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When Cassadines Fall
Fuzzy Memory
Thursday afternoon-- Maddy frowns as she listens to Larry. He was slurring his words and only making sense when there are long pauses for him to gather his thoughts. "Are you okay, Man?"
"Yeah, but the stuff they give me makes it kind of fuzzy." Larry admits.
"What kind of stuff?" Maddy asks suspiciously.
"Don' know." Larry describes the pills.
"Larry, you got to sign some kind of release so the VA will talk to me. Sign one for Dr Collins too. He seemed cool when I talked to him. I wanna know what kind of crap they are feeding you."
"'Kay, Maddy. How is Cinnamon?" Larry asks the question that he had started the conversation off with not five minutes before.
"Cinnamon is fine. She misses you but I make sure she spends a lot of time going around town like she does with you." Maddy repeats. "She has playdates every day I go to class with the two dogs that live over at my friend's house."
"'s good."
"Larry, I'm going to send you another phone card. This one must be about running out. Do you need anything else?"
"Pictures."
"Kay. I got some made when there was a photographer at the house. They should be about ready. I'll try to get them in the mail tomorrow. Larry, you have to sign a release so the VA will talk to me. Today."
"I got to go, Maddy. Someone wants the phone."
"Take care of yourself, Larry. I'll talk to you later."
"Bye." Larry hangs up.
Maddy stares at her phone. This is so not good. Larry sounds terrible. Maybe this was a -had to get worse before it got better- situation, she'd been in a few of those herself. But there was no way of knowing unless she had a clue of what the hell is going on. She glances at her watch and then calls General Hospital. "Is Dr Collins there?" Maddy waits as she is connected. "Dr Collins, this is Maddy Reynolds. Do you have some time this afternoon?"
Kevin looks at his schedule. "I had a cancellation for about an hour from now."
"It's filled now. I'm on my way over." Maddy declares. Cinnamon starts getting excited as Maddy appears to be getting ready to go. "You need to stay here, pup. I don't know how long this is going to take. Be good for Niknik." Maddy writes on the dry erase. on the cell.
Jane walks over from two doors down. She carries a coffee cake. Knocking on the door she smiles when Bobbie answers. "I was hoping you didn't have to work today."
"Knock on wood." Bobbie jokes. "I still might get called in. Your timing is excellent. I was just going through the photo albums. Would you like to join me?"
"I'd love that. Are the boys here?"
"Don't get me started." Bobbie shakes her head. "Lucas started ground school today. He and Carly both. Do you think your son said word one to me before he went out and bought a plane? Before he signed the kids up for lessons? I'm used to feeling like a mushroom where Carly is concerned but Jerry and I went round and round on this one, and he just doesn't seem to get why I would be upset."
"Oh Dear."
"I probably shouldn't be talking to you about this. Forget I said anything."
Jane hands Bobbie the coffee cake and sheds her winter gear. "Bobbie, you've never been up to our place in Alaska maybe if you had, you'd understand why Jerry would think nothing of getting a plane."
"Excuse me?" Bobbie goes into the kitchen and starts making tea. Jane takes a seat on the other side of the pass through.
"In the places we've lived flying is a primary means of transportation. When the boys were young and the money was tight yes, we drove anywhere we needed to go. But in the outback you could drive for hours, sometimes it seemed days without seeing another person.
So yes, when the money started coming in both of the boys learned how to fly. It was the most efficient way of getting from A to B. And our place in Alaska about five months out of the year- the only way of getting in and out is by plane. It's extremely remote. The first thing finished on the property was the airstrip because everything had to be flown in to build the house! Flying is like driving for the boys-- automatic.
Jax was about Lucas' age when he learned to fly. Jerry was already grown when we were finally well off enough to get our own plane but one of his jobs when he was young was working at a local airfield in Australia. He was given lessons in lieu of part of his wages. And once he had his license he started hauling cargo to the miners because that paid more than working on the groundcrew. That's actually how he became so familiar with explosives... transporting them!"
"Jane." Bobbie shakes her head. "That is just not normal."
"It seemed normal at the time. Necessary even. Jerry is a very good pilot; he's actually more careful that Jax. I'm sure it's something he wants to share with the children."
"Oh and they are eating it up with a spoon! You saw how Carly reacted at the fundraiser! But my baby..."
"I know he'll be your baby until he's fortyfive or more but..."
"I know." Bobbie sighs. "Don't mind me. I don't think I feel any better about it but I do understand more now."
Jane sees the photoalbums and reaches for one of the oldest. "This one is not from Jerry's travels but rather from when we were building the house." She starts flipping through it. There are pictures of a young Jerry with a John in his prime and a towheaded teenager, Jax. All of them with their shirts off and grinning at the camera. "We logged trees on the property for the house. Luckily there was a natural dry creek bed that once the big rocks were cleared out doubled as a landing field so they could haul in the makings of cement and the doodads to build the house. And they used the big rocks in the foundation so nothing went to waste. It was a race from spring thaw to fall frost to get as much done on the house as possible. During the summer there is like 19-20 hours of daylight. Once the days started growing shorter John would head down to the lower 48 to work, leaving me with the boys, coming home when he could and when weather would permit."
This was just out of Bobbie's experience and she had nothing to compare it to. "I guess I've always been a city girl."
Jane finds another album. "Here it is. The year Jerry was kidnapped down in Panama. That first year he went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans."
Bobbie comes around to the other side so she can get a better look at the pictures. "Oh my word! He does look like he's having a good time. What a party!"
"The note he sent along with the roll of film said that he didn't remember half of it. Something called a Hurricane?"
Bobbie giggles. "Oh we had those in Florida too. Lethal. A couple of those and you don't care if you're in a catagory five! But he kept snapping pictures eh?"
"That or whoever he was with." Jane shakes her head. She comes to a picture of Jerry with his arm wrapped around a leggy gal in a very small costume. Her face is obscured with it's feathered mask. She moves to turn the page fast not knowing if seeing Jerry with another woman would upset Bobbie.
Bobbie reaches out and holds her hand down on the page. "I've seen this girl before. Here in Port Charles or at least a picture of her in this costume."
"That's impossible." Jane dismisses. "These were taken ages ago."
"I swear, Jane. I recognize this outfit." Bobbie remembers from where. "The portrait shop on the ELQ prominade. Right in their window."
"Is the photographer from New Orleans?"
"I have no idea."
Maddy knocks on Kevin's door. "Dr Collins?"
"Come in, Miss Reynolds."
"Call me Maddy. First things first. What is your billing charge per hour?"
Kevin frowns but tells her. Maddy pulls out her pocketbook and peels off the correct number of twenties. "I want a consultation."
"And this is for you."
"No, this is about Larry again. I talked to him at the VA. He's distracted... fuzzy. He can't hold a thought. His voice is slurred. I want to know what in the hell they are doing to him!"
Kevin's eyes narrow. This is the second time in as many days that someone had asked him about the VA and it's programs. Yesterday it had been Stefan Cassadine. "Have you been talking to Larry all along?'
"He's been calling me when he can. He had a blackout orientation period where he wasn't allowed to call anyone but ever since then I've talked to him a couple of times a week. Until today I was almost relieved he was in there with the snow and all but now I'm not. He doesn't know what they're giving him and I don't know if that's 'cause he can't remember or they're not tellin'. I told Larry he needs to sign those release things so they'll talk to me or you but I don't even know if he'll remember that."
"What do you think I can do?"
"You speak their language; they'd open up more to you. And you'd be able to catch if they aren't on the up and up."
Kevin recalls their previous conversation. "It's possible that Larry had one of his... spells."
Maddy nods. "Could be or could be they're giving him the wrong drug, or too much of the right drug, or they could have put him in that experimental study you were telling me about. He could be having a reaction or some kind of side effect. I don't know."
"And it's driving you nuts, pardon the expression."
"Yes, it is. Dr Collins, I'm no conspiracy junkie-- I don't see aliens behind every corner, I don't care what happened on the grassy knoll. But Larry's got nobody to look out for him but me. And I'm not going assume that things are just fine. I want to know. I want to know what drugs they have them on and verify that is actually what he's on. I want to know what the side effects are. I want to know the dosage. I want to know if Larry gave consent... knowing consent to whatever they did. I want a second opinion. Someone not connected to the VA. I'd really like that someone to be you."
"Who is it that you don't trust? The government, The hospital? The doctors?"
"Ever hear of Tuskegee? Agent Orange? Gulf War syndrome? I heard it once upon a time and it's proven true in my experience-- the best indicator of future performance is the past. Vulnerable people put up with a hell of a lot. People in power know that and take advantage. I want the VA to know that Larry isn't that vulnerable. I want them so sick of me and my questions that they send Larry home with their blessing."
"It could get expensive. Especially if the VA decides to not honor his benefit."
"I got a quarter million in blood money gathering dust. I'm willing to use that for Larry's care or for the biggest f'ing lawsuit that the VA has ever seen. If they've got nothing to hide..."
Kevin holds up a hand. He flips through his rolodex. "What's Larry's doctor's name?" Maddy tells him. Kevin places the call and asks for the doctor. "Yes, This is Dr Kevin Collins calling from General Hospital in Port Charles, New York. You and I have a patient in common..." Kevin tells them Larry's name. "His family wants a progress report. With the weather being what it is it's easier for them to get to me than to get down there. Yes, I'll expect your call." Kevin hangs up.
"Why didn't they say anything?"
"Cause anyone could call and say they're me. They'll pull his file and make sure that I am who I say am and call back. We're riding a gray area here, Maddy. I know Larry told me to tell you what happened but I don't have a signed release either."
"Just find out what you can-- or if I have to go down there and raise Cain in person."
Jane walks along the prominade stopping at the kiosk near the carpark to get a cup of coffee. Sipping as she goes she walks along the prominade checking out the shops. Bobbie said she and Jerry had walked along here the night of the fundraiser. Jane checks out the sights and finally eyes the photographer's shop. She comes to a halt, her jaw drops. She'd told Bobbie there was no way and yet there it was. The picture is of a higher quality than the snapshot in the album but it was clearly the same outfit and the girl looked to be the same... the same age, the same general build-- but it was hard to tell since in both pictures the subject had been wearing masks. How was this possible?
Jane walks into the shop and checks on the wall all the other photos seemingly casually browzing until the clerk comes to greet her. "Yes, I was interested in the photos in the front window... can you tell me who took them?"
"That would be Miss Anderson. It's her place. She's back in the darkroom now."
"They're wonderful pictures... and the subject matter is fascinating... were they taken at Mardi Gras?"
"No, right here in Port Charles about a week ago. Anderson was on an outside shoot and saw the costumes where she was at. She gets like that... likes to be inspired." The clerk points to a wall within the shop. "That's a copy of a picture she did for Emily Quartermaine, the model, at a fashion shoot in New York. She liked the look of the outfit and went portrait rather than those action fashion things. Emily is the one who got her into fashion work."
"I'm aquainted with Emily's grandmother. I don't think I've seen that picture before." But John has, Jane remembers. He'd been struck by it while Jax and he had been in the Deception offices looking for clues to her kidnapping. It had made an impression on both of them... Jax and John. It was a portrait that struck a chord in both of them 'cause it shows a facet of Emily's character not evident in day to day dealings-- the princess able to say off with their head-- or in Em's case... I want Helen of Troy.
"Em has it hanging in her office at Deception, you know, the cosmetics company? Most of the other pictures will be seen in the February Vogue."
"I'll have to pick up a copy."
"Actually Emily is modeling one of the costumes." The clerk points to the one on the left at the front of the store.
Jane looks down on at her watch. "I'm afraid I must be leaving; I'll have to stop by another time."
"Can I give Anderson your name?"
"I'll check back. Thanks." Jane leaves the store, pausing again to study the girl and the costume. "Curious." she shakes her head. "There are probably a million costumes like that one." But somehow looking at the details of the photo-- she doesn't think so. Jane bumps into someone as she is leaving the front of the store. "Excuse Me."
"Oh No, Excuse me. I wasn't watching where I was going. Million things going on. I hope I didn't do any damage?" The well dressed man says politely.
"No, I'm fine." Jane continues down the prominade.
Partner asks as he walks into the photo shop. "Is Anderson here? I need to check on the photos of the Cassadine house. I need to plan my presentation."
The clerk looks back at what appears to be a clock on the back wall. It's actually a timer. "She should be out in ten minutes. I'd get the photos for you myself but she wants to go over a few things with you."
"They turned out, right?" Partner's face falls. After what happened the night Anderson had gone to Wyndemere Lite it was so unlikely that Nikolas would allow them back on the property. "Is that why there is a delay? They're ruined?!"
"Calm down." Anderson says coming from the back room. "They turned out fine. The delay was because Maddy Reynolds stopped by the next day and arranged for me to shoot the interior. I had the exterior shots done on the day we agreed. Maddy called earlier and she wants you to drop by the candids to her, if it's not too much trouble."
"Trouble? No trouble at all." Partner sighs in relief. This is more than he expected.
"Mom, Guess what?" Lucas hollars as he walks in the door. "I got to ride on a simulator. It was the reward cause the class sucks!"
"Excuse me?" Bobbie dries her hands. She'd just stuffed everything in the oven to keep warm as the guys were running late. "I guess that means you don't want lessons afterall?"
"I didn't say that!" Lucas protests.
"Oh I thought you did cause you know there is no way in hell I'm going to let you fly a plane, any plane, until you not only pass the ground school but you ACE it."
"MOM!" Lucas protests.
"Or you can wait until you're eighteen and I don't have a say." Bobbie says firmly. "I'm serious, Lucas. There is no play in this one. When you get your driver's license and you get into trouble... you've got a seat belt, you've got an airbag hopefully. All goes right you walk away. You screw up piloting a plane and you fall 30,000 feet before you try to walk away. Un uh." Bobbie shakes her head.
Jerry groans from the doorway and covers his eyes. Talk about a perfect set up for exactly what he didn't want to get into.
"You're absolutely right, Mom." Lucas agrees. "Anything can happen. I could get hit by a bus... cept I look both ways. I could go through the windshield... cept I normally ride in the back seat and wear my seat belt always. You know even if I don't learn to pilot... with as much time as we spend with Jerry when he's flying... I really should learn how to sky dive. Just to be safe."
"NO!!" Bobbie and Jerry say together. "I know why I don't want him skydiving." Bobbie tells Jerry. "And he knows too. What is your reason?"
"I told him before but he wasn't listening evidently. Lucas, I have been flying for nearly thirty years and I have never jumped from an airplane. You don't jump from a perfectly good airplane. You don't jump from a slightly sick one. You land it, fix it, and get on to where you're going. Or you land it, Can't fix it and you stay with the plane until someone gets there that can fix it."
Lucas gets a kind of pissed, hurt look on his face. Jerry had never talked to him that way before. Bobbie intervenes. "Honey, you have to remember where Jerry learned to fly-- in the outback of Australia and then up in Alaska too. If he jumped out of a plane when the going got tough it would be like going from the frying pan into the fire. Sure he might make it safely to the ground... might... without breaking a leg or an arm or his head or something but then where would he be? Out in the middle of the desert? In the middle of a snowfield-- with no supplies, no shelter? Anyone that came looking for him would be looking for the PLANE not one little guy on the ground."
Jerry looks at her, wondering where she got her info. "Your mum is right. The only excuse for ditching a plane is if you believe you are already dead and have nothing to lose."
"You want to learn to skydive...." Bobbie gives Lucas a thumbs up. "No problem-- after you turn eighteen when I don't have a say. Until then forget it, bub. Jerry and I are in total agreement on this one and you aren't getting around it. Now go wash up. Dinner is ready when you are. And if you still want to learn how to fly I suggest you study up on your bookwork after dinner." Lucas goes stomping off upstairs.
"Thanks." Jerry tells Bobbie.
"No problem. See how easy it works when he can't play us?"
Jerry sighs. "I should have asked you first. Or at least told you what I was planning."
"Yep. And you should have offered to give me flying lessons too." Bobbie says smartly and turns to go back into the kitchen. She pulls things from the oven where they'd been warming and sets them on the table. Jerry is distracted by the open photo album on the passthrough. Bobbie comes over and looks around him. "It's uncanny, isn't it? That's the same girl in the same costume that we saw on the prominade. Jane says this was taken twenty years ago."
"Yeah about that, New Orleans." Jerry frowns trying to recall the memory. "It was my first Mardi Gras. She said it was her first too. We ended up going barhopping together-- checked out some parades."
"So lover..." Bobbie leans over and gives him a smooch "...was she more than your first... Mardi Gras?"
"She made it memorable. We both collected a few souvenirs." Jerry quips. "Even more than the bar fight I got in with Pete Robideau seven years later! Pete is the only one with a souvenir of that night." Jerry laughs and brushes a finger along his jaw where Pete had gotten cut.
"And now your past has come back to haunt you. It looks like she hasn't aged a day... and look at my poor Jerry. Is that a grey hair I see?" Bobbie goes searching through Jerry's dark hair for a nonexistent grey strand.
"Come 'ere, you." Jerry growls as he starts nuzzling at her neck. Bobbie giggles. He always finds the ticklish spot. Lucas comes back into the room and groans. He can't leave them alone for five minutes!