General Hospital Fan Fiction Message Board

“This is unbelievable!’ Tracy protests as she changes pages on her computer notebook with an impatient flip of her index finger. She has her news set first to search for family before she even reads the Wall Street Journal online. On the search, she is used to seeing Fancy and Chandy for whatever project or concerts they are involved in. This time India Hughes had mentioned Lee Radcliffe as her inspiration when she was talking about a project she is doing down in Philadelphia that is being written up as an ambitious project converting a sick building into access housing. Articles of Bill had also popped up in of all things a website about Korean Pop Entertainment as a website manager for two bands from a company that went by a truly unfortunate acronym—KEG—Korean Entertainment Group. Over the holiday, she’d heard about him building a website for the band touring with Mayday of course, but this is another group—PsynSation. There are tabloid pictures of Twink and Karin. Twink from some gladiator battle she’d been to over the weekend in Atlantic City. If she wasn’t dressed as a Thai Barbie then maybe she wouldn’t draw so much attention. Actually the news on Karin is relatively old and included Twink because it is all the things they did over the holidays down in Australia rather than coming home to have Christmas with Edward. Even Chandy who’d been on holiday is making the news down under with the break they’d taken from touring.
“What is that?” Edward turns the page of the paper, an actual newspaper, he is reading. Hill has been trying to convert him to reading the paper on a notebook as well because she could control the font but he likes the feel of a paper in his hand. And it came in handy for blocking the view of his daughter at the breakfast table when she’s in a snit.

“AJ, Lydia, Karin, Twink , Chandy, Lee and now Bill?! Bill?! Making the papers.”

What do they all have in common? Alan’s kids not Tracy’s. Edward can tell his daughter is feeling slighted. She shouldn’t be craving the press but why should her kids be getting less press than Alan’s?! He can practically feel the scream coming. “Fancy should be back from holiday and working. I’m sure there will be something in the papers when the new episodes start along with Laker games.”

“What on earth was Baby thinking letting her go to Australia instead of coming home for Christmas?!”

Edward can’t help but mutter even if he knows he is going to regret it. “The scene you made last year when Fancy brought Baba to Christmas?”

“It was our Christmas!” Tracy snarls. “That woman has no business horning on our holiday!”

“And she didn’t this year.”

“Father!” Tracy protests.

“Enough, Tracy.” Edward drops the paper to the table so that he can glare at his daughter. “You can start planning Christmas for this year…” It’s only eleven months away. “… and everyone will be invited. If someone replies back that they have an obligation elsewhere then you’ll find out where and invite them too. Thanksgiving is one thing but having half the family out of town for Christmas… I don’t think so. All of them… even Cassadine.” That one was a hard one to swallow but Edward supposes he can put up with Stefan Cassadine if it means he has his entire family under the roof then he can just bite his tongue and Tracy could too.

The sound of the front door shutting can be heard in the family room. As can the breezy, “Is Grandpa Edward in the family room?”

“Having breakfast with Miss Tracy.”

“Daddy made me breakfast but I wouldn’t mind a cup of tea. It’s cold out there.” Hill tells the maid as she handing over her winter coat and unzipping out of her boots. It’s a seriously cruddy day out there.

“Bug, is that you?” Edward calls out.

“Uh huh. Inservice day, so I have the day off. But doesn’t it seem a waste of a good weekend to have one in the middle of the week? If I had a three day weekend I could go down to Philly and check on everyone there.” Hill comes over and gives Edward a back hug and then gives Tracy a kiss on the cheek before pulling up a seat at the table. “Daddy kicked me out of the house. He wanted some peace and quiet. I think it’s kind of silly when he’s in a cast; what if he gets in trouble but he says that is what cell phones are for. Mom said he was being a bear so she went into the office rather than working at home and dropped me off here on her way into town. On the plus side Queen of Angels has inservice too; Elena is off. Her mother is freaking out because of the last minute push on Fashion week. She’s got some things in the Mason show. Auntie, you are going to back me with Daddy about going to Fashion week in February right? I’m going to save all my absences so that I can go. Grandpa, I haven’t taken a picture by the bull in winter.” Hill tempts. “And Elena has never had her picture taken by the Bull. How did that happen? She goes with her mom to fashion week twice a year. She might have been fooling but she says she doesn’t even know about the Bull.”

Edward’s brows go up at that.

Tracy snorts. “She’s manipulating you, Father. Don’t fall for it.”

“Bug knows what is important. Even if Elena has seen the bull before it’s good to see again.” Edward wants to fall for it and everyone at the table knows it. But he doesn’t want to be too obvious. “So are you using your in-service productively? You know the rule, if your grades drop I take over the Philadelphia property.” Edward warns. “Between you wanting to spend a week at fashion week and then spend your spring break on the properties aren’t you spreading yourself a little thin?”

“Daddy likes it. He figures that way I don’t have time to date.”

Edward blanches. “Where is my nitro?”

“Grandpa, you better be kidding. And even then that is not funny.”

“You better be kidding!” Edward retorts. “You’re too young to be thinking of dating.”

“You can date once you get into Wharton.” Tracy flips the page on her notebook to the next news story. “Until then any gold digging swinging dick who starts sniffing around will be carrying his pride and joy in a jar.”

Hillary really wishes she hadn’t been taking a sip of tea when Aunt Tracy said that. The whole tea through the nose is not an experience to be repeated.

There are enough rooms in the mansion that Hill can have a room here too and Edward has given her free run of his study. Hill repays the gesture by making sure that Grandpa zone is always sacrosanct. She might sit at his desk to do homework, use his computer and printer, tie up his phone lines and have her friends over to work on project but nobody sat in Grandpa’s chair but Grandpa. And anyone who was friends with Hill knew that when she was over at the mansion that they get the best snacks basically on demand and have access to the indoor pool in winter or the gardens in summer but they also knew that Edward Quartermaine would be giving his opinion on what they were doing whether it was their assignments, their music or the fact that boys were boys and hadn’t changed in decades they were still after one thing.

She’s got the recipe book just about down to the final draft and ready to go off to the printer. All the recipes that had been submitted ten years ago by Baby’s home ec class were in there along with new recipes for this year and some fun stories of there they are now whether it’s Baby’s euphemistic working from home, Gloria’s Food Network baking show down in the City, Marta’s restaurant in Chicago the other girls are doing fine too. One had gone through Cornell’s hotel management school. Another was a sergeant in the army in charge of cooking for hundreds on a daily basis who’d won three intra-service metals for quality and innovation going up against the other branches. There was a story there that she was being poached by the White House to work up at Camp David. Baby’s class really had set the bar high for home economics at Port Charles High School. On the plus side for the program having those kind of heavy hitters meant that it is actually never on the chopping block when it came to the school budget.

Hill isn’t that much into cooking, hats and fabric are her thing. Elena isn’t much into cooking either—sewing and designing are more her forte but she’s also from a big family and knows how to make sure that she isn’t going to starve especially around her little brothers Jimmy and Rafe who could eat everything and anything without blinking. While Hill is putting the finishing touches on the cookbook before sending it off to her mother’s connection for printing and binding, Elena is working on the plan for Fashion Week. She has all the materials that were sent to her mother to use for the planning. She knows where everything will be and when so she is planning a campaign like a general. It’s not just the shows but all the others would be there too whether it was swag, or the suppliers of fabric, ribbons, lace, thread, even sewing machines and scissors. If it had anything to do with fashion it would be in New York in February. Maybe someday she’d get to go to the shows in Europe and Asia but for now she has this and has been going since her mother, Maxie Jones-Radcliffe won Project Runway.

Tracy had decided to work from home after Hill showed up for breakfast. Of course it wasn’t because Hill was there. It is because the weather is so terrible. Reggie doesn’t mind her decision considering he was the one who was going to have to drive her in. Tracy is on a break from the project she is working on and wanders into the study. Hill’s music is on over the speakers, probably a little too loud and she looks over at her father who is reading a book by the fire and blinks. The old man has ear buds in and is probably listening to his own music while keeping the girls company. Hill is at Edward’s desk doing some kind of editing and Elena is at the conference table with butcher paper rolled out that shows where everything is going to be for Fashion Week. She also has her notebook handy for formulating the final decisions.

Tracy walks behind Hill’s chair to make sure she is working on some project and not anything ELQ. Seeing the recipe information she nods. This is a major project for Hill that is going to be the girl’s ticket not only to president of the marketing club at Port Charles High School but might even add into the Wharton application because done properly this little fund raiser is going to be huge and pay off for the next few years. Tracy intends to make sure that happens.

Next she goes over to the conference table. She didn’t know what Hill’s little cousin was working on but instantly recognizes it as the lay out for fashion week. And she knows that Elena has more information about the upcoming week than she does. She starts quizzing Elena about the plan. Then she taps on a building that is within easy walking distance of everything. “My city apartment is in this building—four bedroom, five bath. Baby’s gangster also has an apartment in this building two floors down—three bedroom, two bath. Where is your mother staying?”

“She made hotel reservations but not until after her show. Mom and Uncle Mason plan on going 24-7 right up until the show and maybe take naps at the office. After her show is when she can relax, sleep and see everyone else’s stuff and put in a few orders for Wyndams.” Elena names off the name of the hotel her mother is staying in. “If I wasn’t coming with she’d probably just crash on Uncle Mason’s couch the whole time.”

“Me, Fancy, Skye, Baby, Hill. Father, are you planning on attending?”

“You should come, Grandpa.” Hill agrees after she sends the file off to her mother. “Elena is planning everything now. I’ve put in my wishlist but I’m sure we’ll have lots of time. We could go for tea or I’ll find out if there are going to be any interesting IPOs. Besides you say it’s always good for the staff in The City to see you in person rather than just the teleconferencing. It will be fun.”

Edward nods. “Count me in.”

This was an Edward request by Jenners that got my muse dusted off. Hopefully I'll be more timely next week. Unedited by Claire, so it's all my fault. Let me know what you think and reply reply reply. Deb