesn’t have a chance, then I don’t think you should be the one to operate on him!” Skye’s voice rose in pitch and volume, causing others to turn and look their way. Alan hurried over to the trio, a concerned look on his face. “Monica, you need to get him into surgery now,” he insisted, ignoring Skye’s protests. Alan tried to pull Skye to his chest, but she fought him, pulling back until she stood beyond his reach. She watched as Monica scurried out of the ER. “Oh, so now you want to act like a father, is that it?” Skye told Alan bitterly. “You try to comfort me, and yet you let your witch of a wife go and operate on Jax when she doesn’t even think he will make it? What kind of a doctor are you?” Skye wailed. “Skye!” Skye turned away from Alan toward the sound of her name and saw AJ and Courtney standing a few feet away. She sniffed, trying to regain some of her composure, before addressing them. “What are you doing here?” she hissed. “You don’t even like Jax.” Her last comment was directed toward AJ, who stepped closer to his sister. “Dad called me with the news,” AJ told her, a look of sorrow on his face. “Skye, I’m so sorry. Just tell me what I can do to help.” Skye’s defenses crumbled just a bit at the sight of her brother’s open concern for her, but then his earlier words came to the forefront of her mind. “Why would you want to help me? I thought we were no longer a team. I thought you wanted me out of Port Charles,” she reminded him through clenched teeth. Courtney glanced at AJ in puzzlement, but AJ ignored his bride’s look of confusion. “Skye, I truly am sorry about all of that. I should’ve never said those things to you. Please, I was wrong – forgive me.” Skye’s resolve faltered as AJ held out his arms to her. Slowly, Skye fell into his outstretched arms and allowed him to hold her as she released a torrent of tears. “AJ, I’m so scared,” Skye sobbed as she clung to him like a life preserver. “Shhh, it’s gonna be okay,” AJ whispered soothingly, rubbing Skye’s back softly. He noticed that Alan was looking at his two children with a sad smile on his face, while Courtney was shedding a few tears at the tender sight before her. But instead of being pleased, AJ felt nauseous at what he had set in motion. He had been praying that Jax would make it, that he’d be okay. If that didn’t happen, or if Skye ever found out the truth about who was really responsible for the accident, AJ didn’t know how he’d be able to live with himself. |