After the Ball

Jason pulled up in front of the Quartermaine mansion on his motorcycle, and got off. He walked slowly up the path, and rang the doorbell.

Luckily for him, Emily answered the door. She was surprised to see him.

"Em! Hey, are you alright? You know...after the shooting and all?" he asked concerned.

She nodded her head and Jason stepped inside, giving her a hug.

"I need you to tell me *everything* you saw..."

***

Sarah saw John standing in the doorway. She immediately hopped up feeling like an idiot. She had met him when she was away from Port Charles they had dated for about a week and slept together the night before she flew back but she had never expected to see him again. "Did you follow me back here or something?" she asked before he could comment on her hiding behind the couch.

"You left this book in my apartment..." John said holding up a copy of The Deep End of the Ocean.

"Oh and you just thought you had to travel a thousand miles to give it to me?" Sarah asked.

John was about to make up an excuse but the phone rang.

Sarah dashed into the kitchen but the machine had already gotten it. When she heard Audrey say Liz was at the hospital, she decided to go there. "Well you're off the hook for now," she said swinging her purse over her shoulder and heading toward the door.

"I could give you a ride," John offered innocently.

"I'm only going to accept because I need a ride but don't think I can' see through your act," Sarah said as they headed out the door.

"What act?" John said opening the passenger side door for her.

Sarah laughed.

John was nothing close to a gentleman but it was fun watching him pretend to be one.

***

Robert and Jax returned from the cafeteria with several cups of coffee. After giving some to Chloe, Felicia and Ana, the two of them went over to the hard plastic chairs and drank their coffee in silence.

Jax had barely finished his coffee when he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. Within seconds, he empty cup dropped out of his hand onto the floor.

Robert managed to smile a little at the sight. He picked up the discarded cup and stood. He wadded the empty Styrofoam coffee cups in his hand and walked over to his wife. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the back of her neck.

"How are you ladies holding up?" he asked, after he had brushed his wife's long hair out of his mouth.

***

"London, England. I'm here to find my birth parents. My name is Samantha Walsh. You are...?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Lucas and this is my friend Maxie." he motioned toward the still quiet Maxie who stood behind him.

"Did you want a coffee or anything? It looks like Tammy's no where to be found." Lucas laughed as he headed toward the counter.

Maxie was not far behind him.

"Um, actually, I'd prefer some tea. Do they serve that here?" Samantha asked with a shy smile. 'Lucas is kinda cute.' She wondered if he was 'together' with this girl.

"Yeah, sure. We've got tea....somewhere." he looked around behind the counter.

"I think its in the jar on the left," Maxie whispered. Maxie watched him as he looked around. Her mind was racing with a million thoughts. 'What would her mother think? Why did she sneak out of the house? She almost got raped! Why? Why? Why? Who is this strange girl anyways? And why does she keep eyeing Lucas like that? What else? There was something else she knew in the pit of her stomach she forgot.

"Thanks." he pulled out a tea bag and held it up triumphantly. "Success!" Lucas poured some hot water into a mug, and brought the tea bag and mug to Samantha.

"There. It may not be English, but I'm sure it'll be fine," he laughed.

"Damn it!" Maxie declared.

"What?" Lucas looked up. Maxie's sudden outburst had nearly caused him to drop the hot water over Samantha.

"I left Nadia at the party! We were supposed to go home with Laurie together, and Laurie left with some guy earlier. Damn it! She's gonna kill me!" she cried out frantically.

"Slow down, Maxie!" Lucas put down the hot tea. "You forgot Nadia? You were supposed to remember Nadia? Who's Nadia?" he laughed.

"Nadia, Nadia, you know the new girl. The one with the dark hair... well, we were supposed to go home together. I completely forgot! If it wasn't for that damn Drew..." her voice trailed off. "Lucas I have to go get her!"

"I can't leave Kelly's open like this!" he said, motioning around the diner.

"Lucas, please! I'm sure Samantha here can find her way out!"

***

Nadia was at Paul's party desperately looking for Maxie or Laurie. She didn't see them anywhere and they were her ride home. She had no idea where they had disappeared to but she would have to find another ride since she was supposed to be home an hour ago.

The party had been over for a half hour so there was hardly anyone left, she knew she would probably have to get Paul to take her. Last summer she and Paul had dated but she had been so secretive that he eventually dumped her and they hadn't spoken since. She had wanted to tell him everything but her father, Moreno, refused to let her even tell anyone her real address. She couldn't have anyone over and had to be dropped off at least a block from her house.

He claimed that he was trying to protect her but he was ruining her life.

Nadia slowly made her way up the stairs heading to Paul's room when she bumped into Drew, who she knew lived nearby. "Hey Drew do you know where Maxie went?" she asked noticing him cringe at the mention of Maxie.

"No, I haven't seen her all night," Drew lied.

"Oh, she and Laurie were supposed to take me home but...," Nadia said knowing that Drew would offer her a ride.

"Nadia if you need a ride you can just ask you know I'll take you," Drew said.

"Great," Nadia said dragging him to the parking lot before he could change his mind.

"You sure are in a hurry," Drew said.

They hopped in the car and Drew sped out of the parking lot.

Nadia couldn't get her seat belt to work but figured it was only a few blocks so she didn't really need one. Suddenly, she noticed that Drew was driving way over the speed limit swerving in and out of lanes. She realized he was drunk! She knew she had to get away. "Oh no I left my purse at the party!" she said without thinking.

"Your purse is right there," he said pointing to where she had attempted to kick it under the seat.

"Oh I didn't see it," she said trying to sound normal. She was in a state of panic unable to think clearly and knew that Drew was already suspicious of her. She fumbled desperately with her seat belt but it was useless.

They were still miles from her house and she prayed that she would make it home alive...

***

As Liz listened to Audrey give her medical information about Pat's condition, she looked over her shoulder waiting for a sign, any sign from Lucky telling her that the coast was clear.

Lucky waves at Liz to give her the coast is clear sign.

"Excuse me Grams. Lucky wants to talk to me." she quickly runs towards Lucky who secretly ushers her towards Pat's room. She takes one last look to make sure the coast is clear and ducks inside. There in front of her lay Pat. Tubes attached to him every which way.

"Pat?" she asked quietly.

Lucky is keeping watch while Liz is seeing Pat. "Mom, Liz is in with Pat, I'm keeping watch. Care to join me?" Lucky asks.

"Let me talk to Audrey for a minute and I will be right back." Laura want to let Audrey know that they will take Liz home with them and make sure she gets a good night sleep.

Audrey thanks her and heads upstairs, back to work.

"Lucky, Liz is going to spend the night at the house. She is in no condition to be alone. The three of us will come back in the morning. I'll watch out front in case I see Dr. Jones. I can stall him while you get Liz out of the room. Only a few more minutes more."

"Ok, mom. That sounds like a good idea."

***

Brenda was so confused and scared.

Her kidnappers pushed her into the warehouse, and one of them grabbed her arms and threw her into a metal chair. He ripped the tape off her mouth, and Brenda yelped from the pain.

"Shut up!" one of them yelled.

"Why...why are you doing this to me??!" Brenda screamed, as she started to cry. "Who the hell is Hannah??!" she yelled at them, knowing that she should have kept her mouth shut.

"Shut up Hannnnnnnuhhhh! Don't lie." he smacked her upside the head. "You and your little FBI power-tripping days are up!"

Brenda's head jerked forward when he hit her, and she let out a shrill yell. "I don't know what you're talking about!! I am *not* Hannah! I don't work for the FBI, and I didn't do anything to you!!" She yelled at them. "Maybe if you jerks would take this damn blindfold off, you would see that I am not who you think I am!! My name is Brenda Barrett, not Hannah!!" she screamed at them.

***

Ned sits up and stares at Alexis. She looks so beautiful in the moonlight. He sighed and leaned over to the night stand. Opening the drawer he pulled out a small velvet box, when he opened the box he could see the simple solitaire diamond on the gold setting reflecting in the moon's soft light.

'It's almost as beautiful as Alexis,' he thought.

Ned turned his attentions back to Alexis as she stirred slightly in her sleep, not waking.

'Yes, this is the right time. It's now or never.'

Ned leaned over to Alexis, and shook her gently. "Alexis, Sweetheart, I need to talk to you. Can you wake up for a minute?"

Alexis wakes up slowly. "Huh...er..." She sits up, yawning, and turns her blurry eyed gaze Ned. "Yes?"

Ned smiled at her warmly. "Sweetheart, I have to ask you something. It's important." Ned hands Alexis the velvet box, containing the engagement ring.

Alexis takes the box from Ned, now wide awake. She glances down at the box, then she glances at Ned, wondering if she's right about what she thinks he's about to do. She looks over at Ned, waiting for him to continue.

***

After five long hours in surgery, the neuro-surgeon sought out Felicia, Robert, Ana, Jax and Chloe waiting in the fourth floor visitor's lounge. The tall 30ish man came into the room still in his scrubs minus the hat and booties.

"Mrs. Scorpio?" he asked as he came into the room.

Jax sat up and woke the sleeping forms on the sofa next to him.

Groggily, Chloe and Ana opened their eyes.

Felicia stood and nodded sleepily.

Robert rose from the chair he had been sleeping in and stood next to Felicia to give her his support. He put his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm Dr. Lew Donham. I think the news is all good. Your husband is recovering in the ICU now. We removed the bullet and scull fragments. He lost a lot a blood before the operation, so we had to take it slow to keep further loss to a minimum. The bullet and fragments missed the cerebral cortex and the brain. You can thank your husband's thick scull for that," he said with a smile. "I would say he should be up and about in a week or so."

Robert squeezed Felicia's shoulder slightly. "That's great news," he said, smiling brightly.

Jax leaned forward in his chair and asked, "Are you sure he's out of the woods, Dr?"

"Well...I didn't actually say he's out of the woods just yet. He does have a concussion. We hope he will regain consciousness in the next few hours. We're going to keep him in the ICU until we are sure there is no more danger from the injuries," Dr. Donham explained.

Robert nodded. "When can we see him?"

"Well...I think he could stand a few visitors. How about we keep it to one at a time until he regains consciousness. After that, we'll re-evaluate the situation and go from there."

Robert stepped forward and shook the doctor's hand. "Thank you for taking such good care of my brother."

Dr. Donham smiled. "All in a day's work."

Felicia turned to Robert. "Can I go first?" She asked tears coming down her cheeks. "I...I just want to make sure he's ok you know?" She asked.

Anna smiled. "While you two are doing that I think we should call everyone. Felicia do you have your daughters numbers? What about..." She paused. "Oh Robbie what about Robin? She doesn't know yet. Should we call her?" she asked.

Chloe takes Jax aside for a moment while Anna, Robert, and Felicia discussed Mac and Robin. "Jax, I don't if this is the right time to mention this but... I guess I was always a curious person. Before when you were sitting down talking to Robert, you seemed really excited about something. Is there some good news that no one knows yet?"

Robert looked at Felicia and smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way, luv. The first face he sees should be yours...not my ugly mug," he said, trying to bring some humor to the tired group. He looked down at his watch. Four a.m. He mentally calculated the nine hour time difference between Port Charles and Paris. "It's one in the afternoon in Paris. She might be in class...but we should call anyway. There are a lot of things she needs to know."

Jax stepped forward. "Good point, but I'm not sure the two of you should be the ones to break it to her over the phone. As far as she knows, you're dead. Finding out in person would probably be better for her." Jax thought for a second, then told them his idea. "How about I call her and book a flight on the Concorde and then go pick her up at La Guardia in my jet? I'll bring her to Port Charles and try to prepare her on the way."

Robert smiled, "Yep...definitely a Scorpio. He thinks fast on his feet."

Jax looked over at Chloe, who had just asked him about what he had been so happy about earlier and knew the questions were just about to begin. "Feel like a few hours on our own?" he asked her. "It's a long story. I think I can explain it on the way to pick up Robin."

***

"Drew maybe you should slow down," Nadia said as calmly as possible. She considered jumping out and running back to Paul's which was only a few miles away but they were going too fast.

"Just shut-up and let me drive!" Drew yelled turning to look at Nadia. As he turned his body he also turned the steering wheel.

"Drew watch the road!" Nadia screamed grabbing the wheel but it was too late.

The car crashed through the side of the bridge and plummeted down into the water below.

Nadia tried to roll her window down but it was stuck so she quickly punched her fist through it. She squeezed through the window and began to kick toward the surface, the buckles on her black sandals broke and they slid off her feet to the bottom of the lake, she didn't know what happened to Drew, but she knew she couldn't risk going back for him since she was already running out of oxygen.

She reached the surface gasping for breath and managed to swim to the edge of the lake, then collapsed under a tree. She was soaking wet when she noticed her hand was bleeding severely so she quickly tore a strip off the bottom of her black spaghetti strap dress, like it wasn't short enough already, and wrapped it tightly around the wound.

Then, she forced herself to get up and ran as fast as she could to Paul's house. She knew that if the cops found her it could get her father, Moreno, in trouble and even if it didn't he would definitely find out about it and would probably put her on the next plane to Switzerland to attend an all girls boarding school, which he had threatened to do many times.

She finally reached Paul's house noticing that there were no cars left in the driveway. Her only choice was to go to Paul for help so she walked up the path and rung the doorbell praying that his parents wouldn't answer.

Paul opened the door just as a car pulled up.

“Is that Maxie and Lucas...” she thought.

***

"Pat? Can you hear me?" Liz whispered.

"Lizzie?" his voice was so faint she could barely hear him.

She approached his bed, giving a side long glance at Lucky who watched from the corner of the room. "Yeah, Pat. It's me."

"I'm sorry." he said.

"Sorry? Sorry about what?" she asked.

"I caused your seizure, Liz. I told you about my cancer." he said slowly.

Liz sniffed. 'So it was true. Pat does have cancer. They were right.' she thought to herself. "What do you mean? You never did anything but help me?"

"No. No...Liz. I have cancer. I came here to see you.... to tell you." He took a deep breath. "I only had a couple of weeks." he breathed out heavily, "I guess they caught up to me," he forced a smile.

Liz's bottom lip began to quiver. "No... no...Pat... it can't be true."

"I know. I'm sorry I can't stay with you more Lizzie. I wanted to help you... but... the doctors...you know...there's nothing anymore they can do..." his voice trailed. He took a deep breath.

The tubes seemed to echo every breath he took.

***