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The Triumph Of AJ Quartermaine
Chapter Seventy Five
Business as Usual.
The next morning. Carly wakes and groans as the pain in her arm radiates up her shoulder at her careless movement. "My Gawd Caroline, what have you done?" She grimaces. Carly discovers that she is anchored to the bed with an arm around her waist. AJ is sleeping on his stomach next to her. He'd picked her right side, the uninjured side. AJ wakes as Carly starts moving around.
"Hey, how you feeling?" AJ mutters in a sleep dazed growl.
"Really really stupid." Carly sighs. "And now your father knows what a nutcase I am."
"Baby, he's always known what a nutcase you are. I told him ages ago right about the same time as I told him that you were the one thing in the world that was going to make me happy-- crazy too but happy."
"AJ, I wasn't trying to hurt myself." Carly wants to make that perfectly clear.
"I don't think you were. And Dad doesn't either." AJ rolls over and sits up against the headboard. "But there is a problem here. And I think that it's the same problem as the courthouse. You have a good idea, a sound idea, but your implimentation sucks."
Carly laughs in disbelief. "What?"
"Those things in your arm were an abomination. They had to come out. But if you had talked to me I would have arranged for a doctor, any doctor you wanted-- any where you wanted, to take them out. You know, if you had let me know what was going on with Evans; I would have made sure that you were out of town when the fur started flying. Damn it, Carly! We're a team. You have to start talking to me."
"I don't know what you mean."
"I know and that's the saddest thing. Think about it, Baby. New York, Jakarta, the plan to take out Katherine out of the Spa business. When we work together things happen-- good things."
"I wasn't exactly a full partner in the New York deal." Carly reminds AJ. "And you kicked me out of Jakarta. And Katherine Bell hasn't happened yet."
"You made yourself a full partner in New York. You are more than a full partner in this house. I might have found it, but you've made it a home. And I may have kicked you out of Jakarta but I couldn't have gotten the job done without you. And there was no way in hell I could have renegotiated such a good deal if you hadn't have been glaring at those Ministers the whole time. Carly, because of you and the party that you threw in Darwin the Jakarta office think I'm a god. ELQ's reputation is gold in the far east because of the way that WE handled that trouble. And I have no doubt at all that Katherine Bell will be out of the spa business in short order. You might as well start planning on who is going to be running it after she is gone."
"Oh Hell. I hadn't even thought of that." Carly bites her lip. "I was just doing the Jerry thing... you know, one step at a time. I don't know anything about running a spa."
"You pointed out at the roundtable that Katherine doesn't appreciate her staff; I'm sure that there is someone there that could pick up the reins so that all you had to do was oversight. Come up with the ideas for improvement. That kind of thing." AJ shrugs. "Jerry's got the right idea. One step at a time."
"Are you going to the office today? I have to go to the courthouse this afternoon but I want to read the papers and see the news first to see if there's going to be gauntlet of ghouls there. I haven't had a call to play dress up in my red wig for a few years." Carly blows AJ a kiss as she remembers breaking into Justus's offices to get the custody papers Tony was going to file against Bobbie-- and being caught by AJ.
"I thought that you should take it easy today!" AJ protests. "You scared the hell out of me last night."
"Nope, no way. Business as usual-- anything else would cause questions. Mama's already suspicious." Carly reaches for her robe unthinkingly and swears as her stitches pinch her. AJ grabs the robe and eases it her into it.
"But you are going to take it easy, right? I mean Doctor's orders and if you don't believe me-- I'll call Dad."
"Just the courthouse I swear. This weekend though have I got plans for you."
"Let me guess, you, me, Hassan and my checkbook." AJ teases.
"You know me so well. If you go get Michael. I'll get coffee on." Carly deals.
"Meet you downstairs." AJ runs his fingers through Carly's hair and cups the back of her neck. Bringing her face to his, he kisses her lingeringly.
"What was that for?" Carly muses.
"You being you." AJ slaps Carly on the fanny. "Now get me my coffee, woman, and I think our boy will be ready for some juice. It's time to get this day on a roll."
"You are so weird." Carly shakes her head and laughs as she heads down the stairs.
Minutes later down in the kitchen, Carly has the coffee on, Michael in his high chair playing with his breakfast and AJ is making breakfast for the two of them. He studies the microwave and the directions for the hot cereal like it's a complex business problem. "You know fruit would be okay with me, AJ."
"I can do this." AJ mutters. AJ pushes a few buttons. "There. But just in case..." AJ goes over to the fridge and gets out some fruit.
Carly laughs. "You're getting better, honest. Still don't think that Cook is going to let you in her kitchen." The microwave dings and AJ takes out the contents grimacing at it. "Don't worry that's the way it's suppose to look."
"UGH." AJ shudders. He shoves it away deciding to make do with fruit. "Okay, we need to touch base on what I did last night and what Dad and I talked about."
"Why am I not going to like this?"
"There aren't going to be any surprises. You made me promise to not do anything about Evans. I'm having trouble with that-- but fine. Evans is over. I was more worried about you ending up getting called to testify or your file ending up in the tabloids-- so I made a few calls. Jerry is going to get your file from Ferncliffe and destroy it. Jason is going to get whatever copy that Lorraine made." Carly blanches and realizes that is something that Lorraine would do.
"Oh hell."
AJ continues. "Grandfather is going to make sure that Judge Carter hears Evans cases. I told him to not tamper with anything. I just want us to have warning of who is going to be called as a witness before the process server shows up on the door. We can't rely on Taggart for that. He has another agenda."
"But Gees, AJ! Edward?!" Carly protests.
"I know; I don't like it either, but he is feeling repentent right now and wants to get out of the doghouse. He'll do it." AJ admits. "And then he'll think that we owe him a favor."
"That old man..." Carly grumbles.
"I know; I know. That's why we're living here rather than trying to play the Port Charles Ewings. Now for what Dad and I discussed..."
"He thinks I'm a nut, doesn't he?" Carly pushes away her breakfast all interest in it gone.
"There have been times when I've needed a sounding board, and I've gone to Dad. He knew about my plans for New York before I picked up you and Michael from the doctor's office. He knows about you going after Evans. He knows that you offered to take care of Ned for me. He doesn't think you're a nut because of what happened last night. Carly, he was there for us when we were at Bobbie's custody hearing. He knows all the crap. And now he knows about the norplants because of last night. Dad has mellowed over time; he may look like a big teddy bear now but that wasn't always the case-- and mentally he is still more like a grizzly bear-- just waking up from hibernation. Does he think that you need counseling? Yeah, he does. Did he think that you'd been released from Ferncliffe too soon? Not after last night. Dad is pissed. But not at you, FOR you. Just don't be surprise if next time he sees you he gives you a list of names."
"More shrinks?" Carly sneers shaking her head. "No way. I won't do it."
"Fine. And I won't bring it up again because it's up to you. Just don't be mad at him if he does. I told Dad to think of you as another daughter and he's been trying to do that. The consequence of that is that he pictures the same stuff happening to Emily. And it could have. Around the same time Dorman was killed, Emily had an episode of catatonia. Scared the hell out of us. She snapped out of it, thankfully but what if she hadn't? What if she had been sent to some place like Ferncliffe? What happened to you is Dad's worst nightmare and an embarassment to his profession-- something that he is going to take very seriously."
"Oh great." Carly rolls her eyes. Carly bites her lip. "I didn't know about Emily. She's okay now right?"
"Yeah, she's fine other than living in the mansion-- but Grandmother, Reggie and Cook look out for her. And now you do too. That whole thing was about Dorman. She'd just found out that Dorman had used her to get to the family. She went on overload. Having Ned accuse her of being high didn't help."
"But you don't want me to take out Ned?" Carly offers again grim faced.
"Not right now. First things first. If I change my mind you'll be the first to know." AJ is distracted by the doorbell. "Who could that be?"
"Someone with a combo on the front gate." Carly bites her lip. "I really can't deal with Mama right now, AJ."
"I'll check it out." AJ goes to the front door and after checking opens the door. "Hey Em. What are you doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you but ..."
"Dad was at breakfast this morning, he took me aside and said that Carly injured her arm last night and had to have stitches. I'm here to help with Michael." Emily hands AJ her overnight bag and walks into the kitchen where she can hear Michael and knows that Carly must be with her godson. "Hey Carly. Who made the coffee?"
"I did."
"It's safe then." Emily makes a dramatic sigh of relief. "When Dad said that you hurt your arm last night and had to get stitches I had Reggie drive me right over. I figured that you might need some help with Michael."
"Yeah, well I'm going to have a scar-- your dad told me that. Just don't expect to see the gory details cause I'm not going to look at it more than I have to. I'm okay. Just a little stiff."
"And weak in one arm." AJ rats Carly out pouring Emily a cup of coffee.
"Well I'm available to help out." Emily says cheerfully. "So what are you two up to?"
"I'm going into the office. I should have been there already. Later today I have to pick up a friend at the airport that is going to be driving Carly around until she heals up and the press find another story to stalk." AJ quirks an eyebrow at Carly questionly.
"And I'm going to see if I can separate Katherine Bell from the Deception Spa but that isn't until this afternoon."
"I love coming over here. It's never boring." Emily blows on her coffee and then takes a sip. "Count me in. Do you have time today to go shopping for motorcycles? I think that Sonny is going to try to talk Jason out of helping me."