But if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like
Nothing changed at all?
And if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like
You’ve been here before?
– Pompeii, Jasmine Thompson

---

Friday, March 24, 2006

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Jason made some final notations in the warehouse ledgers, grimacing as he thought about the tax records and paperwork that still needed to be dealt with before the tax deadline in April. They’d never hired another business manager after Benny Abrams had died three years earlier, not a permanent one anyway. It had fallen to Jason to deal with the taxes which he usually liked.

He liked working with numbers. They were straight forward and always added up or divided into the same thing. You didn’t have to read between the lines or look for nuances or subtleties that he’d never been that great at grasping. Maybe, if things had been different after the accident, he’d have been an accountant.

Benny used to tell him that all the time and Jason shook his head at the memory. He didn’t think about the man all that much anymore except during tax season, but he still missed him.

He looked over, saw Sam take a seat on the sofa with the tabloids and a cup of coffee, her usual morning routine. They hadn’t spoken much since he’d gone to the warehouse on Tuesday night, and Jason was honestly relieved by that. If they weren’t talking, they weren’t fighting—

And she wasn’t asking questions about his past with Elizabeth, questions he hadn’t asked himself in nearly four years.

 Sonny gives you an order, and you follow it.

 He didn’t know how to explain to himself or to her that he didn’t like disappointing Elizabeth, of knowing that she thought he was better than he obviously was. Sam and Sonny were right — Manny wasn’t their problem anymore, and Skye’s safety was something Alcazar should worry about, not him.

Unless it matters enough for you to do what you think is right.

 He rolled his shoulders and turned to another stack of invoices to look over. He had men watching Manny at the hospital, so there was no point in worrying. If Manny made a move that concerned them, then he’d be in a position to act.

 And this doesn’t.

Sam was right, Elizabeth didn’t understand his life. She never had.

“Jason.”

Jason frowned and turned to Sam. He hadn’t even heard her walk across the room. He put down his pencil and turned to look at her. “What’s wrong?” he asked as he took in her dark, concerned eyes.

Sam sighed, looked down at the paper she held, then set it on top of his paperwork. He furrowed his brow, then looked at the front page she’d given him. His sister’s face stared back at him along with the profile of Sonny—as Emily was opening the door to him into a room.

Jason swallowed hard as he picked up the paper, then looked at Sam. “What—”

“She signed into the Cosmopolitan Hotel as Mr. and Mrs. Michael Smith,” Sam told him. She leaned against the edge of his desk. “She arrived first, then Sonny. The clerk recognized Sonny, then went upstairs and took the photo. He knew who Emily was.”

Of course he did. The Quartermaine heiress and the mafia don. Who could resist that story? The clerk had probably sold the photo for more money than he’d make in a year working behind the desk at a hotel. “How long were they there?” he asked flatly. He could read the story himself, but he had a feeling it would only make him angrier.

“I don’t know. The clerk waited a few hours. They didn’t leave and even ordered room service. She registered with cash—he must have sold the photo in the middle of the night to get it into the paper—” Sam broke off as Jason’s fingers clenched, crinkling the paper. “Jason—”

Jason carefully set the newspaper down, took a deep breath. His hands were nearly trembling as rage boiled in his veins. His little sister. His vulnerable little sister who had been raped and cheated on last year. Whose husband had left her for another woman. Who had been attacked by Carly during her nervous breakdown.

Sonny had slept with Jason’s sister. His much younger sister.

“Did the paper say whether it was the first time,” Jason demanded. He shoved his chair back and got to his feet. “How long?”

“According to the clerk, it was the fourth time they’d signed in, and they’d always stayed the night before then.” She bit her lip. “Jason, I know you’re angry. I get it. I know Emily’s had a bad year. She got close to Sonny last fall when she stayed in his guest house. You weren’t there. You couldn’t be, I know that. But—”

“That makes it okay?” Jason demanded, temper licking at his throat. He swallowed hard, shook his head. “I’m sorry, I—”

There was a furious knocking on the door as his sister’s voice called out to him. “Jason? Jason? Please answer—”

Jason strode to the door and yanked it open to find Emily standing there, her eyes rimmed with red, her hair disheveled. “Emily.”

She looked past him to find the newspaper on his desk, then turned her eyes back to him, her brown eyes distressed. “I tried to—I tried to get here—I didn’t think you read the Sun.”

“He doesn’t, I do.” Sam picked up the paper, rolled it up, and tucked it under her arm as she crossed them. “Are you okay?”

“N-No, not really. Um, Mom reads the Sun, so you can imagine how much fun breakfast was—” Emily clenched her hands together in a fist, pressed it to her chest. “You’re not saying anything, Jase.”

“What do you want me to say?” Jason demanded, his words short and clipped. “Is the paper lying?”

“No, no, it’s all true, b-but I need you to understand why I didn’t say anything. I knew—God, I knew how everyone would act, but I’m not a kid anymore, you know? And this—with Sonny—it just happened—”

“It needs to stop.”

The words were out of his mouth before Jason even realized what he was going to say. Emily’s eyes widened, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sam’s mouth open slightly. Because he never told anyone what to do. Not like that.

“It—” Emily took a deep breath. “You just don’t understand, okay? Sonny and I—it’s real, you know? A-And I know it’s going to take some adjustments, but—”

“It won’t because it’s ending. Today.” His voice sounded rusty, even alien to him. He knew he was doing this wrong—that he was saying the wrong thing. His sister’s pale face flushed with color as her shock and worry dissolved into irritation.

“You don’t get to decide that. I am an adult, Sonny is an adult—”

“He’s an adult who is going to hurt you,” Jason snapped. “You don’t know what you’re getting into—”

“It’s—I’m different. Sonny and I are different,” she insisted. “Do you think I’m an idiot? Do you think I don’t know who he is? Maybe you’ve been cleaning up his messes too long, but—”

“You saw what happened to Brenda. Damn it, Carly went after you and nearly killed you because he drove her to a breakdown. You aren’t going to be the next woman I have to—” He bit off the rest of his statement.

“You don’t know how we are—” Emily shook her head. “No, I’m not going to stand here and justify my relationship with Sonny to you. I am my own person, and you don’t get to make my decisions. So what if Sonny has hurt people? I have, too. What about what happened to Zander?”

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re blaming yourself for his death—”

“No, but I was a part of it. I didn’t help. Sonny’s made mistakes, but he didn’t drive Brenda or Carly crazy.”

“Em,” Sam said softly. “Em, he’s just worried about you—”

“Oh, please, don’t even—” Emily rolled her eyes at his fiancée. “Please. Don’t you start. What, you think because Sonny used and threw you away, he’ll do the same to me?”

Sam scowled, pressed her lips together, shook her head. “Never mind. Forget I said anything.”

“No, I’m dying to hear your opinion, Sam. C’mon—”

“Knock it off, Emily—” Jason began.

“No, I want to hear what the con artist has to say about my life.” Emily’s brows lifted as she turned to Sam. “Let’s hear it. I mean, you know Sonny. You have to know and understand the mark, that’s how this works, right? You conned Jax by pretending to be some strong badass, you conned Sonny by being a whore, and my brother—” Emily’s smile was thin. “You conned him with a baby. Too bad that didn’t work out the way you planned—”

“You’re leaving.” Jason yanked open the door. “Now.”

“Jason—”

“You came over here to tell me about Sonny. Consider me told. You don’t get to throw Sam’s daughter in her face. You’re angry at me, be angry at me. You don’t take it out on her—”

Emily snorted and stalked out in the hallway, whirling around for one last dig at the threshold. “And the con just keeps going, doesn’t it, Sam? Hey, maybe you figured out how to keep it going. He’ll always feel sorry for the whore with a dead kid—”

Sam’s face was white as Jason slammed the door in his sister’s face. He exhaled slowly, and now the trembling in his hands wasn’t just anger. It was shock. He had no idea his sister had that kind of venom inside of her for Sam. For anyone.

He turned to look at Sam. “I’m sorry.”

“Why?” Sam exhaled slowly, a careful breath as she let her arms fall to the side. “Was she wrong?”

“What?”

She stared at him, her eyes dry. “Was she wrong?” Sam repeated. “I conned Jax, you already know that. And Sonny started as a con. So did you.”

Jason swallowed hard. “Sam—”

“It’s not like I planned it—not after Sonny. But I needed a place to be safe. To figure things out. So I picked you. And I stayed.” She exhaled slowly. “I used my kid. I knew it would work. I knew you were…”

He just stared at her as she trailed off. “What are you saying to me right now?”

“I thought it stopped. I thought I stopped conning you.” She clenched her hands into fists at her side. “But maybe I don’t know how to do that. I mean, I just—I don’t know. Maybe I don’t exist. I don’t. Samantha McCall never existed. I was just some baby Alexis Davis threw away, and Cody McCall ended up with. I had ten different names by the time I was fifteen, you know that? I don’t exist. Maybe I never did.”

She scrubbed her hands over her face, took a deep breath. “Thank you for making her go. I need to take a walk.”

“Let me go with you—”

“No. No. I need some air. I feel like I’m suffocating in here.”

Jason watched her go, then looked over as his cell phone began to ring. He could see the caller ID screen flash with Carly’s name. He grimaced, then reached for it.

It was going to be a long day.

General Hospital: Locker Room

Elizabeth tugged her scrub pants on, then cinched them at the waist with the tie. She sat down to put on her sneakers.

Then she heard the locker room door open so hard that it bounced against the wall with a booming THUD. She twisted on the bench as Emily rounded a row of lockers and threw her bag on the bench. It rolled over and fell onto the floor, cosmetics, pens, and keys spilling out onto the concrete floor.

Emily scowled down at it, then looked at her. “Well, go on. Let me have it. Be the fifteenth person to scream at me and throw me out.”

Elizabeth merely lifted her brows. “Good morning, Em.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. The entire world knows I’m screwing Sonny Corinthos.” Emily got on her knees and started shoving things back into her purse.

Elizabeth tied her second sneaker then tugged her hair back into a ponytail. She closed her locker. She’d seen the tabloids and hadn’t been as surprised as she thought she might be. “Well, by now, I guess they do. Who threw you out?”

“My brother. Can you believe it?”

Elizabeth hesitated as she pinned her ID to her scrub top. “Jason?” she asked with a frown. That didn’t sound like the man she knew. “Jason threw you out?”

“He demanded I stop seeing Sonny, too. It was like an alien zapped into his place. Like he wasn’t even my brother. And then Sam had the nerve to weigh in like anyone gives a damn what she says—”

Elizabeth scratched her temple, trying to understand. “Jason threw you out because you refused to stop seeing Sonny?” She could see Alan or Monica maybe doing that. Possibly Edward. But not Jason.

“Well…” Emily bit her lip. “Maybe he didn’t throw me out until I…” She looked away, sighed. “Until I accused Sam of using her dead baby to con Jason into marriage.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth nodded slowly. “Well, yeah, that would do it, I would bet. Em—”

“I didn’t mean it—”

“Yeah, you did. You’ve said the same thing to me.”

“Well, I didn’t mean to say it,” Emily said with a roll of her eyes. “But, like, where she does get off, telling me Jason’s just worried about me—” She scowled. “Oh, I know that look, Elizabeth Imogene. You agree with her.”

“I—” Elizabeth sighed. “I don’t know. I wasn’t there. But you know it’s not like Jason to just tell you what to do. He only does that when he’s scared.”

“He thinks Sonny will drive me nuts. It’s not my fault Brenda had a breakdown or that Carly spent time in Ferncliffe. It’s not even the first time she was there, you know? Like, they both had issues. I don’t—and I’m certainly not going to listen to a man who’s currently screwing Sonny’s last girlfriend—”

“Well, you’re forgetting about Reese,” Elizabeth reminded her, still at a bit of a loss at what had gotten into Emily. “Emily—”

“No. No, you don’t get to agree with my brother, Elizabeth. That is tremendously unfair. You are my best friend. He doesn’t even know you exist anymore. You have to take my side—”

“Emily, you have a vicious way of being an idiot when you get mad.” Elizabeth shook her head. “The same thing that makes you a good friend is what makes you an awful person to fight with.”

“What does that mean?”

“Because you are so compassionate and you read people so well—you know exactly where to drive the knife when you want to hurt someone.”

Emily stared at her. Folded her arms. “That’s not true—”

“No? Sam tried to defuse the situation with you and Jason, and you threw her dead daughter in her face. I mean, Christ, Em. Whether you like her or hate her, whether she’s a con artist or not — you know how hard that was for her. For Jason. They were—” She shook her head. “That was a bad time for them. And she loved her child. And you used it against her. Because you wanted her to shut up and leave you alone.”

“I—”

“Just now. I’m here, trying to be there for you, and you think this is a good time to remind me how it ended with him? He doesn’t know I exist, Em? What the hell.”

“I—” Emily’s lip trembled. “But—”

“First, it’s not true. I know it’s not true. But you know what happened between us at the end. You know how much it hurt me for him to treat me like nothing. You know that. So you used it. Just like you used Sam’s daughter. Because when you’re hurt, you need to take us down with you.”

“I’m sorry.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “It’s been a bad day, okay? I woke up to my entire family screaming at me. I tried to head off Jason, but Sam had already shown him the damn paper—if she wasn’t there, he wouldn’t have seen it. And I could have explained it to him—and why the hell is he so mad? He married Sonny’s sister, didn’t he? He quit his job over her. He—”

“I am aware of what Jason sacrificed to be with Courtney,” Elizabeth said dryly. “And so is he. What exactly do you think you could have said to him that would change how he handled it?”

“The paper makes it seem like some sordid affair. We’re not married. Neither of us, okay? We’re single. We’re adults. I have a right to be happy, Elizabeth. Don’t I?”

“Of course you do. But you don’t get to decide how other people feel about this. Because, yeah, Jason married Sonny’s sister. And that ended in disaster, so there’s that. And he was the one that broke Brenda into little pieces. You were at the wedding. You saw it happen. You saw her break down afterward. He’s watched Sonny with woman after woman, and you think he’s thrilled you’re next?”

“It’s different with me—”

“And maybe it is. But he didn’t hear about it from you. You knew he’d take it like this, Em. You knew everyone would. Lucky thinks I knew and lied to him about it, so that’s been fun for me.” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “You went into his home and ended up fighting with Sam. Is that all you said to her? Or did you maybe deserve to have him throw you out? And good for him. Because if you’d ever used either of my miscarriages against me in a fight, I would have thrown you out, too.”

She stalked away from her best friend and went to clock in. She didn’t have the patience for Emily right now. She adored her best friend more than anything in the world, but Emily could be incredibly naive and selfish.

And Elizabeth just did not have room in her life for that right now.

Courtland Street: Alley

Lucky cleared his throat and ducked behind a row of trash cans. “Santiago?” he called, pitching his voice low.

“Yeah, what you call for?” the irritated growl came from the shadows as a man with an average-height and olive skin sauntered towards him, his dark hair tucked underneath a backward baseball cap. “You wearing a wire? You tryin’ to screw me over?”

“No,” Lucky scowled. He glanced over his shoulder, making sure they were alone. “You got it?”

“Yeah, I got it, but I’m not convinced you’re for real. Maybe you’re setting me up.” Santiago lifted his chin, held out his hand. In his palm sat two round white pills.

Lucky raised his brows. “What, you want me to prove it by taking them in front of you?”

“Yeah. That’s the way of it. You want to do business, you gotta try the product.” He wiggled his hand. “So, let’s go.”

“Fine,” he muttered. Lucky grabbed the pills and tossed them down his throat. The taste was chalky on his dry throat but if they were the oxy Santiago had promised on the phone—

The pain would be gone soon, and Lucky would be able to breathe again. He’d be able to get through his therapy again.

He knew he was taking a chance buying the product on the street, calling old contacts he’d met while patrolling the streets as a rookie, but he was desperate. He’d gone to Mercy Hospital, and doctors there had refused another prescription.

Lucky was a cop, damn it, and he didn’t deserve being treated like a goddamn drug addict. He just needed to get through therapy, and how the hell was he supposed to do that if he couldn’t even think through the pain? Everything was always on fire, and he just wanted the fucking pain to stop for a minute so he could think.

“Satisfied?” he demanded. He shoved the cash at Santiago. “Take it. Give me what I asked for.”

Santiago pursed his lips, then shrugged. “Sure.” He dug a bag out of his pocket. “Just what you asked. Twenty pills.”

“Twenty—” Lucky scowled. “I told you I needed thirty—I paid for thirty—”

“You want me to sell to a cop, you gotta pay the price.” Santiago drew back his hand. “You don’t want it?”

“Give me the fucking pills.” Lucky snatched the plastic bag from the dealer’s hands as his money disappeared into Santiago’s jeans. “This had better be the real stuff.”

“Hey, a cop on the client list isn’t the worst thing to have.” Santiago shrugged. “You need a refill, you know where to find me.”

He slunk back into the shadows, disappearing down the alley until all Lucky could hear was footsteps.

He wouldn’t need a refill. He’d make these last two weeks, and then he’d be able to get back to work. And then he’d never have to take another damn pill again.

Greystone Manor: Foyer

“Don’t bother to tell me he’s in a meeting,” Jason all but growled at Max as the loyal guard attempted to stop him. “I’m going in—”

“Listen, Sonny said if you came in, he—” Max pressed his body against the double doors that blocked Jason from the living room. He spread his hands out.

“Max.” Jason glared. “Do you think you can stop me?”

“No,” the guard admitted, “but I got my orders, Jase. So I gotta at least try.”

“Fair enough. Now move.”

“Moving.” Max darted past Jason and went outside to get away from whatever was going to happen inside there. He, and several others that worked at the estate, half thought Sonny had it coming. You just didn’t date a guy’s sister without warning him. Not when you’d known her since she was twelve years old.

Sonny scowled as Jason shoved the doors open. “Max!” he called.

“Don’t bother. He’s already gone.”

The two partners stared at each other for a long moment, nearly a decade of friendship between them. This wasn’t even the first time Sonny had done something like this. There had been that terrible night when Carly had waltzed down the penthouse steps, dressed in nothing more than Sonny’s dress shirt.

That had hurt. Not only because Jason had half-believed he was in love with Carly, but because he’d known why Sonny had done it. Because he thought Jason needed to be taught who Carly was. Sonny had proved himself that night to be no different than Robin. He was just someone else who couldn’t see that Jason was his own man, capable of making his own choices—even if they were mistakes.

They’d managed to somehow put that past them, but now—

“She’s an adult, Jason,” Sonny said finally. He calmly sipped his bourbon. “And you’re not her father.”

“Then why lie?” Jason demanded. “You’ve been avoiding me, not taking meetings, not taking care of business because you knew how I’d feel—Emily’s been ditching work, her friends, me—you both knew how this was going to go, so you lied—”

“Because we knew you’d be unreasonable,” Sonny said easily, but his dark eyes darted away, almost if he didn’t believe his own words. “So we kept it to ourselves. I’m sure you’re worried about her safety—”

“I’m not—” Jason clenched his fists at his side. “You think this is about danger? Emily’s an adult. She’s been around me long enough to understand it. That has nothing to do with it.”

Sonny blinked at him, set the tumbler down on the bar with a thunk of glass. “What the hell then—”

“I should have seen it coming,” Jason said flatly. “She was lonely and vulnerable. Alone. Desperate. That’s your type.”

“My…” Sonny trailed off as the corners of his mouth tightened. “My type.”

“Brenda. Carly. Hannah. Lily. Sam. All of the women you’ve damaged. All of the women you’ve used. Brenda and Carly had nervous breakdowns. Lily is dead. Hannah gave up her career for you—”

“And you blame me for all of that?” Sonny demanded.

“I will not let my sister be next casualty!” Jason shot back. “Just because we’re friends doesn’t mean I don’t know exactly who you are and what you do to women. I’m the one that cleans up after you!”

Sonny exhaled slowly. “I didn’t realize you thought so highly of me,” he said dryly.

“Is that why you’ve refused to do anything about Manny Ruiz?” Jason demanded. “Why I’ve been taking all the meetings? Why you’ve been distracted? This always happens—you fall in love, and you let everything go to hell. Not this time—”

“Fuck you!”

“If anything happens because of Manny Ruiz—” Jason began.

“What’re you gonna do?” Sonny taunted. “What? Some friend you’ve turned out to be—”

Jason opened his mouth, but a sound behind them had them both pausing and turning to look as Sam entered, hesitant. “What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice tight.

“When I got back to the penthouse, you weren’t there. I was afraid you’d come here.” Sam put her hand on his arm. “You’re still upset. You’re not thinking clearly. Let’s go home.”

“Oh, look. Another one of my messes you’ve had to clean up,” Sonny snarled with a dismissive wave of his hand at the woman who had carried—and lost—his child.

Sam reeled back as if struck, and Jason winced, wondering how many more hits she was supposed to take today. It was one thing to take their anger out on each other—but Sonny had gone too far—

“Don’t talk to her—” Jason began.

“What? Isn’t that what you’re here to do? To prevent your darling little sister from being one of my pieces of roadkill?” Sonny snarled. The other man stalked towards them. “You clean up my messes — I’m just stating facts. You’re not wrong. Who let Sam live with him while I dealt with Carly?”

He shrugged, but the rage was almost visible in the trembling of his shoulders. “You don’t want Emily to end up crazy like Brenda and Carly, dead like Lily and Reese, out of a job like Hannah, or…” Sonny squinted at his former girlfriend, who glared at him. “What exactly is the nature of your damage, Sam? What terrible legacy have I left you with beyond shoving you at Jason?”

Sam took a deep breath and bit back whatever terrible thing she was going to say. Jason could see her shaking from the effort. “I am not going to let the two of you use me to hurt each other. I’m fine, Sonny. You never gave a damn about me or my daughter, and I knew that.”

Sonny smirked, then looked at Jason. “See? Proof I don’t ruin all women—”

Sam narrowed her eyes. “You can’t hurt someone who doesn’t give a shit about you, Sonny. You can’t damage something that doesn’t let you touch it. I never gave a damn about you either.”

Sonny stared at her, stunned. “But—”

“You were a rich man who was handsome and mildly good in bed. You were a mark. Until you weren’t worth the effort. So, please, leave me out of this fight. I’m not someone you need to fix or clean up,” she shot at Jason, and to Sonny, she said, “And the only worthwhile thing I got from you was my daughter. You can both go to hell.”

She stalked out, slamming the front door behind her, the sound echoing like a gunshot.

Jason exhaled slowly and looked back at Sonny, who was shell-shocked as if it had never occurred to him that the con artist he’d taken to his bed had only been using him the way he’d used her.

“You and Emily are going to do whatever you want. You’re adults. But you lied to me. You avoided me, and you’ve been ignoring business. Not just Manny Ruiz, but the Escobars. And if just one person gets hurt because of this—”

He trailed off because he honestly didn’t know what he would do. So he just let his threat hang in the air before he left.

Something had broken in his relationship with Sonny that day, but maybe it had already been broken, and Jason had simply refused to see it.

And I don’t blame ya dear
For running like you did all these years
I would do the same, you best believe
And the highway signs say we’re close
But I don’t read those things anymore
I never trusted my own eyes
– Stubborn Love, The Lumineers

---

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

General Hospital: Break Room

“Oh, Bobbie, I’m so glad I caught you.”

Bobbie Spencer turned from the coffee pot and offered Elizabeth a warm smile. “Hey, sweetie.” She kissed her cheek. “How are you doing? We haven’t caught up in a few weeks.”

She mixed sugar into the coffee she poured. “How’s surgery?”

“A little boring. It’s been a lot of paperwork so far,” Elizabeth confessed. She folded her arms, leaned back against the fridge. “Patrick wants me to be familiar with a lot of the complications, to know the procedures before he’ll start letting me scrub in to observe or assist.”

“Makes sense.” Bobbie’s lips curved into a smile. “You could still change your mind. We need a nurse down in the ER—”

“I know, I know. But I have better hours upstairs, and that matters right now.” Elizabeth hesitated. “Listen, I wanted to ask you what your schedule was like. Gram is leaving for Memphis later this week, and she picks up Cameron from daycare a few nights.”

“Oh, yeah?” Bobbie sipped her coffee. “What’s Lucky doing?”

Elizabeth pressed her lips together, looked away. “Um—well, he’s doubling up on his physical therapy. You know Patrick didn’t give him a return date yet, and, uh—” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “I can pay you—”

“Stop it. We’re family.” Bobbie waved it away. “I was just wondering why Lucky wasn’t jumping at the chance to spend a little more time with Cam.” She tilted her head. “Have you guys started the adoption process yet?”

“Oh.” Elizabeth laughed nervously, looking down. “No, no. We’re—we’re, um, holding off on that for a little while. There are, uh, filing fees. And you know, Lucky’s his stepfather right now, so—” She stopped. “When things calm down,” she said finally. “We’re going to revisit it then.”

“I see.” Bobbie sat down at the table, nodded. “Well, I have Carly’s boys a few times a week — to give Leticia a few free evenings while Carly works. She bought into the Metro Court, did you know?”

“I saw something about that. So, maybe Lulu or one of her friends could babysit?” Elizabeth frowned. “Or do you think they’ll—”

“No, what I was going to say is that it might be good for Cameron to play with the boys. He and Morgan are a few months apart, and Michael does a good job with younger kids. I can probably give you two or three nights a week right now.” Bobbie raised her brows. “How many did you need?”

“That’ll work for now. Thank you so much. And I love the idea of Cameron playing with kids his age. I should get back to work—”

“Elizabeth?”

She turned back at the door to look at her aunt by marriage. “Yeah?”

“Is…everything okay?”

Elizabeth forced a smile on her face. “It’s fine. Thanks again, Bobbie. My break is over.”

General Hospital: Hallway

 Patrick frowned when he saw Lucky pacing the hallway outside of his office. “Lucky? Did I forget an appointment?”

“No—” Lucky huffed. “I’m sorry. I know that I was—” He clenched his fists at his side and took a deep breath. “I know I was out of line at my last appointment. Do you have a minute?”

“I have a few before I have to go down for rounds.” Patrick unlocked his office and gestured for Lucky to come in. “How’s the pain?”

“Worse than when I left the hospital,” Lucky admitted. He cleared his throat. “Because I’m out of the pain meds and I was hoping—”

“You weren’t able to find another doctor?” Patrick leaned over his desk and dug Lucky’s chart from a pile on his desk. “I told you, Lucky. I’m not prescribing you any more.” He flipped it open, just to refresh his memory. “I mean, you’ve been in and out of the hospital for a while—and it looks like the train accident wasn’t the first time you’d been prescribed the oxy.”

“Uh…no, I had it after the coma last year.” Lucky rubbed his chest. “I had a rough year—”

“Shot in the chest, a stroke, impaled by a pole—” Patrick nodded. “Yeah, I get it, Lucky. I really do. You’ve been on oxycontin off and on for a year.” He hesitated. “I didn’t have the earlier records the last time we talked. When you told me about the other injuries, I got curious. You never…”

He met Lucky’s eyes. “You never went off the oxy, did you? You kept asking for refills, and the doctor kept refilling it. At the same dosage.”

“Because I’m not addicted. I just need to get through the day—those pills were why I was able to get back to work—I have a family—” Lucky scowled. “What the hell are you accusing me of?”

“Nothing. But knowing that you’ve been on these meds for a year now?” Patrick shook his head. “I’m not writing a refill. I haven’t changed my mind—”

“Bullshit! You weren’t my doctor last year! You have no right to judge me!” Lucky grabbed Patrick by the shirt and shook him. Despite Patrick’s height and health, he merely arched a brow as if curious enough to see where this would go.

“I’m a fucking cop! I got injured in the line of duty! I need to get back to work! I need to get through physical therapy! You have to refill—”

“You need to go to the pain management clinic.” Patrick looked down at the hands holding his scrubs. “You gonna let me go, or do I have to call for security?”

“Fuck you!” Lucky spat. He shoved Patrick away. “You think you know what it’s like to be me? I was shot in the chest! I nearly died! I got a pole shoved through me—I’m lucky to walk! I did that! I got back on my feet!”

“You did. And maybe you’ll do it again. But not with those pain meds. A year is long enough, Lucky.” Patrick reached for his notepad. He scribbled something down, ripped off the sheet, then handed it to Lucky. “Here—”

Hoping it was a refill, Lucky snatched it out of his hands. Blood pounded in his ears as he realized Patrick had just, once again, written down the address of the pain management clinic. “You son of a bitch!”

He swung out with his left hand, intending to break apart his pretty face, but Patrick quickly sidestepped him. Lucky fell onto the desk, then rolled onto the floor, panting and wincing from the pain.

“You have a problem,” Patrick said quietly. “You need to get it under control. You have a beautiful wife, a son—”

Lucky shoved himself to his feet, wiped his mouth, and glared at him. “You better not be filling my wife’s head with this shit! I am not an addict! You have no right to tell her!”

“I haven’t.” Patrick grimaced. “I wish I had when I first took you off the pills. But you revoked permission, and I have to respect that. But Lucky—” He shook his head. “You keep going down this path, and Elizabeth will find out sooner or later.”

“Well, it won’t be from you!” Lucky tore the address into pieces and let them drop on the ground. “Go to hell.”

He staggered out of the office and made it to a nearby restroom. Lucky splashed water on his face, trying to get himself under control, to block out the burning fire in his back. He just wanted his life back.

And that was never going to happen unless he could make the pain go away.

General Hospital: Hallway

Elizabeth slid the last chart into the slot on the door and breathed a sigh of relief that she was finally done checking every last patient under her care. They were stable, their meds were up to date—

She had been nervous about taking over the post-surgery ward as part of her training, but it had gone pretty well so far, and— Elizabeth checked her watch with a smile. It was time for her break.

She took the service stairs down a flight to get to the locker room—she wanted to call Cameron’s daycare and check on him. She never got to spend enough time with her little guy, and every minute counted.

But when she retrieved her phone from her purse, she frowned down at it. She had three missed calls from Lucky and one from Jason. She bit her lip, then dialed her husband first because that was the right thing to do.

“Hey—”

“Where the hell have you been?”

Elizabeth flinched at the anger in his voice. “I’m at work, Lucky. I don’t have my phone while I’m on shift. If you need me—”

“You weren’t at work! I just looked for you there! Nadine said you weren’t there! That you didn’t work there anymore!”

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Lucky, I don’t work on the Pediatrics floor anymore. Don’t you remember? I got—I got promoted. To surgery. I’m on the sixth floor. Are you still here—”

“I—” He was quiet for a long moment. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice calmer now. “I forgot. I’ve had a lot on my mind. No, I went home.”

“Okay—”

“I’ll see you later.”

The line went dead, and Elizabeth just stared at it for a long moment. She thought about running upstairs to ask Nadine what the hell happened, but…

She really didn’t want to know. Lucky had forgotten about the promotion that they’d argued about only a few days ago—her promotion which was the whole reason she couldn’t change her shifts around—

Pushing Lucky and all of it out of her head, she dialed Jason’s number. Maybe he had good news—she hadn’t seen the creepy janitor once today.

“Hey. You called? I’m sorry. I’m at work, and I don’t have my phone on the floor—”

“It’s okay,” Jason said. “I wanted to know when your break was. Or ask if you can meet after work.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth blinked. “Is everything okay? I’m—I’m on break right now, but—”

“I’m in the area, so I can be there in ten minutes. Is that enough? I’ll meet you on the roof.”

“Yeah, uh, ten minutes is fine.” She hung up the phone, then shook her head. It seemed like the day for weird calls. She grabbed her coat, hung it over her arm as she shoved her cell phone into the pockets of her scrubs, and closed her locker.

When she left the room, she stopped still as Manny Ruiz exited a hospital room on the other side of her. He flashed her a smile. “Hey, Elizabeth. It’s nice to see you.”

“Uh, hello—”

“Have a nice day.”

Then he wheeled his cart down the hall, whistling as he walked. Elizabeth fought the urge to shudder, then went back to the service stairs. She didn’t want him to follow her to the elevator and know where she was going.

General Hospital: Roof

As she stepped out onto the roof, she pulled her coat on—the winds were still brutal at this time of year, and she didn’t know what the hell Jason was thinking, asking her to meet up here.

She blew warm air into her hands, rubbed them together. “Just because he can’t feel cold doesn’t mean the rest of us are so lucky,” she muttered. She glanced over her shoulder as the heavy steel door to the hospital opened, and Jason stepped out.

“Hey—”

“Hey. What’s going on?” She walked towards him, shoving her hands in her pockets—she’d forgotten to grab her gloves. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just—” Jason grimaced. “I’m sorry. I forgot how cold it is—I just didn’t want Manny to see us meeting.”

“Oh.” She shoved a piece of hair away from her face. “Fair enough. I hadn’t heard from you since the pier, so I guess—” She managed a half-smile. “I guess I thought the problem was almost over.”

“Yeah, I wanted it to be,” Jason admitted. “But Sonny—” He shook his head. “He doesn’t think we should do anything.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth drew her brows together. “Oh. Okay. I guess—well, maybe he’s right. Maybe I’ve overreacting—” When she saw him look away, she paused and thought about what he’d said. “He doesn’t think you should do anything,” she repeated. “That’s not the same thing as nothing needs to be done.”

“Skye is Alcazar’s problem,” Jason managed to say, though it looked as if every word had to be forced from his throat. “And—” He broke off, looked at the ground.

“I’m married to a cop,” Elizabeth finished. “So, you don’t need to do anything about either of us.”

“I didn’t—” He shook his head. “It’s not what I think, but—”

“But it’s what Sonny thinks.” She closed her eyes. Oh, man. Things never changed. “Well, that’s that. Thanks. Maybe I’ll talk to Alcazar—”

Elizabeth started past Jason, but he grabbed her elbow—stopped her from leaving. She turned back to face him. “What?”

“I know what you’re thinking—”

“You really don’t—”

“I told Sonny—”

“Jason—” Elizabeth held up her hands, palms out. “Look, I really get it. It doesn’t matter that Luke and Sonny were business partners, that Lucky was brought up in this world, too. You know? He’s a cop now. And I married him. I get that for Sonny, it puts a huge dent in my credibility. I really do understand that.”

“Elizabeth—”

“And he doesn’t know Skye. Other than when she testified at your murder trial and tried to have Brenda convicted of murder—” Elizabeth winced. “She’s not someone who matters to him. And—” It went without saying that Elizabeth hadn’t really ever mattered to Sonny either. “I get it,” she repeated. She bit her lip, then shook her head. “I should get back to work—”

“What were you going to say?” Jason pressed, laying his hand on the door so she couldn’t open it. “Elizabeth—”

She hesitated, then sighed. “Honestly? It doesn’t surprise me.” She met his eyes, saw him frown. “It’s just—” She looked away. “I thought you were worried, too. When I told you I trusted you to take care of Manny—I don’t know. It seemed like it mattered to you.”

“It does—”

“Not enough,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “I don’t know what made me think things would be different this time.”

Jason blinked, stepped back with a shake of his head. “This time?” he echoed.

“Sonny gave you an order,” she said softly. “And you’re going to follow it. Nothing’s changed at all, has it?”

He swallowed hard—and she knew now that Jason knew exactly what she meant. He’d remembered it when they’d talked briefly about Sonny faking his death, but she wasn’t sure how much of it had stayed with him.

“Elizabeth—”

“I think maybe I wondered…I wondered because of what happened with Courtney,” she said slowly, even as her brain screamed shut the hell up! “And then Sam’s daughter. I thought—but I get it now.”

“What—” He clenched his fists at his side. “What do you get?” he asked finally.

“Sonny gives you an order, and you follow it. Unless it matters enough for you to do what you think is right.” She smiled, even as her vision blurred. “And this doesn’t.” She took a deep breath. “Skye doesn’t matter.”

She didn’t say anything else, but the unspoken conclusion hung between them, heavy in the chilled air.

I don’t matter.

“That’s not—”

“I was wrong back then. When I said you would always be Sonny’s enforcer.” He closed his mouth, pressed his lips together. “First, last—maybe. But not always. So, I guess there’s that.”

When he said nothing else, she nodded. “I’m going back to work. Thanks for letting me know.”

General Hospital: Lab

Robin glanced up when her door crashed open, and an angry neurosurgeon stalked in. “Hello,” she said blandly. “Having a bad day?”

She made a note with her pencil as she awaited whatever snark Patrick would offer—their usual routine. Then he just sat on the stool next to her and glared at the wall, she set down her pencil.

“What’s wrong?”

“Patient confidentiality is what’s wrong. You should never have friends.” Patrick glared at her. “This is your fault.”

“Because I encouraged you to be nice to people?” Robin asked. “Because I didn’t tell you to make friends.”

“No, but—” He scowled, dragged his hands through his hair. “I can’t tell you. You’re not a doctor on his case.”

“No, but I’m not stupid. And if I guess it, then you’re in the clear.” She pursed her lips. “You have a total of two friends in Port Charles. Elizabeth and me.”

“I have other friends—”

“Frat brothers scattered to the corners of the Earth, yes, I know.” Robin tipped her head to the side. “Something wrong with Lucky’s case? And he’s not telling Elizabeth? But it’s something she should know?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that.” Patrick grimaced. “But I really can’t deny it.” He stared at her sullenly. “He revoked her access to his files. Not that she cared, I bet. But it meant I could talk to her. And now I wish I’d said this thing to her before he revoked.”

“But you didn’t.” Robin hesitated. “I’ve known Lucky for years. He’s a good guy—”

“Who just took a swing at me—” Patrick shook his head. “I’m sure he’s a good guy who has had a lot of rotten luck. But he’s being a dick about it—”

“He really went after you? Did you call security?”

Patrick snorted. “Please. He’s got the strength of a fly right now. Anyway, can you think of a way around this whole friend thing? Is there a loophole? Because if I’m right, Elizabeth really should know this. As a human being on this planet, I want her to know—”

“Patrick, can you just—” Robin wrinkled her nose, then sighed. “Look, Elizabeth works at the hospital, so she knows about confidentiality. And she lives with him, so whatever he’s dealing with, she’ll figure out. The only loophole—which I’m sure you know—is imminent danger. If you know something about your patient—”

“I can contact the authorities if I think he’s going to hurt someone, himself, or otherwise break the law. Yeah.” Patrick flicked a pencil across the desk. “No such luck. I think he’s just making a dumb decision.” He paused. “I think…if things don’t change, I think it might be something that could get him in trouble down the line.”

“Okay.” Robin nodded. “So, we wait. We pay attention. I like Elizabeth, too. I haven’t worked with her as much as you have, but she was always a good person.” She touched Patrick’s hand. “I’m sorry we can’t do more.”

“I just—” Patrick shook his head. “There are things that I’m seeing that remind me…” He met her eyes. “They remind of my dad. And sometimes, when my dad got into moods, you stayed clear of him. And that’s all I can say.”

Robin sat back and swallowed the initial protest that she knew Lucky, knew that he wouldn’t do those things. “We’ll keep our eye out, Patrick,” she repeated. “And we’ll stick by Elizabeth. We’ll be her friend. That’s all we can do for now.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

 Sam looked at the clock on the mantelpiece and frowned before picking up her phone to dial Jason’s number. He’d said he’d be early tonight, and she wanted to talk to him—wanted to clear the air. Things had been tense and weird between them since their fight over the maternity test, and Sam wanted things to just go back to the way they had been.

She felt slightly mortified that she’d acted that way on the pier yesterday when she’d seen Jason sitting close to Elizabeth. They’d looked so…intimate. They’d been making eye contact, their bodies turned towards one another—

Sam had been sure something was going on she didn’t understand—but then he’d told her it was about Manny, and Elizabeth had looked positively bewildered by the suggestion of anything else. Whatever weird flirtation they might have had in the past—it was over. Jason had told her that—

The door opened, and Sam turned around to see Jason walk in. “Hey, I was hoping—”

She stopped when Jason didn’t look at her. He hung up his coat, then put his gun in the lockbox in the closet. “What’s wrong?”

“What?” Jason frowned and shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

“You just—you look like something’s wrong.” Sam folded her arms. “I know we’ve been fighting, but—” She bit her lip. “You said you were going to talk to Sonny yesterday. I was asleep when you got home. Is—did something happen?”

“I—” Jason took a deep breath. “Maybe. I don’t know. Elizabeth thinks Manny is watching Skye at the hospital, but Sonny doesn’t seem to think—” He rubbed his eyebrow. “He doesn’t think it’s our problem.”

“Manny isn’t your problem?” Sam repeated skeptically. “How does he figure that? Is that what you and Elizabeth were talking about yesterday?”

“Uh, yeah. She’d just—she’s worried. But Sonny thinks Skye is Alcazar’s problem, and—”

“Since Alcazar decided to start taking over in Miami, he’s fallen off your radar, right?” Sam shrugged. “Maybe Sonny’s right. Alcazar should have a guard on his girlfriend. Especially since she’s pregnant. I mean, are you surprised that’s what he thinks?”

“No,” Jason admitted. “No, I guess I’m not. I just—I think Elizabeth was disappointed,” he continued, his voice dropping just slightly as he’d continued speaking. Sam squinted at that, trying to understand his shift in tone.

“Because she’d thought you’d ride to Skye’s rescue?” Sam asked. “Well, I mean, she doesn’t get it. Right? I mean, you can’t do anything crazy to draw attention to you, the PCPD is still watching Manny, and Skye’s the one walking around without a guard.”

“Yeah—” Jason rubbed his chest, absently. “Yeah, I know. That’s all true. But—”

“But you still feel responsible for Manny,” Sam said slowly. “Because you didn’t kill him when you had the chance. So anything he does is on you.” She wrinkled her nose. “Jason, that’s kind of insane. I mean, Manny’s done crap to a lot of people. Is all of it your fault?”

“No. No, but—”

“He’s not coming after anyone you care about, is he?” Sam asked, arching her brows. “I mean, it’s not like Sonny is telling you to abandon someone who matters. Skye isn’t even really part of your family. Why do you care about her?”

“I don’t, really,” Jason said. But he frowned at her. “But Lila and Emily do. Alan does.”

“Fair enough.” Sam tilted her head. “You told Elizabeth what Sonny said?”

“Uh, yeah.” Jason looked away, looked towards the desk. He put his hands on the back of the chair “I talked to her today. I just came from the hospital.” He glanced at Sam for a moment, then looked away again.

Sam straightened her shoulders. “Jason, you said Elizabeth was someone you trusted, right? I mean, it’s not like she’s trying to get you to do something that you could get in trouble for to help her husband?”

Jason wrinkled his nose, almost in disgust. “No—no, that’s not—she wouldn’t do that. She’s scared of Manny. Lucky already told her they couldn’t do anything. So she’s…”

“I just—I guess I’m trying to figure out why you’re so….” Sam wiggled her fingers. “So weird right now. You agree with me, you agree with Sonny — this isn’t your problem. Except for the fact you always take on the weight of the world. So, what, are you upset because you disappointed Elizabeth Spencer? I didn’t realize you were so close.”

“We’re—we’re not,” Jason said after a long moment. “But that doesn’t mean I like letting her down.”

He said this more to the surface of the desk because he didn’t look up when he said it. Sam narrowed her eyes. “Courtney said something weird to me once.”

Jason looked up, frowned at her. “What—”

“She said that no matter what,” Sam said, folding her arms, “I was never going to measure up to Elizabeth. I thought it was a weird thing to say at the time, and I mostly forgot it. I met Elizabeth later that summer, and I just got this weird vibe that the two of you had been something once.”

“Sam—” Jason exhaled slowly. “Once. A long time ago. It didn’t—It didn’t go anywhere,” he said, almost as if he were forcing the words out. “But we were always friends. We’re just—we’re not that close anymore.”

“But you asked her to run my test—”

“Because I knew I could trust her. And I’d already told her about the orderlies at the hospital watching Manny. Sam, it’s not—” Jason paused. “It’s not more complicated than that.”

“Okay.” Sam pursed her lips. “Then I’m sorry you disappointed a friend, Jason, but she doesn’t live in this world. She doesn’t get it. I mean, do you think Sonny’s wrong about not getting involved?”

“I think there are good reasons not to,” Jason said slowly. “But that doesn’t change the fact that Manny Ruiz is a dangerous psycho, and we’d all be better off if he were gone.”

“You’re not Superman,” Sam said flatly. “It’s not your job to fix the world.”

Jason looked at her for a long moment, and she had a strange thought she’d said the exact wrong thing. “I’m gonna head to the warehouse. We’re expecting a shipment.”

“Jason—” Sam just stared at him as he took down his gun, tucked it into his jeans, then put on his coat. “You just got home—”

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

“But—”

The door closed behind him, and she scowled. Just what the hell had gotten into him lately?

Well if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand
I’ve seen your face before my friend, but I don’t know if you know who I am
Well I was there and I saw what you did, I saw it with my own two eyes
So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you’ve been
It’s all been a pack of lies
– In the Air Tonight, Phil Collins

---

Monday, March 20, 2006

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Elizabeth sighed as she hung up her cell phone and looked at Cameron, seated in his booster seat and smearing applesauce on the plastic tray in front of him. “Well, Aunt Em says she can’t come.”

“That dumb.” Cameron sighed, then shoved his applesauce covered fingers in his mouth and licked them. “Miss Em.”

She sighed. She and Emily hadn’t seen each other outside of the hospital in weeks, which is why she’d decided to spend her day off having breakfast with her best friend. But Emily had called at the last minute — something had come up. Just like every other time they’d tried to make plans.

This was not a good sign. Emily was in the middle of something and not telling anyone. Not that Emily couldn’t have a secret, but Emily’s secrets had a way of blowing up on a person.

Or being stored in a freezer on Spoon Island.

“Elizabeth?”

She looked up to find Skye smiling at her, a cup of tea in her hand. “Do you mind if I join you for a minute?”

“Oh, not at all.” Elizabeth gestured at the empty seat in front of her. “Go ahead.”

“Thanks. And thank you for catching Alan on his way out of surgery. He called later to apologize.” Skye sipped her tea and smiled at Cameron as he examined his applesauce-covered fingers.

“He’ll be two in May.” Elizabeth used one of the wipes she carried with her to clean Cameron’s hands.

“I can’t wait to have those moments,” Skye said. She sighed. “For a long time — I’m sure you know this—I didn’t think I could have children. This—” She rested a hand absently on her abdomen. “This is a miracle I never could have asked for.”

“I know what you mean. Cameron—” Elizabeth couldn’t fight the grin that spread on her face as her son gave her a wide smile with his baby teeth shining at her—then immediately plunged his hand back into his applesauce. “I had a miscarriage just before I got pregnant with Cameron, so he felt doubly precious.”

“The reason I wanted to…” Skye bit her lip. “And please, if I’m being rude or prying, really, I’ll back off. But you just—I feel like you might be the only person I could ask this question.”

“Oh?” Elizabeth raised her brows. “Is everything okay?”

“It is. I’m just…” The redhead hesitated. “You know that this baby—that it’s fathered by Lorenzo Alcazar.”

“I do.”

“And…it’s not like I didn’t know who he was before I got involved with him. And I’m not exactly some innocent civilian.” Skye laughed, her eyes twinkling with a bit of mischief. “I know how to make trouble, but my kind of trouble…well, it’s different from Lorenzo’s.”

“I bet.” Elizabeth pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side. “So…what can I do?”

“It seems silly, but…I don’t know, having a child with a man who…leads a life like this…I suppose I’m thinking about my choices. And…this is so intrusive—I’m sorry—”

“Skye…if you’re thinking about Zander being Cameron’s father, I mean…Zander died before Cameron was born—”

“Oh.” Skye shook her head. “No, I guess I was thinking about you and Jason Morgan. You…I remember that you were dating for a while. Before…” Her lips tightened. “When Lorenzo’s brother, Luis, was in Port Charles.”

“Ah.” Elizabeth leaned back. “Well, I mean, I guess you could call it dating, but we never…we never talked about family.” She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. “I never knew I wanted to be a mother until I got pregnant the first time, so it wasn’t in my head at all, to be honest. Honestly, Skye, Sam or Carly might be a better person to ask—or Robin.”

“Right. I’m sorry. I never should have—” Flustered, Skye started to stand, but Elizabeth sighed and put out her hand.

But none of those women would probably ever answer Skye’s question, even if she mustered the courage to ask it again. And maybe she wished someone had been there for her back when she’d been asking herself similar questions.

“Listen, I guess if I was honest with myself, the way Jason lives his life never bothered me the way it should have.”

Skye sat back down. “Oh?”

“I mean, yeah, it’s not…you know, my first choice. But it’s what he does. It’s what he did before we ever met. Before we were friends. And, I don’t know…” She bit her lip. “The worst things my life — they never had anything to do with Jason. I was…I was raped when I was a teenager.”

“Oh—”

“I’m married to a cop. And I believe in the law. I really do. I believe in the legal system. But the cops never caught my rapist. And he never paid for what he did to me. He went to jail for something else, but they couldn’t get me justice.” Elizabeth jerked her shoulder. “And look at Manny Ruiz. What did the system do for us there?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“I guess the question you ask yourself, Skye, is if you’re pretending that the life Lorenzo leads has nothing to do with who you are when you’re together. Because you can ignore it for a long time, but not forever. And walking into a relationship with a man like Lorenzo…” She shrugged. “He’s living that life for a reason. What he does is a part of who he is. Otherwise, he’d be doing something else. It’s not all of it, but it’s part of it. So don’t ignore it. You have to be okay with it.”

Skye tilted her face to the side. “Is that what went wrong with you and Jason?” she asked softly. “You ignored it?”

Elizabeth exhaled slowly, looked at Cameron, who grinned at her, then looked back at Syke. “No, I accepted it. I mean, I fell in love with him taking care of him while he was recovering from a bullet wound. His enemies knew who I was, and they put a bomb in my studio. I’ve also been kidnapped and shot at.”

She pressed her lips together. “I never let my face change. I never flinched. But, you know, sometimes, it doesn’t matter what you do if the other person—” She sighed, slowly. It had been a long time since she’d thought of any of this. “It doesn’t matter how much you love someone. Not if they don’t love you back.” Her voice faltered slightly. “And he didn’t.”

“Oh,” Skye breathed. “Oh, I’m sorry—”

“No, no—” Elizabeth shook her head. “It’s okay. I mean, it was terrible for a long time, and I wish—God, I wish he’d told me. I had to figure it out on my own. But we’re okay now. We’re friends again. And I’m—I’ve got my little boy. And I’m…” She stretched her fingers out as if to emphasize her wedding ring. “Things turned out the way they were supposed to, I guess.”

She frowned slightly, looking back at the ring. That was the second time she’d said that this week.

Things had turned out the way they were supposed to. There was something wrong with that phrase. She didn’t know what exactly—

“I really am sorry to have pried, but—”

“But you’re about to become a mother,” Elizabeth finished. She smiled at Skye, a bit sadly. “There’s no question you shouldn’t ask if you want to be a good one. Being a mother—sometimes it makes you braver.” She looked at Cameron. He offered her a handful of applesauce, and she smiled.

And sometimes it made you even more of a coward — but that she kept to herself and Skye mercifully let the topic drop, and they talked for a few minutes about the hospital, about the charity benefit Skye was planning—

And then Elizabeth saw a flash in the window of Kelly’s. A face that disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared.

Skye didn’t see him, her back to the door, but Elizabeth had seen him. And it was the second time in three days she’d seen Manny Ruiz watching Skye. She swallowed hard.

That wasn’t a coincidence. And she couldn’t let it go.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Sam crossed her arms protectively in front of her as she stepped off the bottom step. She approached Jason as he sat at his desk — how much paperwork did a mobster even have? She wrinkled her nose over the thought as he turned to look at her.

“Hey.” She perched on the edge of his desk. “So, I, um, feel bad about Saturday. You’re right. I was…trying to pick a fight. And I’m sorry. I really am.”

Jason sat back in the chair and looked at her. “I’m sorry, too. But I can’t go back and…I can’t undo it.”

“No, I know. And, like, most of me gets it, you know? Like, you were trying to protect me. Why even bring it up if it wasn’t true? It’s just your bad luck…” She pursed her lips. “I don’t know. I guess being mad at you means I don’t really have to think about it? I like…not thinking about it.”

“I know.”

“And maybe it does bother me that Elizabeth Spencer knows. That she knew before me. I don’t know why. I guess I don’t want anyone to know.”

“I shouldn’t have—” Jason turned, took her hand in his. “I just—she told me the results were positive and I guess—I don’t know—I knew I was going to have to tell you, then I thought maybe I wouldn’t—I knew this would hurt you, Sam. That’s the last thing I wanted.”

“Yeah, so I guess I have to be a little grateful to Elizabeth for knocking some sense into you. It’s nice that you have someone that can do that for you. I guess….you know, I didn’t realize you were really friends. I mean, I knew you were once, but I thought it was over.”

“We’re not close,” Jason offered with a shrug. “But we used to be. And I don’t know, sometimes we can still talk to each other.” He frowned when she just pressed her lips together. “Why—why does that bother you?”

“I guess I don’t like thinking there’s a woman out there that gets you. It’s stupid, I know. But, like, she used to have a thing for you.”

“Uh, yeah, well…” Jason cleared his throat. “All of that was a long time ago.” He hesitated, wondering if he should add more because he could see that Sam was upset. He also knew it wasn’t true that Elizabeth had had a thing for him—not the way she meant it. She made it sound like it had been one-sided.

But he didn’t. He didn’t know how to describe his relationship with Elizabeth. He never had. And this wasn’t the time to start.

“What are you going to do about Alexis?” Jason asked finally.

Sam pursed her lips and frowned at him. But she allowed the change of subject. “I don’t want Alexis to know. And I don’t need any answers. Not anymore. Because, you know, they don’t matter. She didn’t want me. And it doesn’t matter why Cody McCall did. He took me from someone who threw me away like garbage—”

“Sam, she was sixteen. Her father must have done all of that—”

“She still did it. And she never looked for me. All those connections—” Sam shook her head. “She could have found me. She didn’t want me then, she doesn’t want me now. It just—none of it matters. I guess—”

She tilted her head to the ceiling. “I don’t know what I expected when I found my birth mother. I think…maybe I thought it would…all snap back into place, you know? Like I’d get the name, and I’d just—I’d feel like myself again. But knowing doesn’t change anything.”

Sam looked at him, met his eyes. “And if doing this job with Paulie makes me feel like myself again, then that’s what I have to do.”

“Okay.”

“I just need to have a win, Jase. That’s it. Just one win. I can do this. I’m good at this, you know. And I’ll just—I need this.”

“Okay,” Jason repeated.

“But you’re still not happy about it.”

“It doesn’t—”

“C’mon, yeah, it does.” Sam slid off the desk and folded her arms again. “It matters that you don’t want me to do it. Why can’t you just let me have this?”

“I’m not telling you that you can’t,” Jason told her. “You’re the one making this a big deal. You said you need this. So go do it. It’s not my job to approve of what you do, Sam. You’re the one that has to live with it.”

“And I’m doing just fine,” she snapped. “I can sleep at night. And so can you. You’re no better than me—”

“I never said that I was—”

“Sure, but you think you are. You’re an honorable mobster, but I’m just a dirty con artist.” She scowled. “It’s bullshit. We’re both criminals. That’s what makes this work—”

“It’s not that simple—” Jason bit off his protest as his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, then answered the phone. “What’s up? Yeah. Yeah, okay. Stay there. I’ll meet you.” He hung up. “I have to go.”

“Jason—”

“We’ll—” Jason sighed. “We’ll talk later.”

When he’d left, she sighed and let herself drop like a stone onto the sofa. Talking later wouldn’t change anything. One way or another, Sam would get him to admit this damn double standard and figure out how to make him understand that she didn’t want to keep closing off a part of herself.

Not for anyone.

After another moment, she got up to get changed. She needed to take a walk and clear her head.

General Hospital: Patrick Drake’s Office

Lucky winced as he lowered himself into a chair and faced Patrick sitting at his desk, his face carefully blank—

As if he knew exactly why Lucky had called for an appointment a week sooner than Patrick had suggested.

“How’s your physical therapy going?” Patrick asked blandly as he opened Lucky’s file and pulled a pencil from a cup on his desk. “Did you want to schedule another MRI?”

“No, I—” Lucky took a deep breath. “I’m following the schedule my therapist wanted me, but it’s—it’s hard.” He leaned forward slightly to take the pressure from his back. Every inch of him felt like he was on fire.

“I know, but it’s necessary if you want to get back to full and active duty sooner rather than later.” Patrick sighed, then looked down at the file. “How’s the pain?” he asked finally, but he didn’t look up.

Because he had to know. Of course, the asshole knew exactly how bad Lucky felt.

“Unbearable,” Lucky told him. “I—I ran out of my prescription.”

Patrick sighed. “I…thought you might have. Look, Lucky—”

“I get why you’re—I get it, okay? And it pisses me off that I’m even doing this. This isn’t who I am, Patrick.” Lucky leaned forward even more, his voice pitched low, almost a growl. “I’m angry all the time because of the pain. I’m snapping at Elizabeth—I’m a terrible husband, a shitty stepfather—I’m in pain all, Patrick. And I just—I need some relief. Just a little bit.”

“I hear you, but the fact is…we have new dosage guidelines for opiates from the board, and I’m just…I’m not comfortable continuing to keep you on pain meds. You’ve developed a tolerance for the recommended dosage, and I’m just—I’m not going to increase it. You’ve also gone through this prescription too fast. I warned you—”

“I just—I’m working hard. I’m doing the program—”

“Did you call the pain clinic?” Patrick asked. When Lucky just glared at him, his doctor sighed. “They can help you manage the pain, get through the bad days. Get you through the therapy. You’re in a bad mood, Lucky, not just because of the pain, but you’re probably going through withdrawal.” He tipped his head to the side. “When did you run out?”

Lucky scowled. “Two days ago, but—”

“Yeah, that makes sense. It’s been four straight months of opiates, and two days without—”

“I’m not a fucking drug addict—”

“People rarely choose addiction,” Patrick said. His tone was kind, but Lucky just heard the asshole patronizing him as if he were a child. “And the number one way people develop one is through abuse of pain prescriptions.”

“Abuse?” Lucky shot his feet and grunted as fire danced up his spine. He took a deep breath, bracing his hands on the desk. “I took them the way I was told to—”

“If you took the recommended dose, Lucky, you’d still have half the bottle left. But you’re taking them when you feel pain. Not when the body can handle it.” Patrick also stood. “I’m sorry that you don’t agree with me. I really am. But it’s not responsible for me to continue giving you pain pills when you’re clearly developing a dependence. We need to get a handle on it now—”

“Fuck you. I’m a goddamn cop. I was injured in the line of duty, and you’re telling me I have to suffer just because I took a few extra pills now and again.” Lucky shook his head. “I’m not an addict. I’m just trying to get my life back—”

“I know. The pain clinic can help—”

“Fuck the clinic. I’m going to another doctor—”

“That’s your right. And maybe another doctor will see it differently. But they’ll be wrong. And they won’t be doing you any favors.” Patrick sighed. “Did you tell Elizabeth about the pain clinic—”

“No. And don’t you be telling her any of this bullshit about me being a drug addict. I’m the patient; don’t I have any goddamn privacy?”

“As your wife, she was allowed access to your records during your hospitalizations, but if you’re revoking that—”

“I am! I don’t need you filling her head with any of this. You’ll be getting a call from my next doctor. Because this is bullshit. Tony would have done this for me—”

“That’s probably true,” Patrick allowed with a shrug. “But he would have been wrong. But you’re free to get another opinion.”

“That’s exactly what I’m gonna do!” Lucky slammed the door behind him as he stormed out.

Elm Street Pier

Restless, Elizabeth sat on a bench, crossed her arms and stared out over the water. She just—she needed to clear her conscience about this. She would have told Jason what she’d seen over the phone, but he’d insisted on meeting her in person.

She wasn’t sure if she really wanted to see him in person, which was crazy. She’d seen him a handful of times over the last few weeks—they could talk to each other like ordinary people again. There shouldn’t be a reason for her to dread seeing Jason, of looking at his face.

Except for all the ways looking at him, talking to him suddenly felt more complicated than it had even a day earlier.

It wasn’t just the fight with Lucky or the reminder from Emily that people still remembered that stupid Christmas party—and it wasn’t the conversations they’d had about his lying to her about Sonny or that he’d taken her seriously about Manny—

None of that helped, but it was the conversation she’d had with Skye that morning, the mistake she should have stopped herself from making. She shouldn’t have let herself remember the pain she’d felt at the end of their relationship or the agony of knowing her love for him hadn’t been returned.

Remembering at all that she’d been in love with him, and he’d never felt the same way was something she didn’t want or need in her life. Once this stuff with Manny was over, Elizabeth very much wanted to go back to pretending Jason Morgan was nothing more than her best friend’s older brother.

“Elizabeth?”

She looked at the sound of Jason’s voice as he stepped up from Pier 52; he must have parked at the Corinthos-Morgan warehouse. She got to her feet. “Hey. You really didn’t need to come all the way down here—”

“I needed to get out of the house,” Jason said but didn’t elaborate. “You said you wanted to talk to me about Manny. What happened since yesterday?”

“I mean, I could be overreacting—I probably am—”

“Elizabeth,” Jason interrupted before she could really pick up steam. “I told you. Whatever you see, you tell me. You let me decide if it’s important.”

“Right.” She dragged her hand through her hair. “I was at Kelly’s today—it’s my day off, and I was supposed to have breakfast with Emily—she canceled again, by the way, so something is really wrong there—but Skye came over to ask me—” She stopped. Flushed. “To ask me something. It’s not important.”

Jason squinted. “It’s not?”

“No.” Absolutely not. “Anyway, we were talking for a while—I was facing the door, her back was to it—and I just—I saw Manny in the window. He was looking at us—at Skye, I mean. Not me. He has no reason to look at me. But then he disappeared. It’s just—it’s the second time—”

“Yeah, it’s the second time you’ve caught him around Skye.” Jason grimaced. “Are you sure it’s…just Skye? That he’s not letting you see him?”

“Oh.” Elizabeth blinked. “I—I hadn’t thought about that. Oh. Do you think he’s…maybe he saw us at the hospital last week, and he’s just—he wants to annoy you? Aren’t there easier ways?”

“Yeah, but Manny plays games. It’s his thing.” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t like the idea of him using you to get at me. I mean, I don’t doubt he’s planning something against Skye.” He paused. “He’s not watching you any other time?”

“Uh—” She stared at him, her mouth dry for a moment as her heart began to race. “Wait. Wait. You think Manny—you’re not kidding. There’s—Jason, there are easier ways,” she repeated. “Emily works at the hospital. Monica works there. They’re actually—” She crossed her arms again, hiding her sweaty palms. Was she really having this conversation?

“Hey.” He stepped forward, pitching his voice low. “I told you. I have guys on Manny. And I—” He grimaced. “I’d send one of my guys in to watch over you, just to make sure, but that’s—Manny would know. And so would anyone else—”

“Which is a whole other problem.” Elizabeth released a long breath. “Listen, I’m overreacting. It’s about Skye. It has to be. I’m just—she’s just talked to me twice. That’s all it is. He’s probably around her a lot more, and no one else is noticing.”

“Yeah, probably.” Jason hesitated. “I don’t like taking the chance though that he’s doing something on purpose. Promise me you won’t confront him.”

“Not unless Skye’s in danger or someone else,” Elizabeth told him. Jason scowled, but she shook her head. “Look, if he, like, pulls out a knife or goes after him where I can see him—I’m—I can call you all I want, but it won’t be fast enough. I can’t let her—or anyone—get hurt—”

“It’s not that I doubt you’re brave enough to do something—”

“Don’t say brave when you really mean stupid.”

“I didn’t say you were stupid.” He hesitated. “Reckless, maybe—”

“Oh—” Her scowl deepened. She folded her arms and arched her brow. “You’re going to want a different word.”

Jason pinched his lips together. “Elizabeth—”

“You always do this—” She took a deep breath. “You always did this,” Elizabeth corrected, a bit more softly. “I’m not stupid, Jason. I’m not reckless. I know how to take care of myself. When Manny grabbed me last fall, I kept my cool, and I got myself out of that.”

“Elizabeth—” He exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to get hurt. I know how much you care about other people. That’s all I meant. You care too much, and, sometimes, you jump in without thinking.”

“I—” She winced. “Okay. Yes, I do that.”

“That’s all I’m saying, Elizabeth.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “Just—Look, maybe it won’t come to that.” Jason shifted. “I’m gonna go over Sonny’s ask him to do something.” He gestured to the bench. “Sit down for a minute. I don’t want anyone to overhear us.”

“Yeah, okay.” She sighed and sat down. She attempted to keep a few feet of space between them, but clearly, Jason didn’t seem to understand what she was trying to do. He slid closer, almost so that their thighs were pressed together.

This was more than she needed today. Not after that walk down memory lane with Skye.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why Manny is…” He sighed. “Still around.”

“The thought has crossed my mind,” Elizabeth said slowly, understanding that they were talking around something that Jason never ever spoke to her about. “But I figured…people are still watching him. If…he got hurt, you’d be the first…you and Sonny, I mean. So there’s no point in doing…anything…until you’ve got a reason. You know, imminent danger or something.”

Jason squinted at her. “Uh, yeah. I didn’t—I didn’t think—I mean—”

“Look, we don’t have to say what we’re talking about. We don’t need to.” She met his eyes. “But I get it, Jason. And you don’t have to worry about me…saying anything.” She stared down at her wedding band. “To anyone.”

“I—” Jason pulled back slightly. “Thanks. But…” He trailed off and frowned at her.

“Why?” Elizabeth finished. She sighed. “I know it’s insane, and I’m sure Lucky would think I’m…a bad wife, or whatever. But it’s…I’ve always known who you are, Jason. And I know what I’m doing when I call you to tell you about Manny. I’m not an idiot.”

“I never thought you were—”

“And it’s—we haven’t really had to have this conversation in a long time,” Elizabeth said after a long moment, “but you don’t have to worry about me. You can trust me, and I know that you’ll handle the Manny situation. That’s why I called you. You’re taking me seriously. I don’t want to be involved. He scares me.”

She bit her lip, broke their eye contact, and looked back out over the lake. “Honestly, I’m terrified of him. And I’m terrified he’ll hurt Skye. Or someone else. But I know I can trust you to take care of it. To care of her.”

“And you,” Jason pressed. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you either. I don’t know if Manny is letting you see him on purpose, but I won’t take any chances. Not with you.”

“I know that.” She looked at him again, their eyes holding. “Some things never change.”

“No.” A corner of his mouth hitched up in a slight smile. “No, they don’t.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt.”

A flat voice from the top of the stairs broke into their conversation, and Elizabeth blinked. She drew back, first just her head, then her entire body as she slid to one end of the bench.

Jason sighed and got to his feet. “Sam.”

“Talking about me again?” Sam demanded as she sauntered down the steps. “You looking for some more gossip?” she shot at Elizabeth, who slowly stood up.

“No,” Elizabeth said calmly. “I need to go. I dropped Cam off with my grandmother,” she told Jason, “but I want to spend the rest of my day with him.”

“I’ll call you,” he told her as she walked away, crossing over to Bannister’s Wharf before dropping out of sight. He turned his attention back to his fiancée. “We weren’t talking about you.”

“Oh, then why were you all curled up?” Sam demanded. “Practically drooling all over each other—”

Jason scowled. “What does—we were talking about Manny Ruiz, and I didn’t want anyone to hear us.”

Sam blinked, and some of the flushed color left her cheeks. “Manny? Oh. Elizabeth—is she watching him for you at the hospital?”

“Not officially. But she’s passing me any info she thinks I need to know. We’re friends, Sam. And I don’t want her to get hurt while she’s trying to help.”

“Oh,” she repeated. “I’m sorry. I just—”

“Yeah, well, I need to go. I need to go talk to Sonny. I’ll see you at home.”

“Jason, wait,” Sam called.

Her words were lost on the wind as he walked away from her and didn’t look back.

Greystone Manor: Living Room

Jason was still irritated after his brief encounter with Sam and more worried about  Elizabeth than he had been already when he arrived at Sonny’s. Then he was told by Max that he had to wait in the foyer because Sonny was busy.

He was tired of Sonny ditching meetings and avoiding him. It was one thing when it was penny-ante shit like the Escobars, but Manny Ruiz was a real threat. People were in actual danger.

Jason frowned at the guard. “Didn’t you tell him what it was about?”

“You know…” Max cleared his throat, rubbed his hand over his chest, then tugged at his tie. “You know I did, but, ah, maybe I didn’t do it loud enough. Or you know, I’m not good at remembering things—”

“Max.”

The guard offered a sheepish smile. “I told him, Jase, but he said he was in the middle of something—”

Something more important than the psychopath that was currently stalking the halls of the hospital. Maybe Manny wasn’t threatening anyone Sonny gave a damn about, but if there was even the slightest chance the asshole was going to go after Skye or Elizabeth—Jason wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

Skye wasn’t part of his family, but she mattered to Emily. His grandmother had adored her. And she was still considered part of the Quartermaine family.

And Elizabeth—

Well, her protection was non-negotiable. She was taking a chance to keep them informed about Manny, and Jason wasn’t going to let her dangle in the wind. She had a little boy that depended on her.

And she just mattered. He wasn’t going to let her down.

Finally, after nearly five minutes, Sonny jerked open the foyer door and gestured for Jason to come in. Jason stalked past him as his partner dragged his hand through his hair, the usually meticulous strands disheveled.

“What the hell were you doing?” Jason demanded as he spun on his heel to glare at Sonny. “I called you twenty minutes ago. I told you it was about Manny Ruiz.”

“Yeah, but you said it wasn’t an emergency—”

“Not an imminent one, but—” Jason shook his head. “Never mind. Elizabeth told me yesterday that she caught Manny following Skye around the hospital. And then I just saw her a little while ago. She saw Manny hanging around Skye again today.”

Sonny stared at him for a long moment before arching a brow. “And? This is what you came over for? To tell me Manny is staring at a woman? I’ve seen Skye. She’s good looking.”

Jason squinted. “And she’s carrying Lorenzo Alcazar’s kid. The same guy Manny blames for his father’s death. For his brother’s death. He hates Alcazar more than he hates us. So yeah, it matters that Manny is following her around.”

“Maybe he’s looking for Alcazar’s weak spot.” Sonny shrugged as he walked past Jason to pour himself a drink. “And what is Elizabeth calling you for? She’s married to a cop. She should be bugging him.”

Jason didn’t know what to do with Sonny’s reaction. “There’s also the problem that he might be letting Elizabeth catch him on purpose.”

“Well, why would that matter? How would Manny know that would do him any good?” Sonny shook his head. “I get it. You’re worried about her. But Manny doesn’t know the two of you were friends. And that was ages ago.” He smirked as he sipped his bourbon. “There’s like five people left that remember, and none of them are our enemies.”

“Why…” Jason hesitated. “Why are you brushing this off? Even if it’s nothing, we need to stay on top of it. We’ve been wondering why Ruiz stuck around Port Charles. Maybe he’s going after Skye. And I was at the hospital last week. Manny saw me with Elizabeth—”

“Yeah? That’s weird. What’re you doing hanging around a cop’s wife?” Sonny wanted to know. He sat on the sofa, leaning back and lounging. “Did you break up with Sam, and I missed it?”

“No—but Lucky already told her there’s nothing he can do about it. Elizabeth is worried. She knows Skye. And Skye is pregnant.”

“Tell Elizabeth to stay out of it. And Skye can get Alcazar to protect her. It’s not our problem. Manny comes for us, that’s different. But we don’t need to be bringing problems down on us right now. Not when things are running smoothly.”

“You mean because the Escobars are sticking to Courtland Street? You think that’ll last?” Jason scoffed. “And if Manny goes after Skye, people are gonna notice. Maybe he’ll come after us next.”

“And maybe he’s just hanging around for revenge. Look, if it bothers you so much, but another guy at the hospital. Maybe someone to just follow Elizabeth around. You seem to be mostly worried about her.” Sonny lifted his brows, then stood back up. “Is there something I should know there? Why are you hanging around her again? I repeat. She’s a cop’s wife, and her loyalties are different now. How do you know she’s not trying to get you to do something Lucky can arrest you for?”

“Are you…” The word crazy lingered on Jason’s tongue, but he swallowed it before he said it. “That’s not something Elizabeth would do. She came to me, Sonny. And I don’t like the idea of Manny using her. Yeah, most people don’t know—” He hesitated. “Most people don’t remember—”

He simply didn’t know how to put it into words. People didn’t know that he and Elizabeth had been close? That she’d once been the best way to get to him? For several years, only she, Emily, and Michael had mattered to him.

“Most people don’t remember,” Jason said finally. “But most isn’t no one. And all Manny has to do is ask the right person.”

“So, stay away from Elizabeth.” Sonny shrugged. “I’m not saying you’re wrong about Manny going after Skye. I’m saying I don’t know what you want me to do. We agreed that going after Manny while the PCPD is still watching him so closely will just bring crap on us we don’t need. Right now, he’s laying low.”

“So what? We wait for him to hurt someone—”

“I’m not in the business of saving people who don’t matter to me,” Sonny said flatly. “Skye is Alcazar’s problem. Not mine. Elizabeth gives a damn so much, maybe she should call him.”

“Fine.” Jason waited a moment before he turned to leave. “I don’t know what the hell has been distracting you lately, but I need you to get it together.”

“What does that mean?” Sonny demanded.

“It means that you’re not paying attention. You broke at least two promises to be with the boys, and you haven’t been showing up to meetings with me.”

Jason shook his head. “Skye doesn’t matter to you, fine. But she matters to people in my life. To Emily, to my grandmother—she didn’t ask for a psycho to target her. I’m not going to abandon her—or Elizabeth—because they don’t matter to you. Manny Ruiz and his crazy family came to Port Charles because of us. Because of Alcazar. That makes it our problem.”

“Then go solve it. What do you need me for?”

Jason didn’t answer that question out loud as he left Sonny in his living room and left the estate. But he was starting to ask himself that same question.

Lucky & Elizabeth’s Apartment: Living Room

“Cameron, for the last time, you are not supposed to climb the walls,” Elizabeth said as she dragged her toddler off the back of the chair he’d pushed against the wall. “What did you think you were going to do?”

“I tape my hands.” Cameron showed her his little palms and grinned. “I climb like Biderman!”

“You fall like a human boy—” Elizabeth grimaced as someone knocked on her door. She tossed Cameron onto the sofa as he giggled. “You try to climb those walls again, buddy, I’m gonna tape you to your bed.”

She opened the door, frowning when she saw Sam in the hallway. “Hey. I—” She frowned. She didn’t even know Sam knew where she lived. “Hi.”

“Look, Jason told me you’re helping him with Manny.” Sam pursed her lips. “That’s fine. I’m glad. I hate him. But—” She looked away, then met Elizabeth’s eyes again. “But that’s all, okay? I don’t want you talking to him about me.”

“We—we haven’t—”

“Really? Because I know you know.” Sam folded her arms. “Don’t tell anyone.”

“I wasn’t going to—” Elizabeth shook her head. “Sam, we haven’t talked about it since that first day—and I’m—I’m sorry. I never would—”

“Whatever. You and Jason aren’t friends. You weren’t before any of this, and you’re married to a cop. So you should just remember that.”

“Uh, okay—” Elizabeth frowned as Sam stalked away.

“Mommy? Who that?” Cameron tugged on her pant leg. “Can I have popsick?”

“Yeah.” Elizabeth shook her head, then smiled down at her son. “Yeah, let’s go get some Popsicles.” She closed the door and put Sam out of her mind entirely.

I don’t care what you think,
As long as it’s about me
The best of us can find happiness, in misery
I don’t care what you think,
As long as it’s about me
The best of us can find happiness, in misery
– I Don’t Care, Fall Out Boy

---

Saturday, March 18, 2006

 General Hospital: ICU

“Elizabeth, have you seen Alan around?”

Elizabeth glanced up from her chart to find Skye Chandler-Quartermaine standing in front of her, clutching some folders with her pretty red hair twisted up in a ponytail.

“No, he’s not usually up here this time of day. I can have him paged—”

“Oh, they said he was on the surgical floor.” Skye sighed, setting the folders down. She braced a hand at the small of her back, wincing. “How is it that my back is the first part that of me hurts? I’m barely even showing.”

Elizabeth managed a smile. “For me, it was my feet. I feel like they grew a size overnight.” She glanced down at her feet. “I’m not sure they’ve ever felt right again.”

“All the things they never tell you about being pregnant,” Skye sighed. “Anyway, I’m supposed to meet Alan about the charity auction he asked me to organize. To raise money for patients affected by the virus and having trouble paying the costs.”

“And he didn’t answer your page?” Elizabeth raised her brows and clicked into her OR rotation schedule screen on the computer. “Oh. It looks like he scrubbed in to observe surgery with Noah Drake. That’s weird.”

“Maybe he forgot I was coming by.” Skye sighed, lifted the folders again. “Well, I’ll leave a message with his secretary. I know he said he was nervous about Noah getting back into surgery, so maybe he just wanted to be there.”

“Still.” Elizabeth shrugged. “I’ll keep an eye out for him and let him know he missed you.”

“Thanks.” Skye waved as she stepped onto the elevator. As Elizabeth looked down at her chart, she caught sight of the tan uniform the hospital janitors wore as someone ducked back down a hallway.

Elizabeth hesitated, then went towards the hallway only to see Manny Ruiz as he disappeared down a service stairwell. Had he…been watching Skye? Why? And if he hadn’t been, why had he rushed away?

Uneasy, Elizabeth returned to the nurse’s station and to her charts. She knew that Manny hadn’t done anything to make Jason’s men suspicious yet, but she couldn’t shake the way she felt when she caught him looking at her—as if he was just laughing at them all.

Jake’s: Bar

 “Hey, man.” Jesse Beaudry clapped a hand on Lucky’s shoulder as he took a seat on the barstool next to his partner. “How’s therapy going?” He ordered a beer from Coleman behind the bar. “You get a return date yet?”

Lucky grimaced. “No.” He tossed back the shot of whiskey he’d ordered just before Jesse had arrived. “Drake isn’t going to give me one until I can pass a goddamn physical.” He looked at his friend. “Give it to me straight. How much longer is Mac gonna hold my position on the squad?”

Jesse hesitated, distracted himself by taking a long pull from his Budweiser. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “We’re swamped, you know. The Escobars are starting to get restless. Mac is under a lot of pressure from the mayor—”

“Jesse—”

“Maybe a few more weeks. Hey, look, they can’t fire you—”

“No, but I’ll get stuck on desk duty for months, even if I get a return date.” Lucky scowled. “Therapy isn’t working,” he admitted. “I’m trying to double it up, but I can’t do it as much as I want. Elizabeth’s grandmother can only pick Cameron up twice a week. I have to do it the other four days she works.”

Jesse frowned. “Why can’t Elizabeth get someone else to do it? What about the kid’s real dad?”

“His real dad is dead,” Lucky said. With a sneer, he added, “You should look him up sometime — Zander Smith. He died in a shootout with the PCPD. He never even met Cameron.”

“How’d she hook up with him?” Jesse said, furrowing his brow. “He doesn’t seem like her type.”

“Oh, she’s got a thing about criminals,” Lucky muttered. “She screwed around with Jason Morgan, too, before we were married.” He nodded at Coleman to order another shot. “I’m the outlier.”

“Oh.” Jesse cleared his throat. “Well, listen, man, just do what you can in therapy. I’ll try to get Mac to hold off. But you gotta put your recovery first. Tell Elizabeth to take some time off or something. Change her shift. Marriage is supposed to be a compromise, right?” He shrugged. “Why should you have to lose your chance to get back on the job because her kid needs a babysitter?”

Lucky winced. “Listen, it’s—I’ve been Cameron’s stepfather for almost a year. He’s not even two. I’m the only father he’s ever known—”

“And what kind of dad are you gonna be if you get stuck on desk duty?” Jesse pushed. “You’re telling me Elizabeth won’t put you first for a little while so you can all get back on track? Seriously?”

Lucky exhaled slowly, then nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. It’s hard right now, but Elizabeth has always had my back. And her supervisor loves her. She’ll do us the favor. Thanks, man.”

Greystone Manor: Foyer

Jason was already annoyed when he walked into the foyer that night — he’d learned from the guards at the entrance that Sonny wasn’t home yet. It had taken Jason three days to catch Sonny on the phone and set up a meeting to talk about the Escobars, and now it looked like Sonny was ditching him. Again

He frowned when he saw Rocco, Carly’s guard, lounging in the foyer with an irritated look on his face. “What are you doing here? Where’s—” He grimaced.

“Oh, that’s real nice.”

Jason turned to find Carly Corinthos, Sonny’s ex-wife and Jason’s sort of best friend, leaning against the doorway to the living room. She raised a brow. “You don’t look happy to see me.”

“I’m not. You only come over here to yell at Sonny, and I’m not in the mood for this tonight—”

“Well, don’t worry.” Carly rolled her eyes and stalked into the living room. Jason followed, closing the doors behind them. She poured herself a glass of water from Sonny’s minibar. “He’s not here.”

“Yeah, they told me down at the guardhouse, but we’re meeting tonight, so he should be here eventually—”

“Sure.” Carly rolled her eyes. “Just like he promised Michael and Morgan he’d have dinner with us tonight, then didn’t show up.” She pressed her lips together. “You know, it’s one thing to dick you over, but to break a promise to the boys?”

Jason frowned. Sonny didn’t usually do either of those things unless—he closed his eyes. “Damn it.”

“Oh, man, the last time Sonny was blowing you and the boys off, he was bouncing with his last mattress buddy.” Carly winced. “I’m not in the mood for this. The boys both keep asking for Courtney, I’m trying to help Jax with little John—I do not have time for the car crash of Sonny’s love life.”

“Carly—”

She jabbed a finger at him. “It’s your job to clean up after Sonny.”

“It’s really not,” Jason said flatly. “I don’t have time for this, either.”

“Oh, right—” Carly pursed her lips. “Speaking of Sonny’s mattress buddies, how is Sam doing? Her brother died, right?”

Jason shot her a dirty look, but Carly just stared at him blandly. “She’s handling it.”

“Hey, I indicated an interest in someone other than myself. I’m trying—” She tapped her foot. “Who do you think it is? Because the last time Sonny was hiding his romantic interests, it was because we were still married and he was trying really hard not to lose custody of the boys—”

“Plus half of everything he owned,” Jason reminded her.

Carly smiled sweetly at him. “If Sonny didn’t think I was owed half of everything, then he should have asked for a prenup. Which reminds me — you better get Justus to take care of that for you. You don’t want Sam taking you for everything—”

“Carly—”

“Hey, I know what I’m talking about. It took a lot to get me out of my prenup with AJ—” She shook her head. “In retrospect, Sonny really should have seen my demands coming. He helped me out of the first marriage.”

“Yeah, I mentioned that.”

“I’m going home to the boys. I’m done waiting around for Sonny Corinthos. You tell him this is the last time he’s going to break a promise to the boys—”

“The last time?” Jason frowned. “He’s done it before? I mean, recently?”

“Last week.” Carly sighed. “I know I like to snark about Sonny—and torture him. But the boys—I know you and Courtney broke up, and it’s fine. But they loved her. Tell Sonny I’m not going to let him disappoint them anymore.”

“I’ll talk to him. Carly—” He touched her elbow as she left. “I’m sorry. I should have checked in on you. How are you holding up?”

“I’m dealing. Having Courtney’s son, taking care of him—” She flashed him a smile. “It’s helping. And the boys love their cousin. I just—I don’t want to make them part of this war with Sonny. He’s not leaving me any choice. I’m not going through this again with him.”

“I get it, Carly. I’ll talk to him.” Jason grimaced. “Eventually.”

Carly folded her arms, narrowed her eyes. “What’s wrong? You think I can’t tell when you’ve got a bug up your ass.” She lifted her chin. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Jason said. “I’ll talk to Sonny—”

“Look, I know—” Carly exhaled in a huff. “I know I said it was your job to clean up after Sonny, but, Jase, you know I don’t mean it.”

Jason looked at her. “Carly—”

“I’m tired,” she admitted. “I’m tired of this fight with him. Every time he gets distracted by someone or something else, the boys get put through this.” She met his eyes. “Aren’t you tired, too?”

“Carly—”

“It’s not your job to clean up after Sonny all the time. Or me,” she continued with a grimace. “I just—you look tired, too. And you won’t tell me what’s wrong. You never do.” Carly hesitated. “You’re not Superman. You know that, right?”

“I’ll talk to you later, Carly.”

Lucky & Elizabeth’s Apartment: Living Room

Elizabeth dragged her hand through her hair and sighed as she cradled the receiver in the crook of the neck and cheek so she could finish tucking Cameron’s toys away.

“No, Gram. I understand. I wish I could come, too. No, really—I’ll figure something out with Cam—”

As Audrey again apologized for the short notice, Elizabeth sighed and grimaced as Lucky came through the door, leaving heavily on his cane. “Okay, Gram. Yeah. Okay. I’ll talk to you later. Have a good trip.”

She hung the phone up and picked up the cane from the floor where Lucky had let it drop to the floor after he’d sat down. “How was therapy?”

“Same,” Lucky grunted as he laid back on the sofa, putting his feet up with a wince. “Nothing changed. Still hurts like hell.” He lifted his head up slightly as Elizabeth finished putting away Cameron’s toys and moved on to folding the laundry she’d picked up from the laundromat that morning. “What did Audrey want?”

“She’s going to Memphis next week,” Elizabeth told him. “And she’s gonna stay for like a month.”

“A month?” Lucky sat up, then scowled. “Who’s gonna pick Cameron up? Why is she going now?”

“Steven just got engaged,” Elizabeth told him with a bit of a wistful sigh. She’d like to meet her brother’s fiancée, but there was no time off for her, and Steven probably wasn’t going to come to Port Charles anytime soon. “Gram wanted to go down and spend some time with him. My parents are supposed to fly in, too, and Gram hasn’t seen them in a couple of years.” She laughed absently as she folded one of Cameron’s shirts. “I haven’t seen them since I moved here.”

Lucky eyed her with a strangely panicked look. “You can’t go. You don’t even like your family, and we can’t afford it.”

Elizabeth frowned at him. What a strange thing to say. “I—” She blinked at him. “No, I can’t go. I was just…thinking about them, that’s all. They haven’t even met Cameron yet. At the rate we’re going, they probably never will.” It didn’t bother her that her family was so uninvolved. Not really. But it might have been nice to go for a weekend just to catch up. She’d always liked her brother.

“Anyway, I’m not sure what to do about Cameron. I work better hours, but I still work until six or seven most nights,” she pointed out. “And if we leave him in daycare past four, they charge double the hourly rate.”

“So you’ll have to cut back hours at work,” Lucky said. He hauled himself to his feet and shuffled into the kitchen, where he pulled out a beer. She grimaced as he pulled off the top. He really shouldn’t be mixing alcohol with pain medication, but she knew better than to tell him that. “I was going to talk to you about it anyway. I need to double up on my therapy sessions, so I can’t pick up Cameron anymore. You need to change your shift or cut back—”

Elizabeth held up her hand. “Whoa. That’s—that’s not an option. I can’t cut my hours, Lucky. I just transferred upstairs. I can probably move some of my shifts around and get out early, but then I’m still dropping him off early at a daycare, which is still going to cost money.” She hesitated. “You know the best thing—at least for a few weeks—”

“I’m not rescheduling my rehab—”

“You don’t have to. You can go earlier,” Elizabeth pointed out. “Mac told you that you could go to therapy during your work hours—”

“And have them carry me, pay me to do nothing?” Lucky glared at her. “You’re always complaining we don’t have any damn money, and now you want me to give up what little I do make?”

“It’ll cost us more than you make to keep him in daycare,” Elizabeth told him. Her stomach twisted as she continued folding clothes. She was trying very hard not to think about the fact that she was practically begging Lucky to take care of the little boy he’d promised to love as his own. “It would just be—”

“You think your job is better than mine?” Lucky demanded. “I’m a cop. I save lives, damn it! You just clean up piss and shit.”

And that was absolutely it. She’d had enough.

She shot her to her feet, incensed. “Yeah, the PCPD did a bang-up job with Manny Ruiz. I have to see that psycho every damn day! But tell me how you save lives?”

Lucky took a long swig of his beer, then dragged the back of his hand over his mouth, his glare deepening into something like that looked like hatred. “Oh, I bet your fucking lover boy Jason Morgan could take care of him, right? You’re always picking him over me!”

Elizabeth threw up her hands. “You know sometimes you’re just impossible! Jason has nothing to do with this! I told you Manny makes me uncomfortable at work. I asked you if Mac was gonna do anything about him working there—and he’s done nothing—”

“Nothing he can do,” Lucky bit out. “The system let him out. It’s not perfect, but it’s what we got. And he hasn’t done anything, so maybe the tumor thing is real—”

“Except today I saw him following Skye Quartermaine,” she shot back, planting her hands on her hips. “Mac can’t even get someone to follow him around the damn hospital?”

“Oh, come on, was he actually following her?” Lucky demanded. “You’re just pissed because I won’t drop everything to fix a problem that has nothing to do with me—”

Elizabeth stared at him for a long moment, her fury draining as quickly as it had risen. “Cameron has nothing to do with you?”

“I didn’t mean it that way. I just—” Lucky growled under his breath as he tossed his empty bottle into the trash. “It’s not my job to pick him up and change my whole life around. If I weren’t here, you’d have to pay the extra money, so just do it. I need my job, too, Elizabeth. And I’m getting tired of being expected to sacrifice my time so you can save a little money.”

She didn’t know what to say to that. She didn’t understand how he could stand there as Cameron’s stepfather—the only father Cameron had ever known—and pretend that refusing to pick him up from daycare wasn’t part of a bigger problem.

“So, it was just a lie then,” she said softly.

Lucky hesitated, then frowned. “What?”

“When you asked me to marry you, you promised that Cameron would be ours. That we’d be a family. But he’s still my problem to you.” Elizabeth folded her arms, looked at him. “You said you’d love him like your own.”

“I—I do.” Lucky shook his head. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m just—God, Elizabeth, I’m just so frustrated.” He collapsed onto the sofa, dragging both of his hands through his hair. “If I don’t get back to work soon, off the desk, the department isn’t legally obligated to hold my job open with my old squad. I could be permanently replaced. Stuck on the desk forever. I need to prove myself to Mac. I need all the therapy sessions I can get. And it’s not like…I mean, your grandmother promised us she’d pitch in. She’s the one screwing us over, not me. I’m just—I’m not handling it well, okay?”

“Okay.” Elizabeth sighed, looked away. She didn’t want to argue about this anymore. Not when she was afraid of where the conversation would go. “Let me make a few calls. I’ll talk to Epiphany. Maybe she can—do something.”

“Yeah.” Lucky brightened. He got to his feet and took her hands in his. “Epiphany loves you. You know that. It’s hard right now, and I’m terrible to be around. I know that.” He brushed his lips over her forehead. “But as soon as I get back to work, it’s all going to be okay. I promise. I’ll make it up to you.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” she murmured, squeezing her eyes closed and praying for a miracle. Because if Lucky was off active duty much longer, she might go insane.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

 Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Jason scrubbed his hands over his face as Sam sullenly sunk into the corner of the sofa, reading the Port Charles Sun. For nearly a week, they’d managed to avoid speaking to one another. Not since she’d stormed out the night he’d told her about the maternity test.

They hadn’t talked about the test or anything else.

Jason opened his mouth to try to say something — to apologize again or maybe to defend himself. Even if he’d knew now he was wrong, he still felt a bit…irritated that she refused to even try to understand that he’d just been trying to help.

But before he could decide exactly what he would do, Sam’s cell phone rang. She leaned over and dug it out of the pocket of her sweat pants. “Yeah? Hey, Paulie.”

He pressed his lips together, turned back to his paperwork, trying to hide his scowl. He listened as she talked with the man who had asked her to go back to being a con artist again.

“Yeah? Okay. Yeah. No, I get it. And you’re right, it’s not like I need a lot to do this. Not exactly rocket science.” Sam laughed, the happiest sound she’d made since her brother had died.

He sighed, sat back in his chair. Maybe this didn’t need to be a big deal. Maybe she’d just do this one thing, and it would make her feel like herself again.

But there was something about the whole thing that made him…uncomfortable. Like an itch between his shoulders he couldn’t quite scratch. And she’d told him she would do the job in exchange for information about her past.

But they had the information now. Sam knew who Natasha Davis really was. She could just ask Alexis what happened. Why she’d been put up for adoption, how she’d ended up with Cody McCall, where her father was—who he was—

Sam didn’t need to do this job. Which meant she wanted to.

And if she wanted to do it once, maybe she’d want it again.

“Okay. Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you then, Paulie.”

He heard Sam get to her feet and walk towards him, her feet quiet on the hardwood floor. “That was my dad’s friend, Paulie.”

Jason looked at her carefully blank face and sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“He wanted to let me know the date of the job.” She held up her phone, then lifted her chin. “And I’m gonna go. It’s in two weeks.”

“Okay,” Jason said. He got to his feet and walked away from the desk towards the closet.

“Is that all you’re going to say?” Sam demanded when he said nothing else. She scowled. “You don’t have an opinion?”

“What do you want me to say?” He turned back to look at her. Shrugged with a casualness, he didn’t feel. “You’re an adult, Sam. I don’t tell you what to do.”

“But you’re not happy about it, are you?”

He sighed, rolled his head back to look at the ceiling, before meeting her eyes again. “No. You don’t need to do this job. This guy—he doesn’t have any answers you can’t get by just calling Alexis—”

“Shut up—” Sam stabbed a finger at him. “You don’t get to talk about her. Not after what you did.”

“Fine.” Jason crossed to the closet and yanked his jacket out of it. “Then we don’t have anything to say.”

“Where are you going?” Sam darted forward, sliding in front of the door and blocking him just as he reached for the doorknob. “You’re just leaving?”

“What am I supposed to say? You don’t want to talk about Alexis, and you already know what I think about you pulling a job—”

“No. You’re dancing around it, but, no, I don’t know what you think.” She crossed her arms and glared at him. “Come on. Tell me.”

“You want me to tell you not to do it so you can fight with me and have a new reason to be pissed with me.” He shook his head. “I’m not going to be the bad guy. You’re an adult, Sam,” Jason repeated. “Do what you want.”

“I just—” Sam fisted her hands at her sides. “I don’t get why this bothers you so much. You’re in the mob, Jason. You smuggle all kinds of crap back and forth over the border. You break the law every day, so can’t I do the same?”

“It’s different,” Jason said finally. “But if you need to do this to make yourself feel better, then you do what you have to do. It’s not up to me.”

Sam scowled and moved away from the door, so he could open it. He turned back to face her. “I’m sorry about Alexis. I’m sorry about the way I handled it. I was trying to protect you, but I was wrong. But don’t pretend you’re gonna take this job for answers. You want to do it. Don’t lie to me or yourself.”

He hesitated, but she said nothing, her dark eyes glinting with irritation.

So he finally told her the truth. “No, I don’t want you to do this. Because this won’t be the only time. You’re good at it, remember? You told me so yourself.”

“So?”

“So, remember the cons you were best at, Sam, and then tell me why I don’t want you to go back to it.”

He closed the door behind him.

Kelly’s: Parking Lot

Elizabeth scowled as she approached her car and saw the back tire had finally given up on her. The little warning signal had been flickering on her dashboard for weeks, warning her that her tire pressure was low, but she kept putting getting it fixed and now—

Now she was stuck at Kelly’s, the quick lunch she’d wanted to grab growing cold in the brown paper bag in her hands. She looked back at her tire, down at her lunch, then trudged back to the courtyard where she dumped the bag on the table and started to unpack it.

She wasn’t wasting Ruby’s chili by sitting in the parking lot waiting for someone to come help, though she didn’t know who she’d call. Lucky was at physical therapy, her grandmother was with Cameron at her house, and…

Well, her options were limited. Nearly everyone she knew was working at General Hospital today—the same place she was due back within the hour. She grimaced. So much for enjoying her lunch hour for a change.

She heard the motorcycle before she saw its owner. Jason ducked through the gate that separated Kelly’s from the parking lot and paused, seeing her with her lunch spread out on the table. “Oh. Hey.”

“Hey.” She brightened. “I don’t suppose you have, like, any air pumps or something hiding on your bike, do you?”

“Uh, no—” Jason squinted, then pulled out the chair and sat across from her. “Why?”

“I procrastinated on routine car maintenance, and I have a flat. I’m just making a mental list while I eat my lunch before it gets cold.” She rolled her eyes. “You know, I’m more organized than I used to be, but like all of my energy is making sure Cameron is okay. Or my patients. I just don’t have the space to worry about my car.”

Jason smirked as he pulled out his phone and pressed a number, obviously calling someone on speed dial. “Hey, Max, you at the warehouse? Can you find someone with an air pump to fix a flat at Kelly’s? No, for a car—Yeah, okay, I’ll see you when you get here.”

“Thanks.” Elizabeth shook her head. “Normally, I’d argue with you about how I can do things for myself, but you know, I’m just—” She blew out an exasperated breath. “I’m too tired, to be honest, and I still have to get back to work.”

“Well, I’m glad I stopped for coffee.” He shifted in his seat. “You okay? I mean, is there a reason you’re tired, or is it just…” Jason raised his brows, waiting.

“Well, I’m getting used to my new job. I haven’t been able to scrub in on a surgery yet, but I’m learning about the paperwork and post-op. I mean, I knew all of it before, but now I get to do pre-op stuff, too. And it’s fun working with Patrick and Robin more. And Epiphany.” She sipped her soda. “But it’s a lot of stuff I need to get a handle on before Patrick will let me scrub in. And Cameron—” She grinned. “He’s into everything. He’s hitting that age — he’ll be two this year and he’s—I mean, he’s been walking for a year, but I think he’s figured out how to run.”

Elizabeth finally stopped, then laughed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to just go on and on like that. It’s just—”

No one who actually knew her had asked if she was okay in a long time.

“What about you?” Elizabeth bit her lip. “It’s none of my business, I know, but I guess I’ve been worried since you left the hospital last week.”

“Uh, yeah.” Jason scratched the corner of his eyebrow. “Well, you were right. Sam was angry.”

Elizabeth waited, but he didn’t say anything else. Fair enough. They weren’t friends like that anymore. She might tell him about her job or talk about Cameron, but she wasn’t going to tell him about her fight with Lucky or search for cheaper daycare, so why would he open up about his own relationship issues?

Asking him for help with a flat tire wasn’t the same thing as opening her heart up to him and pouring out all her troubles. That wasn’t who she was anymore.

“Well, I hope she’s okay,” Elizabeth said, finally. She paused. “There is something, I guess—I don’t know, I’m probably overreacting, and Lucky said I was seeing things, but it’s about Manny.”

Jason raised his brows. “Yeah? Did he say something to you? None of my guys said anything.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth sat back. “Then I guess I’m wrong. I mean, if they’re watching him and he hasn’t done anything, then…” She shrugged, picked up her soda.

Jason frowned, tilting his head to the side. “He hasn’t done anything, no,” he said, “but Beto told me Manny seemed to be…all over the hospital. Like he was trying to learn the layout. He thinks he might be looking for places to hide. Whether he wants to smuggle something in or out, or just have a place for himself, he doesn’t know. I don’t know what that means, but it made Beto uncomfortable.”

When she didn’t say anything, he lifted his brows. “Elizabeth, you work at the hospital every day. You know that place better than my guys do. What did you see?”

“It’s probably nothing, but Skye was at the hospital yesterday and—I don’t know, it just felt like Manny was watching her. I mean, I don’t know why he would—”

“Actually…” Jason hesitated, leaned back in the chair, looking a bit disturbed. “No, that makes sense. She’s pregnant, right? And seeing Lorenzo Alcazar.” He grimaced. “Manny…blames Alcazar…for his brother and father’s deaths last fall.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth blinked. “I hadn’t—I forgot about that. Should I warn her? Or—I don’t even think she had anyone with her. Why would Alcazar let her go to the hospital alone?”

“I don’t know, but if he is watching her, then that’s probably his motive. Manny Ruiz is…he’s—” Jason paused. “I mean, you know his reputation. But he earned it. He’s…known for his violence against women.” He looked away. “At least three women he’s been involved with have…disappeared.”

“Oh,” she repeated softly. “Well….that’s…” Terrifying.

Jason leaned forward, his eyes on her. “I have two guys at the hospital,” he reminded her. “Beto is on Manny at all times. And Vic used to work on the pediatrics floor with you and Emily. I put him there to watch you both. I’m trying to get Alan to let me put someone on the surgery floor with you—”

“Thank you,” she said. She reached across the table to touch his hand briefly. “For looking out for us. I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about Skye. She’s pregnant—and—” Elizabeth grimaced. She couldn’t really explain it. “And I just—I had to tell someone.”

“I’ll let Beto and Vic know to keep their eyes out for that. Remember, don’t get involved.” He grimaced. “I was gonna tell you to let me know if you see something else, but you’re…I mean, you’re married to a cop—”

“I tried to tell Lucky about Manny and Skye. He told me there’s nothing he can do. So…” Elizabeth lifted a shoulder. “You know, I believe in the system. Most of the time. But the system isn’t built for someone who twists everything like Manny Ruiz. So if I see something else, you’ll be the first person I call.”

“But stay out of it,” he reminded her as he saw Max approach them. “C’mon, let’s go fix your car.”