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The Quintessential Q
Chapter Three
No Secrets
Emily strolls back to the stables after her afternoon at the spa. She glances down at her watch. She's due to meet Lucky, Liz and Nik at Kelly's in about 45 minutes for dinner. Plans that they'd made before the wedding and before she'd made an ass of herself over Nik at his place. She'd been able to put it out of her mind for as long as she had been at the spa. Thankfully Katherine had avoided her after that initial run in... but she'd set the staff to complaining. They had all hoped that once Carly took over the spa that they'd seen the last of Katherine Bell. Emily had reminded them that they do such good work that Carly had come out to the spa even when she knew that Katherine owned it, and she hated Katherine. The staff had found a polite way to tell her that Carly at least threw her money around while Katherine was so tight she squeeked. And that while Carly might have hated Katherine she never took it out on the staff. Emily had promised to mention it to Carly. As she reaches the clearing she sees that Carly's 4 wheel drive is not the only vehicle there. Bobbie's SUV is there as well. Everyone is hanging around the corral where the palamino and the black morgan are getting aquainted. Jerry had even gone as far as to put a piece of hay in his mouth. Lucas apes his mentor doing the same. Emily just rolls her eyes. Carly notices Emily on her way back first and waves. As Emily nears Carlys eyes narrow and she stares at Emily. Bobbie turns around to say hello and does the same.
"I've got ice tea on in the office." Carly says from out of nowhere.
"Emily and I will help you get it, honey." Bobbie strings a hand through Emily and walks with her to the office. Jerry and Lucas just look at each other.
"Women" Jerry says calmly shaking his head.
"Is this like the going to a bathroom in a pack thing?" Lucas asks reminded of the other small wisdoms that Jerry had been imparting on him even before Jerry had married his mother..
"Yep, they got something to talk about that they don't want us to hear." Jerry agrees. He turns his attention back to the horses. Goodness knows he was going to have to keep Jax away from here. Jax had been able to restrain his polo mania for as long as he had been in Port Charles. But get the guy back around horses again and he'd be bartering or betting like mad to get a string of polo ponies off of the Crown Prince of Brunai or something.
"Jerry?"
"Yeah Lucas."
"You said that Carly was as good as my riding teacher right?"
"Yeah, she's a damn um darn, fine rider."
"And her stables has 4 stalls but only two horses in it." Lucas being no dummy can do the subtraction. "That means that there is room for Thunder here. And that way Carly can give me lessons. Mom says that Carly is up here all the time anyway. She is never home during the day. That half the time AJ has to pick her up here and take her back to the house when he gets off work."
"But that was when things were busy getting built. Things will settle down now." Jerry says then mentally kicks himself as he hears what just came out of his mouth. "Besides Carly goes home bout 4 oclock. Once you're back in school you won't be ready for a lesson until after 4 or 5."
"Carly is so weird." Lucas says.
"Your sister has some ideas, tis true but why do you think she is weird?"
"I heard Mom on the phone to her one day. Mom told her it wouldn't kill her if dinner wasn't on the table at 6 o'clock everyday. That AJ didn't expect things like that."
"Your mom and I talked about that too, Lucas. And I'll tell you the same thing I told her. If it makes Carly feel happy and normal to have dinner on the table at six, then AJ can just make sure he's home by six. One of the things that I didn't tell your mum though... you met old man Quartermaine?" Lucas nods. "Well there are only 2 people that he is afraid of upsetting: His wife Lila and your sister. He is so eager for your sister to not be mad at him anymore that he bought her that horse. Cause AJ loves his grandfather he lets himself be pushed around, he might stay at work all night but 'cause the old man KNOWS that Carly wants AJ home by six, he doesn't even bother asking AJ to stay late." Jerry continues under his breath "He just bombards him with calls and demands after seven."
"Why doesn't Carly just say so?"
"'Cause your sister never just does something."
"Carly is so wierd." Lucas says. At this point Jerry has no reply.
Inside the office there is a different interrogation going on. Carly and Bobbie both have Emily cornered. Carly takes the initative even while bobbie has Emily by the jaw and is tilting her head this way and that. "Okay, who smacked you and are they still standing?" Carly demands with her hands on her hips.
"It's nothing." Emily insists. "I think I got the upper hand. I afterall had truth on my side and the truth hurts."
"Not as much as a good smack." Bobbie murmurs. "But it lasts longer. You did a good job with the makeup. You aren't ever gonna fool someone that has been smacked but joe blow won't notice. You don't have a job coming up do you?"
"Not until next week."
"Who did it? I don't care who started it; I just want to know who?"
"I'll tell you as long as you let me handle it."
Carly nods and holds up three fingers. "I swear."
"Okay, it was Katherine Bell." Carly goes over to the phone and dials the spa. She informs them that Katherine Bell is barred from the spa and that if she came back and refused to leave to have her arrested. "You said you would let me handle it." Emily protests.
"I lied." Carly smiles. "I do that sometimes. Perhaps you've heard?"
"Yeah, I heard but I thought that you'd gotten better."
"It's not like the flu." Carly looks down at her watch. It's already pushing 5 oclock and she'd been up since dawn, long before AJ. "I have to get home. It might be drivethrough but I think I can still have dinner on by six. Em, weren't you suppose to be meeting everyone at Kelly's? We can phone in an order to go from the car." Carly walks to the door and hollars at Rita who is watching the horses. "Rita, we're out of here, get your stuff." Carly kisses Bobbie on the cheek waves to Lucas and Jerry. "Lock up when you leave."
Bobbie doesn't have a chance to get a word in edgewise before Carly climbs behind the wheel of the four wheel drive. She waits only until everyone is buckled in and then goes tearing down the gravel road. "What's her hurry?" Jerry asks curiously "We just got here."
At the little cottage in the woods. Lucky is putting on a motorcycle helmet and climbs on to Emily's prize Harley. He'd been lusting after this baby for months-- ever since Em got it. And while Emily was willing to give him rides she'd never let him ride it by himself. Liz slides into the smooth leather of the Jaguar next to Nik ready to follow Lucky to Kelly's to meet Em. Liz turns to Nik and asks what both she and Lucky had been wondering. "How did Emily's bike get left at your house?"
"She had a... disagreement with her grandfather after the wedding last night and went riding. Her security showed up and gave her a ride home in his car." Nik doesn't mention the run he'd taken that morning to go retrieve the jag from the Q's house. A classical education hadn't instructed him in the nuances of riding a motorcycle. The run had given him a chance to clear out the cobwebs and plan his next move. Emily had to realize that he wasn't going to be scared off by a hired thug.
Liz studies Nikolas and even with the absence of expression realizes that his gears are grinding. Lucky and Nik both held their cards close to the vest only sharing with a few people. Something had changed. Something big. "How was the wedding?"
"Illuminating."
"Oh so descriptive! What was everyone wearing? Who caught the bouquet? It was at the Q's did anyone get in a fight? I want details. Pretend you're a reporter from The Intruder and give me the dirt."
"The Intruder?"
"Where have you been? It's a supermarket rag. I heard the best man was packing heat and threatened the groom if anything should happen to the bride." Liz says breathlessly.
"Close." Nik says grimly. "The best man was armed and he threatened one of the guest if anything happened to the Maid of honor."
"Maid of Honor but that was Emily!" Liz turns in her seap to gape at Nikolas who remained focused on the road.
"Yes, and I was one of the guests. You do the math."
"I TOLD Lucky that we should have gone." Liz crosses her arms. "But he said we didn't know the Judge or Cook and it wasn't really right. Not to mention it being at the Q's. The Q's drive Lucky nuts."
"They drive me nuts with one notable exception. Emily sang at the wedding had the guests in the palm of her hand. She also caught the bouquet. Carly looked like she was going to rip the hair off a very nice girl before her poor husband hustled her out of there."
"Very nice girl?"
"Viki Porter, the judges daughter, she is going to be volunteering at the hospital the rest of the summer. She wasn't feeling too good about her father's wedding and wasn't in the best of moods. Whatever she did struck Carly the wrong way."
"Wow. Emily probably knows the whole story. She and Carly spent alot of time together getting ready for the wedding. Emily is out with Carly today too. Some shopping trip."
"Carly is definitely a sound addition to the Quartermaines." Nikolas says an irony laced tone.
"Careful that is Bobbie's daughter you are talking about. Something that Bobbie reminds Luke of everytime he takes to Carly bashing. Although I've noticed that Luke has mellowed toward Carly after she and AJ came back from Jakarta. I think it was the aloha shirt she bought him. She said he was wearing so much black...." Liz bites her lip.
"That he could be taken as a Cassadine. Yes, that one made it's way back to me. Along with her plan to have Lucas give Father one as well." Nik says flatly. Liz tries to hold back a giggle but then roars with laughter. "I fail to see the humor in involving a child in a adolescent prank."
"Oh Nik. Can't you just picture it? Stefan Cassadine in an aloha shirt. He'd look just like Moondoggy."
"Moon doggy?" Nik quirks a brow.
"That's it! You may have all the cards in the world but the one that you need the most."
"And that would be?"
"Blockbuster." The Jag comes to a smooth stop in the parking lot of Kelly's. Lucky hops off the bike, removes the helmet and heads over to the jag plants a liplock on Liz.
"Man, that baby is smooth. No wonder Emily doesn't want to share." Lucky declares enthusiastically. Carly pulls up in the four wheel drive. She toots her horn and waves but doesn't stop the engine. Emily jumps out of the vehicle and races into Kelly's grabs the order to go and races it back to the car tossing it in the open window. Carly pulls out of the parking lot leaving rubber on the pavement and a cloud of black smoke. Emily coughs and fans the air before her. Lucky comes up beside her as do Liz and Nik. "What was that all about?" Lucky asks.
Em shrugs. "Dinner to go. Anyone hungry? I haven't eatten since the auction." She turns away to go into Kelly's but Nik grabs her by the arm... in the same place that Katherine Bell had. She winces noticabley. Nik drops his hand at the first indication of pain and then taking her jaw in hand preceeds to totally freak out.
"Did HE do this to you? Last night after you left. This-- the bruise on your cheek, the one on your arm?" Lucky and Liz's jaws both drop at Nik's proprietory tone.
"Jesus, Nik calm down." Lucky attempts to placate Nik.
"I'll kill him."Nik says coldly.
"Then you'd be doing in the wrong person. This happened today, not last night and I think I actually started it." Em considers for a minute. "Nope, she started it."
"Who?" Nik insists.
"Katherine Bell." Dropping that little bomb Emily walks away from the trio and into Kelly's. Liz races after her. Lucky remains behind with Nik.
"What in the hell was that about? He who?"
"Johnny Cook."
"Jason's bodyguard?"
"Yeah, well he was guarding Emily last night. And was none to pleased with her ditching her security detail."
"What do you think the story is with Emily and Katherine Bell?"
"I don't know but I'm going to find out." Nik says grimly.