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The Quintessential Q
Chapter Ninety One
Nuts
"Nobody says a word." Maddy threatens. Lucky and Nik nod; Stefan just looks smug. She walks over to the back door and opens it. "Poppi, hey."
"Hey yourself, Madeleine." Pete comes in and gives her a kiss on both cheeks. "So you decide to be reasonable."
"Ha. Not quite. I didn't give you my address because staying here is temporary. I'm getting my own place soon. I'm going to give you that address."
"How soon and where?" Pete demands. "Give me another week and you can come home."
Maddy pales realizing exactly what Pete is implying and shakes her head. "Not for me. Things are fine here."
"It's too cold for you." Pete shivers dramatically. "Besides your mother misses you."
"Oh right. She misses me taking care of her. I can do that from here. I have been doing that from here. And I don't miss her taste in men." Remembering the ears listening, Maddy steps back into the kitchen. "Pete, you already met Nikolas Cassadine, this is his house. His uncle Stefan and his brother Lucky Spencer."
"Spencer like the club?"
"That's my dad." Lucky nods rising from his seat and taking Pete's hand in a firm handshake.
"I was not there long but it is a nice place. Good music, welcoming." Pete's eyes narrow. "Stefan Cassadine? You've been asking questions about Madeleine."
"That's okay, Poppi." Maddy says in a hurry heading off trouble. "It's part of my staying here. I investigated them too. Nikolas, why don't you show Pete the house so I can finish up in here."
Nik is on his feet fast; he knew just enough about Pete to not want him around Stefan. "I don't get to show it off enough."
"Lucky, go with them." Maddy demands. When Lucky hesitates Maddy rolls one of the finished cannoli shells ready to be filled where two others rest.
"Hey bro, I hear you are on your finishing touches. A little paint a little plaster and it's a done deal." Lucky cheerfully tags along. "Whoa-- Pete, you want some coffee to go on this trip?"
"I had coffee already at Porter's."
"Smooth move that one. The coffee at the PC Hotel could use a new wholesaler. Any coffee will do, but Porter's has great coffee." Lucky quips.
Wanting his own chance to interrogate the newcomer, Stefan attempts to follow. Maddy gets between him and the door her hand firm in his chest. "I don't think so."
"I have yet to see the final results of Nikolas' endeavor."
"You can wait. You excel in waiting. What was in my dossier?"
"A large number of holes." Stefan admits with narrowed eyes. "The copy of your birth certificate with mother Lisette Reynolds. Father listed as Martin Grah. Birthday November 20. You'll be eighteen. The traditional relevance of that age does not apply since you've been legally emancipated since the age of 15. You received your driver's license on your sixteenth birthday along with a van. Your school records are excellent. Your neighbors had nothing but kind things to say about you."
"It would have to be a taller fence that has ever been built for Lisette to get along with her neighbors." Maddy mutters. "Everything you got is basically from paper, official sources."
"As I said, I large number of holes." Stefan says wryly.
"I've already told you I'll fill in the holes. Do not question Pete."
"Perhaps I have been investigating the wrong subject." Stefan suggests silkily.
"I can be gone in twenty minutes. You start feeling the urge to snoop into Pete's business tell me up front... I don't do funerals."
"Well you think we've been gone long enough yet?" Lucky ask Nik and Pete.
"Long enough?" Nik wonders if he should be trying to shut Lucky down, if that was even possible.
"You notice who is not on this little homeArama tour?"
"Why would Madeleine want to talk privately to your uncle?" Pete agrees with Lucky.
"Not MY uncle, his uncle." Lucky protests vehemently pointing at Nikolas.
"Maddy is attempting to manage things. My uncle's visit this morning was... spontaneous. Lucky being here is not unforeseen."
Pete grins showing more than a few teeth. "And she evidently feels that Lucky will keep the peace between us. But it will not stop the question. What are you doing with my Madeleine? Why is she here and what is she to you?" Pete's humorless grin falls away. "And is your will in order in case a single hair on her head is harmed?"
Nik snaps his fingers. "I knew there was something I'd left undone. Lucky why don't you go see if Maddy's done bodily harm to my uncle yet."
"Go here, go there." Lucky bitches
"The cross you have to bear for being the peacemaker. I know it's a stretch." Nik says dryly.
"Whatever but if Maddy takes one of my cannolis away for this I'm taking yours. I have to share with Elizabeth you know." Lucky shrugs and drains his mug of coffee so he has an excuse to get back in the kitchen.
Nik leads Pete into what will eventually be the den/study. "Maddy assisted me when my fiancé was kidnapped."
Pete frowns. "Young Rita is not for you so I assume you mean her friend. Unless there has been another recent kidnapping in this town?"
"No, one was enough. Emily Quartermaine. She's good friends with Maddy too. They're in business together. When everything was craziest, Maddy was keeping cool and being an information conduit. Doing her little bit to keep everyone coordinated. And I don't know if you know this but the Aunt who Maddy was staying with here in Port Charles is the assistant district attorney. And the Aunt's... boyfriend is a police lieutenant. Dara started making noises telling Maddy what to do."
Pete winces. "Eh. Say no more." Pete snaps his fingers. "Like this her bags were packed. Maddy does many things well and packing is one of them."
"Maddy told me she moved up here cause there was a cop making trouble for her mother back home. Trying to leverage her into snitching." Nik takes a mental step back and really looks at Pete. "Yeah, I see it. She told me she doesn't call you. You check in with her. She didn't tell you she was leaving New Orleans. I would just as soon Taggart doesn't connect you to Maddy. I wouldn't put it past him to try the same kind of thing. Right now Taggart minds her business but it is as her Aunt's boyfriend not as a cop."
"And why is she here?"
"I owed Maddy a favor. I live in a cottage outside of town. The renovations on this place are still ongoing. She was willing to live in a construction zone. The deal is she's got a place to stay until she makes other arrangements."
"Rather open ended."
"It was a big favor. Maddy has plans. I don't know what they are. But she has her own timetable."
As soon as Frank arrives to take over the brunch crowd, Johnny grabs a cup of coffee and joins his former employers at their table. He pulls up the chair next to Emily. A waitress brings over an omelet.
"Have you talked to Rita?" Jason asks.
"Yeah, last night. It didn't do much good." Johnny shakes his head. "She knows she screwed up telling Mr. Robideaux about Maddy before knowing what the guy's deal is. So this morning she lets him in before we're open so she can apologize to him about minding Maddy's business and then turns around and threatens the guy if he messes with anyone in town."
Sonny chokes slightly and then starts laughing shaking his head. "What is it with the women in this town. Such a bloodthirsty bunch."
"Hey I resemble that remark!" Em protests jokingly.
"Yes, you do." Jason says seriously. "I don't think we can blame this one on your mother, Johnny. This is pure Carly. All your talk did was make Rita look at Robideaux as a threat. And Carly's reaction to threats is to threaten right back."
"Who are you talking about? Who is Pete Robideaux?" Mike looks around the table. He wasn't at Luke's the night before. He'd been working his own bar.
The guys look at each other not really knowing how to answer that question. Em steps up to the plate. "An old friend of Maddy, visiting from New Orleans. He's checking up on her, making sure she is fitting in here."
Mike frowns. "Is that the same..." He looks over at his son who matches Jason's stoneface. "How about that sermon Father Frank gave-- really inspiring." Mike decides to change the subject.
"Very." Sonny agrees. Sonny wipes his mouth setting the linen napkin on the table next to his coffee cup. Brunch as always had been excellent. "I have to get back to the penthouse I'm expecting a call."
"Yeah, I want to get your bike back together, Em. I should have it delivered to the mansion by Tuesday at the latest."
"Take your time." Emily grouses. "It's not like I'm going to get to ride it before like April or something."
"You need a ride over to Carly's?" Jason asks.
"Nah. I got it covered." Jason looks hard at Em. Normally Reggie would be here by now to pick up Em and Michael and take them to Carly and AJ's place. Em just smiles at him and doesn't say anything.
"Right." Jason gives Emily a look that clearly says we're going to talk later. He rises to his feet as does Sonny and depart after taking care of the bill with Rita. Johnny remains behind with Mike, Em and Michael.
Mike sighs. "I have to do the books for the Recovery Room." Johnny winces in sympathy. The books were always a bitch. Mike rises to his feet and going over to his godson gives him a kiss on the top of his carrot top. "See you next week, little man."
"Mike, you should call Carly. I mean if you want to spend more time with Michael. She keeps busy but she is normally up at the stables before you have to open the recovery room and Michael is with her."
"Maybe you'll put in a good word for me. Carly's got no reason to support my being Mikey's godfather. I wasn't her choice I was Jason's and even then I know I was second choice. If Sonny had been in town..."
"The record for longest baptism for a single child would be safe until the next millennium rather than just the next century." Johnny laughs. He'd been at the baptism sitting with Rinaldo behind the Quartermaines while Jason had tried to organize the baptism, and all the unexpected guests: the Q's, Moreno, Robin. He'd been about as lucky in that as herding cats. A sign of things to come when the boss had been happier to see Carly than Robin. Course Robin was the one who ended up spilling the beans about Michael's sperm donor being AJ.
"I'll talk to Carly." Em nudges Johnny. It hadn't been funny. Course she'd been up front being yelled out by everyone. Mike nods and thanks her. Leaving only Em, Johnny and Michael at the large table. And then only the two of them when Rita takes her break and grabs Michael to go up to play in Johnny's apartment where he could be noisy. "You know AJ knew back then that Michael was his."
"What? Really?" Johnny stares at her.
"Yeah, it's one of the things that came out after he took Carly and Michael to New York. He knew but he couldn't prove it. AJ was in the process of proving it but the DNA samples had not come back before Jason had Michael baptized."
"It's a miracle they get along as well as they do." It was hard to not pick sides on this one since he'd worked for Jason and knew how tight the boss was with his kid. But Ms. Benson seemed to be making it work and the kid was happy.
"Don't think that I don't give thanks for that one." Em admits. "Now if only Jason were happy."
"You aren't thinking of matchmaking are you?" Johnny asks horrified.
"If I find the right person before Grandfather does, I might." Em teases.
"I got to warn the boss." Johnny teases right back. Now that they are finally alone in the semi private dining room that Jason and Sonny used while dining at Porters, Johnny leans in and brushes his lips against Em's. "I've been wanting to do that since you walked into my place."
"Are you gonna be able to get away?" Em runs a hand down Johnny's arm from shoulder to forearm.
"Yeah, Frank is here. Ma's coming in a little later to pick up Rita. Greedy girl is on target for buying a new pair of riding boots."
"That's right! I have to take her shopping tomorrow."
"School." Johnny shakes his head. Rita had been having enough trouble in school.
"Teacher inservice-- for her anyway. I have instruction until noon with the tutor but I'm available after that. Maddy is going to drive." Em murmurs against Johnny's jaw taking a little nibble.
Taking a deep breath, Johnny leans back away from Em. "You're trying to drive me nuts."
"Is it working?" Em inhales. There is something about this guy that just drew her in closer. How in the hell had she missed it?
"Oh yeah." Johnny mutters running a hand through Em's hair brushing it back behind her shoulder. "We should get Michael and drop him off at his mom's. How soon do you have to be home after that?"
"Why don't we leave that one open." Em suggests breathlessly.
Lucky takes a bite of the cannoli and closes his eyes. "Oh man, that takes me back." He licks the ooze of filling and dusting of crushed pistachios from his fingers. He tries to look pitifully at Maddy.
She can't resist his puppy dog eyes. "Fine. Here have another one. It's a good thing I made a double batch."
"They are as good as Mere's." Pete agrees.
Nik had decided to try the dessert since Maddy had put it together and Lucky had raved about it. "It's.... interesting."
Stefan had taken a bite not knowing what to expect but Maddy had harped on him often enough about going by expectations rather than what was in front of his face. His brows raise. "Lucky is correct. This is exactly what I remember from my visit to Sicily." Stefan turns to Nikolas. "You were too young to accompany me on that trip."
"Well that must have been ages ago since Niknik says you were dragging him to Russian museums when he was six."
"That was different. That was our history."
Pete offers up the cannolli as if to toast. "And this is mine. I think I got the better deal. You've sweetened me up now, petite. Time to talk."
Maddy nods. Going over to the basement and lets Pete go down first. She looks over her shoulder at Nikolas. "You promised."
"I promised I'd try." Maddy nods and shuts the door after her.
"Promised to what?" Lucky takes a sip of his coffee and with a quick swipe grabs the remainder of Nik's cannoli.
"Not interfere in the fight to come."