Wounded
by NLGplusSR

A quick, quiet knock on her door broke the concentration she had on some files. Looking over to the door, she could see Jerry Jacks, the man who she caught making out with her daughter, the man she broke up with nearly a month ago.

Reluctantly, Alexis put the file down on the table and opened the door. "What do you want, Jerry?"

"I need you." He stepped into the lake house.

"Oh, sure, come on in." She turned to face him. "What--Is that a gun shot wound? You've GOT to be kidding me!"

"Darling ..." He fainted, falling onto the couch.

"Jerry?" She ran over to him and removed his shirt, revealing the wound on his stomach. She lifted him so he wouldn't fall off the couch, and then she ran to the bathroom where she kept a first aid kit. With all the violence in her life, it was only a matter of time before she would need it.

Alexis poured some peroxide on the wound, thankful that he was out cold, for she knew how much pain he would be in. She then applied a bandage, hoping that he would wake up now that she had stopped the bleeding.

She sat on the coffee table staring at him for a couple minutes until his eyes fluttered open. "What the HELL is wrong with you?"

"What?"

"You get yourself shot, and you just EXPECT me to take care of it? Next time ... go to your brother. Go to the hospital. Don't come here."

"I knew you would take care of it. And from the looks of my stomach, you did."

"I'm not a doctor, Jerry! The bullet is still in your abdomen. You have to go to the hospital."

"I can't."

"I don't suppose you want to tell me why not."

"Do we still have attorney-client privilege?"

"Ugh ... whatever. Just tell me what happened."

"You're not going to like it, darling."

"Ha. I never do."

"I overheard Karpov on the phone near the docks. He was ordering a hit. I couldn't let him go through with it, and I shot him. Unluckily for me, one of his guards was just around the corner, and he shot me. I ran as fast as I could and I came here."

"Did you kill Karpov?"

"As far as I know, yes."

"Why? WHY? Why didn't you just go to the police? Why do you ALWAYS get yourself mixed up with this stuff?"

Jerry looked down. "The hit was on Sonny. Now, I don't typically care about Sonny, but the hit was also on anyone connected to Sonny. That made Kristina a target. I could never let that happen."

"Or maybe you just wanted to make sure Sam was gonna be okay. I know how sad you would be if you never got a chance to sleep with my daughter."

"That's not true, Alexis. SHE was working ME. I just wanted to see how far she would push me to get her so-called information."

"You know what? I'm not even having this conversation. Go to the hospital, go bleed in an alley, just get out of my house."

"Well, this bit of news will make you happy then. I'm leaving town."

"Any particular reason?"

"Karpov's people are gonna be looking for me. I want them to think I'm dead."

"Oh."

Jerry tried to get up from the couch, but he stumbled into Alexis' arms instead. "I can do it. You can let go."

"I was just trying to be helpful, Jerry. Look, you're in no shape to be galavanting around the country. I can drive you somewhere ..."

"You really don't have to do that."

"I can't have you dying on my driveway. How will I get the blood stains out?" Alexis smiled at him. "Come on. Let's go."

Alexis helped Jerry out to the car, and then helped him into his seat. She started driving. "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't even know. South? I just need to find a small town to wait this out for a while."

After a couple hours of driving, Alexis stopped to get a gas in some town in the middle of New York. Jerry got out of the car.

"What are you doing?"

"This town ... it's fine. I saw a hospital and hotel not too far back."

"Are you sure?"

He hobbled to her side of the car. "I'll be okay, darling. Look, before I go, I need you to know something. I never ... NEVER would have slept with your daughter, or anyone else for that matter."

"I want to believe you."

He stepped closer and placed a hand on her face. "I won't be gone forever. Port Charles is my home, in a strange sort of way."

"Okay." A tear ran down her face. "I can't promise you that anything will change, but if and when you come back, I might be willing to give you--give us--another chance."

"That's all I needed to know." He leaned in to kiss her gently on the lips. "Goodbye, darling."

She wiped away the single tear streaming down her face as she watched Jerry Jacks walk off into the darkness.

THE END