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The Triumph Of AJ Quartermaine
Chapter Twenty
Homecoming.
At the Happy Family house. Carly shakes snow from her boots and drops then in the entryway. She strips Michael from the snowsuit that had come in handy with the incliment weather that had almost postponed the trip back to Port Charles. As if flying commercial hadn't been a bitch enough even though it had been first class. AJ follows with the bags. Dropping them he also drops his outergear in the entry.
"That's it the rest can wait until morning."
"Ha, you might be shoveling the car out for a week!" Carly shivers. "Are you cold?"
"I had a caretaker in from when I signed on the house to make sure that everything was turned on, stocked for our return and do take the deliveries."
"What ARE you going to do now that you are getting a life? AJ, you've thought of everything."
"Well, I figure that what I don't think of ...you will." AJ reminds her slyly. Walking over to the thermostat he turns the heat up from the energysaver nobody at home mode. "It should only take a bit to get warm." AJ looks in the living room. "Oh hell."
"What?" Carly picks up Michael and goes to the living room as well. There are boxes everywhere. Furniture is dropped off whereever. It's a disaster area. "Well I guess everything arrived." She thinks for a second. "HASSAN's RUG!!" She hands Michael to AJ and runs to the study. "Oh thank goodness." Carly finds the rug and makes sure that it didn't suffer in it's trip to Port Charles. "Let's get this room straightened up first."
"Well I'd love to think that you were doing it for me but it's about that rug, isn't it?" AJ teases.
"Maybe," Carly flirts. "On the other hand, I don't even want to look at the living room and this room could be set to rights fast...and it has a fireplace." She weedles.
AJ laughs. "You got it. Why don't you check Michael's room for his playpen. I'll get a fire started. The caretaker took care of that at least." Carly leaves Michael with AJ briefly to grab the box with Michael's playpen in it from upstairs and drags it after her.
"You know a gentleman would have hauled this thing down the stairs for me." Carly comments before ripping into the box.
AJ looks up from from the fireplace where he has just lit the tinder starting a warm welcoming blaze."Baby, you were what, six months pregnant with Michael, when you hoisted my dead weight into that laundry cart. The one thing I've never worried about with you is your strength." AJ laughs mocking a low point in their history. But by bringing it out into the open letting it go.
Carly looks around the room and finds a spot that is close enough to the fire to be warm but out of the way of the bulk of the room. Looking around she sees where to start. Curtains. Need to get the damn curtains hung so they can get onto the rest of the room. Tearing through the packages she finds the curtains ready to hang with one exception-- no hooks. "Where are they?" She tears through the rest of the packages but no hooks anywhere.
"Where's what?" AJ had sat back by the fire admiring his handiwork and entertaining Michael while watching Carly's frantic tear.
"The damn curtain hooks! Once they are up then I can get the rug rolled out. And the curtains will insulate the room. Carly looks out to the backyard at the snow that is drifting to the ground blanketing it and accumulating. "It's so beautiful."
AJ comes over to the window and looks out as well side by side with Carly. "Yeah, and cold. We'll have enough for a snowman for sure tomorrow."
"I never saw snow before I moved to Port Charles. I used to dream about it. Snow capped mountains, cool crisp and clean-- especially when it was 85 degrees on Christmas day down in florida. That always just seemed off to me." Carly muses.
"How long did it take you to get over that?" AJ asks.
"Hmm hiking through the snow to the Grille the day I told Bobbie that I was her daughter dampened my enthusiasm. But I still like it-- from inside with a warm fire, a hot drink, good music and good company."
"Hmm well we have the snow, the fire... I could hook up the stereo; it could make things go faster."
"Not if you're hooking up the stereo." Carly laughs. "Tell you what-- I'll unpack the stereo if you'll make us something hot to drink."
"A Quartermaine in the kitchen? Haven't you heard the horror stories?" AJ dramatically widens his eyes.
"No way... you aren't getting out of it. I'll put together the stereo, you get the drinks, and..." Carly hesitates. "I need to call my mother and tell her that we're back."
"Invite them over. Jerry might be gentleman enough to move some furniture for you." AJ dodges Carly's playful punch and heads to the kitchen.
Carly picks up the phone that sits on the floor next to the wall and dials a familiar number. "Mama?...we just got back." Carly gives the address and invites Bobbie, Lucas and Jerry over. "I know the weather sucks and the house is a disaster right now." Carly offers Bobbie a way out knowing that there will be a fight or at least a loud discussion when Bobbie gets face to face with her. Bobbie is emphatic that she is going to be there as soon as possible. "Okay-- could you do me a favor then-- I need some curtain hooks and some clothes hangers. I can't find anything around here yet." As the conversation terminates, Carly sighs. It was going to be an interesting night. Carly finds the stereo boxes and starts to unpack them. Within minutes the sound of music fills the house.
AJ comes into the study carrying two mugs of coffee. "Well that's humiliating. How long were you going to let me make an ass of myself putting together that stereo at Bobbie's?"
"But you were so cute." Carly blows him a kiss with a wink as she takes a cup of coffee. "Mama is on her way with reinforcements."
"Better your mother than mine." AJ quips. "I'm still putting that one off. I talked to my father before we went to New York but the rest will be ready to have me committed for not filling in the blanks. I'm hoping that we can keep them in the dark until I show up with you and Michael for the Boardmeeting."
"Ambush?" Carly asks and AJ nods.
"Tried and true... keep using it 'cause it keeps working." AJ repies. The cd player moves on to another song. Taking carly's cup from her and putting it next to his on the mantle he holds out his hand. Carly takes it with a laugh.
"Have you found your new theme song?" Carly whispers in his ear as he pulls her close before spinning out to the fast tune
I wonder what it's like to be the rainmaker
I wonder what it's like to know that I made the rain
I'd store it up in boxes with little yellow tags on everyone
and you can come and see them when I'm done.. when I'm done
"Maybe," AJ replies. "do you think it works?"
I wonder what it's like to be a superhero
I wonder where I'd go if I could fly around downtown
from some other planet. I get this funky high on yellow sun
boy I bet my friends will be stunned...they're stunned.
Straight up, what did you hope to learn about here
it I were someone else, would this all fall apart?
strange where were you, when we started this gig
I wish the real world would just stop hassling me
I wonder what it's like to be head honcho
I wonder what I'd do if they all did just what I said.
I'd shout an order, I think we're out of something man get me some
Boy don't make me wanna change my... tone my tone.
Please don't change, please don't break
The only thing that seems to work at all is you.
please don't change at all from me
to you, and you to me
"You're really going to do it, aren't you?" Carly asks quietly still in AJ's arms as the song stops.
"Too late to back out now." AJ shrugs looking into her eyes. "I had nothing to lose before now."
"You don't have to. ELQ doesn't matter, you know that being CEO isn't going change what happens with Michael or with me. If it's going to make you nuts, don't do it. There is still time."