Chapter Twenty-Nine:
Brave New World

Late morning light streamed through the porthole and bisected the only permanent bed the Zephyr had to offer. Carly could feel the warmth of the beam through the thin silk and across one bare shoulder as she stirred beneath the top sheet.

Silk sheets. She'd forgotten how much she liked those.

She'd had been drifting, in the soft cradle of this bed, just on the cusp of wakefulness for hours. She wasn't sure she'd ever really been asleep, the whole night -- or ever really awake. Though she'd had dreams upon dreams, which suggested otherwise. And now... Now she was just conscious enough to decide to stay floating here for a little while longer.

They'd fallen asleep on the deck, both submitting to the exhaustion of a long and arduous day. It had been the chill of the night air had waken them both, driven them inside, some time in the very early morning.

What had happened next... she hadn't experienced before. She could remember laughing, stumbling towards the 'bedroom' in the hull... drunk on sleep, trying to stay upright, to gather up the debris of their night together. Pillows and blankets had been abandoned through the cabin behind them, as they'd moved together. They'd kissed, whispered a few things to each other. Reaching the bow of the boat, the tiny bedroom, she could remember sitting on the edge of the bed, feeling lightheaded and drowsy, but still smiling at him. Him, looking down at her, touching her hair. And then kissing again, removing items of clothing that got tossed carelessly to the floor. Moving onto the bed, and later into it. Still kissing, embracing, touching.

And then...

Then, she thought, they fell asleep.

Except they didn't.

All night, she'd found herself floating up from sleep, and searching for him. That was an old pattern, something she'd always done when sharing a bed with a man. Invariably, she'd wake up feeling isolated, separate... she'd try to curl up to them, to hang onto some of the warmth she'd been filled with while they were still interested in her body. Before sleep became the more interesting proposition.

She'd spent two nights with Nikolas -- one he was drunk for, and had slept with his arm tossed over her waist. The second she was sleeping literally on top of him while they flew back across the country. Last night... In many ways, it was the first time they'd truly 'slept' together. Their first real night of being together, outside of sex and necessity.

She kept floating back to wakefulness to find herself kissing him, soft sleepy affection -- like reminding herself of everything this man was offering her before letting herself drift off again. His arms stayed around her most of the night, and if they drifted from her, they were never far away. If was the first time she'd sought to be close to someone who seemed this willing and eager to be close to her. She still felt intoxicated from it, from the sheer volume of attention.

He was just so so so good to her. So outrageously good that she wasn't sure if she wanted to wake up and give today a chance to change her mind about anything. Right now, things felt pretty damn perfect. She was warm, she was comfortable, and she was hovering on the edge of a dangerously good mood. The only thing lacking at the moment, was the feeling of her husband's arms around her. She stretched languorously, then rolled over, reaching out for him, her hand sliding acros the bed.

Nothing but sheet.

Carly's eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright. She was alone in the bed -- alone in the room -- and there was no sign of Nikolas anywhere.

Her mouth went immediately dry. Panic. Pure and unadulterated. He'd left. He was gone. Why? Because this was HER life, and nothing ever stayed serene for long.

This line of thought was halted by the creaking sound of footsteps on the deck. Carly let her eyes close and mouthed the words "Thank God" to herself. Crisis averted. She was a freak, clearly, but at least she was a freak who knew where her husband was.

With her heart still beating a little harder than it should, the bed felt a decidedly less tempting place to stay -- alone, at least. Carly gave the sheet she was sleeping under a hard yank, pulling it free of the mattress, and gathered it around her body. She barely bothered to tuck in the edge as she moved out of the bed-closet and through the rest of the cabin. She kicked one of the pillows out of her way, and stepped carefully over the blanket that had been dropped onto the tile in the galley. The footsteps had stopped when she reached the top of the stairs and opened the door the hatch.

"Nikolas?" She immediately winced at the assault of bright light. God, it was later than she thought -- the sun was high in the sky, and birds were circling overhead. There were people -- actual honest to God people -- on the surrounding boats. Great. Good thing she was dressed to impress. She took a cautious step onto the floor of the cockpit.

"Nikolas..." she called a little louder. "Olly olly oxion free...."

Carly felt a shadow fall across her shoulder. She let out a sigh of relief, and turned towards the owner. "Are you trying to give me a --" her words were lost in the yelp of surprise she gave when she saw who was standing behind her. She stumbled backwards, nearly allowing her sheet to slip dangerously low before grabbing the front and lifting it to her chin.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Kelly's always smelled the same in the morning. Mingled fragrances of coffee, baking and fried food. And since it lay between Bannister's Wharf and General Hospital, Nikolas had become accustomed to the ambiance of the restaurant during the rush hours. He'd even become a little fond of it.

Today, though, no matter how much he might like Kelly's, it wasn't a place to linger. What it WAS, was the only even-remotely reputable (read: Rat-less) place near the marina that was open at this hour on a Sunday.

This morning, things looked particularly chaotic. The place was filled with people who were returning from church, and those who -- like Nikolas -- had only just managed to crawl out of bed. They were easy to spot, hunched over cups of coffee in the corners, with their eyes rimmed red. The other tables, occupied by families with hyper children, made quiet the contrast. Today the din of the conversation was fighting hard against the jukebox, which was playing a jangly high energy song.

"Cecilia! You're breaking my heart. You're shakin' my confidence daily..."

The song was just loud enough to infect the place without overtaking it. At the tables, people were nodding their heads and tapping fingers along to the beat, while they talked. Some of those bent over coffee were mouthing the words to themselves.

"Ohhhh CECILIA! I'm down on my knees! I'm begging you, please, to come home..."

Nikolas paused in the doorway, struck with a sense of foreboding... God, sometimes it was like ESP, some kind of radar -- He just knew, Lucky was here some place. His eyes moved to the counter just in time to see his brother stand up from packing the dirty dishes into a clearing tray. He watched Lucky wipe crumbs off the counter, then toss the tea towel over his shoulder and heave the tray up into his arms. Their eyes met then, and Lucky paused for a pointed moment, before he turned and carried the tray into the back.

Yeah. No way something as simple as breakfast was going to be an easy equation in this town. If he wasn't so determined to make Carly eat three whole meals today, he'd had considered turning around and heading back to the boat.

Nikolas took a fortifying breath and headed across the room to the counter, arriving just in time for a breathless and VERY cheery looking Elizabeth to dash out of the kitchen. She was still tying her apron, and there was muffin batter on her cheek. Apparently there had been a quick change from kitchen to wait staff.

"HEY!" she sounded far too enthusiastic to see him. "Nikolas! Hi!"

"Let me guess," Nikolas leaned across the counter, closing in on her in a way that wasn't entirely respectful of personal space. "You've spoken to Luke."

Elizabeth backed up as subtly as she could manage. "Emily, actually."

Nikolas's shoulders slumped a little. So that was how the news had spread. Emily, he realized, must have been even more angry than he'd suspected. "Can we possibly pretend that none of that happened and I'm just here for a couple of bagels or something?"

"We could..." Liz nodded towards the back. "But we'd also have to ignore the fact that my boyfriend is probably breaking dishes back there, and you just used the word 'couple'."

Nikolas let out a slow breath. "He's upset."

She made a face. "He's... tense."

"Great." He raised pleading eyes to hers. "Do you know how many times I've had this conversation in the last twenty-four hours?"

Liz's answer was cut off my a terse voice traveling over the music from a few feet away.

"And on today's installment of the Ongoing Tragedy of Nikolas Cassadine..."

Lucky had reappeared from the kitchen, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and looking at Nikolas with a practiced mix of apathy and irritation. Nikolas straightened up and did his best to wipe any trace of feeling from his own face. Watching, Liz felt decidedly queasy. She'd spent enough time with Lucky yesterday to know that this bugged him far more than he was willing to let Nik in on.

"Lucky," Nikolas nodded in salutation.

Lucky didn't acknowledge the gesture. "So, Nikky! Anything new and exciting going on in your life?"

Nikolas's eyes wandered to the safety of the cash register -- Looking at Lucky could be like staring at the sun. You just had to turn away or you'd do yourself permanent damage. "You're not going to cut me any slack here, are you?"

"Hey, you know what happened to me yesterday?" Lucky's irritation was now burning all trace of indifference from him. The mere suggestion that he should go easy on Nikolas after the night he'd had, juggling Emily, his parents -- not to mention his own complete incomprehension -- just burned him. "I found out my brother got married. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"Lucky."

"Hey, it's Ok. Maybe Lulu can fill me in."

Nikolas felt himself flush. Lucky always knew the right buttons to push. Nikolas had no idea how he was going to explain this to his sister.

"Funny thing about eloping..." he went for dry wit, rather than take the bait. "You don't generally send out announcements beforehand."

"Which brings up a good point..." Lucky pushed himself off the wall and started towards the counter. "Are you guys registered? Do I have to get you something? Cause I don't know if Hallmark makes a Congratulations on Marrying Your Stepsister card." He glanced over at Liz, "In fact, isn't that illegal in some states?"

"Oh, boy," Liz sighed. Lucky and Nikolas did this so rarely these days, she'd forgotten how much she hated it. They might have eventually figured out how to be brothers, but they still had no idea how to be friends.

"Our parents are divorced," Nikolas's eyes came back to Lucky. "And before you start even start -- she's your cousin, not mine."

"No... " Lucky furrowed his brow in mock-deliberation. "No, still pruning a little close to the family tree, but --"

"Hey!" Nikolas put a hand up. "Elizabeth actually IS your cousin, I'd proceed with that sentence carefully."

"Wow, will you look at the time!" Liz shot a fleeting glance at her bare wrist. "Those muffins must be... Oh, about twenty minutes from being done." She turned on her heel, and darted into the back. No way was she going to stick around for this; she'd just end up becoming a target or a weapon -- not much fun.

With Liz's departure, Lucky's demeanor shifted. He could still feel his anger, his shock and confusion, pumping through him. If he kept up with this, they'd just be here all day. And the fact of the matter was, what bugged him MOST about all of this... Nik knew what it meant; he knew that most of the call to explain, to clarify would fall on Lucky. It always did.

"We gotta talk."

"Now." Nikolas didn't bother to make it a question.

Lucky leaned his body across the counter. "Might as well be."

Nikolas sighed. "Do I get any say in this at all?" Lucky's eyes narrowed immediately. Nikolas knew too well what it meant. Lucky had been running interference with Laura for almost two years. The implication was there -- he was owed. "Right. Fine." Nikolas sat down on a stool. "Let's make this quick. What's the problem here?"

"You're serious."

"You know, I am a little," Nikolas crossed his arms. "I mean... Yes, I got married. It's a surprise. To no one more than me -- but it's not the end of the world. It's not a sign of the upcoming apocalypse --"

Lucky's mouth twitched. "Sure about that?"

"If..." Nikolas took a careful breath. "If that was meant to cast any aspersions whatsoever on my wife, I'd really advise it's the closest you get --"

"Yeah, yeah," Lucky ran a hand through his hair. "Nikolas Cassadine. Mad, bad and dangerous to know."

"I'm not kidding." Nikolas raised his eyes. "Anything you have to say about Carly -- You can save. I don't want to hear about it."

Lucky shrugged in a way that was designed to make it look like he didn't care. Truth was, he didn't know that much about the woman. Out side of the 'no sudden moves, don't look her in the eye' standard operating procedure. "I'm just saying... she's got a rep."

Nikolas shook his head determinedly. "There is nothing you can tell me that I haven't heard. From her. And expect I'll have half the town trying to tell me about."

"People are going to be having reactions to this, Nik," Lucky straightened up, shaking his head. "I mean... Jesus. If you were DATING her, you'd be up to your ears in this. But you married her."

"Yeah."

"Right..." Lucky frowned at the matter-of-fact expression on Nikolas's face. "You see how that ranks as crazy no matter WHO she was? Since two weeks ago you were --"

Nikolas's eyes closed. "I swear to God, if you mention Robin --"

Lucky stepped back, putting both hands up. "Ok. Hot button. Fine." Nikolas's eye opened, and held a disturbing lack of focus. God Damn it... Lucky knew that look. He hated that look. "Nik..."

Nikolas stared hard at the counter. He heard the crack in his brother's voice, he just didn't want to deal with it. "What?"

Lucky just stared at him. What the hell was he supposed to say? 'Start acting like you're a little normal'? 'Stop with the emotionally damaged crap'? Christ. He'd known Nikolas was ticking down to zero -- had been for years. So he'd finally hit the end of the countdown and they were supposed to be surprised? And how had HE ended up on the side of the assholes in all of this?

"Look," Lucky leaned across the counter, lowering his voice considerably. He stared at the front door of the restaurant as he talked. "I know you think I'm making your life hell right now, but we both know how much worse it can get. You're going to have to tell me something."

"Why do you want to know?"

"Idle curiosity?" Lucky bristled. "Or maybe the fact that our mother cares. A hell of a lot."

Lucky didn't have to turn towards Nikolas to know that damned look was back. That expression that made you feel like you'd just hit him. His eyes would just go blank. It was like there was something hard wired into him -- something that forced him to shut down anything and everything that involved Laura. Course, if you really wanted the full creep-out experience, you had to see him when Laura was in the room. Nikolas became downright robotic. That always made Lucky long for the days when his brother had just hated her blindly.

Beside him, Nikolas physically shrugged off the topic, like it was a heavy coat someone had thrown over his shoulders. "There's nothing for her to concern herself about."

"You gotta work with me on this." Lucky stood up, shaking his head. "Give me a short answer to feed people. Hell, what do you have to lose? Worse case scenario, I still keep one or two people off your back."

Nikolas glanced over at Lucky. He had a point. Lucky considered it his job to keep the waters between Nikolas and the rest of the Spencers as smooth as possible, and without that... Well, seeing Lulu, among other things, would get really difficult. A part of him could even admit that it was a mistake -- his not letting Lucky know personally. But all of that was out of his hands now.

"Look," he allowed. "If I tell you this stuff, you have to promise something."

"I don't really have to do anything."

Nikolas ignored that. "You have to spread it around to as many people as humanly possible, because I am getting really getting sick of this conversation. I'm not going to be held responsible if I have to have it again. Tell Amy, tell Liz, just get it out there."

Lucky eyes rolled to the ceiling. "Why do you do stuff like this when you HATE being talked about so much?"

"Do you want me to tell you this or not?"

"Uh, just so we're clear?" Lucky shot Nikolas a look. "I'm offering to do you a favor here, Ok?"

Nikolas sighed. Fine. "We were seeing each other. And yes, it all happened quickly. No, we didn't tell anyone about it. She's a Spencer, I'm a Cassadine... We decided we wanted to be together and this looked like the best way to do it."

"End of story."

Nikolas raised his eyes to Lucky's. "What do you think would have happened if I'd just brought her home for dinner?"

"I gotta admit," Lucky sighed. "A part of me is wondering if this isn't going to end up with her BEING dinner."

Nikolas shook his head firmly. "I'll take care of her."

Lucky nodded, slowly. There was a raw, possessive vibe coming off Nikolas. An undeniable determination. Tick tick tick... Lucky thought. Nikolas had gone down, and now he was wound right back up again. This was going to be interesting.

"You do that. My aunt's pretty attached."

"I know."

"And... hey..." Lucky pulled the tea towel off his shoulder, and started brushing at invisible crumbs. "I know my Dad probably got pretty rough yesterday." He looked up at Nikolas, examined him for some sense of how true that was. Nikolas looked blank enough for Lucky to assume it was pretty brutal. "He doesn't speak for all of us."

"Thanks."

Lucky heard a sound behind him, was familiar enough with the quality of the footsteps to know that Elizabeth had come back. He glanced back at her and gave a small smile. "Hey."

Liz looked from one brother to the other. No blood, no bruises. Today was a good day. "Here," she thrust a brown paper bag at Nikolas. "Carly never eats when she's here for breakfast -- so I don't know what she likes. I just threw some stuff in the bag."

Nikolas took the bag from her. "She doesn't eat." This was becoming a theme.

"She drinks," Lucky's voice was flat. "Black, two sugar." He gave Nikolas a pointed look. "See, I know that. Cause I've known her for more than five minutes."

Nikolas raised his brow. "Do you really want to compare notes?"

He was satisfied to see Lucky cringe. "No thanks."

Liz stifled a laugh, then made a purposeful pivot towards the coffee machine. "I'll get you a cup to go."

Nikolas gave her as much of a smile as he felt capable of, and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. "What's it come to?"

"It's on the house," Lucky muttered. "Consider it a gift."

Nikolas blinked in surprise. "Thanks..."

Lucky shook his head as Liz returned with the coffee. "Just... warn me next time."

"Don't worry," Nikolas sighed, taking the cup from Liz. "I've had enough surprises to last a lifetime."

Carly clutched the sheet to her chest and stared wide-eyed at her visitor, who was just staring down at her from the deck of the boat. What did she say about her life? What did she say about serenity? She licked her lips, and tried to form slightly less accusatory words.

"Mr. Cassadine, I presume," she exhaled, finally. Ok. Where WAS Nikolas? And how many ways could she kill him when she found him again?

"Ms. Benson," Stefan stepped gracefully down from the deck to the bench as he spoke. "I apologize for the intrusion."

Carly nodded, distracted by her attempts to surreptitiously adjust the sheet around her. "What makes you think this is an intrusion?" The state of undress, maybe? The fact that she probably still had sleep in her eyes, and her hair must look like a rat's nest? "Have a seat," She waved a hand at him as she turned her back. Silk was damned slippery material. "Me casa et su casa, or something like that."

She heard the sound of Stefan descending to stand on the floor behind her. "I can wait if you would like to dress."

Carly scowled as she tried to secure the sheet. Oh, and perhaps YOU would like me to 'dress' you big dark freak. What? Not so comfortable around mostly-naked daughters-in-law?

"What?" she asked, tossing her hair to one side with as much carefree finesse as she could manage, and looking at him over her shoulder. "You don't think I do justice to it? I've always thought burgundy brought out my eyes."

A shadow passed over Stefan's face, but he appeared to rally quickly, nodding and occupying himself with a study of the darkly stained bench beneath his feet. When he turned back, his eyes held hers with a disturbing lack of concern.

"It is... Carly, is it? Or do you prefer Caroline?"

Carly huffed and opted to just tuck the excess of the sheet firmly under one arm and extended her hand.

"Mrs. Cassadine will do just fine."

Stefan paused, midway towards sitting on the bench. He straightened again, putting out a stiff hand and taking hers in a quick but firm handshake. It was just this side of awkward, and Carly put up a point for herself on her mental scoreboard. She sat just after him on the opposite bench. Think, she told herself as she flashed a smile What did she know here? God, she wished she and Nikolas had talked more about this. She was thoroughly unprepared and...

And that would probably be exactly what he was hoping for. Besides, if this guy had been even a fraction as severe as Luke, she owed him no favors. In fact, it was awfully tempting to just try to scare the hell out of him.

"Can I get you anything?" Carly cocked her head to one side, trying her best to make like some high society matron holding high tea. "I don't think we have anything except hard liquor... There's probably some water."

Stefan adjusted the cuff of his shirt. "I'm fine, thank-you."

"Mmmm..." Carly nodded, fixing her eyes on the water behind him. She just bet he was. "Nikolas isn't here."

"So it would seem."

"Yeah, it would..." Carly sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, as if deep in thought, then turned her eyes back to Stefan. "So... One of three things is going on here. Either... this is a huge coincidence... Or you've Nikolas kidnapped... Or you were waiting for him to leave so that you could talk to me alone."

"All compelling scenarios."

Carly shrugged. "Just trying to separate the man from the myth."

"And which," he inquired, "Do you think is the answer to that question?"

Carly crossed her legs, letting a pregnant pause go by before answering. "The last one."

Stefan leaned forward, his body turned towards her. Carly was struck suddenly, in the bright light of day, how un-vampire-like Stefan Cassadine actually looked. Kinda Golden Boy gone wrong, maybe... but not as dark and foreboding as he usually came across. It struck her that the whole 'creature of the night' image was something he projected in spite of his appearance, not because of it.

Oh, THAT'S comforting.

To make matters worse, he was trying to smile at her.

"I presume Nikolas told you of our conversation yesterday."

Carly had to take a breath before delivering her most convincing smile to Nikolas's father. No point in tipping her hand. To his credit, Stefan held out several moments before accepting that she simply wasn't going to say anything.

"I felt it best that I make a clean start."

"With me."

After a moment, Stefan nodded. "Yes."

"Huh," Carly chewed her lip, considering this. "You know... I don't know if that works. Down and dirty is one of my specialties, and your son seems to enjoy it."

"You're trying to shock me,"

"And you're trying to intimidate me."

Stefan's eyes narrowed slightly, but didn't move from Carly. She felt like she had a bulls-eye on her forehead.

"I visited your mother yesterday," he sat back, finally.

"And...?"

"She accepted an invitation I'd like to extend to you and Nikolas. For this evening."

Carly shifted her weight. "She did, did she?"

"We feel it would be advantageous to meet on common ground. Share a meal -- As family."

"Family."

"It would appear that is what we are, now."

Carly stared at her new father-in-law, hard. There was no way this man had any warm-fuzzy feelings about family. "I'm not clear on the etiquette... Do you people serve the arsenic before the meal, or afterward?"

Stefan smiled, ever so slightly, but in a way that moved to his eyes. Less reptile like. Disturbingly human. Carly turned away. "You've been talking to your uncle."

"I've been talking to my husband." The smile on Stefan's face left his eyes. Ah ha, Carly thought. Not so wonderful at hiding the emotions after all. "Look," Carly folded her arms firmly across her chest. "I know you raised Nikolas to act like he stepped out of a fairy tale. Scale towers, charm kings, rescue damsels in distress... And then he went and kissed a frog. That's gotta sting a bit. But I'm not going anywhere. And no creepy Family of the Damned dinner party is going to get rid of me."

Well, that's it, Carly thought as she snapped her mouth shut on the heels of her words. She was going to find out how much of a joke that poison line had been. Stefan made no immediate response, however. Rather, he nodded slowly, and brought steepled fingers to his lips, as if he was giving the frog-analogy a great deal of thought. When he returned his focus to Carly, his voice and expression were impassive.

"My son has made it very clear that his feelings for you are strong and nonnegotiable," Stefan lowered his hands to his lap. "I don't intend to try to change them. But I do intend to keep my son in my life. I was surprised by what he told me yesterday, and to be frank... Concerned. But given time to think it over, it's clear that I have to accept it. To extend an olive branch."

Carly blinked, Strong and nonnegotiable...? What had Nikolas said to him? She shook the question out of her head. "You're suggesting a dinner with you, my mother, Nikolas and I as a peace offering? What's next? Matching coffins as a wedding gift?"

Stefan raised an eyebrow. "You come by your sharp tongue naturally, I see."

"Oh, my tongue can be all kinds of things," Carly furrowed her brow. "Some of them more natural than others."

Stefan cleared his throat. Hard. "My son --"

"Is going to be really pissed if he finds you here."

"I'll take that chance."

"Why come to me?" Carly leaned forward suddenly, her eyes grabbing Stefan's, searching them unapologetically. "Why ask me first, why sit here and pretend the idea of me and Nikolas isn't turning your stomach?"

"I have made no decisions about you and Nikolas."

"You're lying."

"You have a son." Stefan's words were crisp. "You know what that means."

Carly brought in her breath sharply. One hand flew automatically to cover her heart. Stefan watched her with what looked like mild curiosity. Carly pulled in more than one breath.

"That's low," she managed, finally. "That's really low."

"I do what I feel necessary," Stefan raised his brow meaningfully. "If you do not trust me, so be it. But if you want Nikolas to be happy, there is no choice here. Peace must be made. And I'm willing to be the one to make the first move."

"That must have been some fight," Carly breathed, and immediately wanted to bite her tongue for giving away how little she actually knew about what happened to them. Ok. Enough of his. Decision time.

"It's Nikolas's choice," she spoke slowly, raising her eyes to his almost cautiously. No... no, that sounded pretty good. That sounded like the right answer. "Whatever he says goes -- in this case, at least."

"And your mother?"

Carly shook her head. "My mother adores Nikolas. There ain't no flies on her."

"She still agreed to this."

Carly snorted. "Should I even try to guess why?" she dropped her eyes to the floor, letting her hair fall to hide her face from him. She didn't want to guess why. The options made her feel sick. If her mother was using this in any way, shape or form as an excuse to take up with Stefan again, so help her God... "Look. You can try to TALK to me, but it's Nikolas you have to deal with. And... You can ask around. If you were to say anything... uh..." She winced a little. "Say... Unduly harsh? I'm not the person you want sitting across from you."

"Are you saying that if I were to cross a line with him, you'd... what's the phrase?"

"Kick your ass?"

Stefan nodded. "That would work, yes."

Carly didn't flinch. "I'll do what I have to. He's had enough angst for one day."

Stefan only nodded to this, giving her a look that made her feel far more on display than she had been in her sheet.

"Very well... Mrs. Cassadine," he spoke slowly, letting the name hang in the air for a moment before continuing. "I'll take my case to my son with that in mind."

Carly felt a sharp rush of adrenaline. That had all sounded good coming out of her mouth, but what the hell was Nikolas going to think of it? God, she wished she had the slightest clue about where he was or when he'd be back. Particularly since she suddenly didn't feel like sitting here chatting up his father.

"You do that," she murmured. "If he'll let you."

"Nikolas and my relationship has weathered tougher storms than this."

Carly let out a quick laugh. "You say that like it's something to be proud of."

"On the contrary, it's... " Stefan's words faded, and his eyes left Carly, moving towards something behind her, just as she heard the creak on the deck. "Nikolas."

Carly twisted around to see Nikolas standing above her, his eyes fixed on the other figure in the boat. His expression was tight, suspicious, and he held the bag in his hand so tightly that his knuckles were white. After a moment, he nodded curtly, a greeting.

"Father."