UNDERSTANDING
Part Fourty-One
Chloe and Johnny parted reluctantly and looked into each other's eyes. Johnny didn't know what
to say............he hadn't been able to help himself. The reality of almost losing her had been too
much for him. When did his feelings for her get this strong? Chloe couldn't believe what had just
happened, either. It was something she'd dreamed of secretly, but never thought would happen.
Neither knew what to say. They just stared.
Finally Johnny knew he must break the silence. "Well.............."
Hearing his voice out loud woke Chloe up from the dream state she was in. "Oh......"
She knew she sounded like an idiot, so she moved off of him quickly, and sat up beside him. "Are
you alright?" She put her hand on the cloth covering the now large bump on his hand and lifted it,
inspecting the damage she'd done. She grimaced when she saw it. She'd done some damage,
that's for sure.
"It's okay," he said, grunting as he tried to sit up. With Chloe's help, he managed to sit upright,
and felt the world around him spin. He shook his head, and too late realized that was a mistake.
He groaned, and let his head rest on the back of the couch. Chloe got up to join him on the couch,
and looked over at him expectantly. "So...............Johnny?" she asked as soon as she got up
enough nerve.
"Yeah." he grunted.
She took a deep breath. "What just happened here?"
He picked his head up and looked at her, "Didn't you hit me over the head with a golf club?" he
asked, feigning ignorance.
"Well, yeah......." she shot back, "but I meant the other part.................the Kissing part?"
He put his head back on the couch, "Oh that," he answered. He knew what he wanted to tell her,
that it had meant something to him, and that he'd been wanting to do it for a long
time..................but he also knew that he couldn't tell her that. She was with Jax. She was not his
woman. That fact pained him even more than his head, and he did the only thing he knew how to
do. The thing he'd seen Sonny do more than once. He shut down and played it off. "That was
nothing."
Chloe's heart sank. "Nothing?"
"Yeah, we were just both scared. It happens." He couldn't believe he was saying this when his
body and heart were screaming just the opposite. Unfortunately, his mind knew that it couldn't
be.
Chloe just sat there, stunned. She'd thought he liked her, at least a little bit. Why was he closing
off? Did she really mean that little to him? She wanted to scream at him, NO! THAT doesn't just
happen, but she couldn't do it. She didn't want him to know that the kiss they'd shared meant a
whole lot to her................so instead, she just agreed. "Yeah."
They sat in silence for what seemed like ages. Finally, with a sigh, Chloe reached up to check his
bandage once more. Neither heard the door open, as they looked intently into each other's eyes,
still feeling the effects of what had happened earlier, but still so confused about what was going
on. But, they did hear the confused voice that interrupted their thoughts.
"Chloe?"
Chloe looked up, "Jax?"
*****************************************************
NEXT MORNING
Carly came down the stairs, dressed and ready for her day. She had a lot of shopping to do, and
some things to take care...................at the top of her list, one Sonny Corinthos. He had a little
paying to do for keeping secrets from her, and while she understood why he did it, she was still
going to make sure it didn't happen again. She saw him sitting at the table, his back to her, and
decided to go for it. "SONNY!" she screamed.
Sonny heard the shout, and cringed. He knew what was coming, and decided the best route for
him to follow would be the "sweet as pie" tactic. "Yes sweetheart?" he queried in a honey voice.
"Don't sweetheart me Corinthos." She came around the table until she was standing right beside
him. "And don't think that just because I was dead tired last night, that you are going to get away
with this."
"What would that be honey?" he asked innocently, only serving to insence Carly more.
"Didn't I tell you to stop with the sweet stuff? You know exactly what I'm talking about.........you
lied to me!" She crossed her arms across her chest, and stomped her foot on the floor.
Sonny was getting a little annoyed now. Maybe the "sweet" route wasn't the way to go. "God
Carly, why don't you just throw a tantrum?"
Carly smirked. Yeah, he was getting mad now. Just the way she wanted him. "Oh really? Do you
want me to throw one? I bet I could give you one real quick! Why did you lie to me?"
"Carly...............I told you last night. I didn't want you to be involved. This was business. Plus, I
knew you'd react this way!"
"Oh, so you have so little faith in me that you think I can't handle anything..........is that it?? Oh, I
get it, Carly, the loudmouth. Carly, the unstable. I guess you think I belong in Ferncliffe too, don't
you?"
"Who said anything about Ferncliffe? Not me. But if you keep this up, I will have to think you
belong there. You're acting crazy!" He shouted the last part. He had inched closer to her, and
she closer to him. Her eyes were on fire with the passion of arguing, and his mirrored the same
blazing intensity.
"You calling ME crazy?" she poked him in the chest, and he grabbed her hand. As soon as they
made physical contact, the intensity was stepped up a few notches. Their passion quickly turned
from anger to desire. The light in their eyes changed, and Sonny pulled her to him roughly, and
covered her mouth with his harshly. Carly resisted at first, but quickly relaxed in his arms and
matched his fervor with one of her own. Tongues were darting, hands were roaming, and lips
were being crushed. They pulled apart and looked into each other's eyes.
Carly smiled a slow, sexy smile. "You think this will get you out of trouble? Think you're that
sexy?"
Sonny's own lips curved upward, and he flashed those dimples at her, and she knew she was
gone. He replied in a low, husky voice, "Well.......yeah, I do." She smiled broadly, and grabbed
him back to her lips, wrapping her arms around him, pressing him as close to her as he could
get.
They sank to the floor, and Carly pulled back again, making him groan. "Sonny, I know why you
lied to me, but please don't do it again..............you know you're gonna get away with it this time,
but............please........."
"Carly, I only did it to protect you.........I just wanna keep you safe." He looked her in the eyes, and
she knew he was telling the truth.
"I know, but you don't have to protect me from everything. I'm a big girl, and I can handle things
Sonny, I promise." She gave him a half-smile, and he returned it.
"I know how strong you are Caroline, you don't have to tell me...............I love you."
"I love you too, Corinthos......................now come here, and make amends for your
wrong-doings." She giggled, and he flashed those oh, so sexy dimples her way again, and sank
his lips to hers. When all was said and done, she was very well apologized to, and he was very
well forgiven.
****************************************************************
Joanna crept into the living room, heading for her father's desk. He was away for the day and
Jared was waiting in the hall acting as a look-out. They had to find anything they could about her
father and Helena Cassadine. That morning, while her father had been eating breakfast, she'd
snuck into his room and lifted the key to the desk. It was a miracle she wasn't caught, but she
was actually kind of getting used to this spy stuff. It was rather exciting. She unlocked the top
drawer and looked around. Nothing unusual so far. She reaches down and opens the drawer to
the right, and almost screams BINGO! File folders. She had found her father's file cabinet. She
leafed through them, finding nothing out of the ordinary. The last one she came to, in the very
back of the drawer caught her attention, though. It had her name on the tab. JOANNA, it said in
bold black letters. She grabbed the file, and started to open it, when she heard the noise in the
hallway, "Hello, Mr. Sorel!" Jared said, rather loudly. Joanna almost jumped a mile, but quickly
composed herself. She put the folder in her bag, and locked the drawer. She ran to the chair and
sat in front of the fire, opening a magazine just as her father opened the door, and he and Jared
walked in. She looked up at them and smiled, "Hello Father."
"Joanna," he nodded brusquely. "I need to take care of some business." She knew what that
meant and did not have to be asked twice. He walked over to his desk and sat down, and Joanna
and Jared walked out of the room. Once in the hall, Jared whispered, "Did you find anything?"
"Just a file with my name on it. Nothing about Helena, yet. I didn't get a chance to go through the
whole desk."
"What was in the folder with your name on it?" he asked.
"I don't know. Maybe we should go find out." She stalked to the front door, and tossed over her
shoulder for the benefit of the other guards. "Come Jared, I want to go shopping."
He obediently followed, and they climbed into the car. "So?" he asked once they were inside.
She was a little afraid to open it, and said, "Can we go to the motel? I think we should wait, just in
case."
He saw the fear on her face, and complied with her wishes. "Okay, we'll do it there." She smiled
at him, and he felt something. He didn't know what, but he didn't like it. He scowled, and turned
the car in the direction of the motel.
Joanna flashed a confused look before she sighed, and leaned back in her seat. She couldn't
understand him, but she had something more important to worry about. She was almost terrified
to see what the contents of this folder were. She reached into her bag, and fingered it. What
could it be?
******************************************************
THAT NIGHT
AJ sat in the parlor of Helena's yacht, yet again waiting for her to make her presence. He knew
what she had wanted when she called him yesterday. He had known what was really on her
mind, and he'd made his arrangements accordingly.
"Ahhh, Mr. Quartermaine, so very lovely to see you tonight." she smiled at him, and he felt his
stomach turn.
"You are looking especially ravishing tonight Helena. I didn't think it possible for you to look any
more stunning than you usually do." He smiled at her, and kissed her hand.
She stepped closer to him, and whispered, "Oh, but AJ, this isn't even the best part yet."
AJ smiled, secretly retching, and whispered back, "I just bet it isn't."
She stepped away, and he walked over to the bar, "How about I make us a few drinks, to get this
party started?" he asked, and began mixing her a lovely concoction, complete with crushed
sleeping pills. He walked over and handed her the drink, sitting beside her.
"What is this drink called?" she asked after taking the first sip, "It is absolutely delicious."
"I call it.............Intense Pleasure..........a la AJ, of course." He smiled broadly.
She let out a low laugh, and said, "You amuse me AJ, among other things." She reached up and
fingered the lapel on his jacket.
"Finish your drink, and let's dance." he whispered, leaning close to her.
She tipped the glass back, and guzzled the drink down, then stood up to turn music on. She
walked over to AJ, and pulled him up to her. "Yes darling, let's dance." She pulled him close, and
he let her. She tried to kiss him, but he averted her, and kissed her cheek, pulling her closer to
him, and away from his face. They danced for a long time, neither talking. Finally, the silence was
broken by Helena. "It's been wonderful here in your arms tonight. So strong, and so handsome."
She pulled back, and put her hand on his face. She started to lean forward, and AJ thought that
he was going to have to kiss her, but thankfully, she stopped, swaying a little. "Oh dear........." she
said, "I'm feeling a little tired."
"Why don't you just sit down for a minute?" he asked, acting innocent and concerned.
She sat down on the couch, and within seconds was fast asleep, leaning against him. He sat
there for a few minutes, making sure she was good and gone. He eased her off of him, and lay her
back on the couch, gently, not wanting to wake her, although he didn't think a marching band
could've woken her at that very moment. He stood up, and looked around the room. Where to
begin, he thought. He smiled. He knew exactly where to begin, and headed for the door where
he'd seen the mysterious woman.
UNDERSTANDING
Part Fourty-Two
AJ inched down the hall and stopped before the door at the end of the hall. He needed to find this woman...........if not for his peace of mind, then because she might know something that would help him nail Helena. He heard a muffled sob and decided to open the door. Surely it was her, he thought. How many people could Helena possible have locked up anyway? He pushed the door open and only saw darkness. He reached for the light switch and upon finding it, he flipped it on. His eyes fell upon the battered woman huddled in the corner, a bandana tied around her head and stuffed into her mouth. He could see her body literally shake with sobs, and his heart broke in two. He rushed over to her, and she flinched at his touch. "It's ok," he whispered. "I'm going to help you."
He reached up and took the bandana off, and was shocked when he saw her face. "V???" he asked incredulously. What was she doing here? He thought she had left town long ago.
She gave him a half smile through her tears. "Yeah........AJ?"
"Yeah, it's me. What are you doing here?"
"It's a long story................can you get me out of here......please??" she was almost begging him now.
"I'll get you out of here, don't worry." He brushed away some of her tears and pushed her hair back from her face while he thought of how to get her out of there. An idea suddenly came to mind, and he looked up into her eyes. "Can you wait right here? I've got to take care of some things." She nodded, but looked wary. "I promise I'll be back for you."
He got up and walked back into the parlor where Helena was still sleeping soundly on the couch. She had even started to snore and he almost burst into fits of giggles at the sheer absurdity of this predicament. He had to admit this was pretty exciting. He walked over to her and lifted her up, carrying her to her bedroom. He lay her on the bed, and as disgusting as it was, removed her clothes, trying his best not to look at her, and put her under the covers. He quickly scribbled out a note about how amazing she had been and that he had to run, and placed it on her pillow. Now, he thought, what to do about Andreas? He knew because Helena had told him that day when they were on the phone that he was the only other person on the boat that night, so all he had to do was get rid of him and he should be pretty much able to get V off the boat without anyone seeing him. He stripped down until he was shirtless and walked to the door he knew Andreas was standing behind. "Andreas........" he called. "Helena wanted me to ask you to run to the store and pick up some whipped cream and strawberries." He winked and smiled at him, "We were hungry." The guard looked at him and stalked away. AJ shook his head, was it just him or did Andreas look a litte jealous?? He turned and took out his cell phone. He called the driver of his limo, "Hello, did Ms. Cassadine's bodyguard leave yet?..........he did........good, pull the limo around to the front of the yacht." He hung up the phone and went back for V. God, he hoped this worked. He entered the back room and picked up the still shaking V and headed for the door. He carried her outside and set her in the limo, telling the driver to go back and park exactly where he had been. He headed back inside to wait for Andreas to return. He snooped around at her desk for a few minutes and looked around her room once again, but went back to the door when he heard the knock. Andreas was standing there holding the bag. "Thank you," he said, managing to sound out of breath. "She's a wild one!" He laughed and closed the door. This was getting too crazy. He went back into the room, and carefully placed some strawberries about the room, and traces of whipped cream in some places, and left the room again. There was one more place he needed to look before he left. Her computer.
***************************************************************************
"Joanna, haven't you put this off long enough?" Jared asked, beginning to get a little impatient. She'd found the file that morning and had kept finding reasons to put it off until now. Now she was sitting at the motel room table staring at the file as if it held the cure for cancer.
She looked up at him, her eyes filled with trepidation, "I know..........it's just, what if something horrible is in here?"
"Well, it's going to be alright, Joanna. I'll help you with whatever you need to do." He hated seeing her like this, especially knowing what her father had done to her. It must kill her that he had this much control over her. He could tell she was trying to fight her fear, but in the end it always won. His heart went out to her, and he couldn't stop his hand from reaching out across the table to take her hand. She looked down at it and took a deep breath, and opened the file folder. She read a few lines, and her eyes widened. She took her hand from Jared's, picked up the folder and began to pace the room. All of a sudden, she gasped out loud and dropped the folder to the floor, tears beginning to roll down her face.
Jared rushed over, "What is it Joanna?" She just looked at him, and he urged her again, "What? Tell me!"
"Sorel is not..............he's not my father!" she shouted. She began to sob, and fell to the floor. Jared was stunned, and walked over to pick up the folder. He skimmed it and learned that she was correct, but he didn't think she'd even gotten to the really big news yet.
"Joanna!"
"What?" she looked up, through her tears.
"You're a twin!"
****************************************************************
Chloe stood before Jax, the two of them facing off. "I will be friends with whoever I want to be friends with Jax! You cannot control every bit of my life!"
"Corinthos is dangerous Chloe, I won't have you rushing out and going shopping and doing lunch with his girlfriend, for crying out loud! They're dangerous!"
"Carly is the only real friend I've had in this town, Jax! She has never done anything bad to me, and she never treats me as less than capable of doing anything. Don't ask me to choose Jax............" She was sick of him talking down to her, and she was sick of him babying her. It had to stop.
"Chloe.......you know what h>
"First of all, I AM NOT BRENDA!! I'm sick of you comparing me to her. Johnny has been a good friend to me too, Jax! I will not turn my back on these people simply because you tell me to, and most definitely not because they hurt your precious Brenda! Is that what this is about? Do you still love her?"
Jax stood there. He didn't know how to answer that. "I don't want you seeing these people Chloe...........that's final." His jaw clenched and Chloe knew he would not back down.
"Then I'm afraid Jax, that we're at an impass, because I will not be told who I can and cannot be friends with. I'll have my things out as soon as possible!" With that, she turned and ran from the penthouse. She headed for the only place she could think of............Harborview Towers.
**************************************************************
Carly stood in the front entrance of Wyndamere, waiting to see what she had been summoned for. She assumed she was there to meet with Stefan about Helena. Sonny had offered to go with her, but she had decided that she could deal with her father on her own. She would be strong. She looked up from her hands as she heard him enter the room. Her eyes grew wide as she saw that he was not alone. Nikolas was with him, and he looked warily at Carly. "What's going on Father?" he asked, eyeing her as though she'd done something wrong.
"Nikolas, there is someone I want you to meet."
"I already know Carly Father, I don't need to meet her again." He walked over and shook her hand, his face taking on a slightly odd expression when he realized she was trembling. "Hello Carly. Good to see you."
Carly felt tears coming to her eyes. This was her brother, the brother that already thought she was trash. She could see it in his eyes. "Hello Nikolas. It's nice to see you, too."
He stepped back to stand beside Stefan. "What is going on," he asked.
Stefan stepped to the side so that his two children were facing each other, and he was in the middle of them. "Nikolas, I would like for you to meet your sister...........Caroline Benson......" Carly gasped, she did not think he would tell him like this. In front of her. She searched his face for anything that would give her a clue to how he felt, but all she could see was shock.
"My............my what?" he stammered. He backed away, and Carly could see the confusion in his eyes. Stefan walked over to him and placed his hands on his son's shoulders.
"She's your sister, Nikolas. Or half sister anyway........my child by another woman. We had to give her up for adoption many years ago, to keep her safe from Helena, but she's found me now." He smiled, hoping his son would feel happy to have a sibling, but knowing it would not be that easy.
"Carly Benson is my SISTER??" he screamed, flinging Stefan away from him and turning his back to them.
Carly flinched, feeling the anger and hurt in his voice. She knew what it was like to be faced with family members you had no idea you had. "Nikolas..........." she started out hesitantly. He slowly turned around and faced her. She walked over to him, "I know that it sounds crazy, but I am Stefan's daughter. I guess that means that you are my brother. I know you probably think that I'm worthless trash like everyone else in this town, but I do know what you are feeling right now. I'm sorry that you have to go through this. I hope that maybe one day we can be friends." She turned away from him, not wanting to see the disgust she knew must be in his eyes. She headed for the door, stopping for a moment to talk with her father. "Stefan," she hissed, "next time you are going to plan a family reunion...........would you mind warning me in advance?" She stalked to the door and out of the castle. She stopped when she reached the launch that would take her back to the docks. Tears were flowing freely down her face now, and she longed for Sonny. She wished she had asked him to come with her now, and not stay home to help Johnny move into the penthouse. She was about to climb into the boat when she heard a voice behind her. "Carly?"
She turned to face her brother. "Yes?" she asked, longing for acceptance showing in her voice.
"Welcome to the family," he said simply, and turned and walked away. Carly smiled at that, and climbed into the boat. She was ready to be home with her baby boy and the man that loved her.
***************************************************
Sonny and Johnny had worked up a sweat getting all his stuff moved into the penthouse. Sonny had wanted to let the guards handle it, but Johnny had balked saying he remembered how he felt when the bosses made him do everything and he would not be tahat way. Besides, he had said, what would it hurt for them to get a little exercise? Sonny was beginning to rethink his decision to help when he was pressed between the wall and the refrigerator they were trying to put in the right spot. It was pushing against his chest, and he could scarcely breathe. "Johnny........" he managed to squeeze out.
"Yeah Sonny?"
"Do you think................do you think we could maybe get this thing off me sometime today?" Somehow he managed to yell the last part of that, and Johnny quickly released some of the pressure off of him.
"Sorry."
"Why are you in such a bad mood today?" Sonny asked.
"I'm not, what makes you say that?"
"Well, let's see," Sonny said, "you've been walking around here all day with a face that would make a clown cry, you've been in such a bad mood you practically bit my head off twice, and you're so distant you'd think you were in another country. What is up?"
They finally eased the fridge into its place and they both stepped back to make sure it was even. Johnny sighed. He was thinking about Chloe. When Jax had walked in on them last night, he'd blown up and told Johnny to get out immediately. Chloe had looked guilty and had asked him to leave. That was the last he had heard of her since then, and he was already missing her. It made him angry that she meant so much to him, and it made him angry that she had chosen Jax over him, but that was her boyfriend so why shouldn't she choose him? "I don't know Sonny, I'm just tired, I guess."
Sonny didn't buy it for a minute, and was about to tell him so when they heard crying in the hallway. They both ran out, thinking it might be Carly, but much to their surprise saw Chloe instead. She looked up as they ran to her, and said, "Where's Carly?"
"She's gone to Wyndamere," Sonny replied.
Johnny walked over and stood right in front of her, "What's wrong Chloe?" She looked up at him through her tears, and before she could stop herself she launched herself into his arms. He stood there for a minute, but finally enveloped her into his embrace. He rubbed her hair, "It's going to be alright Chloe.........what happened?"
"I left Jax.........." she sobbed out into his shoulder.
Sonny watched as Johnny's face changed from concerned to smug in two seconds flat. Oh yeah, he thought as he watched Johnny take Chloe into his penthouse, there's something going on there. He followed them in to wait for Carly.
UNDERSTANDING
Part Fourty-Three
Chloe sobbed into Johnny's arms until Carly walked into the door. She was headed to give Sonny a welcome home kiss when she spotted Chloe crying on the couch. She rushed over to kneel in front of her. "Chloe sweetie, what happened?"
When Chloe looked up and saw Carly, relief spread through her face. "Carly! I left Jax..."
Carly reached up and pulled her friend into her arms. "Awww Chloe.......I'm so sorry."
She pulled back, and looked at Chloe, "Shh.....calm down now and tell me what happened."
"Well.........Jax was so mad......he......he said that he forbid me to be friends with you........and........and with Johnny, because of Sonny." She looked up at Sonny, whose eyes had gone cold. "He said......that......that being close to Sonny could get me hurt, but I told him........I told him I didn't care, and that you had all been good to me. I told him you were my best friend, and that Johnny..........that Johnny was so nice to me, and that.......that I didn't care........it was my choice. I think he still loves Brenda!" She broke down again and Carly began to soothe her.
"Chloe......Chloe, look at me. Jax is soooo not worth all this. He tried to tell you what to do, and you don't need that! You can be who you want to be, and you can see who you want to see. And you especially don't need that jerk if he's in love with someone else.......you hear me?"
Johnny looked at Chloe and he was upset for her, but at the same time he was overjoyed. She had chosen him over Jax.............that's what it sounded like to him, and he was not going to be like that aussie loser..........he wasn't going to let this one slip through his fingers.
"I told him I was leaving him, and that I would have my stuff out soon..........but Carly, I don't have anywhere to stay......." she trailed off miserably, her eyes dry now. Carly was right, she didn't want that man anyway, not when there was a perfectly good one sitting right beside her. Boy, it hadn't taken her long to get over Jax..............she must not have loved him as much as she thought she did.
"Don't be silly," Carly admonished, "You can stay here with me and Sonny for a while..........until you can find something better........or just as long as you want. You're welcome here."
Chloe looked up at Sonny, and though he was not exactly thrilled at sharing his home with another person, he couldn't deny her, so he smiled his reassurance. "You can stay as long as you need to Chloe."
"But you'll have to have a bodyguard," chimed in Johnny, who was still in shock that Jax was not in the picture anymore.
She nodded and looked around the room at all of them. Her friends, her real friends. "Thank you all............so much."
"No problem, what are friends for?" Carly asked nonchalantly,"Come on, let's go upstairs and I'll show you your room. It used to be mine, but we can fix it up any way you want it.........." Carly's voice trailed off as they headed up the stairs, and Sonny and Johnny watched the two in amazement. How did women do that? So upset one minute, but happy and giggling the next.
"Hormones." Sonny explained, and they both shared a hearty laugh.
"C'mon," Johnny said, feeling a renewed strength, "Let's get the rest of my stuff moved in." They headed out, both ready to get this over with.
****************************************************
AJ sat down at the computer and began to click on the images. He needed to find something, anything to get Sonny off his back. His goons followed him day and night. He hit file after file, until he came to one that looked rather interesting. He pulled out the blank disk he had brought and popped it in. He saved everything he could find. To his surprise, it mentioned Sorel's name several times. He didn't read it, though. Truthfully, he didn't really want to know what was going down. He just wanted to get this information, and get it to Sonny as quickly as possible. Then something caught his eye, something that had to do with Carly. The file was called "Family Tree" and it mentioned Carly's name several times. Carly was a Cassadine? Well, this was an interesting turn of events. He scanned the paragraph about her that detailed Helena's plans for her. Oh yeah, Corinthos was going to thank him for this. When he had all the information he could find he stood up and turned the computer off once again. He donned his shirt, and walked to the door, his jacket thrown casually over his shoulder. Andreas met him once again at the door, "I wouldn't bother her for a while, if I were you," he told Andreas conspiratorily. "She's a little bit tired." He laughed, and headed out to his limo that was driving to meet him.
He climbed into the back seat, and saw V sitting there, obviously a whole lot calmer. He went to sit across from her, and reached out to grab her hand, "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.
"I'm fine............I'm just so glad to be out of there. You have no idea what that woman is like..............she's a monster."
"Oh, I think I have some idea......." AJ stated. "So, you gonna tell me why you were here? Why you were being held captive by Helena Cassadine? I thought you left town a while back. Something about you finding the man of your dreams......." He waved his hand letting his words trail. He really knew very little about her........he'd only seen her around town before she left.
"Well, I did leave with Simon...........but we.......had a few problems and broke up. It isn't really something I want to go into right now. Anways, I ended up taking a job with Interpol. I was a cop anyway, and I needed something to pick me up again. My breakup with Simon wasn't exactly on the best terms. But that's beside the point. I hooked up with Interpol, and began training to be one of their agents."
AJ leaned back, ready to hear her story.
"Part of the training was to go over old case files, and you know, see what the agents did in different situations. Well, as I was going over these many files, I came across one extremely large one on Helena Cassadine.............I read all the charges and accusations, everything Interpol knew about her life, and I was intrigued. I mean, this woman is smart. She knows exactly what she's doing. When I became an agent, I began to research her a little more. I dug into her family life, and unfortunately, I found out something that Helena did not want anyone to know.................so she had me kidnapped. I can't be sure, but I'm almost positive that was over 2 months ago." She finished, and sat back, still reveling in the fact that she wasn't in that dark room anymore, and that she could freely move her hands and legs, no matter how sore they may be.
AJ wanted more, though, "What was it that you found out?"
V looked up at him warily. "Why do you want to know?"
"I'm not going to hurt you V, I promise. I only want to help. And I want to nail Helena. That's what I was in the midst of doing when I saw you at the door the other day."
"Oh really," she said sarcastically. How did she know this guy didn't work for Helena? "Yeah, it looked like you were trying to NAIL Helena!" She was suspicious now. Isn't that what they told her at Interpol. Trust no one.
"Look, I needed to buy some time and get her on my good side. I shudder at the thought of doing that with Helena! That's just nasty.........." He shivered, and a look of disgust passed over his face. "Trust me V. I want to help you. I CAN help you."
"Tell me why I should trust you?" she asked, still not sure he wasn't with Helena.
"Because I saved you...................and because you've got no one else." He stared at her, trying to make her understand that he was on her side.
She breathed a sigh of relief. She really felt like she could trust this man...........and besides, he was right. Who else was there? What did she have to lose? "Alright," she said, finally, "She was angry because I found out that she's working with Sorel to bring down Sonny Corinthos, and that she is also hiding another Cassadine heir."
AJ leaned back in his seat.............paydirt. Wait till Corinthos sees what he's brought him. All the info he'd ever need or want on one disk, and in one girl. "Thank you V. I'm going to help you.................I promise."
She leaned back in her seat, her eyelids feeling heavy. "I hope so......." she whispered before letting herself fall asleep.
***********************************************************
"I'm a WHAT?" Joanna screamed.
"You're a twin." Jared said simply, not half believing it himself.
"Does that paper say who my real parents are, Jared?" she asked in a trembling voice.
"Yes."
"Is it someone horrible?" she asked, wondering how anyone could be worse than the man who'd raised her.
"Well, that all depends on how you look at it," he shrugged sheepishly. He knew this had to be tough on her, but what was he supposed to do? He couldn't pull her up and kiss the hurt away like he wanted to. She was his job.
"Oh Jared.............I don't know who I am anymore.......I just........" she sobbed some more, until finally he couldn't take it any longer. He stalked over to her and pulled her up and into his arms. She latched on for dear life, and they sank to the floor. He pulled her into his lap, and began to stroke her hair.
"It's going to be alright, Joanna........." He didn't know what to do. She clung to him, and he held her tight, thinking this is all I can give her right now.
"Jared.............who are my real parents?? How could they give me to that man to raise me, and hurt me all my life? What kind of people would do that to a girl?" she sobbed louder.
"Joanna, you don't know what happened. It could be something different than what you are thinking. Maybe they kidnapped you. Maybe ............maybe a lot of things. Please don't worry about this right now. It's going to be alright. Maybe they love you and want you and have missed you all your life..........."
She sniffed, and Jared reached up to dry her eyes. Their eyes caught each other's and they stared for ages. Jared wanted to kiss her so bad his body literally ached for her. Joanna kept waiting for him to lean in, but it never happened. "So.......you have a twin." Jared said, trying to break the tension.
"Yeah................I guess I do............" She reached over to grab the papers. "I am not a Sorel.............I'm a................" she quickly scanned the papers, looking for her family's name. "I'm a ................Cassadine?" She wondered. How could that be? "My father is Stefan Cassadine, and my mother is...........Laura Spencer..........and my twin.........my twin is Nikolas Cassadine? Oh my God Jared............I'm a Cassadine. Those people who live in that castle across the water. The woman we saw meeting with my fath........Sorel tonight was MY GRANDMOTHER!"
Suddenly it all became very clear to her. Helena Cassadine had known the whole time that she was living with Sorel. What was going on..............and more importantly........WHY?