God, keep my head above water
Don’t let me drown, it gets harder
I’ll meet you there at the altar
As I fall down to my knees
Don’t let me drown, drown, drown
Don’t let me, don’t let me, don’t let me drown
– Head Above Water, Avril Lavigne

---

Thursday, February 19, 2004

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

The room was deadly silent after Jason had stormed out. Elizabeth stared at the frame on the floor, the jagged shards of glass scattered. Her hands were trembling as she moved slowly across the room—

“Let me,” Sonny said, roughly but his touch was gentle as he held up a hand. He knelt down and picked up the frame, kicking the glass into a pile. He got to his feet and looked at her, his eyes still red.

“I’ll get a broom.” Justus went towards the kitchen.

Elizabeth didn’t really hear either of them. She just looked at the glass on the floor, then the frame Sonny was holding out to her, a long, jagged piece of glass still tucked in the frame.

“He’s upset,” Sonny told her. “Not about you—”

“It’s me,” she said softly. “He was handling things until I lied—” Her voice broke. “I lied to him.”

Sonny set the frame on the desk. “I can’t make it stop. Can’t make it over. It just needs to be done.” His eyes found hers, the desperation and fear evident. “It all needs to be over. You know that, you get that, don’t you?”

“I do.” She curled her hand into a fist and held it against her chest as a hot tear slid down her cheek. Another followed. “I wish I’d let you kill him months ago. You were right. Better that it’s over. It should have been. It’s my fault. All of it.”

“I wish—” Sonny looked past her, shook his head. “No, she’s wrong.”

Elizabeth blinked at him. “She? What—Carly?”

“No, no. Not her fault. Not all of it. You can’t say it. It’s not mine, either. It’s hers. It’s theirs.”

“Sonny—” Elizabeth began, but Justus returned then with a broom and a dustpan. “I can do that—”

“Don’t,” Justus said with a shake of his head. “I dumped a lot of crap on Jason earlier today,” he told her. “You couldn’t have known that. And—”

“I got arrested,” Sonny muttered. “If Carly would just listen to me—”

“If you’d listen to her—” Justus began heatedly.

“If we just listened to each other,” Elizabeth murmured, but neither man heard her. She turned back to wander towards the sofa, letting them argue. She was so tired. So exhausted of all from all of it.

Why did it have to be so hard? Why did every day feel worse than the one before it?

Why couldn’t it ever just…stop?

“I don’t need to hear this shit from you,” Sonny bit out. “I have things to do, and they know you’re nothing, too!”

“They who?” Justus demanded, but Sonny pushed past the lawyer, yanking the door open and stalking out.

He left the door hanging open, so Cody hesitantly stepped to the threshold. “Uh, do you need anything, Mrs. Morgan?” he asked. He reached out grasped the doorknob. “Can I—”

“I know you’re usually off shift by now,” Justus said, setting the broom aside, the dustpan of glass in his hand. “We’ll need someone on the door tonight. Just to be safe.”

“I can stay—” Cody began.

“No,” Elizabeth said softly. “No. You’ve been here for so long, Cody.” She finally looked over at him. “Thank you. But you need to rest.”

“All right,” the guard said doubtfully. “I’ll call down for a replacement.” He closed the door, leaving Justus alone with Elizabeth.

“I never should have lied to him,” Elizabeth said. She stared down at her hand, then twisted her wedding ring around her finger. “He didn’t deserve that.”

“Neither of you deserves what’s going on,” Justus told her. He sat in the armchair. “You came home last night, Elizabeth, to chaos. And in that moment, you made a mistake. Because you just wanted to make things better. He’ll remember that. He just—he couldn’t absorb one more hit today. And this is the one that hurts.”

“I—”

“That’s not blaming you,” he added. “It’s just acknowledging the truth. Nothing about this is fair. For any of us. He needs some time. He can hold it together when it’s Sonny or Carly or the business.” He waited for Elizabeth to look at him. “But not with you. You know that. You know why.”

“I guess.”

“Elizabeth.”

“No, I—” A sob crawled up her throat, but she swallowed it. “I know. I just can’t stand to hurt him, and it’s all I do.”

“It’s not. I’ll stay until he comes back—”

“You don’t have to do that—”

“I do. He’s my cousin and my family. I came here to be closer to my family,” Justus reminded. “Not just so Mikki and Kimi could know Lila and Edward, but so that I could be here for Jason—and you. We’ll get through this. One day at a time. I’ll call Mikki and let her know I won’t be home for a while.”

Elm Street Pier

Jason was nearly at Bannister’s Wharf and the warehouse parking lot when he heard someone calling his name. If it had been anyone else, he would have ignored it.

But it was his sister.

Jason turned back to see Emily jogging down the steps, a parka pulled over her scrubs. “I thought you were working—”

“I am, and I have to go back, but I got someone to cover for me.” Emily folded her arms. “I was going to head over to the warehouse. Elizabeth called.”

Jason shook his head, turning back towards the wharf. “I don’t want to do this—”

Emily reached out to his elbow. “Hey, just let me talk for a minute, okay?”

“She told you what was going on and not me?” Jason demanded, betrayal washing over him as if someone had dumped a pot of scalding water over his head. “What the hell—”

“Can you blame her?”

Jason’s mouth nearly dropped open at that. “What the hell are you talking about? Of course I can blame her! She lied about her health! Again! How many times does she have to put herself at risk before I get to be angry—”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t be pissed,” Emily snapped. “I asked if you could blame her. You should have been at that appointment! She’s high-risk, facing fatal complications, and you were babysitting your boss again. Sonny’s a fucking adult.”

Jason fisted his hands at his side, but he had nothing to say to that. Emily was absolutely right. If he’d been at the appointment, supporting Elizabeth, then she wouldn’t have been able to lie to him. Wouldn’t haven’t felt the need to.

“She still shouldn’t—”

“No, she shouldn’t have. But what did she come home to, huh? In what world would Elizabeth have told you what was going on? And have you even been home today for her to talk to?”

“No, but—”

“She absolutely should have told you the truth, and she knows it. But she didn’t want to hurt you, Jason. She made a mistake.” Emily folded her arms. “I made her tell you, you know. I didn’t expect you to walk out on her, making her feel even more like shit.”

“I—” His throat closed, and he couldn’t say a word. He’d left her. He hadn’t even asked her if she was okay or what was going on. What was next.

He’d just left. She’d told him the oxygen levels were still bad, and his brain had simply shut down.

“You need to tell her how scared you are,” Emily said, her tone softer now. More gentle. “You’re trying to make her feel okay with the decision she’s making, and that’s not working anymore. Because you aren’t talking to her about how you really feel, and she’s just trying to make things easier for you. She thinks she’s one more thing on the list of shit making your life difficult.”

“I’ve told her she’s the most important—”

“I know. And part of her knows that, Jase. But—” Emily looked away, out over the dark, swirling waters of Lake Ontario. “Last year, neither of us could convince her to leave that house. She risked her life to help find Carly. I think it’s because she didn’t really think her life was worth saving. Not that she’s suicidal,” she added hastily, “but I just—that miscarriage last year. It broke her, and I don’t think she’s all the way back. Even without what happened in that panic room with Ric—” She shrugged a shoulder. “I just think that maybe we’re not giving enough room for any of that. She wasn’t in a good place for a long time, and we both know that this pregnancy was not the plan.”

“Em—”

“We all love this baby, and we all want him to be healthy,” Emily said, cutting off his protest. “But there’s no shame in admitting that it would have been better if Elizabeth had never gotten pregnant. She probably should have had an abortion.”

Emily had said one thing that Jason never would have said out loud. Could never have admitted. He swallowed hard. “I can’t say that to her.”

“No, and I can’t either. But we can say it to each other. Because we love her, and we both know that if she hadn’t had that miscarriage, she probably would have terminated,” Emily told him. “But she thinks it’s her fault that the first baby didn’t make it, and I don’t know if we will ever be able to convince her it wasn’t. It does not make either of us a bad person to say Elizabeth is not healthy enough to bring a baby into this world full-term. It’s just honesty. She literally can’t make it to forty weeks.”

Jason dragged his hands through his hair, moving from his forehead to the nape of his neck. “How does saying it change anything?”

“It doesn’t. I just think you and I will handle this better if we’re honest with each other. We are both terrified that she won’t survive this pregnancy. That she will kill herself to bring this baby into the world. I love that little boy.” Emily’s voice broke. “I’ve felt him kick, I’ve seen him on that ultrasound, and I want him to be here with us. He’s real to me now, and we can’t go back. You and I would give our lives to protect him, so when we try to convince Elizabeth that she shouldn’t do the same—can you blame her for not believing us?”

“No.” He hesitated. “I didn’t—she didn’t tell me anything other than the levels dropped. What’s—what did Monica say? How bad is that?”

“She’s okay for now. Mom’s going to be sticking to her like white on rice,” Emily told him. “She’s increasing the oxygen, and if they’re not back to 95 when Mom comes to check on her tomorrow, then Elizabeth promised to induce.”

Jason exhaled in a whoosh, some of the tension and tightness in his chest dissipating. “I can’t keep doing this.”

“You need to talk to her,” Emily said again. “She knows you love her, but I think sometimes…I don’t know. It’s like she can’t believe she could possibly be more important than Sonny. Or the business. Or Carly and the kids. She keeps putting herself at the end of the list.”

Because Jason had put her there the year before, and she’d never fully believed it was different now. He’d known she was in danger from Ric, and he’d let her stay in that damn house. If he’d forced her out—if he’d made her leave, would she believe him now that she came first?

Was he ever going to be able to undo all the damage he’d done with Courtney? Or that her own family had done? That Lucky and the Spencers had done by guilting her into fighting the Cassadines and risking her own life to fix Lucky?

Jason didn’t know the answer to that. Was he supposed to spend the rest of his life apologizing for a mistake he’d made almost two years ago and had repeatedly tried to make amends for?

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out, wincing when he saw Justus’s name.

“What?” he asked. “Is Elizabeth—”

“She’s fine. I was going to stick until you came back, but Max just came over—Sonny’s gone. We thought he went to the penthouse, but he was gone by the time Max came on duty. I don’t know where the hell he is.”

Municipal Building: City Attorney’s Office

“You’re going to want to avoid my mother for a while,” Ned told Alexis with an air of exhaustion as he slumped into a chair.

“Of course the news would break while she was in Port Charles,” Alexis muttered. She folded her arms, leaned against her desk. “She never liked me.”

“I’m not her favorite person either.” Ned cleared his throat. “The thing is—finding out Kristina isn’t my daughter—”

“Ned—”

“It’s hit the family hard,” he forced out. “Because we lost…”

Because they’d lost Brooke barely six months earlier, and the Quartermaines loved fiercely. They rivaled only the Cassadines in their devotion to protecting each other from outsiders—or destroying themselves from within.

“I can understand if with all the press—” Alexis bit her lip. “The scandal, I mean, if you want to pull back from her. If you want me to resign—”

Ned’s head snapped up, and he rose quickly. “Absolutely not. What kind of hypocrite would I be? I knew she wasn’t mine. And if it hadn’t been for you, for Jax—” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t accept Lois’s resignation, and I’m not interested in yours. And—” He paused. “I love Kristina. I don’t—” He looked past her to the window overlooking the streets. “I always knew one day the truth would come out, but I thought it would be years. I thought I would have more time.”

“Ned, I don’t—” Alexis reached for his hand. “I don’t want Kristina to lose you. I asked you to be her father. I never meant it just for the lie, to keep her safe. I meant it forever. You’ll just have to adopt her or something. I don’t know. Legally, you’re on her birth certificate, so Sonny will have to—”

Her words were cut off when Ned dragged her into a tight hug. She drew back, then laid a hand on his cheek. “If you still want her, then we’re in this together. No one has to lose anything.”

“Thank you. I didn’t know how I was going to ask, but—thank you.” He stepped back.

“Now, if we’re done with the dramatics,” she said briskly, “we need to talk about the press statement I’m planning.” She handed him a draft. “Lois will want the final say, but I wanted to take a crack at it.”

“It’s hard to admit it,” Ned said, as he skimmed it, “but Sonny getting arrested again might actually help swing this back our way.” He set the statement down. “Thank you, by the way, for forgiving Lois—”

“She didn’t do it on purpose,” Alexis interrupted with a shake of her head. “And I meant what I said. She had a bad moment, and some damned vulture was right there. When we get through with the Herald and the Sun, they’re going to regret ever running those stories—”

They both turned as they heard shouts and something crashed outside her office. “The whole world has gone mad,” Ned muttered, but the blood iced over in her veins as she heard someone demanding access to that bitch.

She knew that voice.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth said, wrinkling her nose as her mother-in-law came in. “Justus didn’t want me to be alone, and—”

“And Sonny’s off making a nuisance of himself again,” Monica muttered. She set down her black doctor bag. “Well, I wanted to come over tomorrow and check your levels, so—”

“I can’t—I can’t do anything until Jason comes home,” Elizabeth said, her heartbeat increasing as Monica took out the pulse oximeter. “If they’re not where you want them—” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I never told him. Not until tonight.”

Monica paused, then sat down on the sofa next to him. “You didn’t?” she repeated.

“I was going to, I promise. But I came home, and things were just—” She twisted her fingers in her lap. “It was bad. Sonny and Justus were arguing, and I couldn’t—I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t. So lied. Then I told him tonight, and he walked out.”

Monica absorbed that, then nodded. “All right.” She reached for Elizabeth’s hand to start the reading, but Elizabeth frowned at her, fisting her hand in her lap.

“Is that all you’re going to say?”

“About Jason? Yes. I’m not surprised,” Monica told her. “Disappointed, but not surprised. You’ve always struggled to tell Jason about your health, and he’s always been too protective of you.” She paused. “You’re not seeing Gail anymore, are you?”

“No. I—we were pretty regular for a few months, but we tapered off after Vinnie was arrested. Um, I was doing those support groups, and I don’t know. Gail was in Arizona over the winter with Lee. Is—is she back?”

“She and Lee got home while you were gone.” Monica tipped her head. “You’ve got a lot of people who love you, Elizabeth. I think that’s hard for you to accept because the people who should love you the most aren’t here.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “I don’t care about that—”

“I used to be married to your father,” Monica reminded her. “He’s a great doctor, but he was a terrible husband. Not that I was all that much better at being his wife,” she admitted. “I’ve met your mother a time or two, you know. They’re together because they’re both obsessed with their careers. Steve and Sarah made sense to them, your grandfather used to tell me. But you never did. It was easier for them to stop trying.”

“I was a pain in the ass—”

“I wasn’t some great mother either,” Monica said. “Jason doesn’t remember just how terrible Alan and I were when they were growing up, but AJ does. We’ve done better with Emily. We learned so much, but the damage we did to our boys—it’s part of the reason Jason felt like he had to get in that car to stop AJ from hurting himself. He decided long ago he was the only one who could save AJ, and we let him. Because it was easier.”

“Monica—”

“Jason loves too hard,” Monica cut in, and Elizabeth fell silent. “And so do you. You want so badly to protect him that you’ve hurt him to do it. And I’ve seen him do the same to you.” She took Elizabeth’s hand, wrapping it between both of hers. “You matter, Elizabeth. I’m sorry that Jeff and Carolyn don’t want to take the time to love you. That has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them. I want you to stop thinking about them as anyone who should matter in your life, and remember the people right in front of you who love you.”

“I know that I’m not doing any of this right,” Elizabeth said, “but—”

“There is no right, and there is no wrong. There’s only the way that works for you. I think you should talk to Gail,” Monica said. “You’ll feel better if you can talk it out with someone who doesn’t have power over you, who isn’t someone who you want to protect and take care of. Or someone whose love and respect you’re trying to keep.”

Elizabeth’s vision blurred with tears. “That’s not….”

Monica brushed a piece of hair out of Elizabeth’s eyes. “I love you so very much. Not just because somehow you’ve brought Jason closer to us, but because of who you are. I want you to be okay. Will you think about it?”

“Yes.” Elizabeth nodded. “I’ll—I’ll call Gail in the morning.”

“Good. Now—” Monica reached for her hand. “Let’s see how you’re doing after some extra oxygen.”

Elizabeth watched Monica’s eyes very carefully as the doctor focused on the meter. “Is it better?”

“You’re not at 95,” Monica said, and Elizabeth’s heart sank. “But you’ve gone up to 94. That’s good. I wasn’t going to check until tomorrow, so we’ll do it again and see if we’re back at 95.” She smiled at Elizabeth, squeezing her hand. “We both deserved a little bit of good news. Why don’t you call Jason?”

“He’s dealing with Sonny—” Elizabeth wrinkled her nose when Monica just raised a brow. “Yeah, okay.” She reached for her phone, then got his voicemail. She sighed. “Hey. I just wanted to tell you Monica came over to sit with me, and she checked my levels. I’m not at 95, but it’s back to 94. If you don’t believe me—and I don’t blame you—you can call her. I’m sorry,” she added softly. “I just—I’m sorry. I love you.”

Municipal Building: City Attorney’s Office

Sonny stalked in, charging in her direction with Alexis’s secretary and two security guards behind him. Ned managed to step in front of Alexis just as Sonny reached her, his face so flushed Alexis thought he might actually pass out from anger.

Could someone be so angry they died?

“Get him out of here!” Ned snarled to the security guards, who tried to grab Sonny under the arms and drag him back.

“You lying bitch! You stole my daughter! I’ll make you pay!” Sonny screamed, and her eyes bulged—she’d never, ever seen him like this—

Alexis had heard what happened at the Brownstone, had seen Sonny angry before—but this was a level of furious that she just—

She was terrified.

“Call 911!” Ned told the secretary, who rushed away. He shoved Sonny back when the other man broke loose of the security guards and grabbed his jacket to shake him.

“You stole my daughter! You piece of shit!” Sonny swung at Ned, and Ned didn’t duck—he let Sonny’s punch land, sending him flying backward into Alexis. They both stumbled back, and Alexis tripped over her desk chair.

“The police are coming!” the secretary cried, wringing her hands. More security guards flooded into the room, and Sonny was finally dragged away.

Alexis pulled herself to her feet, swallowing hard as her heart pounded in her ears. She’d always known that if the truth came out, Sonny would lose his mind—but she couldn’t quite make herself accept this was actually happening.

“About fucking time,” Ned snarled as two officers came in. “Did you crawl across the fucking street?” he demanded. “I want him arrested for trespassing and assault—”

“Let me go!” Sonny shoved the security guards forward, but one of the officers managed to get the cuffs on him. Between the guards and the cops, he was dragged out of the office and towards the elevators.

Alexis closed her eyes and put her hands on her face, struggling to find her breath. “Oh my God,” she moaned.

“Are you okay?”

“I—” She looked at him. “I don’t know—” She swallowed hard. “You’re bleeding.”

Ned touched his lip, then scowled. “Figures. Let’s go across the street and sign our statements. They won’t let him out of lockup again. Not after his second assault in a matter of hours. He’s lost his fucking mind.”

Brownstone: Kitchen

Carly slowly placed the phone back on the receiver, then sat down at the table and put her head in her hands.

“Carly?” Bobbie’s hand dropped on her shoulder. “What’s wrong? Who was that?”

“I spent the last eight hours,” Carly murmured, “down at the PCPD making statements, talking to the ADA, talking to Jason and Justus, talking to Michael—Sonny has occupied every waking thought and moment of my life for months.”

“Carly—”

“I just want a single minute when it’s just me. Is that so hard to ask? Just me and the boys.”

“Of course not. What happened? Who was—”

“Taggert. He was calling from the station.” Carly leaned back. “Jason was supposed to take Sonny home and keep him under wraps until he was completely calmed down, but he got away. He went to Alexis’s office and attacked Ned.”

Bobbie sat down, her eyes wide. “Sonny attacked Ned? What? How? Is—”

“He’s fine. Sonny got in a punch, so that’s another assault charge—” Carly put her head down, folding her arms underneath it. “They’re not going to let him out.”

“No, they won’t.”

“He’ll be locked up. In the dark. No windows. A small space.” Carly raised her head, tears streaming down her face. “He’ll be so scared, and it’ll be worse. Oh, God, Mama. He hates the dark. He hates it so much. I know how much he hates it.”

“Baby—”

“I don’t know how to make this stop. Why can’t I make him get help? Why aren’t the boys and I enough to make it happen? He said he loves me, but—”

“Mental illness,” Bobbie said, “is a terrible thing to suffer from. Your own mind is your enemy, and you can’t trust your own thoughts. While I believe that some of what Sonny has done these last few months is completely under his control, I can also accept that even when he appears lucid to all of us, he might be fighting a war inside his own mind he can’t win.”

“He’s such a good man. Such a good father and it kills me to see this, you know?” Carly swiped at her tears. “He’d hate himself for what he’s doing to us. To Jason. But he can’t see it, and I’m so afraid that if none of this has been enough—Mama—”

“The only way we’re ever going to be able to force him to get help is if he hurts someone,” Bobbie told her. “And I don’t know if Taggert and Ned are enough to convince anyone that Sonny needs help. I hope so.” She paused. “You said Sonny got past Jason?”

“Oh, God.” Carly got to her feet and crossed back to the phone. “I hope everything’s okay.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Jason had spent way too much time in this room today and in the last eight months. He entered the room just as he finished reassuring Carly he was fine. When he ended the call, he saw a missed call and voicemail from Elizabeth. His finger slid over it, but he finally just closed the phone and put it in his pocket.

Justus was waiting for him, leaving Taggert at the desk and striding over to meet him. “Hey. Sonny’s being booked—”

“I already know that we can’t get him out tonight,” Jason said. “I just wanted to know how bad—”

“Bad,” Justus said grimly. “Scott’s taking point on the case since it involves the mayor. Sonny got past security by decking a few people downstairs and made it all the way into Alexis’s office before security was able to stop him. He’s being charged with assault on public officials and all the kind of crap that comes with it.”

“Christ.”

“It’s bad,” Justus repeated. “And Scott made it clear — he’s not in the mood to negotiate. Ned’s got a PR mess on his hands with the Kristina stuff, and Sonny doing this makes him look better, but I also think—”

“Scott’s been talking to Bobbie,” Jason said. “He already hates Sonny, so he’s not going to do us any favors.”

“We can’t do anything tonight. Sonny’s stuck in here, and I don’t think he’s going to be allowed out on bail.” Justus paused. “I want to push for a psychiatric evaluation. I think this is our best chance to make it happen.”

Jason looked towards the interrogation room. How many hours had passed since he’d been here over another assault charge? “Find out which judge is overseeing the hearing,” he said finally.

“Got it.” Justus paused. “About earlier—”

“I don’t want to talk about it—”

“Then don’t say anything. You should go home,” Justus told him. “Because Elizabeth needs you—”

“And I need to not be angry when I see her,” Jason bit out. “I understand what she did and why she did it. That doesn’t mean I’m not still—” He paused. “I can only deal with one thing at a time, and I just—I can’t right now. You said on the phone Monica was with her, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. She will call if anything happens.”

Justus opened his mouth but then shook his head. “All right. Let me go see if they’re ready to finish this.”

Jason watched Justus return to Taggert, then reached for his phone. He looked at the voicemail again, and this time he let it play.

“…it’s back to 94. If you don’t believe me—and I don’t blame you—you can call her. I’m sorry. I just—I’m sorry. I love you.”

He let the words wash over him, the relief that she’d improved a little, and the shame that he did want to call Monica and confirm. Then he put the phone back in his pocket and waited for Justus.

He knew what he could handle right now and what he couldn’t—and going home to Elizabeth, to have that conversation that he knew needed to happen—

He wasn’t ready for it, and he didn’t think Elizabeth was either. Maybe in the morning.

But I’m a fire and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm
If your cascade ocean wave blues come
All these people think love’s for show
But I would die for you in secret
The devil’s in the details, but you got a friend in me
Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?
– peace, Taylor Swift

---

Thursday, February 19, 2004

PCPD: Locker Room

One step in front of the other. That was how he was going to handle this. He was back at work, starting a shift just like nothing had changed.

And he was going to ignore every other cop in the room staring at him with side eyes—so what if they thought he was a dirty cop? They were lazy pieces of shit—

“Hey—”

Dante jerked away at the hand on his shoulder and nearly slammed into the lockers, his heart racing. Then he realized it was just Lucky and caught his breath. “Sorry—”

“I’m sorry—” Lucky began at the same time, then cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I was just—I was worried.” He set a duffel bag on the bench. “Cruz said you were staying somewhere else to get the press off your trail—”

“Yeah. They were outside our building, too,” Dante slammed his locker door shut. “They’re still at my ma’s. Trying to get to Lois or Alexis, I think. Ma’s not really rating any interviews. She’s just the teenager that Sonny knocked—” He stopped. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Lucky said after a moment. “I just—I wanted you to know if you need anything, I’m here.”

“I don’t—I just need everyone to pretend they don’t know.” Dante grunted as he fastened the last button on his shirt. “That’s not happening.”

“No, I guess not.” Lucky tipped his head. “Do they know how it leaked?”

He grimaced. “No. Not yet. No one was supposed to know. Me, my ma, and some family back in Bensonhurst. That was it.” He paused. “I told Lu the other day, but she didn’t say anything.”

“You told my sister.” Lucky squinted. “Uh, so I guess you cleared things up there.”

“Doesn’t really matter anymore, but yeah. I don’t know how the papers found out, but someone decided to destroy my life.” Dante stared at his badge for a long moment before pinning to his shirt. He wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to keep doing this job. Some were already looking at him weird after he’d testified against Vinnie, now—

It was just a matter of time before the job he loved was taken from him, just like everything else in his life. Brooke, his family—

The job was all he had left, and now the clock was ticking on that. Who the hell hated him that much?

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

“Grandfather hit the roof when the papers were published,” Emily said as she handed Elizabeth a glass of water and sat next to her. “He’s threatening to sue the Herald and the Sun for putting Kristina in danger—”

“Maybe we should do a class action suit,” Elizabeth muttered. She rubbed her forehead. “It’s crazy. Jason spent most of yesterday trying to keep Sonny from flipping out—and he’s at the warehouse now because I think Sonny is trying to get a lawyer to go after visitation—”

“Christ. He doesn’t wait long.” Emily shuddered. “Justus won’t do it?”

“Justus—” Elizabeth paused. “He quit last night. Sonny was flipping out, and he—” She sipped her water, the guilt swimming in her stomach. “Justus doesn’t want to deal with it,” she said finally, uncomfortable telling Emily about the violent scene she’d witnessed the night before.

“Can’t blame him, but it sucks for you and Jason. Justus is a great lawyer.” Emily twirled her fork in her pasta salad. “How did your appointment go?”

Elizabeth opened her mouth to tell Emily the same thing she’d told Jason but then closed it. “Not well,” she said finally. “The glucose test went fine,” she said, “but…my oxygen levels aren’t getting better.”

Emily set down the fork and stared at Elizabeth. “Are they getting worse?”

“They dropped another point. I’m still a few points above where we need to worry, but—”

“But it could change at any minute.” Emily’s shoulders were tense as she leaned forward. “What did Mom say?”

“The same thing she did last month. And last week. She wants me to check in as soon as possible. Yesterday, even.” Elizabeth’s fingers suddenly felt limp, and she set down the glass on the coffee table with a thud. “But I’m—there’s still—there’s time—”

“Elizabeth.”

“There’s not as much as I wanted, but every day I can make it—it gives Cameron a better chance. I can’t stand the idea of him struggling in the NICU, Em, or ending up with a long-term complication. I mean, we’re talking about the difference between some vision issues and something like cerebral palsy or severe learning problems—”

“We’re talking about your life!”

Elizabeth closed her eyes. “Em—”

“You have the best medical care that money can buy. Between your husband and our family, Elizabeth, any complication Cameron has—we can handle it. We can get him tutors and doctors and treatments—”

“I know that—”

“But we can’t get another you.”

Elizabeth looked at her best friend, her sister-in-law, and tried to speak. The words refused to form as she processed Emily’s statement. “Em—”

“What happens if there’s a crisis and you deliver tomorrow?” Emily demanded. “If you have something happen at home and we have to rush you in, and by the time we get there—there’s no chance for you, just for Cameron? You want Jason to have to deal with that?”

“No, but—”

“You want us to raise this little boy without you?”

“No!”

“Then why are you refusing to remember that you come first?” Emily continued, almost ruthlessly. “Your body has to come first. You can’t help Cameron if you don’t help yourself.”

“I can’t—” Her throat closed, and Elizabeth’s chest tightened. Her lungs started to burn, the familiarity of the sensation so fucking frustrating—

She wanted to breathe. Why was it so hard to just breathe?

Without another word, Emily leaned down to the side table. She removed the oxygen tank they kept there and helped Elizabeth fit the mask over her face. She sat next to her, holding Elizabeth’s hand as the cool, sweet air flooded into her nose and mouth, and gradually, her chest eased.

“I’m sorry,” Emily said. “But I told you that we’d have this argument when your health started to change.”

Elizabeth kept her eyes closed as she pulled the mask down, letting it rest on her belly. “Do you think I want it this way?” she murmured.

“No, of course not—”

“I didn’t want to spend my pregnancy being scared all the time. I didn’t want to spend my life this way. I’ve spent too much time being afraid of taking chances. Of reaching for what I really want. I couldn’t get out of my own way long enough to be happy.”

“Elizabeth—”

“I understand that what I’ve—that the way I’ve handled things so far is unreasonable. Do you think I don’t?” she demanded.

“No, but—”

“And it’s so easy for everyone to tell me to put myself first.” Elizabeth shoved the mask aside and pushed herself to her feet, her body protesting the movement. “So easy for you and Jason and Monica to look at me like I’m insane—”

“No one thinks that—”

“What was I supposed to do?” Elizabeth demanded. “Deliver my baby at twenty-eight weeks and give him the worst possible start to life when my vitals were relatively healthy?”

“Of course not—”

“My oxygen levels dropped two points to 92. I’ve read the stupid papers Monica gave me. Below 90 is a concern, not at 92.”

“Yeah—”

“Every single day I manage to stay pregnant is one more chance for Cameron to be healthy.” She rubbed her belly, feeling her son press his tiny feet against her hand, reminding her why she was struggling so hard. “You know better than anyone what it’s like to lay in a hospital bed, gasping for breath. After your accident—”

“I never said I didn’t—”

“I’ve spent six months not being able to trust my body. Not being able to trust that I’ll be able to breathe without oxygen nearby. I don’t want my son to spend a single day in the NICU longer than he has to. That’s what I’m fighting for.”

“I understand all of that.” Emily got to her feet. “And I’m on your side. We all are—this isn’t a battle. We’re not at war, Elizabeth. You’re at thirty weeks. It’s so much safer now—”

“And it’ll be even safer if I get to thirty-two—”

“Elizabeth—your condition could change overnight. You know that! You could—you could go to sleep tonight and not wake up—” She scowled. “What did Jason say? I know he’s not happy about any of this, not that he’ll say so.”

Elizabeth bristled. “What does that mean?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know that Jason has spent the last two months biting his tongue,” Emily retorted. “We all decided not to argue about this until we have to. Since he clearly didn’t get you to check in yesterday, I guess he didn’t win—”

“He didn’t—” Elizabeth paused. “He doesn’t know.”

“He doesn’t—” Emily’s eyes widened. “What do you mean he doesn’t know?”

“I mean, that the papers hit right before we were supposed to leave,” Elizabeth said. “So Jason stayed to deal with Sonny. When I got home from the appointment—” She fisted her hand and rubbed it against her chest. “Sonny was here screaming at Jason, and Justus was angry. Sonny shoved Justus into the wall—”

“What—”

“And Justus quit. After everything going on with Ric and Sonny and Carly—and there are other problems I’m not supposed to know about—the last thing Jason needed was for me to dump one more thing on him—”

“You are not one more thing, Elizabeth. You are his wife—”

Elizabeth shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. He didn’t need this last night—”

“And when is it going to be a good time?” Emily demanded. “Before or after your vitals crash and Mom has to explain to Jason what the hell is going on—”

“I—”

“Look, I’m sorry for Carly and everyone dealing with Sonny. I am. And I know that’s Jason’s problem, too. But at the end of the day, do you think Jason is going to be happy you didn’t tell him this then? What did you tell him about the appointment?”

Elizabeth shifted her eyes. “That everything was fine, which is technically true, but I know he thought I meant my oxygen levels were better, or at least the same. Don’t look at me that way, Em. You didn’t see him. He needed someone to give him a break, okay? He needed me not to be something he has to worry about—”

“And that’d be great if it weren’t a lie.” Emily turned and went towards her purse on the desk. “I’m calling him—”

“Emily—”

“If you’re not going to tell him there’s a problem with his family—”

“Don’t—”

“Then you tell him the next time you see him.” Emily arched a brow. “Or I will.”

Warehouse: Jason’s Office

“I’m sorry, Jason, I really am. Mikki and I talked it over,” Justus continued, “and I just can’t keep doing this—”

Jason rubbed the back of his neck, then looked out the window that overlooked the waterfront. “I know.” How could he ask his cousin for one more thing after the man had uprooted his entire family to move to Port Charles only to be attacked?

Jason had known Sonny was on the edge of the darkness he’d spent most of his life fighting. He slipped over it a few times, but Jason had always been able to drag him back. But since December, since that terrible night in the penthouse, Jason just hadn’t been able to reach him. Was it too late? Had Sonny slipped too far?

He turned back to Justus. “I can’t ask you to stay on. I knew you were only sticking because of Elizabeth and the baby—”

“And you,” Justus cut in. “I didn’t want to leave you with all of this going on.” He paused. “I still don’t. There’s something really weird going on with all this Ric stuff. I know you’re overloaded between the crap Sonny is pulling, the problems Tommy and Luke are warning you about—and all of that has nothing on what’s happening with Elizabeth and the baby.” He grimaced. “I just can’t pretend I can represent Sonny anymore. Especially after yesterday.”

“I know,” Jason repeated. He put his hands at his waist, dipped his head, and took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. What if I get Sonny another lawyer? You won’t have to deal with him anymore.”

Justus squinted. “Jason—”

“I can explain that to him,” Jason said. “You’re needed here. At the warehouse. Concentrating on Ric. Sonny should have someone who can just focus on his family.”

“Do you really want him to have a lawyer that does nothing but focus on Carly and the kids? On Alexis?” Justus asked doubtfully. “You can probably convince him to leave the Falconieri kid alone because he’s a cop, but—”

“I want it all to go away,” Jason said flatly. “But that’s not an option on the table, so we’re going to go with what we have. Bernie can’t handle everything, and your biggest problem is dealing with Sonny. I can’t—” He shook his head. “If you really need to go, if you really can’t stay, then okay. I can handle that. But I’m asking you for more time. Just a few more weeks. I need someone I can trust. Bernie’s been good for us these last six months, it’s not the same. I know you,” he told Justus. “I trust you.”

Justus exhaled slowly, scrubbed a hand over his face, then remained silent for a long moment. “You’re not dealing with this, Jason. You’re just making Sonny someone else’s problem—”

“He’ll snap out of this—”

“He won’t.” Justus got to his feet. “Since the day I came to Port Charles to help you last summer, Sonny hasn’t been someone I reported to. He’s a figurehead, Jason. You’ve done your job and his—you’ve been taking care of his family and yours. You can’t do it all. I’d stay if I thought this was temporary, but it’s not. If Elizabeth delivers in a few weeks, you’ll have a premature baby in the NICU to worry about. You’ll be distracted even more than you are now.”

Jason swallowed hard. “What you’re asking me to do, I can’t—”

“I’m not asking you to do anything. The time is past for that. You’re weak, Jason,” Justus said, his tone gentle. “Because you’re not doing what needs to be done. You’re sticking your head in the sand, and you’re putting all of us—including Elizabeth—in more danger. The other reason I can’t stay on as Sonny’s lawyer is that I agree with Carly. She’s taking her boys and making a run for it.”

Jason said nothing. What could he say? Justus was right, after all. So were Luke and Tommy and everyone else.

But what the hell were they asking him to do? Exile him to the island and hope he didn’t come back—

What did they expect from him? To kill Sonny?

“The very thing that makes you the best right-hand man in the game,” Justus continued, “is what is making everything worse. Your loyalty to Sonny is admirable, and it’s what’s giving you the time you’ve been given. Tommy has a lot of power, and if he wanted it, he could have taken things months ago. But he respects you too much to do it now. You know he’s the threat he’s talking about. He didn’t go after Sonny when Smith went down, and he didn’t go to Moreno or Sorel because he thought Sonny was the right guy to follow. He doesn’t think so anymore.”

Jason sat down, stared hard at the surface of the desk. “I know all of this,” he admitted. “I just don’t see a way out of it. Not right now.”

The room was quiet as Jason’s words hung in the air. Finally, Justus sighed. “I’ll stay on,” he said. “Because I love and respect you, Jason. And if Mikki was going through what Elizabeth is, I’m not sure I’d be able to handle it either. Kimi is my whole world, and I want you to have that. I don’t want to deal with Sonny unless I have to, but we’re not going to maintain the status quo. Something is going to have to change.”

“I know,” Jason said again, but before he could continue, Bernie shoved the door open. His face was flushed, and he was breathing hard.

“We got a problem. Just got a call from our contact in Baltimore.”

Jason closed his eyes. “Ric?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Bernie scowled. “It gets worse. Big Bobby said he called Sonny—”

“What—” Jason’s eyes flew open as he gaped at his adviser. “What the hell—”

“And I called the Towers—Sonny took off. They called him ten minutes before us—”

“Damn it,” Jason swore. He looked at Justus, who was pulling out his phone. “Who are—”

“I’m calling the Brownstone—” He paused and met Jason’s eyes. “And I’m calling Taggert. We might already be too late.”

Port Charles Municipal Building: Mayor’s Office

“Edward wants to sue,” Alexis told Ned as Lois slipped into the office, “and I’m almost tempted. What the hell was the Herald thinking? I understand the Sun, but—”

“It’s the connection to the PCPD,” Ned said. He rubbed the side of his face, the weariness bleeding through every word. He sat behind his desk, then dragged his hands through his hair. “They couldn’t resist it. Local godfather has connections to the mayor’s office and the PCPD—all the scandals this last year—”

“But Dante’s a good cop,” Olivia said, her eyes flashing. “He’s clean! They torpedoed him—”

“It’s my fault.”

Alexis and Olivia looked at Lois while Ned just sighed. “What do you mean?” Alexis asked. “How is this—”

“You didn’t even know,” Olivia said at the same time.

“I did,” Lois said miserably. “I overheard you and Ned a few days ago talking about Dante and Kristina, and I just—” She stopped, her hands shaking, her entire body shivering and tingling. She didn’t quite feel like she was even in the room. Everything was happening around her, and she was floating.

“I was so angry,” she forced out. “I thought—if Ned wasn’t—” She pressed a fist to her mouth, wrapping her other arm around her waist.

Olivia was still blinking at her in confusion, but Alexis exhaled in a rush. “You thought if Ned hadn’t been lying about Kristina, he would have had more time for Brooke.”

Lois squeezed her eyes closed, nodding. She couldn’t bear to look at them, couldn’t bear to say anything.

“I don’t understand. I don’t—” Olivia’s voice sounded far away. “Did you call the papers?”

“Of course not,” Ned snapped. “Lois would never—” He cleared his throat. “We argued after hours,” he admitted. “But it was—at the office. Someone could have overheard.”

“I never wanted—” Lois’s breath caught on a sob. “I would never hurt your babies. I would never—” Her knees felt weak. “I just—I want my daughter back, and I can’t have it. I can’t ever have it, and it keeps hitting me over and over again—I’m so sorry.”

She pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes so hard that she saw stars. Still not able to look at them, keeping her eyes closed, Lois said, “I’ll resign.”

“I won’t accept it,” Ned bit out. “This is my fault—”

Lois snapped her eyes open to glare at her ex-husband. “It’s mine! I did this! I made this about me and I—”

“I didn’t do enough for Brooke. It’s my fault she’s gone.”

“It’s not—I asked him to lie,” Alexis said, quickly stepping in front of Ned, who just scowled at her. “Lois—”

“No, I won’t let you—” Ned put a hand on Alexis’s arm. “Yes, it was your idea, but I agreed. But that’s not what happened last summer. You had custody of Kristina. I was—it wasn’t Kristina distracting me.” He focused on Lois. “It wasn’t. I couldn’t reach Brooke. I couldn’t make her listen. I couldn’t make her see, and so I didn’t—I didn’t try enough.”

“Ned—” Lois shook her head. “I sent her away—”  She looked at Olivia, who had said nothing so far. “I never—in my life— would have hurt Dante. I love him like my own. You know that, Livvie. You have to know that.”

“I—” Olivia cleared her throat. “I do know that. You were there when he was a baby. We raised our babies together. They were—” She closed her eyes, struggling for the words. “I just—he’s been hit over and over again. Vinnie, my ma and her bullshit—she told him about Sonny, and that’s been bad—but this—everyone knowing—”

“I’m sorry—” The guilt and shame flooded Lois with a hot flush that crawled up her neck and into her cheeks. “I’m so goddamn sorry, Liv—”

“But I get to wake up every day and have my kid. If I lost him, I’d be a wild woman. Losing Brooke almost broke me, and she wasn’t even mine.” Olivia went to her best friend, took her hands in hers, her dark eyes damp with tears. “I love you. I forgive you.”

“What—”

“You lost a child,” Alexis interrupted, her voice soft. “When my sister died, I—well, we know what I did,” she muttered. “And then that man nearly cost me my baby. I made him pay. Lois, Brooke was a beautiful young woman who deserved better from all of us.”

“Alexis—”

“You didn’t do this,” she continued. “You had a weak moment, and someone saw it. They took your grief and used it. They made a profit off it.” Her tone grew more confident as she turned to Ned. “And that’s how we’re going to come back from this. This is seen as corruption? As a scandal? To hell with that! We’re mothers, and we were protecting our kids. Lois lost her daughter because of that corruption! You both lost her,” she added, “but—”

“But if we stand together as mothers,” Olivia cut in, “who were protecting their kids—just like Carly is doing now, then we can make the public understand. This doesn’t have to be a scandal. We can’t—we can’t really do much for Dante at the PCPD,” she admitted painfully. She squeezed Lois, smiling at her through her tears. “But I’m not letting the papers take your grieving and use it to hurt you. Or Ned. Or our kids. What can I do to help?” she asked Alexis.

“I love you,” Lois said, her voice faltering. “Both of you. All of you,” she corrected as she reached out her other hand to Alexis. “And I will do whatever I can to protect your kids. You’re right. The press wants to pretend those secrets were kept to get you into office? Bull-fucking shit. Let’s remind everyone that they knew about the serial rapist, and they held the story, too. They want to say that you did something wrong?” she said to Ned. “Let’s remind them that everyone has blood on their hands.”

Brownstone: Foyer

Taggert sprinted down the steps and grimaced as he saw the double doors to Bobbie’s apartment open. In the living room, he could see Michael sprawled out on his stomach, his head propped up on his chin watching video games. Behind him, Lucas and Felix had controllers in their hands. On the opposite sofa, Maxie Jones was talking on a cell phone.

“Hey.” He stopped in the doorway. “Bobbie or Carly around?”

“Nah, Carly’s at the Cellar, and Mom’s at work.” Lucas paused the game, frowning at him. “What’s up?”

“Maxie, can you do me a favor?” he said. The blonde looked up, furrowing her brow. “Can you take Michael to his room? Just for a few minutes.”

“Uh, okay.” Maxie got to her feet. “Kyle, I’ll call you back, okay? No, things are fine, I just need to do something.” To Michael, she said. “Come on, kid. Let’s check on Morgan. See if he’s awake from his nap yet.”

Michael looked at Taggert for a long moment before climbing to his feet. “Is my daddy coming?” he asked in a small voice.

“I don’t know,” Taggert said, not wanting to lie. “But maybe. And I think it’d be better if you were in your room.”

“Yeah, come on. We’ll steal Lucas’s Game Boy, and you can play on that, okay?” Maxie put a hand on Michael’s shoulder. “Lucas?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Lucas saved the game and turned it off. He grabbed his Game Boy from the nearby table and tossed it to Maxie. “You call my sister?” he asked Taggert when Michael and Maxie were out of earshot.

“No, I didn’t want to worry her. If he shows up, then we’ll call. But I just wanted you to be on your toes. Justus Ward called me—”

“Why would Sonny’s lawyer call you?” Felix asked with a frown. “Isn’t that against the law?”

“Not if Justus thinks his client is about to commit a crime,” Lucas said, his eyes on Taggert. “Right? If he has knowledge of a future crime?”

“Violent crime, yeah. And considering what happened here earlier this week—” Taggert held up a hand. “Let me back up. Justus said that Sonny got news that Ric Lansing might be in Baltimore.”

“Damn,” Lucas muttered. To Felix, he said, “That’s a lot fucking closer than Atlanta.”

They heard a car squeal to a stop in front of the house. Felix leaned over to peer out the window. “Yep, that’s him. Hey, he’s driving himself. That’s new—”

“Probably couldn’t convince anyone to come with him,” Lucas muttered. He closed the doors that separated the living room from the kitchen. “I’m so over this shit, I’m calling Carly—”

He had just connected with her when Sonny banged on the door. “Carly—”

“Is Michael okay?” Carly asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Sonny’s here. Taggert got a call from Justus—I—” Lucas hesitated. “You know what? Stay put for right now, okay? I don’t want you walking into the middle of this—”

“Carly! Let me in!” Sonny thundered as the banging continued. “Let me in right now! Those are my kids!”

“Lucas—”

“Tell her to stay at the club,” Taggert said. He pulled out his phone. “I’m gonna have a patrol car head over. If he leaves here, I don’t want him going straight there. Tell her it’s under control.”

“Lucas—” Carly said again. “I’m getting my coat—”

“No, Taggert is sending you a patrol car. Sonny sounds—” Lucas blinked at something crashed through the glass window — a rock maybe.

Taggert winced. “Damn it, I’m gonna have to arrest him this time. Stay back—”

Sonny’s hand came through the window, brushing the glass aside, fumbling for the locks. Taggert growled as he stood in the foyer, his handcuffs in his hands. He’d wanted to arrest Sonny Corinthos for years, but this hadn’t been the way he’d planned it with a terrified little boy down the hall and a crazy ass mobster trying to break into his wife’s home—

“You idiot,” Taggert muttered as Sonny shoved the door open. “Sonny Corinthos, you’re under arrest for breaking and entering—”

“Where are my kids?” Sonny demanded, shoving Taggert back, moving past him into the living room where Lucas and Felix were blocking the way.

“I’m pressing charges,” Lucas told Taggert, who had already called for backup. “I can do that. I’m babysitting, and he didn’t have my permission—”

“I got all that, thanks —” Taggert grabbed Sonny’s arm and clapped a handcuff on him. “No, no, don’t help—” he ordered Lucas and Felix when they started forward. “You’ll make it worse—” He grunted as Sonny shifted and struggled.

“I have to keep them safe!” Sonny shouted as he twisted, trying to get away from Taggert. “They’re not safe here!”

“He’s gone crazy,” Lucas murmured, watching his sister’s husband fight Taggert, trying to stop him from snapping the other hand into the cuffs. The usually slick mobster was a mess—his dark curls disheveled, his eyes bloodshot, face red. “Damn it—”

“Stop resisting,” Taggert ordered. “Or I—” He fell back as Sonny managed to free himself and punched him in the jaw with his one free hand. “Goddamn it!”

Behind him, Cruz and Lucky came through the door. Lucky sighed as he came onto the scene, and Sonny barreled right into him, the handcuff dangling from one of his wrists. Lucky pushed him back, and Cruz managed to get the other cuff on him. Sonny twisted and shoved, trying to get away from them.

“Just stop!” Lucky said. “Sonny!”

“What do we do?” Lucas asked. “Taggert—”

Taggert waved them off as he strode forward. “Get him into the car,” he told the officers. “I’ll be there in a second.” He turned back to them. “Make sure Maxie is okay with the kids, and then you two can come down to sign statements. I’m not doing this shit anymore. He’s being booked for breaking and entering, for resisting, and for fucking assault on an officer—” He rubbed his jaw. “Damn it.”

Between the three of them, they dragged Sonny down the steps and into the car, Sonny fighting every step of the way.

Taggert picked up his phone and dialed. When Justus picked up, he said, “You better get down to the PCPD and if you can get in touch with Morgan—”

He heard Justus sigh. “Yeah, okay. I’ll take care of it. Was Carly there—”

“No, and Michael didn’t see anything.”

“Good. Thanks.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Jason strode through the double doors of the department, Justus and Bernie on his heels. How the hell could this day get any worse, he wondered, as he found Taggert by a desk, an ice pack against his jaw.

Sonny had literally broken into the Brownstone while Michael was home, assaulted Taggert of all people—

Near Taggert, Lucas and his boyfriend were talking with Lucky. The boyfriend—Felix—bent down and scribbled something. Jason closed his eyes. A statement. Charges were being pressed.

“This might be for the best,” Justus murmured. “If he’s in lock-up, we get a chance to breathe, Jase—”

“And then we got cops looking at us even harder,” Jason muttered. “We don’t need this.” He didn’t believe for a second that organizations in other cities were helping them by reporting Ric Lansing sightings. More likely, the rumors were going around that Sonny was unstable, and that every mention of his psycho half-brother made things worse.

Someone out there was trying to destroy them by making them focus entirely on Sonny—and Jason didn’t even know where to start with that prospect. And what if some of the sightings were real? Where the hell was Lansing?

“I don’t think we’re getting Sonny out of this,” Justus said. “But—”

“Justus.”

Taggert had noticed them and was striding forward. “Thanks for the heads up,” he told him. “We got Michael out of the room just in time.”

“Thank you,” Jason found himself telling the lieutenant. “He didn’t see anything?”

“No. Carly’s on her way down,” Taggert continued, “but the charges are going to stick. Lucas and Felix are pressing them, even if Carly and Bobbie don’t want to.” He paused. “And we’re adding resisting and assault.”

“I figured.” Justus grimaced. “I guess I need to talk to my client.”

“He’s in the room, waiting.”

Justus shook his head and went past them, heading for the interrogation room. Taggert turned back to Jason. “You’re not going in?”

Jason really wanted to go back to a world where he didn’t have conversations with the PCPD, but at the moment, Taggert had been more of an ally in recent months than Jason’s own business partner. “No. I’m here if Carly needs me, but—” He paused. “Sonny got a warning the last time. He knew what might happen if he did this again.”

“Yeah, I didn’t—” Taggert looked towards the room, through the window with the blinds down. “This definitely wasn’t the way I wanted this to go down,” he muttered. “I tried to get away from all of this.” He shifted the ice pack, wincing. “I don’t want those kids in the middle of this.”

“None of us do.” Jason left Taggert then, walking towards Lucas and Felix. “You guys okay?”

“Yeah, Taggert got nailed this time,” Lucas said. “It’s bad, Jason.” He exchanged a glance with his boyfriend. “He’s completely lost it. He broke a window. And your guys didn’t even stop him.”

“No.” And that burned at his gut like acid. He’d picked men who were supposed to be loyal to him, but it hadn’t worked. “No, they didn’t. We need—we need to do something else. Carly and the kids are supposed—they need to be safe.”

“If they lock him up this time, they will be,” Felix pointed out, echoing Justus’s earlier statement.

Locking Sonny up in a cell with no windows, no control over his own freedom? If Sonny was already teetering on the edge of lucidity, that might shove him over. Could Jason let that happen just so he could give himself a bit of space?

What if Sonny hurt himself to get free—he’d injured himself in those dark moments before and others. How could Jason live with himself if Sonny got hurt? He had to believe there was still a chance for Sonny.

Justus was right. So were Luke and Tommy. Jason needed to make a decision about Sonny and the business—but this wasn’t just business.

This was real life, and it was personal. Sonny was broken inside, and Jason was the only one left who could—or would—help him.

“I know,” Jason said finally, “but lock up is the last retort.”

Lucas narrowed his eyes. “Maybe you need to see what the hell he did to my mother’s home or talk to Michael about how scared he was—”

“I know all of that,” Jason snapped, and the younger man fell silent, his lips forming a stubborn line. “I know,” he repeated, his tone gentler.. “And I’m going to change the security. I’ll fix it. But I know Sonny better than anyone, and lock-up will only make all of this worse. We need to make sure that can’t happen.”

“It can get worse?” Felix asked doubtfully. Jason met his eyes. “I mean, I’m new here, but this is pretty bad.”

“I know,” Jason admitted, hating that he had to do this. That he had to have this conversation with anyone, but it was necessary. He didn’t know Felix DuBois, but the man had stood in front of Michael more than once, and he’d been there for Carly and Elizabeth. “So when I say it can get worse, I need you to believe me.”

“All right,” Lucas said. “You do what you gotta do. But I’m still pressing charges, and if one more thing happens to my nephew—” His expression was pained. “Or my sister,” he muttered, “that’s the last straw. Sonny doesn’t get another chance to terrorize them.”

“He won’t,” Jason said, wishing he felt as confident as his words sounded. He had to make this stop. At any cost.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

The sun had sunk behind the buildings of the Port Charles skyline while Elizabeth waited in the penthouse. Jason had called to tell her he was handling the Sonny situation and that he didn’t know when he’d be home.

She was relieved—shamefully—that she had a respite from having to tell Jason the truth, and if Jason didn’t come home until after she’d gone to bed, then maybe she’d just…not have to tell him. Monica was supposed to come over the next day, and just maybe her oxygen levels would improve.

Maybe Elizabeth would never have to tell him that she’d lied to him.

Then around five, Elizabeth got a tense voicemail from her best friend.

I went on break and heard what happened with Sonny. This sucks hard, and I know you don’t want to make things worse for Jason. But if God forbid something happened overnight, and he doesn’t know what’s going on, he would never forgive himself. I don’t want to be that person, but someone has to. I love you. I love my brother. I love my nephew. Please tell him. Sonny and his bullshit are not more important than you. I haven’t changed my mind. If you don’t tell him tonight, I will call him in the morning.

Elizabeth had listened to the message three times, trying to find the argument, the loophole that would release her from having to tell Jason one more piece of bad news. He was juggling so many things, and Elizabeth was just trying to protect him from worrying about something else he couldn’t fix—

But Emily wasn’t bluffing, and Elizabeth knew it would be so much worse if he heard it from someone else. Jason didn’t deserve that, and there were so many ways she wasn’t being fair to him.

Emily was right. Jason had been biting his tongue for weeks over all of this, and it was time that it stopped.

Around eight, Cody knocked on the door to let her know that the limo had just pulled into the parking garage downstairs. The limo. Which meant that, against all odds, Jason had managed to get Sonny released.

Elizabeth picked up the phone and called Emily. When her best friend picked up, Elizabeth blinked in surprise. “Oh, I thought I’d get your voicemail.”

“I’m on dinner break. What’s up? Did you—”

“He’s on his way up from the parking garage. Em—Sonny’s with him. I’m just—”

“Yeah, I know. The timing sucks.” Emily paused. “You need to tell him. There will never, ever be a good time. And you will always find a reason not to. I know you’re trying to protect him. Did you like it when he made decisions for you? When he tried to protect you?”

Elizabeth scowled. “I really hate you,” she muttered. She sighed. “No. It was terrible, but—”

“You are not one more thing to him or to anyone. Sonny is his friend, and he’s important, but you are his wife, and that is his child, too. I love you all, but you know I’m right.”

“I know. I just—” Elizabeth closed her eyes. “I hate this. I hate all of this so much, and I just want it to stop. Why can’t we get a break?”

“I don’t know, and I’m sorry. If I thought you were right, I’d be on your side. I just want you to be okay. I feel like shit that I’m doing this, but—”

“But you’re right,” Elizabeth managed. “You’re right, and I know you’re right. I guess—I don’t want to look at him and do this. It’s bad enough I have to live with it, but I can’t stand hurting him, and it’s going to hurt him—”

“Then you’ll hurt together. Until you’re honest that can’t happen. I love you,” Emily repeated. “Let him be there for you, and you can be there for him.”

The door opened then, and Jason strode in, his eyes exhausted, and mouth pinched. Justus came in after him, then Sonny stormed in. His hair was disheveled, his eyes bloodshot, and his skin mottled with splotches of red.

“You’re right,” Elizabeth said. “I love you, and I’ll call you later.”

“Okay.”

“Hey,” Jason said as Elizabeth closed her phone and set it on the table. “I’ll take you to bed, but I still need to deal with some things—”

“You need to get them all out of here!” Sonny ordered. He stabbed a finger at Jason, his finger shaking. “Ric will come for them, too!”

Jason ignored him, looking back at Elizabeth, extending his hand to help her get to her feet. “I’m sorry,” he told her. “But I don’t know when I’ll be back tonight—”

Elizabeth nearly agreed. Nearly let it go, but remembered Emily’s words and their arguments. And the look on Jason’s face more than six months ago when she hadn’t told him about the oxygen tank, and she’d had an attack the first time they’d made love.

He’d watched her struggle for air and die twice. He deserved better from her.

Emily was right. There would never be a good time.

“I lied,” she blurted out in a rush. “About my doctor’s appointment.”

Jason stared at her, his expression blank. His hand, still touching her elbow as he’d helped her to stand, fell to his side. “What do you mean?”

“My glucose test was fine,” she said in a rush, “but my oxygen levels—they’re not normal. Or stable. They dropped two points.”

“They—” Jason just stared at her. “They dropped.”

“What the hell is going on?” Sonny demanded.

“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth began, taking a step towards him, but then Jason did something she didn’t see coming.

Jason stalked towards the door, yanked it open, revealing Cody’s confused and startled face.

Then he left, slamming it behind him so hard that the framed picture from their wedding next to the door fell and shattered.

And you took me to hell and back
My mind’s like a one way track
And you tell me just one more time
And you’re lying like you always do
Yeah I know it well
– Hell and Back, Airborne Toxic Event

---

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

Alexis’s Apartment: Living Room

Alexis nearly ignored the ringing of the landline on her desk as she rushed around the apartment, gathering Kristina’s belongings for daycare, looking for the medical reports for Carly’s file—

She really should have hired a personal assistant to organize her everyday life.

The phone rang for the fifth time just as she passed her desk again. She snagged the receiver, shoved it against her ear, and continued to flip through folders on her desk. “Yeah?”

“Have you seen the papers yet?”

Jax’s voice was clipped, tense, and caught her attention. “No, why? I usually grab them from the front desk on my way out of the building—”

“Don’t leave the building.”

Alexis wrapped her fingers around the plastic receiver and straightened. “What’s going on?”

“I’m coming over. Don’t come into the office. Don’t pick up the phone — screen your calls—”

“Damn it, Jax—”

“The Port Charles Sun just lobbed a grenade — they know.”

Her chest tightened, and Alexis turned to look at Kristina in her playpen. Sensing her mother’s eyes on her, the little girl looked up and smiled. She didn’t even need to ask what he was talking about.

“How—”

“That’s not the only headline. Don’t leave, Alexis. Wait for me.”

Lois’s Apartment: Living Room

A few floors above Alexis, Lois stared at her inbox on the laptop in her lap and contemplated canceling all her meetings.

After that terrible scene with Ned, she’d gone home, hoping a few glasses of wine would help her sleep. Instead, she’d tossed and turned and only slept in fits and starts. Now, just when she should be dressing for the office, she felt gritty-eyed and exhausted.

The last place she should be was the communications department in the mayor’s office. She could barely grunt her own name, much less provide any sort of support for Ned right now.

She reached for her coffee. Maybe it would be a good day just to curl up on the sofa and watch old movies. Shut out the entire world.

Or would it be better to get a shower and fight through the day? She’d been doing better these last few weeks—she didn’t think about Brooke every waking minute, and she’d loved working in politics more than she thought she would.

She’d wanted to be part of something, to help Ned rebuild the broken pieces of this city that had stolen her baby from her — and most of the time, Lois could point to something she’d done as proof that progress was being made. That she was going to be okay.

Then days like yesterday would come along, and she’d lose the thread. She’d go back to the beginning and feel it all like it was happening now.

Brooke had been gone for more than six months, but right now, it felt like yesterday.

The landline in her kitchen began to ring, and Lois ignored it, hoping the machine would pick it up. Then the cell phone plugged in next to her on the desk started to vibrate. She narrowed her eyes, then reached for it. That couldn’t be a coincidence—

She barely had time to see Ned’s name scroll across the identification screen before she heard a pounding on her door.

“Lois!”

She ignored both phones and headed for the door, for the panicked knocking and hysterical cries of her best friend. “Liv, what’s—” She jerked open the door to find Olivia, her cheeks tear-stained and her eyes bloodshot. Clutched against her chest was the Port Charles Sun, Olivia’s fingers digging into the thin newsprint.

Lois could barely make out the headline over Olivia’s hands—but two words stood out in stark, tall, print —

SECRET SON

“Olivia,” Lois said, a sinking, swirling feeling in her stomach. “What’s going on? Why—”

“They know, oh, God, they know, they know, and I don’t—” Olivia shoved the paper at her, and Lois straightened it out.

GODFATHER’S SECRET SON AND DAUGHTER! TIES TO THE MAYOR’S OFFICE & PCPD!

“How could they know?” Olivia cried. “You didn’t even know! How could they know about my boy and Kristina?”

She pressed her hands to her face, her breath ragged from the sobs. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, how did this happen?”

Lois folded Olivia into her arms, waves of guilt and shame sliding over her like a wave.

This was her fault. It had to be. Oh, God. She’d ruined everything.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Elizabeth sipped her tea, flipping through a magazine. Jason emerged from the kitchen, a cup of coffee in his hands. “After your appointment, we’ll go to Kelly’s,” he reminded her, “since you have to fast—”

“For the glucose test I couldn’t take because we were away.” She forced herself to keep her tone even. “I know.”

He winced. “I’m sorry. I know you remember all that—”

“It’s okay,” she murmured, setting her tea aside. “I’ll be in the mood for a huge bowl of chili, and Cam will just have to deal.” She started to stand, grateful when Jason pulled her the last bit. “If I were taller,” she began—but then she heard something outside their door.

Sonny was shouting.

“I thought you said he was doing better,” Elizabeth said. Jason was already heading for the door when his phone rang. He pulled it out and grimaced.

“It’s Carly. That can’t be good—” He answered the phone, but then their door flew open, and Sonny strode in—slapping papers in Jason’s face. Cody and Max followed, both of them red-faced and irritated.

“What the hell—” Jason began. “Carly, I’ll call you back—yeah, it’s too late. Whatever it is, he knows,” he said. He hung up the phone. “Sonny—”

“That bitch knew!” Sonny roared. “She had to—”

Elizabeth reached for the papers in Jason’s hands—wrinkling her nose when she recognized the Sun‘s familiar square shape. “We should have sued them,” she muttered—then gaped at the headline. “Oh my God—”

Jason was scanning the Herald‘s more sedate cover story before swallowing hard. “Sonny—”

“You’re going to tell me that Alexis is Carly’s fucking divorce lawyer, and she didn’t know about this?” Sonny demanded. “She stole my kid! Everyone is stealing my kids—”

Elizabeth opened the tabloid and skimmed the story, processing the stunning claims. Not only were the papers claiming that Kristina Davis-Ashton was actually Sonny’s biological child—but so was the PCPD rookie, Dante Falconieri. “How could they know—”

“Sonny—”

“You get Justus over here now, and you tell him I want custody—I want visitation—” Sonny yanked the paper away from Elizabeth, then shoved it in Jason’s face. “Alexis thinks she’s going to steal my daughter and then help Carly steal the boys? Not a chance in hell!”

Elizabeth glanced at her watch, then bit her lip. “I should get going,” she said to him softly. “I’ll call you—”

Jason looked at her. “No—I should go—”

“What the hell do you need him for now?” Sonny demanded, switching his attention to Elizabeth, who silently counted to five. She couldn’t even be that angry with Sonny — he’d just had his world rocked, and Elizabeth had to agree — Carly must have known or suspected, and she hadn’t warned Jason.

“We were getting ready for a doctor’s appointment, but it’s okay,” she told Sonny. “I’ve got Cody, and I’ll go alone—”

“But—”

“Sonny needs you more than I do,” Elizabeth said to Jason, and Sonny seemed mollified by that.

“Call me if—”

“I will.” She kissed his cheek. “Sonny, uh, good luck.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sonny waved her away, and Elizabeth went for her purse. Jason still looked unconvinced even as she and Cody closed the door behind them.

Quartermaine Mansion: Family Room

Ned skimmed his planner, wincing at the list of meetings. It wasn’t much different than running ELQ, he reminded himself, even if most of these meetings could be an email or a memo.

He heard shouting from the foyer and sighed. Maybe he could just sneak out the terrace door. He’d only come to the mansion to grab breakfast—

“Father, are you—” Tracy paused at the doorway, a newspaper clutched in her hand, and her eyes narrowed. “You,” she spat.

Ned eyed his mother warily, spied his brother over her shoulder. “What’s going on?”

“Have you seen the papers today?” Dillon wanted to know, carefully sliding past the irate Tracy, another newspaper in his hand. Ned scowled as he recognized the shape of the tabloid.

“Why the hell are we still subscribed to this trash—” Ned broke off as he read the headline, his throat closing.

Oh, God.

“How could you do this to the family?” Tracy demanded. “How could you lie to everyone—”

Ned couldn’t hear his mother, was only dimly aware that others had begun to fill the room. Dillon was defending him to Tracy—Edward was blustering—and Alan was starting to raise his voice.

But Ned could only see the words that revealed the lie. Everyone would know.

“Ned?”

He blinked at the soft, gentle voice of his grandmother and looked at Lila, her kind and worried eyes. “Grandmother.”

“Are you all right, my darling?”

“I—” He shook his head. “N-No. I’m not.”

The world knew that Kristina was Sonny’s child, and Ned had lost another daughter.

Kelly’s: Kitchen

“He’s not returning any calls?” Maxie demanded as she paced the small area. “What the hell? How are we supposed to fix this if he doesn’t let us!”

“I can’t make him—” Lulu’s fingers slipped as she tried to redial Dante’s number. “I can’t make him pick up—” A sob bubbled up in her throat. How had the papers known? Was she bugged? Was she the reason—

“Lu—” Maxie reached for her hand. “Hey. It’s okay—”

“No, no, it’s not! He just got over me being stupid and nearly torching everything, and now this—”

“But it’s not like you knew—” Maxie blinked at her. “Oh, bitch, you did know? How long? When? Why—”

“J-just since yesterday, but—” She took a deep breath. “I didn’t tell anyone. I’m not even telling you—”

“There’s no telling me. I read the paper—” Maxie reached for the Herald on the counter. “And if they’re printing it, you know it must be true. Poor Dante!”

“Hey, Lu, you thinking of taking your shift at any point?” Penny asked, peeking over the counter. “Or are you having another crisis?”

“Hey, Penny, do you want to wear that plate of eggs you’re carrying?” Maxie asked sweetly. “Go away and remember that Lu covered for you last week when you wanted to follow David to the club. That’s what I thought,” she said as Penny glared at her, then flounced off. “Bitch.”

“I should get to work,” Lulu said with a sigh. “He’s not going to return my calls—”

“Hey, Lu.” Cruz poked his head in the doorway. “You got a minute?”

“Cruz!” Maxie grabbed his arm and dragged him into the kitchen. “Where’s Dante? Is he okay? Who do we have to set on fire? I’m ready. I’ve got the matches, Lu’s got the gasoline, and Lucas is ready for the getaway—”

“Still a cop, Maxie,” Cruz said, then turned to Lu. “In the alley,” he told her. “He needs a place. Can you get him upstairs without anyone knowing?”

Lulu widened her eyes. “Of course! Is he okay? How did this happen?”

“He doesn’t know. The press was waiting outside of our place, and they’re mobbing his mother’s building—which is probably because Alexis and Lois live there, too.” Cruz grimaced. “It’s been hell. Taggert didn’t want him coming in—”

Maxie’s eyes were bulging. “Oh, God, I didn’t even think about the PCPD—how are they gonna handle Dante being Sonny’s kid—”

Lulu ignored them both and headed for the door to the back alley, jerking it open and rushing into the cold.

“Dante?”

He melted out from behind the dumpster, weary and stumbling a bit. “Hey, Lu. I thought—I don’t know. Maybe the press wouldn’t look for me here.”

“Come in, come in—” She reached for his hand. “There’s a back staircase. Maxie is in the kitchen, so we should go in the other way—” Lulu headed down to another door and reached into her pocket. “She wants to help.”

“Her help could get me arrested,” Dante said with a thin smile. “Yours, too, probably.”

“She’s got a plan that involves gasoline and a getaway car. Cruz will talk her down, or I’ll call in Lucas.”

She stopped at the bottom of the staircase, swallowing hard. “I promise I didn’t say anything.”

He frowned at her, one foot on the bottom step. “What are you talking about?”

“You told me about Sonny, and now the whole world knows. I swear I didn’t—”

“Hey.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “I know you didn’t, Lu. You wouldn’t.”

“Yeah, but—” She bit her lip. “How did they know? I thought you said no one knew—”

“Whoever it was—they knew about Kristina, too. I don’t know anyone who knew about both of us. I didn’t even know about Kristina, how could you?”

“No, I guess so. I just—I’m sorry. You just wanted this to go away, and it’s not—” She shook her head. “Let me get you upstairs. I don’t want anyone seeing you go upstairs and calling the press. We’ll find out who did this to you, Dante, and we’ll make them pay—”

“There’s no point.” With a heavy sigh, he started up the stairs. “It’s too late.”

General Hospital: Kelly’s Office

Elizabeth closed her eyes. “I don’t understand. I’m feeling better—” She opened her eyes to see that Kelly and Monica were wearing identical expressions of worry. “I really am. I’ve been able to take more deep breaths—well, deep for me, and I don’t get as tired as much—”

“Because the oxygen therapy is keeping you stable,” Monica told her. She sat next to Elizabeth and took her hands in her own. “But your levels have dropped another point. Your blood isn’t doing the job of keeping your heart and lungs fully oxygenated.”

Elizabeth’s throat tightened as she opened her mouth, then closed it. She turned to Kelly. “Cameron. The baby—”

“So far, so good. Your body is diverting its resources to him, compensating where it can. But I’m afraid we’re running out of time.” Kelly paused. “I could get into the technical explanation, and I’m sure Monica has more information about what’s going on in your lungs and your heart—”

“Elizabeth, your body is going to prioritize your heart and lungs by shutting down other organs. It might start with your kidneys or your liver. Or even your digestive system—”

“Oh, God—” Elizabeth bowed her head, her chest tightening and her lungs starting to burn. “Stop. Please stop—”

“Let me call Jason. I know that things hit the fan this morning with Sonny and the papers,” Monica said. “I saw them, too—”

“It won’t change—” Her voice broke. “Having him here won’t make it better. It won’t change—” She couldn’t think. She couldn’t take it in. Her body was failing her, refusing to do the only thing she’d ever asked of it— “Is—this is happening now? You can tell now—”

“Yes,” Monica said gently. “You’re in the early stages of pulmonary hypertension. Your blood pressure has been high for months, and today’s readings tell me that you’re going to tip over. You’re just barely in the normal range, but combined with the oxygen levels, the results of your lung tests—”

“If we don’t make some decisions now, Elizabeth,” Kelly said softly, “Cameron will be affected within a week. Maybe less. Every day matters in fetal development.”

“We also run the risk of the damage not being reversible,” Monica continued.

“Just—” Elizabeth forced herself to her feet, ignoring the burning in her lungs, the squeeze of her chest. “No. Just—I need a minute.”

“Give us some time,” Monica murmured to Kelly, who left the office and went into the adjoining suite. She put a hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder. “Let me call Jason. Not because it’ll change anything—”

“I feel okay today,” Elizabeth managed. “I took the stairs, and I could breathe. You said—” She stopped. “I’m thirty weeks. It’s still—it’s too early—”

“You made it another week,” Monica said. “You’ve given him all the time you can, sweetheart. At thirty weeks, babies born at this stage have a greater than ninety-five percent chance of survival. Yes, he will likely need help breathing. He’ll need medications to help the rest of his organs finish developing—”

“Ninety-five is high. I know that. I know all of that—” Elizabeth closed her eyes. “But I should be able to do this. I should be able to keep my son safe until he’s ready to be born.”

“Every day you give him is time you steal from yourself.”

“I—”

“And I know you’re going to tell me that you’re at peace with that,” Monica cut in. “Maybe you are. But I’m not. I’ve watched you fight too hard to give up now—”

“I can’t make it to thirty-five weeks,” Elizabeth said softly. “I can accept that.”

“Elizabeth—”

“I can do more oxygen therapy.” Feeling better now, stronger, Elizabeth focused on Monica. “We’re only doing it at night. I can do it more often. In the mornings, too. Can’t I try that?”

“Elizabeth. Have you heard a single thing we’ve told you? Your heart and your lungs are weaker than they were a week ago. Increased oxygen might help, but it is not the solution—”

“No, but it’ll give me time,” Elizabeth repeated. “Two more weeks. Please. Give him two more weeks.” She took Monica’s hand and pressed it against her belly, and her mother-in-law sighed as Cameron kicked in response. “I can feel him getting stronger every day. Will two more weeks really cause irreversible damage to my organs?”

Monica hesitated, then took her hand back. “I could not love you more if you were my own daughter,” she told Elizabeth. “I love that baby. I want him to have his best chance, but I do not want my son raising him alone. Cameron deserves both of you.”

“You didn’t answer my question—”

“With increased therapy,” Monica said, her jaw slightly clenched, “morning and afternoon in addition to the evening, we might be able to get your level back to 95. Might,” she stressed. “We’ll give it two days. I’ll be over daily to check on you. If you’re not at 95 by then, you’ll check into the hospital, and we’ll induce.”

“I—” Elizabeth wanted to argue, but she just rubbed her throat. “I know I must seem insane to you. I’ve read all the brochures you gave me, and I’ve listened, I promise. I know that the extra time I’ve given Cam since you told us what was going on—I know he’ll probably be okay. I just—” She paused. “I can’t make myself accept there’s nothing else I can do.”

“You don’t seem insane,” Monica said. “You’re a mother, trying to do her best with the bad luck you’ve been given. Will you let me call Jason now—”

“No. Um, you can write the script, and I’ll get it picked up. Jason’s dealing with a crisis. I know you’re going to tell me I’m more important—but the thing is—” Elizabeth smiled wryly. “If Jason doesn’t get Sonny dealt with before I get home, I’ll be in the middle of it. I’d rather he get things sorted at home than be here.”

“All right. I’ll go write the prescription, and I’ll check in tonight.”

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

Ned stared out the window, over the skyline of Port Charles, then turned back to Anna. “I’m sorry. I never meant for any of this to come out and hurt the city. Or the department—”

“Of course not,” Anna said briskly. “You may hate the PCPD, but this damages you as well, Ned. And so many others…have you been able to speak to Dante?” she asked him.

“Not yet. Taggert—”

The lieutenant put up his hands. “No. I got Cruz on the line this morning and Dante to take the day. We’d cover.” He paused. “We need to talk about what this means for him here—”

Anna bristled. “Why would it mean anything? I was married to Duke while working as the commissioner. Dante is an accomplished officer—”

“You and I both know the kid probably had no idea, but—” Pained, Taggert hesitated. “He’s the son of Sonny Corinthos and the cousin to Vinnie Esposito—”

“They’re going to think he’s corrupt,” Ned said roughly. “Christ.”

“Or that he can’t be trusted. He snitched on a cop—” When Ned’s nostrils flared, Taggert held up his hands in protest. “Hey. You know that’s not what I think, but there are plenty who think you never cross the blue line, even for scum like Vinnie. It’s been hard for Dante since he testified, and this isn’t going to make it easier.”

“What about Kristina?” Anna asked Ned. “I can see someone wanting to sabotage Dante or take another shot at you. Maybe Floyd or one of his allies, looking to back someone else in two years when the next election is up, but Kristina is just a child—”

“I think—” Ned paused. “Lois found out,” he said softly. “About Kristina. And it—she didn’t handle it well. I should have told her—” He stopped. “I don’t know for sure how the papers found out, but Lois broke down, and we had an argument outside her office last night after everyone else had left. Someone could have overheard it.”

“You spoke about Dante and Kristina in this argument?” Anna demanded.

“I wanted to blame anyone else,” Ned murmured. “Carly knows about Kristina. And I’m sure Dante’s told someone. Olivia knows. It can’t be a coincidence—If I had told her earlier—” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I wish I could say someone wanted to hurt me, but it was just an opportunity to sell papers, and I handed it to them. We were—we were arguing about Brooke—”

He sat down, unable to continue speaking.

Anna exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry, Ned. I’ve lost a child. Leora wasn’t—” Her voice faltered. “I signed the papers, you see, for the surgery, and she died. I blamed myself. David and I lost—we couldn’t help each other. We argued, and we pushed each other away.” Ned looked at her, his eyes red. “I know how grieving can push and pull at you. And I’m sure when this calms down, Dante won’t blame you either.”

“Maybe.” Ned cleared his throat. “I’ll probably end up in court with Sonny over this, but Dante—” He looked at Taggert, who had remained quiet while Anna spoke. “Can you help him? Can we find—is there a way to minimize the damage?”

“We can try,” Taggert said. “But I can’t promise anything.”

“That’s all I ask.” Ned pushed himself to his feet. “I need to head over and see Alexis. Be with Kristina.”

He paused at the doorway and looked back at Anna. “Thank you,” he told her. “For sharing what happened to your daughter. It just—it just hits you when you least expect it. You’re having a good day, and then bam, it’s right in your face. Your little girl is gone, and there’s nothing you can do to bring her back. I don’t know why I have to keep learning that.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose, the other hand clutching the phone tightly, almost wishing he could wrap it around Carly’s neck. She’d known. “You didn’t think to warn me?” he said. “Do you have any idea what’s been going on here today?”

“I’m sorry, Jason. I honestly—no one saw this coming. Alexis was as blindsided as I was—” Carly paused. “And no, I couldn’t warn you. No one was supposed to know—”

“A lot of good that’s doing me today,” Jason muttered. “Sonny’s meeting with Justus right now, and he’s going to find a way to use this against you—” And that was just the first thing on Sonny’s list. There wasn’t much to do about Dante Falconieri—the kid was an adult with a mother who couldn’t be intimidated.

Kristina was still an infant that Sonny could go to court over—

“Jason—”

For the second time that day, Jason’s door flew open, and he made a mental note to put a goddamn deadbolt on the thing.

“You need to get me another lawyer!” Sonny charged. He saw Jason on the phone. “Is that the bitch? Give me that—”

Jason held the phone away from the furious man, but Sonny managed to rip it out of Jason’s hand as Justus came in, weary.

“Listen to me, you fucking bitch—I will destroy you, I will ruin—” Sonny hissed, then threw Jason’s phone across the room.

It shattered.

Jason swung his head back around to face his partner and one-time best friend, stunned. “What if Elizabeth tries to call me?”

“You’ve got a landline—”

“I’m sorry,” Justus interrupted. “He’s firing me. Again. I told him I’m not filing for custody of Kristina—”

“That’s my daughter—”

“And it was all I could do to keep him off the elevator to go after Alexis—and Ned.” Justus grimaced. “The last thing we need is you go after the mayor and city attorney—”

“And that’s why you’re fired—”

Jason scrubbed his hands over his face. Justus was absolutely correct, but he needed Sonny under control and out of his penthouse before—

“Um, should I go upstairs?”

His eyes flew open as he saw Elizabeth stepping over the threshold, a wary expression etched into her features. Behind her, Cody swept his eyes over the penthouse, looking irritated to find Sonny still there.

“Yes—” Sonny began.

“No,” Jason retorted. “You can go—”

“Not until you find me another lawyer! How the hell am I supposed to protect my kids if their mothers won’t let me—”

“If you didn’t impregnate every goddamn woman you looked at twice—” Justus began, all patience lost now.

“What the hell did you say to me?” Sonny demanded as Jason groaned.

“You heard me. I am done listening to this crap from you—”

“You can’t talk to me that way! You do what I say! You’re my lawyer! Mine! No one tells me no!” Sonny charged towards him, and Justus—alarmed now—put his hands up to ward him off.

Cody grabbed Elizabeth’s arm and tugged her back, pulling her out of the way as Sonny shoved Justus into the wall. Jason didn’t even have time to move— “I’m Sonny fucking Corinthos!”

“You’ve lost it, Sonny,” Justus grunted. His eyes hardened. “I don’t belong to anyone. I quit.” He shoved Sonny back, hard enough that the other man flew into Jason, who nearly lost his balance. “Sorry, Jase.” He stormed out, and a minute later, they heard the service door slam.

“Get me another lawyer,” Sonny ordered Jason. “I will have my daughter.”

Then he stalked across the hall and slammed his own door.

“You okay, Mrs. Morgan?” Cody asked.

Jason came forward to take her arm. “Thank you,” he told Cody. “Elizabeth—”

“I’m fine. Are you okay? Should you go after him—” She craned her neck around to look where Justus had disappeared.

“I’ll deal with it later,” Jason said, weary. He nodded to Cody, then closed the door and reached for her jacket. “I’m sorry. I thought I’d have this under control by the time—” He stopped, took a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” he repeated.

“It’s okay,” she assured him. She finished removing her coat, then dumped it over the desk chair. “You’re not a miracle worker, Jason, and Sonny got punched hard today. Did Carly really know?” she asked.

“It’s how she got Alexis to be her attorney,” Jason muttered. “She doesn’t know how it leaked, but it wasn’t her—” He rubbed his hands up and down his face as if he could scrub away the irritations and insanity of it all. “It’s not great. I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do without Justus—and I can’t ask him to come back. Not after that—” Not after Sonny had physically assaulted him—God damn it—

He shoved it to the back of his head. “I’ll deal with it later,” he repeated. “How was the appointment? You didn’t call—” He looked around the room, found the pieces of his phone, and went over to pick them up. “What about your oxygen levels? Are they better?”

Elizabeth frowned. “What happened to your phone—”

“Elizabeth,” Jason nearly snapped. “What did they say?”

She blinked at him, likely taken aback by the harsh tone he hadn’t used with her in months, if ever. “Things are fine,” she said softly, “but Monica’s coming over in a few days to check again.” She absently ran a hand over her belly. “Everything—it looks good.”

The first piece of good news he’d had all day. He visibly relaxed, his shoulders slumping. “I’m sorry. It’s just—it’s been a long morning.”

“I know.” She leaned up to kiss him. “I’ll let you get back to it, but can you take me upstairs? I’m feeling a bit tired.”

He nodded. “Absolutely. Did you get to Kelly’s—”

“Oh, no. I forgot—” Her stomach rumbled, and she winced. “Sorry. I knew I was hungry, but I was worried about you here—”

“I’ll get you settled in and call in for some lunch.” He kissed her forehead. “I’m glad the oxygen therapy is working. We needed a break.”

“Yeah.” She touched his jaw, sliding her fingers along his chin. “We did.”