Why does my heart go on beating?
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don’t they know know it’s the end of the world?
It ended when you said goodbye
Don’t they know know it’s the end of the world?
It ended when you said goodbye
— Vonda Shepard, The End of the World

———————————-

Carly only drank the one glass of vodka. She’d calmly thanked for Luke for his time (which only served to worry her uncle more) and returned to the penthouse.

She fed Mandy, Drew and Michael and then asked her eldest son to take the twins to a movie. Michael could tell something was up with his mother, so he didn’t question it. He took Mandy and Drew out, leaving Carly by herself in the penthouse.

She sat on the couch and waited.

It was nearly midnight when Sonny finally got home. The kids had long returned from the movies and gone to bed. Having seen his mother’s demeanor when they got back, he ushered his younger brother and sister to bed and decided to leave his mother alone.

Carly was napping on the couch when the sound of the penthouse door creeping on startled her awake. She opened her eyes sleepily. “Sonny?”

He closed the door behind him, cloaking the downstairs in darkness again. “What are you still doing up?”

She sat up and pulled the light weight blanked around her waist. “I was waiting for you. You’re late.”

He sat on the couch next to her and turned so he was facing her. She couldn’t make out his facial features–but from the tense set of his shoulders, Carly knew Alexis had told him.

“Yeah…sorry.”

She bit her lip and leaned forward. “Bad day?” she asked cautiously.

He scratched his temple with his forefinger. “You could say that.”

She took a deep breath. You’re doing good so far. You can do this. “Can you talk about it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what to think anymore, Carly. Things…things are just…” He stopped and shook his head. “I feel like I’m walking around in a fog–like it’s a dream, y’know?”

“Sonny…what happened?” Carly asked softly, for once thankful for the darkness that swallowed the penthouse. Darkness that would hide her expression should she be unable to hide her knowledge.

“Alexis stopped by the warehouse today.”

“Why?” Carly demanded, injecting an edge into her voice.

“To tell me her daughter is sick,” Sonny replied quietly. “Christina–the eldest.”

Carly frowned. “What does that have to do with you?” she asked.

“Eddie and Alexis aren’t matches,” Sonny continued, as if she hadn’t spoken. “And Alexis tells me that Brooke and Ned won’t match either.” She felt his eyes on her. “And the reason they won’t match is that Christina is not Ned’s daughter.”

Carly did her best to tense her body. “What?” she asked.

“It appears that Alexis has kept the truth from me for ten years.”

“What truth?” Carly demanded. She straightened her back. “Sonny, you can’t mean–”

“Christina is my daughter.”

Carly couldn’t speak for a minute–didn’t know where else to go in her performance. She could rant and rave, but she didn’t think she could pull it off.

“I’m not sure what to think, Carly. I should be consumed with hatred for Alexis for keeping the secret from me, but do you know what I keep thinking of?”

“What?” Carly asked softly.

“Christina is going to die unless they find a match.”

Carly felt her body relax. Sonny was going to concentrate on Christina’s illness and not on the actual secret. “Well, then I guess we should get the twins tested as soon as possible.”

“Yeah,” Sonny agreed. He watched his wife pushed the blanket off her lap and stand. “Carly?”

She turned to him. “Hmm?” she asked, while in the process of folding the blanket.

“You want to tell me what’s going on?”

She froze–she knew it was a bad thing to do–that if there were a light on, he’d be able to read the guilt on her face. “What do you mean?” she asked, forcing herself to continue folding.

“You’re calm about this. You would be normally screaming at the top of your lungs.”

“True,” Carly agreed. “But you said it yourself. Christina will die if they don’t find a match. Don’t you think that’s more important?”

Sonny stood and wrapped his hands around her wrists. “I know you, Carly. I know you better than anyone else in the world. And I know when you’re up to something. Please–tell me.”

She forced a smile onto her face. “I’m not up to anything, Sonny. You’ve had a long day–”

“Don’t lie to me!” he said, raising his voice and tightening his grip.

“Sonny,” Carly began in a calm voice. “Let me go. I haven’t done anything, and you’re not thinking straight.”

Sonny took a deep breath and let her go. “I’m sorry. I just–” he stopped and rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m going to bed.”

Carly watched him climb the stairs and she sighed.

She’d just dodged a very big bullet.

And she didn’t know how much longer she’d able to do it.

—-

Jason knocked briefly on Elizabeth’s hospital door before pushing it open. He stopped dead in his tracks.

The bed was made.

The room was empty.

He turned around, letting the door shut behind him as he headed to the nurse’s desk.

“Elizabeth Morgan,” he barked to the nurse behind the desk. The brunette looked up at him and blinked at the rude tone.

“Excuse me?” she asked.

“Elizabeth Morgan,” Jason repeated. “She’s not in her room.”

The nurse leisurely typed in Elizabeth’s name into the computer and took her time scrolling through things until she finally said, “Miss Morgan checked out about an hour ago.”

Jason frowned. “What do you mean she checked out?”

The nurse raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. “She checked out, sir. Dr. Quartermaine had her discharged.” She frowned. “If I can remember right, he was arguing with her here by the elevators. Told her she should wait until her husband got here, but Miss Morgan was adamant. She was leaving.” She looked up at him, as if seeing him for the first time. “Are you her husband?”

“Yes,” Jason snapped, trying to figure out what Elizabeth could have gone. She wasn’t at the house–Lu was watching the kids until he got back and she would have called if Elizabeth had been there.”

“Oh, well, Dr. Quartermaine wanted me to tell you that he needed to see you.” The nurse reached towards the phone. “Do you want me to page him?”

Jason hesitated. Alan never did things like this–unless it was important. Alan had kept his distance, and if he’d left a message for Jason like this, he must have meant business. “Yeah. Tell him I’m waiting over here.” He indicated the seating area.

While Jason waited for Alan, he was making calls. Lu hadn’t heard from her and neither had Emily or Luke and Laura. He was calling Carly and Sonny when Alan finally showed up. He shut the phone off and stood. “Alan.”

“Jason.” Alan stuck his clipboard under his arm. “I tried to keep her here until you got here, but she wouldn’t listen. She, um, she seemed upset. She wanted to check out the earliest she could.” He studied his son carefully. “She’s taking the miscarriage very hard, isn’t she?”

Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. She is. Thanks for trying, Alan. Do you know where I can find her?”

Alan shook his head. “No. But Amy Vining was at the desk when she called the taxi.” Alan smiled. “You can bet Amy heard something.”

—-

Lucky was going through some contact sheets at the Port Charles Grille while waiting for Emily to meet him for lunch. She’d sounded strange on the phone–had absolutely insisted they meet today. He’d suggested grabbing some take-out at Kelly’s and meeting her at the office, but she’d been adamant.

Somewhere public.

He was absorbed in the sheets and didn’t hear or see Emily’s approach. She stopped just before the table and stared at him for a moment. How did it come to this? She’d been so in love with him–how had she missed that he didn’t feel the same? How had she managed to convince herself that Lucky was over Elizabeth?

Steeling herself for the confrontation, she pulled out the chair across from and sat down. “Hi.”

Lucky looked up then, a smile crossing his face. “Hey, babe. How you feeling?”

“I’m fine.” Emily took a sip of the water and signaled for the waiter. “You ready to order?”

He frowned. “Is everything okay, babe?”

“It’s fine,” Emily said, pasting a smile on her face. She was craving lobster and she needed to satisfy that urge before breaking things off.

Her kid had spoken.

They talked about nonsensical things most of the meal–Emily avoiding the subject of the impending birth and their relationship. Lucky kept trying to bring the conversation around to it, but she kept putting him off.

Finally Lucky pushed his plate back. “Em, what’s going on?”

Having finished her meal, Emily took another sip of the milkshake she’d begged for. This kid was strange–milkshakes and lobster were the sanest cravings she’d had. Others included pistachio ice cream in the middle of the night, and pickle and peanut butter sandwiches.

“We need to talk, Lucky,” Emily began.

Lucky shook his head. “This doesn’t sound good.”

“Please, let me talk, okay?” she said. She sat back in her chair. “Lucky, you’re my best friend. You’ve always been my best friend. But this isn’t going to work. You know that, right?”

Lucky frowned. “What are you talking about? Em, I love you–”

“Don’t,” Emily said, shaking her head. “Please don’t say that. Lucky, I’m not going to marry you. It’s not going to happen.”

“Why?” Lucky demanded. “We’re in love–”

“No.” Emily sighed. “We’re not. You’re still in–”

“Emily, how many times are we going to have this conversation?” Lucky demanded angrily. “I am completely over Elizabeth Webber.”

“Morgan,” Emily corrected softly. “Her name is Elizabeth Morgan.” She met Lucky’s eyes and smiled sadly. “You think I’m stupid, Lucky? I’m the one you confided in when Liz broke up with you. I talked you out of stopping the wedding. You’re still in love with her and I’m been blind to it.” She rubbed her abdomen. “But I can’t stay with you because I’m pregnant. I still want you to be this baby’s father, but you’re not in love with me and I won’t settle.”

“Emily, you’re pregnant. The hormones–”

“Do not blame this on my hormones!” Emily snapped. “I am thinking very clearly. It is not fair to blame this on my pregnancy. I can’t continue ignoring the way your eyes light up when her name is mentioned or how excited you get when you think she and Jason are having problems. Not now. We’re bringing a new life into this world and damn it, I deserve better. This child deserves better.” She tossed her napkin on the table and stood. “I’m sorry it has to be this way, Lucky.”

“Em, we can work this out–” Lucky started, rising out of his chair. But Emily had turned her back and walked away.

Without giving him a second look.

—-

“Why are we at the hospital, Mom?” Amanda asked as Carly led her and her brother off the elevator.

“I told you, sweetie. You and Drew are going to have a few tests run,” Carly replied. “And then you’re going to meet someone.”

“Who?” Drew asked, peering at his mother.

“Her name’s Christina,” Carly said, leading the children towards the oncology ward. Once there, she set them up with the doctor and left the room, unable to watch them get the test taken. She hated seeing them in pain.

She found Ned waiting for her outside. “Hi, Ned.”

“Hello, Carly.” Ned jerked his head towards the door Carly had just exited. “Are they being tested?”

Carly nodded. “Yeah. I’d like for them to meet Christina.” At Ned’s glare, she hurried to explain, “I don’t think they should know the truth or anything, but I thought they should just meet her. You know, in case one of them is a match, they might be more inclined to help if they know who it is.”

Ned hesitated. “I want to run this by Alexis.”

Carly nodded. “Of course.”

“I don’t know if this means anything to you, but thank you for bringing them so soon,” Ned said, shifting his feet. “I know it means a lot to Alexis.”

“I told Alexis and I’ll tell you–I’m not doing this for you. I’m not doing this for Alexis and I’m not doing it for Sonny. I’m doing this for Christina.”

“Fine,” Ned said coldly. “As long as we’ve got that straight.” He was about turn away when he thought twice and turned back to her. “Sonny doesn’t know does he?”

“Know what?” Carly demanded, tired of having this conversation with him.

“That you knew,” Ned said. “You didn’t tell him did you?”

“No!” Carly said, immediately. “As long as you and Alexis keep your mouths shut, he never will.”

“Never will what?”

Carly shut her eyes and counted to ten, desperately hoping that when she looked to her left, her husband would not be there glaring at her.

—-

Jason had never been so thankful for Amy Vining’s eavesdropping. He parked his bike at the parking lot of Vista Point and walked towards the observation deck.

She was standing there, her arms tightly crossed, staring out at the view of Port Charles.

“Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth slowly turned. “How did you find me?”

He stared at her, confused. “Why did you leave the hospital?” he asked, walking towards her.

She gave a little shrug and turned back towards the view. “I just wanted some time.”

He stopped just behind her. “You still thinking about what Dee said?”

She sighed. “A little.”

He brought his hands up to the sides of her shoulders and just rubbed them a little. “She didn’t mean it the way it came out–”

“I know. She’s just a little girl–she didn’t know any better,” Elizabeth replied softly. “But it doesn’t change how I feel.”

“Elizabeth, this wasn’t your fault,” Jason said, forcefully.

“I should have been more careful,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I shouldn’t have been so active–”

“Active? Elizabeth, you did the same things when you pregnant with Dee and Davie–you couldn’t have known–”

“But I should have!” Elizabeth cried suddenly. She jerked away from him and turned around. She spread her arms out at her sides. “I should have known something was wrong and I didn’t! What kind of mother does that make me?”

“Elizabeth, you know you’re a good mother. Things happen for a reason–”

“How can there be a reason in the world for why this happened?” she demanded, glaring at him. “How can there be a legitimate reason for losing my baby?” Her eyes were filled with tears and she clutched her hands to her head, squeezing her eyes shut to keep the tears from spilling onto her cheeks. “God, Jason, we had ultrasounds…I felt this baby kick–it was a real, living and breathing baby! How can there be a reason for having a miscarriage?”

“I don’t know–”

She pushed past him then and gripped the bar by the stairs that led to the second level of the deck. “Do you know what I see when I come up here?”

Thrown by the change in topics, Jason blinked. “What?”

“I see you and me, ten years ago.” Her voice was calmer now–a little hoarse. “I see us sitting on that bench and you telling me you couldn’t be the friend I thought you were.”

“Elizabeth–” He came forward and tried to put a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged away from him.

“I don’t see the time we kissed, or even when you yelled at me for warning you about Alcazar. I just see you breaking my heart again.”

“We both made mistakes,” Jason said, not sure why they were having this conversation. “I should have known I couldn’t push you away–”

She turned around and leaned against the railing. “I couldn’t change your mind then. And you can’t change my mind now.”

“You did change my mind, Elizabeth,” he reminded her gently. “Remember?”

“No, not really,” Elizabeth replied quietly. “Because despite everything, after all these years, I know you still think I’d be better off with someone else and away from you and this life. I haven’t been able to change your mind–I just worked around it.”

“Elizabeth–”

“Can you take me home?” she asked.

Knowing he wasn’t going to be able to get through to her–not today anyway–he just nodded. She walked ahead of him towards the parking lot.

—-

Emily pushed open her office door, ignoring her assistant calling after her. She was worn out from the confrontation with Lucky and just needed a few minutes to herself.

“Miss Quartermaine!”

At the sound of her assistant’s urgent voice, Emily turned and sighed. “What is it, Calla?”

“You have messages,” she said, handing the sheaf of papers towards her. “They sounded important.”

“Thanks,” Emily said, taking them and entering her office. She closed the door behind her. As she walked towards her desk, she leafed through them. A contact in Jakarta, one in Japan…Emily frowned. Nikolas had called. She shoved all other thoughts aside in order to call her friend.

She checked her watch, and decided that while it was late in Greece, she didn’t want to wait. She dialed his number and leaned against the side of the desk.

“Hello?”

“Nik? It’s Emily.”

Nikolas Cassadine leaned back in his chair in his ornately decorated office and breathed a sigh of relief. “I was hoping you’d call tonight.”

“Well, it’s been a while since I’ve heard from you. Is anything wrong?” she asked.

“Actually, yeah.” Nikolas sighed again and scratched at his temple. “I need your help.”

“What’s wrong?” Emily asked, concerned. She straightened and crossed around the desk to sit down.

“It’s Gia.”

Emily frowned at the mention of her former nemesis. Gia and Nikolas had moved to Greece only a year after Emily returned to Port Charles, but they’d been in the same town long enough to annoy each other. “What’s wrong with Gia?”

“Well, she’s…she’s sick.”

“Oh.” Emily felt bad for thinking badly of her friend’s wife. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s, ah, breast cancer. We were going to have doctors flown in, but the best one is at the Sloan-Kettering Center in New York. We’re coming to Port Charles to stay on Spoon Island while she’s there for treatment.”

“Nikolas, I’m sorry. What can I do?”

“Well, I just wanted to know if you could help get Wyndemere open. Just hire an agency to get it cleaned and everything. I know you’re pregnant and if it’s too much–”

“No, no,” Emily insisted. “It’s fine. I’ll make a few calls.” She laughed a little. “I’m actually glad to have a distraction.”

“Still having problems with Lucky?” Nikolas asked.

“Yeah. Actually, we broke up today,” Emily said.

“Oh. I’m sorry, Em.”

“It’s been a long time in coming,” Emily said. “Is there anything else I can do?”

“No. Thanks so much, Em. I’d better call my mother.”

“All right. I’ll see you when you get into town.”

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