Written in 60 minutes.

Saturday, September 13, 2024

Webber House: Kitchen

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

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

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

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

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

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

Penthouse: Living Room

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Webber House: Aiden’s Bedroom

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

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

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

Make that four.

Not a good sign.

“This better be good,” Aiden muttered.

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

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

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

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

Shit, shit, shit—

He needed to get them away from the house.

Webber House: Elm Street

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cops.

Of course.

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

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

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

Who were actually going to kill him.

Webber House: Elizabeth’s Bedroom

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

“Ms. Webber? This is Dex Heller.”

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

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

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

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

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

“Your son asked to be taken in.”

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

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

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

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

“Outside—” Jason stopped. “Danny?”

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

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

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

“Elizabeth?”

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

PCPD: Squad Room

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PCPD: Parking Lot

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

+44

Written in 66 minutes.

Saturday, September 13, 2024

Penthouse: Living Room

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

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

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

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

“But?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bobbie’s: Dining Room

“Well, there you are, stranger!”

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

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

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

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

“Not really.”

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

He furrowed his brow. “We are.”

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

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

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

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

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

“I’ve heard that before.”

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

“Carly.”

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

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

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

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

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

“I’m not surprised—”

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

“I told you why—”

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

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

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

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

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

Webber House: Kitchen

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

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

“On it—”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Mom—”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TJ & Molly’s Apartment: Living Room

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

“I’m not hungry—”

“Molly.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elm Street: Sidewalk

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

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

“I will.”

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

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

“Yeah, yeah, just get out of here.”

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

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

+35

Written in 65 minutes.

Friday, September 12, 2024

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

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

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

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

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

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

“Oh, but I just have to—”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amy frowned. “That’s my voice.”

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

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

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

“No.”

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

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

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

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

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

“Me, too.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

ELQ: Michael’s Office

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“That’s different—”

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

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

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

“We would have worked out something—”

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

“With pleasure,” she spat.

Port Charles Airport: Parking Lot

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

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

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

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

“Elizabeth.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“We’d better get going.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

+40

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

Written in 57 minutes.

Friday, September 12, 2024

Webber House: Living Room

She nearly didn’t open the door.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Some things?” Elizabeth echoed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

District Attorney’s Office: Robert’s Office

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

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

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

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

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

“Mr. Scorpio—”

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

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

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

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

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

Lake House: Living Room

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

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

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

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

“Nope, just the third.”

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

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

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

Hanley Federal Building: Pretrial Services Division

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yes.”

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

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

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