Written in 72 minutes.

Saturday, September 21, 2024

Penthouse: Living Room

Dante forced his expression to relax before pulling the door open to reveal a pair of familiar uniformed cops, Dex Heller and his partner—damn it what was her name?—  “Hey, Dex. Uh, come in—” He stepped to the side, shot Sam a warning glance, hoping she’d remember to let him handle everything.

“Hey, Dante. Sam. You remember my partner, Erica Williams,” he said, and the other cop just made a face. Not a great start, Dante thought. “Uh, we just took statements from the security in the lobby.” Dex stopped by the desk. “So we’re gonna talk to you, and then head over to Elizabeth Webber.”

“That’s not—” Dante looked to Sam again before turning his attention to the cops. “That’s not necessary. It’s just a custody thing that got out of hand, you know? I don’t think anyone’s pressing charges—”

“With all due respect, Detective Falconieri,” Erica Williams said, “that’s not up to you.”

“I’m not pressing charges either,” Sam said, her voice a bit rusty. She approached hesitantly. “Like Dante said, tempers are high right now. I’m sure you’ve seen your fair share of domestic situations—”

“Ma’am, I understand, but from what we saw on the security footage, it’s not something we can just walk away from.”

And considering Dante had already pulled enough strings to get the weed mentions deleted from their report barely a week ago, he wasn’t going to be able to do it twice. So he was going to have to go on the defense. “Sam, you want to call your mom?”

Sam pressed her lips together. “You saw the footage. You know it was mutual. I don’t need lawyer. I’m not pressing charges. If she wants to, whatever. That’s her problem. I don’t have anything to say.”

Dex cleared his throat. “You, uh, don’t want to tell us how it started?”

“We already told you. A custody dispute. If you need more than that — if charges are going to be filed, then, yeah, I think I’m gonna need my lawyer.”

“Fair enough. We’ll, uh, head over to the Webbers. See what the situation is. We’ll be in touch if we need to.”

“All right. Thanks.”

After Dante had closed the door, he exhaled slowly and then turned to look at Sam. “I hope it was worth it.”

Sam flexed her fingers, the skin at the knuckles broken. Her cheek was already starting to bruise and the red marks at her throat where Elizabeth’s nails had scraped the skin were still visible. “Elizabeth isn’t going to press charges. She doesn’t want cops involved anymore than I do—”

“I’m not listening to this anymore.” Dante snatched up his keys. “I’m going to Laura’s to talk to Rocco. To figure out what the hell to do. You think about how stupid this all is.”

And then the door slammed behind him.

Webber House: Cameron/Danny’s Room

Danny sat up when Elizabeth lightly knocked on the open door. She’d cleaned up since they’d gotten home—tied back her disheveled hair and cleaned the cut on her face that was bruising, but it was hard to ignore the swelling in her split upper lip from where his mother had landed the first blow.

“Hey, Mom,” Jake said, sitting up with Danny. “You, uh, look better.”

“Thanks,” Elizabeth said dryly.  “Go take a ride with your dad to pick up Aiden, okay? I want to talk to Danny — ” she paused lightly. “If that’s okay with him.”

Jake looked to his brother. “You good?”

“No, but you can go,” Danny muttered.

Jake rolled off the bed and a few minutes later, they heard his footsteps thudding down the steps. Elizabeth remained in the doorway, her arms folded loosely across her chest. “I’m sorry about what happened. I should have left and let your Dad handle the situation.”

“It’s okay—”

“It’s not. ” Elizabeth came in and perched on the edge of the bed, keeping her distance from Danny. “I also didn’t have to hit her back—”

“She hit you first. You get to defend yourself—”

“Maybe. But not at your expense. I’ve tried really hard not to let how your mom and I feel about each other affect you and Jake, and I didn’t do a good job today—”

“She didn’t care.” Danny let his head fall back against the headboard, keeping his gaze from meeting  Elizabeth’s. “I knew she didn’t like you. She used to be better at pretending, but like, Jake and I always knew. She thinks you’re trying to like steal me from her, and it’s stupid. You’re not my mom. I know that.”

Elizabeth was quiet for a moment, then spoke. “I know she worries about being the second-choice, and as much I don’t understand a lot about her, I do understand that. As someone who grew up not feeling like I fit with my family, it’s awful to think that someone who is supposed to love you doesn’t. Even if it’s not true,” she added when Danny opened his mouth. “Your mom’s running on emotion, and she’s not thinking before she acts.”

“How can you defend her?”

“I’m—” Elizabeth smiled faintly. “I guess I am, huh? Your dad thinks I make too many excuses for people, and he’s not wrong. I just—I care about you, Danny. And I don’t think anyone wins if you and your mom are at war with each other. She’s a human who makes mistakes. Terrible, awful mistakes. But she’s human. And she’s terrified that she’s losing her kids. She’s not handling it well. At all, and for that, I won’t make excuses. But the root of it? I understand. I’d do anything for my boys.”

“Yeah, which is why you’re up here trying to be nice to me and make me feel better about my mother, but it just—” Danny hesitated, obviously unsure if he should keep going, but then after a beat, continued. “It makes me uncomfortable. Like it feels like a lie. You don’t like her. She hit you, and you hit her back, and neither one of you remembered I was there.”

Elizabeth tipped her head to the side. “You’re right. She hit me, and I stopped thinking about you. About my case, and how getting arrested for assault didn’t matter. I wanted to hurt her back, and I hit her back. And I kept going. Because in the heat of the moment, I wasn’t thinking about anything or anyone but myself.” She paused. “But that’s over now. The adrenaline’s faded, and while, yes, in the moment, it felt good to hit her — to cause her pain — I’m left with the consequences, Danny. Trying to understand how it happened — and how I can keep it from happening again. Just like you and Rocco, right? You guys made a terrible choice last Saturday. And the consequences keep coming. Rocco’s handling them in his way, and you’re doing yours.”

Danny absorbed all that, then lifted his eyes to meet hers finally. “Okay. That makes sense. I don’t want you and my mom to fight like that. I don’t want it to be like this with her. She’s—she’s my mom. I love her. And I miss my little sister. This all started because of me, you know? My grades and my attitude. And then — well, you know what me and Rocco were doing.” He sat up slightly, folding his legs. “I want it to go back the way it was before, except maybe I get to see Dad more. And I could, like, have these longer visits where I live with him sometimes.”

Elizabeth opened her mouth to respond, then got a notification from her phone. “Someone’s at the door—” She grimaced. “It’s the police. Probably here to take our statements.” She got to her feet. “I don’t think we can go back to how it was — but I promise, Danny, to try to make it better than it is now. It’s all I can do.”

Laura & Kevin’s Condo: Living Room

“I appreciate you letting him stay here this weekend,” Dante said, keeping his gaze on the steps to the second floor — where Rocco was hiding from him. “I don’t—I don’t know what to do. I tried it punishing him, but it just made it worse.”

“I’m a little at a loss myself,” Laura admitted, folding a leg beneath her and looking at Kevin with worry before returning her attention to Dante. “I keep thinking that if I’d handled things with Lucky differently when he was that age, oh, so many things would be different.”

“I didn’t—I didn’t realize he hated living at the penthouse. Or that leaving the house would feel like I was taking him from his mother. Stupid,” Dante muttered. “I should have seen that. I should have known.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “But I don’t know how to fix it.”

“If I may — ” Kevin leaned forward. “I’ve never been in this situation, you understand. Starting a new relationship while my child was living in the house. But I will say — there’s a line between forcing a kid to face the reality of his mother not being here — and pushing him into things he isn’t ready for.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Sam and I are both—it’s not—we’re not—we can’t seem to get on the same page. She’s lost control,” Dante said with a shake of his head. “She’s so scared that Drew and Jason will win full custody — and I don’t think she understands that she’s actually making it happen. Walking out of the station last week with Danny, starting a fight with Elizabeth just before we’re supposed to go to court—I don’t want to leave her. To be one more person she’s losing. But I don’t know how to show Rocco that I’m hearing him, that I care what he thinks.”

“There are no easy answers here, Dante,” Kevin told him. “You’re in a situation where you’re being asked to choose between two people you love. But no mistake, there is a choice to be made here. All you can hope is that you’ll be able to live with what happens when you make it.”

Harborview Towers: Hallway

As soon as Jason had learned the cops had come to the house — and that Elizabeth had sent them away without pressing charges for Danny’s sake — he knew he had to take some kind of action. To get through Sam’s thick skull that she was the architect of her own misery.  It was time for a conversation where he wasn’t going to let her guilt him, to use his past against him.

He already knew he hadn’t been a good father, but his mother was right. He’d made those mistakes, and they were done now. He couldn’t keep letting that guilt drown him — or let Sam use it to get her away.

She swung the door open, her lips set in a mutinous line. “You know, the fact that those damn guards still work for you and don’t give a damn that I said not to let you up here—”

“You don’t like it, Sam, you can move,” Jason said flatly. “Your kids don’t live here anymore, you might as well.”

Her lips parted with surprise and she actually took a step back. “What the hell did you just say to me?”

“You heard me. I gave you the title to this place because it was Danny and Scout’s home,” Jason replied. “But if you don’t want it, sell it. Until you do, I don’t want to hear it.”

“And if you don’t want to hear it, you can leave—” Sam started to close the door, but he slapped his hand against it. “I don’t have to hear you—”

“Yeah, you do. Or I’ll have Elizabeth call Dex Heller back and file charges for assault. So either we have this conversation now, or you can spend the night in lock up. Up to you.”

Sam released her grip on the edge of the door, turned her back and stalked towards the sofa, whirling around when she heard him close the door. “She had no right to come here—”

“To sit in the lobby while Danny asked you to be part of his therapy? Yeah, she’s regretting that, believe me.”

“Don’t act like she’s trying to do me any favors. She never has—”

“Shut up.”

Sam closed her mouth, swallowed hard. Because she recognized that tone. “You don’t get to talk to me like this—”

“I’m done letting you hurt Danny. Don’t — ” He held up a hand when she started to speak again. “I’m done letting you pretend that you’re the better parent because you were here. That’s not going to work anymore. Danny was trying to reach out to you to day, trying to make peace. And he’s talked about wanting to come home, even for an overnight visit because he’s worried about you and about Scout. I  tried to fix things for you with your daughter. I asked Monica to work on getting Drew to drop this custody battle—”

Her dark eyes glimmered with angry tears. “Am I supposed to thank you? This is your fault—”

“Because that’s all that matters, right? Who gets the blame. That’s all you care about is making sure you look good. That someone’s holding your hand and making you feel better. You can’t get out of your own way. You never have—”

“Shut up—”

“I’m done letting you hurt my kids. With hurting my family. Elizabeth has done nothing to deserve the way you’ve treated her for weeks. Nothing but give a damn about our kid—”

“She’s so much better than me, right?”

“Yeah. She is.”

Sam hadn’t been expecting that answer because her eyes grew wide, and her lower lip trembled. “Well, at least you’ve finally said it.” She swiped at her eyes. “I wish I’d never met you. I wish I’d never married you or given you a son — I wish Danny weren’t your son—”

“And I wish Danny didn’t have you as a mother, as long as we’re saying what we really feel,” Jason said. “And believe me, I’m not sure he doesn’t feel the same right now. Especially with what I saw on that security footage. When you rewind this back, Sam, to figure out where you went wrong, getting on that damn elevator to confront Elizabeth — that’s the point of no return. For all of us. Because you know Danny will never forget it. He came to ask you for help, and you made his life worse. I won’t let you do it again. I should have done a better job protecting Jake from you, but I won’t make the same mistake with Danny.”

“Really? Protecting Jake? I didn’t even touch him—”

“No, you didn’t have to. You just let Maureen Harper do the dirty work. Or the guys you hired in the park to hold guns on toddlers,” Jake retorted, and Sam’s face went white. “I made you a promise then, do you remember it? I didn’t keep it then. I let myself believe you had changed. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Are you threatening to kill me again, huh? Is that what this is about?” Sam demanded. “Because wow—”

“No. But I know how to get it done. Today was the last straw. Elizabeth isn’t pressing charges, but that’s not going to stop me from using it in court. I’m getting permanent custody of Danny. Try this again, Sam, and Drew gets a copy of that tape, too. That’s the promise I’m making you”

+45

Written in 66 minutes. Wanted to get the ending right. It’s not quite there, but it’s close enough.

Saturday, September 21, 2024

Harborview Towers: Lobby

Dante walked through the double door entrance to the building — and straight into chaos. He saw Danny first, standing off to the side, his cheeks flushed and stained with tears — then the security guards standing near the sofas, and two women on the ground —

Damn it.

Dante rushed forward and caught Sam around the waist just before his girlfriend could grab another chunk of Elizabeth’s hair. Sam’s legs were still kicking wildly as he lifted and shoved her behind him. She started forward again, trying to push past him, but he kept his grip on her tight.

“What the hell is going on?” he demanded, looking from her to Elizabeth, bewildered. “Are you insane?”

Elizabeth had a split lip and a cut just below her eye, already showing signs of bruising. She sat up, took a deep breath, then rolled to her feet, running her fingers through her hair. “Ask her that — she went after me!”

“We called the PCPD,” one of the security guards told him. “Couldn’t get them to separate—”

“Great. That’s just great,” Elizabeth bit out, her breathing still a bit fast. “Are you happy now, Sam? Is this what you wanted?”

“I wanted you to get out of my damn life! That’s all I’ve ever wanted!” Sam shot back. “Danny, go upstairs. I’m done with this game—”

Danny swallowed hard, swung his gaze to Elizabeth who grimaced. “You’d better go for now. Your dad’s on his way, and since I can’t take you with me without her screaming kidnapping —”

“What?” Dante demanded, returning his gaze back to Sam. “What the hell is going on here?”

“I came to talk to Mom, and Elizabeth drove me,” Danny said miserably. His shoulders were hunched, and he had both hands in his pockets. “She waited down here, but Mom figured it out, came down and then wouldn’t let us leave—”

“Damn it.” Dante scowled, focused on Sam. “What is wrong with you? Jason has custody—”

“Well, she’s not Jason, is she?” Sam spat. “Go ahead, walk out that door with my son. Find out what happens—you’d understand if you knew what I knew,” she told Dante. “She’s trying to turn Danny against me! She pushed him into therapy, and she’s going to the parent sessions!”

Dante scrubbed his hands down his face, took a deep breath, then looked at Danny. “Go with Elizabeth. I’ll handle the cops,” he told Elizabeth. “Sam might have thrown the first punch, but you should have known better than to show up here. What the hell were you thinking, bringing Danny here yourself?”

“I don’t know, I guess I was thinking about what Danny needed,” Elizabeth snapped. “He wanted to talk to his damn mother! And Jason is over at the Quartermaines trying to talk Drew into dropping this custody bullshit with Scout, so excuse me for thinking that was just as important.”

Dante closed his mouth, pressed his lips together. “Don’t pretend you didn’t realize it would be an issue—”

“Which is why I stayed downstairs—you know what—” Elizabeth held up both hands, palms outward. “I’m not doing this. You want to blame me for this mess, you do whatever you want. I’m done.” She looked to Danny. “If you want to wait for your dad, you can do that.”

“I don’t want to make anything worse,” Danny said. “If I leave with you, won’t it mess things up for you?”

“Only if your mother tries to have me taken in for kidnapping,” Elizabeth replied. She stared at Sam. “Try it. See what skeletons I dig out of the closet to make your custody case harder. Drew says you’re an unfit parent. Whose side do you want me on?”

Sam’s head snapped up and she went still, then swallowed hard. “Jason will just take him later,” she forced out. “Go. If you want to be away from me so badly.” And then she turned, stalked towards the staircase doors, and shoved the door open.

Danny folded his arms. “I’m sorry. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have come here today—”

“This isn’t on you, Danny.” Dante came forward, put his hands on Danny’s shoulders. “The adults in your life are acting like idiots, and that makes it our fault. I’ll talk to your mother. She’s upset—” He looked over at Elizabeth. “You should both go before the PCPD gets here. I’ll handle it. Go,” he said again to Danny when the teen didn’t move.

“Come on. Let’s call your dad and tell him to meet us at home,” Elizabeth said, gesturing to Danny. “Before he gets here and makes this even worse. I’ll meet you outside,” she added when Danny passed her. Danny, still looking miserable, nodded, then shoved the doors open.

When Danny was gone, Elizabeth looked at Dante. “You want to blame me to make things easier for you, go right ahead. But I brought Danny here to ask Sam to go to those damn parent sessions. He wanted her to be part of them. Both of you. No one knows how to sabotage herself better than Sam.”

“Yeah, well—” Dante shook his head. “You know she’s insecure about you and Danny—you knew she was angry about all this therapy stuff and your involvement—”

“It’s not my job to hold her hand, and make her feel better about herself. But she’s the one that did this, Dante. She confronted me physically in front of Danny. She’s out of control, and as someone who’s seen what happens when she’s not reined in—” Elizabeth shook her head. “God help us all, but especially you.”

Penthouse: Living Room

Sam stalked from one end of the room to the other, her shoulders trembling, the adrenaline still coursing through her veins. She heard the click and turn of the tumblers a moment before the door opened and was already across the room when Dante came in. “What did you say to her? Why didn’t you come up right after me?”

“I wanted to talk to Danny,” Dante said, his expression grim. He closed the door, his hand laying flat against for a beat before it slid away. “Did you attack her first?”

“You’re taking her side, aren’t you—”

“Did you attack her first?” Dante repeated, louder, his cheeks flushed, and he turned to face her fully. “Damn it, Sam. Did you throw the first punch?”

Sam lifted her chin. “I grabbed her when she tried to leave with Danny, and yes, I did throw the first punch—but she was trying to take Danny—”

“Jason has custody of him right now. I know you hate that, but it’s the way it is. You made it this way, Sam, when you walked out of the station a week ago,” he continued as she flinched, and dropped her gaze.  “And then you refused to sign consent papers, so Jason went to the court. Legally, he had a right to give Elizabeth permission to take Danny anywhere he wanted to go. And she brought him here. To you. Is she right? Was Danny asking you to be part of his therapy?”

Now her mouth trembled. “Yes, but she’s going to be there, too! Like she’s important to him—”

“She is,” Dante said ruthlessly. “And that’s a situation you created. Remember? You said Jason could only see Danny when he was with Elizabeth and Jake. Supervised visitation. And you knew Jason was staying at her house when you walked out on him. What did you think would happen? No, don’t even bother trying to explain yourself,” he continued when Sam opened her mouth. “You can’t. You’re due in court on Monday, and all Drew has to do is find out about this mess today. You’ll look unhinged.”

Sam looked away, her vision blurred from tears. “And she’ll go right to him. You heard her. She’s only too happy to make this into a victory—”

“Maybe I think she was stupid for being the one to drive Danny here, but that doesn’t change how insane it was for you to attack her for it.”

She wrapped her arm tightly around her upper torso, embracing herself. “I can’t stand it. I can’t stand it. They took my kids from me, Dante. My kids. What am I supposed to do? Just let it happen—”

” I expect you to stop making it worse for you, for Danny, and for everyone around you. Otherwise, Sam, I don’t know how we come back from this. I’m still here because I love you,” he continued when tears continued unchecked down her cheeks. “But we’ve got a problem, and you refuse to see it. You’ve decided Elizabeth is the source of all these problems, and until you let go of this ridiculous jealousy, you’re going to keep losing.”

Webber House: Driveway

Elizabeth pulled her car into the parking spot just behind Jason’s SUV — whose brake lights were still lit, indicating he’d only just arrived, too.

The drive back from the Harborview had been silent — Elizabeth honestly hadn’t known what to say to Danny. Should she apologize? Explain things? She’d tried so hard to be neutral, even positive about Sam where Danny was concerned because it was the right thing to do. But to have Sam of all people threaten Elizabeth with kidnapping — and Sam had thrown the first punch —

Elizabeth had lost her mind, and the whole scene didn’t reflect well on either of them.

She switched off the engine, and Danny barreled out of the car, heading up the sidewalk at double speed. Ahead of them, Jake was out of the passenger side, chasing after his brother.

Elizabeth climbed out more slowly, rolling her shoulder, and Jason was coming towards her, wincing. “It looks worse than it is, I think,” she said when he reached her.

He took her chin in his hands, tipped it to the side. “You’re going to have a black eye.”

“Damn it. I hope I broke her goddamn nose,” Elizabeth muttered, and he sighed, making her feel worse. “I’m sorry. I didn’t start it, but I shouldn’t have tried to finish it either.”

“I’m sure Sam didn’t make it easy to walk away from her. Come on—” He put an arm around her shoulder, and she winced. “Did you hurt something else?”

“We rolled into the chairs, and I think I hit one of the posts—” She wrinkled her nose as they approached the door that Jake and Danny had left ajar in their haste to get inside. “Not my finest hour.”

“I threatened to make Drew disappear,” Jason told her and she stopped, looked at him with surprise. “I didn’t punch him. So you still win for worst day.”

“I don’t know why that makes me feel better,” Elizabeth said after a moment, “but it does.”

Webber House: Cameron/Danny’s Room

Danny didn’t stop until he hit the third floor and threw himself across the bed, burying his face in the pillow. He heard Jake’s footsteps thudding after him. “Go away.”

“Not a chance. Come on—”

Danny felt the bed dip, and he reluctantly rolled over to find Jake sitting on the edge. “They called the cops. Dante said he’ll fix it, but what if he can’t?”

“Yeah, I don’t know.” Jake exhaled slowly. “What happened? Mom’s not exactly one to lose her mind like that—”

“No, but mine is,” Danny muttered. He flopped back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling. “Mom said if Elizabeth tried to leave with me, she’d say it was kidnapping. And Mom grabbed her, punched her. Then your mom got mine by the throat, and it just—” he swallowed hard. “It was bad, Jake. Really bad.”

Jake sighed, laid back next to him, and they laid in silence, both staring at the same white ceiling paint. “Dante’s a good guy. He’ll get the cops to realize it’s not a big deal—”

“People will find out. And maybe Drew will use it to keep Scout away.” He forced himself to continue. “And maybe he should. I was…I was scared today. Of my mom. What she might do if she thinks someone trying to keep me away.” He twisted his head to look at Jake. “I don’t know what I supposed to do. She makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong by talking to your mom or like, I dunno, acting like she’s part of my family.”

“Then your mom is crazy.” Jake sat up, folded his legs. “I’m sorry, Danny, but it’s just the way it is. You’re my brother, which means we’re family. And Mom’s practically your step mom. How come it’s okay for Dante to be like your second dad? She’s a hypocrite.”

“I know. I just….” Danny rolled away, to lay on his side. “I hate it. I want it to stop. But it’s just going to get worse. I just know it.”

Webber House: Kitchen

Elizabeth winced when Jason pressed the ice pack against her cheek. “Ow—” She covered the pack with her own hand to hold it in place.

“Careful, hold still—” He reached for the towel he’d already dampened to blot at the cut in her lip. “I’m sorry. I should have taken Danny to the Towers.”

“Yeah, well, if she’d just stayed upstairs, we wouldn’t have this problem,” Elizabeth muttered. “God, I’m so sick of her acting like I’m the bad guy! It’s not like I stole Danny from her — not that it’s really about that. She still thinks I manipulated you twenty years ago, you know, and it’s so annoying because I was literally on her side the whole time. I told you over and over again to talk to her, didn’t I?”

“I know.” Jason crumpled up the towel, threw it in the trash can. “Dante will probably keep things quiet — this looks worse for her than it does for you,” he added when Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “You’re not the one fighting a custody battle right now. And there are witnesses — you reacted in self-defense—”

“Do you really think the FBI is going to care?” Elizabeth wanted to know. “They’re going to get desperate, you know. We both know they only let me out on bail because they thought we’d make a mistake and lead them to evidence they can use against you. It has to be clear by now we won’t want to do that, so if they can revoke my bail, they will.”

Jason met her worried eyes, then dropped his back to washing his hands, and drying them. “The injunction Michael filed to keep them off the crime scene will probably be dismissed in a few days. And they’re going to go back to search for the missing bullet. They find that—” He shook his head. “It’s hard to sit on my hands and let everyone else look for answers. I’m over at the Quartermaines trying to help Sam, and she’s making all of this harder for everyone. For Danny, for your case—”

“You were trying to help Danny. Just like I was. We both thought the best thing to do was to help Sam win her case against Drew, but honestly, Jason—she was going to file kidnapping charges against me. Yes, they would have been dropped — but she didn’t even think—” Elizabeth looked away. “She never seems to remember how much patience I’ve shown her over the years. I kept a secret for twenty-four hours. She never would have said a word about Maureen Harper if she hadn’t been caught.”

“I blamed myself for creating the situation, so I believed her when she cried, when she claimed to regret it and begged to be forgiven her. But she was never sorry. She’s made that clear. She’s resented you since that summer, and Jake since he was born. You did what you did with Jake Doe and with that maternity test, but none of it comes close to what she did in the park. Either time. Maybe she needs to be reminded of that.”

+39

Written in 57 minutes.

Saturday, September 21, 2024

Harborview Towers: Lobby

Elizabeth leaned back against the chair, and flicked through her notes for the next month’s master schedule, reviewing vacation requests and PTO requests. She hoped that Danny’s conversation with his mother didn’t take too long — this wasn’t exactly how she wanted to spend her Saturday and she was eager to know how things had gone for Jake and Jason with Monica and Drew—

There was a ding of the elevator and Elizabeth lifted her gaze, expecting to see Danny. She was already half-standing, sliding her phone back in her purse when she realized who was striding off the elevator.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Sam demanded, her face flushed. Danny trailed behind her, a slight edge of panic in his miserable expression. “You have no right to be sticking your nose in my son’s life! You’re not his mother!”

“No, I’m not,” Elizabeth said, forcing her tone to remain flat and even. To treat Sam like an irate patient or an insubordinate employee. The last thing any of them needed was Elizabeth to lose her temper — Danny already looked like he wanted to die.

“Mom—”

“I knew you were going to use this therapy crap to turn him against me!” Sam spat. “You pushed him at this doctor, and you pushed your way into a parent session! You’re not his mother!”

“So you’ve said. I’m just trying to help, Sam, but this was obviously a bad idea. Danny—” Elizabeth gestured towards the front entrance. “Why don’t we head back to the house—”

“Yeah—” Danny started past his mother, but Sam shoved him back and grabbed Elizabeth’s arm before she could take more than a handful of steps.

“You’re not going anywhere with my son! He’s staying here.”

“Mom—”

“Let me go,” Elizabeth said, tugging at Sam’s grasp, one eye on the security guards behind the desk. “You don’t want to do this right now.”

“Danny, go upstairs,” Sam ordered. “You’re not going anywhere with her. I’ve seen through your little game,” she said to Elizabeth. “You think you can turn my son against me the way you turned Jason? It’s not going to work—”

“I’m not doing anything, Sam. Let me go,” Elizabeth repeated, heat crawling up her spine, her chest tightening with fury. “Last warning.”

“Mom!”

“If you try to walk out that door with my son, I’ll call the cops and have you thrown in jail for kidnapping. Yeah, what’s that going to do to your bail?” Sam snarled when Elizabeth jolted.

“Are you insane?” Elizabeth demanded. She started to struggle in earnest now, tugging at Sam’s grasp, lifting her other hand to plant against Sam’s shoulder, intending to push her, maybe to dislodge the claw-like hold on her arm—

But Sam swung out with her free hand, backhanding Elizabeth so hard her head snapped to the side, and she tasted blood in her cheek.

“Mom!” Danny cried. “Stop it!”

Elizabeth touched her lip, saw the blood, then lifted her eyes to Sam’s smug face. Everything screamed in her to let it go. To leave and have Jason resolve the issue — Danny was his son, after all, and he had emergency custody. To engage with Sam any further would put her freedom at risk.

But to have this woman standing in front of her, accusing her of kidnapping — this woman — who had hit her so hard that Elizabeth’s ears were ringing—

She tossed her purse aside and went for Sam’s throat with her free hand, digging in until Sam grunted, released Elizabeth’s arms, and started clawing at Elizabeth’s fingers, falling backwards.

TJ & Molly’s Apartment: Living Room

TJ peered over Molly’s shoulder, then furrowed his brow. “Am I reading that headline right?”

Molly jolted at his voice, looking up and releasing a breath. “You scared me. I thought you were still sleeping.”

“It’s almost noon,” TJ told her, taking a seat next to her on the sofa, a bowl of ramen in his hands. “I have to go back in at four—I know, I hate it, too. But they needed someone to take the night shift—”

“You haven’t had a full night off in so long,” Molly murmured, but she knew it was a futile conversation. TJ was as devoted to his career as she was to hers, and it was just something they were going to have to work around.

“Next weekend, I promise. But that headline about your mom, is that for real?”

Molly turned her tablet around so that TJ could see for himself. He cradled his ramen in one hand, and reached for it, balancing it in his hand, using his thumb to scroll. “Your mom plead not guilty by reason of insanity to a murder?”

“Luis Alcazar. More than twenty years ago. It was just after my sister was born. She was premature, you know. Kristina.” Molly sighed, braced her head on her fist, and her elbow against the back of the sofa. “I think it’s part of the reason Mom has so much trouble letting Kristina hit rock bottom — she nearly died at birth, and then Mom lost custody for eight or nine months while she was in treatment. But…” Molly bit her lip. “She never told us about the diagnosis. Dissociative identity disorder. It’s not genetic or anything—”

“But there are genetic factors that can influence it,” TJ murmured. He leaned forward, setting his bowl down on the table so he could focus on the article more intently. “What made you look this up?”

“Jason and Brenda Barrett were convicted of this man’s murder. It was overturned, thank God, and Mom was charged, but—” Molly chewed on her bottom lip. “I think the reason she never told us about this — about the disorder or the case — I don’t think it was real. This isn’t a disorder you have for a minute and then just recover from forever. Mom went through rehab for her alcoholism. This should have come up in the intake, and it didn’t.”

“You think your mom faked it to beat the charges?”

“Maybe. This guy set a bomb that killed Mom’s little sister — the first Kristina. Mom had a motive, you know? But either she was lying to us our whole lives about this illness — or she was lying back then. And if she lied back then—”

“She let Jason and that other woman get convicted for something they didn’t do.”

“Yeah.”

TJ handed her the tablet back without further comment, picked up his lunch. Molly was grateful for his lack of reaction — she hadn’t really been able to articulate what troubled her about the case history she’d seen on Chase’s board.

“I’m starting to feel like I don’t understand or know my mother or my sister at all,” Molly admitted. “After what Kristina’s said — what she was planning — my mother standing by letting it happen —” She looked at TJ. “They’re suspects in Cates’ murder. I can’t know anything about that part of the investigation, but I know Chase hasn’t been able to eliminate them.”

“Molls.”

“I started this. I—” Her throat was tight. “What if I started this whole crusade and it turns out my own family did it? How do I live with myself, TJ?” Her eyes burning, she closed them, feeling the tears slide beneath her lashes.

She heard the clink of the bowl hitting the table again, and then TJ pulling her into his arms.

“You did what was right, Mol. You saw an injustice and tried to fix it. Everyone makes their own choices, you know? Including your mom and Kristina. How could you live with yourself if you’d done nothing and another innocent woman was sent to jail?”

“I know.” She leaned her forehead against his shoulder. “I can’t stop this from happening. It’s out of my hands.”

Quartermaine Estate: Monica’s Room

“I wish I could tell you I have any influence over Drew,” Monica said, her hands wrapped around a cup of tea, her blue eyes faded and tinged with exhaustion. “But I’m not sure he’ll listen to anyone. Except a campaign manager.”

Jason grimaced. “I know. And I hate even trying to ask you—” Every time he saw his mother, she seemed to have diminished more and more. Just like the final visits with his grandmother, and it weighed on him — the loss of the woman he’d wasted so much time pushing away.

“But you’ll do whatever you have to for your family,” Monic said. She set the tea down and reached for his hand — then squeezed it as best she could, though the pressure was light. “I feel the tension, too. Drew’s clashing with everyone, and this business with taking Scout away from her mother—” She paused. “I’ve never pretended that I approved of Sam — which I know carried little weight with you —”

“It’s okay—”

“Let me say this.” She patted his hand. “I never thought she was a good match for you. Too much like you,” she added. “Addicted to adrenaline, to living fast, to taking risks, and not thinking much about the future. You needed someone to keep you grounded. Tied to not only today, but yesterday and tomorrow. But there was nothing I could have said to you that would have influenced your choices.”

Jason was quiet for a moment, taking in her words, acknowledging, at least to himself, the truth in them. “But?” he prompted.

“I have seen glimpses of Sam showing some real maturity, some growth. She’s not a bad mother. Or one to put them in danger.” Monica’s lips twitched slightly. “She’s not that different that who I was when I raised you and AJ, you know. I loved you both so  very much. Your father and I both did. But neither one of us could see past our own needs. Our own selfishness. And it made us…careless parents,” she said, after considering the words. “I see that in Sam — and I’ve seen it in you.”

Jason exhaled slowly, then nodded. “I haven’t been a good father for most of Jake or Danny’s lives. I’m trying to do better now. But it’s hard. To know the right choices. I left them. I left Jake. I let someone else take on being his father. I thought it was better for him—” He shook his head. “But it wasn’t about him. It never was. It was about me. And not wanting the guilt of being the reason he was hurt. He’d already been kidnapped, Elizabeth had already been in so much danger, and Michael —” He stopped, unable to speak of the horror that had befallen Michael as a child.

“You made mistakes, Jason. All parents do. Your father and I made them over and over again. I didn’t hold on tight enough to you boys when you were children, and then — when it mattered, I tried to hold too much and I drove you away—”

“It wasn’t just you,” Jason said, and Monica smiled sadly.

“It started with us. I was your mother, and I should have done  better by you. The guilt never fades, Jason. For all the ways you fail your children. But you can’t live in the past. You can’t let it steal the future. You’re here today, trying to do better. Which is more than I can say for Drew. He’s not ready to stop being selfish, and until he is, I’m not sure we can convince him that putting Scout through this custody battle is hurting her and Danny more than helping anyone. But I promise I’ll try, and for as long as Scout is in this house, I’ll make sure she’s looked after—”

“I know you will—” Jason was interrupted when the door to the bedroom was thrown open and Jake strode in, a phone in his hand. “I thought you were keeping Scout occupied—”

“I was, but—” Jake thrust the the phone at him. “You need to talk to Danny and we need to go. Sorry Grandmom,” he said as an afterthought.

Jason took the phone, but he could hear Danny’s panicked voice even before it reached his ear. “Please! Stop! Mom!”

“Danny?” Jason demanded, getting to his feet. “What’s going on?”

“You have to stop them! Mom attacked Elizabeth, and now they’re fighting, and they’re going to call the cops, and you have to—Mom! No!” Danny’s voice faded, and Jason realized he must have dropped or put down the phone because he could just hear faint sounds — and he recognized the sounds of a grunting, voices shouting—

“Damn it,” he muttered. He hung up, and looked at his mother. “I have to go—”

“Go. Go. Call me later,” Monica ordered.

“Let’s go,” Jason told Jake, gesturing towards the door. And hoped they got to Harborview before the police did.

+29

Written in 66 minutes.

Saturday, September 21, 2024

Quartermaine Mansion: Foyer

Jason’s determination to avoid Drew entirely during this trip was immediately foiled — the bastard was in the foyer when Jason and Jake arrived, trying to talk Scout into putting on her jacket so that they could leave.

“Jake!” Scout’s eyes lit up and she raced for her older cousin, hugging him tightly. “Did you bring Danny?”

“That kid isn’t allowed within six feet of my daughter,” Drew began, his chest already puffed out, “so if he’s in the car or—”

Jason reminded himself that an arrest for slugging Drew in his pompous mouth wouldn’t help anyone, and kept his distance and his tone cool. “For someone who never met Edward, you sound a lot like him.”

“I want to see Danny!” Scout said, stomping her foot. “I was supposed to go home!”

“You are home,” Drew said. He wiggled the jacket. “Now come on. We have to go. I have a campaign appearance, and I can’t be late—”

Scout’s face screwed up in scowl that echoed her mother and she flounced over to the bottom of the steps, took a seat, and folded her arms. “No. People keep taking pictures of me and I don’t like it.”

“I’m in charge, and you’ll do what I tell you.” Drew grimaced, then focused on Jake and Jason. “What do you two want anyway? Any more dead bodies to leave on my property?”

Jake flinched and looked away — and all Jason could think was how his son had thought Drew might listen to him — that the arrogant son of a bitch might remember a time when he’d called Jake his own son. And now—

“Maybe this was a mistake,” Jake said to his father. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Why don’t you take Scout and go up to see your grandmother? Give me a few minutes,” Jason said. Jake made a face then nodded, heading for the stairs. Scout bounced to her feet.

“Excuse me, you don’t have—Scout, come right back—” Drew started to follow but Jason stepped in front of him, blocking his approach. “Get out of my way.”

“Seven years ago, Jake thought you were his father,” Jason bit out and Drew closed his mouth, pressing his lips into a mutinous line. “And I made it clear that I would never stand in your way if you wanted to maintain a close relationship with him. I don’t know what the hell happened to you, but if you ever speak to my son that way again or about either of my children, they won’t be able to find your body.”

Drew kept his eyes locked on Jason’s. “Are you threatening me?”

“You’ve done nothing but make every part of this situation worse—”

“I’m protecting my daughter—”

“You’re protecting you—” Jason jabbed him in the chest, and Drew fell back a step. “You’re dragging your daughter to campaign events, putting her in the media when she doesn’t want it. You took her from her mother where she wasn’t in any danger, making Danny feel even guiltier about the mistakes he made—”

“He’s a drug addict—”

Jason’s fist twitched at his side, but he kept it in place. “He’s a teenager, making bad choices. And he’s trying to fix them. Rocco’s an idiot. But  neither one of them would ever hurt Scout. And Jake?  Jake came here because he still thought there an ounce of good in you, someone worth trying to reason with. Because he still remembers the man who pretended to be his father—”

“I was his father,” Drew bit out, his jaw clenched. “A better one than you ever were—”

“And that’s what it’s all about isn’t it?” Jason said, stepping back, satisfied. “Being better? A real father doesn’t stop loving his kids. The way you’re treating Jake and Danny now? They’re better off without you. They know that now. And one day, so will Scout. Drop this bullshit custody fight with Sam—”

Drew sneered. “Still fighting her battles. Does Elizabeth know you’re here, white knighting for your ex-wife?” He pulled out his phone. “What do you think she’d think of this conversation?”

“Go ahead. Call her. She’s with Danny, trying to mend things between him and Sam.” Drew stopped, looked up, squinting. “She’s not like you. She know the kids come first.”

“Whatever. I’m late, and I don’t have time for this.” Drew dropped his phone back in his pocket and snatched up his own coat. “Tell Scout that she wins this time, but it’ll be a cold day in hell before I send her back to her mother’s.”

Kevin & Laura’s Condo: Guest Room

Rocco rolled over at the knock at his door, expecting to see his father — then sat up when it turned out to be Aiden. “What are you doing here?” he asked, scooting backwards to sit against the headboard. “I didn’t know the prisoner could have visitors.”

Aiden shrugged, then remained standing awkwardly in the doorway. “I don’t know. I guess I thought maybe we could, like, talk or something.”

Rocco snorted. “What? Doesn’t everyone have it all figured out? Don’t they know everything is my fault?”

Aiden grimaced, then pulled out a chair from a desk against the windows and sat down. “No one’s saying this is all your fault.”

“Fuck off. Everyone thinks you’re the good kid that was peer pressured by the two morons,” Rocco retorted. “And Danny’s trying to play good kid like he wasn’t with me every step of the way.” His shoulders hunched slightly. “No one even asked how we got the pot. Including you. You all just blame me.”

“I figured it was someone at school.” Aiden furrowed his brow. “It wasn’t?”

“Danny stole a vape pen from someone and he knew how to get the stuff. I never asked because I didn’t care. I just gave him the money. It was his idea to start doing it after school—”

“Okay, but Danny’s, like, trying to stop. Or trying to make up for last weekend. Rocco, we could have got my mom put away. Like they might have dragged her back to jail if your dad hadn’t stepped in.” Aiden leaned forward. “I can’t stop thinking about how much I could have messed things up.”

“So what if she did?” Rocco challenged, his eyes hot. “You were fine. Jason stepped in and you were fine. Nothing’s gonna happen to you if she ends up back there. You’ll get to stay in the same house with your brothers.”

Aiden straightened. “That’s a shitty thing to say — ”

“What? You think there’s something special about you? That you get some kind of protection from losing your mom?” Rocco demanded. “You’re not. No one is. So good. Danny’s pissed at his mom, yours might go to jail. But they’re alive—”

“So is yours, you shithead—”

“Yeah, okay, sure.” Rocco rolled over. “Whatever. I get it. Your mom is perfect and we have to protect her at all costs. Dad made that real clear. No one gives a damn about mine. Including him.”

Aiden opened his mouth, then closed it. “This is about your dad going away, isn’t it? He was gone for two years—”

“Don’t pretend you give a damn. You don’t. You’ll just say at least he came back, but he didn’t, did he? He was all fucked up in the head and had to leave again, and then still wasn’t right when he came home.” Rocco’s eyes burned, his throat was on fire but he forced the words out. “Mom wasn’t enough to fix him. I wasn’t enough. But Sam, sure. She was the magic he needed. And then he’s in love with her, and I gotta leave my house and Maxie and her gremlins moved in and now it’s not mine anymore. There’s nothing for Mom to come back to, but don’t worry. She’s not coming back anyway.”

Kristina’s Apartment: Living Room

She’d thrown out at least a dozen ideas already that morning, and Kristina wasn’t any closer to figuring out how to make Elizabeth or Jason look more guilty. She’d thought framing Elizabeth would be the best choice since Jason would confess but it was taking longer for that to happen.

Maybe he wouldn’t do that until it was a sure thing Elizabeth was going to jail — like when Michael had been sentenced to Pentonville, Jason had confessed to get sent away with him but even that hadn’t happened right away.

Damn it, if Molly hadn’t poked her nose where it didn’t belong, none of this would be happening. The FBI was positive they had their guy, and it was only because Molly made Chase and Dante redo every step that they were even talking to Harry about her apartment security footage.

And she couldn’t take anymore risks the way she had with the gun. It was just a miracle that no one had really questioned her visit to Elizabeth deeply. But could they come back to that?

Kristina paced the length of her living room again. The only card she hadn’t played was the knowledge Dante had covered up the kids getting high and drunk — and getting arrested on Elizabeth’s property. But if she played it — it wasn’t a guarantee to work and it would end up throwing Danny under the bus.

And it might make Dante and Sam suspicious. After all, how many people even knew about the drugs?

She grimaced. She was out of ideas — and praying that her luck would continue to hold. That something would come up pointing at Elizabeth or Jason before Kristina had to play the one weak hand she had left. She had to find a way to put the pressure back on them.

Penthouse: Living Room

Sam jerked the door open as soon as she saw Danny through the peep hole, her smile bright. “Danny! You came home!” She embraced him tightly, ignoring the reluctant way his arms came around her shoulder or the lack of enthusiasm. “I’ve missed you so much—” She stepped away, framing his face in her hands. “I’m so sorry about what happened last week at the station. I never should have left—”

“It’s okay,” he said awkwardly, pulling out of her grasp and walking past her — but not going further than the desk. “Um, is Dante around?”

“No. No, um, he went to talk to his dad. Does—Does Jason know you’re here? Is—” She folded her arms, forcing herself to take a deep breath. “Did he drop you off, or—”

“No. I mean, I have a ride—I’m not staying,” he said, averting his eyes and her stomach dropped. “I’m sorry about Scout. What Drew’s doing. Jake and Dad are gonna try to fix it—”

Sam forced herself not to make a face. “It’s not their fight—”

“No, I know. But they wanted to help. Um, I came to ask you—” He scratched back of his neck. “I came to ask you—the therapist I’m going to—he said there are sessions for my parents. And I know you didn’t want me to go, but then you agreed, so I thought maybe you’d go.”

“Of course.” Sam stepped closer to him. “I only refused because I was worried you’d been pressured into, but if this is something you want to do, if you need to do it, then of course I’ll help. I love you, Danny. You’re my son. I’ll do anything for you.”

Relief flood Danny’s expression and he seemed to relax slightly. “Good. Good. Thanks. I know—I mean, maybe Dante’s mad at me, but Dr. Fletcher said maybe he could come to. Since, like, I lived with you guys. And maybe I will again.”

Maybe. Sam had to ignore that word. “Of course. Dante loves you! And if this is working, then maybe it’s something we can do together. Maybe Rocco—” She stopped, everything going cold. “You said it’s because you lived with Dante. Are you—is Elizabeth going?”

“Mom.” Danny grimaced. “Don’t start—”

“You’ve lived with her for a week! How can that possibly compare with all the time you and Dante have lived together? Dante’s been like a father to you! Elizabeth is barely an acquaintance—”

“Mom. It’s not—you’re making this more than it has to be, okay? I live in her house, and Jake’s my brother, and she’s really nice. I know you don’t like her, but I do—”

“She has no right to be part of your therapy. She’s not your mother. I don’t want this—”

“Forget I asked. This was stupid. You’re never going to change.” Danny started past her, and Sam caught his elbow. “Mom—”

“No! This is your home, and you’re not leaving! Call your father or Jake and tell them you don’t need a ride—” She stopped when Danny dropped his eyes. “You said they were trying to fix things with Drew. They’re not downstairs. They’re not your ride.”

“Mom—”

“Is she down there?” Sam growled. Without waiting for Danny’s response, she lunged for the door, pulling it open and heading for the elevators.

“Mom! Mom! Stop! I don’t want to do this with you—” Danny tried to block the elevator buttons but his mother had already managed to press it, and he couldn’t stop her from getting into the car when the doors opened. “Mom!”

“I’m done playing these games with her. She’s going to learn to keep out of my business—”

Danny managed to get on board just before the doors closed and pulling his phone out, hoping he could warn Elizabeth — but Sam snatched the phone from his hand. He scrambled for it but Sam had already shoved it into his pocket, and short of tackling of his mother he didn’t have a choice.

The elevator slowly descended toward disaster.

+34

Written in 66 minutes.

Saturday, September 21, 2024

Penthouse: Scout’s Bedroom

The bed still laid unmade, the purple comforter scrunched in the middle of the bed, and Scout’s pajamas dumped on the floor, leading a trail to her dresser. Evidence of the reluctant fourth-grader’s  journey from sleeping child to student. Sam had sent her daughter off to school last Friday, knowing that Drew would pick her up for his week.

Scout should have been sleeping in this bed this morning. Sam should have been able to pick her up at school, and return her to the only home Scout could really remember. But no — it would days before Sam would see her daughter again.  If not longer.

Sam touched the side of the door frame, swallowed hard, and looked at another door down the hall — Danny’s room that had also laid untouched this last week — and just next to it, Rocco’s.

The penthouse was empty of all three kids today, the first morning Sam could remember waking up without the scramble for breakfast, arguing over the use of a bathroom—

On a shaky breath, Sam closed Scout’s door and headed downstairs where Dante sat in the dining room staring into a cup of coffee. He glanced up at her approach, but said nothing as she took the seat across from him.

“Laura said she’d call when she thought Rocco was ready to talk.” Dante’s mouth twisted with irritation. “If I ever tried to pull this with my mother back in the day, she’d have murdered me. Probably. I never wanted to find out.” He rubbed his mouth. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, Sam.”

“If you’re looking to me for the answers, then we’re in more trouble than I thought.” She picked at her cuticle. “My mother told me that I could probably get this injunction lifted on Monday. Drew doesn’t have a lot to work with. And I can fight for Danny, but—” Her voice faltered slightly. “But is that the right thing to do? You called Laura instead of getting Rocco yourself. Was that right? I just don’t know. Does it look like we’re giving up?”

“I keep thinking — maybe Rocco was disappointed I didn’t come after him. Maybe he’s even angrier that I sent his grandmother. I just—” Dante shook his head, leaned back. “If I went after him and didn’t get him back this time — or maybe even got him home, I can’t watch him all the time, I can’t stop him from running again.” He met her worried gaze. “I don’t have the answers either, Sam. I guess we just take it one step at a time.”

“Not sure what choice I have. Danny’s too stubborn to drag him, and everything I seem to do makes me the bad guy. It’s just—” She swallowed hard. “It’s hard. Not having one of them here. I’ve—I haven’t been without them since I got out of jail. And I’m afraid I’ll never have them back.”

This might have been Dante’s cue to reassure her, but he had nothing to offer. The room fell into awkward, uncomfortable silence.

Webber House: Kitchen

“Hey.” Jake climbed onto the stool, folded his arms on the counter, watching his father scoop coffee into the machine. “Is Mom up yet? I didn’t hear her or anything.”

“Not yet.” Jason switched on the machine, then turned to face his son. “You okay?”

Jake didn’t answer right away. Instead, he picked at a paper towel that had been discarded earlier, picking at pieces. “It’s been a really weird couple of weeks,” he said finally. “It feels like five minutes ago we were leaving for the barbecue and I was still so angry at you—at everyone—” He looked at his father. “I’m trying to act like it’s all normal. You know. All of this.  You living here. Danny in Cam’s room. Mom—” His throat was tight. “She’s wearing ankle monitor. We’re all ignoring that because Danny’s giving us something to concentrate on, but I saw it last night, and I started thinking about it again.”

“I know it’s useless to tell you or your brothers not worry about it,” Jason told him. “Whether we  talk about it or not, it’s out there.”

“She was gone for five days. Longer if I think about how I didn’t see her after I went to school on Friday. I came home and she was gone. And that might happen again.” He looked at his dad. “She’s out on bail, but everything that went down with Danny, I guess I didn’t think about how easy it would be for them to take it away. They could if they found out Dante made the pot stuff go away, right?”

“I don’t know. Jake—”

“I’m sorry. You know, that I thought you were keeping secrets about what happened,” Jake said. He forced himself to meet Jason’s gaze. “I thought you and Sonny were lying, and that you were why Mom was in jail.”

“In a way I am,” Jason told his son, and Jake made a face. “The FBI don’t really think your mom did this.”

“Yeah. You said that. If you—” Jake furrowed his brow. “If you had,” he began painfully, “you…you’d have done something already. To make this go away for Mom. Wouldn’t you?”

“Jake.” His father didn’t speak again, and Jake looked up again, thinking he’d find Jason looking back at him with impatience or anger, or maybe even irritation. But there was none of that. Just worry. “I’m not going to let them put your mother in jail again.”

“That’s not really an answer,” Jake managed, and Jason sighed. “Dad.”

“I don’t know what the question is, Jake. I didn’t have anything to do with this. Not even a little bit. I’m out,” he said. “Completely. That conversation you overheard with Sonny? The last time I talked to him. And the first time in more than a month. I wish I knew something that would convince the FBI that the gun was planted, that someone is framing your mother. But I don’t. And short of confessing to something I didn’t do, I don’t know what I can do.”

“I—” Jake shook his head. “I don’t know. I guess I don’t even know what I’m asking. I just remember you were always, I dunno, involved. Running around, trying to solve things. You and Sam went after that Shiloh guy—”

“And how did that end up? Your brother got kidnapped and nearly had memories shoved into his brain, Sam went to jail and Danny lost his mother for six months.” Jason hesitated. “Yeah, there was a time that I’d be trying to find the killer myself. But it’s different, Jake. Your mother’s been charged. Even if I found something, it might be used in court.” He stepped closer to his side of the island, laid both palms flat and leaned in. “A long time ago, before Cameron was born, someone kidnapped your mother trying to get me to do something. They locked in an old crypt. In the dark. And instead of going about it the right way, I tried to handle it myself. And the man who’d taken her died. Without telling anyone where she was.”

Jake swallowed hard. “But you found her.”

“I did. But it took twice as long, and —” Jason paused. “She nearly died from a gas explosion. I told myself that day that I would never do anything that would put Elizabeth’s life risk again. I wasn’t always able to keep that promise, but I did my best. And right now, going after who ever did myself, puts her freedom at risk. It has be done by the right people, the right way. It’s our only chance to make this go away for good.”

“I guess.” Jake exhaled on a long breath. “I’m sorry. It’s just—Mom’s been running around for a week trying to fix Danny’s life, and I keep thinking that it shouldn’t be her problem to fix. Not when—not when all of this is going on.” He paused. “Danny’s my brother. This is should be my responsibility.”

“Danny isn’t a problem anyone needs to fix—”

“Right now, he’s talking about going back home because Scout’s with her dad and Danny thinks this is all his fault. But you and I both know that’s a dumb idea. First, he belongs with us. I want—I want us to stay together. And second, until Rocco’s got his shit together, Danny’s not gonna be able to stop trying to be like him. They’re idiots separately, and worse together.”

“I agree that it’s better if they’re separate right now, but if Danny wants to go home—”

“But he doesn’t. He likes it here, too. We’re—I mean, it’s sort of twisted with everything that’s going on, but we like how things are right now. Don’t you? All of us together. You and mom, and me and Danny and Aiden?”

Jason hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

“He only wants to go home because of Scout. So I thought maybe I could talk to Drew. He’s my uncle, and we used to be really close, you know? Maybe I could talk to him. Tell him it’s not that bad.”

“I don’t know if talking to Drew will help,” Jason said slowly.

“But we gotta try, don’t we?” Jake leaned in. “You could talk to Grandma. She’s really good at guilting people. And I’ll talk to Drew. If it doesn’t work, fine. But at least we tried.”

“Okay,” Jason said finally. “Okay. We can try.”

Laura & Kevin’s Condo: Kitchen

Rocco twirled his spoon around the bowl of cereal, watching with half-interest as his little cousin Ace shoved pieces of scrambled eggs into his mouth. “Shouldn’t he be eating more or something? He’s like two right?”

“Eighteen months,” his grandmother said, sitting across from him with a cup of coffee in her hand. “And we let him make a mess at breakfast.”

Whatever. Kid had enough trouble, Rocco figured, with a lunatic for a mother and a criminal for a father. And a name like Ace. Never had a chance.

“So what’s the deal? Dad coming to get me or something?” he asked.

Laura traded a look with Kevin, her husband, then set her coffee down. “I suppose that’s up to you. If you go back to the penthouse, will you stay?”

“I dunno.” Rocco jerked his shoulder. “Are they gonna keep searching my room and treating me like an idiot? Is Danny still gonna be acting like this was all my fault? Everyone’s acting like I’m the bad guy.”

“I’m not acting like anything, Rocco,” Laura said gently. “And if we’re not being fair to you, all right, we can have a conversation. But your father doesn’t know what to do. He tried to talk to you—”

“No, he tried to blame because Sam’s stupid kids don’t want to live with her,” Rocco shot back. “Danny’s been talking for months about living with his dad, and she’s the one that walked out on him so she’s got no one to blame but her crazy ass—”

“I don’t like the way you’re speaking about her—”

“Are we having a conversation or not?” Rocco let the spoon hit the bowl. “Because no one seems to give a damn what I think. Or Danny. Or even Scout. We’re just little toys you pick up and play with when you’re bored or to pretend you’re a good father, and then throw away when you’re done. Dad hooked up with Sam because he knew he’d have to deal with me by himself and he didn’t want to. Well, I don’t need him. I don’t need Sam. I don’t need anyone.”

He shoved back from the table and left the room. A moment later, they heard a door slam upstairs.

“On the bright side,” Kevin said, lifting his mug, “he didn’t leave by the front door.”

“Kevin.” With exasperation, Laura picked up a napkin to clean up the milk that had splashed from Rocco’s abandoned cereal bowl. “What am I going to do with him?”

“Listen to him. He just told you the problem. Dante left for two years, leaving Lulu to take the brunt of a young kid on her own. And just when he returned, his mother went into a coma. And instead of hunkering down, guiding Rocco through that, trying to figure out what a new normal would look like, Dante put his own trauma first and built a new relationship. And then took Rocco out of the home he’d shared with his mother for his entire life.” Kevin sipped his coffee. “He doesn’t like Sam. He’s been bottling it up  and now it’s exploded out into the open. What do you want him to do? Pretend like none of that is happening?”

Laura sighed. “No. No. And I don’t want to watch him go down the same path Lucky did. So angry with his family that he shoves them away. My son was never the same after he left home. He never reached his full potential. And I’ve given up hoping he ever will. I tried to give Lucky space then, but it was wrong. I can’t make the same mistakes with Rocco.” She pressed her lips together. “I’ll call Dante. I think we need to have a conversation about what happens next.”

Webber House: Living Room

“Hey. Um, Dad and Jake left?” Danny asked, stepping off the landing to find Elizabeth sorting through paperwork on the sofa.

“Yeah, Jake thought maybe he can talk to Drew about this custody situation.” Elizabeth shifted slightly, patted the cushion. “I think we can all agree that if we can take the temperature down, it’ll get easier. I can’t imagine how your mother feels this morning without Scout in the house.”

Danny furrowed his brow. “You know she doesn’t like you.”

Elizabeth’s hands paused in the shifting of envelopes, then looked at Danny for a long moment before speaking. “Yes. I know that. I don’t like your mother either. If that helps.”

“Oh. I guess that’s not surprising. You just never—you never acted like that before.” He cleared his throat. “Is it because of Dad? Because…after Jake was born, he married Mom and…had me?”

She was quiet again, and Danny knew she was weighing her answer carefully — probably looking for a way to lie to him without really lying and he kind of appreciated the care she was putting into it. Because it mattered. His mom had never bothered.

“It’s none of my business, I’m sorry—”

“It’s not, but it’s been made your business,” Elizabeth said, cutting him off with a rueful smile. “Your mom and I tried so hard for so long not to let how we felt about each other get in the way. It might be hard to believe, but we really wanted you and Jake to be brothers. And I think there’s still some part of her that feels that way. It’s just hard sometimes for us to forget everything that’s happened between us. We weren’t always kind to each other — and there was a time I gave your mother as good as I got. She’s not the villain in my story, Danny. I don’t see her that way.”

“Oh. You…you didn’t really answer my question. Which is okay, like I said, it’s none of my business—”

“It is if you think that somehow I wish you weren’t here. That if things had been different for your dad and me, you wouldn’t exist. And that’s not true,” Elizabeth told him. She squeezed his hand. “I’m glad you’re here. You’re a great brother to Jake, and a good friend to Aiden. And your dad loves you.”

“It’s okay if you like…maybe sometimes thought it’d be easier if I didn’t exist,” Danny said, and she shook her head. “No, I—I used to think that about you. And Jake.” When Elizabeth lifted her brows. “When Mom moved out, and it was, like, obvious she and Dad weren’t gonna be together, it was hard for her and Dad to be in the same room. They argued a lot. Even before that. And Jake used to tell me he never saw you and Dad argue, and I guess it was like—” Danny hesitated. “I dunno, like somehow he meant it like you guys were better. That Dad liked you better. It’s stupid. But I felt it.”

“It’s human. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Your dad loves you and Jake more than anything. I hope you know that.”

“I  guess. I’m trying to believe that.” Danny rubbed his hands against his jean-clad thighs. “Um. The doctor, you know. The one you found. Um, I’m going back to him, you know.”

“Your dad told me.”

“And like…he asked me about you. And Dante. Like, the adults in my life. And he asked if maybe you would go to parent session. With Dad.” Danny dropped his eyes when Elizabeth looked at him. “I mean, I’m living here, I guess, so like, you should—you could know stuff.” When she hesitated, he hurried, “but you don’t have to. It’s not—you don’t have to—”

“I want to do whatever  you need me to do,” Elizabeth told him. “My only hesitation is…it might make things worse with your mother. If I’m going. And she’s not.”

“Oh. Yeah. I guess so. She just—she didn’t want me to go. So I didn’t ask her. I figure she doesn’t care.”

“I don’t think that’s true at all, Danny. She’s just scared to lose you.” Elizabeth went quiet again, the nodded. “Why don’t I take you to the penthouse? I’ll stay in the car,” she added, “and you can try to talk to her. Just the two of you. You can ask her to go and maybe if she hears it from you, it’ll be easier. You haven’t talked to her since that night in the police station.” She squeezed his  hand. “I think you’ll feel better if you see her, talk to her. What do you say?”

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