The men watched intently from their seats while cursing at her long black skirt, straining to see what was happening, and listening to what was conspiring, but they were whispering back and forth just loud enough for each other to hear. Max anxiously glanced at his watch because he knew very well that the drug would begin to wear off soon. He gave Miles a nudge and tapped the face of his time piece.
Miles nodded and cleared his throat. "Miss Petra, are you done now?"
They could tell when he had climaxed by his shuddering breath and how her body had pulled him in closer, but this was Petra, not only was there no telling what she was up to, but she hadn't made so much as a move to get off his lap.
Petra shot them a dirty look. "Why?" she demanded sharply.
"Well, we have to, uh, watch Coni for a few hours," he stated, sounding a bit uncertain to her ears. Almost as though it were, oh say, a big fat LIE! "So that, you know, he doesn't throw up or--- uh--- anything."
"Yeah," Max chimed in. "That way, if he does, we can, you know, correct him." He laughed derisively, causing an involuntary shiver to go throughout Zander's body.
Petra shared a look with Zander before leveling a glare at them both once more.
"Why?"
"Cole said too."
"Liar." She seethed.
"It's the truth," he insisted.
"Fine, then I'll watch him."
"NO!"
They both shouted quickly. A little too quickly for her liking.
Max cleared his throat and tried to sound more convincing. "We have direct orders not to let the little bastard out of our sight."
That was exactly the part that she was having a problem swallowing, and repeating it slower was not making it any easier. Turning to Zander, she caressed his cheek so that his eyes would close, made sure that his body had calmed down -- as she saw no need to give them something to laugh at him about-- and stood up, extracting him from her and shimmying her skirt back into place.
"So let me get this straight," she began, as she readjusted her skirt, picked up her lacy black panties and slipped them back on. "Cole, gave you two permission to bathe, torture, blow and otherwise 'use' him to your full pleasure and enjoyment?"
She sounded incredulous as she leisurely walked about the room, her hips swaying, her skirt flowing, and her body beckoning them. She hadn't the slightest idea how beautiful she was because she never allowed herself to see it or stay straight enough to hear it and remember. But she knew that these two lusted after her. The only way they could have been more obvious is if they would have had it tattooed on their foreheads.
Finally, she stopped, but only after she was standing behind them between their chairs. Once there, she seductively ran a hand from the back of their necks to the front, down their chests and under their shirts. They collectively gasped, not at her cold hands, no her hands were as warm as midday sun, but at the sensations that she caused them to feel.
"Y-yes, ma'am. Yes, he did," Max stammered, aroused by her touch.
"Oh," she whispered, feigning innocence before grabbing the hairs of their chests and pulling hard. "I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!!"
Both men howled in pain as they jumped to their feet and whirled around to face her.
"BITCH! THAT HURT!!" Miles spat as he rubbed his chest.
She stepped between the two chairs and smacked them both with all her might. "Number one, don't you ever call me that again. Number two, if either one of you two NUMBSKULLS ever attempts to hurt him like that again, so help me GOD no one, and I mean NO ONE, will find your rotting corpses. Do. You. Hear. Me?"
They looked at each other, then back at her, and nodded.
"Number three, if either of you ever taunt him or degrade him like this ever again I'll.. I'll..."
A wicked, wicked idea came to mind. A slow smile curved her lips. She straightened her back and got close enough so that she could whisper into both of their ears at once.
"I have one word for you."
Both men leaned in closer to hear what she was saying.
"Luis."
Brenda nervously kicked her feet back and forth as she sat on the examining table and nervously waited for Dr. Meadows to return. She was anxious about something that had been plaguing her since she found out she was pregnant. Something that she hadn't even allowed herself to say out loud. Something that Luis wasn't willing to even consider.
Was the child she carried Luis' or Cole's?
A shiver went down her spine and she hugged her belly. "It's okay baby, Daddy's going to love you either way."
She reassured her child. Sometimes she thought that the baby was worried about it, too. After all, one was a knight in slightly tarnished armor; the other was a sick pervert who liked to hurt her.
"Either way, you're going to have the best Daddy out there," she cooed, patting her bulging stomach.
She looked at the time. She'd been waiting for forever, or at least it felt like it. But she totally understood the wait. It wasn't everyday that Dr. Meadows had an emergency quintuplet delivery. She felt for the woman with THAT many babies all screaming and crying at once. Brenda shook her head. One at a time for her--hopefully. Luis's family had a long history of twins, Faith and Petra, Luis and Cole-- Cain and Abel. She giggled. Okay, maybe not Cain and Abel, but even Luis sometimes wondered if they weren't decedents of the ancient rivaling siblings. Faith hated Petra, for reasons only Faith and Petra knew. Cole hated Luis, but she knew all about Gilliana, and then to add insult to injury, herself. She winced and decided to lay on her back--okay, maybe more like plop down on her back and lay there like a beached whale, but you get the point.
Originally, at least, Luis had only gone to visit Cole to ask why he had done the things he had done after Gilliana had died and their twins had disappeared. Why had he fed Luis all those drugs? Why had he insisted upon burning all remaining memories of them--all the ones he could find. She could still visualize the image that Luis had so eloquently drawn for her with his words of him rushing around the mansion stealing a few last photos of his precious family before Cole could smash them and burn them in a bonfire with the rest. She could just imagine him standing in the front of the bonfire, his body bathed in the glowed of his family's things going up in flames clutching the three or four images he had been able to salvage for himself and his sanity as he watched helplessly as his brother destroyed the remnants of his life.
But that one visit had led to weeks upon weeks upon weeks with him. His tenderness had awakened something that Cole and his employer had tried tirelessly to snuff out. His soft lips, his able body, his touch, and candor had brought her back from the brink of insanity. He had slowly started to wean her off the mood altering drugs, but he not even Luis could stop Cole from popping the fertility drugs into her mouth every morning, noon, and night. Sometimes, when people weren't watching as closely as they usually did, he would pop one or two more in, smack her ass, and saunter away after promising her, �You WILL bear me a child.'
"Stop it. Stop it," she reprimanded herself tearfully. "It's over. It's OVER."
She just had to keep repeating that to herself over and over and over again. Maybe one day she'd begin to believe it.
Luis hadn't just been her hero. He had become her friend. The closest she'd ever come to an equal in every way humanly possible.
But then it had started up again. Cole had gotten jealous and demanded the "games" be reinstated. Cole's boss had no problem with that. It had been Luis who had almost had a heart attack when he heard what it entailed. It had only happened once every few months, but when it did happen, Luis had to be physically restrained while the other men on the island prepared for the "race".
She closed her eyes and tried to forget being hunted like an animal, and being caught by Cole everytime.
With her eyes squeezed shut, she prayed. "Okay, God, I need a huge favor. I need for Cole's plan to have not worked and for me to be carrying the right man's baby. Okay? Okay. Thank you."
So it wasn't your typical prayer. Since when had anything about Brenda Barrett-Corinthos--oh wait that didn't happen--Jacks--wasn't legal-- Alcazar ever been typical.
Just then the baby kicked.
"See," she said, looking at the ceiling. "Even the baby agrees with me. Baby's got good taste."
She smiled and patted her stomach.
"Good baby. We're going to get along just fine."
She giggled. Her baby was definitely a kicker. Sometimes, Luis would joke that their child was either a drummer or a future football player or a little bit of both.
She smiled at that and closed her eyes as she was tired of thinking and analyzing and worrying that Cole would win in the end. With a deep sigh she began to drift off to sleep.
A soft knock at the door interrupted her lulling herself to sleep, and with some difficulty she sat up. Using her arms to brace her weight, she called out, "Who is it!!"
"Dr. Meadows."
"Okay, you can come in."
Dr. Meadows opened the door and closed it behind her with a smile. "I'm sorry about the delay."
"That's okay, I'm sure it was worth it." She smiled. "How'd it go?"
Meadows smiled. "Surprisingly quick. It was her first pregnancy and the babies are all okay. The just got a little over anxious to make their debuts, that's all." She smiled.
"Three girls and two boys, all with VERY healthy lungs."
"Wow," she said with an awe and then winced. "Here's to praying NONE of them have colic."
She grinned, only half joking.
Dr. Meadows chuckled.
"Amen. Now, let's concentrate on you, shall we?"
She began by picking up Brenda's chart and looking at it. She looked confused at first, then started flipping through the chart.
"Well, that's odd."
"Hmm.."
"Well, according to this chart, you're not pregnant."
Carly could barely believe her ears. Tears stung her eyes, not just for the story he had just told her, but what it may mean for Michael. "Oh God, my baby." She sobbed into her hands, her body hunched over in pain. "Why! WHY! WHY!" She moaned. "Why my baby? Why?"
Luis felt like a complete heel. "I can't tell you how sorry I am."
Carly shook her head, wiped her tears, and tried to suck it up. She had to put her armor on. She couldn't let her hurt be so evident. She had to be strong.
"It's not your fault."
"I-If I had known.."
"But you didn't."
She sniffled. He handed her a tissue and she blew her nose loudly.
"Sorry," she said, throwing the tissue away.
"No apologies needed. I feel as though it is I who should apologize. If Brenda and I had..."
Carly gasped sharply. He hadn't said her name in the story. It was implied, but he had never actually said 'Brenda'. "How--How did she do it?"
"I don't understand."
"How did she survive? How did she overcome it? How did she escape?"
He let out a long breath. "I don't know any other way to say this..."
He paused.
"She almost didn't."
Carly winced.
"She had no one to turn too, no place to hide. Everyone there worked with or for this--this--I hesitate to call him a man. For a man he definitely was not. But to call him an animal is to compare him to the birds that brought her solace with their freedom of flight, the dogs that brought her unadulterated and unencumbered affection, and the wolves that protected her when they had led her out into the wilderness for a 'little fun' as they put it. What those things are for sure are ego-maniacs with the penchant for hurting people smaller than they are who can't defend themselves as well as they can."
He sighed.
"Sorry for the tangent. I--It's just that... he's my blood, blood of my blood, skin of my skin, born on the same day in the same moment as myself. Yet he and I are no more kinsmen than you and I are."
He rambled, absently leaning against Monica's desk. Putting his hand on the side of his neck, he messed with his hair out of habit.
"As to your question of how she survived..."
He shook his head at the memory.
"She's the strongest, most vibrant woman I've ever met. She was broken and battered and had no clue how beautiful she was. I had nothing to do with her survival. It was a miracle, Carly. Of that, I am most certainly sure."
She nodded in agreement. "Did she need any 'help' afterwards?"
He nodded. "Yes, and I am very fortunate to have a very talented and world renowned psychiatrist in my family who was more than happy to help her. In fact," he said, reaching into his Armani suit jacket and pulling out a card, "I'm glad you asked as I was going to suggest him too you, but somehow..."
He paused and smiled warmly before continuing.
"I seemed to have gotten a bit off track."
"A bit, huh?"
She chuckled, eye balling the card.
"Cameron Lewis, Ph.D., BS, MD, Child Psychologist, Child Behavioral Psychiatrist, Psychiatrist, psychologist and your uncle, huh?" she asked.
"If this is over stepping, by all means, feel free to rip that up and throw it away--"
"No, no, it's a relief really. Kevin Collins, General Hospital's normal 'head shrinker', is on personal leave and that leaves me with Gail Baldwin, the adoptive mother of Michael's grandmother--a woman, mind you, who would do anything short of murder one to get her grubby hands on my son, and sometimes I wonder about the 'short off' part," she added with a wry laugh.
"I'm glad that I could be of assistance."
He looked away, a dark cloud coming over him.
"I would do anything to have such a problem with my own children," he said softly, then turned his head and sniffed to keep his emotions in check.
She put her hand on his leg. "And I thank you for this. It will definitely be a weight off mine and AJ's shoulders... If they ever find him, that is."
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than her cell phone rang.
"Oh, I forgot to turn it off."
"It may be important. I'm sure that they won't mind. We're a good hallway and a half away from the rest of the patients," Luis said with a shrug.
"Well, it had better be important or I'm gonna kill �em." She growled.
"Hello?.... Oh... OH GOD! They found him?..."
Luis gave her a look of concern, and she mouthed, �They found AJ.'
Skye said something that caught her by surprise. "What?! Are you sure! Are they okay?..."
Luis sat up again.
�They found Azora, too.'
"Is she okay?"
"Wait, I'll ask... Skye, is Azora okay, too?"
She breathed a deep sigh of relief and nodded to Luis. He made the sign of the cross and relaxed in the chair. Two less things to worry about and a million more to go.
"What...Are you sure? Are they on their way? Okay, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
She hung up and, in a moment of extreme excitement, jumped into Luis's arms when he stood.
"They're okay!!!"
He patted her back and pulled away.
"Are you okay?" he asked, noticing the tears in her eyes.
"Oh, me? Just ignore the tears," she teased, dabbing her eyes. "I've been nothing short of a waterfall since yesterday."
He nodded thoughtfully. "But you've had your reasons: joy, sorrow, fear. Adulations, all to their extremes in a short period of time, tends to do that to someone, either man or woman."
She smiled in appreciation of his understanding and wiped her eyes again. Just as they were prepared to leave, Jax came bursting in, looking frantic.
"What happened?"
"It's Jerry."
He sounded panicked and looked it as well.
"Jax, what happened?" Luis asked, closing the door and guiding the frantic Aussie further into the office.
"I--I just got off the phone with him."
He gulped for air as he had been running around the hospital in search of Luis.
"The good news is that he's found where Corinthos was holding Morgan's wife."
"But that's good news." Luis said, echoing Jax's words.
"There's more."
He gulped again.
Carly got him a cup of water out of the restroom next door.
"Thanks."
He drank it in one gulp, and Carly went to get more.
"He must have gotten a little too close. Not only did some of Corinthos men find him... they ambushed him."
Luis went into full business mode and started pacing the length of the room.
"Was he hurt?"
"A bit, a gun shot wound, but it's not mortal, but he needs reinforcements. But I can't leave the States!!"
He couldn't possibly leave Skye alone with everything going on with Michael and AJ and now Courtney's passing. She was in recovery and needed him. For that fact, he needed her, too.
"Were you able to speak to him for very long?" he queried, stroking his chin.
"No, not before the phone started cutting out and they were getting closer." Panic seized him.
"He needs reinforcements!!"
"Agreed. Is there anyone you can think of off the top of your head who would be willing and able?"
Jax thought for a moment and groaned.
"What's wrong?"
He winced and looked at the veritable stranger whom he was asking for help. "Has Bren ever told you about Luke Spencer and his son Lucky?"
Petra almost laughed at them right then and there, How lame were they? Did she really come off as being THAT dense??
"You didn't think I knew, did you?!"
They sputtered and stammered.
"Oh, shut. UP! Good God, you're practically slobbering all over yourselves. And don't shit your underwear, that's just sad."
She hissed.
"Know how long I've known?"
They both shook their heads no.
"Since day one."
They paled considerably.
"Yes, I've just been keeping this little tidbit of information to myself because I knew that one day, one magnificent day, it would be very useful to me. And buddy boy... "
She roughly caressed Max's face.
"Today is that day."
She was dangerous, she was lethal, she was out of her freaking skull.
"And so help me, if either one of you ever, ever, ever do a repeat performance of what just happened in here today... I'll go straight to Luis."
Grabbing them by their collars and pulling them closer, she hissed.
"And we all know that Luis has his men combing the world over for information about Nomad and Maverick. And we all know how he'll react to this information."
She paused to allow them to comprehend what she was saying.
"And we ALL know that he will have you begging for death's sweet silence by the time he is through with you, right ?"
Both men nodded emphatically, as they were all too aware of what Luis would do to them if he found out they had forced Zander to give them blow jobs.
"Good!!" she barked venomously.
"Now," she said, pointing at Miles. "You, take your pants off."
"WHAT!?!?!"