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.

+34

Written in 65 minutes.

Friday, September 12, 2024

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

Amy Driscoll had dodged and evaded every attempt Dante and Chase had made to talk to her for nearly twenty-four hours, not returning voicemails, always just being called away to a patient when they’d come to the hospital the day before —

“Starting to think maybe she did leave the tip,” Chase said with a wrinkle of his nose as he and Dante exited the elevator. “Why would she avoid us otherwise?”

“I’d agree with you, except I survived the Man Landers debacle, and I’m telling you — Amy isn’t involved. She probably thinks we’re calling about a parking ticket.”

“Man Landers?” Chase asked, furrowing his brow. “Do I want to know?”

“No,” Dante said shortly, then sighed when Amy, standing behind the computer terminal, met his gaze, actually did a double take and started to hurry in the opposite direction. “That’s it, I’m tackling her.” He sprinted after her, then skidded to a stop in front of a patient’s room. “No. Today, we’re talking—”

“Oh, but I just have to—”

“No.” Dante spied Felix DuBois passing and snagged his arm. “Felix, finish whatever Amy’s supposed to do. She needs to have a conversation with us.”

“Oh, absolutely.” Interest gleamed in Felix’s brown eyes, always looking for some gossip. “Is she under arrest?”

A sound emitted from Amy that sounded suspiciously like a squeak, but Dante scowled. “No, but if she keeps finding reasons not to talk to us, I might change my mind. Amy—let’s go.”

“Oh, but—”  she sighed, then followed him around the corner to a conference room. “I should have known you’d hunt me down like a dog. Oh, God, that’s a horrible joke. I’m so sorry. I am. I called the number on the tag, I took the dog to the vet, they said he’d be okay—”

“Amy, for the love of God—” Dante held up a hand. “What are you talking about?”

Amy’s blue eyes rounded with surprise. “The dog I hit last week on Elm Street. It was an accident! I paid for it and everything! Please don’t arrest me.”

“The fact that you passed organic chemistry and still zero common—” Dante stopped, took a deep breath. “I don’t know anything about a damn dog. I’m calling you about this.” He nodded to Chase who held out his phone, and the recording played.

“Hello. I have a tip about the murder of that FBI guy. The one on Labor Day. I’m a nurse at GH, and I overheard my supervisor, Elizabeth Webber, talking with that mob guy she’s always with. Jason Morgan. She said that he didn’t need to worry. No one was ever gonna look in her trunk, and when the smoke died down, he could get rid of the gun.”

Amy frowned. “That’s my voice.”

“I know,” said Dante. “Now explain what the hell this message is.”

“That’s my voice,” Amy repeated, “but I never—I never said any of that, and that did not happen, and I’m not just saying that because Morgan could break me in half with, like, a flick of his wrist. I would never snitch on Elizabeth, she’s way too nice to me—I mean, I probably would if I overheard her talking about a murder weapon—”

“Amy—” Dante held up a hand, and she stopped. “You’re telling me you didn’t make this call.”

“No.”

“And the contents of this message — you never heard Elizabeth and Jason having this conversation?”

“No.” Amy shook her head. “Liz and I don’t even work the same shifts — and I haven’t seen her in ages. Well, I guess that’s because she was in jail, which is insane. Can you imagine believing she shot a man in cold blood? I mean, not that she’s not capable of murder. I bet if you threatened one of her boys, she’d be able to do it, but—right, I’ll shut up,” she said before Dante could get the words out.

“Last question. Did you work last Wednesday at all?”

“No. I went to the movies with my brother Yuri. Am I under suspicion or something?”

“Not anymore. You can go, and uh, nice job paying for that dog,” Dante said as she scooted to the door. “I’m glad it’ll be okay.”

“Me, too.”

When she left, Dante looked at Chase with lifted brows. “Well?”

Chase sat on the edge of the conference table, folded his arms. “We have two audio files in this case. Both of which are very incriminating. So incriminating, I can hardly believe that someone with Jason Morgan’s criminal history would ever make these kinds of mistakes. Especially when he’s on scene when the murder is reported. But I’m supposed to believe he left a voicemail telling Cates the time and location of the meeting, and dropped information about a deal that no one else has heard about. Then he set up an alibi, using his teenaged sons so that his nephew and ex-girlfriend could carry out the murder of an FBI agent. And then he’s stupid enough to talk about the murder, the location of the murder weapon with the ex the next day at her very public work place.”

“Do we think that’s the FBI’s theory?” Dante asked.

“I don’t know. That’s the case they’re giving the court, especially now that the first voicemail has been turned over to us and to Diane Miller. Otherwise, you can’t tie Elizabeth to the murder other than an accessory after the fact.” Chase exhaled slowly. “But let’s forget about the FBI. Their case is awful, and Diane is going to murder them. What we have is someone making sure the FBI or the investigation focuses on Jason. First by making it clear Jason lured Cates to the crime scene, and then tying him to the murder weapon through Elizabeth’s car. Someone is setting Jason up for the murder. They either didn’t figure Elizabeth would get the murder charge, or they did — and they’re expecting Jason to do something about it.”

“Now that’s interesting—” Dante lifted his brows. “Because Jason has plead guilty to a crime before — when Michael did a short stint in prison back in 2010. And then playing FBI informant for two years to protect Carly from RICO charges.”

“So whoever is setting Jason up expects him to eventually fall on the sword for Elizabeth.” Chase got to his feet. “So we need to focus on someone who hated John Cates enough to kill him, and who hated Jason enough not to care who else got hurt.”

ELQ: Michael’s Office

“Knock, knock—” Kristina rapped on Michael’s ajar door, smiling when her brother got up from his desk, and came around to hug her. “Hey. I came to see if you wanted to do something this weekend. I feel like we haven’t hung out one on one in forever.”

Michael squeezed her hard, then stepped back. “I’ll check with Willow. Her work schedule has been a little rough this week — she’s picking up a few shifts from Elizabeth.”

“Oh. I didn’t—” Kristina hesitated. “I guess I didn’t think about how that would work. I mean, she’s out on bail, right? Is she on house arrest, or—”

“City limits, so she can go back to work. But I think they wanted to give her a few days. I didn’t get to see her,” Michael said, heading to mini fridge. “You want a water, or something?”

“Yeah, sure.” She caught the bottle he tossed at her. “I thought you went to court.”

“Yeah, but she was on a screen. It wasn’t really the same, and I wanted to give her and Jason some time with the boys. They’ve been through hell this week, with the FBI coming down hard on Jake and Danny.” Michael twisted off the cap, took a drink. “I think she’s going back on Monday.”

“Good. Good. Normalcy, that will help. And of course, Diane and Spinelli will work their magic.” Kristina sat down on the sofa in seating area. “I wanted to talk to you about Molly.”

Michael grimaced. “I don’t want to get in the middle of that—” He sat next to her.

“And I wouldn’t ask you to. I wouldn’t. You—you’ve got so much on your plate.” She reached out, squeezed his hand. “Molly and I will—we’ll figure out a way to get around this—”

“Krissy—” Michael paused, then shook his head. “Never mind.”

“No, say it. What did you want to say?” She tensed.

“You and Molly aren’t going to get around this. Not until you find a way to make peace with the fact that Irene wasn’t your daughter.”

Kristina bit back the correction, took a deep breath. “She was. She was created from me, Michael. My egg, my body—”

“And you promised to donate both the egg and your body to Molly and TJ. I’m not saying your grief isn’t complicated, or that you don’t have a right to feel like you’ve lost a child. I would never take that away from you. But you don’t seem to want to make room for Molly’s grief—”

“Molly’s not grieving at all, though, is she?” Kristina snapped. She got to her feet. “She’s taking over FBI cases and living like nothing happened at all—”

“Normalcy,” Michael echoed, slowly rising. “Isn’t that what you said would help? Going about her daily life. Doing her job. Molly’s always championed what’s right. The principles of it. And since she’s trying to find Cates’ real killer, I’m glad she’s doing it. You’re back to work at Charlie’s, aren’t you? Alexis is back to work, trying to get you out of these ridiculous charges.”

“That’s different—”

“No. It’s not. You can be mad at me all you want, Krissy, I can take it. But Molly doesn’t have to perform her grief to your satisfaction. You don’t have the right to demand that. TJ and Molly lost their daughter that day. You lost a niece that you were generously bringing into the world to build their family. No one expects you not to grieve.”

“No, you just expect me to act like Adela wasn’t my daughter, and she was. She was.” Kristina looked at him. “I was going to keep her.”

Michael exhaled, looked away and scrubbed his hand down his face. “Christ. You were going to drag Molly and TJ into a custody battle? That would have destroyed your entire family. You can’t be serious.”

“We would have worked out something—”

“Well, then I guess you should have stayed out of Dad’s custody battle,” Michael said flatly. “But that’s you, Krissy. You never know when to quit—” His head whipped to the side as she slapped him. “Right. You can go.”

“With pleasure,” she spat.

Port Charles Airport: Parking Lot

Jason navigated the SUV down the lines of cars, searching for an empty spot and coming up empty on their third pass. “Maybe I should drop you at the entrance hall and come back and pick you guys up.”

“We still have time,” Elizabeth said, scanning her side. “Cameron’s plan just landed. They’re probably not even in the terminal yet.” She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “So there’s something I should have told you when you picked me up five hours ago.”

The SUV braked, waiting for a car with its rear headlights on, signaling that maybe they were going to back up and leave. “Should I be scared?” Jason asked dryly. He clicked on the blinker.

“I just too nervous for the meeting on the way down and didn’t want to open that can of worms, and then when we were done, I didn’t want to talk about anything depressing, but now I realize we’re picking up Cameron, and I won’t want to talk about it this weekend at all—”

“Elizabeth.”

“Sam came to see me this morning,” she said in a rush of words.

He said nothing at first, easing the vehicle into the parking space, and putting it in park. He left the ignition on so that the air conditioner would keep running, then looked at her. “I wondered  how long she’d wait.”

“Why didn’t you tell me she was coming?” Elizabeth wanted to know. She folded her arms. “I felt a little blindsided.”

“Sorry. I didn’t—” Jason paused. “I didn’t want to talk about her either,” he said, and she made a face. “Sam’s not a fun topic. But I’m sorry. I should have. What did she say?”

“I don’t know if what she said matters as much as why she said it. You know what Sam does when she wants something. She figures out how to get it. I believe her when she says helping on my case is supposed to impress Danny.”

“I don’t know if she’s right about that, and I also don’t know if I care. That’s why I told her no at first — and that you’d need to sign off on it if the answer was going to change.” He looked at her. “Your case is too important for it to be something Sam tries to use for her own motives.”

Elizabeth considered that, then nodded. “That’s mostly where I am on it. And I think some of what she said could be true — Danny was getting into a lot of trouble last year. Jake found a vape pen on him. Bad grades, trouble at school, I knew all of that. So I know she was already having problems with him. What I didn’t know is that you asked Danny to keep your presence at the boat house a secret when the PCPD, FBI and every other government agency was looking for you.”

Jason sighed, leaned back against the driver’s seat, staring out the windshield. “Not my finest moment, but yeah. I did that. I—” He paused. “I can tell you I didn’t realize how badly my cover was blown and that I thought if people knew I was alive, Cates would call off the deal. Carly gets arrested, and then the last two years — it’s for nothing. I already—” He fisted his hand against the wheel. “I already hated every minute I was gone. I already regretted doing it, but damn it, I didn’t want to lose everything I’d tried to do and make it all for nothing. That time away from Danny, from Jake, from Monica—from everyone who mattered—I had tunnel vision, and I wasn’t—” His voice shifted slightly, thickened. “I didn’t see him as Danny, my son in that moment, and I’ll never forgive myself for it.”

“Jason—” Elizabeth reached out, touched his arm, and he finally looked at her, thought it was difficult to get a good read on him in the dim shadows. “I’m not blaming you. You came forward, you got to keep your deal, and we got to have you back. You made a mistake as a father. Every parent does—”

“Mine implicated Danny in a federal crime,” Jason bit out.

“Okay, and I helped Nikolas hold his pregnant mistress hostage in Wyndemere because we thought she was a serial killer,” Elizabeth said, “at a time when I thought you were dead, and I was the only parent in my sons’ lives.”

“You—” Jason looked at her, furrowed his brow. “The immunity charge?”

“Yeah. Not my finest moment as a mother. I could have gone to jail for the rest of my life. Instead, I threw Nikolas under the bus, and now he’s in jail instead.” She bit her lip. “In my defense, he kidnapped her first, and I just helped with prenatal care. Anyway. I didn’t bring that up to judge you. But that I do understand how Sam might have seen that act, combined it with Danny getting into trouble, and thinking — he might be happy to follow in your footsteps. Like Morgan, who got himself involved in Sonny’s business for a little while. The first time you were dead,” she added when he just looked at her. “I’m not saying Sam handled it well. Or that I believe she’s sorry.  But I believe her when she says she resents me and Jake. And she very deliberately shoved the boys in the middle of this feud that I never asked to be a part of in the first place. She’s always treated me like I fired the first shot, when all I did was go to you the night she slept with her stepfather.”

Jason sighed, then nodded. “Yeah. That’s—I could pretend for long periods of time she didn’t resent Jake, or outright hate him. But sometimes…she’d get a look—I never should have forgiven her. I love Danny, and I’ll never regret that he’s here, but all the same—”

“I get it, Jason. I married Franco, didn’t I?”

He made a face, and she smiled. “See, I told. Neither of us are stellar in the choice-making department. Relationships, crimes, we’re more alike than you give us credit for.”

Jason reached for her hand, squeezed it. “So what do you want to do about Sam?”

“I’m going to let it sit for a while. I want to say no, but I want her to feel like I thought about it first.” Her phone lit up with a text message, and she reached for it with her free hand. “Cameron just got off the plane.”

“We’d better get going.”

He met her at the back of the car, and took her hand again, lacing their fingers together, and she leaned against his shoulder as they crossed the parking lot towards the domestic arrivals terminal.

“My next day off is Thursday,” Elizabeth said just before they went inside. He turned to look at her, lifting his brows in question. “I work Monday to Wednesday. But Thursday, you know. I’m not planning to get arrested, and the boys will be gone all day. If you don’t have plans.”

“I will definitely not have plans.” He leaned down to brush his lips against hers, intending it to be a brief kiss, but she twisted her fingers in his shirt to hold him close for another minute before separating and heading inside.

The wait was brief, and thanks to Jason’s height, he was able to see Cameron striding out of baggage claim before Elizabeth could. He waved his hand to capture her son’s attention and Cameron waved back, grinning.

Cameron jogged the last few steps, dropping his duffel bag and backpack just before he reached them, then sweeping his mother off her feet, and swinging her in a circle. “It is so good to see you,” he managed, his voice a little wobbly.

He set her on her feet, and she framed his face with her hands. “My baby,” she murmured with shining eyes. “I missed you so much. I’m so glad you’re home.”

+37

Hi. Just a quick note here. Please remember that I know what I’m doing, and I do things for a reason. Thanks.

Written in 57 minutes.

Friday, September 12, 2024

Webber House: Living Room

She nearly didn’t open the door.

Just the sight of Sam through the little window blocks next to her door made Elizabeth wish she could turn off the lights and hide.

But she was an adult, it was nine in the morning so turning off the lights wouldn’t help, and unfortunately, Sam wasn’t going anywhere so she reluctantly pulled open the door. “Sam.”

“I…suppose I deserve how long it took you to answer the door,” Sam said, folding her arms, rocking back slightly. “You don’t have to talk to me.”

“And send you away without finding out why you came all the way here?” Elizabeth stepped back, irritated by her own curiosity. “But if it goes anything like our last conversation at the police station, you’re going back out that door, and you won’t be welcome back.”

“I deserve that, too,” Sam said, following Elizabeth into the kitchen where she was loading the dishes from that morning. “I should probably start with an apology for that—”

“I don’t need or want it. But Jason, Danny and Jake deserve it.” Elizabeth flicked on the dishwasher, turned to face Sam, keeping the island between them. “But you came over here after school started, so you must want something from me.”

“I do. And maybe you don’t want the apology, but I’m going to give it anyway. You and I—we’ve worked hard to put the bad blood between us in the past. To focus on Jake and Danny, because I know we both agree that they’re what matters.”

“I thought so. But the woman I saw last week? Started to remind me of who you used to be. And that version of you is a danger to my kids.” Elizabeth folded her arms. “I don’t know what’s changed between us—”

“It’s—it’s not about you. Or it wasn’t. Let me just—I had a whole—” Sam gestured in the air. “I had a whole thing planned, so let me get through it.” When Elizabeth didn’t protest, Sam nodded. “Okay. Okay. You know that things with Danny took a nose dive last year. His grades went off the rails, he started getting in trouble at school, and he got suspended last spring. The cops brought him home after he broke curfew. All of that — it was happening before Jason ever got back, so I know that’s not on him. I know that.”

She picked up the salt shaker, twisted it in her hands. “And it’s hard to feel like a failure. I—I wasn’t always the best mother, I know that. I can be selfish and self-destructive, and I ended up being away from my kids for months because I took reckless chances with Shiloh. It wasn’t enough for me to get Kristina away from him. I had to take him down. Me. Not anyone else. And I’ve paid for that choice. I thought Danny had forgiven me, but I guess—” Sam paused. “I don’t know. I just—I started to see Danny going down those same roads, and not knowing how to stop it. Nothing helped. Not time, patience, grounding, taking away electronics—everything was a disaster. And then Jason comes home, and I find out—from him—that Danny found him in the boathouse while he was supposed to be a fugitive.”

Elizabeth’s lips parted and she leaned forward slightly. “I didn’t—I didn’t know that.”

“He didn’t tell me. Jason told him not to. Jason made him an accessory, and God, I just—I saw red when he told me. I get maybe he was still—” Sam pressed her lips together. “I almost understand it. He was undercover, and you know, it’s not that different from pulling a con, and you have to be that person, but all I could see was Danny on the wrong road already — and Jason coming back to drag him all the way to the end of it. I didn’t handle it well. At all. I tried to get Jason out of the deal with the FBI, thinking that would get him out of danger, but that was stupid and reckless—” Sam set the salt shaker down. “I tried to explain this to him, but he seems to think it’s enough that he’s out of Sonny’s business, and things have been quiet since the Pikeman investigation ended. That wasn’t that long ago, okay? He was being shot at in the warehouse at the end of June.”

Elizabeth waited a long moment before responding, gathering her thoughts. “I will say that I hadn’t really thought about it from that perspective — that Danny was already making reckless choices. And that Danny’s easy forgiveness of Jason might have been another sign he was happy to follow some of Jason’s lesser choices. Jake…he just wasn’t interested in any of that. And Jake—they’ve done visits and overnights, but he’s never lived with Jason day in and day out. He wasn’t old enough to remember what happened with the Russians. He doesn’t even remember the Cassadines that well now, which—thank God, I guess.”

“And maybe that’s part of it for me,” Sam admitted. “Danny seemed so eager to be with Jason — and I worried it was the danger that did it. That he liked sneaking around and hiding the truth from me. I know Jason’s never wanted Jake or Danny involved in the business. He hated when Michael skirted near those lines. I don’t think he’d ever really encourage them. But Jake’s never showed the slightest interest. Because he’s your son. Mine? Can’t get enough of the risk. And—” Sam’s voice thickened. “It’s difficult when you realize that it’s because of you that he’s like that. Jason’s world gives him opportunities but I’m the one with the addiction to danger. It…it was easier just to blame him, you know? To tell myself I can still fix this, I can save Danny from all this pain and terrible choices if I just keep him from danger—”

Elizabeth came around the island, sat on the stool next to her. “Sam—”

“I can’t admit when I’m wrong — you know that. I’ve never been able to take accountability for anything until I’m forced to. And even then, I try to wiggle out of it. Spinelli got hired for your case, and Jason told him that I can’t help.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth tilted her head. “I didn’t know that.”

“I tried to get Spinelli to let me in anyway, but he refused, and so I tried to explain things to Jason, but he’s still just—” Sam paused. “He’s angry at me not just because of Danny. I think he could forgive me for the way I’ve tried to cut him off from Danny. I wouldn’t deserve it, but he always blames himself for all the danger anyway. But I…I said some things in front of Danny, and I didn’t realize how upset he was. He went to school, he told Jake, and Jake brought it home to Jason.”

“Some things?” Elizabeth echoed.

Sam dropped her eyes, looked to the side. “Something about you accepting Jason’s crumbs and accepting the same low standards for Jake.”

Elizabeth stared at her for a long moment, then pursed her lips. “You don’t like Jake, do you? Or me? Despite everything we’ve been through, we’re always going to be the obstacle that got in the way of your happy ending, aren’t we?”

“I think that Jake is a great kid, and I couldn’t ask for a better brother for Danny. I think you’re a good mother, and a good person.” Sam met her gaze. “But no, I’ve always resented both of you. Because as soon as Jake existed, I was never going to have Jason all to myself again. He was always going to be settling for me because he didn’t think he deserved you. And I know Danny was my consolation prize — the baby he’s accepted, that he loves, but that he didn’t want. Because if he couldn’t be Jake’s father, he shouldn’t be one at all.”

Elizabeth nodded, slid off her stool, and headed for the door. “Thank you. For admitting that.” She opened the door. “We’ve cleared the air, so you should probably go.”

Sam stopped on the threshold, stopping her from closing the door. “I know that the resentments I have now are wrong, and belong to a more bitter, angry version of me. And most of the time, I don’t feel that way. I love Dante.” Her eyes warmed. “I love him in ways that I’ve never loved anyone else, and he loves me. He’s the one I’ve been waiting for. It’s why you and I could get along. Why I could encourage Jake and Danny’s relationship. But then Jason came home, and I fell into all my bad habits. I’m sorry. I’m working on myself, and I don’t expect you to forgive me. I don’t expect Jake or Jason to either. But Danny—he’s my miracle. And I need to find a way to make it better with him.”

“And you think helping Spinelli with my case will do that?” Elizabeth asked. “Why?”

“Because it’s helping you. And Jake. Two people Danny thinks I hate. Because it’s the right thing to do. You’re innocent and I know that. Jason said that it would be up to you.”

“Did he?” Coward, she thought. She’d have to have a conversation with him about that. “I’m going to have a conversation with him. We may need to do more work before we’re at that part, Sam. Jake and Danny shouldn’t have been part of this war between us, and you’re the one that put them there, not me. That doesn’t get fixed overnight.”

“That is—frustrating but fair,” Sam admitted on a mutter. “Thank you for listening.”

“Thank you for being honest.” And then Elizabeth closed the door.

District Attorney’s Office: Robert’s Office

“Come in, Mr. Reynolds.” Robert gestured at the circular table by the windows overlooking downtown. “I’m so glad you decided to ask for this appointment.”

“You are?” Reynolds stood by the table, but didn’t take a seat. He furrowed his brow. “Why?”

“Because I’ve thrown a grenade in the middle of your case, and I knew you’d be interested in finding out why.” Robert sat down, smiled again. “Please. Sit. We’re colleagues of a sort, and this isn’t personal—”

“You’re interfering in the murder of a federal agent—” But Reynolds reluctantly took a seat. “I don’t see how that’s not personal.”

Robert leaned forward, still smiling, though there was a glint in his eye that suggested it wasn’t entirely friendly. “You have evidence that proves John Cates was on official business that night? After all, he was once a resident of Port Charles with several friends and associates still around. The Quartermaine party was well-attended.”

“Mr. Scorpio—”

“Mr. Reynolds.” Robert leaned back, crossed his legs. “Commissioner Devane was also unhappy with me. She suggested that you had proof John Cates was lured there by a party who is not the woman you have charged with his murder. Imagine my surprise when I looked through our evidence collection and didn’t see such a voicemail – though my people are the ones that collected the cell phone from the body. And I’m willing to bet you haven’t turned over that exculpatory evidence to Diane Miller.” Robert’s smile deepened. “That’s a Brady violation, my friend.”

Reynolds opened his mouth, then closed it, considering his next words very carefully. “The Commissioner told you that?”

“Yes. And since it’s not in any of the files, I’m willing to bet it was something you or the FBI shared with her. Now why would you do that, Mr. Reynolds? Did you think Anna would trot over to your real primary suspect and warn him?”

“It’s not as if it’s out of the realm of possibilty,” Reynolds said coolly. “She’s been known to be friendly with Morgan. And there’s the matter of Valentin Cassadine getting away after spending several nights with Anna in his bed.”

“I don’t believe I mentioned Mr. Morgan being the party on the voicemail. So thank you for confirming that it exists. I’ll expect a copy of it to be delivered to my detectives, and to Ms. Miller by the end of the day.” Robert got to his feet, straightened his jacket. “Mr. Reynolds, we both know that you’ve rushed to charge on flimsy evidence at best. If you came here to intimidate me into relinquishing jurisdiction, I’m afraid you’ll be leaving empty-handed. My team will be conducting a parallel investigation, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us.”

Lake House: Living Room

“It’s a mistake,” Sam told Molly with a shake of her head. “Not because I think Elizabeth is guilty — she’s not, obviously — but your career—”

“Since when do you care about careers?” Molly unwrapped her sandwich from Kelly’s, reached for napkins Alexis had put in the middle of the table. “You haven’t had a real one since you got fired from the DA’s office twenty years ago.”

“Eighteen okay? Don’t make me older than I am,” Sam grumbled. She looked at their mother. “Mom—”

“Molly knows the risks. And if it tanks her career at the DA’s office, well—” Alexis looked at her youngest daughter with pride. “You wouldn’t be the first Davis to flame out there.”

“Nope, just the third.”

Sam stuck her tonuge at Molly, and Alexis smiled watching them. It was so good to see Molly a  bit lighter, with some purpose in her step. Maybe it was a reckless choice, but Molly was standing on principles and it was hard to be disappointed in that.

She looked at the empty chair next to Sam, and wondered how long Kristina would be sitting there again — and how to mend the break between her and Molly.

That was a problem for another day. Today, she was going to focus only on Molly, and hope Kristina wasn’t getting into any trouble Alexis would have to fix later.

Hanley Federal Building: Pretrial Services Division

“I can’t believe I have to come here every week,” Elizabeth muttered as Jason opened the glass door leading to the suite of offices. “Three hours in the car just to be interrogated—”

“I’d say we could do the bike next week,” Jason said, and she looked at him with some interested, “but I don’t know if you’d want to do these meetings with helmet hair.”

“Oh—” Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Probably not. You know, I remember a time when you wouldn’t even think about something like that. Or me. I don’t like being an adult.” She went up to the counter to check in.

“But hey, today we get to go straight to the airport and pick up Cameron,” Jason reminded her, and she grinned.

“That is one upside to this whole nightmare. Getting to see Cam and not have it mess up his classes. I know you’ll just brush it off, but it really does mean the world to me that you’re covering the flights. I won’t even bother to say I’ll pay you back—”

“It’s not just for you,” Jason told her. “Jake—” He hesitated. “This has been hard on him, and Aiden, too. But I think he’s struggled to be the oldest brother, to take care of everyone and not make any mistakes. He needs a break from that.”

“He needs his big brother.” She softened. “And it’s just like you to notice that. Thank you.” Someone called her name, and she made a face. “This is going to be awful, I can just feel it.”

And it was. They sat in the cubicle, in chairs shoved as close together as possible, with a woman who checked all their identification, looked at the logs of Elizabeth’s GPS monitor—

“You’re clear on where you’re allowed to go?” the agent asked. “City limits and here to the Federal building. Any other travel, your custodian has to get it approved by someone here first.” She looked at Jason. “You’re prepared for that, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“All right. You’ll be taking a weekly drug test.” She leaned over, pulled out a plastic cup. “Are you ready?”

Elizabeth sighed. A drug test when she didn’t even have time to do anything more crazy than a glass of wine. “Yeah, sure. Let’s get it over with.”

+39

Written in 69 minutes. You definitely did not want me to skip the last scene, so I had to go over 😛

Thursday, September 11, 2024

Webber Home: Kitchen

Jason followed Elizabeth into the kitchen as she carried the glasses Diane and Spinelli had used to the sink. And realized he didn’t actually have a reason to be at the house anymore.

Elizabeth was home to look after her boys, she’d met with Diane and Spinelli, they had a game plan — nothing was stopping him from returning to his room at Bobbie’s.

Except that he didn’t want to.

“It feels like they have so much to work with,” Elizabeth said, drawing his attention. “I really didn’t expect for Spinelli to have such a head start. Or so little for me to do.” She perched on one of the stools. “And I’m sure you wish they’d given you something to do.”

Jason opened his mouth to deny it, but then sighed. “Yeah, I’d feel better if I had someone to punch,” he admitted, relieved when she smiled. “But maybe I’ll get that chance eventually.”

Then her smile faded. “It’s scary,” Elizabeth admitted, “to think someone had access to my car — when did they put that gun in there? How long was I driving around with the murder weapon?” She shivered, folding her arms. “I don’t even think about what’s in my trunk. I throw things in, take them out—” She looked at him. “And don’t think I didn’t notice — they have a lot of leads — but no one mentioned a suspect list.”

Jason grimaced, slid onto the stool next to her. “If you’d asked me for a list of who hated John Cates enough to kill him, it wouldn’t be short. But how many people on that list who would frame you? I don’t know.”

“Diane seems pretty sure that the FBI is looking at both of us, which makes me think whoever put that gun in my car is trying to get you, not me.” Elizabeth paused. “I don’t understand — did they think the FBI would arrest you? For the gun in my car? Or that we’d both get arrested?”

“I don’t know what they thought,” Jason said, deciding not to air his actual suspicions — that whoever had done this had a pretty good idea how he’d react if Elizabeth were on her way to prison.

The same way he had when Carly had been in danger. Or Michael. How many times had he risked his life or freedom for someone else? Whoever had done this knew what Jason might sacrifice for someone he cared about.

“She said they’re not trying to discredit Michael’s testimony, but that they’ve been trying to chip at Jake and Danny. I—I thought we were pretty clear last week. They haven’t been able to question them, have they?” Elizabeth asked, and Jason tried not to make a face. “Jason—”

“Not Jake. They knew where we both stood on it. But the agent — Caldwell — he showed up at the penthouse last week when Dante was there, and Sam felt like she had to let Danny be questioned. I haven’t been able—” Jason sighed, rubbed the back of his neck. “I haven’t been able to follow up on that—Sam still isn’t letting Danny talk to me.”

“Oh. That’s awful. Does Jake know anything?”

“I don’t—I know how much Jake and Danny are talking right now either. The FBI—they came around the neighborhood. Interviewed everyone. Went to the high school, talked to teachers, other students-” Jason put out a hand to stop Elizabeth from getting to her feet. “Jake and I talked that first day, and I called the school to make it clear that no one questions Jake without a parent or a lawyer. I said the same for Danny, but I don’t know how much that will hold.”

“I hate this. I hate it—” Elizabeth fisted her hands in her lap, then blew out a breath. “But you handled it. Of course you did. That was the only thing that got me through this last week was knowing they were with you.” She reached for his hand, wrapped it in both of hers. “Thank you—”

“Don’t thank me. Jake’s my son. Aiden’s his brother—”

“And do you see Aiden’s father in this time zone? In the country? No.” Elizabeth pressed her lips together, released his hand, sat back. “That brings me to something we need to talk about.”

Jason frowned. “What?”

“What happens if this—if this goes wrong, and I end up back in jail—”

“That’s not going to happen,” Jason cut in, more sharply than he’d intended and she flashed him a mutinous look. “It’s not.”

“You don’t control the world—”

“But this—”

“Jason. Please. I need—I n-need to have this conversation. I need to talk about what happens if this ends badly. Please.”

PCPD: Conference Room

Dante rolled out the clean whiteboard to the side of the conference table. “Okay, let’s start charting this sucker out. You got the magnets—”

“Yeah, and here—” Chase handed him the shot of Cates from his badge. Dante slapped it on the board, popped the top off the dry erase marker. “Starting fresh. What do we know?”

“911 call comes in at 6:41 PM, September 2,” Dante grunted, scribbling info down. “Identifies as Michael Corinthos. Names the location and the victim.” Chase hung up Michael’s photo under witnesses, wrote his name. “We get to the scene, what, fifteen minutes later?”

“Log has it as 6:57pM. Not bad response time honestly, considering.” Chase hung up two more photos under witnesses. “We find out Jake Webber and Danny Morgan heard the gunshots. Send them off to uniforms to be held separately for later questioning.”

Dante continued to write as Chase kept talking. “Uniform statements now or later?”

“Now’s good.”

“Both boys give similar statements. They hear gunshots — Danny doesn’t remember how many, Jake thinks it was maybe four, but definitely more than two. Shortly after — less than a minute, Jake thinks, Danny thinks maybe a little more, but both are adamant it’s not more than five minutes — their father, Jason Morgan, rushes out the terrace door.” Chase hung up Jason’s photo, and Dante continued to write. “Both boys say the same thing — they report the location of the gunfire and worry because Michael and Jake’s mother, Elizabeth Webber, went in that direction earlier. Neither of them remember how long ago it was, but they think it might have been around ten minutes. Probably not more than that.”

“Okay.” Dante furrowed his brow, looked at the initial reports. “I’ll be up front with you that Danny’s not always honest. He’ll curve the truth if he thinks it’ll help him. But he’s not an idiot. So the fact that he and Jake are telling the same story suggest to me —”

“That it’s accurate.”

“Which keeps Jason under witnesses for the moment. So let’s talk about what their statement means. Shooting happens somewhere between 6:30 and 6:40. Michael didn’t remember where they were in the gardens, but think they ran maybe two-three minutes down to the boathouse. I’d have to trace that walk to get a better idea—” Dante paused.

“But that means the window for the shooting is around 6:30-6:35. Because we need time for Michael and Elizabeth to get on the scene, and he has to call 911. He thinks he did it right away, but admits it might have been anywhere from ten seconds to a full minute. And the boys hear the shots fired ten minutes or so after Michael and Elizabeth go in that direction.”

“It’s a tight window. And we don’t have to take the boys word for it — uniforms from other members of the family.” Dante held up a sheaf of papers. “Rocco, Aiden were both there when Michael and Elizabeth left the terrace. So was Georgie Spinelli. They went inside after that.”

“And Monica Quartermaine says Jason sent her up in the elevator about 6:30.”

Dante stared at their board, then nodded. “I’m pretty comfortable leaving all our witnesses in that category for now. I just don’t buy that many people lying. We’ll reinterview the kids — you take Rocco and Aiden, Danny, too. I’ll snag Georgie and Jake. Just to be sure. But it just makes the window way too tight.”

“So if we’ve eliminated Elizabeth for the moment — and I agree with you — then we should talk about the gun in her car. Because if we think that’s the murder weapon, that means it’s someone with access to the car. That can’t be a long list.”

“No, it didn’t look like it. Let’s look at the tip—” Dante waited while Chase searched through the box, retrieving the transcript, and then keyed a few strokes on the laptop.

“Okay, we got the transcript — and let’s hit play—”

“Hello. I have a tip about the murder of that FBI guy. The one on Labor Day. I’m a nurse at GH, and I overheard my supervisor, Elizabeth Webber, talking with that mob guy she’s always with. Jason Morgan. She said that he didn’t need to worry. No one was ever gonna look in her trunk, and when the smoke died down, he could get rid of the gun.”

“That voice—” Dante furrowed his brow. “I know that voice.”

“Same.”

“It’ll come to me—first, let’s talk about how stupid this tip is,” Dante said, and Chase grinned. “If you believe Jason Morgan is talking openly about murder weapons he’s stashed in someone’s car, then you’re an idiot.”

“I’ve always thought that about the FBI.”

“And if you think Jason Morgan is going to involve Elizabeth, then you’re a moron, too. This is inside baseball here — but Sam told me ages ago one of the big dealbreakers with the two of them back in the day was Jason’s worry over Elizabeth being swept up in the business. Can’t see him doing that now. But—” Dante sighed. “None of that is evidence I can write in a report. So let’s talk about the tip as if we’re taking it seriously. How do we identify the person who made it—”

“Go to the hospital and line up all the female workers until we get a match?” Chase suggested. “What, you’re the only one who can tell jokes?” he added when Dante rolled his eyes. “Okay, let’s try to corroborate this tip. We’ll get Elizabeth’s work schedule for Tuesday – Thursday last week, and get Jason’s movements.”

“Let’s start at GH because I don’t know if Diane’s going to cooperate — even if we’re on the same side.”

“We can do that but—” Chase paused. “The FBI sent this tip to the audio lab for testing—along with a second file. But I don’t have the second file in our files which means we didn’t collect it and turn it over to the FBI. So it’s not something we found that first day.”

“And it’s not something the feds used in their court hearing, I don’t remember anything about an audio file. It’s at the state lab?” Dante wanted to know.

“Yeah. So we’ll get the results, and the feds won’t, which is good, but it makes me wonder — why are they  testing these files? To see if they’re real—”

“Because Diane would insist on it, so they’re either getting ahead of it — or they’re not sure themselves. Let’s leave a message with the lab to rush and head to the hospital—Amy!” Dante snapped his fingers. “That’s who this nurse is. Amy Driscoll. That’s her voice.”

“Well, then let’s see if Amy’s up to old gossiping habits.”

Webber Home: Kitchen

Jason shifted on his stool, but he finally nodded, and Elizabeth exhaled in relief. “Okay. Okay.  First, Cameron finishes Stanford. I don’t care if you have to get him on the no fly list to keep him in California—”

“It’s not going to come to that—”

“He finishes Stanford,” Elizabeth said flatly, and Jason fell silent. “He worked so hard to get in there, and he delayed attending because things were hard at home. I leaned on him too much with his brothers, and he felt like he couldn’t leave me when Franco got sick, and then when he—promise me, Jason. Cameron finishes Stanford.”

“He’ll finish,” Jason said with a nod. “I promise.”

“Okay.” Elizabeth rubbed her hands on her thighs, nervous now. “Jake—he applies to that school in Spain. And if he gets in, he goes. If you have to kidnap him and put him on the plane, he goes.”

“All right.”

“And—this last part—this is where I’m going to ask you for something I don’t have the right to ask you, and I don’t care what Laura or Lucky say. Jake and Aiden stay together until Jake goes to school. And Aiden gets to stay here. In his house, with the oven that he helped me pick out when we remodeled, and everything that he loves in a neighborhood—he doesn’t remember living in the other house—” Elizabeth dragged in a deep breath. “Aiden stays here. Laura won’t have the time for him, and Lucky might try to drag him to Africa, and I don’t want that—”

“Okay, okay—” Jason got to his feet, drew her up, and closed his arms around her. “Aiden stays here.”

“You’ll make sure of it?” her voice wobbly.

“Yeah.” Jason kissed her temple. “Cameron finishes Stanford, Jake goes to Spain, and Aiden gets to finish high school living in this house. I promise.”

District Attorney’s Office

Robert heard his ex-wife voice in the outer suite and didn’t even bother to look up when she crashed through his door a moment later. “Don’t worry about it,” he told his harried assistant. “I’ve been expecting the Commissioner.” He leaned back, grinned when he saw Anna’s furious expression. “Hey, kid. How’s tricks?”

“Don’t you smile at me, Robert Scorpio! How dare you send that child to my office to give me orders—” Anna flung the memo at him, but the single sheet of paper never made it to his desk. “You’re mad if you think this is going to work—”

“Seems pretty clear to me that Elizabeth Webber is innocent—”

“The FBI have jurisdiction, Robert. Why are you fighting them on this? Don’t you have any worry for the other cases—”

Robert slowly rose to his feet. “They have to prove he was murdered in the line of duty. And if our people find the murderer first, I don’t much care who gets the credit. I want that innocent woman off the hook for this.”

“This is a mistake—do you know who Molly took as detectives? Chase and Dante. They’re hopelessly compromised—”

“I’m not sure you want to have a conversation about being compromised, Anna.”

She closed her mouth, her nostrils flaring. “Everyone seems to be wanting to tip toe around something. Why don’t you go ahead and accuse me if you’re going to use it against me—”

“Because if I say it out loud, I’ll have to do something about it, and you don’t want that.” Robert leaned forward, flattening both his hands on his desk. “Do you want to tell me why you’re so sure that it’s a mistake? Do you have reason to believe Elizabeth Webber murdered John Cates?”

“I—” Anna paused. “I have reason to believe Jason Morgan lured John to that boathouse, setting him up for a meeting with someone else. The FBI have a voicemail, Robert. They can put Jason at the scene—”

“Then why isn’t he under arrest, Anna? That seems like a conspiracy charged locked up tight, don’t you think? Murder weapon in the girlfriend’s car, boyfriend on the phone luring the victim. Both with motive and opportunity? You arrest them both, and watch them fight to turn on each other. But that’s not what the government did. So I’d ask yourself what game are they playing—and what role are they expecting you to play.”

Webber Home: Living Room

“I should get out of your hair,” Jason said, drawing away from her, shoving his hands into his pockets, taking a step back wards, and to the side, towards the door. “You’ve been surrounded since you got released, and you could probably use a break. You know—nap. Or—whatever.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth chewed on her bottom lip, started to follow him towards the door, then surprised herself when she spoke again. “Wait. There’s something else.”

He turned, his hand on the knob. “What?”

Her throat felt tight, her mouth dry, but she forced herself through. “Maybe it’s not the time to bring it up, but you know, we never get the timing right, and I realized if we keep waiting for the time to come around again, then it’s our own fault, right?”

Jason opened his mouth, then frowned. “What?”

“I’m not making sense, I know. I’m sorry. I’m just—I don’t know how much time any of us get or opportunities, and last week, before this all happened, we were—we were—” She gestured at him, then at herself. “It was like, we were going to take a step forward, and maybe that’s not going to happen now, and I guess I just wanted to know why. Or if you hadn’t thought about it, maybe you think about it.”

Jason released the door, turned to face her fully. “You mean last week, when I was on my way over here.”

“Y-Yes. I’m sure you  haven’t thought about it since Diane called you, and that makes sense. I didn’t really think about it either—” Liar, she told herself. “But—”

“When I came in here after the FBI searched the house, I saw the basket of sheets you’d washed.” Jason stepped towards her. “Maybe it sounds stupid, but it pissed me off all over again. I didn’t know I had room to be more angry, but that did it.”

“Feels like that always happens, huh?” she asked softly, lifting her gaze to his. “We get right up to a point, and then the real world smacks us for even thinking we get to have that dream. That phone call, the day we got engaged—or Sam pulling that awful stunt in the park when you were going to talk to me in the park about—” She bit her lip. “So you’ve thought about it.”

“Yeah. A lot,” he added, and she smiled, biting her lip. “I didn’t—I wasn’t going to bring it up. You’ve got—you’ve got enough to worry about—”

“Is this something I’d need to worry about?” She stepped closer to him. “Because it feels like it might be something…that I’d get to be happy about. I mean we’re dancing around it, which we always do, but I’d like—I’d like to stop doing that. I want to stop wasting—” She squeaked slightly when Jason put a hand at her waist and pulled her in for a kiss, and her words were cut off. She sighed, happily melting into his embrace, sliding her hands up his chest.

“I got tired of waiting you to stop talking,” he murmured against her lips, and she grinned, resting her hands at his collarbone.

“Feel free to shut me up any time.” She kissed him again, wrapping her arms around his neck. “We have time. Before the boys get home—oof—” She was lifted in the air and moving backwards. “Okay, definitely not arguing—”

The landline rang, and she scowled. “I’m not answering that.”

“Me, either—” Jason said, as they reached the stairs. They were half way up when the answering machine clicked on.

“Hello, this is Vivien from Pretrial Services in Syracuse for Elizabeth Webber. This is your daily check-in—”

“Damn it.” Jason set Elizabeth on her feet, and she sprinted down the steps to scoop up the phone. He sighed, moved down a few steps, and sat down.

“Yes,” Elizabeth said with a grimace, turning to look at him as she continued to speak. “I have time now. A half hour? Really? That long—okay.” She rubbed her temple. “Let’s get started.”

Always the damn phone.

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