Written in 33 minutes.

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Friday, September 27, 2024

Chase’s Apartment: Living Room

“I bring little in the way of news, good or bad,” Spinelli said, pulling the strap of his messenger back over his shoulder and setting it on the coffee table. “Some small pieces of movement. Diane finally won her motion to get the car data released to us at the same time the Feds get it, and I’m finally going to get neighbor security footage.”

“That’s good — I’ll check with Robert to make sure we’re copied on all of that.” Chase scribbled a note on a white board. “Getting that car data report to see when that trunk was open will be important.”

“For trial purposes, I need to do analysis to link the GPS records to the trunk records to prove the car was in front of Elizabeth’s house when the trunk was opened — and link with security footage of Kristina at the door.” Spinelli hesitated. “If that’s what happened. I still want to be wrong but it’s the only theory that makes sense.”

“And she’s the same height as Elizabeth, so the bullet trajectory would fit.” Chase turned to Spinelli. “I have an update of my own, but it’s one I need to ask you not to share with anyone, including Diane.”

Spinelli bristled. “What? Why?”

“It’s not illegal,” Chase added quickly, “but brushing on the side of ethics. Diane’s an officer of the court — she’d be bound by the bar to report what I’m about to tell you.”

“Okay,” Spinelli drew out slowly. “You’re the cop, so I’m going to hold you to that. What’s happened?”

“A source in the U.S. Attorney’s Office—” Chase handed Spinelli a folder. “Diane should get a copy of this report sometime next week, but I have the preliminary results of the FBI search today.”

“You have—” Spinelli jerked the folder open, scanned, then exhaled on a slow breath. “The fourth bullet. We half-expected it to be found—but what’s this? A broken heel?”

“The day of the shooting, when Elizabeth and the others came up from the crime scene,” Chase said, “Brook told me later that Elizabeth had broken a shoe running down to the boat house. She remembers it clearly, so she’ll be a good witness.”

“They found a heel between the gardens and the boat house—” Spinelli nodded. “So it supports Elizabeth’s story.”

“The government could still twist it, but when you factor in all the witness statements and Elizabeth’s alibi, it just makes it less likely a jury is going to throw out all the reasons Elizabeth couldn’t have done this.”

“Good for us, but—” Spinelli grimaced. “This says the bullet found is in good shape and should a candidate for testing.”

“I thought you expected that to match?”

“We did—and do. But Diane was able to argue bail because they didn’t have a match. It’s a weak case, so—”

Chase nodded, the realization dawning. “Low flight risk. You make the match to the gun, all of a sudden—”

“Elizabeth has a stronger case to run. Which means they can revisit bail. New evidence, new conditions—” Spinelli slid the folder into his bag. “Diane will have some time to prep, but this just makes it less likely we’ll win the motion to dismiss, and this nightmare is going to keep going. I’ll tell Diane it’s a confidential source for now. She won’t ask any thing else.” He paused. “Your source…you trust them?”

“For now.” Chase paused. “Spinelli, you might lose the motion to dismiss, but we are making progress. We’ve eliminated all the other suspected, we’ve made it but impossible for Elizabeth to have done this—all that’s left is proving who did it, and we’re finally getting those pieces next week. We’re going to fix this. I know it.”

Quartermaine Estate: Family Room

Olivia closed the double doors partially, leaving only a small opening where they could hear the sounds of a video game and voices from Rocco and Scout. She turned to Dante, her arms folded. “I’m not sure there are any right or wrong choices here, Dante. Every option hurts someone.”

“I know. I know.” He paced to the front door, then turned back. “I can’t go back in time and not leave, you know?”

“No, time travel isn’t one of the options.” Olivia tipped her head. “I’m sorry, honey. I feel like I’m not a lot of help. Other than somewhere to rest your head.”

“Just another place I’ve dragged Rocco to. You know, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Maxie needed the space, and we didn’t. I didn’t—I mean, I obviously knew it would be difficult for Rocco—”

“Don’t let the last few weeks overshadow everything that came before,” Olivia told him. “Rocco was happy. He was doing just fine with Sam, and he loved Danny and Scout. This—this all seemed to start last year.”

“When Danny’s grades started to go down.” Dante paused. “Sam was hard on him — she just wanted better for him, you know, but maybe—” He sat on the bottom step. “Maybe it was too much pressure, right? She wanted him to have more choices, more opportunities, not to throw away so many years like she did or Jason did, and Danny just couldn’t live up to it.”

“Rocco feels solidarity with Danny—they start drinking, smoking—” Olivia perched on the step next to him, crossing her arms on her lap. “And maybe it’s working to relieve some of that pressure, you know. Then Danny gets a miracle Rocco could only dream of.”

“He gets his dad back, and Sam won’t let Danny anywhere near him.” Dante looked at his mother. “Yeah, I guess that tracks. He talked about it a little bit. But knowing how we got here — it doesn’t really help to fix it, does it?”

“No—”

“What’s the hell is going on in here?”

The angry adult voice had both rising to their feet just a moment before Drew shoved the door open. “I thought I was very clear that I didn’t want my daughter anywhere near these delinquents,” he bit out.

Rocco came up behind him, his face flushed, eyes glittering. “Hey, don’t you have a felony on your record, asshole?”

Olivia arched a  brow. “Yeah, you said it, Drew. But you weren’t home, and left Scout in the care of whoever lives here. That’s me. And I said she could see him.” She lifted her chin. “Maybe we could take our case to Monica. I wonder how’d she’d feel.”

Drew grimaced, then looked at Rocco. “Stay away from Scout. Come on,” he told his daughter, taking her by the shoulder and lightly pushing her forward. Rocco started to step forward, but Dante was already crossing the foyer to stop his son from following.

“Not a battle we can fight or win today, kid. But he’ll get his. People like him always do.”

Written in 72 minutes. The middle two scenes took longer than I wanted and then I had trouble ending the last scene. Anyway. Enjoy and see you tomorrow!

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Thursday, September 26, 2024

Jake’s Car

Jake waited until they’d pulled out of the driveway for the Davis house before he spoke. “So, how’d it go?”

“Don’t be an asshole.”

“It’s just a question.”

“Whatever.” Danny stared out the window and was quiet until Jake had left the Forest Hills neighborhood, and waited for the light to change so he could make the turn down town. “You didn’t take long to pick me up.”

“Yeah, well—I knew your visit was today, so when I decided to get a coffee after school, I went to the place in your grandmother’s neighborhood. I had a feeling.”

“Oh, so you’re a psychic now?”

“No. I just know you. And I know how we’re alike.” Jake made a turn into a parking lot, then switched off the ignition. “Part of you really wanted to go today. You haven’t seen your mom more than once in almost two weeks and that’s weird for you. You thought you’d go in, and somehow your mom would be all fixed, and it would make sense.”

Danny said nothing, kept his face turned towards the window.

“But you’re also still really pissed your mom put you in this situation. Because if she keeps her hands off my mother, she doesn’t lose the hearing, and maybe you’re back home living there. I went to get a coffee and figured worst case scenario, I’d waste twenty minutes of my life.”

“I picked a fight.” Danny looked at Jake. “It was weird, and it was awkward. Then she started talking about what other people were telling me, and I—I didn’t want to hear it. She thinks Dad and Elizabeth and you just sit around all the time trying to tell me how much my mother sucks and what an evil woman she is—and it’s just not like that. It never was.” He shook his head. “No, once I figured out how much she really hates you and your mom, it all got really clear, you know? She thinks your mom is manipulating me, using me to look good with Dad or something. She can’t even pretend there’s a chance Elizabeth just gives a damn.”

Jake exhaled slowly, stared out the windshield for a beat. “Because she wouldn’t cross the street to help me, even if I were dying.”

“Yeah. I told Grandma that, you know, and I could see her realizing it, too. Maybe she thinks it just about Mom hating Elizabeth because whatever dumbass thing happened back before we were born which I don’t care about. I just don’t. I care about what kind of person my mother is, and it turns out it’s a really shitty one.”

Jake sighed. “Danny, she’s not the worst—”

“She’s not in the top ten maybe, but she’s on the list. Whatever. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Can we just go? I just want to go home.”

Port Charles Municipal Building: Mayor’s Office

“Well, it doesn’t really matter what I think does it?” Laura asked, rounding her desk and reaching for her reading glasses. She peered up at Dante. “You didn’t want to move out in the first place, and Rocco’s giving you the heads up to do that.”

Dante gripped the back of the chair he stood behind. “That’s not fair.”

“Don’t talk to me about fair, Dante. My grandson is tearing apart with guilt because he wants something to change with his mother. For her to wake up or die — this living between—” She gripped the glasses more tightly. “My family went through it for years, but they had no choice but to go on. To keep living. I woke up to my daughter all but grown up, my husband had married someone else, and my sons were nearly unrecognizable to me. Rocco is destroyed, and the only spark he’s had since coming to stay with me is doing something for Scout, and it’s barely a blip. He’s crying out for help, and you’re looking at me for permission to move back in with your girlfriend.”

“Laura—”

“What? Does the truth hurt? Here’s some more.” Laura pushed back, got to her feet. “That girlfriend? Nearly got herself arrested for assaulting my daughter-in-law in front of a child. Her own child! And you think I want to put Rocco anywhere near that?”

Danny exhaled slowly. “I know. I know. Sam went too far—”

“Too far was the day you walked out on my daughter and Rocco to chase ghosts for the WSB. When instead of fighting to stay by her side and be healthy, you chose to leave again. I don’t know why I’m surprised. They say daughters marry their fathers, and you’re proving to be same feckless, useless man Luke was by the time I saw him last.”

Dante dropped his gaze from Laura’s burning blue eyes, the shame and guilt crawling through him. There were no lies in her statement. He’d left Lulu and Rocco, turned his back on their family, and by the time he’d been ready to come home — Lulu had been moving on. And then she was gone.

“You’re right,” Dante said roughly. “You’re right. But no one’s perfect, are they?” He looked at his mother-in-law again. “Didn’t you spend a year trying to fix your grandson’s abuser? If you’d held the ground a little bit, do you think Spencer would still be alive?”

Laura inhaled sharply. “How dare—”

“I mean, if we’re going to blame each other for horrible things that happened to the people we love outside our control—let’s do it. What else can you make my fault? The explosion at the Floating Rib? Sure. The PTSD? Of course, I brought that on myself, didn’t I? You made Spencer live in the same home as the woman who slept with his father and conceived a child just so he could be with his brother. You had influence, Laura. You could have made sure Esme ended up in jail and lost custody of that boy. And didn’t you start the process that got Heather Webber, a killer out of jail?” Dante demanded. “Heather, who tried to kill your grandson’s girlfriend. Who did kill several other people—do we really want to keep listing the terrible things we’ve done, or can we get back to the point?”

Laura’s mouth was tight, her body tense. “Which is?”

“Rocco is in trouble, and I’m not equipped to solve it. Not on my own. Maybe it is a mistake to move back in with Sam, but this is the first sign he’s even thinking of someone else. I can’t just ignore what he’s asking me to do.”

“If your mind was already made up before you walked in here, why did you bother?” Laura demanded.

“I don’t know. To get your blessing. But I didn’t realize how much you disliked me, so—” he shrugged. “I guess I don’t actually care about it.  Thanks for letting my son stay with you. But I’ll be picking him up and taking him to my mother’s. At least he can see Scout there, and we’ll see if he still wants to go back to the penthouse. Have a nice day, Laura.”

Davis Home: Living Room

“Where’s Danny?” Kristina demanded, dropping the brown bag with their dinner on the table by the door, and hanging up her purse.

“Don’t ask,” Sam muttered, slumping down in the sofa. “You’ll just get Mom started again.”

At her desk, Alexis looked up and twisted to face her daughter. “Your tone suggests the first round wasn’t successful, so maybe we need to do this again.”

Kristina came down the steps from the landing, her brow furrowed. “What’s going on?”

“It was a disaster, of course,” Sam said. She got to her feet. “And I don’t want to hear it, Mom. If you’re just going to yell at me, I can go home—”

“And sit alone? Go right ahead.” Alexis arched a brow. “Danny is a teenager with a rotten attitude who hates the world and nearly everyone in it—”

“Not everyone, Mom—” Sam closed her eyes. “Just me.”

“Then maybe stop giving him reasons to be angry—”

“Mom!” Kristina said, her eyes widening. She stared as Alexis rose and came up the steps to pick up the dinner bag. “You can’t really blame Sam for all this—”

“I can. Because she’s the one who decided to walk out on Danny at the police station—”

“Here we go again—” Sam rolled her eyes and looked to the ceiling. “A list of my greatest sins—”

“Then you denied medical treatment when I told you that it was going to end badly—”

“I thought—”

“And if all of that wasn’t enough—” Alexis dropped the bag on the dining table with a crinkle of paper. “When Danny comes to see you, to try to mend the bridges — which means Jason was on the brink of dropping the custody suit—you assault Elizabeth and threaten to have her arrested for kidnapping!”

“I wasn’t—” Sam exhaled, looked away. “I wasn’t serious—”

“In front of Danny.”

“God, can we not do this—”

“All of that already happened,” Kristina interrupted her sister. “Why isn’t Danny here today? You were supposed to visit. He was here—”

“Danny baited her. Because of course he did. He’s angry at you, Sam. Did you think it was going away because it’s been a few days?” Alexis wanted to hear.

“You know, this wasn’t fun the first time—”

“And we’re doing it again because you aren’t listening. Danny has learned how much you hate his brother. You don’t get to unring that bell—”

“What does Jake have to do with this?” Kristina asked. “I don’t understand anything that’s going on. Can someone just start from the top—”

“It’s been bothering me, you know. Why this sudden turn on Elizabeth after years of civil, even bordering on friendly at times,” Alexis said, ignoring Kristina. Sam sighed, rubbed her temple. “Why you would be so sure that Elizabeth is manipulating Danny, trying to alienate him, and use him against you? I couldn’t understand it. But as soon as Danny pointed it out—”

“Mom, he’s fourteen—”

“You were never given an opportunity to be around Jake,” Alexis interrupted. “During the brief period you and Jason were together or when Drew was still living as Jason, Jake rarely had overnight visits. Jason must have always suspected how you felt, and kept him away.”

Sam’s eyes burned. “Mom.”

“Because you do hate him. Because he was conceived the night that you destroyed any chance you ever had of really being with Jason again—”

“Mom. Don’t—”

“What am I missing?” Kristina asked, looking back and forth between the women.

“He may have forgiven you for it, as I did. But only one of us truly let it go. He was never, in a million years, going to trust you again. Not after that. But you couldn’t blame yourself. You blamed an innocent child. You’ve never forgiven that child for being born or for not dying in that car accident.”

“That is a horrible thing to say!” Sam cried.

“I think we all need to take a big step back—”

But neither Sam nor Alexis were paying Kristina any mind. Alexis continued, her eyes on her eldest daughter. “You can’t imagine Elizabeth actually gives a damn about Danny. Not the child born to Jason after she thought Jake was gone forever. Not the child Jason had with you. How could Elizabeth not hate Danny? She can’t be trying to help him out of genuine kindness and compassion for her son’s brother. Because you never would. You haven’t come nearly as far as you think you have from that destructive, narcissistic woman who did the things you did that year. And I think you know very well what I’m referring to.”

Sam opened her mouth, then closed it, taking a shaky breath as she finally spoke. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I could ignore the way I felt about Jake. Jason forgave me many things, but he never forgot any of them. And he never let me near enough to Jake for it to matter.”

“And then Jason came back, when you were already having so much trouble with Danny. You thought you could keep them apart by sheer will, but Danny kept trying. You wanted to stop being the bad guy, so you tried to make Jake the villain. Go ahead, Danny. You can see your dad, but only with Jake.”

“Jake was supposed to refuse—”

“But he loves his brother. He loves him. And he dealt with it. He spent time with his father, and so did Danny. Another reason to hate that child. And his mother for forcing it. Because she must have, of course, you thought. You told me how many times.”

Sam closed her eyes, folded her arms around her torso, tears staining her cheek. “I just wanted to keep Danny safe. That’s all I wanted, and every time I turned around they were making it impossible. And now, I know you don’t believe it, but Elizabeth finally has a chance to get her revenge—”

“Because you took your chance to get revenge, you think she’s doing that, too. Again, Sam. You keep making the mistake that Elizabeth makes the same cruel decisions that you do.” Alexis pointed at Sam with both index fingers. “You walked out on your son, you refused to listen to him, and then you put him in danger and terrified him when you attacked his brother’s mother, and for all intents and purposes, his step mother. You did this, Sam. And it’s had a terrible domino effect that’s left you without both your children. Until you face that, until you can really take accountability for what you’ve done — you’ll keep making these choices. But I won’t stand by and watch.”

She turned and walked into the kitchen, the door swinging shut behind her.

Shaken, Kristina looked at her sister. “What the hell is going on?” she demanded.

“I can’t—I just—” Sam shook her head, covered her face. “I’m going home. I have to get out of here.”

“Okay, but—” Kristina snatched up her purse. “Let me—let me drive you, okay? We’ll fix this, I promise.”

Webber House: Master Bedroom

Elizabeth cross-legged on the bed, flipping through her reminders on her phone’s notepad app. “I miss my old phone,” she muttered. “It had my schedule, and the boys, and it was so organized and all my passwords—”

Jason looked over, frowned. “I thought Cam was able to get the backup last week for you. We can call Spinelli—”

“I know. But this is a different phone, and that backup was old—never mind. Are you sure you don’t want to leave Danny here tomorrow while we drive into Syracuse?” she asked him. “He’s been here alone while we’ve gone to work—”

Jason closed the book he’d been reading and set it on the night stand. “I don’t know what happened today with Sam. He won’t talk about it.”

“Except that he doesn’t want another visit,” Elizabeth said.

“Which I don’t entirely trust Alexis or Sam not to push. Or Kristina,” Jason admitted. “I thought giving them the right to supervise would make things easier. I didn’t want to keep Danny from Sam more than I had to—”

“You don’t think one of them would show up here, do you?” The thought hadn’t occurred to her, and she tensed. “Alexis knows I have to go to probation on Fridays. I told her when I was at Diane’s office the other day. It came up,” she added when he frowned. “She’d know you have to go with me—”

“Which means Danny would be on his own,” Jason finished. “It’s not a perfect option,” he admitted. “But—”

Elizabeth slid under the bedspread and slid in closer to Jason, curling into his side. “But he’ll be miserable coming with us. I know because I’m going to be miserable until it’s over and I can pick up Cameron. There’s got to be a better option.”

“We can’t ask Jake to stay home—”

“No, but—” Elizabeth bit her lip. “Maybe Michael? I know he’s at the office. Maybe Danny might want to go there. Or Carly. She’s always asking to help—” She lifted her brows. “You know, Danny’s old enough to get working papers. He can work limited hours. Cam started at Kelly’s—” she stopped, forced herself to correct. “Bobbie’s now. The diner. It might be good for him. It was good for me. It gave me a lot of structure. He might not want the diner. But maybe something else.”

Jason considered, then nodded. “I think he’s got too much time on his hands, which is how he got into so much trouble.” He kissed her forehead, his lips lingering. “It’s hard to remember to call it by the new name. Maybe because it was Kelly’s for so long. Or because I don’t like to think of Bobbie being gone. But I like the idea of Danny picking up some shifts there. Like you. Cameron. Joss worked there.”

“The family business. The legal one anyway,” Elizabeth added. He grinned, then pulled her closer, and they stopped talking at all.

Written in 59 minutes. This scene did not cooperate the way I planned it, lol, but I like it so much better than I had it planned. But it also went 3x as long as it should have. Story of my life 😛

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Thursday, September 26, 2024

Davis House: Living Room

Sam nearly leapt off the sofa when her mother stepped through the front door, then to one side revealing Danny coming in behind her.

It had been nearly a week since she’d seen her son — and now she  didn’t quite know what to do now that they were in the same room. She was suddenly very aware that the last time he’d seen her, she’d been screaming at Elizabeth, demanding that someone arrest her for kidnapping.

Her feelings and convictions about Elizabeth aside — Sam swallowed. It had obviously been a terrible idea to confront her in the lobby.

Alexis hung up her purse and keys, then came down the few steps into the living room proper to rub Sam’s shoulder. “I was thinking maybe asking your sister to stop at Bobbie’s to pick up dinner. What do you think, Danny? Your usual?”

“Uh, yeah, thanks.” Danny dropped his back pack on the ground. “I have to do homework before I go ho—back,” he said, fumbling slightly.

Sam forced words past the lump in her throat, knowing it would be better to ignore the fact he’d nearly called Elizabeth’s house home. “Oh? Any  subject I can help with?”

“Not really. I, um, have to do some make up assignments to fix my grades.” Danny remained where he was, only steps from the front door. “Jake’s been helping me, though. And Dad’s pretty good at algebra.”

“He always was good with that kind of thing,” Sam managed. “And we’re really long past the days when you brought home work I understood.” Especially since she’d barely managed to scrape her GED. She looked at her mother, a little bit helpless.

What could she say? How did she even act?

Alexis picked up her phone. “I’m just going to, uh, text Kristina the order. Sam, I picked Danny up from a therapy session.” She lifted her brows. “You might ask how that’s going.”

“Oh. I didn’t know—” Sam bit her lip, looked back at Danny. “I didn’t know if I should—I mean, did you want to talk about it?”

“We can, I guess.” Danny finally moved from his spot, heading for the armchair by the sofa — choosing that so that Sam couldn’t really be next to him, she thought, but shoved it down.

It was only fair that it was awkward and uncomfortable. Sam was trying to be on her best behavior, and even if the supervision was her mom, she knew Danny could tell his attorney if she messed up. For once, she was going to have to think about what she would say.

“Do you…do you like your doctor?” Sam asked, sitting gingerly on the sofa, perching near the edge, her hands clasped together.

“Yeah. Um, more than I thought.” Danny was staring at the floor. “He kind of just…asks questions, you know. And lets me talk. I thought it’d be the opposite.”

“That’s good. Um, I know you’d asked me to go to some sessions. I don’t know if you still want that—”

“I do—” Danny lifted his head. “But…” He tensed, and averted his gaze again. “I guess it has to be when Elizabeth doesn’t go. Since Dad said you can’t go near her. That’s what the court said, right?”

Sam pressed her lips together, swallowed hard. “Yes. It’s…for the best we don’t talk or see each other right now. I’m…I’m very sorry. About what happened, Danny. I know that…I know it was a mistake. I wish I hadn’t gone downstairs.”

“Me, too.”

Sam clenched her jaw. “I don’t know…what else you’ve been told about any of this, but it’s complicated. It’s not just about you—”

“I know that.” Danny met her eyes, and there was a flicker of that old resentment. “It’s about Dad. And Jake. You hate them both. You blame Elizabeth for Jake existing. That’s fine. You don’t have to like any of them. Or Elizabeth. That’s what I talked about at the doctor today. Being okay with how much everyone hates each other. Jake doesn’t like you either.” His mouth curved slightly into a mocking smile. “Neither does Elizabeth. And you’re not on Dad’s good list either.”

Sam furrowed her brow, trying to determine if Danny was trying to bait her. “Divorce is difficult,” she said after a moment. “And there’s often a lot of friction. But your dad and I need to do better—”

“No, Dad doesn’t need to do anything—” Danny shook his head. “You just don’t get it, Mom. You never will.”

“Danny—” Alexis came to sit next to Sam. “Your mother is just trying to make peace—”

“No, she wants to pretend like she’s not the one to blame, and I’m not gonna let her do it. Look, I screwed up. And I’m dealing with how bad it was. I was a jerk to you, I know that, and I guess I’m sorry for it. And Dad leaving the way he did, that was messed up, and he knows that. But you made it harder. Dad didn’t fight you because he didn’t want this. And you figured he never would.”

“That is—” Sam bit back her first reaction when Alexis squeezed her knee. “Okay, that’s true. I knew your dad didn’t want to go to court. But that doesn’t mean what’s happening now is the right choice—”

“Mom. You punched Elizabeth in the face and tried to have her arrested when she drove me over to see you. She wanted to help. And I know, I know, she’s just trying to make herself look good, right? That’s what you’re gonna say. That’s why she let me come stay at her house, and why she found me a doctor — she’s trying to prove she’s better than you. That’s what you’re gonna say right? That’s what you told the court, my attorney said so.”

Sam opened her mouth, then closed it. “There’s just no winning with you, is there, Danny?”

“What do you want me to say, Mom? Hey, thanks for giving Elizabeth a black eye and nearly getting her bail revoked so she’d go back to jail.” Danny got to his feet. “This is stupid. So what if Elizabeth is trying to prove something? It doesn’t change what happened. She still drove me to see you. Because I wanted to see you. I wanted to fix things.”

“Danny—” Sam and Alexis both got to their feet.

“No, I’m sick of this. Because you’ve been doing this for months. You don’t care what I want. You just care about you. I have to have perfect grades because you screwed up your life and I’m supposed to be better than you. I can’t see my dad because he’s made stupid choices, like all yours are so fucking fantastic, and my brother’s mom is a bitch because she’s nice to me and only wants to make you look bad —” His face was flushed and there were tears glimmering at the corner of his eyes. “Dad made sure that Grandma or Aunt Kristina was our supervision, right? And said he didn’t care how often I could see you. But he’s still the asshole, right?”

Sam fisted both hands her hair, squeezed her eyes closed. “Danny. Can you just let me talk—”

“No, how does it feel? Huh? To be told how to feel, and how to act, and how think? How does it feel to have someone else trying to control your life?”

“Danny, let’s just take a step back—” Alexis came around Sam and put a hand up. “Okay, honey. Your mother isn’t blameless and she knows it.” She threw Sam a look, then returned her focus to Danny. “So let’s just take a deep breath.”

“What’s the point?”

“Because I think there’s progress to be made here. You’re upset, and you should be.” Alexis turned slightly, her back now to Sam, her attention fully on her grandson. “I know how awful Saturday was. I’ve seen the video. I can’t imagine how it felt to be there.”

“It was my idea,” Danny said, his voice breaking slightly. “Okay? I wanted to fix things so Scout could come home. We were trying to fix things for Mom. I knew I messed up with the drinking and the weed, and Dad was going to talk to Grandma Monica, and Elizabeth was just going to sit in the lobby. I don’t understand how it’s so bad. She wanted to help, Mom. And you were going to have her arrested. They would have put her in jail and the FBI is awful. They would have put her back in that jail hours away. Jake and Aiden and Cam would all lose their mom. Is that what you wanted? Because I was with Dad, you figured Elizabeth should lose her kids, too?”

“No!” Sam said forcefully. “Is that what she said? That’s such bullshit!”

“No. That’s what I think. What Jake thinks. And probably his brothers. But, hey, you can’t pass up the chance to blame Elizabeth for something else, huh? I told you,” he said, looking at his grandmother. “She can’t stop thinking about anyone but herself. She never will.”

“Danny—”

“Dad said these visits last as long as I want them to. Well, I don’t want any more today.” He jerked out his phone.

“Danny, please, just—” Sam held out both hands. “Please. Okay, you’re right. You’re right! I hate Elizabeth so much that it blots everything else out, and I can’t think straight? Is that what you want to hear?” she demanded.

Danny lowered the phone, looked at his mother. “Only if it’s true.”

“Sam—” Alexis began, but Sam shook off her mother’s hand.

“No, he wants the truth, right? Well, fine. He can have it. I hate Elizabeth Webber, and I have since she decided to have an affair with my fiance,” Sam bit out. “She took advantage of Jason when he was upset, when we were broken up—”

“So not an affair, then.”

“Damn it, Danny—”

“Do you think I don’t know how to do math, Mom? I know from the pictures that you and Dad were together before Jake was born. And after. Dad told me that you guys were broken up for a while and that’s where Jake comes in. But I guess that’s part of you hating Elizabeth so much you can’t see straight, think straight, or even tell the truth.”

Sam exhaled slowly. “You’ll understand when you’re older. They were absolutely having an emotional affair. I absolutely get to hate the woman who destroyed my relationship with your father and ruined any chance we ever had to be a family—”

“Except we were a family, Mom. You threw Dad out after the Floating Rib explosion,” Danny retorted, and Sam scowled. “You started dating Dante before Dad ever went to Greece.”

“Okay, this conversation is going nowhere—” Alexis started.

“No, I think we learned something really important. At least I did.” Danny lifted his chin, glaring at his mother. “You said it yourself. You hate Elizabeth so much that no one else matters. Especially not me.”

“Danny—”

“You told me over and over again that I’m supposed to do better than you, that I need to make better choices than you, that I shouldn’t make your mistakes — that’s all I am to you. Your miracle baby that’s supposed to be some kind of evidence that you’re a better person. You don’t care about me.”

“That is not true—” Sam lunged forward as Danny headed for the door, but Alexis blocked her.

“Give me a second. Let me go talk to him, Sam.”

Alexis followed Danny out the door, found him on the porch, his phone in hand. “Danny—”

“I’m not going back in there—”

“I’m not asking you to.”

Danny grimaced, looked at his grandmother, tears still glinting in his eyes. “Don’t tell me to let this go.”

“I’m not asking that either.” She closed the door so that it was just the two of them. “I’m not really sure what I should say because everything that’s coming to mind will sound like a defense of your mother to you, and I think you’d probably just start running.”

Danny looked away, towards the woods and the road. But he remained in one place, so Alexis continued. “I don’t deny that your mother has put a lot of pressure on you. Grades, behavior, all of that. And I know she’s worried that you’ll make the same choices she did. Or your father.”

“Grandma—”

“And it’s natural for you to rebel. To push back. And to pick fights to avoid uncomfortable conversations,” Alexis continued. “You might not have meant for it to get this bad, but you can’t stand there and tell me you weren’t pushing her buttons.”

Danny grimaced. “So what if I was? I wanted her to admit what she did. She still probably thinks what happened last weekend is Elizabeth’s fault. Elizabeth shouldn’t have hit her back, she told me that. And she thinks she should have left, and let Dad come and handle it.”

Alexis rubbed her temple. “And I suppose Elizabeth took accountability the same day, so listening to your mother make excuses a week later isn’t exactly helping.”

“It’s like Mom can’t believe Elizabeth might give a damn about me. Like I’m not worth caring about—”

“Danny—”

“Because it’s how she feels about my brother. She knows if the situation was reversed, she’d have told Jake to kick rocks,” Danny retorted, and Alexis closed her mouth. “That’s why she can’t believe Elizabeth wants to help me. She knows she’d never be that nice to Jake. So it must be a lie. It must be a trick.”

“There is…” Alexis pursed her lips. “Some truth to that statement, Danny. It’s a long, complicated history — a lot of bad blood between them—”

“And Mom’s the only one who makes it my problem. What am I supposed to do with that?”

“I don’t know.” Alexis folded her arms. “I don’t know. I promise you, I’m going to do whatever I can to help. Your mother loves you, Danny.” Danny scoffed, and she bit her lip. “Is your father coming to get you?”

“No, Jake is. Unless you think Mom’s going to throw rocks at his car and accuse him of kidnapping me,” Danny said.

“No, I think you’re safe.” She paused. “How are you doing? Honestly. And just between us,” she added when he sighed.

“Fine, I guess.  I like living with Dad,” he said, looking at her, a bit of challenge in his eyes, as if daring her to disagree. “And Jake. But not just them. I like living with Elizabeth and Aiden. And Cameron’s coming home this weekend because he’s worried about his mom. I like it. Dad helps me with homework, and I started to understand it when he explained it.”

“That’s good. I mean it. Jason was always a good father, and I’m not surprised that you’re enjoying more time with him. And your brother.” Alexis tipped her head. “The therapy? Is that helping?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. It’s only been two sessions. I told him about Mom and the fight, and—” Danny shook his head. “I don’t like making Mom unhappy, okay? I hate that Scout’s with her dick father, and he’s not letting me see her either. I know Rocco’s being an ass, and I’m not trying to make it worse, I’m not. But I’m just angry all the time, Grandma. I used to hide it by getting high or drunk. I’m not allowed to do that anymore.”

“Come here.” Alexis tugged on his sleeve, and he reluctantly went into her arms, then relaxed against her. This was his grandmother after all, and he’d known her all his life. “I love you so much, sweetheart. All I want is for you to safe, healthy, and happy.” She pulled away, then held his head in her hands. “I’m going to work on your mother, and we’ll figure out a way to do these visits that isn’t going to make you both miserable. But that’s not your problem to fix. It’s mine. You take care of yourself, all right?”

“All right,” Danny said. He heard a car pull into the drive. “Thanks, Grandma. I…I love you, too.” He stepped back, picked up his back pack. “Um, tell Mom I’m sorry I guess. We’ll try again some other day.”

Alexis waved at the car as Danny jogged towards the passenger side, and Jake waved back at her somewhat hesitantly.

As her grandson pulled away with his brother, Alexis turned back to the house, took a deep breath, and went inside.

Written in 56 minutes. Both scenes ended up a little longer than I planned, so there’s only two. See you tomorrow!

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Thursday, September 26, 2024

Metro Court Hotel: Restaurant

Carly beamed when Jason slid into the chair across the table. “I can’t believe you actually showed up. I figured you’d be too busy.”

Jason frowned, picking up the menu and skimming it even though he didn’t really care. “I said I would.”

“I know, but—never mind.” Carly gestured for the server to take their orders. “I don’t want any interruptions.”

That didn’t exactly bode well, but Jason didn’t say anything. Once the server had left, Carly folded her arms on the table and leaned forward. “I doubt Spinelli told you this, but I went to see him yesterday—”

Jason lifted his brows. “Is this going to ruin my day?”

“No. Because you already know the details. I mean you know what I’m going to say, I just don’t know if you know that I know. Except I talked to Elizabeth and maybe she brought it up—”

“Carly.”

“Right. Sorry.” She cleared her throat. “I know Gia Campbell is on the case.” When Jason’s head snapped up, she continued. “Michael recognized her name when he saw the warrant, but couldn’t remember anything other than she’d worked for me. Which makes sense, he’d been really young when she was around. And I don’t even know if she was around, but I definitely talked about her a lot at home—right, getting to the point,” she said when she saw Jason’s expression. “I know Gia’s on the case. I talked to Elizabeth and Spinelli, and they both seemed to think this was under control. I did get Spinelli to say he’d look into it, but I doubt he can make it a priority—”

“And he shouldn’t. Diane knows. We’re following her advice—”

“Jason. Please don’t tell me you think it’s a coincidence that Gia Campbell shows up out of nowhere as second chair on Elizabeth’s case. We both know that’s not how this works. She’s here to make trouble.”

“Maybe,” Jason allowed, shifting slightly. “But she’s limited in what she can do—”

“I can’t really tell you what Gia can do, but I can tell you if she’s anything like she was then, she’ll be ruthless and take every opportunity to go after Elizabeth. She did in that competition. She played dirty.”

“I know—”

“You don’t, but that’s not my point either. Maybe you’re right. Maybe legally, she can’t offer much. But I’ve been thinking about nothing else for the last twenty-four hours—”

“That’s terrifying to hear.”

“Jason.” Carly tipped her head. “The FBI doesn’t want Elizabeth. They want you.”

Jason exhaled slowly, then nodded. “I know that. We’ve known that all along—”

“Gia knows exactly how far Elizabeth would go to protect you. I went home last night, and I pulled out everything I have from Deception, and I talked to Maxie—”

“Carly—”

“Just listen. I asked Maxie to pull out the Face of Deception records, anything she could find which wasn’t much, but I think I’d forgotten exactly when all of that was. Or what else was going on. Until I saw the date. February 2001. The warehouse fire. Do you remember?”

Jason nodded slowly. “I do—”

“You came home that winter to help Sonny deal with something in the business. I don’t remember if I ever know more than that. But I also remember that no one even knew you were in town at that point. It came out later you’d been staying with Elizabeth, right? Keeping your return quiet. And she’d lied to Lucky.”

“She—yeah.”

“Jason, everyone knew that. You know that, right? Including Gia. Gia knew that she’d lied to her boyfriend to keep you safe. That’s not something in those PCPD files, is it?”

“I don’t see why that matters—”

“The feds are going after Elizabeth to get to you. They either think she’s going to turn on you, which I doubt she would even if she had something to offer—which is the nicest thing I’ve ever said about her honestly. Or they think you’re going to confess to get her off the hook. And Gia knows enough to make sure they believe that. You can guarantee that Nikolas whined to her about you and how you took advantage of her that first time in her studio. Do you know if he knows you were shot then?”

“I don’t—” Jason squinted. “Carly, I’m not sure why any of this matters.”

“Gia’s not going to do damage in the court room, I trust Diane to handle that. But if Gia tells that Reynolds guy everything she knows or might know— including that Elizabeth will and has broken laws to protect you—she did that when she was a eighteen-year-old kid, Jason. Do you think they’ll ever believe she wouldn’t now, twenty-five years later when the two of you have this history, a child, and a relationship now?”

Jason absorbed that, but still shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. They already think she’s hiding something—”

“I don’t care about them.”

“Then what are we doing here—”

“I care about you and what you are planning to do. Because the FBI isn’t going away. Even if the PCPD finds out who really killed John Cates — they don’t care. Do you think Cates was the only one pissed about  how the Pikeman investigation fell out?”

“No, but—”

“Jason. Can you really sit there and tell me you don’t have an endgame in mind?”

Jason looked away. “No.”

“That’s why it bothers me this woman is on the case. Because she can give them more ammunition. More conviction that Elizabeth would protect you at risk to herself. They’re not going to give up. If Diane doesn’t win at this hearing, then we’re talking about a trial. And a jury.”

“I know.” Jason waited a beat. “I don’t want you to worry about any of this, Carly.”

“Okay, well, now you’re just being stupid. Because who better than me knows what kind of suicidal mission you’ve got in your head? You gave up two years of your life to protect me, which I never asked for. And I’m still pissed about,” she added. “You give up what’s left of your life to protect Elizabeth from a crime she didn’t commit, she’s going to be just as angry.”

“She can be angry and free,” Jason said finally. “Just like you—”

“What’s stopping me from telling Elizabeth about this conversation? About what you’re obviously planning if this starts to go south?”

Jason looked at her, and Carly fidgeted, but didn’t break the gaze. “You can tell her. It won’t change anything.”

“Except piss her off. You want to live with that over your head?”

“Carly.” Jason stopped, unsure exactly how to proceed. “It’s not something I want to  do, okay? And it’s not like I’m thinking about it today. Or next week. Just—it’s an option.”

“It’s a stupid option.”

“Your opinion is noted—”

“And the second I think you’re going to put this stupid plan into action, you’d better believe I’m going to tell Elizabeth. And she’ll kick your ass.”

“Can we be done with this conversation now?”

“For now.” Carly sat back as the server approached with their lunch orders. “But not forever.”

Chase’s Apartment: Living Room

“Is there a reason we’re meeting at your residence?” Gia asked, her eyes skimming the entire room, including the whiteboard with the details of the case displayed. Except for suspects, she noted. The basic details, witness statements—but nothing about who had done this except a list at the corner with those who had been eliminated.

“You said we needed to be discreet.” Chase closed the door. “This is discreet.”

“I’m not doing anything wrong,” Gia said, turning back to face him. “I’m allowed to talk to the investigators, local and federal.” She slid the strap of her bag off her shoulder and set it on the table. “But this isn’t a conversation I think my boss would appreciate me having.” She tipped her head. “And why are you working here?”

“You never know who’s listening.” Chase folded his arms. “You asked for this meeting. Why?”

Gia was quiet for a moment then unzipped the bag she’d set down to extract a manila folder. “To deliver the preliminary report. Diane Miller isn’t getting that until at least Monday, so if you could keep it to yourself or make sure it doesn’t get back to my superiors — that would be great.”

Chase took the folder, but didn’t open it. “Why are you giving me a preview?”

“Because I have doubts about this case, and so far — neither Caldwell or Reynolds seem all that interested.” She paused. “I took this case because I used to live in Port Charles. Because I knew some of the participants twenty years ago. I knew Elizabeth.”

“That’s a conflict of interest—”

“Says the man married to Jason Morgan’s cousin.”

“It’s not the same thing and you know it.” He lifted his brows. “And you’ll be out of luck at that hearing when Elizabeth sees you—”

“Do you think Diane Miller didn’t do a search on my name the moment she saw it on the docket? She knows I used to live here. My connection, as brief as it is, is public. I was engaged to Nikolas Cassadine, and Elizabeth and I competed against each other in a modeling competition. That alone would be enough to recuse me if Diane requested it. She hasn’t.” Gia paused. “I took this case because I knew Elizabeth, I know the kind of work Jason and Sonny are — or were — involved in. And I knew Elizabeth would do anything to protect Jason. I don’t think I ever thought she was the shooter, but I was almost positive Jason was.”

“Was?” Chase echoed.

“Your witness statements. It…I started to ask questions. And Reynolds wasn’t interested in the answers. He doesn’t care Elizabeth isn’t the shooter. And doesn’t care that Jason probably wasn’t either.” She sat on the arm of the sofa. “I think somewhere in their minds, they’ve convinced themselves that Jason hired someone or knows what happened. Maybe that’s true. But that’s not the facts he put in evidence. Or the argument he intends to make to a jury. And that bothers me.”

Chase opened the folder, skimmed it, then lifted his gaze back to the lawyer. “They found the fourth bullet?”

“Yes. And its condition is good enough to send for testing.”

“I expect it to match. Someone planted the car in Elizabeth’s trunk. They’re not doing that if it’s not the murder weapon.”

“You’re sure it was planted?” Gia asked as Chase went to his board, started to make some notes. “How do you know?”

“The tip that came in, pointing the feds in that direction — it was a fake.” Chase looked back at Gia. “Whoever created the tip used an AI generator to mimic a real nurse who works at the hospital, Amy Driscoll. She used to be a gossip columnist. You know the tip, right?”

“I do.”

“Elizabeth and Amy were never anywhere near each other the only day they both worked at the hospital. We have both their time covered from the beginning to the end of their day. Not only that — Jason never goes to the hospital. You have to sign in at the front desk. He’s not there or on any security footage that entire week. The tip is junk. Someone wanted us to look in that trunk.”

“Okay. That—I can follow that. Caldwell—there’s no follow investigation on the tip,” Gia admitted. “He took it, and ran with it. And I’m not sure he cares it’s false.” She nodded. “Okay, so the bullet doesn’t seem to be a problem.”

“The other item you noted — a broken heel. Several witnesses related that Elizabeth came back to the house with a broken sandal. They found out when they came back that Caldwell had grabbed the boys, and Elizabeth sent Michael for her sneakers that she’d brought with her. But they weren’t going to wait. Michael remembers throwing the sneakers through a window as they were pulling out.”

“She broke it running towards the gunshots. Reynolds plans to argue it was running to get to the spot in time — ” Gia winced. “I’m not supposed to tell you that.”

“The heel supports her story. And Michael isn’t the only member of the family that remembers this. One of the uniforms took my wife’s statement. She remembers the broken shoe clearly — because to get to the car and get over the gravel, Jason had to carry Elizabeth.” Chase smiled slightly. “Brook’s a romantic.”

“Okay. Okay.” Gia blew out a breath. “This is kind of crazy,” she admitted. “I got involved in this case because I was sure Elizabeth was involved. It seemed like the kind of stupid mess she’d get involved with because of Jason. I could tell you so many stories—” She smiled faintly. “And I’m sure Elizabeth thinks I got involved because of our past. That was part of it. I never really liked her. And maybe I wanted to be on the sidelines when she finally got what was coming to her.”

“But you’re here, having this conversation with me—”

“I became a lawyer because I wanted do something good with my life. To be better than I was before. I like the challenge. I don’t mind taking a case to trial even if it’s a longshot. But I’m a little funny — because I want my defendants to be guilty. There’s no victory in watching Elizabeth go down for something she didn’t do.” Gia got to her feet. “Just my luck. I finally get a chance for a little bit of revenge, and my conscience won’t let me enjoy it. Reynolds wants payback for the Pikeman investigation falling apart. He’s not going to quit until we force him to. Are you interested?”