You see time, time is our friend
For you and me there is no end
And all you gotta do is have a little faith in me
I said I will hold you up, I will hold you up
Your strength is enough
So have a little faith in me 
— Jewel, Have Little Faith In Me 

——————–

It was early afternoon when Carly pushed open the door to Luke’s Club. She knew she’d find her wayward uncle somewhere in here. She wasn’t sure why she was here—other than knowing Alexis would be paying Sonny a visit today and the urge to get good and drunk was more overwhelming than ever.

“Luke?” she called. Hearing nothing, she raised her voice. “LUKE!”

Luke emerged from the back of the club, wiping his hands on a dish towel. “You bellowed my dear?”

“Yeah.” Carly shifted, uncomfortably. “I need to get drunk and I don’t want it getting back to Sonny.”

Luke grinned. “Pull up a stool, Caroline and we’ll see what we can do.”

—-

Ned watched as Alexis sipped her coffee in the hospital cafeteria. “Are you going to do it?”

She glared at him over the brim of the Styrofoam cup. “You can’t let me have five seconds of peace, can you?”

“Alexis.”

She sighed and set the cup down. “I’m going to do it. I told Carly I was going to do it today. I can’t put it off anymore—Christie can’t afford it.”

“Are you going to the warehouse or the penthouse?” Ned asked.

Alexis pursed her lips. “Warehouse. I don’t want the kids to overhear the conversation.”

“Good.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Ned leaned forward. “Alexis, you might want to go before he leaves for the day.”

Alexis shoved her chair back and stood. She took a deep breath and picked up her purse. “I can do this. I can do this.”

“Honey, just remember to breathe, all right?”

She shot him a nasty look before leaving the table and heading for the double doors.

—-

Elizabeth was lying in the dark room, trying to bore herself to sleep when a streak of light appeared in the room. She blinked and raised herself up in the bed.

“I think Mama’s sleepin,” she heard a girl’s voice whisper.

“Nah, she’s just resting her eyes.”

The light flicked on and Elizabeth was confronted with the sight of her husband and two children.

“Mama!” Delilah said, letting go of Jason’s hands and rushing forward. She was too small to climb on the bed by herself, but it didn’t stop her from trying.

“Whoa there,” Jason laughed. He set Davie on the end of Elizabeth’s bed and lifted Dee up to her mother.

Dee immediately latched her tiny arms around Elizabeth’s neck and Davie was busy hugging her legs. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her daughter’s small body and looked at Jason over Dee’s blonde hair.

“I missed you Mama,” Dee whispered into Elizabeth’s neck.

She closed her eyes and breathed in Dee’s powdery scent. “I missed you, too, baby.”

—-

Emily entered the Quartermaine mansion and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that Lucky wasn’t waiting for her. She’d ducked his calls all day, but she wouldn’t put it past him to just show up at the house.

“Emily?”

Emily closed her eyes briefly before turning around. “Hi, Mom.”

Monica Quartermaine finished coming down the steps. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” Emily replied. “Really,” she added when she realized her mother didn’t believe her.

“Is everything all right?” Monica asked, concerned.

“Everything’s fine,” Emily lied. She set her briefcase down next to a table in the entry and made an attempt to pass her mother. Emily wanted nothing more than to lie down and put her feet up.

Monica caught her arm as Emily passed her. “Darling, please. Something’s wrong.”

Emily sighed. The urge to confide in her mother was becoming overwhelming. She needed someone who would tell her what she should do—she couldn’t keep dumping her problems on AJ, it wasn’t fair.

Monica could sense Emily’s will to keep her out was weakening and pushed a little further. “I love you so much. I wish we were closer.”

Emily rubbed her eyes and gave her mother a weary smile. Things were difficult in the Quartermaine house these days. What had once been a home filled with people who loved each other enough to fight over every detail had been reduced to a house with three people and a few servants. She missed the days when she thought Monica and Alan could solve her problems. “Tell you what,” Emily began. “You bring me a carton of ice cream, two spoons and we’ll talk in my room. I need to put my feet up—they’re killing me.”

Monica smiled and nodded. “I’ll be right up.”

—-

Carly stared at her shot of vodka. “It sucks.”

Luke sighed in relief. His niece had been staring at the untouched shot for ten minutes without speaking and he was about ready to shake her. Something had happened and he felt duty bound as the only relation that acknowledged Carly to try and help.

“You know, Caroline,” Luke began, “Me and you…we’re not close but we’re still family. You can talk to me.”

Carly rested her elbow on the bar and rested her head in her hand. “Have you ever made a decision to protect someone you loved—but it wasn’t exactly your decision and in retrospect, you should have stayed the hell out of it?”

Luke eyed her. “When I told Barbara Jean you were dead.”

Carly’s head shot up. “What?”

Luke shifted and poured himself a drink. “Barbara had just found you in bed with the good doctor and I figured it wasn’t a good time to tell her that you were her daughter. She found out and it was a good long time before our relationship returned to normal.”

“I’m gonna lose Sonny,” Carly whispered, her eyes fixed on the shot glass. “I’m gonna lose him and it’s gonna be my fault.”

“Darlin’, what happened?” Luke asked, becoming concerned.

“I kept something from him and he’s gonna find out what it is and I just know he’s gonna find out I knew and you know Sonny and secrets—he’s gonna kick me out of his life.”

Luke nodded. “He’s got a bad habit, I’ll admit. What did you keep from him?”

Carly shook her head. “No, I can’t…I wouldn’t tell Liz and I’m not telling you. I don’t…I can’t trust anyone.”

Luke folded his arms on the bar and leaned forward. “You can trust me.”

“You hate me,” Carly said.

“Nah, you’re family. I can’t hate family. I can dislike them, but when it comes down to it, you were born a Spencer and I don’t care if your last name is Corinthos, you’re Barbara’s daughter.”

“You’d never know it,” Carly muttered. “She never calls. Never writes.”

Luke shrugged. “Mid-life crisis. Only explanation why she’d remarry the nut. Or maybe it’s because Felicia remarried her ex-husband and Barbara was feeling nostalgic. I don’t know.”

“Is it wrong to not want Sonny to know I knew?” Carly asked quietly, letting her finger slide around the rim of the glass. “I mean, I know I should probably tell him—preemptive damage control. But there’s really only three people in the world who know that I know, and I’m one of them.”

“Darlin’, you’re makin’ my head spin,” Luke said. “Why don’t you tell me what’s goin’ on and maybe I can help.”

Carly shook her head. “Wasn’t gonna tell Liz and I ain’t gonna tell you. Not before Sonny knows the truth.”

“Fair enough. So you just want a place to down your sorrows while…?”

“Sonny finds out the truth,” Carly supplied. “He’s gonna be told and I just don’t want to be there when he does. I don’t know if I could act shocked enough for him. I need time.” She snorted. “Not that I haven’t had ten years or anything.”

—-

Alexis had stopped on the docks—reluctant to go any further. Her irritation at Ned had spurred her this far—but shed’ stopped only a few feet from the warehouse. She was having her doubts again.

She wanted to be absolutely sure that there was no other way—that this secret could be avoided. If maybe there was a way Carly could sneak Mandy and Drew into the hospital to be tested. There was every indication that they wouldn’t match but the slim chance that they would wasn’t lost on Alexis.

Alexis felt so guilty—she had everything to gain from the revelation of this secret and Carly stood to lose everything.

Because Alexis knew exactly how Sonny would react if he ever found Carly had known all along.

And adding to the problem that Michael could potentially discover his own paternity—

Alexis was surprised Carly was so agreeable.

She took a deep breath and continued her trek to the warehouse. The time had come – and quite frankly, she was sick of the secret.

—-

Delilah was still attached to Elizabeth’s side, her arms still looped around her neck. Davie had moved up and was on her other side. Elizabeth’s hands were stroking each one of their heads—Dee’s blonde hair and Davie’s brown hair.

“Why are you here, Mama?” Dee asked, snuggling into her mother’s side. Elizabeth shot a look at Jason, who looked at her apologetically.

“I didn’t know how to explain it.”

She frowned. Well, she didn’t particularly want to explain it. Sighing, she looked back down at the children. “Do you remember when we talked about you getting a little brother or sister?”

Dee raised her head and nodded solemnly. “And I tole you I wanted a brother so I could keep my room.”

Elizabeth gave her a small smile. “Right. Well, you’re not getting one anymore.”

Davie looked up then. “Why?” he asked.

“Well…” Elizabeth sighed. “The baby died.”

Dee’s blue eyes widened. “But I never seen the baby—how did it die?”

Jason and Elizabeth locked eyes. How to explain this to a four-year-old and a two-year-old was completely lost on them. Elizabeth briefly wondered how Carly had explained it to Michael all those years ago.

Elizabeth bit her lip and thought for a few minutes. “Well, the baby was inside me.”

“How did it get there?” Davie asked, his eyes wide with wonder.

“That’s a conversation for another day,” Jason said, unwilling to elaborate on that particular subject.

“Why did the baby die?” Dee asked.

Elizabeth twisted some strands of Dee’s silky blonde hair in her fingers. “I don’t know,” she said in a soft voice.

“Sometimes, things happen,” Jason said, not wanting to leave this part of the explanation on Elizabeth’s shoulder. “And we don’t know why.”

Dee met her mother’s eyes and said very seriously, “Did you do something wrong, Mama?”

—-

Monica watched Emily practically inhale the chocolate marshmallow ice cream and sighed. “I had no idea.”

Emily shrugged—trying to be casual. “Well it’s my fault. I let myself believe he loved me and not Liz. I never should have done that.”

“Honey, sometimes we can’t control things like that,” Monica said, patting her daughter’s hand. She shifted on Emily’s bed, trying to find a comfortable position. “And yes, sometimes we see what we want to see.”

“So do you understand why I can’t marry him?” Emily asked softly.

Monica nodded, a regretful smile on her face. “I understand. But I think the real question is…does he understand?”

Emily let the spoon drop into the carton and rested it on top of her abdomen. “No. I don’t think he sees it. He thinks he’s over her—I know it. But I can’t ignore the way his eyes lit up when I told him Elizabeth was pushing Jason away.”

“So you haven’t said anything to him about it?”

“I’ve tried,” Emily admitted. “But it’s a difficult subject to broach and he never wants to talk about it.” She snorted. “He thinks it’s my hormones, picking up on things that aren’t there.”

“I know people think you should marry him because you’re pregnant, but sweetheart, that’s never a reason to marry anyone,” Monica said.

Emily gave her mother a sudden smile. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For telling me exactly what I needed to hear.”

—-

“You really shouldn’t get yourself worked up over this,” Luke said. Carly had yet to touch her shot glass and he was getting worried. His niece had never been stable to begin with, but he was having serious doubts about her sanity.

“How am I not supposed to?” Carly asked, irritated. “Sonny is my husband—what the hell am I going to do when he kicks me out?”

“You don’t know that he will,” Luke said.

Carly gave him a humorless smile. “Come on, Luke. You know Sonny almost as much as I do. You know how he sees secrets.”

“You’re right, I do,” Luke nodded. “But you’re his wife. I’m sure that—” Luke stopped. “You know, darlin’, you’ll always have a place at my house.”

Carly smirked. “I’m sure Laura would love that offer.”

“Well, there are some rooms above the club,” Luke said. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s wait this out and see how everything plays out, all right?”

“Yeah, probably a good idea,” Carly replied.

“You gonna drink that or stare at it all day?” Luke said.

“I feel like I’m losing everything,” Carly said softly. “I’ve worked so hard to keep it all together and it’s all been one big fat lie.”

“Oh, now it’s not all lies,” Luke said. “You’ve got three beautiful children who adore you.”

“Do you know that somehow we’ve managed to keep Michael’s paternity a secret?” Carly asked him. “He has no idea he’s not Sonny’s biological son.”

Luke frowned. “You never told him?”

Carly shook her head. “No. And Michael’s going to find out one day—with everyone that knows the truth—it’s impossible.”

“Okay, well you’ve two beautiful children who adore you,” Luke replied.

Carly smiled and brought the shot glass to her lips. “You’re becoming soft in your old age,” she said and downed the shot.

—-

Elizabeth stared at her daughter in horror. “What?” she managed to choke out.

“Okay, I think Mama needs a rest,” Jason said, coming to her rescue. He lifted Delilah and put her on the floor. “Come on, Davie.”

“No!” Davie said, wrapping his arms around Elizabeth’s arm tightly. “I don’t wanna go!”

“Visiting hours are over anyway,” Jason said.

“I’ll be home tomorrow,” Elizabeth said, trying to her tone neutral. She kissed the top of his head. “Go home, sweetie.”

“I miss you, Mama,” Davie whispered.

“I miss you, too baby, but I’ll be home before you know it.” She started to pry Davie’s hands off. “Go with Daddy.”

“Come on,” Jason said. He lifted Davie up. “I’m going to leave them with Amy real quick and I’ll be back in.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No, go home, Jason. They…they need to eat.”

“I’ll be right back,” Jason repeated. “Come on, guys.”

Once they had left, Elizabeth rolled over in her bed and closed her eyes tightly to keep the tears in.

—-

“You know you need to speak with him,” Monica said.

“Yeah, I know,” Emily replied. She licked the tip of her spoon. “And I need to do it before the baby is born. I’m probably…” She sighed. “I’m probably going to have to break up with him, you know that right?”

“I know,” Monica said. “I’m sorry you have to go through this, honey.”

“I wish Grandmother were still here,” Emily said quietly. “I think we could all use her help, you know?” Her smile was wistful. “She had such a way of cutting through the bullshit.”

Monica nodded. “I think that’s where Jason gets it from.”

“Yeah, probably,” Emily replied. “I feel so bad for him, you know? And for Liz. We were both looking forward to having the babies together.” She rubbed her protruding abdomen. “She was going to have an Audrey and I was going to have a Lila and they were going to be best friends forever.”

“How is your friendship with Elizabeth?” Monica asked.

Emily looked away, feeling guilty. “It’s fine, but it’s hard keeping my irritation for Lucky’s feelings out of it.” She looked back to her mother. “I know that’s unfair, but I can’t help it. If she hadn’t led him on, let him believe—”

“Honey, that’s not really fair,” Monica cut in. She sighed. “You can’t place the blame on Elizabeth entirely.”

Emily smiled ruefully. “I know. But it takes a lot of it off of me.”

—-

Sonny barely looked up from the pile of paperwork when someone announced Alexis Davis-Ashton was there to see him. He mumbled a response and returned his attention to work. He’d told Jason that if he came near the warehouse at all this week, Sonny would fire him. Elizabeth and the kids needed him more.

Alexis entered and stood quietly for a few moments watching him work. Finally, Sonny realized she was there and looked up. A smirk crossed his face. “I sincerely hope you’re not here with an arrest warrant.”

“No. That’s not it at all,” Alexis said. She clasped her hands in front of her, nervously. “I’m not quite sure how to put this.”

“Well, just say what you have to say and go,” Sonny murmured, flipping a paper over. “I have a lot to do.”

“I suppose the best way to begin is tell you that my daughter has leukemia,” Alexis said.

Sonny looked up then and she could see sincere regret in his eyes. “I’m sorry to hear that, Alexis. I hope she’ll be okay.” He set the papers down and sat back in his chair. “But I don’t see what that has to do with me.”
Alexis looked over his head and to the window behind him. She could see the entire marina from here. Christina loved the boats and she loved swimming. She wondered if her daughter would ever be able to do the things she loved again.

“She needs bone marrow,” Alexis continued. “And Eddie and I don’t match.”

Sonny nodded. “That’s too bad, Alexis. Losing a child can be difficult. But like I said, I’m not sure—”

“She needs all of her siblings to be tested,” Alexis pressed on. Sonny frowned.

“I thought Eddie was her only sibling,” Sonny replied.

Alexis shook her head. “He’s not.”

“Oh…what about Brooke?” Sonny asked, remembering Ned’s other daughter.

“I know she won’t match,” Alexis said, breathlessly. “She’s not Christina’s sister.”

—–

Elizabeth felt Jason’s weight pressing into the mattress and she buried her head into the pillow.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she said.

“You’re lying,” he replied, running a hand over her brown hair. “You know Dee didn’t mean anything by what she said. She loves you.”

“I know,” Elizabeth whispered.

“She’s young,” Jason went on. “She doesn’t really understand what’s going on—”

“I know,” Elizabeth repeated. “But it doesn’t change the truth.”

He frowned and leaned closer. “What do you mean?”

She rolled over and met his eyes. “That somehow, I know this is my fault.”

—-

“She’s not?” Sonny repeated. “I don’t understand. Brooke—”

“Because Christina’s not Ned’s daughter!” Alexis said in a rush.

Sonny clenched his fists. “What are you trying to tell to me, Alexis?”

“Christina’s your daughter.”

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