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Hope you guys are still enjoying this. Let me know what you think - the good and the bad. Thanks, Jen

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Circle’s Edge

Chapter Seven

A couple of weeks later

Morgan/Corinthos Imports

Jason weeded through another stack of invoices for shipments received and transported and wondered how the hell Sonny had managed to make such a mess of the business in only six months. He was damn lucky that Benny was such a good accountant, as bad as things were, Jason would have to work his ass off redistributing ‘assets’ as quickly as possible to keep the Feds from having anything to build an investigation on. Aside from having to clean up one mess after another since taking over the reins of the business, his life had never been better. He, Carly and Michael had settled easily into a routine as a family. And this time, a more traditional one, minus one detail. Marriage.

They hadn’t discussed it yet, but he’d had more than one conversation with Lucky about his intentions toward Carly. He’d damn near ripped a hole in the pool table at Jake’s with his pool cue one night when Lucky demanded to know just when he planned to make an ‘honest woman’ out of his cousin. And as much as Luke grumbled about his niece, he’d told him more than once that life was too short to take it for granted, especially the people you love.

Just a month ago, the man had declared that the entire town was going crazy and now he was hinting at the same damn thing Lucky was outright telling him to do. He shook his head as he continued to sort through invoices. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to get married, he did. He just wanted to take his time. He and Carly had only just begun to be together now, the way he had wanted to before he’d left town.

Yeah, he’d wasted a lot of time and could have had the family he wanted long before AJ had found out the truth of Michael‘s paternity. But, he held a firm belief that things happened the way they did for a reason. After all that they had been through together, the good and the bad, he knew she was the only person he could truly count on, if he was ever in trouble. Her marriage to AJ should have been the end for them, but in their own backwards way, something they were entirely too good at, it had been the beginning. It took watching her go home to another man for him to see, truly see, her for the first time. As more than his friend, as more than Michael’s mother. He hadn’t realized when they were raising Michael together as friends, that all along she was more than that to him.

Robin’s description of love wasn’t anything like what he felt for Carly. In his entire relationship with Robin, she had never made him feel what he felt in just the last month alone with Carly. And for the six months he had been away from her, not one day of them went by that he didn’t think of Carly. Or miss Carly.

If he saw something unique, something that stood out from everything else around it, he thought of her. Watching the sunset over the Rockies made him think of her. The way the magnificent color seemed to come out of nowhere and take your breath away, like Carly. The sound of water hitting the beach, or running down a stream, or hell, even running the damn bath water made him think of her and the time they’d spent together in Florida.

But it was the little things, the everyday things, that he’d missed the most. The way her eyes twinkled when he knew she was planning something that was going to give him a headache. Her laugh. Her ability to make something so simple, ten times more complicated. The way she smiled at Michael. The way she called him Mr. Man. Letting her beat him at pool, just so he could dance with her. Or doing nothing at all, but doing it with her. Hell, even shopping with her, even doing things he hated, he missed because he wasn’t doing them with her.

None of that was anywhere near Robin’s definition of love. He’d never felt the almost overwhelming ache when she was gone, like he had with Carly. He’d never felt a passion so intense, so carnal and reverent all at once, like he did with Carly. He’d never felt so content, like when he was with Carly. And he couldn’t imagine ever coming home to anyone other than Carly. Every child he’d ever imagined having, had Carly’s mouth or Carly’s eyes.

Whatever the fuck Robin’s definition of love was, it was nothing he ever wanted to feel. Carly was his passion, his safe haven, his hope, his purpose. Carly’s love gave him strength, completion, peace. She frustrated and confounded him at turns, but she loved him like no one else could. And he couldn’t imagine his life without her. Didn’t want to. He’d been apart from her before and the emptiness of a life without her nearly killed him. He never wanted to feel that again. And he prayed to God that he never would.

“Sir?”

Jason looked up to find Max leaning through the partially opened doorway of his office with one hand still on the door handle.

“Yeah?”

“One of our jets just landed at the PC Airstrip, sir.”

Jason’s brow shot up in irritation, wondering why Max was bothering him with this. He knew that Sonny had been using one of the jets. He didn’t care as long as it didn’t affect his business or his family. “Then what’s the problem?”

Max cleared his throat nervously as he stood up straight in the now open doorway, his hands clasped in front of him. “Mr. Corinthos and Ms. Scorpio disembarked from it, sir.”

“You have got to be fucking shitting me!” Jason roared as he sprung angrily to his feet.

“Sorry, sir.” Max shifted nervously under Jason’s scrutiny.

“How long ago?” Jason asked then cursed viscously, running a hand through his hair.

He should have seen this coming. He knew Sonny had left way too easily. And bringing Robin back with him. What the fuck? Did Sonny think he was stupid? What other possible reason could Sonny have for bringing her here other than to wreck his relationship with Carly? He hadn’t trusted him when he’d left, but allowed him latitude when it came to utilizing some of the business’ assets, as long as he intended to remain on the island. Now it appears, his instincts had been right all along. Both about him leaving too easily and about Sonny’s intentions toward Carly.

“Ten minutes ago, sir.”

“Thanks, Max.” Jason nodded as he blew out a frustrated breath, and sat back in his desk chair.

He closed his eyes and put a hand to the back of his neck, lightly massaging. He opened one eye and turned his head when he didn’t hear the door close, Max should have already gone. But he hadn’t, he had remained standing there, in the same spot, quietly staring at him as if waiting for orders. Jason shot him an odd look, surprised that the guard was waiting for an actual verbal dismissal before leaving, then remembered that he was fresh out of the military when Sonny had hired him. “You don’t have to wait for me to tell you to go, Max. You’re not in the Corp anymore. Would you send Johnny and Lucky in to see me on your way out?”

“Yes sir, Mr. Morgan.” Max nodded before leaving the office, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Jason shook his head with a laugh, as he leaned back in his desk chair, allowing himself a moment of amusement at Max’s expense before the anger over Sonny’s deception ruined what was left of his day.

“What’s going on?” Lucky asked, his brow furrowed with confusion as he walked into Jason’s office, Johnny following close on his heels.

“Max seemed a bit flustered, Jase, what’s up?” Johnny stood in the open doorway, leaning against the jam as Lucky sat on one corner of the paperwork laden desk.

“Sonny’s back.” Jason shifted in his chair, his eyes turning icy blue with rage, just itching to tear the bastard apart before he got anywhere near Carly.

“What the fuck for?” Lucky looked over at an equally bewildered Johnny, before turning back to Jason. They both new that Alexis’ legal expertise kept Sonny from ever being able to touch any of Jason’s business’ again.

“Carly.”

Lucky’s brow shot up at the cold tone of Jason’s voice and the dangerous look in his eyes. Sonny was a dead man. But he’d never pegged the man as stupid, so why the hell would he try this? He and Johnny both knew that one of their jets was due back in today. But they never dreamed Sonny would be crazy enough to come back with it.

“Wow. Sonny had the balls to come back here on one of our jets?” Johnny moved away from the door, taking a seat in the chair adjacent to Jason’s desk.

“He didn’t come alone.” Jason spit out, still trying to decide the best course of action for Sonny’s stupidity.

“Brenda?” Johnny suggested, wondering who the hell else would have come back here with him.

“Worse.” Jason sighed as he closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose, knowing he would end up with one hell of a headache before the day was through. “Robin.”

“Ohhh..” Lucky’s brows shot up with surprise as he exchanged a telling look with Johnny. They both knew that Jason wanted nothing to do with her. Just as he was certain that Carly knew Jason loved her, but that didn’t mean that a small part of her wasn’t afraid that Robin could come back and change everything. And apparently Sonny was banking on it.

Port Charles City Park

“Mr. Man you are going to wear me out.” Carly laughed as she lifted her son onto the slide once again. It was his new favorite thing, going as fast as he could down the small slope. Like father like son. Heaven help her when he became old enough to want a motorcycle like Daddy’s.

“Can I play?”

Carly turned, surprised to find Emily behind her and gave her a tentative smile. While she wouldn’t say that they had become close in the last few weeks, she definitely felt more at ease with Jason’s sister than she ever had.

“Hey, Emily.” She smiled genuinely at her then turned and lifted Michael from the bottom of the slide. “What do you say, Mr. Man? You wanna play with Aunt Emily?”

Michael grinned and practically vaulted himself into Emily’s arms.

“I guess that’s a yes.” Carly answered as they both laughed and Emily placed him at the top of the short slide once again. Carly smiled with a shake of her head, listening to Michael laughing gleefully as he slid downward.

“I see another motorcycle in your future.” Emily’s eyes twinkled with mischief as Michael ran back to the ladder of the slide, waiting to be lifted to the top again.

Carly laughed and shushed her good-naturedly. “Shhh. He might hear you.”

After another half-hour on the slide, she and Emily both breathed a sigh of relief when Michael decided the sand box was the place to be.

“I don’t think I could have lifted him even once more.” Emily chuckled as she rubbed her arms.

Carly nodded knowingly as they walked companionably back to the bench where the stroller and their things sat waiting, with Rey standing guard. Carly plopped down on the bench and grabbed two bottles of water out of Michael’s bag beneath the stroller, handing one to Emily. “Want one?”

“Thanks.” Emily twisted the top off, taking a sip as she watched Michael play with another little boy in the sand box, following the methodical way he used the shovels and sand moulds to build what looked like a small city. “He is so smart.”

Carly nodded her agreement with a proud motherly smile, also taking in the scene. “I swear, watching him and Jason do things together …… it’s like …… synchronized or something. They don’t even have to say anything to each other, they just know. It’s weird.”

Emily grinned, happy that her brother was where he had always wanted to be, with his family, and glad that Michael was obviously where he had belonged all along. He was happier now than she’d ever seen him. And as much as she hated, for AJ’s sake, that he wasn’t a part of Michael’s life, she knew it was for the best.

“He’s a good kid, Carly. You’re a good mother.” Emily turned to her with a genuine smile, surprised that she meant every word.

“Thanks.” Momentarily stunned, Carly accepted the compliment, knowing it couldn’t have been easy for Emily to say to her.

They sat together in reflective silence for a few minutes, watching Michael continue to build his city in the sand box. Each wondering if this, them becoming friends, was a good thing. They both adored Lucky and Jason. And they both knew that it was hard on them to have to referee their fights any time they were near each other. But more than anything else, each of them was surprised to find that there was more to the other than they had thought. It would take a lot of patience on both of their parts, but it was becoming less and less difficult to be around each other each time. And neither of them knew what to make of that.

Carly’s cell phone buzzed breaking the comfortable silence. She reached down into her bag and looked at the caller ID, surprised to see that it was Mike calling. “Ah, can you ……” She asked Emily as she pointed to Michael and rose to her feet.

“You bet.”

“Thanks.” She murmured softly as she opened the phone to answer it, walking a few feet away from Emily and Michael. “Hello?”

“Carly?”

The desperate edge to his voice had Carly immediately worried. “Mike? What’s wrong?”

“Ah,” he made a sound of clearing his throat nervously, “listen, can you do me a favor?”

Carly closed her eyes with a sigh, knowing this was going to be a bad thing. “What kind of favor?”

“I owe some people and I…. I need some money.”

Carly shook her head, a sense of foreboding filling her gut. “How much?”

“Not much. Just a …… just a little over forty thousand.”

“How much over?”

“49,500.”

“Shit.” Carly rubbed her forehead as she started to pace, wondering what the hell she could do for him and why he had called her and not Jason. She already knew why he wouldn’t call Sonny. Sonny had made it clear that he wouldn’t be fixing any more of his father’s debts. “Who?”

“What?”

“Who do you owe, Mike?”

“Some guy named Sorel.”

Of course. Jason’s worst enemy. The man had nearly killed him once. The thought of Jason going anywhere near him made her gut clench with dread. “How long do you have?”

“Until 10pm.”

Carly blinked, stunned, and looked at her watch. 2:30 pm. “Damn it, Mike, that’s in less than eight hours.”

“I know. Can you get me the money?”

Carly sighed, knowing she could, but wondering if she should just tell Jason and let him handle it. “I’ll get it Mike.”

“Thanks, Carly. I’ll meet you at Kelly’s later.”

“Yeah, later.” Carly agreed before closing her phone, wondering what the hell she had just gotten herself into. She turned to head back to Emily and Michael, but came up short when Liz stepped directly into her path. Great, first Mike and now Liz. I wonder when the hell Saint Robin is going to just magically beam herself in from Paris.

“Liz.” She nodded her grumbled greeting as she tried to walk around her, hoping she would take the hint and go away.

“Not so fast, Carly. You and I need to have a little chat.” Liz crossed her arms over her chest, smiling smugly on her good fortune of getting the home-wrecker alone. “Don’t think that I don’t know what you’re up to.”

“Oh?” Carly’s brow rose in agitation, barely restraining her temper. “And what’s that?”

Emily motioned Rey closer to Michael at the sand box as she walked up quietly beside the two women, unseen by both. Lucky had warned her that Elizabeth was up to something and she’d doubted his suspicions, until now. This, she had to see for herself. This was a side of Elizabeth that she had never seen. And it looked like Carly was barely holding her temper in check. If she had to pick a winner out of the two of them, it wouldn’t be Elizabeth.

“Jason and Lucky both love me. They both need me. It’s just a matter of time before they see through the charade you’re playing.”

“The charade I’m playing?” Carly laughed mirthlessly, shaking her head in wonder at the young woman’s idiocy and audacity.

“Jason’s just with you for Michael. But any bitch in heat can give him a baby.” She sneered, her smile smug.

Carly was way past ten and still counting, wondering how long it would take for her to calm down. “So, what, you think you can give him a baby?”

Liz shrugged, a gleam of triumph shining in her eyes. “Why not? You did. Oh, no, I guess, actually you gave AJ, or was it Tony, not to mention Sonny, but you got out of that one, huh?”

Carly clenched and unclenched her fists at her side, if Michael was anywhere else but with her, she’d rip the useless little bitch to pieces. “Is there a point to your revelation?”

Elizabeth leaned forward, her smile menacing. “I will get them back. Both of them. And …”

“Both of them?” Carly nearly snorted, amusement warring with anger as she eyed Liz. “You honestly think you can handle both of them?”

Liz shrugged, as she eyed Carly up and down. “Why not? If you can handle more than one man at a time, I certainly can.”

Carly laughed out loud, she hadn’t missed Liz’s condescending look, but the thought of her with one man, let alone two, and a man with Jason’s insatiable appetite, that was downright fucking hilarious.

“What are you laughing at?” Liz’s eyes narrowed menacingly. “All I have to do is say the word and you would disappear, permanently.” She smiled smugly as Carly stopped laughing. “And then Jason and I could raise Michael together.”

“That’s enough.” Emily yelled, stepping between them, holding a rightfully angry Carly back. “Elizabeth, I don’t know what the hell has happened to you, but you will not threaten Michael’s mother. I don’t think you realize how quickly you would disappear if I told Jason that you had just threatened the mother of his son.”

Liz blinked, stepping back away from Carly, surprised by Emily’s abrupt appearance. “Em, I….. she ……. she started it……. she threatened me, first. I was just….”

“Bullshit.” Emily whispered harshly to her, mindful of the children playing near them. “That is such bullshit, Liz.”

Surprised by Emily’s actions, Carly’s brow rose as she bit her lip to keep from saying anything.

“I…uh…but…… “ Liz stammered, fearful of the anger her best friend was displaying toward her, “……..she did, Em, just before you came…….”

“Really?” Emily mocked, leaning back as she crossed her arms over her chest, her disdain evident. “Was that before or after you told her you were going to fuck my brother and Lucky at the same time? Or was it before you said both of them love you and called her a bitch in heat? I was here for the whole thing Liz. The whole damn thing. So don’t think you can bullshit me.”

Carly cleared her throat, as some of the parents around them started to give them dirty looks. “Look, it’s been a long day. I think I’ll just get Michael and we’ll go home.” She stepped beside Emily, eyeing Liz with barely leashed rage in her eyes. “Say whatever you want to about me, Lizzie. But threatened my son’s well being again, and I will personally send you to Hell.” Carly turned away from the twit before her temper got the best of her, heading toward her son playing in the sand box, oblivious to all that had gone on, with Rey standing protectively behind him.

Emily watched Carly and Rey leaving with Michael for a moment before turning back to Liz. “You know, Lucky warned me that you weren’t to be trusted and I was sure that he was wrong. But, obviously I was wrong.” She leaned forward, watching the fear flicker in Liz’s wide-eyed gaze. “Stay away from Carly and Michael. Stay away from my brother. And if you even so much as look in Lucky’s direction, you’ll wish Carly had already sent you to Hell by the time I get through with you.”

Liz blinked, gaping at Emily as her best friend turned her back on her and walked away.

Any thoughts or suggestions?