| Hidden Within Chapter 5 |
| Author’s Note: This is for entertainment purposes only. The characters in this story belong to ABC TV and “General Hospital”. *********************************************************************************************************** “I immediately stopped the car and leapt out to see what the thud was,” Carly was telling a PCPD officer. She blinked back tears at the memory of Jax’ body lying on the ground, twisted like a pretzel. The officer finished taking her statement under Scotty’s watchful eye. After signing her statement, Carly was told that she was free to go. “You’d better stay close to home,” the police officer advised her before walking off. “What does that mean?” Bobbie asked Scott as she put a comforting arm around her daughter. “It means she could still be charged with something,” Scott told Bobbie grimly. Carly’s head swam as she tried to process everything that was going on around her. At the mention of possible charges against her, everything went black. “Carly!” Bobbie tried to catch her, but Scott jumped in and saved her body from crumpling to the ground. Carly quickly came to but seemed very disoriented. “She should go to GH,” Bobbie told Scott, who nodded in agreement, then picked Carly up and carried her to Bobbie’s car. Carly showed no resistance as she was taken to the ER of General Hospital. *********************************************************************************************************** The light conversation that Taggert and Skye had been having was interrupted by the sound of his beeper. “I gotta take this,” he muttered, pulling out his cell phone and punching in a number. “Yeah, Taggert.” Skye watched Taggert’s face as he frowned and then glanced at her with trepidation. She was positive that the news had something to do with Carly hitting Jax. No sooner had Taggert hung up than Skye was throwing questions at him. “Was that about Carly? Has she been arrested?” Taggert held up his hands. “Hold on, Skye. I’m afraid I can’t give you all the details of the case, but we’re following up on all leads.” Skye frowned in puzzlement. “What do you mean, ‘all leads’? You know who hit Jax – it was Carly! She’s been arrested, right?” Taggert shook his head. “No, at the moment no charges have been brought against her.” Skye leapt to her feet, her eyes blazing. “She almost killed Jax! He might still die!” she shrieked, then stopped, amazed that she had just uttered those words. They had been in her head, but she hadn’t allowed herself to voice her fear that Jax could die. Taggert rose and put a hand on Skye’s arm. “I know how you feel,” he told her. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, trust me.” Skye looked up at Taggert and felt an unexplicable tug… she did trust him, for whatever reason. She nodded, then watched as Taggert took off, heading back to the police station. Sighing heavily, Skye started back inside, with heavy feet and a heavy heart. Something nagged at her in the back of her mind, though – it had almost sounded as if someone besides Carly could have hit Jax. But that wasn’t possible…. or was it? *********************************************************************************************************** “Hey.” Ned gently tapped on Alexis’ shoulder, rousing her from a very light sleep. “Why don’t you go home and get some rest?” he suggested gently. Alexis’ smile was a sad one as she blinked a few times, getting her bearings after being awakened. Her head was pounding from all of the events of the past twenty-four hours. Truth be told, Ned’s idea for her to go home was probably for the best. “I… I just want to be here if something changes with Jax’s condition,” she told Ned. Feeling self-conscious, she stood up and pressed her hands to her wrinkled clothes, trying to smooth them out. Ned shrugged as he casually put an arm around her shoulders. “Well, I have connections here, you know,” he whispered to her, trying to keep the mood light. “I’m sure I could be the first to know if something with Jax’s condition changes.” Alexis looked up at him in confusion, not certain how she felt about how wonderful he was being. “If you were to get the phone call, then that would mean…” she started to say, trailing off in case her deduction was incorrect. “That would mean that we should be together,” Ned finished for her, smiling at her. He could tell that she was feeling a mixture of emotions – sadness, confusion, and something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on… could it possibly be hope, to match his hope that he might possibly have another chance to make things right between them? “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get out of here,” Alexis told him, back to her no-nonsense manner. Smiling and nodding, Ned started to follow her down the corridor toward the elevator. As they both stepped onto the elevator, Ned slowly moved his hand to Alexis’ hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. Glancing over at her, he could see the corners of her mouth tugging upwards. It was a good sign. ************************************************************************************************************ “What do you mean, I can’t see him?” Skye’s worry was quickly being replaced by anger, as Alan and Monica stood in front of her, denying her entrance to Jax’s room in ICU. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry, but only immediate family is allowed in to see a patient,” Alan tried to explain to her, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Can’t you just make an exception for me?” she begged, her face softening a bit. “His parents and brother aren’t here, he has no one to see him.” Alan wavered for a moment, but Monica jumped in. “Skye, I’m sorry… for now, Jax really does just need to rest. It’s probably for the best that no one is here to see him now – he really isn’t in much shape for visitors.” “Fine!” Skye yelled, causing a few people’s heads to turn their way. “So much for putting the patient’s needs first – maybe it would do him good to hear my voice, even if he is unconscious! But why should you care, huh? The rules have to come first, right, Daddy? Well, screw your rules!” Before Alan or Monica could react, Skye turned on her heels and stormed off to find AJ. *********************************************************************************************************** “Amy, could you page Dr. Brown?” Bobbie asked Amy Vining as they helped Carly into a chair in the ER waiting room. “I have to wait?” Carly asked in annoyance. “C’mom, Mom – don’t you have some kind of pull around here?” “Well, welll… what do we have here?” AJ stood before mother and daughter, rubbing his hands together, a pleased look on his face. “Thanks so much for your concern, AJ,” Bobbie muttered. “You know what, AJ? Why don’t you take your sorry self and just disappear to the nearest available bar, okay?” Carly spat out, but stayed seated in her chair. AJ’s eyes narrowed as he observed Carly’s lack of energy. For a split second, he felt a surge of guilt, but quickly pushed that aside as his thoughts turned to his son. “So, Carly – since you ran over a man, how much longer do you think they’ll let you keep your driver’s license?” AJ taunted. “AJ, shut up!” Carly yelled, fighting a wave of dizziness that came over her. “Just leave us alone!” Bobbie told AJ, standing up to face him. AJ held up his hands, a look of protest on his face. “Fine, Bobbie… just tell Michael that his daddy said hi, and that I’m sure I’ll be seeing him very soon.” Allowing himself one more triumphant smile, AJ backed away from the duo, and ran smack-dab into Scotty. “Well, I guess this is what I get for parking the car,” Scotty observed, pushing AJ away from him in irritation. “Hey, Scotty, I’m sorry, man,” AJ apologized. “Well, AJ, it sounds to me like you should be apologizing to these two ladies, not me,” Scotty countered, glaring at AJ. Just then, Skye ran up to AJ, oblivious to the rest of the people around them. “AJ, I need to talk to you!” she told him urgently. Carly tried to stand up, but sat back down as her dizziness returned. “Did something happen to Jax?” she asked, wide-eyed. Skye looked over at Carly, noticing her presence for the first time. Not bothering to respond, Skye instead tugged on AJ’s arm. “C’mon, AJ – let’s go somewhere where we can talk in private,” she told him, throwing a deathly glare at Carly before succeeding in leading AJ off to a private corner to talk. Carly shook her head as she watched them go. “Mom, let’s just get out of here, okay? I just want to go home and be with Michael.” “No way, Carly – we are getting you checked out!” Bobbie insisted, smiling as a nurse finally directed them into an ER cubicle. *********************************************************************************************************** “I’m not even gonna ask what was going on over there.” Skye gestured over her shoulder to where Carly, Scotty, and Bobbie were. “AJ, you have to help me get in to see Jax.” AJ frowned as he studied his sister, noting how incredibly tense she seemed to be. “Skye, maybe you should go home, shower, and get a few hours of sleep,” he suggested, gently taking her elbow. “No!” Skye protested, yanking her arm away from his loose grip. “I have to see Jax!” “You really love him, don’t you?” AJ asked softly. Skye nodded as tears started to spill over. Slowly, AJ gathered her in his arms. “Let it out,” he told her softly, rubbing her back gently. Skye allowed herself to be held for a few moments – it felt good to have strong arms around her and a voice telling her that everything would be alright. She finally pulled back and wiped her tear-stained face with a tissue. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. AJ looked at her incredulously. “What in the world for?” Skye shook her head. “I shouldn’t have lost it like that. I need to keep it together. Jax’s parents are going to be here, tomorrow morning, probably. I don’t need to be falling apart in front of them.” “Well, they’re not here now, are they?” AJ reminded her gently, smiling. His heart leapt as she returned his smile – he hated to see her so sad. “That’s better,” he told her, squeezing her hand. “You know, maybe you’re right… some sleep might be good for me,” Skye conceded. “Besides, I want to be alert if the police come up with anything new.” AJ’s ears perked up at that comment. “What do you mean?” he asked, trying to keep his tone light. “Oh, it’s just something I heard Taggert say, something about following up on all leads… it just made me wonder if it was really Carly who hit Jax,” Skye told AJ, sniffling. AJ’s heart beat wildly in his chest, but he looked the picture of cool on the outside. “How awful,” he murmured. “Well, hopefully, they’ll get to the bottom of it soon.” Skye nodded in agreement. “Yes, I hope so.” Her eyes wandered over to Scotty, who was now the only one remaining of the three, as the doctor checked out Carly in the cube, with Bobbie by her side. “And whoever did this will pay,” Skye vowed. The icy tone of her voice made AJ’s blood run cold. There was doubt in his mind that his sister meant every word of her threat. |