In His Corner-Chapter 5

Blair walked into the lobby of the MetroCourt and caught sight of Carly Jacks.  From the distance, she studied the other woman.  For all appearances, she certainly was no Marty Saybrooke.  She was not one to play the victim card.  Despite all the years that had past, Marty still cowered the slightest bit in the presence of Todd and ‘Todd’.  She still sometimes had that haunted look in her face, even when she tried to cover it. 

Not Carly.  The other woman went about her day as if nothing had even happened.  Blair was debating whether to approach her or not, but in the end, she chose not to.  Now was not the time.  She was still too raw from having seen Todd.  She headed towards the elevator and got on when it arrived. 

When she entered the room, no one else was there.  She took the emptiness in for a minute, deciding her next move.  She had read up a little bit on Carly when Starr had told her she was seeing his son.  Married to Sonny Corinthos a number of times, then to Jasper Jacks, whom she was separated from, she had had just as hard-scrabbled of a life as Blair herself.  Hell, there were a number of times that, even in interacting with her, Blair saw a bit of herself in the other woman.  Todd had called her his friend.  Had that been what had attracted him to Carly in the first place?

Selfishly, she didn’t want to think of Todd attracted to another woman.  But she had berated him in the courtroom in front of Carly, turn down his proposal a few door away in her hotel and slapped him in her presence.  She could only guess what Carly must have thought about their relationship.

Blair needed more information about Carly before she proceeded with anything.  She looked at a clock.  It was late in London, but not obscenely so.  She picked up her phone and found the number she was looking for.  The other end picked up surprisingly quickly.  “Rex, I need you to look into someone for me.  Her name is Carly Jacks and she’s in Port Charles, New York.”

******

After the call was done and Rex had begrudgingly agreed to investigate her, Blair headed for the bar.  She prayed she wouldn’t run into Carly there.  Getting to the floor, she saw that the coast was clear.  Sitting at the bar, she saw only one other man there.  It was about Todd’s age, blond hair and bright blue eyes looking down a glass of clear liquid.  For a moment, she was stunned to see how much he resembled Michael Corinthos.  Then she had remembered something Starr had told her.  Sonny had adopted Michael when the boy was young.  The whole story was rather sordid, but she remembered that Starr had hurried back to Port Charles after Thanksgiving because of his great-grandfather’s funeral.  Blair figured this was Michael’s biological father.  Maybe he would have some insight into Carly.

She approached the other man.  “Excuse me, but you don’t happen to have a son named Michael, do you?”

The other man turned and looked at her.  “Is it that obvious?” he asked.

Blair was actually quite surprised how much Michael looked like this man upon closer examination.  “Yes it is.  But then again, I’ve had ample opportunity to look at your picture, as my daughter has been sending me shots of him and her for months.”  Blair held out her hand.  “Blair Cramer.  Starr Manning is my daughter.”

The man shook it.  “AJ Quartermaine.  Your daughter is…quite feisty.  She’s made me put both feet into one shoe a number of times.”

“It’s the Cramer in her,” Blair said with a touch of pride.

“I’m guessing you’re here for her, then?  I read about the accusation her father has against him,” AJ inquired. 

“Starr needs her Momma and of course I came.  I’m guessing that Carly needs her son’s support in this time too,” Blair replied, shrugging her shoulders. 

AJ let out a snort in response.

“You don’t have that great of a relationship with Carly, I take it?”

“Oh, you could say that.  We fell into bed together and it went downhill since then.  Things only got worse after I learned Michael was my son,” AJ told her.

Bingo! Blair thought.  “That’s kind of funny.  Todd, Starr’s father, we fell into bed and it only cemented a relationship that, while having its ups and downs, has been the best one we’ve ever had.”       

AJ eyed her enviously.  “What did you do?” he asked, his curiosity piqued.

“It’s a long story.  The shortest one I can think of is, after we slept together, I found out he was heir to $30 million dollars and, instead of being truthful with him, I told him our one night stand had ended up getting me pregnant and we got married immediately.  Then he learned about his inheritance and we had a few good months.  I even did wind up pregnant.  But after I suffered a miscarriage, he learned the pregnancy wasn’t as far along as he had thought.  The marriage blew up after that.”  Blair offered him a smirk.

“Sort of the opposite of me.  I came from money to start with.  But I’m a recovering alcoholic,” he offered, holding up his drink.  “It’s seltzer.  Anyway, one night, I fell off the wagon and into bed with Carly.  She had a fight with her boyfriend, who was actually her step-father and thought they were over.  Then she learned she was pregnant, tried to pass off the child as the boyfriend’s and when he started getting suspicious, said it was my brother’s.  All the while, I was coming out of my booze-fueled fog and remembering being with her, so she drugged me, dumped me in an alley and poured vodka all over me.  Then she called my parents who were disappointed and I forgot I was remembering anything.  By time I did remember, she had gotten involved with the local mobster, who hung me on a meat hook to convince me to give up my parental rights.

If AJ Quartermaine divulged this much sober, Blair couldn’t imagine what he was like with a few drinks, not that she was willing to tip him off the wagon to get her way.  It seemed Carly had already pulled that number on him.  Then his words hit her.  “So, she used your past against you for her own ends.”

AJ offered her a wicked smile.  “That’s our Carly.”

“Kind of like using a rapist’s past against him,” she mused aloud. 

AJ caught what she had said.  “How’s that?”

Blair caught his expression and was about to answer when Viki and Starr approached.  She noticed her daughter’s weary gaze at her boyfriend’s father.  “Blair, Todd’s attorney just arrived.  I told him to meet us here,” Viki said.

Blair noticed the man who came off the elevator.  He looked around and his gaze fell on AJ.  When he came towards them he said, “It’s true.  The reports of your death have been exaggerated, AJ.”

“Scotty Baldwin.  Another one to add to the Port Charles rogues’ gallery.  What brings you back here?”  AJ asked.

“I represented Todd Manning this past spring in the trial for the murder of his brother and he seems to have gotten into another spot of trouble, so he hired me back to get him out,” the attorney said.

“This is who you have representing Todd?”  AJ smirked, imagining the fireworks what were about to go off in Port Charles.

“Is that a problem?” Starr asked in a voice that sounded much like her father’s. 

“No, not with the histories that I’m sure will play out.”  AJ got up off the stool.  “Ms. Cramer, Starr, this is without a doubt the best man for the job.  Good luck to you Scott.”  Then he turned to Blair.  “If you need anything, please feel free to call.  I may be of some help.”

The women and Baldwin watched him go.  Then Blair turned to the lawyer and demanded, “What does he mean by that?  Full disclosure, Mr. Baldwin.”

They were seated around a table.  “Alright, in the interest of full disclosure, I have a bit of history with Carly Jacks’ family. I was involved with her mother a number of times and her uncle stole my wife from me.”  Then he turned to look at each of the women.  “But that will not interfere with my defense of Todd.  In fact, it can aid me, as I have a measure of experience with the Spencers.”

Blair and Starr both looked at Viki.  They would take their lead from her.  Viki took a deep breath and asked, “Alright, Mr. Baldwin, what is your plan for my brother’s defense?”

Scotty flashed them his best smile.