~~~Ryan, Gillian, Hayley, and all other citizens of Pine Valley in no way belong to me, (except Spencer Lavery.). They are the property of All My Children, and I am merely borrowing them for this story. Thank you!~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~ATTN: The first part of this story takes place after Ryan refuses to make love to Hayley. (P.S. Spencer is still with Jake, see: Aftermath ). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unlikely Savior Part One:
The Rescue
~*~At The Pit~*~
Spencer parked her car outside The Pit and climbed out, locking the door behind her. Raising her eyebrows she sighed to herself, "The things I do for Adrian." Spencer ran down her mental checklist one last time; find Adrian's informant, find out who Palmer Courtlandt contacted to try to get Adrian reassigned to active duty, and report back.
Entering the bar, Spencer found Adrian's snitch and sat down next to him. "Well helllllooo baby," holding out his hand the informant eyed Spencer, "name's Mick. You must be Adrian's partner, lucky man." Glaring at Mick, Spencer took out a roll of cash and tossed $500 on the table in front of him. "Shut your trap and tell me who Palmer Courtlandt contacted to try and get Adrian reassigned to active duty." Glancing around carefully, Mick tucked the money into his pocket. "The guy's the head of the Internal Affairs branch of the CIA. Real big wig, ya know? Anyway, it seems old Mr. Courtlandt paid the man quite a wad of bills to recall your friend Mr. Sword." "I need a name," Spencer said tossing a few more bills onto the table. This time Mick quickly tucked the cash away, "His name's Thomas Shield. We done?" Spencer nodded. "It's been a pleasure, doll," Mick said, climbing out of his chair. "Too bad I can't say the same," Spencer muttered after Mick had left. Tossing some money on the table to pay for Mick's drink, Spencer stood and swung her purse over her shoulder. Glancing up as she turned to leave, Spencer saw what she'd never thought she'd see in a bar. Hayley.
Walking over to Hayley's table, Spencer sat down across from her. "Hayley? Are you ok? What happened now?" Glancing up at Ryan's sister, Hayley wiped the tears off her cheeks. "My life just keeps crumbling around me and there's nothing I can do to stop it. And now, the one person who I could trust and confide in, thinks I'm some pathetic drunken whore." Spencer squeezed Hayley's hand reassuringly, "I'm sure you just misunderstood Ryan. My brother thinks the world of you." "No," Hayley pulled her hand away and used it to wipe away the fresh tears pouring down her cheeks, "I practically begged Ryan to make love to me and he turned me down flat. His excuse was that he couldn't take advantage of me, but I could see the disgust in his eyes." Spencer could not believe what she was hearing. Shaking her head, she looked at Hayley in disbelief, "I can't believe you! You say you love Mateo, but then you give up and try to sleep with my brother! You must hate Gillian to do this to her." Hayley looked up at Spencer, "How can you say that? I love Mateo and Gillian, and I'd never do anything to hurt them. " "So one day you encourage Ryan to stick things out with Gillian and the next day you ask him to play mattress tag? How is that not hurting anyone? How is that going to fix things with Mat?" Hayley gestured helplessly, "I don't know what to do anymore. Mateo won't talk to me and Gillian's so detached, it's like she's not even there. Everything I want is gone." Hayley began to cry again. "Why don't you let me take you back to Trevor's?" Spencer handed Hayley a tissue from her purse. "Because," Hayley said, wiping her eyes, "I want a drink." Spencer smiled knowingly, "And you're the only person who can prevent that, I know. But at least I can help for now, or maybe delay you from falling off the bandwagon. I'm still going to be angry at you later, don't get me wrong, but you need help now, and there'll be plenty of time to be mad later." Spencer stood and held out her hand, "Come on." Standing, Hayley let Spencer take her back to Trevor's.
Unlikely Savior Part Two:
Follow Up
~*~Trevor's, the day of Dimitri's funeral~*~
Hayley came downstairs the next morning to see Spencer dressed in a black knee length, diagnal cut skirt, stiletto heels, and a skin tight black tank top. Hayley had chosen a simple black dress and cardigan for Dimitrti's funeral, and sat down next to Spencer to buckle her shoes. "Morning." Not even glancing up from the paper, Spencer merely nodded. "I want to thank you for last night, Spencer. You helped me when I really needed it and frankly you're the last person I expected to be there for me." Spencer's face remained blank as she set down the newspaper. "Let's get one thing clear. I helped you last night so you wouldn't run back to Ryan. He's my brother and Gillian is my best friend, and whether you're drunk or not, I'm not going to let you hurt either of them anymore. They belong together, I thought you knew that. And for that reason, I'm going to give Ryan two nights to think about this current situation. I'm going to stay here with you tonight, and then tomorrow when Jake gets back, he's going to stay here and I'm going to Gillian's."
Hayley glanced up at Spencer, a slight look of shock on her face. "You know about the whole situation last night?" Spencer nodded, "You told me some of the story last night when I found you at The Pit." Hayley ran a hand through her hair, "Everything?" Shaking her head, Spencer smiled. "Only certain parts. All I'm asking in return for last night is that you let Ryan have these two nights and then leave his decision alone. That's my follow up request. Can you do that for me?" Hayley grinned slightly and nodded, "Okay." Squeezing Spencer's hand, Hayley wiped a stray tear off her cheek, "You know, you come flying off the handle like some wildcat, and you turn out to be a mother hen." Leaning over, Hayley hugged Spencer and whispered a "Thank you." "I guess it's time to go," Spencer said as she stood and grabbed her purse. Nodding, Hayley followed her to Wildwind.
Spencer found Gillian after the service and the two hugged for a moment. "I'm so sorry, Gilly." Hugging her best friend, Gillian smiled. "Thank you for coming today." Spencer held her friend's hands and smiled, "I'm here mainly for you. I didn't know Dimitri all that well but I loved him in my own way. How are you doing?" Gillian shrugged, "Ok, I guess." Nodding, Spencer squeezed her friend's hands. "How about I come stay the night here with you tomorrow?" Gillian smiled again and hugged Spencer. "Thank you, Spence. I'd love that." Seeing the unshed tears in her friend's eyes, Spencer felt her own eyes fill with tears. "Ok," smiling, Spencer continued, "I heard from Jake today. He sends his love." Gillian nodded as Ryan walked up. "Hey S.P.," Ryan said hugging his sister. "Hey there, big brother." Spencer turned back to Gillian, "Could I borrow my brother for a little while? I need to talk to him." Gillian nodded, "I'll go check on Edmund."
Watching Gillian walk away, Spencer turned back to her brother, more wildcat than mother hen, now. Seeing the ferociousness on his sister's face, Ryan pulled her into one of the small offices off the main hall. Sitting her down, Ryan watched his sister intently, "So what happened?" Spencer shook her head, "I can't believe you." Ryan looked completely puzzeled, "What are you talking about?" "Do you love Gillian?" Spencer asked, looking straight into her brother's eyes. "What?" Ryan looked confused. "Because you see," Spencer said running a hand through her pale hair, "I know that you love Gilly, everyone else knows that, and I think somewhere inside, you know that. But what puzzels me is why, when you admire Mateo and Hayley's relationship so much, would you interfere?" Ryan shook his head, "I don't see where you're going with this." "That's simple," Spencer said leaning back, "it's decision time."