Chapter Thirty-Six:
Moving On

Nikolas bent over the basin and splashed water running from the faucet onto his face. He didn't know how much longer he was going to be able to do this. Less than a week into one of the largest commitments of his life, and he was already having doubts. Oh, sure. When things were good, they were very good... but when they weren't....

He raised his head and stared into the eyes reflected back at him in the mirror. He looked angry. Frustrated. Miserable. A man on the edge.

The sliding door opened slightly, then stopped. Nikolas turned to look at it accusingly. It was interrupting what he was sure could have turned into a perfectly acceptable tantrum.

"Carly?"

"You decent?"

Nikolas turned off the faucet, shaking water from his hands. "You care?"

Her answer was to push the door all the way open in a fluid gesture, revealing herself -- fully dressed, one hand on the door frame and the other behind her back, looking very pleased with herself.

"Whatcha doin'?"

He turned his attention back to the basin, letting the water drip from his face. "I'm seriously rethinking my relationship with this boat."

"You know... It's not really the boat's fault."

"At the moment, it's suffering from a lot of guilt by association..." he glanced back at her. "What's behind your back?"

Carly was warding off an urge to laugh by staring very hard at the sink. It was Wednesday, their fourth morning together, and the water situation was getting dire. Nikolas was trying, but the poor guy did not do very well with inconvenience. His patience was threadbare.

"I'm wondering..." she cocked her head to one side, pensively. "Is it harder to shave with no hot water?"

"Considerably."

A grave nod. "So for this, you want to divorce the whole boat?"

"I've been giving it some thought." He straightened up. "You didn't answer my question."

"Oh..." Carly surrendered and let herself grin at him. "I think I might have found something you want."

He raised his brow. "You think so?"

"It's possible," She twisted her body around and produced a steaming pot from behind her back with a flourish. "Interested?"

Nikolas stared. For a moment, he thought he might be hallucinating.

"You boiled water."

"I did."

"When did we get pots?"

"They were inside the stove," Carly grinned. "I found them when I decided to get all gourmet and try to heat up breakfast."

Nikolas looked at the steam rising into the air between them with his mouth open. He could not have been more amazed if she'd performed alchemy.

"You boiled water."

"We've established that, haven't we?"

Funny how the little things can get to you. Not being able to take a shower that was anything better than freezing, for instance. That'll really wear on you. Someone presenting you with a couple of cups of hot water -- It just got him. Little things she did. The ones she thought he was nuts for taking so seriously. Those were the ones that hit him the hardest. The stuff that people had always done for him out of obligation, or servitude, or because he was (supposedly) a Prince, she just did.

"You're..." he shook his head. "Incredible."

"You," Carly stepped into the room, "Are very easily impressed." She held the pot over the sink that Nikolas had filled partway with cool water. "Shall I?"

"Oh, God, yes."

A smile tugged at the corners of Carly's mouth as she poured the water into the basin. God, he was cute. You'd think someone who had been waited on hand and foot his whole life would be a little less impressed with basic chemistry. As she poured the final drops, Nikolas's arms reached out and caught her around the waist, pulling her towards him. He planted a supple kiss on her lips, rich in love and affection.

"Thank-you," he murmured, pulling back.

Carly grinned, and twined her arms around his neck. She kissed him again, long and slow, while the water waited. Yeah, this was it -- This was why she was glad they were currently living alone. Ignoring other people. Why the Gods were probably screwing with their water temperature. Kissing Nikolas was becoming an addiction. He was just so good at it. When she kissed him, she didn't care about how long he was gone during the day or how little time lay between now and the 7th Annual Nurse's Ball. Her brain stilled, her stomach fluttered and her knees went weak. That became the sum total of her concerns.

"You're welcome," she breathed, pulling out of the clinche. Nikolas let out a sigh of contentment, then bent and nuzzled her neck. Carly let out a shriek as the stubble on his cheek rubbed against her throat.

"I have to shave," he spoke against her ear.

"You really really do," she giggled. He pulled back from her, shook out his head, then turned to the sink. Carly moved automatically behind him, and wrapped her arms around his waist. Nikolas's hand brushed against hers as they locked around him, a gesture that spoke to her. I like this. I want your arms around me. She loved that about him. He never got irritated with her touching him, never shrugged her away from him. All right, so they'd been married about ten minutes out of a lifetime... but right now, this all felt really good. She wasn't looking forward to the 'don't touch me' moment that would inevitably come. Carly leaned against his back as he picked up his razor and stirred the water around with it. She listened to the sounds, the swish as it moved, the drips falling back into the sink as he lifted cupped hands to his face.

"Good?" She asked, not raising her head.

"Very," Nikolas murmured, as he started to apply shaving cream to his neck and face. She smiled. Stupid, how much she liked doing things like this for him. How much she liked the fact that he seemed so comfortable with her here like this. Subtle little differences from her past relationships. How they ate together, slept together, and lately, got up to face the day together. Intimately involved, she was beginning to put a new meaning on those words. So this is what it felt like to be more than the playmate and bed partner. Being able to do dumb things like watch him shave. Wanting to do dumb things like watch him shave! She loved that smell. The emerging from the bathroom smell of toothpaste, soap and shaving foam. The cool damp of his skin, the softness of his hair. It brought with it waves of delirious joy. The kind of happiness that seems unreal and imagined later.

"What time are you leaving?" she asked.

"Uh... Nine." Nikolas tipped his head up, extending his neck, and started scraping the razor across his skin. Carly leaned her cheek against his back. She could feel the muscles move under his skin as he reached forward to rinse the razor. She turned her face against his back and kissed the skin between his shoulder blades. His movements paused. She smiled to herself.

"Nine?"

"Nine," Nikolas said with sudden determination, then continued the task at hand. She let out a long sigh, her breath spreading across his back. Nine. What was that? An hour away?

Nikolas felt his stomach tighten in anticipation. He and Carly were developing patterns. The biggest one revolved around how much she hated his going to work. He wasn't thrilled about leaving her either, though he had to admit, coming home was the highlight of his day. There was nothing like that first kiss after being out in the real world. Nothing like the way her face lit up at the sight of him.

Carly's hands unclasped around his waist, and it started. They moved slowly across his abdomen. It took very little effort from Carly to pull him under her spell. One purposeful touch would do it. Unless, of course, he had something immediate to focus on. Like, oh, say.... Shaving the other half of his face.

He let out his breath, and stared at his own image stubbornly. You can do this, Nikolas. You might want to do it quickly, but you can still do it. He lifted the razor and dragged it across another strip of skin. The second he lowered it again, though, Carly slid around his body, and pressed him back so that she was squeezed between him and the counter.

"Carly," he tried his best to sound stern. "What are you doing?"

She laughed against his skin, and lay a moist kiss at the base of his pectoral before answering.

"Round three."

Nikolas had never had a girlfriend as affectionate as Carly. And truth be told, he had always craved affection like nothing else -- Anything, everything, he didn't care. It didn't feel like any amount of feminine touch, sexual or otherwise, would ever be enough. Carly was the only relationship where he didn't feel that pang of longing quite the same way. Didn't, because he knew he could reach over and touch her and she wouldn't pull away. She'd lean into him, take his hand. They both seemed to want the same thing. Physical reassurance that this was real. It wasn't leading to a lot of deep verbal communication, but no part of him cared. He was too hung up on the details. He could make her smile. He could make her laugh. She liked touching him. She liked him touching her. And knock-on-all-available-wood, they weren't fighting.

At all.

Unless... You counted this.

"How long are you going to keep this up?" he asked, trying not to respond to the light tickling sensation of her hair, brushing against the bend of his arm.

"Until I win," she slid her hands around his waist, and pulled herself flush against him. "Ladies and gentlemen," she tipped her face up to his. "Welcome to today's edition of Who Wants to Make Nikolas Late for Work? "

"This game isn't fair," his voice came a little too close to a whine, as her hands started to trail over his chest and arms.

"Oh, but you like it."

"I keep losing."

"No," Carly said patiently, as she kissed her way up his breastbone. "You have some staggering setbacks, but you always manage to pull it out of the fire at the last minute."

Nikolas shook his head. "I have been late for every morning appointment I've had this week."

"Yet, you've still shown up for them," her lips grazed the freshly shaved side of Nikolas's throat and he swallowed in response. "It's like winning on the sudden death penalty shot. Close call..." hands ran back and forth along his waist band. "But no cigar."

Nikolas forced his eyes up to the mirror again. He was going to maim himself, no doubt about it. He managed to reach past her, and rinse the razor again. Instead of raising it back to his face, though, he found himself leaning forward, gripping the edge of the sink with his hand, as Carly's tongue ran the length of his collar bone. He fought to keep his eyes open. You close them, he had learned, you were sunk. So he stared at his own desperate reflection, which really wasn't doing much to help him either.

"Carly," his voice was hoarse.

"If I always win, why do you bother fighting with me?"

"Because..." deep breath. "I..."

"Hmmm?" Her mouth closed over one taunt nipple, and Nikolas's eyes finally closed. He felt the razor slip from his hand, into the sink. Oh, hell... She asked for it.

He pulled away from her, his hands going straight for the back of her head, twisting into her hair and pulling her head back roughly. Carly let out a muffled shout of surprise as his lips crashed down on hers. His kiss was hard, greedy and punishing. He pulled back, sucking in his breath quickly. She looked at him, in shocked amusement.

Then she sneezed.

"UGH!" she exclaimed, wiping at the shaving cream that was now coating her lips and chin, with her hands. "I can't believe you --"

Nikolas's hands went around her waist and he lifted her up onto the counter beside the sink. She let out a yelp, and his arms caged her against the wall. He put up one finger in a warning gesture.

"Stay."

Carly shot him a nasty look as she grabbed a tissue out of the box on the back of the toilet. "That was vicious, Cassadine."

"Welcome to my nature," Nikolas's words sounded a lot more calm than he felt. Razor. Had to the get the razor and get through this, because this was not a game Carly ever lost. He wasn't looking forward to the day when she got bored of playing it.

Carly sneezed again, into the Kleenex, and started to wipe off the shaving cream that was covering her face. "It was uncalled for."

"Oh, come on," Nikolas's hand dove under the water in search of his razor. "You drove me to that."

"That's what they all say," Carly muttered, watching him grope for the dropped instrument. His hands and arms weren't exactly steady. Her hand darted under the water, and before Nikolas could react, she'd grabbed the razor from its resting place. She came up with it, a triumphant grin on her face. "Looking for something?"

The look of defeat on his face was priceless.

"Carly, come on," he implored. "I need to finish shaving."

"Hmm. You're looking a little unsteady."

"I'm fine."

Carly shook her head. "No. I don't trust you with this thing."

"Carly!" Nikolas's hand darted out, in an attempt to grab the object from her.

"Ah ah. I don't think so," She held the razor out, over her head but not so significantly over Nikolas's. "You need to calm down."

Nikolas glared at her, then reached over and picked up the can of shaving cream. He pointed it at her in an almost offhanded way.

"Give me the razor and no one get hurt."

"Oh, boy..." Carly fought against it, but she started to laugh mid-sentence. "Was my uncle ever right about you."

"Yes, well," Nikolas put down the can. "You can't say you weren't warned. We're a brutal bunch."

The fact that she found that funny was incredible comforting. Nikolas smiled, watching her wipe tears from her eyes. He reached out and brushed a stray bit of excess foam off her cheek. She looked up at him, and beamed, putting her hand against his clean cheek. Then she leaned forward and pressed a kiss against the smooth skin.

It was simple and gentle and warm. Nikolas felt that familiar weakening in the pit of his stomach. When was that going to go away? It was seriously affecting his ability to be much more than married to her. At the same time... He loved it. Loved how it felt to sink, to get swallowed up by everything she offered him. And things were so damned good right now. He reached for her arm, ran his fingers down the inside of her arm to her wrist. Carly looked up at him, and they both stopped, just looked into each other's eyes for a long moment. Then she held up the razor between them.

"Let me?"

It took Nikolas a moment to absorb what she was asking him. Then he blinked. "You want to..." a paused. "Do you know what you're doing?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. I'm a licensed professional."

Carly slid herself closer to him on the counter, her thighs hugging his waist, and waited for his answer. Nikolas took an unsteady breath, then turned the unshaved side of his face to her. She felt a rush, a surge of near-joy combined with a strong desire to kiss him. But her tongue was feeling kind of strange from the aftereffects of his last kiss, so she forced herself to just tip his head back, exposing his throat to her. She took a deep breath, then pressed the razor to him and started to slowly move it along his skin.

"What are you doing today?" she asked hairdresser words in a hushed, private voice. Nikolas closed his eyes, waiting for the razor to leave his skin before answering.

"It's Wednesday."

Carly tapped the razor against the sink, then turned back to him. She started to carefully move the edge up his neck again. He had such a beautiful neck...

"Should that mean something to me?"

He swallowed and his Adam's Apple bobbed in his throat. She pulled the razor away from his skin. Man! That thing should come with a warning, moving around like that.

"General Hospital."

"Man of many words," she laughed.

"Talking would seem to interfere with your mission," he let his eyes close, waited for her to shave the next length of skin before saying more. "I have to do some work, and then I'm going to see my father."

Carly hummed the Darth Vader theme from Star Wars under her breath, while she focused intently on her task. "Sounds like a party."

His mouth twitched. "I can put it off. We can just stay here."

They'd decided last night. Finally and for good... The boat was nice, it was quaint and private, but they weren't playing house. They were married. And the world was going to have to deal with that. Carly would pack today. They'd move on Thursday -- a bigger job for her than for Nikolas for obvious reasons. And on Friday they'd...

Well, that was another issue altogether.

"Right. And let the cold water thing drive you over the edge? I think I'll pass."

Carly finished the underside of Nikolas's chin, and turned his face to the side, to address his other cheek. He turned to look at the other wall, obediently, relaxing incrementally, the longer this went on without blood being drawn.

"What are you going to do today?" he asked, as she rinsed the razor again. Carly paused, not looking at him for a moment, like the question was far more loaded than it was meant to be.

"Going to my mother's."

Nikolas lifted a hand off the counter and placed it on her thigh. "I thought you might."

Carly turned back to him, her eyes focused on the line of his jaw. "I have to figure out what to take from the apartment and let her know what we're doing," she sighed. Nikolas started to nod, and Carly gripped his chin in her hand. "Don't do that, you'll get nicked."

Nikolas stilled. "I can meet you there when I'm done at the hospital, if you think you'll still be there."

Carly resumed her project, carefully running the razor over his jaw and up his cheek. "I don't know. Depends on Mama's mood. If she's happy to see me... "

"She will be."

"Are you trying to get hurt?"

"Definitely not."

Carly smiled slightly, "I'll call if I'm going to be some place else," she told him. "Or, you could try calling me."

"Which brings up an interesting point," Nikolas spoke very carefully, barely moving. "I don't know your phone number."

Carly paused, then cracked up. "Oh, man." Nikolas had given Carly his cell phone number the second time they'd slept together. Slipped his card into her pocket while they'd kissed good-bye. In case she needed him, he'd said. She'd been pretty sure he'd blushed as he'd said the words. "I'll have to cancel the phone anyway, so there's not a lot of point."

"Your cell phone, then."

"I don't have a cell phone."

Nikolas pulled out of her grip and looked at her like she was an alien. "What?"

"Some of us don't, you know!" Carly defended. "I used to have one, but it had this disturbing tendency to ring, and after a while I just got rid of it."

"I'll get you a new one."

Carly looked vexed. "Maybe I don't want a new one."

Nikolas gave her a very serious look. Something few people could pull off with a shaving cream goatee.

"For safety. In case something happens. In case you need to reach me. No one else has to have the number."

"Like a leash, then."

"Like a touchstone," his eyes changed, deepened, as he looked into hers. "I want to be able to talk to you when I'm away from you."

Carly felt herself warm. "I guess that'd be Ok." She put one warm, wet hand over Nikolas's. She was too close to him, suddenly. That scent of aloe vera and mint, those absorbing brown eyes looking at her intently. She felt herself shiver, and barely noticed as Nikolas pulled the razor from her hand. He moved away from her a little bit and started to make fast work of finishing up. Carly looked down at her lap, at her hands. She clasped them together and forced herself to take a breath. She missed him so much when he left, it was scaring her. Driving her nuts. She'd found small projects for today and yesterday, but she was getting really worried about what would happen once those were taken care of. When there were no Balls to shop for or apartments to pack up. And she worried that it meant so much for him to say he wanted to be able to reach her. She was getting so attached. And while a part of her knew the only way to handle it was to let go and allow it to happen... the rest of her -- the much larger and more demanding part -- clawed at her insides, kicked her in the gut without warning. It made her feel dizzy and unstable. Crazy. And not in a way she was used to.

"Carly?"

She looked up and realized that tears had started to stream down her cheeks. She wiped them way, and looked at her hand like this was some

"I'm leaking," she murmured. He moved back to her, standing between her thighs, his eyes back on her with that take-no-prisoners way of his. She covered a sob with a laugh, and reached over for a towel that rested on the other side of the sink. She shook her head, not looking directly at him as she unfolded the towel. "Hormonal fluctuations. The joy of womanhood." She looked up at him and started to say something, but she felt her throat tighten painfully -- So instead, she raised the towel to his face and gently dried the water from his skin. She turned his head as she did this, inspecting their work, the smooth and unblemished neck and face. She turned him back to her, cupping his face in her hands, and let herself look into those eyes again. It was easy and hard at the same time.

"I didn't hurt you," she whispered, eyes close on his.

"No," His hand came up and he brushed his thumb across her lower lip. "You didn't."

General Hospital ran because it had to. There was always something looming around the next corner, always an imminent disaster waiting to leap up and pull everyone in a new direction. For that reason, no one really noticed the comings and goings of the people who owned the place. As long as everything that need to get done got done, it wasn't high on anyone's list of priorities.

But on this day, people had their eyes peeled for any and all spottings of Nikolas Cassadine. The Former Prince, long since rumored to be taking over the CEO role of GH from his father, was always at the hospital on Wednesday. Other days too, but that was pattern. He was infinitely more approachable than Stefan and had a deep personal interest in the place, as it had saved his sister's life -- and his own -- on a few occasions. Overall, he had better personal relationships with everyone at the hospital, from head nurse to chief of staff.

Anyone who hadn't been living under a rock knew all that stuff was up for grabs now. The hospital grapevine was buzzing, and no one had any solid information. Some people were still insisting it was just a wild rumor despite the fact that both Bobbie Spencer and Monica Quartermaine had confirmed personal knowledge of events. Others were wondering if the Quartermaines were going to pull out of the hospital over it. And everyone wanted to know what the hell had taken possession of the boy's senses.

So it was noticed, with some irritation, when Nikolas still hadn't arrived by ten-thirty. Amy Vinning tisked her tongue at the elevator when it dared to open for the umpteeth time, and not reveal her nephew. This was insane! Goddess of GH Gossip, and she didn't know a damn thing about the juiciest morsel to come down the pipe in eons.

The elevator emptied, and a familiar figured emerged from the crowd, struggling under the weight of a box she was carrying. Amy's eyes lit up.

"Robin!"

Robin nearly dropped her box, caught it, and looked up at the source of the voice with a look of vexed amusement.

"Hi, Amy." She put the box down and kicked it, then pushed it the last few feet to the nurse's station. She looked up at the woman, her eyes wide. "Whew! I made it." she frowned. "Almost."

"Are you moving in today?" Amy asked, "I thought you weren't starting with the PR-rep until next week!"

"I'm not," Robin paused to blow her bangs out of her eyes. "With the ball and everything, I'm not going to have a lot of time to get myself organized, so I thought I'd just drop my stuff off now."

"Oh, this is so great," Amy gushed. "The hospital is so lucky to have you as one of it's representatives."

Robin looked a little embarrassed, but gave a weak smile. "Well, it's just part-time. I'll have to decide what I'm going to do when the program's on it's feet."

Amy nodded, enthusiastically. This was something Laura had been working on, too. A shared venture between the Ward House Foundation and the Pediatric AIDS program at the hospital. Robin was going to be a liaison between the social programs being launched, and the media. She was the perfect spokesperson, a woman living with HIV since her teens, a role model, a pillar of society. Ok, married to a mobster, but people tended to overlook those things.

"Are you set for Friday? Lucy's about to drive me around the bend. AGAIN."

Robin shook her head. "I'm having a lot of what am I doing? Moments. But yes, I'm ready."

"Oh, that's great. I'm sure it'll be wonderful."

"Well, I have my fingers crossed."

Robin smiled at Amy.

Amy smiled at Robin.

"Amy, have you --

"Oh, I give. Have you --"

They both stopped, then laughed.

"Nikolas?" Robin asked.

"So you've heard," Amy leaned across the desk. "I'm just looking for someone to tell me what's going on, and no one seems to be able to do it."

"I saw them," she confessed. "But I don't think I can tell you anything you haven't already heard."

Amy gave a dramatic sigh. "You know, I tried talking to Bobbie, but she gets really defensive about Carly, and it's not like I can just give Nikolas a call with things so strained with him and Laura, and... Oh, for God's sake." Amy straightened up, as Nikolas exited the elevator. The second she finds someone to talk to, and he actually shows up. "Nikolas! You made it!"

Nikolas didn't manage to hide the look of pain that flickered across his face, before he headed over dutifully to his aunt.

"Amy," he glanced at Robin and gave a strained smile. "Robin."

Robin managed a smile, but was cut off by Amy before she could say anything.

"We were beginning to wonder if we'd see you today."

"Yeah..." Nikolas pushed out his breath. "I... Got..." he winced. "I had some things to do." He ran a hand over his hair. "Have you seen my father around yet?"

Amy shook her head. "Not yet. But there's a pile of stuff on his desk for you."

"Great..." Nikolas shot a quick look to the side. Two candy-stripers, who had been standing and staring at him, turned quickly and started to walk away. God, this was going to be a long day. He wanted to go home already. "If you do see my father, will you let him know I have to speak with him?"

"Sure," Amy chirped. "No problem." She gave Nikolas a wide grin and looked at him expectantly. "So."

"So?"

Amy raised her eyebrows at her nephew. "Don't you have something to tell me?"

Nikolas looked at her blankly. "Like what?"

Amy picked up a folder off the counter and hit him over the head with it. Hard.

"Nikolas Cassadine!" she barked. "You got married!"

Heads turned around the room, and Nikolas attempted to ignore it. He looked at his aunt, ruefully. "Yeah... I did."

"And were you going to tell me about this?"

"Uh... Well." He made a face. "I was getting around to it."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Nikolas!"

"I got married. Is there something else I should say?"

Amy shook her head. There were about a million things he should say, damn it! Of course, at the moment, she couldn't come up with one solid question except "What the hell are you THINKING?" or perhaps a little more appropriately, what the hell are you thinking WITH -- and that was a little brash, even for her.

"I think she wants the basics," Robin spoke up for the first time. "The what, where and why -- you know. Anything she can put on the news wire."

Amy looked aghast. "Robin! This is familial interest, not gossip!"

Robin looked innocent. "I didn't mean to suggest anything of the kind!" The tone of her voice was clearly mocking. Amy gave her a good-natured scowl.

"You're far more slippery than you let on, aren't you?"

"Ah, either way..." Nikolas shot a quick look at Robin, who was biting her lip against a smile. "When I figure the basics out, I'll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, I'm going to escape to that pile of paper you were talking about."

"Oh, you do that," Amy sniffed, picking up her clipboard. "I have patients to take care of." She waved a dismissing hand at him. "I'm very important, you know. I have other things in my life to think about."

Amy turned and walked away, her nose in the air. Nikolas allowed himself a small chuckle. All right, so Amy represented a lot of things he couldn't stand, but he'd always liked her. At least she was who she appeared to be. That was pretty refreshing.

"You made it out in one piece."

Nikolas turned to see Robin looking at him with concern. "Thanks," he found himself saying.

"For what?"

Nikolas shrugged. "After Sunday, I wasn't really sure if we... You know. You didn't have to help me put off Amy. I appreciate it."

Robin gave a half smile. "Well... I know you don't really like being talked about."

Nikolas's smile faded and he looked away. "I asked for it this time."

"Well, I'll talk to some people. Maybe we can come up with something a little more scandalous. Maybe we can get one of the interns to hit the Chief of Staff on the back of the leg with a tire iron. The might do it."

The reference was lost on Nikolas, and Robin found herself smiling at him fondly. Nikolas Cassadine -- married to a walking nightmare, sure -- But still Nikolas. She was glad they were talking. After Sunday, she wasn't at all sure where they stood. She saw his brow furrow as she gazed at him, and snapped out of her reverie.

"Oh, I should go!" she exclaimed suddenly, bending to pick up her box. " I have all this stuff to do, and I'm late and..." she struggled, trying to get a good grip on her possessions. "I have to unpack and --"

"Robin?"

"What?"

Nikolas kneeled down beside her. "Let me get that for you."

Cool cab drivers are worth their weight in gold and Carly had no problem showing her appreciation by tossing a twenty at him on her way out the door. He'd been playing Katrina and the Waves at top volumes and hadn't actually minded when she'd started singing along in the back seat.

Damn it, she was in a good good mood.

Every day she spent with Nikolas, the afterglow when he went to work lasted just a little longer. And it wasn't typical afterglow, either. It was extra-strength, long lasting just-the-strength-of-an-excellent-kiss-and-you're-good-to-go grinny, giggly, oh isn't he WONDERFUL type afterglow.

She'd be making herself sick if she wasn't in the throes of it.

Lucas had really been right -- doom and gloom was not going to help her! Just stuff down the doubt, the panic, the sense of impending disaster, and smile. She had a life to pull together, and Damn it, she was going to have a good time. She had, historically, been truly excellent at having a good time. Hell, having a good time was how she'd gotten herself into this in the first place!

Right. Ok. Not the best thought at the moment.

But hell! All the depressing and painful stuff would have it's time. She knew her life well enough to lay odds on it. For instance, right now she was standing on the sidewalk in front of her mother's house, trying to figure out how to make her grand entrance.

Yeah. This wasn't going to be so easy.

First of all... She hadn't been very nice to Bobbie of late. Ok, so it was because she was pissed -- but still. Right now, there wasn't a lot of interest in continuing to pick fights. Not when she was moving to Spoon Island tomorrow. Not when her mother was going to disapprove of that, along with everything else. And secondly, while her hills were alive with the sound of music, her mother had this really irritating ability to see through her smoke screens, and...

This wasn't a smoke screen. Not totally. It was a good mood with effort. But she wasn't sure Bobbie would appreciate the subtle difference.

Of course, none of these things shifted at all while she stood here. No, they just got her farther away from Walking On Sunshine, and the warmth of Nikolas's embrace.

She ran up the steps, taking them two at a time and insisting it was because she was really feeling THAT bouncy. She threw open the door and waltzed into the foyer, prepared to put on the bubbly performance of a lifetime.

"Bobbie?" She pulled off her sunglasses and spun around in the foyer, "It's your delinquent daughter, come to say..."

She lost her breath when she turned towards the living room. The wood and glass sliding doors that separated the foyer from Bobbie's proper apartment were open, and someone was sitting on the couch, staring at her. The woman looked a little shocked, a little confused, and a whole lot uncomfortable.

Laura.

Carly stumbled a step forward, staring at her, thinking this must be a joke. Because come ON, she had enough to deal with already. But on the strength of that thought, Carly felt herself come firmly into the grips of reality. Oh, or course this was happening. Because honestly, what else did she expect? She held up her hand at her husband's mother in greeting.

"Hi... Mom."