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The Quintessential Q
Chapter Eighty
Sage Counsel
Turning in her seat, Emily bites her lip. "Where is your bullet proof vest? Is it in the van?"
"Do you really think it's going to come to that." Johnny grins shaking his head. Actually he'd never gotten it back from his sister. He has to remember to get that back.
"It's Carly remember? And your pistol?" Em looks Johnny over. He's wearing a sweater and slacks nowhere to really hide his sidearm. "It's in the glovebox right? Well lock it before we get to the house. War counsel. That means everyone is probably there. Jason might be wearing his but he wouldn't have it anywhere near Carly. He learned that lesson from Taggart. Mom wouldn't use a gun, she's more the scalpel type." Emily worries. "AJ uses cars but only when he's been drinking. Dad's more into dropping houses on people so that's out since it's our house to start with. Grandmother, iron pokers, but her arthritis has been flaring up lately. Don't drink any of the martinis especially if they are olive laden."
"Emily!"
"What?! An ounce of prevention and all that. I'm thinking here. Stay away from the stairs." Emily warns Johnny.
"And the old man, what is his weapon of choice?" Johnny humors her.
"Money. Lots and lots of money. Money he can buy companies with or French chefs."
"Ah true. I really think you are overreacting."
"About the physical violence probably." Emily takes a deep breath. "I'm overreacting. No way it would get physical. Too many witnesses."
"And I thought my family was nuts."
"Nah, you've got a strong sanity streak running through your family on your father's side. Although that doesn't explain Viki."
"Genetic aberration?"
"Anyone heard from her lately?" Emily tries to distract herself.
"She's keeping a low profile over at PCU. I'm not saying she's not up to something cause she probably is but she's leaving Rita out of it. And after the lesson Carly gave her, she's staying away from Ms. Benson too. Although it wouldn't surprise me if she sued Carly for some plastic surgery."
"Is this going to be like those car accident law suits? Only the bumper gets thrashed but the victim decides to get a whole new paintjob out of the deal?"
"Probably. But Ms. Benson can afford the better lawyer now."
"But the Judge... wouldn't that bias anyone on the bench toward his daughter?"
"Yep. If it's Rita. Viki opens her mouth and she ticks people off." Johnny makes the turn in at the mansion. Emily starts taking deep breaths to get ready for this. Johnny pulls up to the front doors. To make Em happy, he locks his glovebox and then comes around to help her from the van. He assists her into the house holding the door for her. From the front room there is the sound of applause and congratulations being called out. Em releases a breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She opens the door, to see Ned being slapped on the back. Johnny has her back and takes in the scene of the Quartermaine family with a few Jacks thrown in for variety. "See... Nothing to worry about."
"Not so fast. If I have nothing to worry about why does Carly have ice on her hand and where is Mom?"
"Emily." Alan gets her attention coming down the stairs.
"Carly called to let me know there was a family thing?"
"Ned has some announcement." Alan also heard the applause from upstairs. "I think we just missed it."
"Where is Mom?"
"She and Carly had an ... altercation. She is resting upstairs." out cold "Johnny." Alan frowns wondering what he is doing here.
"Dr. Q. I gave Em a ride home from Deception." Johnny preempts the question.
"He couldn't stand hearing my stomach growl so we stopped for dinner at Eli's." Emily adds. "Why does Carly have ice on her hand?"
"Let me go check that." Alan walks in to the room taking a seat next to Carly. "Okay, slugger, let me see."
"She really did start it." Carly mutters to Alan. Great there goes getting along with my father in law too. It's all Monica's fault. She doesn't even wince as Alan checks her hand for any signs of fracture. "I can't believe we got called over here so Ned can tell us he's getting married for what-- the bazillionth time? I don't even like Ned. I wouldn't have minded reading about it in the paper."
"Was that the big announcement?" Em says from behind the couch. She goes over to Ned and gives him a hug. "I'm sorry I missed it. I'm so happy for you! Where is Alexis?"
"She's off telling Stefan."
Meanwhile Johnny takes a seat next to Jason. "So Ms. Benson has bruised knuckles and Emily's mom is nowhere around."
"Now. Is nowhere around now." Jason says wryly. Michael races from his grip to Carly crawling up in her lap. Once Alan is done checking out Carly's knuckles, Michael gives them the final touch with a kiss to make them better.
"I had Em talked out of the possibility of physical violence." Johnny shakes his head.
"Em knows what she is talking about with the family. The blinders came off long ago."
Nikolas races up the stairs from the launch into Wyndemere. "What is the urgent family matter?"
"Your Aunt has made a decision she'll surely rue but we must rally around her in this time of upheaval."
"Translation please, Alexis."
"I married Ned. We eloped to Las Vegas where we were NOT married by Elvis, but in a very nice civil ceremony. And then on the way back we stopped in The City to see his daughter and let her know the news."
"You did get a prenup, didn't you?" Stefan demands.
"I'm a lawyer, Stefan. He's the one that should have asked for a prenup." Alexis rolls her eyes.
Nikolas hugs her enthusiastically. "Congratulations. He is a lucky man."
"And now we have a party to plan." Stefan interjects. "The nuptials might have been tawdry but the reception must be perfect."
"They weren't tawdry. It was exciting, impulsive, and spontaneous."
"And smart on Ned's part since she probably would have chickened out if he had given her an engagement." Alexis tries to punch Nikolas in the arm but he moves out of range. Mrs. Lansbury in the habit of good staff everywhere had been eavesdropping and brings in a bottle of chilled champagne. Pouring glasses for everyone, she then makes her exit. She has a party to plan.
Stefan and Nikolas offer toasts and teases to Alexis sipping the champagne. Finally Alexis begs off to be with her new hubby leaving Nikolas and Stefan alone in the room. Nikolas takes another sip of champagne and then sets down the flute wandering around the room. He stops at the chess set and the game in progress. He looks over at Stefan. "She said she was working."
"And so she was." Stefan doesn't pretend to not know to whom Nik is referring. Stefan comes over and looks at the board in disgust. Alexis was correct. At this juncture he is losing and has a dandy hole to work himself out of. Madeleine suckered him with her distracting techniques but that would work but once. "But as she indicated before leaving I received my money's worth. Why were you attempting to contact her?"
"I wanted to talk to her about Emily." Nikolas admits.
Stefan winces. Had the Cassadine's become so predictable? "I would not recommend that course of action."
"Why?"
"You don't know what you are getting into with this girl."
"Emily?! I thought you liked Emily." Nikolas protests.
"Miss Bowen-Quartermaine is charming; she is not of whom I refer."
"Maddy?"
"Yes, Madeleine. The dossier is still being completed. The young woman has offered to fill in any blanks it might have." If Cassadine's did eye rolls Stefan would be doing one now but the annoyance is clear in his voice. "But it hasn't deterred her from completing her own on us. She knows too much. At minimum she is a pain in the posterior, an irritant. But the way she has infiltrated the family-- should concern you. Why? Why is she interested in having you in her debt? And why are you so ready to be so?"
"You are overreacting." Nikolas shakes his head.
"And you are underestimating." Stefan shoots back. "Look at the board, Nikolas, and see what your aunt saw in an instant." Nikolas glances down at the board and examines it. Like Alexis he'd rather play a kick ass game of backgammon and avoided learning more than the fundamentals of chess.
"You were winning what else is new?" Nik shrugs.
"This is the side I am playing." Stefan lifts a piece.
Nik looks at the board again. "Well. Sonofabitch." Nik's time hanging with construction crews coming to the forefront.
"Not the way I would have put it. But yes. Do not underestimate Madeleine, Nikolas, or like me you will be having to dig yourself out of hole. We know nothing of this girl. She could be an agent of Helena or of Luke Spencer."
"No way." Nikolas is shaking his head. "There is no way she could have anticipated all of this."
"How did you meet her?"
"Through Emily."
"And did Emily approach her or did she approach Emily? How long has she been in this town? What do you know of her family? What do you know about where she gets her money? How does she obtain all this information?" Stefan starts firing questions at Nikolas in rapid succession. He knows that Nikolas doesn't have the answers 'cause he doesn't have the answers... yet.
"Enough." Nikolas holds up his hand. "I still think you are being paranoid but I will be cautious. Okay?"
"That's all I can ask." Stefan sighs. "Now about the reception for your aunt... since Emily will be there probably as your date which of the family should we not invite? If it were just Ashton, I'd say invite them all and hope they scared him off."
"Ned's not bad." Nikolas smiles.
"Nikolas, he has been married four-- or is it five times now?"
"Twice to the same woman." Nik says cheerfully.
"And that is supposed to be a comfort? That he wasn't bright enough to figure out why the marriage didn't work the first time? I will have to impress upon him that marriage to a Cassadine is serious business. Till death do part."
"His-- right?" Nik laughs. "Shotgun marriage in reverse. He makes Alexis happy."
"And he better continue to do so."
Alexis walks into the front door of the Quartermaine Mansion; she could have waited at the carriage house but decided to brave the storms all in one evening rather than dragging it out over the course of days. She hears the combined voices of conversation coming from the living room. Alexis hesitates outside the double doors taking a deep breath to prepare and eavesdropping for any raised voices. Putting on her game face she opens the door. Around the room there are pockets of conversations. Edward is with John and Jane Jacks. Jax is over with Ned and Emily. Johnny and Jason are sticking together (the sane duo?) AJ has pulled Alan aside. Carly is talking with Lila who is fussing over Lucas and Michael. Lucas actually notices her first as he runs past her to find Reginald for Ms. Lila.
"Mom and Jerry had a longer honeymoon." He tells her as he is passing, rubbing it in.
"Yeah, but they had to wait for it." Alexis voice draws the others' attention.
"Alexis!" Edward walks over and gives her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Bout time you brought that rapscallion up to snuff. Now if you can just get him to focus on where his bread is buttered."
"Like you had nothing to do with this, old man." Alexis whispers in his ear as she kisses him on the cheek too. "And I like those leather pants. They're black."
"So buy him a black Armani and get him back to work! Between playing with Deception and L&B, he's never in the office anymore." Edward grumbles.
"Talk to AJ." Alexis goes over to Lila and gently takes her hand.
"Congratulations, my dear." Lila pats her hand. "It's a good match. Don't let the families interfere... too much."
"I might need your advice on that one."
"I'm here for you. Just a walk up the garden path away."
"I'm going to hold you to that. Carly." Alexis nods in Carly's direction.
"Alexis." No love lost between these two. Carly still recalls Alexis defending Tony for the kidnapping. So she's helped Jason out of some jams doesn't mean that she has to like her or trust her. And the feeling is mutual.
"Alexis." Ned holds out a hand toward his new wife. She walks across the room and takes it. Ned cuddles her close tucking her under his arm. "You wouldn't believe what Emily has been up to." He refers to Emily with a nod. She is sitting on the arm of a chair across from Jax.
"What?"
"It's not a big deal. I was just talking to the guys down in R&D and I think that Deception should give them a 3.5% raise across the board."
"Em, you can't do that." Jax says for the second time, or was it the third? "As soon as you do everyone else is going to want one and we'll have a rebellion on our hands."
"And you'll tell them the same thing I just told you, (for the second or was it the third time) that there was a wage study done for comparable positions and the R&D guys are underpaid."
"They are making exactly the same amount as Jax cosmetics."
"Oh and that's a good thing?" Emily is shaking her head. "I don't think so. Where is the incentive for them to not jump ship to Jax? Where is the incentive for the Jax employees to jump here? You think those guys don't talk? They may not talk bout what they are developing because of the whole corporate espionage thing but you can bet they talk about their work environments. Who got a signing bonus. Who is getting a cut of the patents. Who is getting respect and who is being dissed."
"Em, you are management, an owner, you have to look at the big picture, the bottom line."
"I am looking at the big picture, the bottom line. I'm also looking at the long run. I didn't get into Deception to part it out. I'm planning on being there for awhile."
Alexis and Ned watch Jax and Emily go at it like a tennis match, first one and then the other. They both had good points. They were both right. Ned decides to put in a couple cents worth. "You know it cost us above market to buy Katherine out. We're still recouping from that; the timing is just not right."
"That's a decision that's going to be profitable in the long run and you know it, Ned." Alexis says before Emily can. "And it doesn't bother me a bit for you not to be working with your ex."
"Em, we'll talk about this tomorrow after school at Deception." Ned finally suggests.
"I'm not going to school tomorrow." Em drops that bomb. "Grandfather has arranged for tutors for me to finish out the school year. So if you're free for lunch I'll bring the reports with me." Emily walks away.
"Oh boy you guys are in such trouble." Alexis snickers.
"What, What?" Jax protests.
"If there is a mutiny at Deception, I have a good idea who is going to be leading it."
"She's just a little girl." Ned laments.
"Right. Keep thinking that way. She's got you both so snowed." Alexis walks over to Johnny and Jason who are both rising as if to leave.
"Congratulations, Alexis." Jason offers.
"If I knew what the occasion was I would have brought a cake." Johnny shrugs. "Congratulations."
"Luck might be a better wish, I think I'm going to need it."
"You'll have them whipped into shape in no time, Ms. Davis or are you Mrs. Ashton now?"
"I'll have to think about that one for awhile." Alexis bites her lip. "It was one of the things that didn't get covered before we were married."
Emily sees that Johnny is getting ready to leave and hobbles over in his direction. "Thanks for the ride home, and for dinner." She maintains a careful distance knowing exactly where she is.
"It was my pleasure." Johnny nods. He should have kissed her good night in the van before coming in. "We'll have to do it again... soon."
"I look forward to that."