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The Triumph Of AJ Quartermaine
Chapter Seven
NYC
"AJ, what are you, we, doing here?" Carly grabs Michael's bag and follows AJ off the airplane after a short hop from Port Charles to New York City.
"I'm going on vacation. I've been pretty busy these last few months and think I deserve a week off to get to know my son."
"No kidding you've been busy." Carly mutters. looking around and trying to get her bearings. They've landed on the airstrip for the private planes and there is a limo waiting. Not a phone or cop in sight. And at this point what good would a cop do? Jason was going to be furious. But what was she suppose to do just let AJ waltz off with their son? "AJ, we have to get Michael back to Port Charles before midnight. You don't know what he is like when he wakes up and Jason isn't there."
"Exactly the problem, Carly. I DON'T know what my son is like at midnight but I plan on finding out. You've arranged our son's life for the last year without my input; I think I'm overdue."
"You won't think that when he starts crying." Carly protests.
"Well there are two of us and only one of him, I think that we'll manage to fumble our way through." AJ places his hand on the middle of Carly's back guiding her to the waiting limo when she hesitates. "And just think between the two of us, you'll have the most experience in dealing with Michael; how's that for a switch? Maybe we can both use this time to get to know our son. Relying on Jason for the long term was a mistake, Carly. He is doing things that if it they don't get him killed might get him locked up. What were you going to do then? It isn't fair to Michael to have him totally reliant on Jason and Jason's being there. Someday he won't be. And someday is today."
"Where are you taking us?" Carly climbs into the limo resigned for now to accompanying AJ but looking for a way to contact Jason to let him know where they are.
"Shopping."
"WHAT? Let me guess you think that's going to stop me from getting hold of Jason the first chance I get?!"
"No, shopping for the stuff that we'll need on this vacation 'cause we're packed kind of light. And you won't get hold of Jason because we have court in ten days. I think that you've figured out that you don't have a chance in hell of retaining any kind significant custody of Michael, and Jason definitely doesn't. If you want any kind of cooperation from me you'll go along for this week; you and I will hash things out between the two of us-- without Jason, the family or the courts."
"Why should I trust you?" Carly asks suspiciously.
"Because I'm the best shot you've got at this point." AJ replies calmly, tapping on the glass and putting the limo in motion. AJ leans back in the plush seat allowing the truth to set in. AJ begins to point out attractions to Michael as they head into Manhattan. As the limo slows, AJ looks out. "First stop-- FAO Schwartz."
Carly groans. This is going to be hard to resist... shopping for her son. AJ unbuckles Michael from his car seat and taking him in arm prepares to disembark. "Well Carly, how long do you think that we'll be here? I have to know when to tell the driver to come back; he can't just wait here doubleparked."
"An hour okay? JUST an hour. and only for Michael." Carly flounces out of the car. AJ smiles triumphantly behind her back before notifying the driver.
"You heard the lady; we'll meet you here in an hour."
"If she's anything like my wife there's no way that you are going to get out of there in under two. There's no way I could get out of there in less than one once I start checking out the train sets."
"Train sets?" AJ's eyes start to gleam.
"Why don't I just give you my cell number. Give me a call when you are checking out and I'll be at the door in a jiffy." The driver hands AJ a card with his number on it.
"We'll call you then."
After a whirlwind of shopping that includes a stroller, a playpen, a crib, all the bedding, a mobile, a selection of picture books, some stuffed animals, a baby monitor, clothes for about a month for Michael, a winter snow suit that was too cute to resist, all the bare necessities for the changing, feeding and care of a baby, and a Lionel O train with a complete set of cars, two engines and a caboose (as well as enough track to go around the average ranch style house), AJ calls the driver to come pick them up. It's only been 3 hours.
"A train set? I can't believe you; I thought I was bad when I bought that lion that took up all of Michael's playpen! Michael isn't old enough for a trainset, AJ. He won't be for YEARS."
"Who said that's for Michael? That one's for me. Come on Carly, didn't you see the way his eyes lit up watching the display?"
"Okay..." Carly replies grudgingly. "He loved it. But AJ, you can't even wire a stereo; how are you going to put together that train set?"
"I have plenty of experience putting together train sets. Jason and I used to do it every year at Christmas setting up a model train that went around the tree." AJ falls silent as the memories overwealm him.
Carly recognizes that AJ is reliving painful memories and pulls him back to the present. "How are we going to get all this stuff to the limo? No way is this all going to fit." She reminds him practically.
"That's no problem." AJ shakes off the bittersweet memories of happier times with the old Jason. "The stroller and the snow suit are coming with us; the rest will be delivered to the hotel." AJ pays for the purchases with travelers checks so that no trail will be left of their progress in New York and make arrangements for the delivery of the rest of the items. He writes down where he wants everything delivered so that Carly still doesn't know where they will be staying. Calling the limo, AJ plops Michael into the new stroller bundling him up for the trip from the store to the car.
"AJ, Michael needs a nap. If he keeps running much longer he's going to get cranky. And you won't like Michael when he is cranky. He lets everyone know he's miserable. Michael stays up pretty late normally but that's because he takes naps throughout the day and he hasn't had his afternoon one yet." Carly worries.
"Okay, we'll head to the hotel. See how easy that was? You do know what our son needs without Jason's prompting." AJ comments. Carly stops in her tracks as she begins to realize that AJ was right. On this trip she was going to have to be the one deciding what was best for her son and teaching AJ what Michael liked.
The Waldorf Astoria.
AJ checks in at the front desk, reminding the clerk with a significant bribe that this is a private vacation and NO calls are to be put through to the suite as well as no interruptions. "I don't care if the person says that someone in my immediate family has died; this is the first family vacation I've had since my son was born and there will be NO interruptions."
"I understand perfectly, Mr Quartermaine. Your name isn't even on the suite so there will be no opportunity for error." The obsequious twit behind the counter guarentees pocketing the overly generous gratituty. "The Waldorf Astoria is known for it's descretion. If you and your wife would like to check out some of the nightlife in town our concierge can arrange tickets for you. And a babysitting service is available, of course."
"I think that we'll be staying in this evening but thank you for the information." AJ doesn't bother to correct the clerk's mislabeling of Carly. "There will be some packages delivered please make sure that they make it up to our room."
"What now? " Carly inquires.
"I think a brief stop at the hotel store to pick up some necessary items for us and then getting Michael settled in for his nap." AJ states but there is a question in his voice.
Carly nods. "Okay, I think that will work. AJ, I need to call Jason. He's going to be going nuts."
"We'll call him from the room; I have a few things to say to my brother as well."
Carly and AJ take Michael to the elevator. A bellman follows with their packages. The elevator trip is made with only Michael's tired fussing. AJ and Carly are both lost in their own thoughts knowing that the tough conversation is going to happen once Michael is down for his nap and they are alone.
About an hour later--
AJ looks out over the city from the window, his back to the suite until he hears Carly entering the living area. "Is he asleep?"
"Yeah, And I tell you what, buddy, you get to try it next time." Carly runs her fingers through her hair tiredly. "He was too tired and too excited. I didn't think he would ever crash." Carly looks around the room for the first time really. "This is nice, AJ."
"Nothing but the best for my family." AJ quips.
Carly winces then sits down on the couch facing AJ. "The floor is yours. You're the man with the plan."
AJ sits down across from Carly. She squirms under his focused gaze. "I want this week, Carly. You owe this to me-- this and a whole lot more. The truth is out. Everyone will know by now that I'm Michael's father. We can decide how this plays out-- without Jason , without grandfather just you and me deciding on where we go with our son."
Carly leans forward. "Understand this-- I WILL not be separated from my son. NEVER again."
AJ nods. "Okay we'll take that as a given. But I won't be separated from my son either. IF you and Michael are a package deal then so are Michael and I."
Carly crosses her arms defensively. "Then I don't see how this is going to work. I used to dream about living in the Quartermaine mansion but frankly the bloom is off of that one. I haven't seen so many loonies in one place since I was back in Ferncliffe. And they all hate me. I won't live like that and I won't have my son exposed to that. It was bad enough knowing I was away from Michael and Robin was badmouthing me in front of my son."
"Yeah, she really hated your guts, didn't she?" AJ grins.
"It's not funny!" Carly throws a pillow at AJ.
"Oh really? Don't you find it the least bit funny that wee wittle wobin actually had the gumption to *hate* someone. And she was so bad at it. I guess it isn't easy being the princess of Port charles while you are really wishing that someone would stay locked up for the rest of her natural life. Or at least until she's fat and ugly and no threat to Robin's relationship with her boyfriend."
"Oh she did her damn'dest. I still think that Jason could have gotten me out a little sooner if Robin hadn't been in the picture. She made it easy for him to forget. At least that was what I was thinking while I was in. I didn't find out until 2 weeks before I got out that Dr Evans had been withholding my mail. Jason had written me every week and taken pictures of Michael every day with every change that my little man made."
AJ leans in. "I want to see those photo albums."
Carly tears up as she finally realizes that AJ has been living in the same hell that she did while locked away from her son-- fearing that he wouldn't remember her when she got out. "How did you stand it? How did you stand knowing that Michael was your son and not being able to see him? OH God AJ, I'm so sorry; I'm so sorry! I was just so scared. I thought I was doing the best thing. I really did. You and Tony were both coming after me and I just couldn't handle being alone. I didn't know that Jason would bond with Michael. That wasn't my intention. I just wanted to get well then I was going to come back take my son and run. Run like I have all my life. I came back to town and Jason is having Michael baptized and my son was surrounded by family. Surrounded by love, I couldn't take him away from that." Carly pleas.
"I'm glad you didn't but for my own selfish reasons. Did you know I told my mother that I could be the father of Michael? She didn't want to hear it. Michael was her ticket to getting close to Jason again. As soon as I saw the expression on her face and how she didn't want to hear that that there was any doubt that Jason was the father, I knew I was on my own. When you and I got into it at the baptism I'd already sent the information off to the labs for scientific testing. Yeah, I tried to rattle you. Get you to give anything up so that I wouldn't be on hold for months waiting on results. But Baby, you are good. I could tell even then that you were still depressed, still sick, but you didn't let anything slip. Jason was giving away things left and right to anyone that knew the truth. He didn't want me anywhere near you. Michael too, but it was you that he was trying to isolate."
Carly wipes at the tear trails down her face and laughs without humor. "Yeah, that's me-- the world's greatest liar. Mama would be SO proud. Jason and I had a deal. I'd do all the lying and he would just not deny things..."
"And it worked, for awhile." AJ nods. "It's not going to work anymore."
"What do you want, AJ?"
"Flat out, Carly. I want this week. You give me this week without telling Jason where we are. Let me know my son finally, without interruptions, and I won't go for sole custody. Prove to me that we can work together this week and as far as I'm concerned I'll support us working TOGETHER for the rest of Michael's life. What do you say, Carly? It's more of a shot than you gave me?