| Hidden Within Chapter 6 |
| Author’s Note: This is for entertainment purposes only. The characters in this story belong to ABC TV and “General Hospital”. ***************************************************************************** “She seemed fine when we left her last night.” Bobbie frowned at Scotty as she continued to knock on Carly’s front door, not hearing any response from within the house. “Where could she be?” “She’s with Sonny,” came a voice behind the couple. Bobbie whirled around to face Alexis and Ned. “What… what do you mean? How can she be with Sonny? And where’s Michael?” “I, uh, found this note under my door when I arrived home last night.” Alexis held out a folded piece of paper to Bobbie, who hurriedly opened it. Her mouth dropped open as she read its contents. “What is it - she didn’t leave the country, did she?” Scotty grabbed the note out of Bobbie’s hands. He scanned it briefly and resisted the urge to crumple it into a ball, instead handing it back over to Bobbie. “Awww… this is just great!” he growled at no one in particular, throwing his hands up in the air. “Did you know about this?” Bobbie asked Alexis in an accusatory tone. “No, Bobbie – I didn’t know anything about it.” Alexis looked down, unable to continue to look at Bobbie. She couldn’t help but feel as if part of this was her fault, since she had refused to represent Carly in the first place after the accident. “Alexis did nothing wrong here,” Ned chimed in, as if reading Alexis’ mind. He put his hands on her shoulders in both a comforting and protecting manner. “Well, I guess we have to let the police know that she’s gone,” Scotty mused, scowling as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. Bobbie turned to face Scotty. “Do we have to right away?” she pleaded. “Maybe I can find her and talk some sense into her.” “Bobbie,” Alexis broke in gently, “you know as well as I do that if they don’t want to be found, they won’t be. I’m sure Sonny has them all safely hidden away somewhere. Who knows when we’ll see or hear from them again.” “Damn it, Carly!” Bobbie screamed in frustration. Scotty held her in his arms as she started to cry. He silently cursed her daughter for making a bad situation worse. ************************************************************************************************************ “Go away!” Skye yelled after awakening to someone banging on her door. Slowly, the events of the past few days came flooding back to her, causing Skye’s annoyance to turn into panic. She quickly threw on a robe and ran to the door, afraid that bad news might await her on the other side. “Mom!” she said, sounding both surprised and irritated. “What are you doing here?” Rae Cummings smiled at her daughter. “Oh, sweetie – I’m sorry I woke you. I thought it would be late enough that you’d be up.” Skye looked over to her bedside clock and cursed under her breath. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing you came pounding on my door, Mother – I should have been to the hospital by now. Come in,” she motioned, hurrying to close the door behind her mother. Before Rae could say a word, Skye began rambling as she flew around the hotel suite. “So, who called you, Alan?” she asked, running into the bathroom. “Well, if he’s worried about me, he has a funny way of showing it.” She flew out of the bathroom and sifted through the closet, quickly choosing a lavender pantsuit to wear. “Jax likes this color on me,” she mused to herself, as if no one else was in the room. She shook her head as she forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand. “Anyway, it’s sweet of you to come, but I need to get to the hospital. Jax’s parents are coming today, and I want to be there when they arrive. They’ll get to go in and see Jax, at least – Monica and Alan wouldn’t let me anywhere near him.” Rae took advantage of the brief pause as Skye continued to get dressed. “Isn’t that protocol, for someone who’s in ICU to only have immediate family as visitors?” Skye pulled her sleeveless top over her head, then threw a look of exasperation Rae’s way. “Yes, Mother, it’s protocol – as Alan and Monica were only too happy to point out to me.” Grabbing her shoes, Skye sat down on the edge of the bed to put them on. “I… I just can’t think about those two right now. I have to save my energy for Jax. If… no, when he wakes up, I have to be there.” Finishing up, she grabbed her purse, then looked at Rae, hesitating slightly before she made the offer. “Do… do you want to come to the hospital with me?” she asked Rae haltingly. Rae smiled at her daughter as she moved to hug her. “Yes, of course I do, sweetheart.” She paused and simply held Skye for a moment before speaking again, her tone softer this time. “It’s going to be all right, Skye.” Skye swallowed hard – part of her would have loved to just break down in her mother’s arms right then and there, but the other part of her – the sensible part – was telling her to quit this mushy nonsense and to get to the hospital ASAP. Skye pulled back and gave Rae a quick smile before opening the door. “Okay, let’s go.” ************************************************************************************************************ “AJ!” Courtney descended the grand staircase into the Quartermaine mansion entrance hall. Frowning, she moved into the parlor. “AJ?” she continued to call, becoming worried by her husband’s disappearance. “Hey, what’s wrong?” AJ asked, sneaking up behind her and grabbing her gently around the waist as he nuzzled her ear. Courtney squealed in return, then broke away and turned to face her husband. “I just thought you’d want to get ready to go to the hospital,” she told him, noticing the dark circles under his eyes. AJ kept a straight face despite wishing he could be anywhere but that hospital. “Oh, yeah – of course, I want to be there for Skye,” he agreed, nodding his head. He leaned over to give Courtney a quick kiss. “You’re the best, you know that? You’re so considerate.” Courtney blushed as she gave AJ one of her million-dollar smiles, then suddenly turned serious. “AJ, are you okay?” she asked, concern evident in her eyes. AJ walked over to the wet bar and tried to be nonchalant as he poured himself a glass of water. “Sure, I’m fine – why do you ask?” Courtney hesitated a bit before answering, wringing her hands as she mulled over her husband’s behavior ever since Jax was hit. “I just noticed that you haven’t been sleeping well the past few nights,” she told him nervously. AJ went over and clasped her hands in his own, giving her a reassuring smile. “I’m sorry, have I been keeping you awake?” She shook her head in response. “I’ve just been worried about Jax, and how this is all affecting Skye, that’s all.” He watched as her expression softened and her look turned into adoration. “You’re the best brother, you know that? I hope Skye appreciates all you do for her,” Courtney told him before hugging him tightly. AJ returned the hug, aware that he was really starting to enjoy Courtney’s presence. Her input was refreshing, to say the least, and his heart was beginning to do flip-flops whenever she dazzled him with her smile. If the truth came out about who really hit Jax, AJ was afraid of just how much he would lose. He hoped that he wouldn’t have to find that out. ************************************************************************************************************ The car ride from the Port Charles Hotel to General Hospital was fairly quiet as both Rae and Skye remained in deep thought. After they had parked and were walking into the hospital, Rae broached a subject that had been on her mind ever since Alan had called her. “Skye, what’s going on with you and AJ?” she asked carefully. Skye turned toward her mother, scowling. “Why, what did you hear?” she asked suspiciously, her eyes narrowing as she studied Rae. The two stopped to wait for the elevator in the lobby. “Alan told me that you told him that AJ’s been drinking again.” Rae stopped, giving Skye a chance to respond, but continued when her daughter remained silent. “I know that was a difficult thing for you to do,” she lamented, gently laying a hand on Skye’s arm. “Alan said that AJ has been… well, unforgiving, to say the least.” Skye’s expression hardened as she recalled AJ’s cruel words to her that night that Jax had been hit. Her reaction didn’t go unnoticed by Rae, who felt an almost physical stab of pain at the thought of anyone hurting her daughter. “We had a few heated exchanges,” Skye acknowledged, breathing a sigh of relief as the elevator doors finally slid open. “But he’s really been wonderful ever since Jax’s… well, ever since that night.” “Did you see AJ that night?” Rae queried. Skye bit her lip, wishing she hadn’t even brought it up. “Yes, he came to the lake house to see me. He and Jax had words, and then Jax left.” Skye’s throat suddenly became thick as she realized that had been the last time she’d seen Jax before he had been struck down so carelessly by Carly. “And then?” Rae prompted. Skye waved her hand in a dismissive manner. “And then nothing, Mother. AJ and I argued, and then he left.” “Uh-huh,” Rae murmured, the wheels in her brain spinning. Skye didn’t notice her mother’s preoccupation as the elevator doors opened onto the Intensive Care Unit. “Damn, they’re here already. I was hoping to be here before they arrived.” Rae followed behind her daughter, then stopped as Skye greeted a handsome couple in their mid-fifties. Her eyes widened in amazement as Skye allowed both the man and the woman to envelop her in warm hugs. Skye smiled up at John and Jane Jacks as she wiped away a few tears. She was surprised at just how glad she was that they were finally here… they seemed to have a feeling of security about them that had a calming effect on her. She turned back to Rae, an apologetic look on her face. “Oh, Mother, I’m sorry… this is John and Jane Jacks. This is my mother, Rae Cummings.” She smiled as she watched the three parents exchange greetings, but then became somber as she thought of the reason they had all been brought together. Jane seemed to be able to read Skye’s mind, as she grasped her shoulders firmly and gave her a gentle shake. “Now, now – chin up. My boy won’t let this get him down,” she assured Skye with a smile. Skye nodded, smiling back at Jax’s mother but wishing she could feel the same confidence. Instead, she felt nothing but dread at what was to come. *********************************************************************************************************** AJ dialed Scotty’s number for the fifth time just outside of the hospital doors. He had told Courtney to go on inside while he made a business call, then had tried to contact Scotty about his fight for custody of Michael. “I don’t know why he’s not answering,” he mumbled, then jumped slightly as the phone rang in his hand. “Yeah!” he answered roughly. “AJ, why the hell have you been calling me non-stop?” Scotty’s voice growled through AJ’s cell phone. “Uh, I don’t know, Scotty… maybe it’s because you’re my lawyer and I wanted to see what progress was being made!” AJ retorted, reminding himself to keep his voice down as a few passersby shot strange looks his way. Scotty rubbed his head on the other end, not liking any of his options. Sighing, he figured there was no time like the present. “Uh, AJ, I have some bad news.” AJ immediately panicked. “What is it, Scotty? Did something happen to Michael?” “Well, no, not exactly.” Scotty paused, trying to find the right words. “Look, there’s no easy way to tell you this, so I’ll just come out and say it. Carly and Michael went into hiding with Sonny.” The rest of Scotty’s words were cut off as blood rushed to AJ’s head. He turned off his cell phone and walked into the hospital in a daze, only vaguely aware of his surroundings. As he rode the elevator up to ICU, one thought continued to run through his mind – none of this would have happened if he hadn’t started the chain of events in motion. And there was nothing he could do now to stop the train that was about to wreck. |