Chapter 23 Wednesday Afternoon Nikolas sat down at one of the outside tables at Kelly's and waved to Liz who stood inside taking an order. He spread out the handful of papers that he had brought with him and checked his watch. Emily's meeting with the teen group should be just about over. He wondered what happened in it and how Emily was doing. She was probably on her way home. He sighed. He missed her already and it wasn't even a full week yet. Maybe I needed this experiment more than she did, he thought. He was just as attached to Emily as Gail Baldwin was afraid that Emily was to him. “Hey Nikolas. What can I get you?” Liz came out with a pad and a pencil, ready to take his order. “Hi Liz, did you talk to Emily?” Liz nodded. “I did.” Nik sat up eagerly. “How is she? Is she alright?” “She's fine, Nikolas, and she wants you to stop sending people over to check up on her. She knows what you're doing and she doesn't like it.” Liz warned. “I just…” “She knows you care but she's a big girl, remember that. So what can I get you?” “Um, just an ice tea and some fries.” “You want cheese on those fries?” Liz asked as she wrote down his order. “They're really good today and so are the bacon chili-cheeseburgers.” Nikolas raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to kill me? However, I am very hungry so make that a cheese fry and a bacon cheeseburger, with pickles, extra mustard, and onions and no tomatoes. Thanks.” “It's a good thing you can't see Emily today, after a lunch like that, I don't think she'd let you get within twenty feet of her.” Liz laughed. “I'll be back with your ice tea.” “Liz, wait.” She paused on her way back into Kelly's. “When you talked to Em, did she happen to mention someone named Tino?” “Yeah, they went to the Yankee game on Saturday.” Liz went inside. She took *Tino* to the game? Nik was shocked. That was the last person he expected Emily to be hanging out with. He was the last person he wanted Emily to hang out with. Robin came walking past Kelly's but then she noticed that Nik was sitting outside by himself. She hadn't seen him in a while. She wondered if he still had that crush on her. After getting into another fight with Jason and letting her pride force her into spending another night at Mac and Felicia's house and having to hear Mac go on and on about how Jason was the wrong man for her, she was ready for some positive undivided male attention. And Nik with his crush was always ready to provide. Robin quickly ran a hand through her short hair and checked her lipstick on nearby car's window. Then she strolled on over to where Nikolas sat. She came up just when Liz was putting down Nik's ice tea. Liz started to smile a welcome to Robin but she ignored Liz and zeroed in on Nikolas. “Nikolas! What a surprise!” Robin said cheerfully. “Hi, Robin.” Nikolas smiled up at her. “What are you doing here?” “I came to get a piece of pie. I love Ruby's pie, don't you? I was just thinking of you the other day, isn't funny how we just ran into each other?” “Yeah. I haven't seen you in a long time, Robin.” “Can I get you something? That piece of pie?” Liz asked. “Huh? No, not right now.” Robin waved her away and sat down at Nik's table. “We should play catch up. How have you been?” Liz rolled her eyes and said, “I'll be back with your order soon,” before leaving. “So Nikolas, tell me, what have you been up to?” Robin smiled brightly. “Well I've been busy with stuff and…” “What's all this?” Robin interrupted and waved at the papers crowding the small table. Nikolas started gathering up the papers. “I've enrolled as a freshman at Port Charles University this fall and I'm just getting my schedule in order.” “Oh, let me see.” Robin grabbed a paper out of his hand. “I'm still taking a few classes at PCU, just for the fun of it.” She looked over his half-finished schedule and shook his head. “You have to work on it a lot more. This won't work out at all and some of these classes!” Robin let out a little laugh. “I'm still working on it.” Nik said through barely clenched teeth and stared at the girl that he used to have a crush on. “Yes, well, it was so hard for me to schedule the few classes I wanted and still have time to work at L&B Records. I practically run the whole business ever since Brenda and I had a little fight and she has seemed to have lost all sense of business ever since she met some Italian. But that's okay, I can run L&B single-handedly if I have to.” Robin smiled confidently. “I didn't say you…” Once again, Robin interrupted him. “I see you're finally free of Emily.” “Excuse me?” Liz came back out with his fries and bacon cheeseburger. “Here ya go. Anything else?” Nikolas eyed the food. “Nope this is enough. Looks good.” He quickly dug in. Robin turned up her nose. “Doesn't look very appetizing to me.” Liz hoped Ruby wasn't around to hear that. “Do you want me to get that pie for you now? We have apple, blueberry, and cherry.” “Pie? No, I don't want any pie now.” Liz sighed heavily and went back to work. Robin ignored Liz and said to Nikolas. “As I was saying, I see that Emily isn't with you, for once.” “What do you mean by that?” “I know how embarrassing it must have been for you, Nikolas. Jason told me how she just *latched* herself onto you.” Robin shook her head. “It must be horrible. I remember how she had the huge obvious crush on you, does she still? Well never mind that, at least when it was just a crush you didn't have to worry about her going wacko on you but now…” Robin trailed off. Nikolas put down his half-eaten bacon cheeseburger. He had suddenly lost his appetite. “I just think it's a shame that you have to spend so much time with that clingy little girl.” “I happen to like spending time with Em.” Nikolas said quietly. Everyone was entitled to his or her own opinion, he thought to himself, and that's why I'm not going to jump down her throat. “Seriously? Hmm, well, after she tried to kill herself, *twice*, you wouldn't catch me doing much with her. I'd be afraid she'd flip out like the rest of the Qs and I wouldn't want to be around for that. I've heard that she's hanging out Carly. Now Nikolas,” Robin leaned in close, “You live with that… that person, you better tell Emily that if she wants to get well, she can't do that around a self-destructive, manipulating person like Carly Spencer.” Nikolas slowly wiped his fingers off on a napkin before gathering up his papers. “Robin, I know that you are basically a good person and you probably think you are telling me all this for my own good so I won't tell you what I think of you right now. However, don't you ever, ever, talk about Emily or Carly in that way in front of me again.” He quickly stood and dropped a few bills on the table for Liz. He then left before his temper could get the better of him. Robin pounded the table. “Damn it, everyone always ends up defending that two bit whore to me.” Liz, who had watched everything from inside, came out to clear the table. She paused and asked Robin, “Do you want me to get that pie now?” Robin threw her hands up in anger. “Why are you trying to shove pie on me? Go away!” “Gladly.” Liz muttered under her breath as she escaped with the dishes and the money. ~~~~~~~ Wyndemere Carly flopped down on the couch in the family room and flipped lazily through a magazine. She sighed in relief that all was quiet. After almost running her ragged all day, Michael had finally settled down for his afternoon nap. So Carly now had a little piece and quiet and she was going to savor it. Bobbie came into the family room. “Hi Carly. Where's my sweetheart of a grandson?” “You mean your devil of a grandson? The little terror just finally got to sleep and you can't go and wake him up!” She warned. “It took me and Leticia forever just to get him tired and if you dare wake him up there will be hell to pay!” Bobbie held up her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. I get the message.” Bobbie came and sat down next to Carly. “So, how have you been lately?” Carly groaned inside. Bobbie was on her maternal kick again. Ever since Lucas was shipped off to boarding school, Bobbie wavered in between mothering Carly and Michael and enjoying married life with Stefan. “I've been fine, mother, I'm a little worn out from today though.” “You need some time to yourself. Actually you need some time with some grownups.” “I'm around adults everyday.” Carly looked at Bobbie out of the corner of her eye. What was Bobbie up to? “Okay, you need some time with one adult, maybe a male adult, a male adult who is not related to you or living with some one else.” Carly could see where she was going. “Oh, no, I don't think so. Bobbie, tell me you didn't. Tell me you didn't!” Bobbie shrugged. “He's a very nice man. An intern at the hospital. I think you two would be very good together.” “Mother, you did not just fix me up on a blind date!” Carly groaned and flopped backwards. “I can't believe you did that.” “I want you to be happy, Carly. I want you to have some one in your life, the way I have Stefan. So I set you up, what's the harm in that?” “What did you have to do? Bribe him, threaten him, what? I know that no respectable man in Port Charles would ever want to go out with psycho Carly Spencer.” “You aren't psycho, just a bit misguided at times. I didn't have to approach him, he approached me. He's seen you around and knew you were my daughter and…” “So he's going to try to use me because of my connections to the Cassadines and the Quartermaines, huh? Well you should have told him he was barking up the wrong tree. I may have the connections but not the influence.” “Just give him a chance, okay? What's one date going to hurt? You get a night away from being Michael's mom and Stefan and I get time to spoil our grandson without you around to make sure we don't. So what do you say? A little dinner and a little dancing this Friday? He's very excited about it.” Carly chewed on her bottom lip as she thought about. A night just making herself happy with a guy who was with her because he wanted to? It could actually turn out pretty good. “Well…it would be nice…okay, I'll go. But he turns out to be a dud and my night is totally wasted, I'm blaming you!” “He's not a dud, believe me. If I wasn't old enough to be his… older sister and so in love with Stefan, I wouldn't be offering him to you.” Bobbie laughed. Carly joined in and then the phone sitting next to her starting ringing. Carly picked it up still laughing. “Hello?” “Carly? Something wrong?” “No, I was just laughing, Jason. Why are you calling?” Carly got up from the couch and started to walk around. Bobbie sneaked upstairs to see Michael while Carly was occupied. “Can't friends call each other?” he asked evasively. “Yes,” Carly said slowly, “But you're not the kind of guy who calls to chat. So what's up?” “I was just wondering if you could bring Michael over this Friday? Maybe he can even stay the night?” That wasn't what he really wanted to ask her but it was what came out. “Uh, that's not a good idea.” “Why not?” Jason demanded to know. “First, Michael goes to AJ early on Saturdays, you know that.” Carly reminded him. “And second I just promised Bobbie that she and Stefan could have him all to themselves Friday night.” “Oh.” Jason didn't sound very disappointed. “Well, maybe you and I can do something. Maybe go shoot a little pool at Jake's?” Carly was dying to say yes but she held firm. “I can't, I have a date Friday.” “What? With who?” “My mother set me up on a blind date.” “So you don't even know the guy? Do you know how stupid that is? He could be dangerous.” “Jase, I'm sure he's harmless. He's an intern at GH. Bobbie wouldn't have set me up with him if she thought he might hurt me.” “Just because he's an intern doesn't mean he's safe. He could be crazy. You're not going.” Carly laughed. “Wait a second, I think I need to clean my ears out. Did I just hear you tell me what I can and cannot do?” “Carl…” Jason began. “No, don't even try it. Jason, if we are ever going to be friends, real friends, you better learn that you can't tell me what to do. I don't need you to run my life, Jase, I do fine on my own, understand?” “Carl…” he tried again. “Do you understand, Jason?” she repeated. He reluctantly said, “Yes but I just don't want you to get hurt.” “Jason, I can take care of myself. I've been hurt so many times,” by you, she thought, “that it doesn't do a thing to me anymore, so don't worry.” “I'll try not to.” “Good. I have to go, I think I heard the door and Bobbie's missing. I think she went upstairs to wake up Michael.” “Okay, I'll see you then?” “Maybe…Sure.” ~~~~~~~ Later That Day Liz was wiping down the tables outside of Kelly's when she heard Ruby call her. “Elizabeth Webber!” Liz groaned. “What does she want now?” Ruby had been working her hard all day long. She barely had time to rest before Ruby had a new job for her to take care of. “Coming, Ruby!” Liz came inside. She saw Ruby standing behind the counter holding the phone. “I thought I told you no personal calls?” “I didn't tell anyone to call me here, I swear!” No way was she going to break Ruby's rules. “Yeah, well, you're lucky it's your grandmother.” Ruby grumbled and she passed the phone to Liz. “But make it quick!” “Gram? Something happen?… What? When did she come back?… Where is she? Put her on the phone… She went where? You'd think she'd want to come see me first… I don't know, Gram, what if he doesn't want to see her?… Okay. I'll keep an eye out for her. Maybe she'll come by. And Gram, can I go over to Lucky's tonight? I'll be back before curfew, I swear… Thanks Gram, I'll see you later.” Liz hung up quickly. “Hey, Ruby, is it almost quitting time?” Ruby checked her watch before nodding. “Did you finish up outside?” “Yes, ma'am.” Liz nodded. “Then you can go.” “Great!” Liz quickly untied her apron. Just then the door opened and in walked Lucky. “Right on time.” He smiled. “As usual.” Liz grinned back. She brushed a quick kiss on his cheek. “Could we make a quick stop on our way to your house?” “Sure, where?” “Em's house. I have to let her know something. In person.” “Well let's roll.” ~~~~~~ Wyndemere Nikolas strode into the family room still angry at the things that Robin had said. How could she have said those things about Emily? He stopped short when he noticed a tall blond standing with her back to him. She must be a friend of Stefan and Bobbie's. He started to back out of the room, he was in no mood to exchange pleasantries with anyone at the moment. The blond must have heard him because she whirled around. Nikolas gasped at the sight of who it was. “Sarah?” She smiled warmly. “Hello Nikolas, I'm back. Did you miss me?” ~~~~~~~ Liz stood impatiently and rang the doorbell again. “In a house this size it's a wonder if anyone ever answers the door!” she muttered. She reached out to ring the bell again when Lucky grabbed her hand. “Don't destroy the bell, Lizzie.” “I just wish they'd hurry…” Just then the door was opened by Reginald. “Yes?” He asked. “Is Emily home?” Liz asked. “I'm right here.” Emily popped up behind Reginald. “What's up guys?” “Em, I thought you'd like to know this. Sarah's home. And the first thing she did was go to see Nikolas.”