I don’t like your kingdom keys
They once belonged to me
You ask me for a place to sleep
Locked me out and threw a feast
The world moves on, another day, another drama, drama
But not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma
And then the world moves on, but one thing’s for sure
Maybe I got mine, but you’ll all get yours
– Look What You Made Me Do, Taylor Swift

---

October 2011

Spoon Island: Cassadine Lab

Dr. Ewen Keenan shoved open the door with his shoulder and struggled with the body in his arms. Elizabeth Webber might not weigh very much, but she was an water-soaked, unconscious dead weight, and he’d used nearly all his reserves to reach the lab from the shore—

He laid the brunette out on the table in the lab, picked up a pale hand, and pressed two fingers to her wrist. Relief crashed through him as he felt the faint pulse. Elizabeth’s head lolled to the side, her eyes opening slightly. They were glazed, rimmed with red. “What’s…”  Her eyes closed again.

Ewen pressed his hand to her head, grimacing at the heat he felt there. She must have been ill before she’d gone into the water. Why had he been sent—

“Oh, good, you’ve arrived.” Helena smiled, sauntering into the lab. “It took far longer than I thought it would to fetch her.”

“She needs to be in a hospital,” Ewen snapped as he stalked around the table to find a thermometer. “I’m not equipped—”

“Then you’ll stabilize her, and she’ll be found on Spoon Island by someone else looking for her. She has a fever?”

“Yes—” He hissed at the level. “Nearly a hundred and four—” He frowned. “How did you know—”

“Why do you she think she went into the water?” Helena asked coolly. “Dr. Niles was happy to do me a favor. Now—” She nodded. “Is she awake?”

“I’m not sure—” Ewen glanced down at the brunette, tapped her cheek lightly. Nothing. “Why drag her here—”

“Dr. Obrecht?” Helena turned, and Liesl Obrecht, the other doctor in the lab, came in, clutching the hand of a small boy with a shock of bright blonde hair and blue eyes. Those eyes widened as he took in the woman laying on Ewen’s examining table.

“Mommy!”

Elizabeth’s eyes twitched, and her face jerked. She forced her eyes open. “J-Jake—”

“Mommy—” Jake let go of Liesl’s hand and surged forward. “Mommy, can I go home? Please let me go home—”

“Jake—” Elizabeth lifted her head, her voice slurring as she turned on her side. “Jake?”

“Mommy—”

Her eyes were wide though cloudy from the fever, but still, Elizabeth swung her legs over the table, trying to get to her son. She stumbled and fell to the floor. “Jake, my baby—you’re—”

“Mommy, I wanna go home—”

“Mrs. Cassadine?” Liesl asked hesitantly as the little boy threw himself into her arms. Elizabeth started to sob, clinging to him.

“Jake, my baby, baby—” Elizabeth rocked back and forth, one hand clutching the back of her son’s head. She kissed his cheek. “I love you, I missed you—”

“Now,” Helena murmured, lifting her chin as Liesl and another man came forward. The man grabbed Elizabeth’s arms as Liesl lifted Jake.

“Jake!” Elizabeth cried, struggling against the new man’s hold. Ewen stared in shock and horror as Liesl hurried out of the room with Jake screaming and crying for his mother. Elizabeth turned around and, curling her hand into a fist, rammed it into the eye socket of the man holding her. She then brought her knee high into his groin—he released her with a groan—and Elizabeth started forward, stumbling again as the adrenaline fought with her fever and exhaustion from nearly drowning—

“Jake!” she screamed, but as she tried to pass Helena, the woman reached out with lightning speed and plunged a syringe into Elizabeth’s arm. Elizabeth turned, staring at the older woman with wide, shocked eyes.

“What—why—”

Then she dropped like a stone, her head hitting the ground with a sickening smack!

“Make sure she’s stable,” Helena said as Ewen kneeled down next to her. “Then leave her on the shore.”

“Why did—” Ewen looked up at the woman to whom he’d already sold his soul. “Why would you do that? Why would you drag her all the way here to let her see her son? She’ll tell someone—”

“She might. But she’s delirious with fever and mentally unstable. Everyone knows that.” Helena’s lips curved into a smile. “It’s an acceptable risk, my dear Dr. Keenan, and sometimes, I just want to have a little fun.”

Her eyes, cold as ice, locked on his. “Now, do I need to repeat my instructions?”

Saturday, November 4, 2017

Aurora Media: Office

“Mila, you should—” Drew stopped at the doorway of his office at the sight of his second surprise visitor of the day. His secretary pushed away from her desk.

“I was just going to let you know—” she began.

The teenaged boy in the reception area got to his feet, nervously shuffled his weight from one foot to the other, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket.

Drew had seen him once before. The dark-haired boy had come to Greystone over the summer, and they’d been introduced. But that boy had been a stranger to him—another kid running in the pack with Joss and Cameron. He hadn’t meant anything to him then.

But he’d thought he was Jason Morgan the last time he’d seen Oscar.

Today, looking at Oscar Nero, Drew knew that he was this boy’s father. That he’d been married to his mother, then to his stepmother. He’d raised him and left one day, never to return.

It was insane, but when Drew had learned about his identity—about the connection to Oscar—part of him thought the next time saw Drew saw him, it would trigger something. That some part of his brain would recognize the truth.

When there was nothing—no spark of memory—no connection felt—Drew felt a crushing disappointment that he wasn’t sure he knew how to handle.

“Oscar,” Drew said carefully. “Come in—”

Oscar didn’t move, his dark eyes staring at him. Then he swallowed. “You don’t know me.”

“I—” Drew looked at his secretary, and without a word, she got up and left the room. “I do know you—”

“No, you know Oscar Nero,” the boy said, his voice cracking. “But you don’t—” He broke the eye contact. Looked at the carpet. “You don’t know me.”

“No,” Drew managed, his throat tight. God, he wished it was any other answer. “No, I don’t. But—”

“No, that’s—” Oscar took a deep breath. “This was stupid. I knew you didn’t remember, but I thought—” He turned abruptly and shoved his way out of the office suite. Drew blinked, then hurried after him.

But he’d already missed the elevator as it closed on his son’s devastated expression. “Oscar—!”

Oscar leaned back against the elevator, squeezing his eyes shut, forcing himself to take deep breaths, but his lungs were heaving, and his breathing was starting to come out in shorter gasps.

Oh, God, his father hadn’t known him—his father hadn’t known—

Oscar rushed out of the building, hoping he could make it to the bus station without completely losing it.

Kelly’s: Courtyard

With a bit of trepidation, Jason sat across from Michael and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I should have called you back yesterday—”

“I’m sorry,” Michael said with a shake of his head. “You’ve done so much for me. You sacrificed your own freedom to protect me in prison—” He leaned forward. “I am so sorry. I never once wanted you to be dead—I was never glad—”

“Michael.” Jason put up a hand, and his nephew’s ramblings stopped as the younger man hung his head. “Can you look at me?”

After a long moment, Michael raised his eyes to him. “Jason—”

“I always knew I’d have to explain myself to you one day,” Jason said, cutting off what would be another unnecessary apology. “I made a lot of choices when you were a baby that I would never make today. I can look back now and see how some of the things I did—the way I helped Carly keep custody of you—how it made AJ’s problems worse. I won’t blame myself entirely for how he ended up, but I know—I know I didn’t help.” He hesitated. “Elizabeth told me that you got close to him. That he was good to you.”

“He was,” Michael said, closing his eyes. “He really was, and I wanted you there. I wanted you to be alive, so you could see him. He was doing really good for a long time, Jason. It’s just—I don’t know. He never figured out how to fail without destroying himself in the process, I guess.”  He cleared his throat. “I think part of me always knew Sonny had something to do with what happened to him, but I couldn’t let myself accept it. Not until I didn’t have a choice.”

“I didn’t really understand what I was doing until Jake.” Michael frowned at him, and Jason sighed. “Before Elizabeth could tell me that the paternity tests had come back, your mother came to tell me that she knew the results and that Lucky was Jake’s father.”

Michael tipped his head to the sky. “How did I know Mom was in the middle of this?”

“She made a mistake,” Jason said, “and Elizabeth didn’t correct her. She wanted to tell me, but when she came to do that—I—I wanted her to be okay. I didn’t want her to think she’d let me down, so I told her it was okay that Lucky was Jake’s father. That it was better that way.”

Michael tipped his head. “So she didn’t tell you the truth.”

“She was going through a lot, and she knew Sam and I were getting back together. With Lucky’s recovery on the line—she just thought everyone was better off. And I hadn’t done a lot to reassure her that I wanted Jake to be mine.” But, oh, man, he’d wanted it more than anything, and it had sliced at him when she’d looked at him that day. If he’d just kept his mouth shut, let her talk—

“When did you know?”

“A few months later after the hostage crisis, but looking back, I can see that she started to tell me a thousand times.” Jason paused. “After she did tell me, she asked me to let Lucky raise Jake.”

“I—how could she—” Michael stared at him. “How could she do that—”

“When she asked me, I knew I had a choice. I wanted to tell her no. I wanted my son. I’ve always wanted Jake.” Jason looked down at the table, remembering that moment, that gut-wrenching devastation that she was asking this of him—and the anger he’d felt towards her for even considering it— “And I agreed. Because I had spent years telling AJ that Carly had a right to decide what she wanted for you. That her wishes meant more than what AJ wanted or deserved.”

“You gave up Jake because of that?”

“Because I believed it.” Jason paused. “Part of me still does. With the way I live my life—Elizabeth had a right to decide if she wanted that for her child. And I thought that AJ’s alcoholism—the people he’d hurt—it meant Carly had a right to decide for you.”

“Do you still that?” Michael asked.

“I don’t know,” Jason admitted. “But I’ve lived long enough now to realize that Carly’s choices about you had nothing to do with AJ’s alcoholism. And my decision to help her had everything to do with the anger I had towards him for my accident. And then later, it was selfish. I wanted you. I’d raised you as my son that first year, and I wanted to keep you.”  He exhaled slowly. “And for that, I am sorry.”

“I got a second chance with my father,” Michael said. “And you’ve got yours with Jake, so I’m glad.” He hesitated. “Would you have helped Sonny get away with what happened? Cover up AJ’s murder?”

“I’d like to tell you no, I wouldn’t. If I’d been here, seen you and Monica go through this—if I’d known Sonny and Carly were lying to you, holding back the truth, I want to tell you that I wouldn’t let it happen. I just—I can’t know that. I’ve spent a long time protecting them, Michael.”

Michael nodded. “I appreciate the honesty—I—” He made a face as he saw something behind Jason’s shoulder. “Oh, man, I’m really not in the mood—”

“Jason, Michael—” Carly stepped up to the both of them, her eyes wide with desperation. “I’m so glad to find you two together. Please—”

“I need to go,” her son said hastily, getting to his feet. Jason also stood, not sure if he was in the mood to see Carly right now.

“Oh, no—please—” Carly held up a hand to ward off Michael’s departure. “Please—just wait—”

“I need to meet Nelle,” Michael said to his mother, and Carly’s nostrils flared.

“Are you telling me that woman is more important than me?” she demanded. “I am your mother—”

“I’m not doing this, Mom,” Michael said wearily. He put his gloves back on. “Just stop—”

“I have every right to be concerned after what that tramp put me through—” Carly scowled as Michael shook his head and walked away. “Michael!”

When it was clear that Michael wasn’t going to return, Carly focused her attention on Jason. “Are you going to storm off, too?” she demanded, “or are you going to let me explain?”

“Explain what?” Jason said. “Your issue with Michael’s girlfriend is between the two of you. I have places to be—”

“Oh, that is absolutely not true!” Carly retorted, grabbing his arm as Jason started to walk past her. “You’ve done nothing but avoid me since you got back! I just want to be here for you, Jason, but you refuse to let me help!”

“You mean I’m not doing things the way you want me to,” Jason replied. Carly narrowed her eyes. “You’re angry that I didn’t ask you to come to the PCPD with me the other night, and you were upset that I didn’t immediately cut Ava Jerome out of my life.”

“After what she did to Morgan—and I had every right to be at the PCPD!” Carly snapped. “I’m your best friend—”

“And Elizabeth is Jake’s mother,” Jason said, patiently. “She needed to be there more than you did, and I knew you’d make a scene. So I left you out of it. And, fine, you were right about Ava. But that doesn’t change the fact that you want to control the way I’m handling what happened—”

“This is coming from Elizabeth, isn’t it?” Carly said. “She’s the one who told you not to call me on Wednesday, isn’t she? I knew it! She’s always been jealous of my place in your life—”

“Elizabeth wasn’t part of the decision at all,” Jason said, trying to reach for the patience he’d once had when dealing with Carly and her antics. He knew she was struggling, had heard Michael’s words of caution about her difficult year. Carly grieved like a wild woman, he’d always known that.

He was just tired of being the target of all her attention. “I’m doing the best I can with all of this,” Jason continued as Carly’s eyes glinted with tears. “I have to do what works for me—”

“And Elizabeth works for you, does she? I don’t? I’m your best friend!”

“Then act like it,” Jason snapped. “I need to go.”

“Where—damn it, Jason—”

But he was done listening to her and walked out of the courtyard, hoping like hell she wouldn’t follow.

Kelly’s: Diner

“You know, you were crap at algebra last year,” Trina complained as she watched Cameron fly through his geometry homework. “And you’re always terrible at math. How come you can do it now?”

“Uh—” Cam made a face. “I don’t know. I guess it’s because there’s lot of words. It’s mostly definitions. I like reading. I’m not going to question it, I’m just going to enjoy it while it lasts—”

“You’re a freak—” Trina broke off as the bell over the door jangled. “Hey, Oscar—whoa—”

Cam twisted on the stool to find his friend and quasi-cousin walking towards them, his face pale, his eyes wide and his fingers wrapped around the strap of the book bag slung over his shoulder so tightly that his knuckles were white. “What happened?”

“I—” Oscar stopped in front of them, glanced around at the sparse early evening crowd. “I went to see my dad.”

“Oh, hell—” Cameron slid off the stool. “Can we use the kitchen?”

“I’m fine,” Oscar said, but neither Cameron nor Trina listened to him. Cam’s girlfriend nodded and he took Oscar by the elbow and gently led him out of the dining room and into the kitchen—but Cameron kept going straight through to empty and quiet alley.

“What happened?” Cameron asked as the metal door clanged shut and Oscar leaned against it, letting the bag drop to the ground.

Oscar closed his eyes. “He doesn’t have my dad’s face. And he doesn’t have the memories. He doesn’t know me.”

“Okay,” Cameron said slowly. “But what happened—”

“Nothing. I looked at him, he looked at me, and I left. It was stupid to think it would work—that magically he’d get his memories back this time when the only other time we saw each other, we felt nothing. It’s like—” His chest heaved and Oscar slid to the ground. “It’s like he’s really dead. He’s in front of me, the DNA test said so but there’s no point in—he’s not there. My dad is really gone.”

He looked up at Cameron, tears streaking down his cheeks. “I wish he’d stayed gone. Stayed dead. This is worse. It’s worse. I don’t know why—”

Cameron gingerly sat next to him, wincing as the cold concrete bit through the seat of his jeans. “Because you wanted it to be different,” he said. “You have the memory of a dad who loves you, and you want that back. I get it, man, I do.” He thought about the memories of Lucky Spencer, of the way the man had laughed and called Cameron his son, and Cameron had called him Dad—

And how Cam waited when Lucky called these days to talk to Aiden, always wondering if this time he’d ask about Cam—but he never, ever did. Sometimes he’d mention Jake, or his mother would talk about all three of them —

But Lucky never asked about Cameron, never wanted to talk to him. “You had a dad once,” Cameron continued, “and now you don’t. He’s walking around in the same body, but he might as well be dead. Him being alive was supposed to be like getting something good, but it’s not. Because now you don’t even have the hope it’s gonna be different. It sucks to know for sure.”

“Yeah.” Oscar looked at him, his eyes wet. “Yeah, it really sucks.”

Davis House: Living Room

Alexis peered over the tips of her glasses, setting down the pencil she’d been using to make notes. “I’m sorry. What are you asking for?”

Sam made a face. Why did everyone make her repeat herself all the time? Did they think she didn’t hear herself? That she would change her mind if she listened to the words again?

“New York is a community property state,” she said patiently. “Jason and I never signed a prenup, which means I’m entitled to half of everything.”

“Uh—” Alexis removed her glasses, rubbed her eyes. “You know, this isn’t your first divorce from Jason. The last time you didn’t ask for anything—”

“The last time I didn’t have two children and a media company. And this is different—” Sam pursed her lips. “And I’m not asking for half of everything. I want enough money to cover the purchase price of Aurora, plus the first year’s operating costs, title to the penthouse, and—” She paused. “Termination of parental rights.”

“Termination of parental rights,” Alexis repeated. “I—” She paused. “You want to cut him off from Danny.”

“Yes. Drew will adopt Danny legally. We’ll change Scout and Danny’s birth certificates, and that will be the end of it.” Sam lifted a brow. “Don’t you think I’m entitled to raise my children however I see fit?”

“I—” Alexis blinked. “I think that Jason has been back seven days, and it’s only been four since you had confirmation which twin was which. I don’t think Jason is going to storm into Aurora and take it from you—maybe you could work something out—”

“Mom, you wanted me to deal with reality,” Sam said. “This is me doing that. I’m not doing anyone any favors if I wait. I was happy with the way things were before. I want to go back to that—”

“But there’s no going back—” Alexis began, but the front door opened and Kristina and Molly came in, laughing and talking about something.

“Oh, hey, Sam,” Molly said as she took off her coat. “Guess what, Mom? TJ got accepted into the medical student program at GH. He’ll be doing his third year program there starting in January.”

“Yeah, Kiki got accepted, too,” Kristina volunteered. She handed her scarf to Molly. “That’s kind of cool that they’re working together. Oh, and Mrs. Spencer cornered me at lunch. She wants me to think about doing an internship at GH.”

“An internship?” Alexis frowned. “What kind of—you’re not in medical school—”

“No, but there’s a position open in the administration office, and I need an internship for next semester.” Kristina shrugged. “You want me to figure out my life, so here I am figuring out my life. Maybe I’ll like working for the hospital.”

“Maybe.” Molly slung an arm around her sister’s shoulder. “But maybe you’ll end up in a cult. Both things are equally possible.” Kristina rolled her eyes, and Molly laughed. She looked at Sam. “Hey, Sam, did you bring the kids?”

“No, they’re with the nanny,” Sam said stiffly. “Mom, I’ll come back another day—”

“Still mad at me?” Kristina asked as she sat at the table across from Sam. She looked at Molly. “I just told her that she was being a big bitch to Jason, trying to take Danny from him five minutes after the guy got out of a coma.”

Molly’s eyes widened. “You’re doing what?” she asked Sam.

“I’m going,” Sam repeated, getting to her feet. “And you didn’t call me a bitch,” she said to Kristina with a gritting of her teeth.

“No, I guess I didn’t.” Kristina shrugged. “I thought it. Is that why you’re here to talk to Mom?” She tried to peek at the note pad under Alexis’s hand.

“Jason just got home,” Molly said, shoving herself to her feet. “He hasn’t even met Danny yet, has he?”

“He met him,” Sam said, tensely. “But Danny doesn’t know him—”

“Neither did Jake,” Alexis pointed out. “And neither did Drew at one point. I think you’re being hasty, Sam—”

“And I think you all need to butt the hell out of my life! It’s not like Jason gives a damn about me or Danny! He hasn’t come by to see me or even asked about Danny—” Sam pressed her mouth together as something bubbled up her throat. “He’s seen Jake a thousand times in the last seven days, and he’s always with Elizabeth, but he hasn’t come to see me once!”

“Maybe,” Alexis said, gently, “because you went home that night with Drew and didn’t identify Jason that night. And that night at the PCPD, did you say anything to him?”

“No! It’s not my job to reach out to him!” Sam retorted. “I’m the one whose life has to change! He should be asking me about Danny! He should be trying to get me back!”

“Oh, I get it now,” Kristina said. “You’re pissed because he’s not chasing you.” She rolled her eyes. “Well, that is dumb as hell. He was in a coma five minutes ago, did you miss that part?”

“That’s not—”

“I think Jason had to spend four days proving who the hell he was, found out another man has been living his life—raising his family—and that he went from having no kids to two of them—in fact, one of those sons had been dead and buried. I mean, Christ, Sam, did you even tell him you were glad he wasn’t dead?”

Sam stare at her sister, mutely. Then stalked over to grab her coat off the hook. “You don’t get it,” she said, hotly. “And I’m not going to explain it to you.”

Then she slammed the door behind her so hard that a picture frame on a shelf next to it fell to the ground.

“So,” Molly said after a long moment, turning to her sister and mother, “here’s what I think is going on. Sam is super jealous of Jake and Elizabeth, and wants Jason to chase after her. And since he hasn’t done that yet—she’s gonna make his life completely miserable as punishment.”

“Well, duh,” Kristina said. “I just said that.”

“Yeah, I know, but I added the punishment part. That’s what makes me more right than you.”

“It doesn’t matter who’s right,” Alexis said as her two youngest daughters began to bicker. “Only how much damage Sam is going to do before she figures out this is the wrong thing to do.”

Kelly’s: Diner

Drew frowned when he came into the diner, approaching the counter where Trina and Joss were sitting. Once, he might have teased them about sitting near each other because he had the memories—and the experience of knowing they weren’t really friends—but he saw the hostility in Joss’s eyes, the worry in Trina’s.

“Uh, someone left me a text message that Oscar was here. I don’t know who,” Drew said hesitantly. “Where—”

“I’m right here,” Oscar said dully as he came out of the kitchen, a towel slung over his shoulder. Behind him, Cameron carried a green tub and set it on the counter. “Who texted you?” He asked.

“I did,” Cameron said, looking at Drew. “I guess you don’t have my number in your phone anymore.”

Drew felt the heat in his cheeks as he realized that was true— “I got a new phone. I guess all the contacts didn’t—”

“It’s fine,” Cameron said, looking away, but Drew had seen the flash of hurt in Cameron’s dark blue eyes—his mother’s eyes. This boy he’d wanted to adopt—had loved as his own for almost a year—

“Why’d you do that?” Oscar asked his friend, narrowing his eyes. “I thought—”

“Because maybe you don’t get to have all the time back from before,” Cameron said. “I mean, Jake was gone for years, but he might as well have been gone his whole life because he didn’t know me or Aiden when he came home. He didn’t even really know Mom. Didn’t really recognize us as his. But he does now. And it sucks we lost that time, I can’t get it back. But I still have my brother.”

“Can we talk?” Drew said to Oscar, who still looked a bit irritated at his friend. “Just for a minute. Joss can come if you’re not sure—”

“It’s fine. We should at least…” Oscar jerked a shoulder, nodding towards the courtyard. “I need to go pack up the tables for winter. I told Trina I would do it for her—”

“I’ll help,” Drew offered. As Oscar walked past him, he looked back at Cameron. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t do it for you,” Cameron muttered and disappeared back into the kitchen. Drew sighed, then followed Oscar into the courtyard.

“I don’t remember being Andrew Cain,” Drew told him as Oscar silently began to stack the chairs. “But I got a background check on him—on me,” he corrected. “And I know—I’ve talked to Kim. She told me we were close.”

“I guess. We were alone for a while after Mom died,” Oscar said. He started to lift a table, and Drew took the other side. They carried it over, then stacked it on another table. “I know what happened to you sucked. Cameron and Joss told me about when you were in the accident. And—I mean, you got someone else’s memories. That’s really awful, I guess.”

“It’s hard,” Drew admitted as he stacked another set of chairs. “Take Cameron and Joss for an example. I’ve known them for three years. I know that’s true. And I’m sure you know by now that I lived with Cam’s mom for a while.”

“You almost married her and adopted him, yeah.”

“But I also have all these other memories of them,” Drew said. “Of watching Joss sick in the hospital, and Cameron growing up with his brother—meeting him here in Kelly’s when he was a baby—” He stared at the diner. “But they’re like movies that play in my head. I don’t have a connection to them. I can remember that I loved them both, but I can’t really separate the way I feel about them now from how they are in the memories.”

Oscar furrowed his brow. “That’s weird.”

“It is,” Drew said. “And I’m trying to find a way to be okay with having these memories. I don’t know if I can ever get rid of them. Or if I can get the old ones back. I don’t know.” He paused. “What do I know is that I’m not Jason Morgan. And these aren’t my memories. I can’t pretend to be someone I’m not, especially when that man is walking around trying to put his life back together. I’m Andrew Cain. And you’re my son.”

Oscar’s chin trembled, but he swallowed. “But you don’t feel like that’s true—”

“No, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try to build something new. When you met Kim, she wasn’t your mother either. But she’s your family now. And you have a little sister, Scout. I want her to know you. I want to know you,” Drew said. He tipped his head towards the diner. “Cameron and his brothers. Scout and Michael. They’re part of my family. Which makes them yours.”

“I don’t know,” Oscar said after a long moment. “It hurts that you don’t know me. Or that you don’t look like my dad.” He looked at him. “I mean, sometimes, there’s something around your eyes. And you sound like him a little. But I just—” He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Think about it,” Drew said. He touched Oscar’s shoulder. “And we’ll see how you feel in a few days.”

Webber House: Living Room

“Hey, I got your message—” Jason frowned as Elizabeth quietly took his jacket and hung it up. “What’s wrong? What happened at the PCPD? Did Andre have anything useful?”

“He’s hoping for a better deal from the WSB,” she said dully. She pressed a hand to her head. “He’s not willing to say much until he’s in one of their facilities, I guess.”

Jason frowned. “Then—”

“And what he would tell me—” Elizabeth sighed, wandered over towards the fireplace. “He said to make sure we knew where every Cassadine was. Because then we could sleep at night.”

Jason scowled. “That’s all?”

“All he would say about if there was still any danger.” Her voice faltered at the end, and Jason walked towards her.

“Elizabeth—”

“That night when I nearly drowned in the harbor,” she said in a low voice. “When I was sick—and I told you I’d seen Jake—” Her eyes found his, tears clinging to her lashes. “When I said I’d held him—that I’d touched him—I heard his voice—”

Dread crept up his spine. “You weren’t hallucinating,” Jason said.

“No,” she managed. “No. Helena had my little boy. Ewen didn’t just save me from drowning. He took me to the lab on the estate. Jake was there. On that island for at least that long. And she let me see him. Let me hold him.”

Her shoulders started to shake, and she wrapped her arms around herself as he just stared at her in horror as the truth sank in. “He knew Jake was alive and that he was on Spoon Island.”

“And I knew he was alive. I knew it!” she said, opening her eyes, a fierce light in them. “And I let everyone convince me I was crazy! And I let it go. I believed all of you! But I was right! Jake was alive, and Helena had all that time to hurt him, to poison his mind!”

“Elizabeth—”

She pressed her hands to her face. “I knew I’d held him. I knew I’d felt his little arms around my neck, that I’d heard his voice—I knew it, and I let it go—I let him go—” Sobs began to wrack her body. “I let him die all over again.”

I walk this empty street
On the boulevard of broken dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I’m the only one and I walk alone
My shadow’s the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart’s the only thing that’s beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
‘Til then I walk alone
– Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Green Day

---

April 2011

 Spoon Island: Cassadine Lab

“I’m not sure what you want me to do,” Liesl Obrecht said with a sniff. She trailed behind Victor from the laboratory’s large common area to a hallway with a series of closed doors. “This is very different than the work I carried out for you before—”

“Not so different,” Victor mused as he paused, squinting at the numbers. “My apologies, dear. Our newest patient hasn’t been with us very long, and I’ve forgotten which room is his.”

“Victor—”

“Darling,” he drawled, removing his glasses. “You experimented on Alex and Anna when you knew even less about the human brain or memory. Why should you be so squeamish now?”

“Because of who my patient is,” Liesl began, but then a door opened down the hall, and Helena Cassadine stepped out, one brow arched.

“Are you going to wander all night?” she asked. “I have places to be.”

“Ah, there you are. I’d quite lost track of the room. Come along, Liesl.” Victor strode down the hallway, leading Liesl into a room that had been organized like a hospital room with a stretcher and IV lines. A small little boy was lying among the linens, his face pale and eyes closed.

“How is the little prince today?” Victor asked as he picked up the chart. “Recovering nicely?”

“He’ll be making a full recovery, thanks to your doctors.” Helena lightly smoothed the blonde hair out of the child’s face. “I suppose we should be grateful that General Hospital did not have the same caliber of medicine—”

“Well, they are hamstrung by that pesky FDA and medical ethics,” Victor reminded her. He turned to Liesl. “Now, you read over the prospectus—”

“Yes, but—I’ve never worked on anyone this young,” Liesl murmured. He reminded her of Nathan when she’d last seen him. Small and defenseless. “Who is he?”

“Does it matter?” Helena demanded.

“If I am to do the work you’ve asked of me,” Liesl said slowly, “then I will need his trust. I will not be able to call him Patient Three. He will fight me. Victor—”

“I trust Liesl. Without question,” Victor continued. “Liesl, this is Jacob Webber, the son of Elizabeth Webber and Jason Morgan. The swelling around his brain suggested that he would not recover. His parents took him off life support—” He paused, looked at Helena. “I’m still not entirely sure what we’re planning to do with him.”

Helena eyed Victor coldly. “I’ve told you the Spencers are not my only target. This is only the beginning of the torment I plan for his mother.” She focused on Liesl. “Can you do what we’ve asked?”

“I will do what I can,” Liesl said, shifting uncomfortably. “There’s still so much we don’t know—this will be the first time we’ve put this theory into practice.”

“I know you’re up to the challenge,” Victor said kindly. “I could always count on you.”

Saturday, November 4, 2017

Penthouse: Living Room

Drew ran a hand over his face as he sat next to Sam, settling Scout in his lap. “I didn’t tell you what happened when I went to Kelly’s to pick up dinner,” he said.

Sam frowned, looking up from the paperwork in her lap. She set it on the coffee table. “No,” Sam drawled. “You didn’t. What happened?”

“Kim Nero was in the parking lot.” Sam’s mouth tightened as Drew continued, “From the background that Curtis put together, I know that I met her in 2009, and we got married in 2010. She’s lived in San Diego her whole life, and we met on the base.” He paused. “We talked about Oscar.”

“Right. Joss’s boyfriend is your son.” Sam sat back. “And he’s her stepson. So, what, does she want to pawn him off on you? That’s pretty cold—”

“What—no—” Drew shook his head. “No,” he repeated. “But I think it’s important that I not forget about the life I had before. If I had been single, we could just—we could just keep going on the way we were, I guess. With new names. Or—” He scratched his temple. “I don’t know. We’ve been using my money—but it’s not my money—”

“It’s my money,” Sam insisted. “I’ve been on the accounts—”

“But that’s as Jason’s wife. Not mine,” Drew reminded her quietly, and Sam looked away. “We bought Aurora with his assets. Is it even ours? And, yeah, Kim does have custody of Oscar. But is it legal? Are we even really married? And what about Danny—”

“Does all of this have to be solved today?” Sam demanded. “I mean, we just found out a few days ago—”

“What does waiting do?” Drew asked. “I’m not Jason Morgan. It doesn’t matter that I have these memories—” He handed Scout to her and got to his feet. “They’re not mine. But if I get rid of them, does everything go—including the last three years—” He tipped his head back. “I can’t sit back and wait for things to happen, Sam.”

“No. I guess that’s something you don’t have in common with your brother,” Sam muttered. When Drew sent her an irritated look, she sighed. “Fine. My mother’s been offering to help us with that stuff, and, honestly, yeah, she said the marriage thing was gonna be a problem. She said we should clear the deck legally. You and I should file for divorce from Kim and Jason—and from each other.” She paused. “But that means I’m owed a divorce settlement from Jason, and since this is a community property estate—”

“I don’t want Aurora as part of your divorce,” Drew muttered.

“What if I do?” Sam insisted. She stood and crossed the room to set Scout in the playpen. “It’s my company, too. Carly used her divorce money to buy the hotel. Why can’t I use mine for Aurora?”

“Because then I did nothing—” Drew bit out. “I don’t know what to do about Aurora. But what about Danny?”

“What about him? I already asked my mom to draw up name change papers for Scout and Danny—”

He put up a hand. “You can’t change Danny’s name,” Drew said, slightly scandalized. “He’s Jason’s—” He took a deep breath. “He’s Jason’s son.”

“So? What does blood matter? Jason didn’t raise him. You did—”

“For the last year and a half, yes.” Drew shook his head. “But Danny knows Jason is his father—”

“He knows you are—your face. Jake is older, so fine—let that go. But Danny—Danny loves you, Drew.” Sam lifted her chin. “So we’ll get the divorce, we’ll figure out Aurora, but the only thing I want to change our about family, Drew, is our name. Everything else stays the same.”

Drew stared at her for a long moment before slowly shaking his head. “It can’t, Sam.”

“It can if you just want it—”

“It can’t stay the same. I am not Jason Morgan!” He walked away from her to the closet to take out his coat. “I have a meeting at the office—”

“On a Saturday?”

“I’ll call you—”

“Drew, just wait—”

But he couldn’t. He left the penthouse, left his wife and daughter behind, and went to the elevator. Nothing in his life was really his. His name, his wife, his sons, his business, not even the penthouse —

All he had was Scout. And Oscar.

The sooner Sam understood that everything had to change, the better they all would be.

General Hospital: Hub

“Are you always working?”

Elizabeth didn’t even have to look up from her paperwork to register the identity of the irritated woman in front of her. “Some of us didn’t get huge divorce settlements, Carly.”

“Oh, so now I’m a gold digger?”

Elizabeth sighed and looked up at the unhappy blonde. “No, I’m sorry. I’m tired. What can I do for you?”

“I want you to leave Jason the hell alone.” Carly folded her arms. “You’re distracting him when he needs to be thinking about his family.”

Elizabeth furrowed her brow, shook her head. “I don’t—I’m sorry. I don’t understand what’s happening here. How am I distracting—” She pressed her lips together. “If you have a problem with Jason’s priorities, you need to take it up with him. I don’t run his life.” She picked up the file and started down the hallway towards a patient’s room.

Unfortunately, Carly followed. “You think I don’t know what you’re doing? You shoved Franco out the door the same night Jason came home, and you’ve been using Jake to get close to him. Now you’re going to use this crap with Michael and AJ—”

“I didn’t tell Jason about AJ,” Elizabeth reminded her. “In fact, Jason came to me about Ava, and I went out of my way to avoid mentioning AJ because I knew it was going to be a problem for Michael.”

“Oh, aren’t you a goddamn saint?” Carly snarled. “You’re always playing the martyr—”

Elizabeth very nearly snapped back but took a moment to take a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Carly. I know you hate when the stuff about AJ gets dragged back up. Everyone, including Michael and Monica, is much better when that’s left in the past. I’m sure there was never going to be a good way for Jason to find out, but I know you wouldn’t want it the way it happened.”

Carly stared at her, then looked away. “I just didn’t want him to think Ava was a good person,” she muttered. “But no one ever listens to me. I told Michael Nelle was a disaster, that she’d hurt him, and he’s not listening to me either. Morgan refused to listen to me about Ava—” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I just got Jason back. I can’t lose him again.”

“I don’t know how Jason feels about any of this, and even if I did, that’s for him to figure out and tell you,” Elizabeth said, not feeling unsympathetic. What had happened with AJ’s death was one of the worst and darkest moments in Carly’s life, in Sonny’s life—and now it was being dragged back into the light because Carly couldn’t control herself. It had to be hell knowing you were your own worst enemy.

The problem with Carly is that she didn’t actually know that. She didn’t see that she caused ninety percent of her own issues. She just lashed out and blamed the person nearest to her.

“I know I don’t really have a right to talk about this,” Elizabeth continued, “but you hate me anyway, so I might as well. I know I got a miracle with Jake, but that doesn’t change the four years I grieved him. And that first year, Carly, I was a mess. You know that. I thought I saw him everywhere. I had to commit myself to get through it. And there were times I wasn’t sure I had.”

Carly bit her lip. “He should still be here,” she managed in a voice that sounded like a sob. “And he’s not. And it’s Ava’s fault. And I see you with Jake—and I hate you for it. I know that’s terrible, but I can’t stand it. I hate you for getting a miracle.”

“It’s not terrible,” Elizabeth said. “When Robin came home, as happy as I was for Patrick and Emma—and I was—I was so angry. So unbelievably furious with the world. Because Jake was gone. And so was Jason. And I wanted them both back.” She made a face. “I know that’s not better because it happened, but I understand that hatred, Carly. I’ve felt it, too.”

Carly hesitated, her eyes darting around as if she didn’t know what to say. “If you weren’t around, Jason could focus on what matters,” she said, returning to her original argument, and Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

“He is focusing on what matters, Carly. His family. His life. And whether you like it or not, Jake is his son. And Jason gets to be with him. If you can’t deal with that, well—” Elizabeth shrugged. “You’re going to live with that, not me.”

Pozzulo’s Restaurant: Front Room

Jason glanced around the room with its dark colors and furniture with a bit of trepidation, taking in the unfamiliar building and surroundings. He turned towards the back office where he knew Sonny would be.

His partner and best friend looked at him with a squint and frown before rising to his feet. “Jase—I, uh, wasn’t expecting you.”

“No, I guess you wouldn’t,” Jason said, closing the door behind him. He exhaled slowly. “I’m not going to ask what happened with AJ,” he said finally. “I don’t think I really need the details.”

“I—” Sonny’s hands were limp at his side as he stared at Jason. “I thought it was over,” he said after a long moment. “I thought Michael had moved on. But I was wrong. And he made sure Carly and I both knew that last night. Did—have you spoken to him?”

“Briefly,” Jason said. “I wasn’t here, Sonny. I’m not holding anything against you or Carly. I wasn’t here,” he repeated. “I need to talk to my mother. Talk through some things with Michael. But this isn’t about you or me, Sonny. And it’s not why I am here right now.”

“It’s not?”

“No.” Jason took a seat, and slowly, Sonny did as well. “I’ve been back a week,” he said. “And I’m trying to wrap my head around the things that have changed. The people who are gone. The ones that are here now. It’s been…” He looked away. “It’s been harder than I thought it would be,” he admitted.

“Jason—”

“But Elizabeth took me to a dealership last night, and I got a bike. We took a ride, and I—” He met Sonny’s eyes again. “I’m gonna be okay. It’s going to take time, but I’m going to be fine. You don’t need to worry about information overload or what happened while I was gone.” He hesitated. “We got distracted, I think, waiting for Spinelli, and while you and Carly were worried about Ava Jerome. I did, too, getting to spend time with Jake.”

“Distracted,” Sonny repeated. “You’ve been back a week, Jase. You deserve to be distracted by your kid. I’m so goddamn glad that’s working out. And grateful that Elizabeth thought of the bike. I should have—”

“I’m glad it was her,” Jason said, with a shake of his head. It wouldn’t have been the same, he thought, if it had been anyone but Elizabeth. “It’s something—it was better it was her. Anyway, Spinelli is here now. And he’s putting together a profile of the finances from the clinic. And you said you were tracking down Luke about Faison.”

“Right, and we were going to see what we could do about the WSB part of it—” Sonny exhaled. “Why is this back in your head?”

“Because I don’t think this is over,” Jason said. “They hunted me every step of the way from St. Petersburg to Port Charles, and then he gave up as soon as I revealed myself. That doesn’t make sense. I always knew he was working for someone else.”

“Someone had to tell him to stand down,” Sonny said with a nod of agreement. “So what do you think?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I think we need to know more about Victor Cassadine. About why Cesar Faison would go after me. And I want to know more about Andre Maddox. Could he have pulled this off on his own?”

“You don’t think Maddox told you everything at the PCPD?”

“No, and I think most of what he told us were lies. Elizabeth is going to the lockup to see him on her own,” Jason told Sonny. “She knows him better than either of us, and she arranged it with Jordan. That detective—Nathan West—is going to be there to make sure she’s okay.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of this, Jase. And you and Drew—and your families—we’ll make sure everyone is safe.”

Aurora Media: Drew’s Office

Drew’s footsteps slowed when he reached his office’s reception area and saw the woman sitting in one of the chairs. “When they said downstairs someone was waiting for me—” he shook his head. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

Elizabeth rose to her feet, a cardigan sweater over her pink scrubs. “I thought you might be more willing to talk today than you were a few days ago—”

“I’m sorry,” Drew said. “For—” He sighed, then went over to his office. He pushed it open and gestured for her to enter. “I was angry, and I was desperate, and I took it out on you. I shouldn’t do that.”

“It’s okay,” Elizabeth said, putting her purse down, turning to look at him. “I understand—”

“It’s not okay,” he pushed. “And you need to stop excusing people treating you like dirt. I may not be Jason,” he continued with a half smile, “but I still have the memories. And I know how much you’ve forgiven from people who’ve done worse.”

“I didn’t do right by you two years ago,” Elizabeth said softly. “I should have. And that makes it harder for you to trust me—”

“We all got screwed on that one, and, hey, in hindsight—” Drew dumped his coat on a hook and went over to the window that looked over the park. “You gave me six more months of Jake Doe. Six months where I didn’t live with a lie. And if you’d told me earlier, maybe Andre just would have come to Port Charles sooner.” He peered at her over his shoulder. “Curtis got me the rest of his statement. I know what he did. That he came here and transferred the memories again.”

“Drew—about Jake—” Elizabeth paused. “He loves you. And he wants to be part of your life. He knows the truth, but it doesn’t change how hard you’ve fought for him. Jake knows who was there for him last year when he went through all of that. Who held him while he cried. He may not be your biological son—but he is your nephew.”

Drew rubbed his chest, turning back to face her fully. “But Jason’s his father. And he should have a chance. The chance I know he never did before.”

“And he’ll have it. There’s so much about this that sucks, Drew. So much,” she repeated, “but I think we should also focus on the good. Monica has buried three children. But now she gets to have you and Jason. You are still her son. Have you talked to her yet?”

“I’ll call her,” Drew said. “I’m trying, Elizabeth—”

“But there’s no manual for something like this. I just—I wanted you to know that this doesn’t have to be a tragedy. You and Jason—you were brothers,” she said softly. “Twins. Separated for all these years. And when someone found out the truth, they didn’t bring you together. They didn’t give you a family, Drew; they stole from you.”

“What are you asking me to do?” Drew said with a frown.

“Jason isn’t sure this is over—that whoever was holding him doesn’t have more damage to do,” Elizabeth said. “I’m going to see Andre now to find out if there’s anything else he can tell us.” She hesitated. “You know what he did to Jake. What he did to you and to Jason. I hope you can see that Jason isn’t the bad guy here. You’re both victims. And he wants to make sure that it’s over. I hope you can think about helping us.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Kristina swirled her straw in her milkshake, staring down at her phone.

“Hey.”

She glanced up to find Valerie Spencer frowning at her. “Oh. Hey. Sorry. I didn’t see you come in.”

“It’s okay.” Valerie removed her coat and tossed it on the other chair. “What’s up? You sounded weird on the phone.”

“Ever since Jason Morgan came back—since all of this started,” Kristina began slowly, “the news has been obsessed with him. And his past. And my sister. And, just like, everything. The last time he was on trial, it was for this murder. He got acquitted, and I don’t really remember it. I was a kid, and Mom really tried to keep me and Molly out of all of that because my step dad was prosecuting him.”

“Your step dad? Molly’s dad, right? I remember him. The one that pulled that crap with Nina?” Valerie asked. She took a fry from Kristina’s plate. “When did he and your mom get divorced?”

“I couldn’t tell you when it was final, but Mom kicked him out a few months earlier. It was weird, and I didn’t understand it. Ric was—he was great. I barely knew my dad—his brother—but Ric was great. He never treated me different from Molly. He was more of a dad to me at the time because of everything Dad was going through.” Kristina paused. “I never knew why.”

“And I’m guessing you know now,” Valerie said. “What happened, Krissy?”

Kristina shoved her phone across the table. “Someone sent that link to me. Through an anonymous Twitter account. It’s a YouTube clip of my sister testifying at Jason’s trial.”

Valerie lifted her brows, then picked up the phone and pressed play. She listened to Sam stumble over her testimony, then to Diane’s vicious cross-examination that painted her sister as scorned, gold digging ex-fiancée who had—

Valerie’s eyes bulged and she jerked her head back up to look at Kristina. “Oh my God.”

“She slept with my stepfather. That’s why my family broke up.” Kristina’s eyes blurred and she sucked in a shuddering breath. “I kept asking Sam which one was real—the cold woman who was, like, keeping Jason out of his kid’s life, or the amazing sister Molly and I have grown up with.”

“Krissy—”

“I always knew Sam had a dark past. Like, I knew she was a con artist. She must have tricked my step dad—”

“Krissy,” Valerie said gently. “Your stepfather tried to trick Elizabeth Webber into marrying him and then did the exact same thing to Nina, trying to get her money. It’s not like he’s a shining moral example. You don’t know the whole story—”

“I know. I know it’s stupid to get mad over this. It was years ago. And I know it’s not just her fault. It’s just—” Kristina swiped at her eyes. “Jason kept me out of trouble my whole life. At least until the pier. I know he wasn’t always super good to my sister, but you never know what’s going on in people’s heads, right? I listen to this testimony—and I just—do I even know who my sister is?”

“You should talk to her.” Valerie returned her phone. “Maybe she can explain herself.”

“How do you explain sleeping with your stepfather?” Kristina demanded. “Ruining your mother’s marriage and your sisters’ lives?”

“And maybe she can’t,” Valerie admitted. “But the point is—you won’t know unless you ask.”

PCPD: Lockup

Nathan unlocked the door that led to the holding cells but didn’t open it right away. He looked back at Elizabeth. “Are you sure? You know you can’t trust anything he tells you.”

“I know.” Elizabeth sighed, looked past him to the cell where her son’s psychiatrist was being held, at the man sitting on a bench, his head in his hands. “But I have to try.”

“Fair enough. Jordan said you could have five minutes.” He pushed open the door. “I’ll be right here to let you out.”

“Thanks.” Elizabeth stepped into the hallway, the sound of her work sneakers quiet as she walked towards Andre. The man in question slowly sat up as she approached the cell. Gone was the smooth and urbane man who had so seamlessly won their trust and even their affection. He wore an orange jumpsuit, his eyes tired, his face lined with exhaustion and what she hoped was regret.

She was counting on that, hoping for a glimmer of the man she’d known. The quiet desperation he must have felt to do something so reprehensible. She knew the story of his wife, understood his motives, but she could never bring herself to forgive him.

She’d brought her damaged child to him in hopes Andre could give Jake peace and security. To give Jake back his mind and his sense of self after the damage Helena had wrought. And Andre had used Jake, had been part of the scheme that stole his father away from them.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you again.” Andre rose to his feet. “I want to apologize—”

“You destroyed the lives of two men,” Elizabeth cut in. She folded her arms across her chest. “You may not have arranged their kidnappings, but you knew that the man who came home to us three years ago was not Jason Morgan. You stood by and let Drew build a life here. You used my son to hide your secret—” She shook her head. “But I’m not here to rage at you. Or to listen to your excuses.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Because you did more than lie to Jake this last year. You put the trigger in his brain that nearly killed us all.” She paused, made sure his eyes were on hers. “And that makes me wonder how much more you know about Jake’s history. Jason was taken to Spoon Island after they found him in the water the night he went into the harbor. You were there. Was Jake?”

“Elizabeth—” Andre pressed his lips together and looked at Elizabeth. “Yes. Jake was there for a time.”

Elizabeth let her arms drop to her side. “I had terrible hallucinations after I nearly drowned a few years ago. They found me on Spoon Island, and I’m told in the hospital, I was convinced my son was alive.”

Andre shook his head. “I—” He frowned. “When was that?”

“October 2011.” Her eyes burned. “They told me I was wrong. That it was the fever. But I knew my son was alive. I felt it, I knew I’d seen him. I’d held him.”

“I—” Andre looked away. “I can’t get into it, Elizabeth.”

Oh, God. She’d seen Jake. She’d seen him, and he’d been alive, and she’d let everyone talk her out of it. She’d thought she was crazy. She’d checked herself into Shadybrooke—Helena had taunted her—She swallowed it. This wasn’t about her—wasn’t about that terrible hallucination—she shouldn’t have even asked—but, oh, God, that dim memory of Jake screaming for her, of Elizabeth fighting to get to him—

It had been real.

“Who else?” Elizabeth asked. “Who else was at the lab?” She wrapped her fingers around the bars, leaning in. “Damn it, Andre—”

“Ewen Keenan,” Andre said with a sigh. “He found you on Spoon Island and brought you to the lab where you saw Jake. Then left you on the shore where Spinelli found you. I don’t know—”

She absorbed the knowledge that Ewen had betrayed her in this as well—that he’d known her little boy was alive, and he’d let her twist in the wind for all those months. She was glad now that Jason had shot him.

She’d wished she’d done it herself.

“Helena kidnapped Jake to get back at Luke. That’s what we’ve always believed,” Elizabeth said, watching as Andre’s eyes darted away. “But I don’t understand why Jason was taken. Or why Jake came home. Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re lying—” she insisted. “Who else is involved, Andre? Is it over? Who was chasing Jason home from Russia? Damn it, are my children safe? Is Jake safe?”

“As safe as they can be,” Andre said after a moment. “I can’t say more—”

“You won’t say more,” she realized. She stepped back, tears burning her eyes. “You’re hoping to make a deal with the WSB or something. You’re holding back because what you know is valuable to them.”

Andre exhaled slowly, looked down. “You’d do the same—” He bit off the words. “Damn it, Elizabeth, it’s the Cassadines. I have to make sure I’m safe and secure. When I can tell you everything, I promise you I will—”

“Then tell me something,” she begged. “Tell me something I can use to make this over. To give Jason, Drew, and the kids some peace. Please.”

Andre closed his eyes. “Elizabeth—”

“Who were the other patients? Where are Drew’s memories?”

“I told you the patients I knew. Jake, Jason, and Drew—”

“I don’t believe you don’t know who Patient Four was,” Elizabeth insisted. “Do you just not want to tell me? Damn it, Andre—”

“I can tell you this.” Andre waited until Elizabeth was looking at him. “You’re right. This isn’t over. You make sure you know where every Cassadine on this Earth is. When you can answer that question, you’ll be safe.”

“This isn’t some fucking riddle!” she exploded. “You’re playing with my son’s life! Andre—”

But he turned away from her and returned to his cot, taking a seat.

Frustrated, Elizabeth stormed away, returning to the main hallway where Nathan was waiting, his expression worried.

“Did you get what you needed?” he asked as he led her back to the squad room and opened the door for her.

“You were right,” she said, her head spinning. “He can’t be trusted.”

If you knew how lonely my life has been
And how long I’ve been so alone
If you knew how I wanted someone to come along
And change my life the way you’ve done
It feels like home to me
It feels like home to me
It feels like I’m all the way back where
I come from
– Feels Like Home, Chantal Kreviazuk

---

March 2011

Crichton-Clark Institute: Victor’s Office

Victor had rarely seen his sister-in-law so giddy as she had been when she swept into his office, her eyes blazing with that glint of evil he’d come to expect from her. “Darling, have you killed a small child today?” he asked, idly as he leaned back.

“On the contrary, I am going to save a small child today.” She sat in a chair, smiling smugly at him. “Do you remember Katherine Bell?”

“Of course. Hard to forget the woman who sauntered into my nephew’s murder trial. She was a patient here for a time, was she not?”

“Yes. And I thank you for all the support you’ve given me over the years. My newest patient should be arriving at the lab on the island as we speak. I used the same methods I did back when I retrieved Ms. Bell.” Helena rose and went over to the window to look out over the extensive grounds. “Little Jake Webber will be the first patient in our program.”

“Jake Webber,” Victor repeated. “You were looking for a way to destroy her through Jason Morgan. This is his son?”

“Yes.” Helena smiled again. “It’s lovely when an opportunity just slides into your lap. My man at the hospital informed me that Jake Webber was in an accident and organ donation is being considered. All it took was the exchange of some funds, a few calls to some old friends—”

“Organ donation? This seems risky—”

Helena waved that away. “I’ve taken care of that. Jasper Jacks will owe me a very large favor one day. Fortunately for both us of, he already had investigated the black market. I’ve merely agreed to help facilitate the transplant. Everyone would believe Jake Webber is dead.”

“And once you’ve accomplished that?”

Helena tapped her chin. “I really hadn’t thought that far ahead. I’ll think of a use for him later. For now, I just want Elizabeth Webber to suffer.”

Friday, November 3, 2017

Greystone Manor: Living Room

Carly paced the room, biting at her nails, glaring at Sonny. “Why can’t anyone find him? Why can’t you make him answer his phone—”

“Because he doesn’t answer to me,” Sonny said with a sigh as he looked at his phone again. At the list of missed calls. “Carly—”

“I didn’t mean for him to find out that way—”

“I asked you,” came a new voice from the doorway, “to just give him a few weeks.”

Carly and Sonny both turned to find Michael standing in the doorway, his face strained. Sonny got to his feet, sliding his phone into his pocket. “Michael—”

“I asked you,” Michael repeated, “not to start in on Jason about Ava. I told you that it would bring up ancient history that none of us wanted to drag out right now. Jason—” He paused. “He came to see me, and I wasn’t ready for it. I didn’t have answers for him. And I made it worse.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Sonny began, but Michael looked at him. Sonny stepped back, startled to see that the expression in his son’s eyes looked so much like that terrible night three years earlier when Michael had learned the truth and pointed a gun at him.  “Michael—”

“If Jason had been here, he would have helped you get away with murdering my father,” Michael said flatly. “Which is not something I wanted to say to him.”

“No, no—” Carly shook her head. “He wouldn’t—”

“I just wanted to forget it,” Michael said, squeezing his eyes shut. “I can most of the time, but you never stop, Mom. You always have to be right. You always have to make sure you come out on top—”

“Michael—” Carly reached for her son’s arm, but Michael wrenched it away. “You forgave me. You forgave your father—”

“Is that what I did?” Michael bit out. “Because it doesn’t feel like it right now. I tried to take your side, Mom. I tried to tell Jason that it’s been a bad year, but damn it, Mom, you aren’t the only one who lost Morgan!”

Stricken, Carly shook her head. “I know that, but—”

“And you aren’t the only one who’s ever lost someone he loved,” Michael snapped at Sonny. “The two of you walk around like you’re the only ones who matter. What Ava did was terrible. Awful. But she didn’t kill Morgan.”

“Yes, she did—”

“No. Olivia Jerome did. Ava made things worse, but hey, you know all about that, don’t you? You’ve been doing that since you got to Port Charles—”

“Michael—” Sonny as Carly fell back, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Don’t—”

“I forgave you,” Michael said to Sonny. “And you,” he said to his mother. “But don’t ever think that means I forgot what you did to my father. You stole years from him. Years!” he burst out, startling them. “And Jason helped you!”

“He—” Carly pressed a fist to her mouth. “It didn’t start like that—”

“No, it never does with you—” Disgusted, Michael turned away from both of them. “You couldn’t let Jason have a week of being grateful to Ava after she risked her life to get him out of the clinic. You couldn’t stand it. So you went after her. Because who the hell cares about Jason and what he’s been through, huh? And Grandma—you never gave a damn about what you put her son through! All you care about is you!”

“No!”

“Just so you know—I’m still Michael Quartermaine,” Michael told them as Sonny took a deep breath. “I never changed my name back. I never will. Because I owe that much to my father.”

He stormed out, and shattered, Carly turned her tear-stained face to Sonny. “Go after him—”

“Why?” Sonny said dully as he sat down. “I told you. He told you. Let Jason have the space. Leave Ava alone. But you couldn’t do that. And now it’s all starting again.” He exhaled slowly, staring into space. “When is it going to be enough, Carly? When are you gonna stop acting like you’re the only one that matters?”

Carly lifted her chin, folded her arms. “I am not the one who pulled the trigger,” she sneered. “You murdered AJ, not me! And then you screwed the woman who actually killed Connie on his grave! All I did was try to help you and protect Michael—”

“Well, maybe it’s time you stop.” Sonny got to his feet. “I’m going upstairs. Stop calling Jason. He’ll get in touch when he’s ready.”

“Sonny!”

“Stay out of it for once.”

Vista Point: Observation Deck

Jason let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding as he followed Elizabeth to the railing. He stared out over the harbor where the lights of Wyndemere were visible across the water.

“I think I was expecting this place to be gone, too,” he admitted, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “What happened to Jake’s—the Floating Rib, I mean?”

“Oh, Coleman sold it to Mac,” Elizabeth said with a wrinkle of her nose. “And Mac turned it into a normal bar. I never go there anymore. If you want the dive experience, you should try Joe’s. It’s three blocks over.”

“Thanks.” Jason leaned against the railing, turning away from the view. He hadn’t even realized how much he’d needed the bike until he’d straddled it and switched on the engine. When Elizabeth had climbed on behind him, sliding her arms around his waist, something had just slipped quietly into place in his brain. It felt right.

And when he’d turned onto the cliff road that wound up to Vista Point, when he’d pushed the gas, and the wind had rushed past his face, and he could hear Elizabeth’s squeals of laughter behind him —

He’d felt like he was home.

“Why was your day bad?” Jason asked. “You said you needed the ride.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth pursed her lips. “I don’t know. You remember when you came home that second time? You know when I spent my entire life complaining about Lucky until you probably wanted to heave me into the harbor?”

“Vaguely,” Jason said dryly. He followed her over to the bench and sat down next to her. “Did you hear from him or something?”

“No. I just remember being sick of my own voice back then.” Elizabeth met his eyes. “Sometimes I think about the choices I’ve made, the people I’ve trusted, and I get really angry with myself for being stupid. Today was a day when I couldn’t get away from those choices. That’s all.”

Jason narrowed his eyes. “You’re not having issues with Franco, are you?” Because he could really get into making that asshole disappear for good this time.

“No.” She paused. “No,” Elizabeth repeated more firmly. “And don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you don’t believe me.” She narrowed her eyes. “I can handle myself.”

“I know you can.” Jason paused. “You shouldn’t have to.” Then he squinted. “Can you explain how…that happened?” he asked. “Because I don’t get it. I know Carly dated him, too—almost married him—and I just—”

“I didn’t buy the tumor thing at first either,” Elizabeth admitted, “and I was angry at Carly for getting him released. I think—well, at the time, she still thought he was your brother. And I don’t know, maybe she thought that she could find a connection to you. I can’t really explain Carly. I stopped trying a long time ago.” Elizabeth looked away, straight ahead towards the parking lot. “I was going through a bad time. I’d lied about Jake Doe’s identity, and everyone knew it. Everyone knew I’d tried to keep Jason away—sorry—” She said with a wince. “But—”

“But it’s how you understood the situation,” Jason said a nod.

“I’d tried to keep him away from his family. From Sonny and Carly, from Sam and Danny.” Elizabeth sighed, stared at her hands. “And it was so stupid. So insanely stupid to try to get married and think I’d get away with it. I just—I was so tired of losing. Of never getting the happy ending. And I thought—well, Sonny and Carly have stolen theirs a dozen or so times. So has everyone else.” She met his eyes. “I just—I wanted it to be my turn. But literally, everyone in town was angry with me. All I had were my boys and Gram.”

She rubbed her arms. “And Jake was struggling being home. He was struggling with Jason—with Drew—” she corrected, “being gone. He wanted him to come home. Especially since he thought it was his father. And Cameron was going through a rough time because Drew was going to adopt him before it blew up. I took a torch to everything, including my boys. Patrick had moved away, then Sabrina died — I felt like I was alone. And then Franco—” She sighed. “He just seemed to understand. And it was like he was a different person. Like maybe the tumor being gone had changed things.”

Restless, Elizabeth shoved herself to her feet. “It was never right,” she admitted. “People started to forgive me, and I wasn’t so isolated. And, well, Tom Baker got out of jail,” she added, “and that was a whole thing that just seemed like a nightmare.”

“Tom Baker?” Jason repeated. “What? The man—”

“He’s dead now. His brother killed him,” Elizabeth continued. “But for a long time, I just felt like I was struggling to keep my head above water. I couldn’t breathe. Then my grandmother died a few months ago, and the lies started all over again—” Elizabeth turned back to him. “I can’t explain it, Jason. Because I look at him now, and I don’t even see the man I thought he was. It feels like all the mistakes I made with Lucky again. Making excuses. Twisting myself inside and out. And it was just—” She made a face. “I feel stupid even thinking about it.”

“Don’t,” Jason said. “I get it.”

Elizabeth raised her brows. “Do you really?” she asked skeptically. “Because I don’t—”

“I married Sam,” he said, plainly, and she looked away. “After everything she did to hurt you, putting Jake and Cameron in danger. I let her back into my life, didn’t I?”

“I don’t think Franco and Sam are the same,” Elizabeth said.

“No, they’re not. But that doesn’t mean I don’t understand how you can change your mind about someone and hope they’re someone you can trust even after they’ve hurt people you love.”

“Thanks,” she said. She sat back down. “My bad day was just Franco trying to make me forgive him, and me being angry at myself all over again that I put myself and the boys in that situation. What about you?”

“What about me?” Jason repeated dubiously.

“Well,” she said. “How about we start with this? Michael came to the hospital, upset, looking for you. He told me what happened.” She tipped her head to the side. “Your turn.”

Kelly’s: Parking Lot

Drew would have passed by the woman who was pulling her purse out of her back seat without a second thought — except she turned to face him and gasped, the purse falling to the ground.

“Drew,” she murmured, her dark eyes wide and her face pale, even under the faint light of the lights in the parking lot.

He turned to her, shook his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know—”

“No, no—” She held up a hand. “No, you don’t know me. And I don’t—” The woman forced a smile. “I don’t know you. Not like this. I just—I saw your picture in the paper this morning. And—” She huffed. “I’m Kim. Kim Nero. I used to be married to you.” She made a face. “I might still be. I don’t really know how any of this works.”

“Kim Nero,” Drew repeated. “Okay. Your face—I think we met once at Sonny and Carly’s. With Joss and—” He stopped. Oscar. He’d seen the boy who was supposed to his son. He’d looked at him. Shaken his hand. And hadn’t felt a thing.

Oh, God.

“With Oscar,” Kim said. “He’s—he’s handling this okay, you know. It helps,” she continued, “that he knows Joss and Cam. So he gets this has been hard for you. Impossible, really. And he also knows you don’t remember him.” She hesitated. “I don’t know if he really gets what that means. But maybe it’ll help that you don’t look like you used to.”

“Maybe,” Drew said faintly. “I—I don’t know what to do,” he admitted. “I know—the tests came back. I know who I’m supposed to be. I just don’t feel like that man.”

“I can’t even imagine,” Kim murmured. She rubbed a finger against her lips. “You were such a good dad. I’m sure you still are. You and Oscar—you were a team when we met. You’d been alone with him for almost four years, but even before that—you adored him. It’s going to be hard for him to have you back in his life and not have that connection.”

Drew nodded, his throat tight. “I know. I’m sorry—”

“But he knows it wasn’t your choice. He always knew it wasn’t. When the Navy tried to tell us you were AWOL—” Kim’s voice roughened. “He lost it. He said you were a hero, and you’d never walk away from your base. From the men. He always knew you wouldn’t leave him. Even if you don’t.”

He cleared his throat, tried to gather himself. “I want to know him,” he found himself saying. “I just don’t want to hurt him.”

“We’ll figure this out,” Kim promised. “One step at a time, you know?” She flashed him a hesitant smile. “But maybe we should start with lawyers. In case we’re still married. You don’t—you don’t want to be married to someone you don’t remember, do you?”

“I—” Drew slowly shook his head. “No. But I—I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. You’re alive. That’s—” She turned, a tear on her cheek glinting in the dim lighting. “That’s all I ever wanted.”

Webber Home: Living Room

“Your mom isn’t home yet?” Oscar asked, dropping his backpack on the floor and hanging his coat up. He sat on the edge of the sofa and took the video game controller that Aiden offered him. The youngest Webber slid off the couch and crawled over to lay on his stomach in front of the television so he could watch Oscar and Cameron play.

“Nah, she called and said she’d be late. Something came up.” Cameron wrinkled his nose. “But then Joss texted—”

“Yeah, I got the WW3 message about her family. Said she could hear Michael screaming at her mom and stepdad from upstairs.” Oscar hesitated. “About Michael’s dad.”

“Oh, damn,” Cameron said. He glanced over his shoulder at Jake, doing his homework at the table and eating brownies since his mother wasn’t at home to stop him. “Aiden—”

“I’m not listening,” his little brother promised. “Especially if you pay me a dollar. I’ll even leave the room for five.”

Cameron scowled but tossed a crumpled bill at Aiden, who flashed a grin and disappeared into the kitchen to snag one of Jake’s brownies. Satisfied, Cameron focused on Oscar again. “I called Joss. Mrs. C got into it with Ava at the Metro Court in front of Jason — and then my grandmother let Carly have it about Michael’s dad. Jason went to talk to Michael. Joss doesn’t know what happened, but it was bad, and Jason stopped returning everyone’s phone calls, and Michael went over to flip out on his parents.”

“That’s…a lot…”

“Yeah, well, I think that’s why my mom is late,” Cameron said, leaning back. “I think she went to talk to Jason or something. Anyway—”

Oscar shook his head at the drama of it all, then frowned as a group message came over his phone.

Trina: yo so your dad ran into your stepmom in the parking lot dunno what happened i saw it out the window and coudnt hear

Joss: well my dad is in australia and I dont have a stepmom unless dad has some explaining to do

Oscar: obvs she meant me did they look upset?

Trina: dont think so but stepmama came in after and looked like her eyes were red but not sad just wanted to keep you in the loop

Cam: any sighting at the manor of my mom?

Joss: no and man your mom needs to stay away from my mom because mom n sonny are frosty rn and you know how my mom loves to blame your mom for literally all the things

Trina: wonder who that reminds me of

Cam: dont start.

Joss: hey sometimes all the things are your fault robinson

Trina: and sometimes theyre yours

Oscar: can we just stop?

He tossed his phone aside without waiting to hear back from Trina or Joss. Cameron typed a goodbye to the both of them. “Sorry, Joss and Trina don’t mean anything by it—and I shouldn’t have asked Joss about my mom—”

“No, it’s fine,” Oscar said. He stared blindly at the paused video game. “It’s just—I was thinking about how I saw my dad already. Remember? When he was still Jason. I met him. And I didn’t know he was my dad.”

“Well, why would you?” Cameron asked. “No one could have—”

“It’s just—” Oscar paused, tried to gather his thoughts. ” I always thought my dad would know me even though I’m older. And I didn’t think about maybe I wouldn’t know him.” He looked at Cameron. “It was only one time, though, and maybe now that we do know—when I see him again—”

“Maybe it’ll be different?” Cameron suggested, and Oscar nodded. “Don’t get yourself caught up in thinking that, man. If it is, great. But maybe it won’t be. It sucks to get psyched up for something you think will happen and then it doesn’t. Just, I dunno, let it happen.”

“You don’t get it,” Oscar insisted. “Your dad is dead. You never had a chance to meet him—” Then he made a face as Cameron looked away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t—”

“No, you’re right. I don’t know anything about dads,” Cameron said. He picked up his controller.

“Cam, I’m sorry—”

“It’s cool, let’s just play.”

Oscar sighed and picked up his controller, too, but Cameron’s shoulders were still tight, and Oscar felt terrible about what he’d said. Sometimes he was really dumb.

Penthouse: Living Room

Sam stepped back to let her sister in. “Why are you here?” she asked Kristina darkly, closing the door.

Kristina shrugged and perched on the edge of the sofa. “Because I felt bad that I was mean the last time we talked.”

“Do you feel bad about what you said?” Sam demanded.

“No, but I could have been nicer about it—”

“Is there a nicer way to tell me I’m a loser who’s obsessed with Jason?”

Kristina pursed her lips, appearing to think it over. “Probably not, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t try to find it.” She looked around. “Where are the munchkins? Where’s, uh, whats-his-name—Drew?”

“Drew is out picking up dinner,” Sam said, stalking past her sister to lay out the plates on the table. “Scout is taking a nap, and Danny is with Mom. Have you been home yet?”

“Ugh. No. I try to stay away from the house when Mom is there. So not in the mood to hear all the ways I’m ruining my life.” Kristina shrugged, letting herself fall back on the sofa, her legs dangling over the edge. “So, like, you’re definitely sticking with the new guy?”

“Yes,” Sam retorted. “But he’s not the new guy. He’s my husband. He’s the father of my daughter. I am happy with the way things are now. I am not blowing up my life. Not again. I have everything I want.”

“Uh huh.” Kristina propped herself up on her elbows to peer at her sister with some skepticism. “What about Danny? I mean, I talked to Joss, and she said Jason’s spending a lot of time with Jake. Don’t you think that he’s gonna want to get to know his other son?”

“He can do whatever he wants with Elizabeth’s kid,” Sam bit out. “That’s her problem. Jake’s used to a thousand father figures—”

“Oh, because Danny hasn’t had his own parade?” Kristina asked, raising her brows. “John, Silas, Patrick—”

“John was barely in the picture and neither was Silas.” Sam paused. “And Danny knew Patrick wasn’t his father—And anyway,” she continued when Kristina smirked at her. “Jason never wanted Danny. And he’s got Jake. He doesn’t need him.”

Kristina squinted. “Uh, is that how that works? Because I’m pretty sure it’s not.”

“Krissy—” Sam began, heatedly, but Kristina shrugged.

“Whatever.” She got to her feet. “I think making Jason give up his own son five seconds after he found out about him and came back from being kidnapped for five years is pretty cold, but what do I know?”

“Nothing,” Sam snapped. She tugged the door open. “Jason will do what I want when it comes to Danny. Just like he did with Elizabeth and Jake.”

“I don’t get you sometimes,” Kristina said softly as she paused on the threshold. “Sometimes you are the most amazing older sister who would die for me and Molly, for Danny and Scout. But you can also be really cruel. And I just don’t understand which one is the real Sam.”

“Why can’t it be both?” Sam demanded. “This is me, Krissy. Take it or leave it.”

“You know, Jason’s looked out for me my whole life,” her sister murmured. “Saved me from myself a few times. He deserves better than this, Sam. I get you’re happy with Drew, and that’s great. But Jason didn’t do anything wrong.”

Sam stared at her sister, tears stinging the back of her throat. How could her sister say Jason hadn’t done anything wrong? Had she forgotten— “That’s not fair—”

“I mean, was he a giant asshole before he went off the pier?” Krissy asked and Sam fell silent. “Yeah. He was. But all he did was come home. So, like, are you punishing him for blowing up your perfect life or what he did before?”

“Krissy—”

“Are you sure this is what you want?”

Sam closed her eyes. “Yes.”

“If Drew asks you that, you should do a better job of making it sound real,” Kristina advised before she disappeared around the corner towards the elevator. Sam glared at her, then closed the door.  She pressed her forehead against the door, took a deep breath.

She was sure this was what she wanted—that Drew and their kids was the life she wanted. And damn it, she was going to do whatever she could to protect it.

No matter who she had to hurt.

Vista Point: Observation Deck

Elizabeth wasn’t sure that Jason would actually respond and tell her what had happened with Michael, but after a long moment of silence, he met her eyes. “You know what happened.”

“I know what Michael told me, yes. But that doesn’t mean I know everything.” She leaned over, nudging his shoulder with hers. “Tell me.”

“You were right about Ava,” Jason said, finally. “And I guess Carly couldn’t stand me being nice to her. Not even for a few days.” He paused. “Michael thinks I would have helped Sonny and Carly cover up what happened to AJ. That’s why he says he was glad I was dead when he found out.”

“Jason…” She reached over for his hand, took it between both of hers. “He didn’t mean it. He loves you, and you should call him. Let him apologize.”

“I will. I just—” Jason hesitated. “I don’t think I ever understood what AJ was going through with Michael, not really. Not until—” Their eyes held briefly before he looked away. “Until Jake.”

Elizabeth’s mouth tightened, but she took the well-deserved hit. “I never should have lied to you. Or asked you to give him up.”

“At least it was my choice,” Jason murmured. “It was the wrong choice. For both of us. For Jake, but I can say I walked out of Jake’s life on my own. AJ can’t.” He sighed. “I wouldn’t make the same choices I did back then. It was just—it wasn’t that long after the accident, and I hated the Quartermaines. They looked down on me, you know? And I knew they’d swallow Michael whole. They’d never love him for himself.”

She said nothing, let the silence float around them. “I helped Carly keep Michael away from AJ because I told myself he was a drunk who’d hurt him. He didn’t deserve to be a father. That wasn’t—” Jason shook his head. “That wasn’t my choice, my decision to make. And I kept telling myself that Carly was his mother, she should get to choose—”

“Was that why you agreed to my insane demands?” Elizabeth asked. “Because you were trying to live up to some stupid principle you’d decided all those years earlier?”

“Yeah,” Jason admitted. “I just—I’m not mad at Michael for thinking I would have helped Sonny and Carly get away with it. I don’t know if I would have—”

“You never, in a million years, would have let Sonny and Carly lie to Michael like that,” Elizabeth said with a swift shake of her head. “Or hurt Monica.”

“You sound pretty sure.”

“I am,” Elizabeth said firmly. “Look, it was one thing to play games with Michael’s paternity when he was a kid and keep him away from AJ.  But you told me once you just wanted Michael to belong to himself. To make his own choices. He was doing that. And AJ was trying. He—he just was never strong enough. But he loved Michael. He was a good father, Jason. And Michael loved him, too.”

“I’m glad,” Jason said, “they got that chance.” He sighed. “I never thought I’d have to explain my choices back then. I did the best I could after the accident, but I made a lot of mistakes. I hurt Monica, and I pushed away the Quartermaines—”

“They weren’t that innocent,” Elizabeth said. “I remember when they tried to take Michael from you, even when they thought he was yours. Don’t give them too much credit because you feel bad now. Alan and Edward really were controlling bastards sometimes.”

“Yeah, they were, but I think I almost understand it now,” Jason admitted. “Who I was before the accident—that son never came back again. He died. And the man wearing his face—” He paused. “I think about losing Jake—how hard that was—and I don’t know if I could have done much better than Alan or Monica.”

“And that’s part of getting older,” Elizabeth told him. “The choices we made a lifetime ago—they can only haunt us if we don’t find a way to make peace with them.” She tilted her head to the side. “Call Michael.”

Jason paused, then pulled out his phone. After a moment, he pressed a button, and Michael answered almost before it had a chance to ring. Jason put him on speakerphone. “Hey.”

“Jason. I am so sorry. You have to believe me—”

“Hey, don’t—it’s okay—”

“It’s not. You’ve never done anything but take care of me—you went to prison for me—”

“Michael,” Jason said, interrupting his nephew’s frantic, upset apology. “I love you. And I’m proud of you. I’m glad you got to know your father. That he had a chance to know you.”

Michael’s end of the line was silent. “Do you mean that?”

“Yes. I do.”

“Thank you. I—I’m so glad you’re home. That you’re okay. And that you get to be with your son. I love you, Jason.”

“I love you, too,” Jason repeated. He slid the phone back into his pocket, looked at Elizabeth. “You were right.”

“Miracles happen every day.” She stood and tugged him to his feet. “Michael’s an amazing kid. And you’re a large part of why. Don’t ever forget that.”

“Come on. We better get home before your kids sent out a search party,” Jason said as they went back towards the parking lot.

“Hey, since we’re talking about the old days—”

“Absolutely not.”

Elizabeth pouted as they reached the bike, and he handed her the helmet. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.” Jason just raised his brows, and she rolled her eyes. “Ugh. You’re never going to let me forget about closing my eyes the last time you let me drive, are you?”

“Not a chance.”

Heaven help me for the way I am
Save me from these evil deeds before I get them done
I know tomorrow brings the consequence at hand
But I keep livin’ this day
Like the next will never come
– Criminal, Fiona Apple

---

May 5, 2011

Cemetery

When Jason had asked Elizabeth if he could be with her the day Jake’s stone was installed, Elizabeth hadn’t asked him if he’d planned to bring Sam. She hoped he knew that the last person she wanted to see at the resting place of their son was the woman that had caused Elizabeth so much pain when her son had been alive—

And the woman Jason had chosen over a life with her.

Still, she realized now as she stepped out of her car and felt the dizzying relief of seeing Jason standing by himself.

That relief evaporated almost as soon as she registered it and the numbing reality sank back in. They were here because their little boy’s grave would finally have a stone marking his short time in the world.

They stared at one another for a long moment, and Elizabeth knew he was waiting for her to say something. To set the tone for how today would go. Hanging back. Letting her control everything.

Like he always did.  The only time Jason had made an active decision was when he walked away from her.

All the times he’d walked away.

She didn’t have the energy to hold his hand today. She could barely keep breathing. If it hadn’t been for Cameron and Aiden, she would still be in bed today. And all of the days.

So without a word, Elizabeth turned and walked towards the path that led to her son’s grave.

Her son. Her beautiful baby was six feet beneath the ground in a coffin. In the cold, in the dark—

She stopped abruptly, her lungs seizing as it hit her again. Every day, she had to remember all over again he was gone. Every morning, he died again as she woke up and found his room empty.

Jason stepped up beside her, gently placed a hand at her elbow—just the brush of his fingertips. He said nothing.

She wanted to sink into the ground. She wanted to disappear.

She wanted to be with her son.

“What do you need from me?” he asked her, his voice hushed and nearly inaudible as she stared blindly at the patch of flowers beneath a nearby tree. How could spring be here? How could anything grow?

How did the rest of the world keep turning?

What did she need from him? What an absolutely stupid question. Once, she’d needed everything. Now—

“Nothing. I just needed a minute.” Elizabeth took a deep breath, then looked ahead to the patch of dirt that still looked out of place. It was newer and fresher—the grass was just starting to sprout in the soil. And the stone was there. She could see it now— It hadn’t been set into place just yet, but it was sitting there, next to the men who would set it into place.

Jake’s smiling face, the pearly white baby teeth, and the shock of blond hair and bright blue eyes. The image of his father as a child. She wanted his image on the stone—she’d wanted his memory not to fade—for him never to be just words etched into the rock—but she hadn’t anticipated how it would hit her—

Jake’s face on a grave stone. Because he was dead.

“It’s my fault,” she said. She looked at him. “I looked away from him—”

“No.” Jason shook his head. “You loved him. It was just a second, Elizabeth.”

“The third time I looked away, the world took him back.” Her voice faltered. “First Maureen, then the Russians, and now—now I never get another chance.”

“It’s mine,” Jason said. She blinked and looked up at him, their eyes meeting for the first time since that terrible night in the hospital when he’d asked her for their son’s kidney to save one of Carly’s children. “You looked away for a second, Elizabeth. I was never there. Blame me.”

He would say that, and some days, she did blame him. But Jake had been hers. Her baby. And she hadn’t protected him. Her lips curved into a faint smile. “There’s room for both, don’t you think?”

“Yeah.” Jason exhaled slowly. “I loved him. You know that.”

Not enough to stay, to raise him, but she nodded. Neither of them wanted to have that conversation.  “You did what you thought was right.” She faced forward, then squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath. “He was a gift to both of us,” Elizabeth said softly. “And we wasted it.” She paused. “This is the last time we’ll do anything together for him.”

“I know.”

She drew out a motorcycle from her purse. It was a small yellow toy that Jake had adored. Jason blinked at it. “I know you gave it to Cameron,” she said, “but he gave it to Jake at Christmas, and he loved it. I should have—I should have—” Her chest squeezed. “I meant to put it with him, but—”

“It’s okay. We’ll take care of it today.” Jason put an arm around her shoulder. “Are you ready?”

“No.” But she walked forward anyway. She knew she should go over to talk to the men who had been waiting patiently, but she couldn’t. She was afraid if she said one more word—

Instead, Jason took care of it. He spoke to them, his voice quiet and then joined Elizabeth. They both watched slowly as the stone was gently settled into its final spot. Her baby. Gone forever.

She waited for the tears. For the shaking. For the trembling. But maybe there were no more tears. Maybe she’d finally reached the bottom of the well and all that was left was nothing.

The workers left, and finally they were alone, standing in front of Jake’s grave, his precious face staring back at them, almost mocking their failures to be good parents.

She gently knelt down and with shaking hands, she dug into the dirt to bury the motorcycle. Jason knelt next to her and helped fill the hole back in.

This was it. The last item on the list of burying her son. Arranging for the services, the burial, the coffin, the stone—

There was nothing else to do.

Jason stood and held out a hand. She thought about ignoring it, about pulling herself up. After all, she’d raised Jake alone. How dare he come in here at the end and pretend—She swallowed the hateful thoughts, the angry, bitterness that always threatened to overwhelm her.

She took his hand and let him help her. He kept one hand at her elbow, and the other at the small of her back, his body turned towards her, nearly holding her. And being this close to him—feeling the slight shake in his hand as it had wrapped around hers—

Elizabeth looked up at him. “He was beautiful, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah.”

“He would have grown up to look like you,” Elizabeth told him, and he blinked at that. “But I hope he would have smiled more.”

Jason’s lips curved. “I smile.”

“Not enough.” She sighed, then looked back at the image of her son—their son. “Thank you. For giving me that beautiful little boy.”

“I didn’t—” Jason exhaled slowly. “We gave him to each other. Thank you for being his mother. I’m sorry I didn’t hold on tighter.”

“So am I.” Elizabeth stepped away, and his hands fell to his side. “Thank you for being here today. You were here the day he came into this world—and—it’s right that you’re here when we—” Her voice broke but she forced herself to finish. “When we say goodbye.” She looked at him, this man that she’d loved for so long—would always love. “I have to get home to the boys.”

“If you need anything—” Jason hesitated. “You know where to find me.”

“I’ll see you later.” She turned and started back down the path, his response nearly inaudible.

“See you later.”

Friday, November 3, 2017

Metro Court Hotel: Restaurant

Jason stepped into the restaurant, scanned the tables, grimacing when he didn’t see his mother anywhere. He wasn’t much for eating out, but Monica had asked him to lunch, and he’d wanted to spend some time with her.

Now she was late, and he was stuck waiting for her—

“Jason?”

He turned to find Ava, a hesitant smile on her face, standing by one of the entrances. “Ava.”

“I saw in the papers that the identity situation is cleared up,” she said, gesturing with a hand that had a black clutch in it. “I’m relieved it could be so quickly. I thought it might take weeks to figure it out.”

“Not with fingerprints and DNA,” Jason said, the echo of Michael and Elizabeth’s cautionary words in his ears. He shoved them aside — he was sure they had their reasons not to trust Ava, but he couldn’t bring himself to cast her aside. She’d risked her life, and he was back with his family because she’d done so. Whatever her crimes, Jason couldn’t—and wouldn’t—forget that. “How are you?”

“Oh, fine.” Ava flashed him another smile. “Are you waiting for someone? We could—” She started to turn towards the tables, when a hand wrapped around her wrist and turned Ava almost violently to face the angry blonde who had come out from the stock room without warning.

“Over my dead body,” Carly snapped. “What the hell is wrong with you? Trying to sink your claws into someone else in my family? Morgan wasn’t enough for you?”

Jason exhaled slowly. “Carly—”

“No! No! I don’t care what Michael and Sonny said,” Carly retorted, not even sparing him a glance. Her eyes burned into Ava’s. “You need to know what this piece of trash did to my son!”

Ava lifted her chin, almost defiantly. “Go ahead,” she said. “Tell him.”

“Oh, I will,” Carly declared with relish. “I’ll tell him about the brilliant young man who was troubled and taken advantage of by someone without a soul, without a single care for the damage she was doing to him—you killed my son!”

“What?” Jason demanded, his eyes widening as he whipped his head around to look at Ava who said nothing, a flush staining her cheeks. “I thought it was a car accident—”

“It was,” Ava said with a sigh. She opened her eyes. “Morgan stole a car with a bomb meant for someone else,” she continued.

“And why did he do that?” Carly snarled. “What did you do to him—”

“I made a mistake—” Ava turned to Jason, her blue eyes pleading with him. “I thought he needed more help. He needed to go back to Shadybrooke to get more therapy. I thought if others could see it—”

“You switched his medication,” Carly interrupted. She dug her hand into Ava’s shoulder, forcing Ava to look away from Jason. “He was vulnerable! He was in trouble! And you only thought about yourself!”

“I see you’re telling your own life story again,” a new voice said dryly, and the trio turned—as well as everyone else in the restaurant who had long ago stopped pretending to listen.

Monica stepped down from the elevators as the three of them stared at her. “A brilliant, troubled young man,” she echoed as she drew towards Carly and Ava. “How terrible for you—”

“Monica—” Jason began with a wince because he was sure he knew where this was going — but then—

“It wasn’t enough that you drove my son to the brink of sanity time and time again,” Monica said, ignoring Jason. “You and that husband of yours—it was never enough for you. You drugged my son. You made him think he was drinking again. And you lied to him over and over about Michael. You stole his son from him and threatened to kill him—” Her voice broke. “And you—”

“Monica—” Carly began, with a worried glance at Jason that confused him. “You don’t understand—and you should just—Jason doesn’t—”

“And just when he was getting it together—when he was finally with Michael again, with his son, and building a new life—” Monica hissed. “You and your husband—and you—” She said to Ava with another murderous glance at the blonde who just stared at the floor. “You framed him for murder—and both of you helped Sonny get away with killing my son!”

“What are you talking about?” Jason demanded. “AJ died after he went after Alan, after I—” And then he stared at his mother, at Carly and Ava as the realization sank in. “He didn’t die then.”

“No,” Carly said dully. “He didn’t. He came home after you…were gone. And told Michael things. It’s not—I know how it looks, Monica—”

“Sonny shot my son in cold blood!” Monica raged. “He and Ava left him to bleed to death on the floor—if it wasn’t for Julian, I never would have been able to say goodbye—and you—you knew who killed him! You knew, and you lied to me about my son’s final words! You let Sonny walk around for months, pretending he gave a damn about what happened to AJ—what Michael was going through—”

Jason stared at Carly, dumbfounded. “Is that true?”

“It’s not—” Carly hissed. “It’s not that simple. I just—”

“Ava is a terrible person without any moral compass,” Monica snarled. “Who took advantage of someone who was struggling and trying so hard to do better! Well, how does it feel, Carly? To watch your son destroyed by someone he trusted? You destroyed AJ long before Sonny and Ava finished the job! You couldn’t stand that Michael loved AJ—that he’d found a place in my family—”

“No! I wanted him to be happy—” Desperately, Carly turned to Jason. “Jason, please—”

“Michael knew AJ,” Jason said slowly. He felt numb. Like he was sinking in water and couldn’t swim. He couldn’t get his brain to focus, to really process what was happening—what was being screamed at him.  “That’s why he’s working at ELQ. At the mansion. Because he’d decided to get to know his biological father.”

“Yes, but—it wasn’t like Sonny was going to kill him—like he planned it!” Carly stepped towards Jason. “It wasn’t like that! He didn’t mean it—”

“But then he lied about it!” Monica raged. “He sat by Michael’s side and pretended to give a damn for months! And you covered it up! You let an innocent man go to jail—another innocent man was arrested—”

“Julian and Carlos are hardly innocent,” Carly scoffed.

“And what about the lies to Michael?” Monica demanded. “How many times did you lie to him and break his heart? Kiki and Morgan lying to him—everyone in his life lying to him—”

“But it’s okay now!” Carly said, her voice rising high with desperation. “Michael forgave us—Jason—” She looked at him again, then stopped to blink in confusion at the empty space where Jason had been standing. “Jason?”

“He left,” Ava said. She looked at Monica. “Monica—”

“Save it,” Monica retorted. “Both of you deserve to make each other miserable for the rest of your lives.” Then she turned and left.

Carly closed her eyes, pressed a fist to her mouth, then glared at Ava. “This is your fault!”

“Really? Because I was minding my own business before you attacked me. Stop pretending you’re any better than I am.” Ava tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Because we both know you’re worse.”

General Hospital: Hallway

Elizabeth made a face, reaching the elevator just as it slid closed. “Figures,” she muttered. She reached out to press the button to bring it back up to the floor, but a hand wrapped around her wrist.

She scowled, turning to find Franco standing behind her. “Let me go,” she said, her teeth gritted.

“Your savior isn’t here,” Franco said pleasantly but released her wrist. He arched a brow. “I read that everyone knows which twin is which. I wonder if they’re planning to share Sam—”

Elizabeth walked away from him in mid-sentence, deciding to take the stairs, but she should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. He followed her.

“I don’t understand how you can just shove me aside this easily,” Franco demanded. “I made a mistake—”

“You’ve been making mistakes for months,” Elizabeth seethed, “and I’m tired of pretending that they don’t matter. You lied to me about the painting, and then you lied to me about what your mother said—you wanted me to lie to Jason—”

“Well, in my defense—”

“It does not matter — you thought he was Jason,” Elizabeth cut in before he could finish that ridiculous excuse. “I let all of that go, Franco. Even as you humiliated me repeatedly by lying and making me look like an idiot. I let it go. I thought I knew another side of you—I thought you were a better man—”

“I am—”

“You’re not. You put your hands on my son,” Elizabeth retorted. “End of story. You don’t get another chance.”  She pushed past him and turned back towards the hub, not wanting to be near stairs or an elevator with this man. Not ever again.

A hand slapped down on the counter, and she jumped, looking up to find Franco in front of her. “What now?”

“You keep walking away from me, Elizabeth.” Franco leaned in. “Nobody walks away from me.”

Something inside her trembled as her stomach rolled. Oh, God. She’d let him touch her. She’d let him into her life, into her home, her children’s life, into her bed—

How could she have let this happen?

“You lied to me,” Elizabeth said slowly. “You hurt my son. And you tried to make it my fault when I confronted you. I deserve better—”

“Do you?” Franco scrunched his face as if he was thinking it over. “Do you really? The selfish bitch who slept with her brother-in-law and destroyed his family? How about the woman who lied to a man for months about who he was supposed to be, keeping his kids from him—”

Elizabeth kept her lips pressed together even as the familiar crimes washed over her in new humiliating waves of shame. “I made mistakes—”

“There’s mistakes, and then there’s you, Elizabeth.” He smirked. “But that’s your entire life, isn’t it? Just one giant mistake. You were a mistake to your parents. To your family. No man has ever stayed with you, and judging by your history — the minute your kids don’t need you—they’ll leave you, too.”

He leaned in closer. “Because isn’t that the truth, Elizabeth? There’s something wrong with you. No one stays. Haven’t you figured that out yet? All these people running as fast they can from you? You keep telling yourself you deserve better. Keep telling yourself they’re the ones with the problem.”

He smirked again. “We both know better. And when you figure out I’m the only person damaged enough to want to stay, you’ll be back.”

Franco sauntered away as Elizabeth closed her eyes. Didn’t matter if parts of what he said were right. That was how emotional abuse worked. She knew that. She’d read the books. She’d had the training. Take something small and make it her fault.

Maybe she was too damaged for anyone else to love. But that didn’t mean she should settle for someone who had nowhere else to go. She didn’t deserve much, but she was almost sure she deserved better than Franco.

As long as he kept to his little games of torturing her with words and left her boys alone, Elizabeth could deal with anything he threw at her.

ELQ: Michael’s Office

Michael stared at the intercom on his desk, then pressed the button again. “I’m sorry, Sarah. Who’s here to see me?”

“Uh, Jason Morgan, sir. Should I tell him you’re not available—”

“No, no—” Michael shoved himself to his feet. “No, send him in.” He picked up his cell phone and stared at the six voice mails from his mother that he’d ignored, then two more from Sonny. He exhaled slowly, wondering what he had missed.

Jason stepped into the office, then glanced around the dark interiors with a squinting look. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. “I should have called,” he said.

“No, you’re always welcome—” Michael came around the desk and gestured at the seating area in the corner of his office. “You never turned me away when I just showed up and wanted something.” He frowned when Jason didn’t make any attempt to sit. “Jason?”

“You told me not to trust Ava,” he said slowly. “And Elizabeth agreed with you when I asked. But neither one of you told me about Morgan.” Jason looked at Michael, their eyes meeting. “I knew there was something you were all keeping back. It was AJ, wasn’t it?”

Michael closed his eyes. “That talking about Ava and her part in what happened to Morgan might open the door to AJ. We’d start talking about Morgan and Ava’s past—and AJ was part of it.” He leaned against his desk. “How did you find out? Who told you?”

“Monica walked in on Carly screaming at Ava about Morgan,” Jason told Michael. “I don’t—I’m still not sure what happened.”

“Well, then let me give you a crash course.” Michael folded his arms, wincing because all of this was probably the worst way for Jason to find out that his brother had been alive, then murdered. He’d warned his mother, but Carly could never manage to focus on the big picture. “After you went into the water, it only took a few days before PCPD gave up the search. Spinelli and Sonny—they looked as long as they could, but we all thought—” His throat tightened. “We thought your body had been pushed out to the river or was just too deep to find. Grandma made a call at that point—she wanted to tell AJ that you’d died.”

“So she knew he was alive?”

“She and Steven Webber faked AJ’s death and got him out of the country,” Michael told him. “Grandma didn’t want him to come back, but—” He shrugged. “AJ was worried about her. And I think—maybe part of him thought with you gone—he might finally be able to talk to me.” When Jason said nothing, Michael nodded. “He made contact on Halloween and told me that my mother had drugged him to make him think he was drinking again.”

“That’s true,” Jason said slowly. “AJ had been living across the hall from Carly and Tony. They were friends. And after the night they slept together, AJ got sober. He told her if he ever relapsed again—”

“He’d leave town forever,” Michael finished. “Yeah. Mom tried to lie to me at first, but it made too much sense. So she drugged him, then lied to him for months. Lied to Tony Jones, too.” He paused. “Anyway. She and Sonny didn’t handle AJ being back well. Mom even turned him into the police. AJ got the charges dropped, and I decided I wanted to get to know him. So I did. And for about six months, AJ was good. He was in charge of ELQ, he and I were working together to make the company a success, and he was even—” Michael managed a smile. “He dated Elizabeth for a minute.”

“Of course he did,” Jason muttered, looking away. Then focused on Michael. “What happened?”

“Connie Falconieri happened—don’t ask—” Michael said when Jason frowned. “Long story short — Connie was working at the Sun and published a story revealing that Kiki Jerome wasn’t Franco’s daughter, which meant the deciding vote she’d cast to give AJ control of the company was invalid. AJ lost ELQ.” He sighed. “And he blamed himself. He spiraled, made threats against Connie, and then she turned  up dead. AJ was the prime suspect.”

“Monica said—”

“Ava killed Connie and framed AJ,” Michael said. “But AJ was blackout drunk and didn’t remember. He nearly pled guilty, but I convinced him to go to trial. I didn’t think he was guilty, and it took everything I had to convince Sonny not to hurt him. Sonny agreed and left him alone. AJ was acquitted, and eventually—” He closed his eyes. “Eventually, he remembered Ava had done it. When he confronted her, Sonny came in, saw him yelling at Ava, and shot him. Then left AJ to bleed out while he and Ava worked on their alibis.”

Michael looked at Jason. “Then while I was agonizing over AJ’s medical care, making decisions, Sonny sat with me and lied to me. He looked at me, and he told me he hadn’t done this. And I believed him. Because he’d raised me. Then AJ died. For months, I thought someone else had killed him. I thought that I had justice for my father.”

“Michael—”

“Mom knew from the beginning that Sonny had done it. AJ told her at the end. And instead of telling me, she lied. She was with Franco at that point, and they covered it up. And Franco found out the truth about AJ, and to get back at Mom for her affair with Sonny, he played it on a video at the Haunted Star so that I could see it.” Michael turned away from Jason and walked across the room. “Sonny murdered my father, and my mother helped him get away with it. He went to prison and got pardoned. I spent a long time being angry about it, but—” He sighed. “I had to let it go. It was killing Joss and Morgan, it was killing me—”

Michael turned back to his uncle, who was standing silent, as quiet as he’d been since he’d arrived. He hadn’t said more than a few words. “I let it go. And I lied to Mom and Sonny. I told them I forgave them. And sometimes, I think I have. But then I look at my grandmother and think about how much she’s lost. How much has been taken from her, and I remember. So I pretend to keep the peace, Jason. It’s easier.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason said after a long moment. “I wish—I wish I could have been here—”

“Why?” Michael said. “What would you have done differently?” He shook his head. “You helped them keep me from AJ all my life. The day I found out the truth, it was the first time—” He pressed his lips together. “It was the first time since we’d lost you that I was glad you were dead. Because you just would have helped them get away with it, too. ”

Jason stared at Michael. His face didn’t change—it never did—but there was something in his eyes—Michael grimaced. “I’m sorry. That’s not—I didn’t mean that—”

“I always—” Jason swallowed hard, looking down at the carpet. “I always told myself that I would tell you the truth one day. That I just wanted you to be able to make your own choices.”

“Jason—”

“I’m glad you did.”

“Jason, wait—”

But by the time Michael had crossed the office, his uncle had left, and he wasn’t able to stop him before the elevators closed. “Damn it,” he swore, slapping his hand against the wall. “Sarah, cancel the rest of my day. I have to deal with something.”

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Drew stepped into the bedroom just as Sam emerged from the bathroom, towel drying her hair. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She waited, then sighed when he said nothing else. “Is this how we’re going to live now?” Sam asked. She sat on the edge of the bed. “Just not talking to each other? You in the guest room?”

“No,” he said. He sat down next to her, leaving a foot of space between them. “I don’t know how to handle this,” Drew said finally. “I’m angry at you for not being honest about what you believed—and I’m angry at everyone else who didn’t even bother to pretend—”

“Ja—” Sam stopped. “Drew,” she said slowly. “Would it have been easier for you if I had told you that I had doubts? I wanted to protect you. And I wanted to protect myself. To protect the kids.” She stared down at her hands, at the wedding ring—Lila’s ring—that he’d put on her finger the year before. “We were so happy before all of this. Finally happy.”

“I know. And maybe that’s why I fought so hard,” he said quietly. “I always knew something felt wrong, and I ignored it. Because I wanted this. I wanted you and the kids. I wanted it to be mine. With the memories—it was something. Before they came, it was just that year as Jake Doe. And now—I know neither of those identities was mine. But I still don’t know who I am. Not really.”

“Your name does not matter to me,” Sam insisted. “I don’t care what anyone else says. I love you. I married you. Scout is our little girl. And, look, Elizabeth gets to do whatever she wants with Jake—she always does—but Danny is my son. Jason was never a father to him. He didn’t even want him—”

Drew winced, and Sam knew he wanted to argue based on his memories, but she was relieved when he didn’t. “He loves you. You’re his father. Jason being alive—that’s great for him. Really. And he’ll get to be with Jake. But it has nothing to do with either of us.”

“But I’m not alone,” Drew said after a minute. “There’s a past. A wife and son that I don’t remember.” He stared ahead at the closet doors. “When I was Jake Doe, Hayden showed up, telling me I was her husband. And I went to be with her. I thought I should live that life. That I was obligated because that was who I had been.”

“But—”

“It was different,” Drew said finally. “That was almost three years ago. The accident, the lack of memories, it was fresh. And I thought I’d only been gone a few months. That if I went back to my real life, I’d get my memories back.”

“But the accident wasn’t why you lost your memories,” Sam murmured.

“No. They were stolen from me. I might never get them back. That doesn’t change the fact there’s a woman out there who married me. That I have a son.”

Sam hesitated. “So what do you want to do? Do you—do you want me to leave? Do you want to leave?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I guess I should start by talking to Kim Nero and finding out…I don’t know.” Drew looked at Sam. “I know that I still love you. That hasn’t changed for me.”

“And I love you,” Sam insisted. “We’ll figure everything else out. As long as we remember that we love each other, it’ll be okay.”

“Maybe,” Drew said with a faint smile. He glanced over at the baby monitor. “Scout’s awake. I guess I’ll go check on her.”

General Hospital: Hub

“I am so ready to be done with this shift,” Elizabeth told Lucas and Felix as she handed the last of her paperwork over to Felix. “I’m going to go home—”

“Elizabeth, thank God—”

With a wince, Elizabeth turned to find Michael rushing up to her, slightly out of breath. His dress shirt was rumpled and his hair disheveled. “Michael—what’s going on? What happened—”

Michael took her by the shoulder and pulled her away from Felix and Lucas, towards a seating area. “Have you talked to Jason in the last few hours?”

“No, I figured he’d be busy with Spinelli and I think he said something about lunch with Monica.” Elizabeth frowned. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“I—” Michael grimaced. “He apparently got in the middle of Mom screaming at Ava, and Grandma took the opportunity to remind Mom about AJ—”

Elizabeth made a face. “Oh, no. He didn’t know—”

“No. And then he came to see me—and I didn’t—” Michael dragged his hands through his hair. “Damn it. I didn’t mean it. I was just—talking about this always brings it back, and I start to feel guilty all over again that I let Mom and Sonny back into my life, and I think about—”

“Michael, just calm down—” Elizabeth put out a hand. “Tell me what happened.”

“I told him that I was glad he’d been dead when it all went down,” Michael admitted, “because he just would have helped Mom and Sonny get away with it, too.”

Elizabeth’s mouth dropped open slightly as she stared at Michael in disbelief. “You didn’t! Michael!”

“I didn’t—I didn’t mean it to the sound the way it did—” Michael sighed. “He left before I could apologize, and then he didn’t answer my calls. He doesn’t have that tracking app on his phone yet. I thought for sure—”

Elizabeth sighed. “No, he didn’t get in touch with me, but—” She bit her lip. “I think I know where he might go. And it’s not going to make anything easier.”

“What? Where? Elizabeth—”

“Go home,” Elizabeth told him. “I’ll take care of it.”

Floating Rib: Parking Lot

They’d renamed the bar six months before Jason had been shot and shoved into the frigid waters of the harbor, but somehow he’d let himself forget that fact. Even so, the interior had always looked the same, and Jason just wanted to go inside and lose himself the way he’d used to—

But someone had redecorated it, and the dingy color and broken down furniture had been replaced by newer and brighter colors. It wasn’t the same. It wasn’t Jake’s.

Nothing was the way it was supposed to be, and Jason just stared at the building for a long time, feeling more lost than he had a right to be. It was just a bar. Just a place.

But it had always been his safe place. The one spot in the entire world he could count on—

His phone rang again, and Jason looked down at it, expecting to see Michael or Carly’s name flash across the screen. Michael had given up almost an hour ago, but Carly had called every few minutes.

He didn’t know what to say to anyone. How to handle it. How to process what had happened or why it had hit him so hard—he’d never liked AJ, that was no secret. Why did it twist something inside of him so hard to learn that AJ had been alive all that time, that he’d returned to rebuild his life—

That Sonny had killed him, and Carly had helped to cover it up?

But the call wasn’t from Sonny, Carly, or Michael. It was Elizabeth. Thinking it was about Jake—if he could see his son, maybe that would help—

“Elizabeth?”

“Hey. Are you busy right now?”

Jason looked at the sign over the bar, then shook his head. “No. I’m not.”

“Great. Can you meet me at the corner of Van Ness and Arnold? There’s something I need to do, and I could use your help.”

Relieved at the distraction, Jason agreed, “I’ll see you in a few minutes.” He hung up the phone, then got back into the SUV.

When he arrived at the street corner Elizabeth had given him, he pulled up behind her car, then stepped out to find her leaning against a chain-link fence. “Hey. What’s up? Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” Elizabeth said. She gestured towards the building behind the fence—the building he hadn’t noticed before now. And the parking lot out front. Jason took in the lines of motorcycles, swallowing hard.

She’d brought him to a motorcycle dealership.

“Elizabeth—”

“It’s been a long time since we went nowhere fast,” she told him, “and I had a really bad day. I thought maybe you might need a ride, too.”