This scene took a turn, lol, and it wasn’t the plan. But I like it. I just thought I’d be able to write 4 more scenes. Written in 62 minutes.

Sunday, September 14, 2024

Webber House: Kitchen

When Jason heard the footstep on the stairs, he thought it was probably Cameron or Jake. H He switched on the coffee pot, then turned to find Aiden in the threshold. Elizabeth’s youngest son stood hesitantly at the threshold, his hair still tangled, dressed in the same white t-shirt, gray basketball pants, and white socks he’d gone to bed with.

Jason looked at the clock over the oven — just after seven in the morning — then looked at Aiden again. “Didn’t expect you up for a few more hours.”

“I, uh, set my alarm. I wanted to—” Aiden swallowed hard, and came forward a step or two. “I figured you might be awake before Mom. You…you were always the first person down here last week. Can, um, can we talk?”

“Maybe we should wait until your mom gets up,” Jason said. No matter what Elizabeth had said the night before, he knew he’d overstepped. Aiden wasn’t his son to discipline, and considering the state of Danny, Jason didn’t have much success in that area anyway.

“I’m gonna talk to her because I have to, but I—I really wanted—” Aiden pressed his lips together. “But it’s okay if you don’t want to talk to me. I messed up—”

“That’s not—” Jason came around the island, held out a hand as the teen started to turn away. “That’s not why. Come on. Take a seat, and we’ll—you can say what you wanted to say.”

“Oh. Okay.” Aiden slid onto a stool, then stared at his hands for a long moment. “It wasn’t supposed to be like that. They dropped their phones here, and that was gonna be the end of it.” He forced himself to lift his eyes, to meet Jason’s. “They’ve done it before. A few times. And sometimes I’d leave mine at the penthouse. It’s never…that’s never happened before.”

Jason leaned against the fridge, folding his arms. “But they came to the house last night.”

“I still don’t even know why. I was trying to get them to leave,” Aiden explained. “But they—” He exhaled in a huff. “I know it doesn’t change anything. I still messed up. They were going to be drinking and getting high, and me being involved at all comes back on Mom. I didn’t think about it like that. Will—” He swallowed hard. “Is she going back to jail?”

“No.” Jason shook his head. “Dante made sure the whole incident was off the books. And most of the heat would come down on me — Danny’s my kid. I’m the one who’s supposed to know what he’s up to. I don’t know what the FBI would do with what happened last night. Or what we’ll say to them if they look at the GPS records.” He tipped his head. “You said you’d done this before. How many times?”

Aiden jerked one shoulder, looking at his hands again. “I don’t know. I didn’t really count.”

“So more than a few.” Jason saw Elizabeth out of the corner of his eye, and opened his mouth, but she pressed one finger to her lips, shook her head. She leaned against the door frame, not making her presence known. “You said something about last Thanksgiving. What happened? How did it start?”

“I—” Aiden stopped, then looked up, looked at him. “I don’t know. I mean, I guess I do. Like the facts. We went to party. Me, Dante, Rocco, my—my friend Tobias. And, um, Georgie, too, but she doesn’t do any of this,” he added hastily. “Someone gave Rocco a beer, and we split it. I figured — it was just what you did, right? A-and—” He swallowed hard. “I didn’t really want anyone to say something if I didn’t.”

The coffee machine beeped, and Jason went to the cabinet, took down two cups. He filled only his, and leaned against the counter. “What do you think they’d say?” Jason asked.

“I dunno. Like, maybe something about me…and Tobias.” Aiden looked at him. “You, um, know, right? About me.”

“That Tobias is your boyfriend, yeah.” Jason sipped his coffee. “Is that why you drank that beer? And kept doing it?”

“Sort of. I think. I don’t know. I—I’ve been lucky I guess. Mom pretty much always knew, and I never really worried about telling her. Not with her bringing Felix around all the time when I was younger, and sometimes Uncle Lucas. They’re both—I mean, not together—anyway—” Aiden made a face. “It’s mostly okay at school, but sometimes you get—I mean, there’s always a couple of jerks who think it’s funny to call someone a fag.” His voice wobbled just a little on the final word, and he dropped his eyes to the counter again.

Jason tensed, met Elizabeth’s eyes over Aiden’s bowed head. She’d tensed, her hand fisted against the wall. “So you drank the beer so no one would call you names.”

“Yeah. I guess. It sounds stupid when you say it like that. Me and Rocco — we weren’t really that close, you know? Not until we got to middle school. Then we were in the same math class, and when his dad got together with Sam, we started hanging with Danny more. No one calls me anything when I’m with them. Danny’s got a temper, and one time, someone said something and he shoved them into a locker.” Aiden shifted on the stool. “Anyway. We drank at that party. We finished the beer, someone gave us another. And then we got our own. And we got—well, we thought we got drunk. We didn’t really know what that meant.”

“But you do now,” Jason said.

“Yeah. Um, Thanksgiving last year. We went to the Quartermaines, I think, the day after? Or sometime during the break. And Danny stole a bottle of whiskey from the mini bar. We went to the boathouse, and we drank the whole thing. I don’t think I like it much,” he muttered.

“Danny and Rocco were  high last night, and there was weed in the vape pens. When did that start?”

“Around Christmas, I guess. I don’t remember where Rocco got the first one, but it’s the same guy, I think, that we get the beer from. We started going every weekend to the boathouse. Sometimes we said we were at my house, and then sometimes at Rocco’s, and then sometimes at the Quartermaines because Rocco and Danny’s grandmoms live there, I mean, you know that.” Aiden made a face. “And sometimes there were parties.”

“Every weekend,” Jason repeated, with a sinking feeling. “That’s…a lot.”

“I guess. I didn’t always go. Sometimes I really was at someone else’s house. I didn’t like getting high like—” Aiden flushed, stopped.

“Like Rocco and Danny.”

“Yeah—they—they started doing it in the middle of the week. Danny thought he was screwed when Jake saw him, but he promised Jake it was the first time, I guess, and he was a little more careful. We didn’t go to the boathouse as much. I didn’t want to do it all the time. It was like..it was all they wanted to do. But I didn’t want them to get mad or stop being my friends. So I started covering for them when I didn’t wanna go.”

“Which brings us to last night. You didn’t want to go,” Jason said.

“Right. I don’t really know why.  I mean, the last two weeks, yeah, because of Mom. But I don’t—I think the last time I went was in July or something.” Aiden paused. “Can you…I mean, can you be here when I talk to my mom? I wanna apologize to her—I mean, I wanted to apologize to you, because you were really clear about staying out of trouble, and Jake and Cam are going to kill me—”

“I’ll be here,” Jason said, but he nodded to Elizabeth who had crept slowly into the kitchen. “But your mom already knows you’re sorry.”

“She does—” Aiden looked up, caught Jason looking past him, then turned on the stool. “M-Mom—”

“Hey.” Elizabeth gently combed through Aiden’s disheveled locks. “You’re still in trouble, kiddo. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I guess. I’m really sorry.”

“I know you are.” Elizabeth kissed the top of his head. “I’m sorry, honey, that things were hard at school. I wish you’d told me.”

“It’s mostly fine. It’s only sometimes.”

“Sometimes is still too much. And we’ll talk more about what exactly your punishment looks like once we talk to Danny. I appreciate that you were honest with Jason,” Elizabeth said. “But you’ve been lying to me for almost a year. I can’t let that go.”

“I know.”

“Why don’t you go back upstairs? Get some more sleep.” She rubbed her shoulder. “Cam and Jake are going to wake you up a little later, and you’re going to the movies today.”

“I am?” Aiden frowned. “Are you picking the movie? Is that the punishment?”

“Ha. No. You guys need some time together on your own before Cam leaves tonight. Your punishment starts tomorrow.”

“Fair enough.” Aiden slid off the stool, then hugged his mother. “I’m sorry, Mom.”

“I know.” She rubbed his back, and watched him leave the kitchen. When his footsteps thudded up the stairs, she turned to Jason, then swept her hands through her hair. “He was drinking so he wouldn’t get called filthy names.” She squeezed her eyes closed.

Jason came to her, and she went into his arms, needing just a minute to gather herself. “I’m sorry. I know that was hard to hear.”

“And he was loyal to Rocco and Danny because they stuck up for him? Protected him? How do I get angry with him? And how do I stay angry at them when Danny’s apparently shoving bullies into the locker?”  She pulled away from him, went to make herself a cup of coffee. “Everything about this situation feels unreal.”

“I’d like think last night scared Danny and Rocco straight, but—” Jason shook his head. “I don’t know. I guess we won’t know until Danny gets up and he’s sober. I’m sorry. For how he spoke to you last night. I should have done something—said something. I just—” He leaned against the fridge again. “I didn’t know how to handle any of it. The closest I ever came to any of this was Michael, after the coma. And he wasn’t my son.”

“You and Danny are welcome to stay here as long as you need to.” She tipped her head. “Any idea on how long that might be?”

Jason shook his head, reached around her for his coffee. “No. I’ll go talk to Sam. I don’t know—” He hesitated. “You were able to talk to him last night. Get him to listen when I couldn’t. He’s angry with his mother, angry with me. I don’t know whether we should bulldoze through that and just ignore how resistant he was, or—”

“Why don’t you go talk to Sam?” Elizabeth suggested. “Part of the reason I’m sending the boys to the movies was to give you and Danny some space. But you can go talk to Sam at that point, and I’ll see where I can get with Danny. I mean, maybe it’ll help that I’m not one of his parents. Look at how much Aiden told you. I’m not sure he was ever going to tell me there were issues at school.”

“Your boys—” Jason paused. “They’re very protective of you. I don’t think Aiden wanted you to worry about him.”

“It’s my job to worry—” Elizabeth grimaced. “What is it with men and treating me like I’m going to break at any minute? Jake, at least, I could say, it’s genetic, because you’ve done that since the day we met—”

“That’s not—”

“But Cam and Aiden have no excuse. They know what I can handle. Why does everyone seem to think I’m weak?” she demanded.

“I don’t think that—” When she just snorted, Jason shook his head. “You know, you never did try to see it from my side of things—”

“Excuse me?” Elizabeth scowled, folded her arms. “What does that mean?”

“I just—” Jason took a moment, considered his words carefully. “Wanting to protect you isn’t about you being weak or not being able to handle things. I know what you can handle. I’ve been watching you do it for more than twenty years. Aiden didn’t tell you about what happened to him at school because you can’t stop it. You can’t fix it. And it would just hurt you to know it’s happening. He doesn’t want to see you hurt when he can do something to stop it.”

“He’s my son. It’s my job to hurt for him—no, not a job—it’s literally—” Elizabeth shook her head. “I’m here to share the hurt. To take some of it off his shoulders—”

“He’s reached an age where you can’t do that,” Jason said gently, and she pressed her lips together in mutinous line. “You can hug him, you can feel sorry for him, you can even go to the school, and make a scene. You could take him out of the school so he doesn’t see these kids again. But he’s always going to be part of a world that treats who he loves as something that’s wrong. You and I can’t fix that. Even if I want to do what Danny did and punch someone.”

Her eyes watered. “I know that. And I hate that. I hate that I can’t control the world, that I can’t stop it from hurting him. I don’t understand why anyone would give a damn who he loves, and I thought we’d come so much further than this. I thought—I thought when he and Tobias were out and open at school, that it meant he was safe there—but he’s not.” She swiped at her eyes. “I know you’re right. I know that he’s not telling me so I don’t have to have this reaction.”

“He can’t control his world, only how he reacts to it. And he’s trying to do it in a way that protects the people he loves most,” Jason told her. With the pad of his thumb, he brushed away another tear. “I understand what he’s trying to do.”

“Oh, right. Because this is the same thing as a bomb in my studio,” she muttered.

“You think Aiden wanting to protect you is about you not being able to handle things. You think me walking away that day, and all the other days, was you not being able to handle my life.” He tipped her chin up. “I knew you could handle it. I was the problem. I couldn’t handle the possibility of you being hurt. Aiden—and Jake and Cam—you’re the center of their world. And they’re going to do whatever they have to do to protect you.”

+33

Written in 69 minutes. Sorry, I ended up combining two parts, and then needed to find a way to end the scene.

Sunday, September 14, 2024

PCPD: Squad Room

Dante strode just ahead of them into the squad room, shoving the double doors open so forcefully they slapped against the walls and nearly came back on them.

The targets of his ire were seated in a trio of chairs lined up next to a pair of desks, facing out towards the rest of the room. Aiden was at the far left, slouched down, his head propped up on his elbow. When the adults arrived, he snapped up straight, his eyes wide, his cheeks flushed. The only one of the three of them that seemed to have any sense—

Danny was sitting in the middle of of the trio, grinning and cracking jokes with Rocco who looked a little queasy, but had no problem snickering. Both boys had flushed cheeks, too, but Dante knew it came from whatever they’d put in their systems — their eyes were glassy, and they were still clearly riding something other than just alcohol.

And neither of them seemed all that concerned when their parents had arrived.

Dante scrubbed his hands down his face. “If I talk to him right now, I’m going to lose it,” he told Sam. “Let me grab Dex and the other arresting officer and see what I can handle. Sam, I’m tagging you in. Kill him for me.” He made eye contact with Dex, then nodded towards the interrogation room.

Sam folded her arms, took a deep breath, then shook her head. “I can’t—I can’t look at them—” She turned away, looked at Jason and Elizabeth. “They don’t even care—they’ve got to be high or something.”

Jason saw Danny point in Sam’s direction, then say something to Rocco and snort with laughter. He scowled, pushed his way to the front. “What do you have to laugh about right now?” he demanded, and Danny’s eyes went a little wide at the tone in his father’s voice. Some of the flush dissipated and he fidgeted.

“Mom, none of this is my fault—” Aiden snapped to his feet. “You gotta believe me—”

“Oh, you mean like every time I believed you were spending the night with your cousin?” Elizabeth wanted to know, lifting her brows. “I’m supposed to believe that Danny and Rocco’s phone just happened to show up at your house? What, did they chuck them into the bushes without you knowing?”

Aiden swallowed hard. “Okay, so some of this is my fault, but no one told these morons to come over. They were supposed to be somewhere else—”

“Aiden, sit down,” Jason cut in, his tone only slightly less harsh than it had been with his own son. Aiden obeyed, swallowing hard, and dropping his head slightly. “When I told you how important it was that every single person in that house had to be very careful, that the feds would use whatever excuse they could to put your mother back in jail, did you think that didn’t mean you?”

Aiden opened his mouth, looked at his mother. “Mom—”

“Don’t look at me. I want to hear your answer,” Elizabeth retorted, and his cheeks paled. He  clearly hadn’t counted on her backing Jason’s anger. “Because you have been lying to me for almost a year. Even if I wasn’t wearing this—” She jerked up her jean leg to reveal the ankle monitor. “I would still be angry. How am I going to explain an early morning trip to the PCPD, Aiden? How do I explain two drunk teenagers on my lawn at one in the morning?”

Aiden folded his arms, and seemed to fold in on himself. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“Don’t smile,” Sam snapped at Danny, whose slight smirk faded. “You wipe that goddamn smirk from your face right now, or—”

“Or what? You’ll take my phone from me again—” Danny began.

“Shut up,” Jason said, and Danny looked at him, swallowed again. “I don’t care what’s going on between you and your mother. You’re not going to talk to her that way. You think it’s funny that the three of you might have put Elizabeth’s freedom in jeopardy? That she might go back to jail? You think Jake would be happy if you got his mother locked up again?” he demanded of Danny.

“Right, because it’s all about Jake, right.” Danny scowled, got to his feet. “All summer, you’ve been obsessed with him because he was pissed at you, and it was like you didn’t even care about me—you didn’t even fight Mom when she said I couldn’t see you—”

“Oh, then what was stopping you this week?” Sam cut in. “Because I lifted all of those restrictions last Monday, didn’t I? You’re done playing me, Danny. You fought me all summer because you thought your dad would let you run wild, but the second you got the chance to see him, you didn’t even bother to call him. Why is that?”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Oh, my God, I told you! The FBI was on my ass — they literally stopped me in the park. I didn’t want to deal with it! Okay? Dad made sure to protect Jake from being harassed, but I guess he couldn’t be bothered to make sure I didn’t have to either—”

“I—” Jason looked at Sam, sharply who flushed.

“Danny—”

“You both actually suck, so how about that?” Danny retorted. “Mom let the FBI talk to me even though I didn’t want to, and Dad didn’t stop her. Didn’t fight her. You never do. It’s always whatever she wants, and you don’t give a damn about me! You never did! Don’t lie! I know Jake’s the one you care about, the only kid you actually wanted—and you left me with this lunatic who tries to control everything I do! Nothing is ever good enough for you!” he shot at his mom, who pressed her lips together, her eyes glimmering with furious tears.

“Don’t bother—” Sam said when Jason started to speak. “He’s made himself the victim. First, your dad was fighting to see you more and was going to get lawyers involved. Why do you think I dropped the restrictions?”

Danny looked at his father, then back to Sam. “That’s not true—”

“Whatever. I’m—I’m just done. I’m done. You want to destroy your life? You want to follow in my footsteps, in your dad’s? You want a felony record that will make your life harder? You want to get drunk and high? Go ahead. I’m done.” She looked at Jason. “He’s your problem. Good luck.”

And then she just walked out.

PCPD: Interrogation Room

Dante smelled the vape pen Dex had given him, and his stomach lurched. “Both of them?”

“Yeah.” Dex shifted, his thumbs tucked into his belt, clearly uncomfortable with the entire situation. “I guess we can’t say for sure, but it’s definitely weed.”

“High and drunk.” Dante dragged out the metal chair, and sat down, put his head in his hands. “And it’s not the first time. Clearly.”

“I don’t think so. But we have no record of it here. I ran their names.” Dex looked at his partner, then back at Dante. “Listen, I want to help. It’s just—if was just alcohol, you know we could just release them. With a warning. But the weed—”

“We got called out on a 911,” his partner said. “Reported two kids walking along Elm Street, laughing, giggling. Nearly got hit by a car. The driver called it in.”

“Oh, man. I had—” Dante nodded. “Okay. Okay. I get it. And I promise you, a month ago, these idiots pull this, I’m ready to scare them straight with whatever we throw at them. But my idiots—they showed up at Elizabeth’s house. And her son didn’t do anything illegal. He was trying to get them to leave.”

“I know she’s out on bail. Joss said it’s pretty strict. They’d run her for this? Even though her kid didn’t do anything—”

“They’ve got her on murder charges, Dex. Charges that Chase and I debunked within an hour. They’re gunning for her. Or for Jason. Either way—this—this isn’t right. Aiden’s not just her son. He’s my nephew—he’s Lulu—” Dante looked away, thinking of his comatose ex-wife who was sleeping away their child’s life. “He’s Lulu nephew. And he doesn’t deserve to bear the guilt for something happening to his mom because he was a moron.”

Dex rubbed his mouth. “We didn’t do any paperwork,” he said slowly. “And I’m the only one who smelled—I didn’t right that down. I know—” he looked at his partner. “I know it’s asking a lot—”

“I’m not asking as a cop,” Dante said. “And I swear, Rocco and Danny — this isn’t going to happen again. I got a wake up call, and I’m not about to let him mess up his life. Please.”

“I guess we can just note that we found the teens on Elm Street, called parents and released them with a warning. We don’t have to mention the weed,” Dex’s partner said reluctantly. “It would just be me and Dex who know.”

“Thank you. Thank you. This is—okay. Thank you—” Dante gestured at the vape pens on the table between them. “Do you want me to get rid of these—”

“Yeah, let me get you an evidence bag.”

After Dex had sent Dante back to the squad room, his partner just looked at him. “If this blows back on us, I’m gonna blame you,” she said.

“It won’t. Dante’s good people. I just hope he can get those kids under control.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Dante emerged from the squad room, the plastic evidence bag in hand, then stopped short when he saw Jason and Elizabeth in the squad room, all three boys still sitting down. “Uh, did Sam need a break, or—”

“I think she’s waiting in the car.” Elizabeth paused. “Danny’s going home with us,” she added. “Sam needs a break from him, and honestly—” she blew out a breath. “Hard to blame her.”

“Uh—” Dante nodded. “Okay.” He looked at Rocco who was holding his middle. “Stand up. We’re going home, and I don’t want to hear a single word from you. Got it?”

Rocco got up, swayed slightly. “Yeah. Sorry that was a word. Does that—” He closed his mouth when his father lifted his chin.

Then Dante looked at Danny, staring hard at the linoleum floor. “You and your mother have been going round and round for weeks, and she’s taken a lot of crap from you. I sat back, I let her handle it, but I should have slapped you upside the head the second you started with the insults. I don’t even have to know what you said to know it was out of line, and remember this, Danny. You’re the one that started this. You became someone we couldn’t trust, and your mother’s been reacting to you. So maybe it’s a good idea for you to take a  break from each other.”  He looked at Jason and Elizabeth. “I got it handled. This goes away. Not because they deserve it, but I’m not letting you or Aiden take the fall for any of this.”

“Thank you. I’ll still need to explain the PCPD trip,” Elizabeth said, “but my address won’t be on a police record?”

“No. And Aiden’s a minor who didn’t do anything wrong. At worst, he’s a witness.” Dante wrapped a hand around Rocco’s upper arm. “Let’s go. And if you vomit in my car, I’m going to make you clean it up.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Jason said to Elizabeth. “Before anyone else sees us.” He looked at Aiden and Danny. “Get up.”

Aiden nearly leapt to his feet. “Mom, I am so sorry—”

“You haven’t even begun to be sorry,” Elizabeth said, taking his arm and steering him towards the doors.

Danny lifted his chin at his father. “You can’t make me go with you—”

“You want to stay here? Face charges for whatever was in that bag Dante was carrying?” Jason bit out. “Go for it—”

“You’re just mad because Elizabeth might get in trouble—”

“I’m mad because my son is drinking and doing drugs,” Jason said. “I’m angry because you’re a selfish, self-centered idiot who can’t think of anyone but himself. Because, yeah, this disaster put her in jeopardy. And it’s made trouble for Dante where he works. Your actions? They affect the people around you. What you did tonight, the position you put Aiden in—”

“Please, don’t let him fool you—” Danny began but Jason silenced him with one look.

“I’ll have a conversation with Aiden. His mother will have a conversation with Aiden. Let’s go. Now. Or stay here, and I’ll tell Dex you want to be booked. Your decision.”

Webber House: Living Room

Cameron and Jake were sitting on the landing when Jason and Elizabeth arrived home. Elizabeth came in first — holding the door for the teenagers who trudged in with Jason following.

“Sofa,” Jason said. “Both of you.”

“I’m tired, I just—” Danny saw the look in his father’s eyes and scowled. “Fine. Whatever.”

“What did you do?” Cameron wanted to know, getting to his feet. “Where were you guys? I woke up—”

“I don’t even know where to start.” Elizabeth wrapped one arm around her middle, rubbed her temple with the other. “How long?”

Aiden blinked up at her. “How long?” he echoed.

“How long have you been drinking?”

“What?” Jake exploded, lunging to his feet. “What do you mean drinking—”

“Jake, don’t start,” Elizabeth cut in sharply. “Or we’ll have another conversation about the Brown Dog and what you were doing there.”

Cameron frowned, looked at him. “What?”

“Later,” Jake muttered, dropping back to the landing, Cameron slowly sitting next to him.

“How long?” Elizabeth repeated, and Aiden made a face, obviously hoping his mother had been distracted from remembering the question.

“I dunno.” He picked at his sleep shorts. “Like since last Thanksgiving.”

“Last—” Elizabeth nodded. “Great. That’s—that’s great—”

“Maybe you were too busy kidnapping people to notice,” Danny said.

Jason stepped forward, and Jake both stood up at the insult, but Elizabeth held up her hand and met Danny’s gaze head on.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” she said, and he scowled at her. “When you lash out, slap someone. When you call your mother a lunatic, or a bitch, or any of the other lovely things I’ve heard you say to or about her. Did you feel good when you did that?”

“What does it matter?”

“You think that because I’ve been in trouble with the law, because your mom and your dad have records, that somehow you’re better. That you get to use it like a weapon to bludgeon your way out of trouble, but that’s not how it works in this family. And don’t—” She held up a finger when Danny opened his mouth. “Don’t you dare say you’re not in my family. Jake is your brother. Whether you like it or not, that means I give a damn about what happens to you.”

Danny swallowed hard, looked away. “Whatever.”

“The drinking, the drugs, it stops now. For both of you,” Jason said, flatly. “My sister nearly died from a drug overdose when she was your age. I was almost killed in a drunk driving accident caused by my own brother.” He looked at Aiden. “Your grandfather drove drunk and nearly killed your brother.”

“And your father is a recovering pill addict,” Elizabeth offered. “Addiction runs in the Spencer bloodlines. And the Quartermaines.”

“It was just a couple of beers,” Danny complained. “You’re acting like I go to school drunk or whatever—”

“You vape during the day. I’ve seen it,” Jake said, and Danny shot to his feet, betrayed. His brother got to his feet. “I’m done covering for you.”

+43

Written in 60 minutes.

Saturday, September 13, 2024

Webber House: Kitchen

Aiden tore open the bag of popcorn, and upended it into the large glass bowl. His phone vibrated next to him with a notification from Snapchat.

He scowled, picked it — another stupid picture from Danny and Rocco who were holding up their bottles of beer and a caption wish u were here well drink 4 u

“Morons,” he muttered. Even he knew you didn’t take incriminating pictures of yourself with your phone. It would serve them right if he saved it for later blackmail—

In fact— Aiden tapped a quick screenshot, saved it to his camera roll.

“Dude, it’s not gourmet cake.” Cameron stopped in the doorway. “It’s popcorn. We’re waiting on you to start the movie.”

“I’m just adding butter the way Mom likes.” Aiden dumped the melted better he’d already prepared into the bowl. “Let’s go.”

Penthouse: Living Room

Kristina plucked a piece of pepperoni from her pizza, popped it in her mouth. “I think Michael’s overreacting. You need to talk to him—”

Dante sat down on the sofa, a bottle of beer in his hand, and sighed. “I’m not getting in the middle—”

“Everyone says that, and then they take Molly’s side. Michael said that, too—” Kristina folded her arms. “I just don’t understand why no one gets that Molly is making a huge mistake—”

“What I don’t get—” Sam leaned over to snag a napkin for her cheese fries. “Why do you care? Molly’s not hurting you. She’s doing a job. Let her deal with everything that’s happened in her own way. You guys will stay in your separate corners for a few weeks, your charges will get dismissed, and you’ll be able to focus on the real villain. Ava.”

“See—” Dante tipped his beer at Sam. “That’s what I’m talking about. That’s what we need to focus on. Ava.”

Kristina made a face. “Where’s Scout? I thought we were going to watch a movie.” She looked to the stairs. “I didn’t chase her away with my bad mood, did I?”

Dante opened his mouth, looked at Sam who grimaced. “No. She just wanted to watch something on Netflix, and it’s some ridiculous teen show that I have zero interest in. I can make her come down—”

“You might as well tie a pork chop around my neck and force people to play with me.” Kristina folded her arms. “Everyone’s running away from me.”

“We’re not, Krissy. We invited you over, didn’t we?” Sam reminded her, and Kristina sighed. “Let’s put on a stupid movie, and we’ll get some more drinks, right? You can sleep in Danny or Rocco’s room. We need to have one night where we don’t think about anything awful.”

“So, I guess dinosaur movies where lots of humans die is out of question, huh?”

“A comedy then. Something from when we were younger.” Sam picked up the remote, navigated to one of the streaming apps. “What’s that one movie you used to watch all the time? Around the time Danny was born?”

“Moneyball,” Dante said, and Sam whacked him. “Hey! Don’t knock it until you try it!”

“It’s all about math, no thanks.” Kristina burrowed into the chair. “I’m just in a rotten mood. This was a bad idea.”

“No, we just—we have to find the right thing to distract you. Adam Sandler.” Sam clicked the title. “Just please, Krissy, give it a chance, okay? For me?”

Kristina sighed. “All right. For you. And the movie you were thinking about was Pitch Perfect.”

“Oh, that’s right. You thought you could sing acapella for like three weeks.” Sam paused. “It was not pleasant.” She was rewarded when her sister smiled. “And, hey that’s a trilogy, isn’t it? Dante, go get those beers—”

“And a gun so I can kill myself,” Dante said, pretending to be injured when Sam slugged him in the shoulder. “Beers coming right up.”

Webber House: Aiden’s Bedroom

Aiden didn’t hear his phone the first time it rang — well, buzzed — his ringer was off. Or the second time. But the third time, the vibration of the phone had moved it towards the edge of the nightstand and Aiden definitely heard when it clattered to the floor.

“Oh, crap—” If he busted another screen his mother was going murder him—he rolled towards the edge of the bed, snagged it off the floor — and saw the missed calls from Rocco.

And since it was a little past one in the morning, and Rocco had called three times in rapid succession—

Make that four.

Not a good sign.

“This better be good,” Aiden muttered.

“Yo, we’re outside. Come let us in.” The words were a little slurred, but it was definitely his cousin, and he could hear Danny in the background.

“You’re cracked if you think you’re coming in this house. Mom would murder me, call Sam and Dante, and then you’ll be dead. We’ll have a group funeral—”

“No, no, listen—listen—” Rocco giggled. “Listen, we got a plan—”

“I’ve heard that before. Go away,” Aiden hissed, then hung up the phone. Then grimaced. Oh, shit. If they were out side and making noise — Jake and his mom’s room were right over the front of the house—

Shit, shit, shit—

He needed to get them away from the house.

Webber House: Elm Street

“Look, I gots ten fingers—” Rocco splayed out his hand, waved at Danny. “Where’d they come from?”

“Your butt,” Danny said, then exploded into his own giggles, stumbling and sliding to the ground by the front wall of the Webber house. “Your butt,” he repeated again.

The door opened behind them, and Aiden stepped outside, in a t-shirt, shorts, and bare feet. “Shut up you assholes, my mom is right there—” he hissed, stabbing a finger at a window above them.

“Yeah?” Rocco lifted his head up. “Hey, can she tell me what jail was like? She was with chicks, though, so maybe it’s not the same—”

Aiden scowled, grabbed Rocco’s arm and dragged him towards the street. “What the hell happened to the plan? You were supposed to crash with Frankie—”

“F-funny thing—” Rocco wavered slightly, then stared at his hand. “Ow—what’d you hit me for?” he demanded of Aiden.

“We need to get you both out of here before Mom wakes up. She’ll snitch on you—” Aiden looked at Danny, then leaped forward, snagging the vape pen from Danny’s hand. “What are you, stupid? You’re outside—”

“It’s cool, no one’s here—” Rocco tugged out his own, took a puff, then blew the smoke in Aiden face. “And stop acting like such a wuss. You like this stuff—” He offered the pen to Aiden who slapped it out of his hands.

“I like it at the boathouse when people aren’t around,” he snarled, his voice still hushed. “Not when my mother is twenty feet above me, and can smell it, you fuckers. Get out of here!”

“Listen, listen, listen—” Danny rolled over on all fours, then shook his head. “Whoa, that—that was not a good idea.” Then he lumbered to his feet, and slung an arm around Aiden’s shoulders. “My guy here—” He took Aiden by the jaw, shook it lightly. “He’s a little uptight. We just gotta get him laid. Tobias isn’t doing it right—”

“Hey, twat waffle, you’re not getting shit either. Georgie doesn’t even know you’re alive,” Aiden growled, shoving at Danny who went into Rocco, and then they both went down to the ground. “Go away—”

“What’s going on here?”  They heard the voice a moment before the beam of flash light blinded him.

Aiden brought his hands up to protect his vision — then realized Dex Heller was striding towards them with another uniform by his side.

Cops.

Of course.

“Oh, I am so dead—” he moaned, then looked down at the vape pen he’d snatched from Danny. He released it with a horrified squeak, sending it flying —

Where it landed at Dex’s feet. He looked up at Aiden, then sighed. “You’re kidding me, right? Morons.” He paused. “I can go knock on the door and wake up your mother now, or she can get a call from the PCPD. Your choice.”

Aiden opened his mouth, then looked over to see Rocco vomiting on the cop’s shoes. “You know what, call from the PCPD. That way I get to live a little longer.” And Mom probably wouldn’t wake up Jake or Cam —

Who were actually going to kill him.

Webber House: Elizabeth’s Bedroom

Elizabeth was only half awake when she reached for the ringing phone. “Hello?” she slurred, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. “What is it?”

“Ms. Webber? This is Dex Heller.”

“Dex—” Elizabeth jolted. “Dex. Officer Heller.” She shoved herself out of bed, started looking around her room. “What is it?” Oh, God, had Jason been in an accident? Was it Laura, or Kevin—

“I’m sorry to wake you, ma’am, but we’ve got your son Aiden down here. You’ll need to come down.”

“You’ve—” Elizabeth shook her head, jerked her door open and headed down the short hallway. “No, you don’t. He’s right here—” She opened his door — and saw the blanket hastily shoved back. “He was just right here.”

“I know. We picked him up out front of your house with his cousin, Rocco Faloncieri and his stepbrother, Danny Morgan. Public intoxication, possession of tobacco, disorderly conduct—”

“Wait, wait, wait—” Elizabeth pressed a hand to her forehead. “You—you picked him up out front of the house. W hy didn’t—” She went back down the hallway into her room, trying to locate the jeans she’d discarded earlier. “Why didn’t you just knock on my door?”

“Your son asked to be taken in.”

“He asked—you know what, I’ll deal with this when I get down there. Have Danny and Rococo’s been called?”

“Yes, ma’am, I contacted Sam and Dante just a little while ago. I’m sorry about this.”

Elizabeth disconnected the call, took a deep breath, counted to ten, then called Jason, who despite the hour, didn’t sound as if he’d been asleep at all. “Elizabeth? What’s wrong—”

“Everyone’s alive,” she said shortly. “For now. I don’t understand what the hell happened, but somehow my son, yours, and Rocco all got arrested for drinking and smoking outside my house.”

“Outside—” Jason stopped. “Danny?”

“Yes.” She blew out a short breath. “Do I need to call Diane? Is this going to mess up my bail? Jason—”

“Let’s just—I’ll call Diane, just to put her on alert. Come by the diner, pick me up. We’ll go down to the PCPD together. One step at a time.”

“I’ll be there in five minutes. Maybe less. No, I have to go the speed limit—damn it—” She ran into the side of her dresser, stubbing her toe.

“Elizabeth?”

“I’m fine. I just—” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. “I’ll be right there. Call Diane. And then we’ll go kill our kids.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Aiden leaned forward. “Listen, listen, those morons—” He swept his hands over towards Rocco and Danny, seated across the room with other officers. Rocco looked a little green, and was clutching his stomach. Danny hadn’t sicked up any of his alcohol and was still riding high from the hit he’d take from his vape pen.

Oh, God, please don’t test the vape pen, please don’t let them find out it’s weed, Aiden prayed.

“I was sleeping, okay? Look, look—” Aiden shoved his phone at Dex. “Look! That’s me, at my house, and them calling me! Because I was inside, asleep. My mom will tell you I was home with her all night—these idiots, they showed up, and they wanted to come inside, and I told them, no, I was trying to make them go away—”

“Calm down.” Dex took the phone, which Aiden had unlocked, scrolled through the notifications, then looked at him. “You got a Snapchat notification from Rocco a few hours ago. You still got this picture?”

Aiden pressed his lips together. He’d already snitched. Might as well finish the job. “Yeah. Yeah. It even says I’m not with them—it’s like the last photo on my camera roll—you can’t mess my mom up on this, she didn’t know anything, and I didn’t do anything—”

“Right. Your mom’s on bail.” Dex hesitated. “You don’t smell like alcohol, and your eyes aren’t glassy. I’m not seeing any signs you did anything. Tonight,” he added. “The vape pen I found you with?”

“I took it from Danny. You gotta believe me, and you gotta—put them in jail, okay? They’re idiots. Me, I’m the boring one. I stayed home!”

“Give me a few minutes.” Dex got to his feet, and Aiden started praying to every deity he could remember in case one of them was in the mood to take pity on a kid.

PCPD: Parking Lot

Elizabeth jerked the car to a stop, just barely making it inside of the lines, and they were both almost out of the car before she could put it in park. They saw an SUV pull into another spot, no better than she had, and Sam was flying out of the car.

She saw them, hissed. “What the hell happened?” she demanded. “What the hell are you thinking letting kids have alcohol? Aren’t you in enough trouble—”

“What the hell—” Elizabeth threw up her hands keep Sam back.

“Sam—” Dante came up to her, pulled her back even as Jason stepped in front of her. “Stop. None of us would give them alcohol. Just—cool it—” He looked at Elizabeth. “I’m sorry. We were asleep—and I just don’t understand. Did  they sneak out?”

“I—how would I know? Aiden was home with me all night! I don’t even know how they got to my house! Or when!”

Sam scowled, pulled out her phone. “That’s impossible. Their phones were at your house all night, look—” She held out the device — and Elizabeth reached for it, squinting to confirm that the devices labeled Rocco and Danny were, indeed, on Elm Street.

“They never came to your house tonight, did they?” Dante asked. He looked to the sky, muttered something.

“Did they say they were coming to Elizabeth’s?” Jason wanted to know.

“They said—God, I’m such an idiot.” Sam scrubbed her hands down her face, moaning slightly. “Oh, God. They played me.”

“They played us both.” Dante looked at Elizabeth and Jason. “Rocco said Aiden was gonna let you and Cam have some time since he was leaving tomorrow. So they were coming over to play games. It’s not—I mean, they’ve come over plenty to do that.”

“They—” Elizabeth furrowed her brow. “No, they go to your place to do that.” She pressed her lips together as the realization dawned. “Oh, so this is something they do all the time.”

“Great. Great. This is fantastic.” Dante took a deep breath. He rubbed his mouth, looked at Sam. “It’s always Rocco asking.”

“Because I double check everything Danny does. Unless he’s doing it with Rocco—I need to sit down.” Sam moved away, leaned a hand against the SUV they’d parked. “Okay. Okay. We’ll compare notes later, right? We’ll figure out how much they’ve been lying and to who. Right now, we have to get them out of the PCPD.”

“Before this ends up on FBI’s radar,” Jason said grimly.

“I swear to God, if this stunt ends up screwing your bail—” Sam looked at Elizabeth. “I’m so sorry. I never—I should have realized you wouldn’t want our idiots over with you tonight. Not with Cameron. I just—Danny got under my skin, and he did it on purpose—” Her voice wobbled, and she turned away.

Dante rubbed her back, and looked at Elizabeth. “He made a crack about she wasn’t gonna let him go because you’re a criminal now, too,” he said, and Elizabeth sighed, rubbed her forehead.

“So you didn’t argue because you wanted to prove to Danny that you weren’t going to do that anymore,” Jason finished.

“This is all my fault—” Sam shook her head. “Oh, God. I can’t even—” She pressed a hand to her mouth.

“We’ll figure out the details later,” Dante told her, rubbing her shoulders. “Come on, we’re a united front right now. All four of us. They’re the idiots, we’re the parents. Let me make calls. I’ll make sure this goes away,” he told Elizabeth. “I wouldn’t pull strings for Rocco otherwise, but this needs to stay off their records. The arrest has to disappear. Your address can’t be put into the system. I’m not gonna let my kid screw you up. I promise.”

+41

Written in 66 minutes.

Saturday, September 13, 2024

Penthouse: Living Room

“She’s going to say no,” Sam muttered, dropping on the sofa next to Dante, trying very hard not to peek over his shoulder at the file he was reading.

“You can live with that,” Dante responded, almost absently. He made a notation. “You gave it your best shot. If Danny wants to know, you can say you tried.”

“And then tell him that his father doesn’t trust me enough to help? That Jake’s mom hates me? I’d rather eat glass.” She folded her legs, reached for her phone. Maybe scrolling her social media feet would get her mind off all of this — but it was just filled with news about the case — including coverage of the DA’s decision to open their own investigation.

“I know Molly believes in what she’s doing, and I know you’re on board, too. I’m glad, by the way, that you and Chase got assigned,” Sam added, and Dante sighed, put the file aside to look at her.

“But?”

“But I’m worried about her. Burying herself in something to forget about everything else that’s going on. So she doesn’t have to think about the baby, about how bad things are with Kristina, or the charges against Ava moving forward—” Sam paused. “She’s going to get to the end of all of this, look around, and it’s not going to have changed anything. It’s—it’s still going to be there.”

“I get that, and I’m worried about both of them. Kristina feels so closed off right now—and I realized something just now, listening to you—” Dante waited for Sam to meet his gaze. “Neither one of us call the baby by her name. We’re both defaulting to generic terms. Daughter, baby, loss—”

Sam pressed her lips together. “I’m afraid to use Irene around Kristina. It makes her so angry, and I don’t want to start another fight. But I don’t want to call her Adela because it’s not her name. And I don’t want to make a mistake with Molly, who doesn’t deserve any of this.” She flicked some screens. “Maybe I should try to talk to Krissy again. We should invite her over tonight. Dinner and movies with the kids—Scout can cheer up anyone.”

“That sounds like a good idea—” Dante stopped when they heard thudding footsteps above them, and then thundering down the steps. “Here comes trouble,” he quipped when Danny and Rocco came into view. “What do you think about movie night and inviting Aunt Kristina?”

“Uh—we were actually gonna ask for another kind of family night.” Rocco held up his phone. “Aiden asked us to hang out tonight. He wants to give his mom time with Cam, so he figured maybe a gaming marathon or something.”

“Unless you don’t want me over Aiden’s house because his mom’s a criminal,” Danny said before either Sam or Dante could respond.

Sam pressed her lips together. “She’s not a criminal, and that—fine. Fine. It’s fine with me. Dante?”

“Yeah, you guys would just depress your aunt anyway. You want me to drop you guys off, or—”

“Yeah, sure. Around six?” Rocco asked.

“Sounds good.” Dante looked at Sam. “After I drop them off, I’ll swing by Kristina’s place, pick her up.”

“If she even agrees to come,” Sam muttered, but selected Kristina’s number and lifted the phone to her ear.

Upstairs, Danny and Rocco reached the first room in the hallway—Rocco’s and slapped each other’s hands.

“What’d I say?” Danny said with a broad grin. “Do I know how to push Mom’s buttons or what?”

“I bow before the master. Text Aiden. Tell him the game’s on.”

“What do we do if Dante tries to come in?” Danny asked, his fingers flying over the screen.

“You heard him. He’s gonna pick up my aunt. It’s a tuck and roll situation, and plus, he’s not gonna wanna talk to Aunt Liz since he’s investigating her case, and it’s like, she’s got a lawyer.” Rocco nodded. “Yeah, that’s what we’ll go with if he tries to come in. We saw it on TikTok or something. Dad’s a stickler, he’ll eat it right up.”

“Man, they make it too easy,” Danny said, snickering. He sent the text. “And we are ready.”

Bobbie’s: Dining Room

“Well, there you are, stranger!”

Jason winced as he turned around to see Carly striding out of the kitchen with a clipboard in her hand. “Hey. I haven’t seen you around here in a while.” Had orchestrated the purchase of an entire hotel to divert her attention. Should have known it wouldn’t last.

“Just some inventory management. If you’re not on your way somewhere, maybe we could grab a table, catch up?”

“Uh, yeah, okay.” Jason followed her to an empty one near the back. “Sorry, I know you called a few times since the hearing—”

“You’ve had a ton on your plate this last week,” Carly said. She smiled at a waitress who approached them. When they’d both placed orders for coffee, she turned back to Jason. “And I know that doesn’t go away because Elizabeth is out on bail. This third party custodian thing, that seems like a lot.”

“Not really.”

Carly waited, but when it was clear he didn’t intend to follow that statement up with any details, she made a face. “Jason, I’d like us to be friends.”

He furrowed his brow. “We are.”

“Yeah, but it’s like a hostage situation, and I’m tired of negotiating. Especially since I’m the hostage taker.” She leaned forward. “You know, Michael’s all grown up now. You don’t have to keep me around to stay close to him.”

Jason sighed, rubbed his face. “Carly, what do you want?”

“I want to know what’s going on. How I can help — with your approval — how you’re doing — what kind of stress you’re under — because we both know you’re not going to tell anyone else. Jason—” She lowered her voice. “Please tell me you know that the FBI doesn’t actually think Elizabeth is the bad guy. They’re after you!”

“Yeah, Carly, that had occurred to me. But I’m innocent, so I don’t really have to worry—”

“Elizabeth’s innocent, too, and she’s wearing an ankle monitor, so bite me.” Carly leaned back while the waitress poured their coffees. When they were alone again, she continued, “Jason, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I don’t have any issues with Elizabeth anymore.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

“It’s true this time. It is,” Carly insisted. “Our kids dated for over a year, and Joss — she really did a number on Cam when they broke up. Joss and her guy now—well, they didn’t exactly wait.” Her lips thinned, and she spooned sugar into her cup. “Like mother, like daughter.”

“Carly.”

“Elizabeth has never said one unkind word about Joss. Or to her. We both know I wouldn’t have been as gracious. I don’t know, maybe she’s grateful we’re not going to be related, but—” Carly looked around the diner, and her voice thickened just a bit. “She loved my mother, you know? I forgot how close they were. How much my mom loved her, too. She’d be horrified at what Elizabeth is dealing with, and she’d be leading the charge to fight. I want to—I want to do good in this world, the way my mother did. I want to help.”

Jason sipped his coffee, took a deep breath. “I hear you, Carly. And I believe you. Having you at the hearing — Joss and Michael, too. That meant a lot. To have people on her side. I’m sure it didn’t go unnoticed by the judge.”

“Michael gets to do battle with the courts over access to the property, and Molly and Dante get to fight the FBI and find the real killer—let me help. Even if it’s just to listen. I can do that, I promise.” Carly drew a line across her chest, then another in the opposite direction. “Cross my heart.”

“Right now,” Jason said, considering his words, “things seem under control. They didn’t earlier this week. When the FBI at Jake’s school. He thought I knew something.” He looked away, took a deep breath. “He confronted me, and I had to tell him I didn’t know anything that would bring his mother home. He…” Jason looked down in his cup. “He cried.”

“That poor baby. Everything he’s been through in his life, you know? And the hits just keep coming. I’m sorry he didn’t trust you, Jason. That must have been painful.”

“I’m not surprised—”

“Neither am I,” Carly cut in. She reached across the table, covered his hand. “But that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt. You made choices, Jason. Ones you know I hate. Ones that took you away from your boys, and you don’t get to wave that away. This isn’t like the last time when someone took you. You chose to stay away.”

“I told you why—”

“And if you’d asked me or Sonny or your sons what they’d prefer, it would have been to have you at home, even if I ended up in jail and we all ended up broke and on the streets. We’re smart, resourceful, and we’d have figured it out. I would have rather lost everything, including my own freedom instead of having another funeral for you.”

Jason dropped his gaze. “You know, I told Elizabeth and she was the only one who wasn’t angry at me.”

“Oh, well—of course—” Carly snorted, swiping at her eyes. “When we talk about martyrs, you know no one does it better than she does. You both love to make a sacrifice and pat yourself on the back when nobody asked for it in the first place.”

Jason lifted his coffee cup, squinted. “You know what? Just for that — Elizabeth and I are seeing other again.”

“You think that’s going to ruin my day? Please. Tell me something I didn’t already know.” Carly balled up a napkin and threw it at him. “Just don’t play musical chairs with her and Sam again. I’m too old for that crap.”

Webber House: Kitchen

“You know, you can let me do one thing,” Elizabeth said when Jake took her by the shoulders and gently steered her back to the entrance of the kitchen. “Aiden made breakfast—”

“Jake is clearing down, and I’m doing the dishes. You’re doing nothing.” Cameron nodded at Aiden. “Make her a hot chocolate or something. With sprinkles and whipped cream.”

“On it—”

“Cam—” Elizabeth leaned against the door frame, just watching her boys make themselves busy in the kitchen. She hadn’t stopped smiling since they’d come home the night before — having all three of her kids under one roof for the first time in a month was almost worth the horrible situation she was facing. “When you’re done in here—thank you, baby—” she took the mug from Aiden, “come in the living room. I want to talk about the next few weeks.”

When they’d gathered on the sofa, Liz in the middle of the sofa, Cameron in the arm, Jake to her left, and Aiden on the right, she took a minute to just enjoy the picture — because it wouldn’t be long before Cameron moved out of the house officially or Jake was off to college—she’d had them to herself all their lives, and now she was being forced to share them with the world. The best and worst part of motherhood, she thought.

“All right.” Elizabeth set her mug down. “Let’s talk about about what happens for a few weeks. Spinelli is investigating the case — and he’s focusing on exonerating me. I trust him with my life, and he’ll want to talk to both of you,” she said, directing that to Jake and Aiden. “Molly opened up the case with the DA’s office, and I imagine Chase and Dante will also want to talk to you.”

“Do we talk to them without Diane?” Jake asked. “I mean, I guess they’re the good guys, but—”

“I want you to do whatever you’re comfortable with. I trust them, but it’s not a bad idea to have her present just to be safe, and to be consistent. I’m going back to work on Monday, and other than that — everything is going to be normal.”

“Normal? Mom, you’re charged with a murder you didn’t commit—” Aiden protested. “How can we be normal?”

“The same way you went to school four out of five days this week. I’m innocent, Aiden, and I love my job, and I want you to live your lives. Someone wants to hurt me, and I won’t let them do it.”

Jake nodded. “Okay, so we’re normal and all, but what happens if Dante and Spinelli and everyone can’t fix it. What if—” He looked down at his hands. “What if you go to jail again? And this time, you can’t come home?”

“If I’m—if it goes to trial and I’m convicted, I’ve already talked to your dad. He knows the plan, and we’re signing paperwork this week. He’ll have guardianship of you,” she said to Aiden, touching his shoulder. “Because I want you and Jake to be together. I want you to stay in this house where you’ve grown up.  Cam—” she looked at her eldest, who had remained silent. “You’re finishing Stanford. Period.”

“And I’m coming home to attend to medical school. I already applied, and I’m a Hardy-Webber with Quartermaine adjacent connections. We already know I’m in.” Cameron looked at her. “I’m finishing Stanford and coming home. Period.”

Elizabeth furrowed her brow, then sighed. “That’s a fight for another day, but all right.” She looked at Jake. “You’re going to apply to Spain, and when you get in, you’re going—”

“Mom—”

“You’re going,” Elizabeth repeated. “Jason will come live here with Aiden, all three of you will have your home just as it’s always been. Someone’s trying to hurt me, and they might—they might get away with it for a little while. But they’re not going to derail the dreams I have for you, the ones you have for yourself. Aiden—” She looked at him. “If you’d rather live with your grandmother or—your dad—”

“Do you think he’d be able to recognize me?” Aiden said. He shook his head. “No, I want to be here with Jake, and Jason’s cool. But none of this matters, Mom, because you’re not going to jail. They’re gonna figure this out.”

“Right. We’re talking about something that is probably not an issue.” Elizabeth squeezed Jake’s knee. “Right, honey?”

“But if you do, we keep fighting, right? We appeal and we’ll do whatever we have to,” Jake said. “Because if you end up convicted for this bullshit, I think I speak for all of us — and Dad. We’ll have a new dream, and it’ll be getting you the hell out of there and back where you belong with us.”

Her eyes watered and she took a deep breath. “We’ll argue about that later if we have to. I love you. All of you.” She turned to Aiden, touched his shoulder, then reached for Cameron’s hand. “My entire world. Three of you.”

“I’m on board with all your plans, and here’s one I’m adding. Every other Friday, I come home,” he said. When Elizabeth opened her mouth to protest, he shook his head. “Don’t argue with me, Mom. I already talked it over with Jason. He’s gonna front me the money for the tickets, and I’ll pay him back after I’m done paying for medical school. It’ll be like forty years, but we’ve got a plan.”

Elizabeth hesitated, then gathered herself. “I won’t argue with something that’s obviously out of my hands, and seeing more of you is always good. We’re going to get this, guys. This isn’t our first crisis—”

“Won’t be the last,” Cameron added. “But we’re here, Mom. Until the wheels fall off.”

TJ & Molly’s Apartment: Living Room

TJ gingerly pushed the stack of files to the side and set down the bowls of soup before taking a seat across from Molly — who didn’t look up from her work. “Mols, before it gets cold?”

“I’m not hungry—”

“Molly.”

She recognized the tone, set down her pencil and looked up, apologetic. “I’m sorry, it’s your first night off in days, and I’m buried in work, and you hate when I bring it home—”

“I know this isn’t different. And hey, we want Liz back at the hospital, pronto. Place isn’t the same without her. But you gotta take time for yourself. For us,” he added, and she nodded.

She reached for the bowl, picked up the spoon. “I know I haven’t exactly been great with all of this.”

“What’s all of this?” TJ asked. “What exactly are you apologizing for?”

She bit her lip. “I don’t know. Since we lost Irene. Since the funeral, since—” Molly toyed with the corner of the paper. “I know I’m working more than usual, and you are, too. I know we’re both pretending everything is…that we’re fine. I just—I don’t know what else to do. I can’t sit with myself. Or my thoughts for very long. I need—I just need to think about anything else. I’m sorry.”

“I get it. I do. Like you said, I’m doing the same thing, Mol. We’re both hoping that we’ll stop, look up, and it’s all better, right?” TJ tipped his head. “And what you’re doing, it’s brave and it’s amazing, and I’m so proud of you. Don’t think I’m not. But none of this goes away, and when we clock out of work — it’s all still there. That —” He looked towards the hallway, leading to the bedroom — and the nursery. “That room is still empty. And your sister is still…”

“Still Kristina. And she’ll never change. So I’ll have to.” Molly spooned more of the soup. “I don’t know how to fix any of that, TJ.”

“Me either, so tonight — we’ll have our soup, you can finish your report, I’ll catch up on my medical journal, and then we’ll do a movie. We’ll be okay, Mols. We always make it through.”

Elm Street: Sidewalk

Dante leaned across the passenger side, his hand on the open window. “Don’t give Liz any trouble, you hear me?”

“Dad—” Rocco turned back to flash him another grin. “Don’t worry. Aunt Liz won’t even know we’re here.  Tell Aunt Krissy I love her.”

“I will.”

Dante’s headlights disappeared as he turned the corner, and Aiden jogged up to them. “You guys gotta hurry before either of my brothers see you,” he said. He held out his hands. “Gimme your phones.”

Danny slapped his phone down, and Rocco handed his over. “You’re the best,” he told Aiden. “And in a few weeks, when you’re mom’s cleared, we’ll owe you big time.”

“Yeah, yeah, just get out of here.”

Danny saluted him, and then he and Rocco sprinted across the street, disappearing up the block.

Aiden shoved both phones in his pocket, then headed back inside for movie night with his mother.

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