Even if the sky is fallin’
And the sun don’t wanna shine
If the stars we used to wish on disappear into the night
Well, I can move a mountain
But only by your side
Just say you’ll always be there
I know you’ll always be there
And so will I
– So Will I, Ben Platt

---

Saturday, February 21, 2004

General Hospital: Vending Machines

Kelsey slapped at the machine, refusing to just let her have her damn candy. “All I want,” she said through clenched teeth, “is a fucking Three Musketeers!” She slapped it again, hard. “Damn it—”

“You know—” Kelsey whirled around when she heard someone behind her. Cruz put up his hands. “I come in peace.”

“Sorry.” Kelsey sighed and looked back at the machine. She pressed the button again, and this time—her candy bar slid to the bottom, where she scooped it out. “It’s so stupid, isn’t it?” she muttered.

“Trying to kill a vending machine?” Cruz said dryly as she wandered over to the bench. “Well, it’s easier than punching a wall. I should know—I had to figure out how to patch the walls at our place, or I was gonna lose my security deposit.” When Kelsey frowned, he clarified, “Dante had a lot of feelings after Vinnie was arrested.”

“Have you seen him?” Kelsey asked. She unwrapped the bar—then just stared at it, her appetite all but gone.

“I thought he was supposed to come here, but maybe he went to the station instead.” Cruz tilted his head. “How you holding up?”

“Fine. Lucky’s—the doctor said he’ll be fine. We’re just waiting for him to be moved from recovery to his own room.” Kelsey said. She offered him the candy bar, but he shook his head. “I had to get out of the waiting room. His entire family is in there, and you know, they’ve been through this. I mean—the dying part. They buried him once. He told me about it—”

“Yeah, the kidnapping and brainwashing. Our boy has lived a wild life.” Cruz grinned faintly, stretched his legs out. “So are they doom and gloom or optimistic—”

“I don’t know. They just—they just have this experience, I guess, of a world where they think he’s gone, and they keep looking at each other—” Kelsey re-wrapped the candy and shoved it in her purse. “I can’t. I don’t have it. I wasn’t supposed to—” She dug her hands in her hair and squeezed her eyes shut. “I wasn’t looking for someone who’d matter like this.”

“Kelse—”

“I was just—I’m just starting my job, and then he was—a cute guy with a great smile, and he’s—he worked so hard to take care of his sister—and then I saw him on the job—”

“He’s a good guy. Which you deserve. You came in and whipped the DA’s office into shape. And you keep Lucky on his toes. You’re good together.” Cruz put an arm around her shoulder. “This sucks, but he’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, but he’s—he’s a cop. He’s a cop in Port Charles.” Kelsey swallowed a lump in her throat. “This might not be the only time I’m waiting for him to come out of surgery—”

“Hey, you’re an ADA, and he had to wait on you,” he reminded her. “Just a few months ago, you got cracked over the head. He had the same thoughts—but he dealt with it. And so will you.”

“And if it happens again?” Kelsey bit her lip. “What if the next time—”

“And what if he ends up being one of those cops that never has to pull his gun? He and I are both taking the detective’s exam this summer. We’ll be off the street this time next year. Don’t be dumb, Kelse.”

She laughed then—her laughter breaking into sobs. Cruz hugged her more tightly to his side. “I’m sorry, I was just—I was sleeping, and then the phone rang, and it was Bobbie—and she said he was shot—and I can’t seem to get out of that—I can’t make that moment stop—”

“I know. I got the call on the scanner at home. I know his unit number. I heard him, Kelse. He called in his own damn shooting. He’s too tough to go out like this.” He pulled up. “C’mon, let’s go get you cleaned up. When Lucky comes out of surgery, you don’t wanna look like you were plannin’ his funeral.”

“I know, I know.” She dragged her hand through her hair. “I called my mom, and she refused to come to Port Charles. Even now. Can you believe that?”

“I’m sorry. Family can be—” Cruz’s smile was tight. “Maybe she’ll change her mind.”

“Yeah, well, I screamed at her, so maybe.” Kelsey rolled her shoulders. “After all this time, she says Port Charles still brings back bad memories of my dad. That’s insane—oof—” She turned a corner, slamming into someone else. “Oh, sorry, Mr. Spencer.”

“That’s okay.” Lucky’s dad gently put hi hands on her shoulder, then stepped back. “I was coming down to get you. Cowboy is in his own room.” He furrowed his brows. “Did I hear you say your mom wasn’t coming?”

“Yeah. She hates Port Charles.” Kelsey offered him a half smile. “She can’t get over my dad.”

“Sure, sure. Well, let’s go up. You, too, Cruz,” Luke told the other cop. “He’ll want to see you both.”

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Jason’s Office

“Jordan is going to start in about a week,” Justus told Jason as he tossed some paperwork onto his desk. “She’s taking Sonny on as a favor to me, but she’s wrapping up a trial—”

“That’s fine. Where are we on the criminal charges?” Jason asked, glancing over the retainer agreement. “I know Ned isn’t backing down—”

“No, and neither is Baldwin. No one wanted this kind of case to be the reason Sonny gets brought down,” his cousin added, “but I think Baldwin will take what he can get.”

“What about bail?” Bernie asked.

“It’s a nonstarter right now. I filed the appeal, but right now, I don’t have anything to work with as long as he refuses an evaluation.”

Jason grimaced. “Carly said he looked bad when she saw him. Mostly lucid, but still having trouble staying in the present. He didn’t always make sense.” He leaned back. “Will we win on appeal?”

“Maybe. They don’t like to keep people locked up for anything short of murder,” Justus said. “I’m hoping that a few more days in lockup will make Sonny change his mind about an evaluation, but I won’t hold my breath.”  He paused. “I’ll defend you,” he clarified to Jason. “But I think it’s best if Jordan takes point on anything to do with Sonny—”

“I can live with that,” Jason promised.

“Uh, I guess that’s my cue to mention that the rumblings are getting worse, and you were right—Tommy’s behind the issues.” Bernie cleared his throat. “He feels that he and Sonny are pretty equal, you know. They sort of came up—well, not together because Tommy’s been around longer—”

“But they came up through the clubs,” Jason finished. “Tommy started with the Jeromes, but Sonny came to Port Charles through Joe Scully’s connections to Frank Smith. Tommy’s always kind of looked down on Sonny because of it.”

“He let Sonny take control after Frank fell because Tommy didn’t want the headaches or the pressure of power,” Bernie said. “Benny used to worry about him, but Tommy didn’t seem to be much of a threat because things ran smoothly. Even when you transferred things over to Moreno—”

“The clubs were stable,” Justus finished. “And that’s where Tommy’s money is. But that’s not happening now. Since the PCPD started to put more of their resources into Major Crimes, they left Capelli in charge of Organized Crimes.”

Jason clenched his teeth at the mention of the cop that had splashed Elizabeth’s name all over the papers and led to everything blowing up that day. “He’s why we’ve had more club raids—”

“Say what you want about Taggert and his tunnel vision,” Justus offered, “but he didn’t screw up nearly as much as Capelli. Capelli’s been spamming the court with search warrants, most of which are trash but—”

“But just enough have come through to disrupt profits.” Jason dragged his hands down his face. “And Sonny’s not around to handle things. Who are our people inside the department? What do we know?”

Bernie paused, flashed a look at Justus who made a face.

Jason frowned. “What’s going on? We still have sources, don’t we?”

“Sonny was actually taking point on this,” Justus told Bernie quietly. “It was one of the few things he didn’t want Jason in on, and I decided—well, I agreed at a time.” He focused on Jason, who scowled. “We have a guy in the OCU who does what he can, but our main source in the PCPD used to be Vinnie Esposito.”

Jason stared at him as the name sank in. “What?”

“He was a low-level contact back in his patrol days,” Justus said. “Gave Sonny heads up a few times but was never that useful, but Sonny kept him on the payroll because he’d lost a big source, I think, around that same time. He never gave tips directly to Sonny. He gave them to Tommy or—”

“Sometimes he gave them to Luke through the club,” Bernie added. “Uh, when he moved back from Buffalo, he called Tommy to make new arrangements. He was a detective now with more access. Tommy handled him until the Alcazar case. Then Sonny started to use him as a source.”

“Sonny always meant to loop you in, but there never seemed to be time, or it didn’t come up. That’s what he told me in October when he said we needed to get new sources. But yeah, some of Vinnie’s bankroll and cover came from us.”

“Cover,” Jason repeated. “What kind of cover?”

“Christ, Jason, do you really want to get into this?”

“Yeah.  I really want to know what kind of cover Tommy and Sonny gave the man who raped my wife and tried to kill her in our home,” Jason bit out. “Did they cover up any of the rapes?”

Justus looked pained. “Jason—”

“It’s not—” Bernie said at the same time.

“Did they cover before 1998? Before this summer? How many times did they let him off the hook—”

“Jason.” Justus got to his feet, holding his hands up. “I wasn’t here for any of this—and by the time I knew, I agreed with Sonny. I didn’t think there was a point in telling you. But now that we’re talking about needing a new source—”

“I want to know every single goddamn time this organization covered for Vinnie Esposito,” Jason said. “Did Sonny know? We have two rules in this territory. We don’t run drugs and women. We don’t have pimps on the payroll—”

“You’re not that clueless, are you?” Justus demanded. “You think because you and Sonny said it, everyone listened? Christ, Jase—one of Tommy’s strip clubs is a glorified brothel. How the hell do I know that, and you don’t?”

“Tommy runs a prostitution ring?” The blood in Jason’s veins iced over. What the hell else didn’t Jason know about his own organization? “What exactly did he cover up for Vinnie?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t know if Sonny ever knew the details,” Justus told him. “You have to know, on his worst day, Sonny never would have covered up what happened to those girls—”

“No, but Tommy might. He pretends to be an old school guy, and he thinks he’s being generous giving me time with Elizabeth and the baby—but he’s not also not ready to go after me yet. Elizabeth gives him cover with the people pushing at him.” He looked at Bernie. “You agree, don’t you?”

“He doesn’t have enough people to go at you,” Bernie continued, “and he’ll need more to avoid the kind of civil war we saw ten years ago with Smith and Sonny. He needs you to really fuck something up.”

“Like letting Sonny get arrested repeatedly and covering for him,” Justus said. “If Capelli gets something through the system because we’re distracted dealing with Sonny, and one of the clubs gets hits hard—Tommy would point to that as evidence of weakness, and people would listen. People respect you, Jason, but they’re losing patience.”

“I know what everyone wants me to do,” Jason bit out. “I know that if I eliminated Sonny, everyone would shut up, and my problems on that front would disappear.”

“Sonny’s a liability, Jason. He’s not the man he was once—” Bernie began.

“He’s in jail right now, and nothing is getting screwed up while he’s there. When he gets out, I will make things clear to him.” His chest tightened. “He needs to step down and go to the island where he gets a psychiatric evaluation and treatment. It’s his only chance to get to be with his kids one day and avoid someone going after him on the streets.”

“He’s not going to agree—” Justus began, but Jason shot him a look. “Oh.”

“He’s not getting a choice. Elizabeth lied to me about her health because she didn’t want to create issues. Because I’m distracted by Sonny, and there are people who depend on me here. That doesn’t get to happen again. I gave him months of choices, and he chose wrong every time.”

“Sonny isn’t the issue anymore. Justus—” He looked at his cousin. “You’re going to find out about every single person who reported a sighting of Lansing. I want to know who they know and who they owe. I want to find out who the hell was feeding this info to Sonny from the inside. As soon as we know that, I’m going to stop it. I can’t focus on finding Lansing if I keep getting pelted with lies.”

Then he focused on Bernie. “And you are going to find out everything about Vinnie Esposito’s relationship with this organization. When did it start, what did we cover up, and when? I want to know if anyone in this organization knew about the rapes—”

“Jason, do you really want to know that?” Justus pressed quietly. “If you find that out—God, what if they covered up the original rapes? What if someone knew about Elizabeth back when she was a kid—you’d have to tell her that—”

“I would.” And that was the last thing in the world he wanted, but there wasn’t a choice. “I think it’s more likely Vinnie went after prostitutes working for Tommy, and that got covered up. I want to know what blood is on our hands. I’ll deal with the consequences.”

General Hospital: ICU

Kelsey sniffled as she sat down next to Lucky and took his limp hand in hers. He’d been sleeping for a few hours, so his parents had gone home briefly to change and get something to eat. This was the first time she’d been alone since he’d been moved here.

She traced the inside of his palm. “I just—I wasn’t expecting to get that call, you know? And it’s stupid. I knew you were a cop—”

He stirred in the bed, and his face turned towards her. His eyes opened, and she could see just a sliver of the blue beneath the lids. “Kelse? Is that you?”

“Yeah, baby, it’s me.” She kissed his hand.

“Don’t cry…” His voice slid over the words and then faded at the end of it. He forced his eyes open a bit more. “Love you.”

“I love you, too.”  She exhaled slowly, forced a smile on her face. “Can I get you anything?”

“Don’t think I can have a beer,” he mumbled.

She laughed, but a sob bubbled up. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I know you’re okay, I just can’t keep myself from thinking—”

“S’okay,” he told her. “Cried, too.”

“W-what?” Kelsey swiped at her eyes. “When?”

“When you…” Lucky forced his eyes open again as his voice drifted. “In the head. Scott…couldn’t punch him. So…”

She laughed again, and this time she could keep herself together. “So you cried instead.”

“Lil bit,” he slurred. His eyes closed again. “Don’t leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she promised him. She tightened her grip on his hand. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Portia craned her neck to peer over the bustling room and the cluster of officers. She sighed in relief when she spied Marcus exiting a hallway and heading towards a desk.

“Excuse me,” she murmured, brushing past another detective. “Marcus—”

“Portia—” Marcus snapped back to his feet, his shoulders straightening. “What are you doing here? Didn’t you get my message?”

“I did, but I wanted to drop off some food. I knew you wouldn’t bother grabbing much, and those vending machines—” She dropped the bag on the desk and fought the urge to reach for his hand. To touch him. To give him comfort. She knew he’d take this too hard. “They said on the news that the cop who was shot—that he’s okay.”

“Yeah. Yeah, he’s in recovery. At least for now.” Marcus scrubbed a hand over his face.

There was something terribly wrong. More than just a cop down. She could see it in the set of his shoulders, the lines on his face. “Marcus?”

“I can’t get into it right now,” he murmured, but he reached for her hand. “We’ll talk later?”

“Of course. Stop by tonight. Or whenever you’re done. It doesn’t matter what time,” Portia added. She jerked a key out of her pocket and closed it into his hand. “Okay?” They’d exchanged words about love, but giving someone a key to the apartment—that felt like a big step. Was he okay with it? Was it too fast—

He brushed his mouth over her knuckles, and she smiled. His eyes had warmed, and she could almost see the smile in them. “Best invitation I’ve ever heard.”

“Good. Take care of yourself, okay? I’ll see you later.”  She lowered her voice. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Emily perked up at the reading from the pulse oximeter. “That’s really good—” She handed the meter to Bobbie, who leaned over. “It’s staying above 95.”

“Yeah, Monica was happy. The extra oxygen therapy is doing what I need it to,” Elizabeth said. “I’m back in the normal range, and I’m feeling better, too. Still tired, but not the same way.”

“What I’m wondering,” Bobbie said, “is whether or not this improvement means you’re going to backtrack on early delivery.” She lifted her brows. “Since it was what made you change your mind—”

“That wasn’t—” Elizabeth shook her head. “It wasn’t what changed my mind, and no, I’m still checking in around March 6 as long as these levels stay stable. Monica feels a lot better about waiting, and everyone always agreed that as long as my vitals were good, it was okay to wait.” She paused. “But I’ve listened to Emily and Jason, and I’ve toured the NICU. Gail and I also talked about why I was pushing so hard for Cameron to avoid the NICU.”

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I know things have been crazy for everyone. There’s tension for Jason at work, all this worry about Sonny and what he’s going through—then the Ric sightings. I didn’t want Jason to feel like he’d have to make a choice—”

“A choice?” Emily repeated. “What kind of choice?”

“If Cameron’s in the NICU, I know Jason will want to be with him as often as possible. But if things are insane here—” Elizabeth bit her lip. “It was never that I didn’t believe how much he loved us—it was knowing how much he does. People depend on Jason to keep things safe.”

“Elizabeth—”

“Lucky used to talk about his dad being in the business when he was a kid, and how bad things got when Sonny and Luke went after Frank Smith.” Elizabeth sipped her tea. “People went missing—some of them have never been found. There were explosions and shootings—Laura had to defend her home with a shotgun when men broke in—”

“You’re a bit too young to remember,” Bobbie said to Emily. Then she squinted. “Or maybe it was before you moved here. Lucky was shot back then, too.”

“He told me. It was before I lived here, but I’ve lived here through Moreno and Sorel, Elizabeth—”

“Frank Smith wasn’t anything like them,” Bobbie cut in before Elizabeth could. “And you didn’t know Sonny and Luke back then. The only way Luke could be sure that Laura and the kids were safe was to eliminate Smith. They’d been running from him for almost a decade by that point. And Frank Smith wanted to hold onto power at all costs. Sonny took advantage of that and ended up in charge. Elizabeth’s right—Sorel and Moreno were smaller threats, but Frank and Sonny? That was an all-out civil war, and everyone got caught in the cross fire.”

Bobbie focused on Elizabeth. “So, you know how bad things are.”

“I didn’t know some of it until Jason and I talked last night, but I knew enough that I didn’t want Jason to have any distractions.”

“But that can’t be your problem—”

“It has to be,” Elizabeth insisted. “He’s my husband, and this is his life. I chose this, Emily. I know who Jason is—”

“Elizabeth—”

“And it is my responsibility not to create problems for him. I think about the stunts Carly pulled—nearly getting Sonny arrested when she tried to help Mike, the feds—I don’t want to ever be a liability for Jason.”

“You couldn’t be—”

“If Cameron had been born at twenty-weeks, Jason and I would have spent all our time in the NICU. What if someone took advantage of his distraction to go after Sonny and the business—” Elizabeth pressed her lips together. “I was healthy enough to keep going and give him the space to get closer to a resolution. We both won, Emily. I wanted to give Cam extra time, and Jason needed the space. Can you imagine if I’d listened to Monica weeks ago, and these sightings and the paternity scandal had hit with Cam in the hospital?”

She fisted a hand and pressed it against her chest. “I didn’t do it just for Jason. Please don’t think I’m insane, okay? But when Gail asked me why it was so important that Cameron’s time in the NICU was limited, I couldn’t just say it was the complications. It’s part of it, and I’m still afraid. But, yeah, I want to protect Jason from having to make that choice. Because I know he’d choose me, and look what happened when he did that for our honeymoon? Sonny became wildly unstable and even angrier—”

Emily exhaled slowly. “I still want to say that’s not your problem. That’s Jason’s business, and you know he doesn’t want you to be part of it—”

“And I don’t plan to get involved. But that is not the same as being unaware and in the dark. I love him, Emily. I want to support him. I didn’t even know how much of it was about not wanting him in the middle of that until I talked to Gail, but maybe I would have known if Jason and I had talked to each other. We weren’t really talking at all.”

“Because he didn’t want to push you on the baby,” Bobbie said. “So you both shut down.”

“Exactly. I’m not planning to do that again. Jason and I understand each other better now. I toured the NICU, and we’re going to talk to a doctor who specializes in everything else. I will feel guilty about losing that baby last year for the rest of my life, and I may never truly accept there was nothing I could do to save her.” She paused. “But I can try my best to protect Cameron and Jason.”

“So you are still checking into the hospital,” Emily said.

“I talked to Monica, too. We’re all agreed. As long as my vitals are stable, making it to week thirty-two gives Cameron a much better outlook and lessens long-term complications.”

Luke’s: Back Office

Luke had planned to stop by the club to check on things, make sure Claude hadn’t burned the place down, and then head back to the hospital. No more than ten minutes. When Jason stalked through the office door, Luke had a feeling his night was going to take a different turn.

“At some point,” Jason said, flatly, “were you planning on telling me that Vinnie Esposito was a source for you and Sonny?”

Luke absorbed those words, trying to make sense of them. It was a curveball he hadn’t seen coming, and had to take a minute. “I didn’t—I didn’t make the connection. Don’t give me that look—I wasn’t home when this case blew up. I saw the papers, and Lucky mentioned his name, but I didn’t make the connection. This was years ago—”

Jason stalked towards the desk. “When did he start turning tips over to you? And why did he turn to you and not Tommy?”

“I don’t—” Luke’s head buzzed. “Oh, Christ. It was after. After the attack on Elizabeth. He came to me after he’d gone after her.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “The cop showed up at the club here. He said he needed to pass something on to Tommy, but he couldn’t get in touch. He didn’t know you much yet—you were still handling things then—” he reminded Jason. “So, uh, he knew I was in the loop.”

Luke got to his feet and went over to the bar, his fingers trembling. He’d taken information from the monster who’d raped Elizabeth. Her face with those large, haunted eyes, flashed in Luke’s head.

“How long after her rape did he come to you?”

“I—” Luke frowned. When exactly had that meeting happened? How soon after Lucky had left? Christ.  He didn’t want to think about this. “I think it might have been April. Or even late March. Why?”

“Because Lucky went with Elizabeth to make the report in mid March,” Jason said. “Which is why he started giving you the info. He knew Lucky was involved in the case.”

“And he might have hoped to run into her a time or two. God, I wonder—” Luke rubbed a fist against his chest. “They were caught trespassing here. Elizabeth ran away from Audrey’s, and they were coming here to wash up and use the kitchens. Security caught them and called the cops, not me. I wouldn’t have called that in. He’s my kid.” He sat down. “Vinnie was one of the officers that took them in.  He mentioned it later when he slipped me some info.”

And then Luke looked at Jason.  “The thing is the security wasn’t tripped from the codes. Lucky knew those codes. Company said they’d had a call that someone witnessed a break in.”

“Vinnie called it in so he could respond.”

“He stalked her,” Luke murmured. “Looking to get her alone again, you think?” His hand was still shaking as he lifted the whiskey to his lips. “If I’d thought for a minute— but he didn’t give off that air. I thought he was just a dirty cop—”

He looked at Jason. “He liked the club, he said, so if it was okay, he’d give me the info for a while. Then you sold off to Moreno, and I told him that I wasn’t gonna pass on info anymore. Wasn’t interesting in helping Moreno.”

“But the info you fed me that spring and summer—when the cops were gonna raid the clubs—”

“Came from Vinnie.”

Jason sank into a chair and put his head in his hands. “Oh, man.”

“I never dealt with him again after you sold out. I cut ties with you and Sonny after that fire—but Vinnie was still a regular at the club—”

“He ever cause any trouble?”

“No. No. Came in, drank some beers. Listened to the music. Until I read his name in the papers, I wouldn’t have figured him for this. He faded in the background. You didn’t notice him.”

“Yeah, I know. Elizabeth waited on him in Kelly’s and never got a weird feeling.” Jason looked at him. “I didn’t know. I never asked where you got the information. I should have.”

“Why would you? You trusted me, and dirty cops are a dime a dozen.” Luke hesitated, because it was more than that. Jason had been able to stay one step ahead of the police because of the man who’d raped Elizabeth. It was horrifying. “We didn’t know. We couldn’t have. You can’t blame yourself.”

“I know,” Jason repeated. “I just—I found out he was a source for us back then. And he kept on being a source. Until October.” While he was terrifying and raping all those other girls—

“Jase—”

“You’ve known Tommy longer than me.” Jason met Luke’s eyes. “If Vinnie worked over one of Tommy’s girls—I mean if he—”

“Would Tommy have covered up Vinnie abusing his girls to protect the source?” Luke asked. He sat back. “Yeah. Yeah, he would have. He’s old school.”

“Old school—” Jason snorted. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Old school in that he separates women into categories. Madonnas and whores,” Luke clarified. “Sonny knew Tommy ran girls under the table. He’s always known that, Jase. As long as it stayed that way, he let it go. You remember that Sonny came up through the strip clubs. He used girls a time or two himself.”

“I—”

“Sure he’s changed, but not that much. Tommy would have seen the girls as whores good for nothing but making him money. He wouldn’t have covered up any other kind of attack. Not those other rapes. But if Vinnie went after a hooker?” Luke nodded. “It wouldn’t have been an issue for him.”

“How do I—” Jason exhaled slowly. “Elizabeth knows who I am and what I do. She’s always known. But I have to tell her about this. She should know.”

“Jase—”

“How do I tell her that my business—my partners—men she invited to our wedding—protected the animal who raped her?”

Kelsey’s Apartment: Living Room

The knock at her door jerked Kelsey out of a restless sleep. She’d come home from the hospital just to grab a shower and a few hours of rest but had no sooner dozed off on the sofa when there was a hesitant knock.

She reached for her phone, worried that she’d slept longer than she thought and had missed some news about Lucky. He’d come out of surgery, but people got infections—

“Stop it,” she reminded herself, shuffling towards the door. “You’re insane.” She peered through the peephole, then hurriedly unlocked the door.

“Mom?” Kelsey said, opening the door to reveal Angela Joyce standing in front of her, looking hesitant. “Mom!” She threw her arms around the other woman. “What are you doing here?”

“I felt awful after we hung up the phone earlier.” Angela gently steered Kelsey back into the apartment. “I never meant to hurt you or make you feel like I didn’t care—”

“Mom—” Kelsey sighed. “I know you don’t want to bring back memories of Dad, and I get it, I do, but—” She led her mother into the kitchen area and started to put together a pot of coffee. “I live here now, and I like it. I’m dating someone who’s tied to this city. This is where my life is.”

“And I wish you’d gone anywhere else after law school.” Angela set her coat over the counter. “But Scott offered you the job, and I don’t blame you for snapping it up. I’m allowed to worry about you. You’ve been here six months, and look what’s happened.”

“Mom—”

“And when you said Lucky had been shot—” Angela closed her eyes. “It just brought back that moment. That terrible moment when the officer called to tell me they’d found your father, that he was dead—” Her voice broke.

Kelsey set down the coffee mugs then frowned at her mother. “Found Dad?” she said. “You mean, they called from the accident scene. You said Dad died in the hospital.”

“What?” Angela stared at her, then shook her head. “Oh. Oh, course.” She cleared her throat. “I think I’m just pushing the memories together. The hospital and the phone call. It all seems like a blur.” She smiled weakly at Kelsey. “You understand.”

“Right. Yeah.” Kelsey shook her head as if trying to clear it. “I got the call this morning, and it feels like a fog—” She waited a moment. “Mom, it’s been almost ten years since Dad died, and you’ve been back to Port Charles twice. Don’t you think it’s time that you put it behind you?”

“I told you if you came to Port Charles, it would be a cold day in hell before I followed.”

“Mom—Dad died in a car accident—”

“I know that! Why are you saying it like that?” Angela scowled. “You don’t understand. You’ve been with this boy for all of twelve seconds. I loved your father!”

“I know you did, Mom, but—”

“But what? I came here because you said you needed me.” Angela shoved off the stool. “But if you’re just going to judge me for the way I’ve lived my life—”

Kelsey reached for her. “No, Mom, please. Please. Stay the night. Come to the hospital and meet Lucky and his family. I told you they knew Dad, right? Laura was Scott’s ex-wife. She has so many stories about him. Please.”

Angela tensed. “I don’t want to meet his father. I know all about Luke Spencer—”

“Mom—”

“I’ll stay here. We’ll meet at another time.” She squared her shoulders. “Now, where is the bathroom? It was a long drive.”

Baffled, Kelsey gestured towards the door, and Angela disappeared behind it.

Morgan Penthouse: Hallway

Jason  found Elizabeth across the hall from their bedroom, in one of the empty rooms. She had a sketch pad in her hands and was looking around. “Hey.”

“Oh. Hey.” She flashed him a bright smile. “I came in here to take measurements. We haven’t even really talked about where Cameron is going to sleep — I mean, at first, he’ll be with us, but I don’t want him that far, you know?”

He leaned against the door frame. Should he even bother to bring this up tonight? She was in such a good mood and feeling so well that she’d taken the stairs herself. The last thing Jason wanted to do was bring back any of those memories she’d worked so hard to resolve.

“We have time,” he reminded her. “Cameron will be in the hospital for at least six weeks after he’s born.”

“No, I know. But I read that if he gains weight quickly enough and passes certain tests, he can come home as soon as a month after he’s born—” Elizabeth sighed happily. “Wouldn’t that be great? The sooner he’s home, the sooner I can start prepping for surgery. I think maybe the summer. I want to wait until Cam doesn’t need one of us all the time.”

“I thought you’d want the surgery as soon as possible.” Jason folded his arms. “I saw the manila envelope downstairs from PCU. If you have the surgery this spring, you’ll be all set for classes in the fall.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth turned to face him fully. “That came today. Um, I wasn’t—I mean, I feel like we planned that in another lifetime—”

“Nothing’s changed. You want to get your license for counseling. We were always planning to work around that schedule—”

“But Cameron might need so much more than—” Elizabeth paused. “It feels weird to think about it now.”

“You can defer admission for a year,” Jason told her as he straightened and approached her. “Do you not want to be a counselor anymore?”

“No, I do—I just—I don’t know. I looked at the acceptance letter, and I just—” Elizabeth frowned. “I just felt strange. I’d forgotten that I applied with everything else going on. It feels odd to plan for the future. We were avoiding that—”

“But we’re not now. Your health is better than it’s been in weeks, and you’ll be even better after the surgery.” Jason rubbed her shoulders. “You should get to have everything you wanted.”

“Yeah.” Wistfully, she turned to look around the room. He drew her against him, an arm hooked around her chest. “I never had a baby shower,” she murmured. “I feel stupid saying that, but—”

“It’s not stupid.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry. I know a lot of this hasn’t gone the way you planned.”

“Well, maybe not, but I’m not too mad at how things ended up.” She turned in his arms and leaned up to kiss him. “I ordered pizza for dinner. Cam craved pepperoni. There’s some left.”

“Cam did, huh?” Jason leaned down to kiss her again. “I’m not that hungry, but thanks.”

“Hmmm…” Elizabeth pulled back slightly and frowned at him. “What’s wrong? And don’t tell me nothing. I know that face.”

“I just—” Jason slid his fingers down her arms until he was clasping her hands. “I found out something today that I know I have to tell you, I just…don’t want to.”

“Jason—”

“You know that in order for things to go right at work, we need sources,” Jason told her. “Inside the PCPD.”

“Is this is about Ric? Did they—”

“No, no—it’s not. I found out that the source we’ve been using the most over the last few years was Vinnie.”

Elizabeth stilled as she met his eyes. “Vinnie.”

“He passed tips about search warrants and cases to Tommy and to Luke for a little while before I sold out to Moreno.”

She stepped out of his arms, then folded her own. “I don’t—Luke?”

“He went to the club after you reported your attack to the PCPD. I don’t know a lot about any of it—I never handled any of that, even after I took over. I never asked where Luke got his information,” Jason told her. “The sources reported to someone else under Sonny, and he dealt with it. And he found out after we—he didn’t want to tell me. Or you. He thought it would be too much to deal with. I don’t know. Justus told me today.”

“He went to Luke after Lucky took me to the PCPD to file a report.” She closed her eyes. “God, how many times did I walk past him? How many times did he arrange it—” Her face paled. “Oh my God. He arrested me and Lucky at Luke’s.”

“I know, I talked to Luke. He doesn’t know much else. He only dealt with Vinnie for a few months, and then all of this happened while he was gone—” He paused. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s—” Elizabeth paused. “It’s okay. You didn’t know, and I think Sonny meant well. I really do. I don’t know how I would have felt in October when this was fresh. Or when we were preparing for the hearing. God, my skin is crawling just thinking about it now. And if Sonny had said something, you would have told me. You need sources in the PCPD who are willing to break the law.He fits that profile.”

“I wish that was the end of it,” Jason said. “But there are rumors that he got some cover from Tommy and his guys. Maybe for roughing up a prostitute or two—I’m looking into it—”

“I don’t want to know,” Elizabeth cut in sharply. “I understand if you need to know, and that’s fine. Okay? But I can’t—” She held up a hand, then curled it into a fist. “I thought you didn’t deal with that kind of thing—”

“I don’t,” Jason said, knowing exactly what she was going into. “But Sonny ran things up until six months ago, and there are pockets of the business that I never knew about. Even when I was in charge all those years ago. I think Tommy kept a lot from me. I’m dealing with that, but—”

“I just—I can handle what you do, Jason, and I do a pretty good job,” she added.

“I know—”

“But if you find out that someone in the organization covered up one of the rapes—I don’t want to know that, okay? Please. I get why you might need to know, but I don’t. I don’t want to know.”

“All right.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry—”

Elizabeth sighed, then tilted her head to the ceiling for a long moment. Then she focused on him. “I’m fine. It just—it hit me harder than I was expecting, but I appreciate that you told me. I know that was hard for you, and thank you for not protecting me. I just—I think anything past this—I don’t need to be in on it.”

“All right,” he repeated.

She kissed him again. “I love you.”

Relieved that the strange tension in the air had faded, Jason kissed her back. “I love you, too.”

“And since you’re not hungry, I’m gonna go finish the pizza.”

Wish I was too dead to care
If indeed I cared at all
Never had a voice to protest
So you fed me shit to digest
I wish I had a reason
My flaws are open season
For this, I gave up trying
One good turn deserves my dying
– Bother, Stone Sour

---

Saturday, February 21, 2004

Courtland Street: Alley

“Falconieri.”

Dante stared at the back of the ambulance as his partner and best friend was lifted up into the vehicle. The doors closed, and they sped off, the sirens clamoring loudly as the world woke up around them.

“Falconieri. Dante!”

Dante turned and blinked at his commanding officer, Taggert, who had lifted his brows and begun to scowl. “I’m sorry. I didn’t—” He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well—I’m tired, too. We got an officer down, so tell me what the hell is going on. Why were you in this alley?”

Dante dragged a hand through his hair. “We got a report of a drug deal going down. Lucky and I decided to split up — I covered him, and he went down the alley—but I don’t—”

He cleared his throat. “I don’t know what happened. I don’t—I looked away for a second—and then there were footsteps—someone was running—and the shots—” He looked at Taggert. “It happened fast. And the backup—it never showed.”

“There was no—” Taggert hissed, then stalked back to his car. “Dispatch, this is Unit 23, Lieutenant Taggert. What calls came from Courtland and Van Ess?”

There was a crackle, then a pause before the dispatcher came back on the line. “Dispatched a suspicious activity report. Unit 84 radioed in that they were in the area, then a Code 30—”

“Bullshit! Bullshit—” Dante lunged forward. “I called in a Code 8—”

“Check records again,” Taggert told the dispatch, then he put the radio back in. “Falconieri—”

“Bullshit,” Dante repeated, his eyes flashing. “I called for fucking backup, and no one came!”

“There’s no record—I checked before I came—”

“They’re fucking lying—” He stopped abruptly at the sound an engine. He scowled when Capelli emerged from the car and sauntered towards them. “What the hell is he doing here?”

“Taking up oxygen,” Taggert muttered. “Capelli, what the fuck you want? This isn’t your case—”

“Courtland Street, drugs—” Capelli shrugged. “Organized Crime—”

“No, drugs are Major Crime. You have gambling and smuggling. So turn your ass right around—”

“Shove it, Tag. Fuckin’ traitor.” Capelli sneered at him. “Everyone knows you’re a dirty cop, just like this baby piece of shit—”

“What the hell—”

“You gonna protect your new best friend’s bastard?” Capelli growled. “No wonder this asshole had the fast track—he’s related to all the fucking criminals—” He gestured at Dante. “How much is Corinthos paying you to keep him out of trouble?”

“What the fuck did you just say—” Dante launched forward, but Taggert held him back.

“Go to the hospital,” he ordered. Taggert turned his back on Capelli, shoved the officer back. “Falconieri, God damn it, head to the hospital, and get me a report on Spencer—”

“He’s in there because of you,” Capelli called over Taggert’s shoulder. “You’re a fucking dirty cop, and everyone knows it! He was just dumb enough to cover your ass—”

“What the hell—”

“Get out of here,” Taggert ordered, slapping at Dante’s chest. “Now!”

Dante’s chest was heaving, his nostrils flared, but he stalked back towards the paramedics and climbed into the ambulance, which roared off into the night.

“I bet you didn’t even talk to Morgan or Corinthos yet—”

“Why the hell—”

“Drugs on Courtland Street?” Capelli pushed. “It’s the fucking Escobars. How do you know Morgan and Corinthos weren’t here sending a message to them?”

“That is the dumbest shit I’ve heard—You’re pissed because you got your ass kicked over the Lansing case. I got the promotion, you didn’t. Suck it up, and go back to do your job. Drugs are Major Crimes. The Escobars have nothing to do with Morgan and Corinthos. You got the waterfront, asshole. The rest of Port Charles is mine.”

General Hospital: Emergency Room

When Luke and Laura rushed into the emergency room just after six that morning, they found Kelsey huddled in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs. Her eyes were rimmed with red, her cheeks puffy, and her hair was disheveled. Next to her, Anna Devane was holding her hand and talking to her gently.

Luke ignored Scott Baldwin leaning against the emergency room desk, and led Laura over to their son’s girlfriend.

“We came as soon as could,” Laura said, sitting on the other side of Kelsey and engulfing the younger woman in a hug.

Kelsey hugged Laura back, then took a deep breath. She shoved her hair out of her face. “He’s in—” She paused, trying to gather her thoughts. “He’s in surgery—they had to take him right in because the bullet—”

She shook her head, and the tears started again.

“We don’t know very much yet,” Anna clarified.

Luke scowled and walked over to Scott. “Baldwin, what’re you doing here?”

“Officer injured in the line of duty,” Scott said, but his face was pale as he looked over at Kelsey again. “And I wanted to be here if Bobbie or Kelsey needed anything.” He hesitated. “The bullet perforated his lung, Spencer. They couldn’t wait to operate.”

“Shit.” Luke turned away from his nemesis and returned to the ladies. “Where’s Barbara?” he asked Anna.

“She went up to surgery with Lucky to observe. Monica is operating. She’s the best—” Anna pressed his lips together. “I’m so very sorry. I don’t know what happened.”

“He’s a cop, that’s what happened,” Luke muttered as he put an arm around his wife’s shoulders, not liking the paleness of her skin. She had only just recovered from a traumatic breakdown, so it was up to him to stay strong. “Angel, why don’t we go call Lu and Nikolas? They’ll want to know.”

“Right.” Laura nodded. She closed her eyes, squared her shoulders, then opened them again. She took Kelsey’s hand. “You know how stubborn Lucky is, don’t you? He’s been through so much worse. He’s not going to let a little bullet get in his way.”

“I just—”  Kelsey inhaled sharply. “I want him to be okay. I just want—”

“I know, sweetheart. Should we call anyone for you? A friend? Family?”

On a shaky breath, Kelsey shoved her hair out of her eyes again. “I’m okay.”

“All right.” Laura squeezed her hand again, then offered Anna a tight smile before turning back to Luke. “Let’s go make those calls.”

When Luke and Laura had left the area, Scott returned to Kelsey and Anna. “Where’s Falconieri?” he asked roughly. “Do we have any leads?”

“Not as of yet, but Taggert pulled in Cruz, and we’re doing our best.” Anna’s tone was tight as she continued, “I’m having a manpower issue, Scott. We don’t have nearly as many detectives as we ought to. And the ones I do have are practically useless.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Scott muttered. He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Okay, okay—”

He glanced up as a doctor he recognized exited the elevator. “Drake, right? Were you in surgery?”

“Yeah, I was asked to bring you guys upstairs to the surgical waiting room. It’s going to be a while,” Patrick Drake offered.

“How’s the surgery going?” Anna asked as she got to her feet. “Has his condition changed?”

“He’s stable,” Patrick told them. “Right now. They were able to repair the damage to the lung, or at least most of it. The bullet hit the liver, too, so they’re making sure they’ve taken care of the internal bleeding.”

“But he’s stable,” Kelsey repeated as Luke and Laura rejoined them. Laura hugged Kelsey to her side. “That’s good.”

“Healthy, strong guy — yeah, for now, stable. But he’ll be in surgery for a while, so come on upstairs.”

As they followed Patrick to the elevators, Laura hung back to catch Anna’s arm. “My other children are on their way, but I want to know if you know anything about what happened.”

“Nothing yet,” Anna said with a sigh. “I should know something when the scene is wrapped up. I promise to keep you in the loop.” When Laura didn’t look convinced, Anna arched an eyebrow. “Do you think I won’t?”

“I don’t have a lot of faith in the PCPD,” Laura admitted.

“After what happened to you,” Anna said slowly, “neither do I. That’s part of the reason I was asked to come to Port Charles and take over.” She touched Laura’s arm. “Let’s go upstairs and wait for more news.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Taggert shoved the cuffed man into the interrogation room, secured him at the table, and jabbed a finger at him. “I’ll be back when your lawyer gets here—”

“Whatever,” the man muttered, but his eyes were jittery and he was practically vibrating. He knew he’d been caught—there was no mistaking the preliminary ballistics report. Or the gun he’d been tossing in the dumpster when Taggert and Cruz had located the bastard.

“Taggert—” Anna caught his arm as Taggert slammed the door closed. “You’ve made an arrest?”

“Yeah—” He dragged a hand over his face. “Not watertight yet, but this moron will roll, and ballistics should back us up with the final report. How’s Spencer?”

“In surgery.” Anna followed him to the desk. “The bullet hit the lung and the liver, so the surgery will take much longer to control the internal blooding.”

“Damn it—”

“But it was looking good by the time I left. They got the bullet out and I’ve already arranged for it to go to the lab.”

“If it’s not too damaged, it’ll match the rest of the report, and I’ll lock this asshole up.” Taggert made another note before handing over his notes. “I need to clean it up, but ballistics made a preliminary match to a robbery a while back. Santiago Escobar is already waiting trial on those charges.”

“Ah, so we know the gun belongs to him.” Anna crossed over to the interrogation room, folding her arms. “I’m not familiar with the Escobars. Are they a gang? Are they organized?”

“Organized is a strong description for that pack of morons,” Taggert said. “It’s mostly petty crime and drugs in the Courtland Street neighborhood. His lawyer will get here and beg for a deal.” Taggert’s mouth twisted. “I don’t think he meant to shoot a cop.”

“You think he got spooked—” Anna frowned at the preliminary report, which included Dante’s statement from the scene. “What’s this? Dante says he called for back up? Where was it?”

“That’s a damn good question,” Taggert muttered. “And I’m gonna find out.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

“I’m sorry to mess up your morning,” Carly said as she passed by Cody at the door and flashed a regretful smile at Elizabeth, sipping tea on the sofa. “I wasn’t sure if you’d heard yet about Lucky.”

“Emily left me a message,” Elizabeth told her. She looked at Jason, who was frowning. “You were getting breakfast, and I didn’t get a chance to tell you. Lucky was shot while he was on patrol last night. He was in surgery when I checked last.”

“Yeah, he is still is. Mama went to the hospital. She’s been there since early this morning,” Carly sat down. “But then she came home and told me that there’s an investigation at the PCPD—and it involves Dante.”

“Dante?” Jason repeated. He sat next to Elizabeth. “What about him?”

“They were on patrol together—and I don’t know if we’re keeping tabs on Dante or not.” Carly twisted her fingers together. “Um, you know, since—”

“Since he’s probably Sonny’s biological son.” Jason exhaled slowly. “I haven’t really thought about him much. I mean, other than what happened because of the papers.”

“Right. We went into crisis mode because Sonny couldn’t handle it, and now we’re—well, I don’t know where we are on that either,” Carly said. “Mama said there might be something about him having issues. Uncle Luke said that he didn’t think Dante would be very popular with the rest of the department.”

“But he didn’t even know Sonny was his father, did he?” Elizabeth asked. “At least—”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know if this is something we need to pay attention to, I just know that we’ve had a weird relationship with the cops this last year,” Carly said to Jason. “With Lansing and the park case—”

“I’ll keep my eyes open,” Jason promised.

“I’ll be right back,” Elizabeth told him. He frowned and started to rise, but she shook her head. “I’m fine. I just need to use the bathroom.”

“Things seem all right,” Carly said cautiously when Elizabeth had disappeared down the hall to the downstairs bathroom.

“Uh, yeah. Her oxygen level is back in the normal range,” Jason assured her.

“Oh, good. I was worried, but I didn’t really know how to ask.” Carly bit her lip. “I feel terrible that you’ve been shouldering so much of the Sonny situation since you came home. I didn’t want it this way, Jason—”

“There’s nothing that’s happened since we got back that you could have dealt with, Carly. It wasn’t the divorce that set him off, but the newspapers and some business issues.” Jason winced. “You haven’t even served him with the divorce or custody papers—”

“I told Alexis we’re not filing until after Elizabeth delivers the baby. I got the balling rolling, and Sonny knows it’s coming, but he’s going to hit the roof when he finds out about AJ.”

“Carly—”

“You’ve done so much in the last six months—longer,” she added. “The least I can do is slow this down. It doesn’t feel as urgent as it did before, not with Sonny in all the trouble he’s in right now.” She paused. “I’m also going down to the PCPD to see if he’ll agree to a psychiatric evaluation.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I know, but I feel like I need to do something.” Carly got to her feet as Elizabeth returned. “Hey, Jason said your levels were back to normal. That’s great news.”

Surprised, Elizabeth looked at Jason, who winced. “Oh, yeah. It’s definitely a step in the right direction, but I’m going to be checking into the hospital around March 6 to induce labor.” She rested her hand on her belly. “It’s not as long as I hoped for, but we all agreed that it’s a good compromise.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Carly touched Jason’s shoulder. “I’ll let you know how things go with Sonny.”

“You really don’t have to do this—” Jason followed Carly to the door. “I don’t think he’s going to listen—”

“But at least we’ll be able to say we tried everything, Jason.” Carly turned back to him, opening the door and standing on the threshold. “We need to do something. I’m afraid the next person he hurts might be himself. Or someone who can’t punch back, you know?”

“We’ll take care of it,” Jason promised her. He nodded to Cody, who had arrived on duty during Carly’s visit. “Call me if you need anything.”

“I will,” Carly promised.

He closed the door behind her and looked back at Elizabeth. “I’m sorry—I told her that your levels—”

“It’s fine,” Elizabeth said. She crossed to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “She’s your best friend, Jason. You can tell her anything you want about all of this. None of this has been easy, and I’m glad I’ve had Emily to talk to. I know you have her, too, but Carly’s yours. You deserve someone who’s just there for you.”

“Carly likes you,” Jason said, furrowing her brow.

Elizabeth laughed. “Like is a strong word. We respect and accept each other. That’s enough for me.” She kissed him lightly. “I’m gonna go leave Bobbie a message in case she needs anything.”

General Hospital: Vending Machines

Lulu screwed up her face at the row of vending machines. She didn’t want anything, but she also didn’t want to keep sitting in the waiting room, hoping that Lucky would be out of surgery.

How many times was a girl supposed to worry that her brother was going to die? Why did this dink have to go into law enforcement?

“Lu.”

She turned, startled, to find Dante just around the corner. His hair was disheveled with shadowed eyes, and his uniform shirt rumpled. “Dante!” She rushed forward and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. “I’ve been so worried!”

He hugged her back, dropping his head into the crook of her neck for a moment before clearing this throat and stepping back. “I came to check on Lucky. Is he—”

“Still in surgery—” Lulu swiped at her eyes. “Um, the doctor said it was looking good, but Mom’s all worried, and Dad’s tense because he’s worried about Mom, and you know, one time Lucky actually died, so they’re a little sensitive—” She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ramble. We don’t know anything yet. Not for sure. And we need to be sure. Mom needs it. I’m still babbling on, and you’re upset, too, I know you are—”

“It’s okay.” He smoothed his hands down her arms, from her shoulders to her elbows, then back. “I’m sorry. This is my fault—”

“What? Why?” Lulu frowned. “No. You were his partner, and, oh God, it could be you up there, and that wouldn’t be better—” Her throat tightened at that. “You did your job, and this is part of the package, I know that—”

“No, I mean—” Dante hissed and looked away. “The guy got away because we didn’t have backup. That’s where I’ve been—”

“What are you talking about—”

“I called before we went into that alley—” His fingers tightened around her shoulders, his eyes burning with anguished misery and fury. “But no one ever came, and dispatch said I never called—”

“I don’t understand—”

“The two units nearby—they were a fucking block away—they could have caught the asshole dead to rights with the gun still on him—” Dante paused. “They’re Capelli’s guys. From his unit.”

“Capelli? The guy who screwed up the kidnapping and nearly got Elizabeth killed? What does—”

“He thinks I’m a dirty cop.” Dante released her. “They all do—”

“No, that’s not possible. Dante—”

“They think I snitched on Vinnie and that I’m working for Sonny—”

“But—” Lulu closed her mouth. “You’re saying they ignored the call. That they left you and my brother out to dry.”

“Lucky might die, and it’s my fault.”

PCPD: Interrogation Room

Carly paced the room as she waited for Sonny to be brought in. She’d felt so sure that this was the right decision a few hours ago with Jason. Jason had nearly missed a crisis in his own family because he was busy cleaning up after Sonny.

Carly couldn’t do much to help with the business—and she didn’t really want to—but there had to be something she could do to take some of the weight from Jason. She owed him this much.

“You have ten minutes,” the guard said as he pushed open the door, almost shoving Sonny through.

“What do you want?” Sonny demanded. Carly looked back nervously at the door. They hadn’t cuffed Sonny to the table—and she’d thought they’d stay with her—

She hadn’t anticipated being left alone with him.

“I wanted to check on you,” Carly said finally, taking in the dark circles under his eyes, the sullen cast to his skin, and the greasy, messy curls that spilled over his forehead. She hated seeing him like this—hated knowing how much he was suffering.

“To wallow in victory?” Sonny sneered. He stalked around the room, then seemed to focus on something just past Carly. “That’s right. That’s all she’s good for.”

Carly frowned. “Sonny—”

He snapped back to meet her eyes. “What? What’s the point?”

“I know Justus quit,” Carly said gently, “but Jason convinced him to stay on for a little longer to help. He’s trying to get you bail—”

“He should try harder—”

“You were arrested for assaulting the mayor, Sonny. That’s really bad—”

“He got in my way!” Sonny whirled around, stabbing a finger at her. Carly forced herself not to take a step back. “I wanted to choke that bitch—”

“Sonny, they’re recording,” Carly hissed. “You can’t say things like that—”

“You knew, didn’t you?” Sonny demanded. “That’s why Alexis is your lawyer. You blackmailed her—”

“I didn’t know for sure,” Carly admitted, hoping that some honesty would get her somewhere. “When I told you before Kristina was born that Alexis was pregnant and that you might be the father—I told you what I knew. You went to see Alexis and came back satisfied that it wasn’t your baby.” She shrugged, hoping it looked casual and not tense. “I just never really believed it. I figured I’d done what I was supposed to do and let it go.”

“Until you needed something.”

“Yes.” Carly swallowed hard. “I needed a lawyer who wouldn’t be scared of you, Sonny, and one that would be invested in fighting hard for my boys—”

“You’re stealing my boys from me just like she stole my daughter!” Sonny roared. “Just like that other bitch stole my son—”

“I don’t want it this way, Sonny—”

“Then don’t do it. Go home to the penthouse and make the boys safe—” Sonny lunged at her suddenly, and Carly stumbled back, hitting the door jamb. “I wasn’t—” He stared at her, stunned. “I wasn’t going to hurt you.”

“I—” Her hands were trembling. “I don’t know that, Sonny. After that night—you locked me in that penthouse—”

“That was months ago—”

“It was barely two months ago, Sonny, and you—” Carly closed her eyes. “I can’t keep going over this, Sonny. I can’t—”

“I told you I was sorry!” Sonny said. He dragged his hands through his hair, squeezing his eyes shut. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I say it all the time, but no one believes me. It’s never enough. Won’t ever be enough. The blood. Always on my hands—”

“Sonny—”

When he turned back, some of the manic anger had faded from his eyes. “I’m sorry for it. I wanted you to be safe, but you wouldn’t do what I needed—”

“And you weren’t doing what I needed,” Carly said gently, “so that’s why I left. But you still matter to me, Sonny, and I can’t stand seeing you in here. It’s making everything worse—”

“Then get me out!”

“I can’t without your help!” Carly stepped towards him. “The judge will let you out if you just get the evaluation—”

“I’m not fucking crazy!” Sonny roared. He slapped a hand against his chest. “I’m Sonny fucking Corinthos! This is my town! My family! No one is taking it from me—”

“What is all this yelling—” Anna stopped in the door, a scowl etched into her expression as she took in the scene before turning back to the squad room. “Where are the guards who brought him from lockup?” She turned back to Carly and Sonny. “Why aren’t you cuffed to the table?” she demanded.

“I was leaving anyway,” Carly said, folding her arms. “Maybe the guard who brought him up just forgot. It’s fine. It’s all fine.” She looked over at Sonny again, but his eyes were just burning with fury. “I’ve got nothing left to say to him.”

PCPD: Dispatch Center

The moment Taggert pushed open the double doors to the Dispatch Center, he knew that something wasn’t right. The volume dimmed, and there were some awkward stares.

He gritted his teeth, then stepped up to the counter. A tall, lanky young man stepped out from behind a cubicle. He pushed a pair of wire rim glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Lieutenant, what can I do for you?”

“I need a record of calls from Unit 84 and any other units within a mile radius for the third watch. I got some of that verbally this morning, but I need something more for my report,” Taggert said, watching the man’s eyes carefully. He dipped his eyes to the uniform shirt. “How fast can you get me that, Officer Murphy?”

Murphy slid his eyes to a man standing a few feet away. Likely the supervisor on this shift, Taggert noted. And the officer was unsure about answering questions.

“Uh, it shouldn’t take too long, I think.” Murphy stepped over to the computer, tapped a few buttons. “I can print you a copy of the electronic records now, and if you want—”

“We’re going to need the physical calls for the record,” Taggert interrupted. “We’ve made an arrest, and we want to make sure the timeline sticks.”

“Right, right. That’ll take a few more days, but here’s the list—” He set down a printout. “Not much action. There’s a call, dispatching Unit 84 to the alley, then a reply from Unit 84 registering the call. They called in again on arrival — a 10-97. And then Officer Spencer called in the shooting—”

“You’re sure that’s a 10-97?” Taggert said, pointing. “My guys say it should have been a Code 8 for back up.”

“If it had been a Code 8, there’d be an all-call.” Murphy slid the copy over. “There’s none. And we had a few units in the area—”

“I’ll take it from here,” the supervisor said, ambling over. Murphy grimaced. “You have a problem with our records?”

“No,” Taggert drawled, “just checking all the boxes. We’ll know for sure when we get the tapes of the calls, won’t we?” He folded the print out. “I’ll take print outs for all the units now. Unless that’s an issue?”

“No,” the supervisor said, smiling thinly. “Let me get right on that. Cops gotta stick together, don’t we?”

“You’d think,” Taggert muttered, but beneath his breath as the supervisor went over to the printer. Dante wasn’t crazy. He’d called for backup, and now Dispatch was pretending he hadn’t.

First, he needed to nail Santiago Escobar to the wall. Then he’d turn his attention to finding out what the hell was going on in his department.

General Hospital: Bathroom

Kelsey splashed some water on her face, then stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were still red and swollen from crying, her hair disheveled from running her fingers through it so many times—

Her eyes felt like sandpaper, but every time she tried to close her eyes, she heard the phone ringing again. She heard Scott’s voice—

She cupped her hands under the cold water once again, then splashed herself again. Lucky was in surgery, but things looked okay. She just had to keep remembering that.

He would be okay. He would wake up and everything would be okay—

She reached into her jeans and tugged out her cell phone. The hospital had terrible reception in most areas to discourage the use, but she just—

She wanted to hear her mother’s voice. Someone who belonged just to her.

“Kelsey?” Angela Joyce’s voice crackled over the terrible connection.

“Mom—” Kelsey swallowed a sob. “Mom, can you hear me?”

“Baby, you’re breaking up—are you crying? What’s going on?”

“Mom. I’m okay. I—Lucky was shot.”

“Oh—sweetheart. I’m so sorry. Will he be all right?”

“They think so, but he’s still in surgery.” With one hand clutching at the phone, the other in her hair, Kelsey squeezed her eyes shut. “Mom, I need you.”

There was such a long silence that Kelsey worried the connection had been broken. “Mom?”

“I heard you. Sweetheart, you know how I feel—”

“Mom—”

“You said he’d be all right, didn’t you?”

“I know—”

“When he’s feeling better, you can both come to Buffalo and maybe spend a few days.”

Kelsey pulled the phone away, staring at it as if that would change the conversation. “Mom, can’t you come to the hospital?”

“Oh, Port Charles is so far away—”

Two and a half hours. A long drive, but—

“Mom, I need you—” Her voice cracked and she slid down. “I know Port Charles is hard for you because of Daddy, but you’ve been here before. You came when I got hurt—”

“Kelsey. Please. Don’t make this harder for me.”

“Harder for you?” She bit out. “Never mind. Just never mind.” She snapped the phone shut and nearly threw it across the room. She stopped at the last minute, then let her head fall back against the cool bathroom tile.

She just needed a minute. Just a minute. She’d get herself back together and go back to his family.

But was it so much to ask for someone to take care of her for one single minute?

Port Charles Police Department: Commissioner’s Office

 

By the time night fell, Taggert felt like he had been awake for a decade. He set the plea deal down in front of Anna. “Escobar got spooked and shot wildly before taking off. Didn’t even know they were cops.””

He looked behind him as Ned strode him. “You here about the arrest?”

Ned sat down and took the report Anna offered him. ” Yeah. Pretty quick turn around. Less than twenty-four hours.”

“Wasn’t a difficult case. The Escobars are a small time group of idiots who wouldn’t mind taking on more territory,” Taggert told him. “The guy we think is in charge is Mateo Escobar — he owns a strip club. He used to run drugs under Frank Smith, then Moreno and Sorel.”

“But not Sonny and Jason?”

“No, they’ve mostly stuck to the waterfront. When Corinthos took over, he brought in  connections from Puerto Rico.” Taggert wrinkled his nose. “And he doesn’t run drugs himself. Not that we’ve been able to prove anyway.”

“Honor among thieves,” Anna said with a sniff. “Keeps his reputation respectable.”

“What’s the evidence?” Ned asked as he skimmed the report. “Are we going to be able to assure the media that it’s a solid case?”

“Casings matched a liquor store robbery last summer. Escobar was waiting on a trial,” Taggert said. “It’s been in limbo because some of the witnesses at the store haven’t really been much help—” he exhaled. “Esposito handled that case.”

Ned tensed, then forced himself to relax. “As I remember, he wasn’t so good at witness statements,” he said, doing an admirable job of pretending they weren’t discussing the man that had raped Ned’s daughter and driven her to suicide.

“No, but after the report came back, we went to track down Escobar. He didn’t know he’d shot a cop, so once he realized it—” He shook his head. “We caught him tossing the gun in the dumpster. His lawyer couldn’t wait to make a deal. One of the new ADAs is waiting for Scott to sign off.”

“Wait, what’s this notation?” Ned asked. “Dante’s statement—he called for backup but it never showed?”

“Yeah, we need to talk about that,” Taggert said finally. “Dante says he made the call. Dispatch records don’t back that up. At least not the electronic ones.”

“That doesn’t—” Ned closed his mouth. “Why would they say that? Dante wouldn’t make that kind of a mistake.”

“Taggert?” Anna asked. “What do you mean the electronic records don’t back it up? Do you have a serious reason to suspect differently?”

Taggert handed her a copy of the records he’d pulled earlier. “That 10-97 isn’t in Falconieri’s report. He was on the radio, not Spencer. They got to the alley and immediately called for back up.”

“10-97?” Ned questioned. “What’s the difference?”

“Officer on scene. It’s just to keep dispatch in the loop, but they wouldn’t send additional cars,” Anna murmured. “Is Dante quite sure?”

“I wasn’t convinced at first,” Taggert admitted. “I thought I’d look into it, and the 10-97 did make me pause. Maybe Dante remembered it as back up but used the wrong code. It’s possible, I guess. But the supervisor was acting pretty shifty, and isn’t giving a time frame on when I can get the calls.”

“But why?” Ned demanded. “Why refuse to acknowledge backup? Why the hell would they—”

“Because it was Dante,” Anna murmured. She tipped her head. “And I wonder if Lucky’s history played into it as well.”

“That’s my guess,” Taggert said. “Falconieri and Spencer. They both got family ties that make some of the other cops nervous. Turns out there’s a few guys who remember Luke Spencer and his, uh, connections to Corinthos. When you put him together with the gossip about Dante—”

“They deliberately left two rookie officers without backup because of their fathers?” Ned demanded.

“They don’t mind Spencer much,” Taggert continued, “but he’s not all that popular either after he went after a cop—”

“Jesus Christ, they’re holding the Esposito case against them? Lucky for breaking the case open and Dante for testifying—” Ned’s eyes bulged. “How is that—” He took a deep breath. “Can we prove it?”

“I’m working on it. I don’t think it started at dispatch. I think it went the way it was supposed to,” Taggert said. “Dante called for backup and the all-call went out. Capelli was with a unit a few blocks away on a stake out.”

“Capelli,” Ned muttered, tilting his eyes to the ceiling. “Of course.”

“If he ignores the call, that’s a big deal. Maybe he didn’t think it was serious. Maybe he didn’t think there’d be a shooting. I don’t know. I just—” Taggert looked at Anna. “He showed up at the scene, even though he didn’t have a reason. It’s not a Organized Crime case. But he came anyway.”

Anna grimaced. “I know we’ve been having issues with Capelli, but this would be a new low—”

“Major Crimes has gotten nothing but shit from the other departments since everything went down,” Taggert interrupted. “I got a lot of flack for how closely I worked with Morgan on the Lansing and Esposito cases. I didn’t have a choice,” he reminded Anna. “Elizabeth was the star witness in both—and she’s a package deal. If I don’t play nice with Morgan, we’d be out in the cold—Baker might not have opened up and, then we’re not back in time—”

“No one is saying—” Anna sighed. “No one in this office—” They both paused as someone knocked on the door. “Come in.”

Dante stepped over the threshold, blinking at the mayor and Taggert. “Uh, I can come back—”

“No, no. Come in—”

“This won’t take long.”

Taggert frowned as Dante stepped forward, walking towards Anna’s desk. He reached into his holster and set his sidearm on the desk. “What the hell are you—”

“Dante, this isn’t—”

Dante ignored them both and unpinned his badge. He stared at it for a long moment, then set it down next to the gun. Then he raised his eyes to look at Anna. “My partner and best friend is in the hospital because of who my father is—”

“Dante—”

“The department doesn’t trust me to have their back, and now I can’t trust them to have mine. I’m sorry—”

“Dante—”

“I can’t do this anymore.” He looked at Taggert. “We tried, but there’s no point. It’s just rotten from the inside out, and it’s not worth losing my life over.”

“Listen—” Ned took Dante by the arm. “We’ll prove the dispatch records are falsified—Lucky will wake up—”

“And then the next time I call for backup?” Dante asked. He shook his head. “If it were just mine—maybe. But this time, it was Lucky. Next time it might be Cruz or you,” he said to Taggert. “I can’t do this. I’m sorry.” Dante left then, closing the door quietly behind him.

Ned turned back to Anna and Taggert. “We are going to get him back, and we are going to rip the fucking rotting heart out of this department for good.”

Where’d you wanna go?
How much you wanna risk?
I’m not lookin’ for somebody
With some superhuman gifts
Some superhero
Some fairy-tale bliss
Just something I can turn to
Somebody I can kiss
I want something just like this
– Something Just This, Coldplay and The Chainsmokers

---

Friday, February 20, 2004

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

As soon as the words left his mouth, Jason wanted to take them back. Elizabeth just stared at him, her eyes wide with stunned hurt. He hadn’t wanted to snap—hadn’t meant to say anything to her just yet. He’d only come home because he’d felt guilty about the stairs and not returning her messages.

That didn’t mean he was ready to talk about any of this.

“I told you I didn’t want to talk about it,” Jason said. “So let me take you upstairs so I can get work done—”

“I just—”

“You might be ready to talk about it, but I’m not. Not that it matters to you. Nothing does, does it?” he continued, more ruthlessly than he’d meant to, but he was so damn tired, and he did not want to do this. Not tonight. Not tomorrow. What difference was it going to make if he told her he understood why she’d lied?

It wouldn’t change anything.

“I don’t—” Her voice faltered, and she stepped back. “I’m sorry. Okay. Okay. I’ll—I’ll go upstairs—”

“Hold on,” Justus said, putting out a hand and stepping between them. “Stay right there, Elizabeth. Give me a second—”

“It’s fine. You have more important—”

Jason closed his eyes in frustration. “That’s not what I meant—”

“You—” Justus put a hand on Jason’s shoulder and stabbed a finger at him. “Stop talking right now. Moron.”

“Justus, it’s okay—” Elizabeth began.

“It’s not,” he told her. He glared at Jason. “You dragged me over here to talk about things that can wait. I’m not your goddamn shield or cover, I’m your lawyer.”

“That’s not—” Jason grimaced. That’s exactly why Justus was there. “Look—”

“No, you look. You have given her exactly eight seconds to explain what the hell is going on, and you and I both know she deserves more than that. Especially since the only reason she lied was because she walked in on Sonny trying to choke me.” Justus released Jason’s shoulder almost with a shove.

“I still shouldn’t have,” Elizabeth said quietly. “I’m sorry—”

“I know why you did it—that’s not why I’m—” Jason closed his eyes. “That’s not why I’m angry.” He exhaled slowly and met Justus’s irritated gaze. “Go home. I’ll take care of this.”

“Really? You’re not going to scream at her again about wanting to die? Because I’ll kick the shit out of you—”

“I didn’t mean that,” Jason said. He focused on Elizabeth, who was staring at the floor. “I didn’t—”

“Good night,” Justus told them. “Don’t call me before nine. I’m going home to my girls.”

He slammed the door behind him. Jason dragged a hand over his face, turning to look back at the doorway. As his gaze returned to Elizabeth, his eyes swept over the desk, and he caught sight of the frame on the desk.

He walked over to it, then looked at the shelf next to the door, then back at the photo—with its one remaining jagged shard of glass.

“It fell last night,” Elizabeth said. She hadn’t moved from the other side of the room, standing in front of the sofa, her arms still protectively wrapped around her middle. “It’s okay. Cody said he’d go out and get me a new frame tomorrow. I just forgot about it today.” She cleared her throat. “Monica came by earlier and checked my levels. They’re at 95. Um, normal, I mean.”

Wordlessly, Jason removed the photo from the broken frame and set it back on the desk, leaving the photo in his hands. “That’s good.”

“We still have the portable oximeter if you want to check for yourself.”

“I don’t need to do that.” He looked up, met her eyes. The six feet that separated them might as well be an ocean. “I said I wasn’t angry you lied. I know why you did it.”

“I still shouldn’t have. You have enough to worry about, you know, and I shouldn’t make things worse.” She bit at her thumbnail. “Um, I guess I’ll go upstairs. So you can get back to work.”

He nearly let her go. She had already put her foot on the bottom step before he spoke again. “Now I’m the one lying.”

Elizabeth blinked, looked back at him, one hand propped on the banister. “What?”

“I am angry.”

“Oh.” She bit her lip. “Okay. Well, I deserve that—”

“It’s just not the reason I left last night.” He stared down at the photo. Had it only been three weeks ago?

He’d lived a lifetime in those three weeks.

“I can’t do this anymore,” Jason said. He put the photo down and turned fully towards her. “I can’t tiptoe around any of this and not say the things I want to say because I don’t want to hurt you.”

Elizabeth said nothing, only rested a hand protectively over her belly. “I never asked you to do that.”

“No, but you made it clear that you weren’t going to change your mind, which isn’t that different, is it?”

“No. I guess it isn’t when you put it that way.” She stepped off the stair and turned fully towards him. “All right. So what haven’t you said to me?”

Kelly’s: Dante’s Room

Lulu knocked on the slightly open door, lifting her brows as she caught Dante pulling on his uniform shirt over an undershirt. “Don’t you have a locker room for that?”

“I wanted to get in and get out. Easier if I’m already suited up,” Dante said, turning towards her as he buttoned the shirt.

“Are things that bad?” She leaned against the door jamb. Dante didn’t answer her, and she wrinkled her nose. “I can go away if you want—”

“No, it’s not—” He went over to the closet and pulled down a lockbox with his clutch piece and main sidearm. “It’s not you, Lu.”

“I don’t want to poke and prod. I’m just—I don’t know.” She sighed. “I’m worried. You’re staying here, so you don’t have Cruz with you. You’re alone—”

“I’m fine—”

“Are you, though—” Lulu stepped in front of him, and Dante was finally forced to meet her eyes. “You don’t have to answer me on that either, I mean. I just—” She rolled her eyes. “God, this is so high school. Look, let me be blunt, okay?”

“Do you have any other mode?” he asked dryly.

“Apparently, I do, but—” She scowled. “I care about you. I know you’re not an idiot. You’ve checked out my ass, I’ve seen you do it—”

“Lu—”

“And your ass is good, too.”

“Why do conversations with you never go the way I expect them to?” he wondered but found himself smiling for the first time in forty-eight hours.

“Part of my charm. I bring up the mutual ass admiring to point out that if all I wanted to do was bite your ass—”

“That’s interesting—”

“I could have had you weeks ago.”

He wanted to deny it just to be contrary, but she wasn’t entirely wrong. Dante folded his arms. “Is that you suggesting it now?” he asked. “Because I have to be on duty in twenty minutes. I mean, I can be creative, but—”

Lulu gripped the sides of his shirt and dragged his head down, fastening her mouth over his, scattering his brain, his attention, and practically every cell in his body. He wrapped his arms around her, dragging her closer. They stumbled back, and he had a fleeting thought about tugging her onto the bed—but then Lulu stepped back, breathing hard. “I wasn’t going to do that.”

“I’m not complaining,” he murmured, pressing his lips to the side of her mouth.

“Don’t distract me—hey, watch the hands—” Lulu took another step back. “I’m sorry. You said you could be creative, and I lost my mind.” She cleared her throat. “Um, anyway. What I wanted to say was that I care about you, and it’s not just because I want to jump you. I mean, I want that, too, and we should definitely see each other naked.”

“Lulu—”

“I just—I needed you to know that, okay? That I care about you. And I want you to be okay. It matters to me. So if me not bringing any of this up is what you need, I can do that. Talking about it—I can do that, too. Whatever works.”

Overwhelmed, undone, Dante stepped towards her and put his hands on her shoulders, then leaned his forehead against hers. “I know. You’ve been doing that for months, Lu. Thank you.”

“Okay.”

“Things at work—they’re not great,” he admitted. “I had the one shift yesterday, and it was awkward. My patrol partner called out sick tonight.” His lips flattened into an unhappy line. “Suddenly has the flu.”

Lulu frowned. “But—”

“Lucky’s covering for him, but I don’t know if I can be a cop and stay in Port Charles,” he admitted. “I don’t know if I can be a cop anywhere. Not with this hanging over my head.”

She sighed, dropping her head against his chest. “Well, you’re an amazing cop, so that would be our loss. The world’s loss, really. I’m sorry, Dante. This sucks.”

“Yeah. It does.” He tipped her chin up and kissed her again. “But thanks for listening. I need to get to work.”

“I do, too. I’m on break, but Penny’s still salty about the long one I took the other day.” She laced her fingers through his as they went towards his door. “You should take me to a movie on your next day off, and then we can come back here and see each other naked.” She twirled at the doorway just as he winced. “And yes, the movie is required.”

“I wasn’t going to ask,” he muttered but grinned as he followed her out the door.

Lucky & Kelsey’s Apartment: Living Room

“I thought you were off tonight,” Kelsey said as she watched Lucky pack his duffel bag. “What happened?”

“Dante’s partner is out with the flu,” Lucky said. He wrinkled his nose. “I’m sorry. I know we had plans.”

“Ugh, I hate the flu,” Kelsey muttered. She dumped her bag on the table. “Where are you assigned tonight?”

“Dante and I have the Courtland Street beat, so you know, should be quiet.” He offered her another grin, but Kelsey just frowned at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“What?” Lucky reached for his coat and put it on. “Nothing—”

“I know your face, Spencer.” She stopped him from zipping up. “What’s wrong?”

Lucky exhaled slowly, then rested his forehead against hers. “Can’t get anything past you, can I?” he murmured.

“No. You can take five minutes to talk to me. You had dinner with your mom. She’s going back to work, isn’t she?”

“It’s not—it’s nothing really. Mom was excited about starting at GH, but we were talking about Carly and Elizabeth—and that led to Sonny, which just leads back to Dante.”

“Oh.” Kelsey stepped back. “Is his partner actually out sick?” she asked. “Or is it the blue flu?”

“I don’t know,” Lucky admitted. “Dante already had problems after he testified, but it was starting to fade away. He’s had some looks, there have been some snickers. But this was the first sign that maybe things aren’t okay.”

“He’s a good cop,” Kelsey said. “I know that doesn’t always mean anything to the rest of those morons, but you and Cruz—you have his back. What about Taggert?”

“Taggert and Anna are on board, but there’s a lot of resentment after all the crap that happened last summer. Cruz got all that press for the kidnapping case, then me and Dante with the Vinnie case—Taggert’s not all that popular these days. They think he’s in Sonny’s pocket.” He zipped up his jacket. “I keep waiting for things to change,” he told her. “But it’s still the same department that railroaded my mom into a breakdown.”

“I’m sorry,” Kelsey murmured. “I wish we could fix it by just keeping our heads down and doing the job, but it feels like we never get a break.”

“Yeah, well, when Dante lost his patrol partner, I figured—he needs someone to have his back out there.”

“He couldn’t ask for better.” She leaned up her toes to kiss him. “I love you. See you tomorrow.”

“Love you, too.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Jason led her over to the sofa. “Sit down. You’ve—I know you’ve had to use the stairs and I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for—”

He sat next to her, but still kept a bit of distance from her, staring away from her, towards the coffee table. She felt so cold. He was here. He was listening.

But he wasn’t really here. Was it too late?

“When you first got pregnant, I knew you were going to have the baby the minute you got even a hint that you could,” Jason began and she tensed. “But I—” He met her eyes. “I wanted you to have an abortion. I just didn’t know how to say it.”

“You—” She fisted her hands in her lap.

“I wanted the baby. I want him even more now. Cameron,” he said, and part of her eased hearing their son’s name. “Please don’t think that I don’t love him, and that I didn’t want him.”

“I-I don’t—”

“Part of you has thought it for months,” he said gently, and she closed her eyes, nodding. “Because I brought it up first. I made it part of the conversation.”

“I don’t blame you for it—”

“But you also haven’t forgiven me for it, either. I know that. Every step of the way, when you’ve had a health issue with this pregnancy, you’ve worried that I’ll do something that puts the baby at risk because he doesn’t matter to me—”

“No—no!” She shook her head. “No, that’s not it. Please. No, I promise you—” Elizabeth reached for his hands. “I promise you that I never once thought that. I’ve always understood where you stand on this. Jason—I was terrified when Monica told me I was pregnant because part of me immediately assumed that it wasn’t possible. And even when it was—” She cleared her throat. “I thought about it, you know. About having the abortion. Because I’d nearly died, and I’d worked so hard to get healthy again. I knew I wasn’t all the way there. And I felt guilty because we’d just talked about having kids—”

“Elizabeth—”

“I was ashamed,” she said softly. “Because I was angry when I found out. I wasn’t ready for it. I didn’t—I didn’t—I mean, I wanted the baby. I want our child, but I also didn’t. You know?”

“I do.” He shifted towards her, closer, and she almost wept from the relief. Because Jason was finally here. Looking at her the way she’d needed him to. “I wanted it a year from now. Two years. Not then.”

“I wanted us to have a minute,” she whispered. “Just some time. We never get to have any time. I know that sounds stupid, but we just seem to lurch from crisis to crisis, and we never even got to date.” Her voice broke. “I’m sorry. That’s insane to say—”

“Hey—”

“And I got pregnant, so everyone started looking at us to get married—and I love being married to you. I love you, I do—”

“You wanted more time,” Jason said. He touched her face, cupping her cheek and using the pad of his thumb to swipe at her tears. “We didn’t plan it this way.”

“No.” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not happy with how things turned out. I love you. I love being your wife, and most of our wedding day was absolutely perfect. Outside maybe an hour of it, you know? And I love our baby.” She pulled his hand over her belly and smiled as Cameron kicked. “I love him. And I know you love him, too.”

“I do,” Jason told her. “None of this is his fault, and I don’t resent him. I don’t want him to struggle in the NICU either. I don’t want any of those complications. Which is why when Monica said your vitals were stable enough to wait, I was relieved. And I was grateful that you wanted to wait.”

“You were?” Elizabeth blinked at him. “But—”

“But I was…” He paused. “I was terrified,” he said finally. “I am scared every minute that I will walk out that door, and that will be it. I left you in that house, Elizabeth, and you—you died.”

“I know.”

“I left you to go with Taggert to the prison, and that bastard broke in—” Jason shook his head.

“It’s been months of this,” Elizabeth said. She covered his hand cupping her cheek with her own and pulled it away so she could snuggle into his side, and for the first time in days—in weeks, really—feel like they were back in sync. “Since the day I overdosed at the studio, Jason. You’ve been scared I’ll die this time, and I’ve been afraid you’re right. I do care if I die—”

“I never should have said that—” he said. He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “I’m so sorry—”

“I’ve been pushing you away, making it hard for you to talk to me. I just—I know how much you’re taking on. How much worse it made things for us to go away as long as we did, but you did that for me. I just wanted to protect you. I didn’t do it right—”

“I need you to understand something—” Jason drew away from her briefly to frame her face in his hands. “You need to listen to me when I say this because I need you to believe me. You are not an item on my list—”

“I know that—”

“No, I don’t think you do. Everything else—everyone else—they don’t matter.”

“Jason—”

“If something happens to you or Cameron—” His eyes burned into hers. “All of it can go to hell. You are the goddamn list. You are the center of it. But you have to let me put you first. I can’t do it alone.”

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight. “That’s why I lied,” she murmured. “Because I was trying to put you first. I’m terrible at it, but I’ll do better, okay? I just—I couldn’t hit you with this. I couldn’t. I love you so much and I didn’t want that look in your eyes. I know I did it wrong, but I did it because I know this is how you feel. I know how much you love me. I just need you to believe that I love you that much, too.”

He rested his forehead against hers. “I do.” Their lips found each other, and Elizabeth could have sobbed from the relief of feeling him against her, his mouth on her skin—this was home, and this was all she’d ever wanted.

Ward House: Master Bedroom

Tamika set aside the book she’d been reading as Justus came in that night. “Baby, you look so tired—” She started to push the covers aside, but he stopped her by sitting down next to her, perched on the edge of the bed. “I’ve been worried about you.”

“I’m sorry. I called—”

“I know. But I feel better when you’re here.” Tamika rubbed his arm, her fingers sliding over the fabric of his suit. “Did you look in on Kimi?”

“Yeah. I tucked her in and kissed her. I’ll be home tomorrow to make up for being gone—”

“It’s all right. Get out of that suit and come to bed. I’ll give you a massage,” she said with a wicked smile. His answering smile was more sober. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing. I just—” He leaned over to kiss her forehead. “It just strikes me sometimes how lucky I am to have you, Mikki. I’ve been watching Jason worry over Elizabeth and both of them worrying over that baby—if anything happened to you or Kimi, I’d be lost.”

“Same goes for me.” She squeezed his arm. “Get in bed, and we’ll talk about it.”

“If I get in bed, we’re not going to talk.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” she laughed, and he grinned, leaning over to dance his fingers over her ribcage. Tamika exploded into giggles until he swallowed her laughter with his lips.

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Elizabeth’s eyes drifted open, then she snuggled more firmly into Jason’s arms, tightening her arm over his waist, and pillowing her head on his chest. Then frowned, realizing that his breathing had changed.

Elizabeth leaned up on her elbow, frowning at him in the darkness. “Are you still awake?”

“Yeah, sorry.” Jason gently pulled so she’d lay back down, but she was already reaching for the light on the table next to her. The room brightened to a soft glow.

“What’s wrong? Did you get a call—”

“No—” Jason sighed and sat up. “I just haven’t been able to sleep, but you—”

“I’m fine. I mean, I’m always tired, and I’ll take a nap later—” She hitched the sheet under her arms. “You said you hadn’t slept in days—”

“I’m sorry—”

“Don’t apologize—” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m making it sound like you’re doing something wrong. I know you don’t usually need a lot of sleep, but it’s—” She reached over to the table and squinted at the clock. “It’s barely four.”

Jason laid back, clasping his hands under his head and staring up the ceiling. “I was thinking about Sonny.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth pursed her lips. “I didn’t—I saw on the news that he didn’t make bail.” She turned, laying on her side as she faced him. “It must be hard for him to be locked up.”

“I didn’t want him in there. I got him bail the first time.”

“Then he punched the mayor.”

“Yeah.”

Elizabeth was quiet for a long moment. “You said that I haven’t made it easy for you to talk to me—”

“Elizabeth—”

“I know that’s true. But you haven’t talked to me either,” she pointed out. He turned his head to meet her eyes. “I’m glad Justus is there for you, but he’s also—he’s in the middle of this. And he doesn’t know Sonny the way I do. I wouldn’t ask about the business, but this isn’t the same thing. Things got worse after we came home, didn’t they?”

“Yeah.” He looked back at the ceiling. “The only reason things are holding together is that you’re pregnant,” he admitted. “Tommy—you remember Tommy, right?” he asked.

“Yeah, from the wedding. He runs the clubs.”

“He’s been around a long time. Before Sonny. He worked for the Jeromes, then Frank Smith—” Jason paused. “He has a lot of power, and the only reason he didn’t take over instead of Sonny was he didn’t want the pressure. It’s hard being at the top.”

“I know. I’ve seen how it’s changed Sonny.”

“Tommy told me before the wedding that there are people who are tired of waiting for Sonny to get his act together. There hasn’t been a grab for power because I asked him for time.”

“Because of me,” Elizabeth said softly. “Because of the baby.”

“I had to tell him you weren’t okay,” he admitted in a low, pained voice. “I hated using you that way—using Cameron—”

“It’s not using me, Jason. It’s being honest.”

“I don’t like it,” he said stubbornly, and she decided not to press the point.

“Are you running out of time? Did this Sonny stuff yesterday make things worse?”

“I don’t know.”

“What—I mean, what do they want you to do that you’re not already doing? I mean, aren’t things still running fine—I don’t know anything, but it feels like things are fine—”

“They are. And they’re not.” Jason sat up, drawing his legs up and wrapping his arms around them. “All those Ric sightings, Elizabeth—I don’t think they’re real.”

“You’ve said that before. How do you know? What does that mean?” She pulled herself up, then sat back against the headboard.

“I don’t know if any of the sightings were ever real,” Jason admitted. “Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Colombia—no one outside of the business has ever seen him.”

Elizabeth absorbed that information. “Which means Ric vanished the night he went missing, and you still don’t know where he is. That’s…not comforting.”

“No. I mean, some of it could be real,” he admitted. “But it’s always coming through us. Through someone who works in the business.” He twisted to look at her. “Interpol, the FBI, the PCPD—the police in Crimson Pointe—no one else but us. That’s not right.”

“When you put it that way, I guess it’s not.” Troubled, Elizabeth twisted her wedding ring on her finger. “What does it mean, then, for all these people to be passing fake information?”

“I wasn’t sure until this last one. Baltimore,” he clarified. “That’s pretty close. The one while we were gone? In Atlanta? Both times someone reached out and called Sonny personally.”

Elizabeth furrowed her brow. “Wait. That’s—that’s not how this is done.”

“No. No, it isn’t. You can’t call the heads of the organization personally. That’s the whole point of having people like me and Bernie and Justus—Johnny and Tommy and Francis. It makes it harder to tie one person to another.” Jason dragged a hand down his face. “But Sonny is getting the call, and he’s getting it first now.”

“God, that’s why he went to the Brownstone.” The ramifications of that hit Elizabeth like a freight truck. “They must know that you kept those other ones from him. The ones from the wedding, right? What was it, Miami and—”

“Puerto Rico. I didn’t mean to keep Puerto Rico from him,” he added. “It just—it slipped through the cracks. The news came in while we were dealing with the tests—” he shook his head. “I was going to tell him about Miami, but I wanted to wait until we were out of town.”

“But that means—”

“It means someone inside is working with Lansing. Or whoever is putting this together,” Jason added. “It could be the Zaccharas. It could be the Gambinos or Big Bobby—anyone of them wouldn’t mind seeing Sonny crash and burn.”

“Someone knows that you and Sonny are arguing about handling all of this and then using Sonny’s instability to make that wedge worse,” Elizabeth murmured. A traitor. Someone Jason trusted. “Are there so many people who could do that?”

“There’s enough. Sonny’s issues aren’t exactly a well-kept secret,” Jason admitted. “And everyone knows there’s been division over handling Ric.”

“I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “I never—I should have seen that letting him live—”

“No one could have,” Jason assured her. He laid back down, propping himself up on his elbow. “Neither you nor Carly could have predicted how bad this could get—”

“But Sonny knew letting him live would make him weak—”

“No. That’s not what did it. Don’t blame yourself for this—”

“I’m not. I just—” She sighed. “I’m thinking of all the ways you’ve put me first since all of this started, and letting Ric live is at the top of the list—you did that for me—and for Carly—and it’s given all of us nothing but grief.”

“It was what you needed to be okay, and I stand by that decision. Sonny decided to make this an issue. At every step of the way,” Jason told her, “Sonny made sure everyone knew he was angry about this. This is on Sonny. Not you and Carly.”

“All right.” Elizabeth accepted that. “What happens next? I mean, with Sonny in lockup and all these sightings? Can I ask that?”

“I don’t know. I know what Tommy and the others want. The only way to keep him from causing a war—” Jason laid back down and looked at the ceiling again. He didn’t finish his statement. He didn’t have to.

Tommy wanted Sonny gone. And that wasn’t something Jason was going to be able to deliver. It was out of the question. Even Elizabeth could see that.

She couldn’t fix any of this—couldn’t do anything other than be a sounding board for him, and she hoped that would be enough.

But there was something she could do. Something that could give him some peace, at least in one area.

“I talked to Gail today—well, yesterday now.”

Jason blinked, then twisted his head to look at her. “Right. I’m sorry—I didn’t—”

“It’s okay.” She slid closer to him, and he put an arm around her shoulders to curl her into his side. “We talked about why I was waiting and how scared I’ve been. I just—it’s not difficult, you know. I’m not really okay after the miscarriage. I’m not sure it’s ever something I’ll be able to forgive myself for.”

“Elizabeth—”

“But that baby is gone.” She cleared her throat even as the pain jabbed again, slicing through her. “I never got the chance to do more than dream about her. I think she would have been a girl, and I would have loved her no matter what.”

“I know you would have.”

“But she’s gone. And Cameron is here. He needs to be the child I think about. And he deserves to have us both. I don’t want you to raise him alone.”

“I’m sorry. I never should have—”

“My oxygen levels are normal again, but we’re going to keep a close eye on them. I’ll hit thirty-two weeks on March 3. As long as my vitals stay stable, I’ll check in that Friday. Monica’s already cleared the schedule.”

Jason’s hand tightened for a moment around her shoulder. “And she says it’s okay to wait that long?”

“Yes. As long as my levels don’t dip,” she reminded him. “She’s still checking daily, and if they drop even a point, I’m inducing.”

“Are you sure—”

“This is a good compromise. It’s not what I wanted, but I’ve done my best, and I have to be realistic,” she said, smiling slightly. “I know if anything happens, we’ll be able to face it together.” She rested her chin on his chest so that she could look at him. “I had a really big day today. I went and toured the NICU and met the nurse there that will probably work on Cameron’s case. She was really nice, and I made an appointment with a neonatologist so we could talk to him. Did you know that we can hold him in the NICU?”

“I didn’t.”

“Yeah. There’s something called kangaroo care. Preemies do really well with skin touching, and you can do that, too. Plus, we can wash him and care for him. We can be together doing that and maybe even stay overnight. He won’t be at home, but—”

“You were going to tell me that when I got home,” Jason interrupted. “Weren’t you?”

“Yeah, but—”

“I’m sorry—”

“You don’t have to apologize—”

“I do.” He sat up again, taking her by the shoulders. “I should have talked to you. I shouldn’t have lost my temper—”

“I am the one person in the world you should be able to lose your temper with,” she told him. “Did you think we were never going to fight?”

“I don’t like to fight with you.” He leaned forward to brush his lips against hers.

“Me either, but I’m glad we did. We’ve talked more about what’s going on tonight than we have in weeks. Maybe months. I feel like we’ve just been trying so hard to protect each other we’re doing the opposite.” Elizabeth laid a hand on his cheek. “I plan to spend the rest of my life with you. Tonight wasn’t the first fight, and it won’t be the last. I just want you to remember that I love you, and I’ll remember that you love me, and we’ll get through whatever else life throws at us.”

Courtland Street: Alley

The night was crawling towards dawn when Lucky pulled the patrol car to a stop. He grimaced as he switched off the engine and peered down the dark alley. “Do you see anything?”

“No.” Dante craned his neck, then rolled down the window slightly. “No. But we should check it out.” He sighed. “Another day, another drug dealer.”

“Yeah, well, what are you going to do? There are too many Escobars to arrest them all,” Lucky muttered as he checked his gun. “Call for backup. Just in case,” he said.

“Okay.” Dante raised his radio and called in. “Unit 84, Code 8 at Courtland and Van Ess. Repeat, Code 8, Courtland and Van Ess.”

They got out of the car, and both of them pulled their guns, holding them low. They waited a minute, hoping to hear back from the radio that backup was being radioed for. Finally, they heard the dispatcher put up the call.

“Okay, let’s head in.”

“Cover me,” Lucky muttered as they approached the mouth of the alley. “I’ll do a sweep. He glanced back to make sure Dante was behind him, then started down the alley carefully.

He was maybe halfway when Lucky heard footsteps—he turned slightly—

“Watch out—”

Gunshots ripped through the air as fire dug into Lucky’s shoulder. He grunted and slid to the ground. Footsteps rushed away, clattering down the alley. He heard Dante give chase as Lucky tried to haul himself to a sitting position.

“Dispatch, Unit—” He swallowed hard as ice spread through his chest. “Unit 84. Code 30. Officer down. Emergency—”

“Spencer, Spencer—” Dante came back and dropped to his knees. “Where the hell is the backup? Shit, shit, you got hit—”

“You think?”

Then Lucky’s head lolled to the side, and he passed out.