December 25, 2014

These are the two opening scenes to my Tangle rewrite.

I’m alive but tell me am I free
I got eyes but tell me can I see
The sky is falling and no one knows
It shouldn’t be hard to believe
Shouldn’t be this difficult to breathe
The sky is falling and no one knows
– Sky is Falling, Lifehouse

Monday, November 15, 2010

Morgan Home: Kitchen

The last time Jason Morgan saw his wife, she was smiling at him. She stood by her open car door, facing the street as he fastened the car seat for their three-year-old son, Jake.

“I’m going to miss you guys so much,” she murmured, leaning over the car door to kiss him softly. “I wish I weren’t going back today.”

Jason smoothed his hand down the back of her hand, over her chestnut hair and tilted his head to the side. “You don’t have to go, you know. You can call, ask for extra time.”

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “I can’t. I’ve already been out six months. I think I was spoiled because I was only out three with Jake.” She cast her sapphire eyes at their blond son who was chattering with six-year-old Cameron. “And you know…the last month of that was…” She sighed. “I’m not going to think about that anymore.”

He didn’t much like to think about the few weeks their newborn son had been kidnapped by a grief-stricken mother, made possible by his girlfriend’s anger at the situation, as she had stood and watched the woman lift an innocent boy from his carriage and leave the park.

“We don’t have to.” He kissed her again. “But you know…Juliet is going to miss you.”

She laughed, the sorrow clearing from her eyes. “Oh, she is not. She has you wrapped around her tiny finger.” She punctuated each word with a soft finger poking him in the chest. “Admit it, big bad Jason Morgan is a softy.”

He scowled at her, but only in fun because it was true. He’d only raised boys before, from Michael to Jake and Cameron. He’d been around girls, but never his own daughter. “I have a reputation to protect.”

She smirked. “I have to get the boys to school, and then to the hospital before Epiphany sets the hounds loose.” He stepped back and closed the door. He kissed her one more time. “I love you,” she murmured against his lips. “I’ll see you later.”

He stepped back from the car, and repeated their usual goodbye, one that went back more than a decade. “I’ll see you later.”

His wife smiled, and slid into the car. As she fastened her seatbelt, Jason, out of habit, glanced to the street where a dark car was waiting to follow his wife to the boys’ school and then to General Hospital.

With a wave, Elizabeth Morgan pulled out of the driveway and then drove down the street. Her silver car turned a corner, and she was gone.

Jason returned to the house where his six-month-old daughter slept peacefully never knowing that she would grow up without the mother who loved her so much.

Morgan Home: Study

Four hours later, Jason sat behind the desk in the study Elizabeth had insisted on setting up when they’d moved into the home the year before. He hated bringing his work home, but she had successfully argued that if he did paperwork and met with trusted people the kids already knew at the house, he would be home more. After missing nearly a year of Jake’s life, any decision that allowed him more time with his children was easy to make.

So today, the meeting was with Cody Paul, the enforcer in his organization, and his business partner, Johnny Zacchara. Juliet peacefully slumbered in a playpen a few feet outside the door, in the living room.

“Vega’s an impatient old woman,” Johnny grumbled, scribbling his name on a page. “I told him that we would have answer by the end of the week, and he’s already hassling me. It’s Monday, for f—” He coughed. “Anyway. We’ll have to figure out what to tell him about the pier.”

“We will,” Jason said. “At the end of the week.” He rubbed his forehead. “Anything else?”

“Nope,” Cody said, gathering up the ledgers. “I’ll take these down to Max at the warehouse. See ya guys.” The enforcer left, and a few minutes later he heard the door open and close.

Johnny leaned back in his chair. “Nadine said Liz was going back to work today. How’d she take it?”

Jason shrugged. He and Johnny were mostly relaxed with one another, despite the fact Johnny was responsible for the death of Sonny Corinthos two years earlier.

Their business partnership had just seen its first anniversary, having been struck when his now-wife Nadine agreed to marry him. Johnny had, sensibly, argued that they would be stronger together than apart and since they were both family men now, they would be well-served to preserve the peace.

“I told her she could stay home,” he answered finally.

“Yeah, I told Nadine the same thing last month.” Johnny smirked. “She thought I was nuts. What would she do when Lia was older, started going to school?” His grin broadened. “I told her we’d have more kids if she wanted to stay busy. She whacked me. Just easier to let them do what they’re gonna do.”

“Elizabeth loves her job.” And that was enough for him. It was a logistical nightmare securing the hospital at times, but it was important to him that his wife not be isolated, stuck in his penthouse. Carly had been that way with Sonny, and it had driven her insane—almost literally.

The landline on his desk rang and Jason reached for it. “Morgan?”

“Jason? Oh. Hey. It’s Nadine.”

Jason frowned at the sound of his partner’s wife. “Nadine? Are you looking for Johnny?” He glanced at the other man who took out his cell, as if to examine its condition.

“Oh. No, no. I guess Elizabeth forgot its her first day back. I tried her cell, but she probably left it with Jules again, she can’t get enough of it but I’ve managed to hold Epiphany off for a while, but she’s super late—”

His fist clenched on the desk, and Johnny leaned forward. “What’s wrong?”

“Nadine, Elizabeth left for work four hours ago,” Jason said, careful to keep his voice very calm. He met Johnny’s eyes, and his partner immediately started to dial Elizabeth’s guards.

“Oh.” There was a pause, and then a sucking in of her breath. “Oh. God. Okay. Well…I…don’t know what to do. Should I call the police?”

“No.” Jason swallowed. He could not panic. There was an explanation. A reasonable one. “No. I’ll…drive the route she took. Maybe she got stuck somewhere.”

“Okay…well, let me know.” But Nadine’s voice was skeptical, and they both knew he didn’t believe it.

Jason carefully set the phone on the hook, and took a deep breath. “Johnny?”

“No answer on the guards,” Johnny confirmed. “I’m calling Max and Cody to start the search.” He hesitated. “Jason, doesn’t she usually drive the boys to school?”

And if Jason had been fighting panic before, he now tasted the terror.

Snatching the phone back up, he punched in the number for St. Andrew’s Academy. “Hello, this is Jason Morgan. I’m calling to find out if my sons, Cameron and Jake, made it class today. Cameron is in first grade, and Jake is in nursery school.”

When the woman on the other line confirmed that the boys had been dropped off on time, the vise around his lungs eased…only slightly. He hung up the phone. “They made it.”

“Okay.” Johnny exhaled slowly. “Okay. I’ll stay here, with Jules, Jason. You’re not…” He shook his head. “You’re not going to be able to sit back and let other people search for her, I know it. So…go trace her route. Go look.”

But Jason couldn’t move. If he moved, left the house, started looking, it would mean this was real. That his wife had not made it work, that her guards were not answering their phones.

“Jason,” Johnny said. “I’ll stay with Jules. I’ll play point for the guys, for Cody and Max. Go look.”

Johnny’s quiet words broke through his stupor and he looked across the desk, at the man who was not nearly the friend Sonny Corinthos had been, but in that moment, he just didn’t care. “If something happened to her…”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, Jase.”

This is a snippet from Chapter Two of All We Are.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Elizabeth’s Apartment: Living Room

Elizabeth set a blanket over Cameron’s napping body on the sofa and switched off the cartoons that had lulled him to sleep. It was the first day in weeks she’d been able to devote completely to him, a realization which made her feel lower than an ant.

How was she going to take care of her little boy with no money? She’d lose the apartment for sure, and she did not want to move in with her grandmother. She’d probably be pressured to stay with Lucky.

That was one thing that was going to change. If a divorce wasn’t part of Jason’s plan, she was going to add it. It wasn’t enough that he’d humiliated her, lied to her, cheated on her, but he’d continued to place Cameron in danger by leaving pills in the apartment.

And now he’d cost her job and possibly her freedom.

“It’s a hell of a way to smash a permanent lock,” she murmured as she rose from the sofa, her stomach twisting in knots. She rubbed her hand absently. “Please, Baby, be Jason’s. That’s the only thing that would make my life remotely easier.”

She hit play on her answering machine and listened to the messages she folded some clothes. One from Nikolas, concerned about news he’d heard from Emily. Emily had also called, hoping she wasn’t blaming this on Lucky. Her grandmother had called—

The black cell phone a man in a suit had delivered to her door the night before remained silent. If Jason had a plan, he was taking his sweet time.

And, God, didn’t it gall her to be so dependent on him? Why couldn’t she stand on her own two feet and make this go away? She could turn Mac’s daughter in—the affair and her volunteer work at the hospital would surely point the police towards her as the culprit.

But as much as she wanted to hate Maxie, she couldn’t.

She remembered what it was like to be young and desperately in love, then to have it shattered. If Maxie had had a Jason in her life, someone she could turn to keep her from trashing her life, the way Jason had stopped Elizabeth that night in Jake’s so long ago, would Maxie have turned to Lucky?

She knew what it was to be desperate, to want to keep someone’s love so badly you’d do anything. What had she done in the name of her love for Lucky? For Ric?

No, turning the attention to a desperately unhappy, barely legal adult wasn’t fair. Maxie didn’t deserve to pay for Lucky’s mistakes any more than Elizabeth did

So how else could she make this go away? How could she protect herself and her children without throwing Jason to the wolves? Lying in front of a grand jury seemed like the best bet, but that would just land her even more on Ric’s radar.

Maybe Jason’s idea would allow her to be more involved, to make an active choice to help rather than passively sitting back and hoping he could make it go away.

And since she was the weapon being used against him, it was fair Jason had a hand in making this go away, right? It didn’t make her weak, just smart.

“I’m using all my available resources,” she told the room. “Jason is a resource. He’s always been there for me. I didn’t do this. There’s no harm in making sure I don’t pay for it.”

Right. That sounded good.

The black cell phone vibrated suddenly, the force of it sending the device sliding across the coffee table. Elizabeth snatched it up. “Hello?”

“Elizabeth. I—I need to see you. Can we meet at Vista Point?”

Elizabeth chewed her lip. “I just put Cameron down for a nap. Let me see if Robin or Patrick can come watch him.” People who wouldn’t ask her questions. God, it was nice to have people to depend on for a change.

“Okay. I’ll be there in an hour.” He paused. “I have a way to make us both safe, I just…I need you to let me explain it.”

Well, that sounded odd and disturbing, but she swallowed. She trusted Jason. “All right, I’ll be there in an hour.”

She hit the end button and tapped the phone against her mouth. What if he was sending her away? To a jurisdiction where she couldn’t be extradited?

What if that was the only solution? Could she give up her family, her friends, her life here? Any hope of having Jason being in her child’s life?

“God, I hope that’s not the plan.” She reached for her own cell phone in order to dial Robin’s number, hoping she’d come through for her again.

This is just a bit from a Sonny/Carly scene in an upcoming chapter.

“I…should have dealt with it better, Sonny,” Carly said, though she didn’t think her actions had been nearly as bad as his. She’d been shot in the head—hadn’t she forgiven that? Did no one remember what she’d been through? “I just…I was hurt. I lashed out. I don’t…know if I meant what I said about the boys.”

She had meant every word of it and had intended to use Alexis’s secret to destroy him in court, but that wasn’t important now.

“Well, I took you for your word.” Sonny stood, crossed to the window that overlooked the city. “I thought….I’d use the summer to figure out how to fix things.”

There was more to this story, but Carly knew he would never tell her, and if it reflected badly on Sonny, it was unlikely to come from Jason either.

They were always more loyal to one another than they were to her. Men. They all stuck together.

“And when Sam died?” Carly murmured. She set the tub of cold cream down and slowly began to draw her brush through her blonde hair. “Why didn’t it come out then?”

“Sam…tricked me into terminating my parental rights,” Sonny said through clenched teeth. “I thought I was signing a trust for Evie. Instead, she took them away and created a will that left guardianship to Jason in the event of her death.”

Carly smirked. If she didn’t hate that whore so much, she might admire the tactic. A woman scorned had scorched him right back. Served him right.

It was easy to see this from Sam’s side of it. She’d been used, tossed away, foisted on Jason. Sonny had returned to his family. Why should she make it easy on the bastard who discarded her?

There was a certain poetry, a certain sense of innate justice that Carly respected.

That didn’t change the way of the world.

Now, I haven’t run this scene or any of the plot past my beta yet, so this isn’t final. But it’s a taste of the world I have set up in the sequel to A Few Words Too Many. It picks up in late 2007, almost four years after the story closed.

Living beyond your years
Acting out all their fears
You feel it in your chest
Your hands protect the flames
From the wild winds around you
Icarus is flying too close to the sun
And Icarus’s life, it has only just begun
It’s just begun

– Icarus, Bastille

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Everything about this day had been a disaster so far.

Elizabeth Morgan’s hold on her overflowing tote failed as she hurried through the arch that separated the courtyard of Kelly’s from the parking lot.

The handle to which she had been desperately grasping tore from its seams, sending a pile of folders sliding to the cobblestones below, as well as her make up bag, her keys, an extra toy truck, and a hair brush.

She stared down at the pile and felt the absurd urge to burst into tears.

“Let me help, Mrs. Morgan.” Her guard crouched in front of her, gathering her things into a pile.

“It’s okay, Kevin.” Elizabeth knelt down to start shoving things back into her now useless tote. “I over packed it again.”

“I’ll send someone to bring you a new bag,” the young dark-haired man began, setting the pile on a nearby table and reaching inside his suit jacket for his cell phone.

“No, no, that’s not necessary—” Elizabeth held up her hand. “I’m handing some of these over to Robin at our meeting anyway. It’s really—”

But he was already on the phone with Cody Paul, who until six months ago, had been her daytime guard. Cody had been promoted to another position in the organization, and her life had never been quite the same. She didn’t even know how much she’d relied on him until he hadn’t been there.

And curse her husband and his partner for taking him away as she had lurched towards the end of an uncomfortable pregnancy. Men. No sensitivity.

“Elizabeth?” Robin Scorpio stepped out from inside the restaurant. “Hey, is everything okay?”

“No, but that’s not new.” Elizabeth smiled faintly at Kevin who was telling Cody that an extra tote from the penthouse needed to be sent to Kelly’s immediately. “My bag ripped as I was coming in.”

“Oh.” Robin joined her at the table. “It’s a cool day—let’s sit outside instead.”

“I’m late, I know I am.” Elizabeth dumped the last of her bag’s contents on the table and collapsed into a chair. “I spent half the night organizing this paperwork and now it’s a mess.” She pressed a hand to her forehead again. “I nearly overslept and was late picking up Morgan. It’s my week to carpool—”

Robin nodded, taking a seat across from her. “As much as you can call sitting in a car while a guard drives carpooling, I suppose.”

“Cady refused to eat breakfast, and then she dumped her plate of eggs in Jake’s lap, so I had to clean him up before I could drop him off with Monica to spend part of the day with her and Alan—he didn’t sleep half the night. Woke Cady twice. I finally put them both in bed with me.”

“Where was Jason through all of this?” Robin asked, calmly removing her date book from her own tote bag and flipping it open. She reached for Elizabeth’s paperwork pile and began to sort it.

“He worked late again. Didn’t get home until almost three. Sonny called him while I was cleaning up Jake—some kind of meeting at the warehouse required his immediate attention.” Elizabeth huffed. “It’s getting ridiculous, Robin. I love Sonny, but I’m going to strangle him if this keeps up.”

Robin leaned back as a waitress emerged from Kelly’s to take their lunch orders. When she was gone, Robin asked, “Still wrapped up in Kate?”

“Yes.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “Like he was with Jordan. And Claire. And Amelia. And Sam. It’s exhausting and to think, I actually miss the days when he and Carly were trying to kill each other in court. At least Sonny showed up for work on a regular basis.”

“Yeah, but that was to escape Carly. She hates the warehouse doesn’t she?” Robin asked. She smiled as the waitress returned with their drinks. “Thanks.”

“It wouldn’t be so bad if Sonny didn’t continually start these ridiculous projects, then flit off for a few days with his newest woman and leave Jason to do the rest of the work. First it was just the warehouse expansion into Buffalo and then into Albany. Then he wanted to open a coffee house. Then a restaurant. And now? He wants to expand the coffeehouses into Buffalo and Albany.” She huffed and stirred her herbal tea. “I’m getting a migraine thinking about it.”

“And Jason doesn’t want to say no because he likes that the new businesses are…” Robin pursed her lips. “Free and clear, so to speak. It’s something he can give to the kids later.”

“Except he’s doing twice as much work as he used to.” Elizabeth shook her head. “It was different before, Robin. Before we were married. When we were…sorting through things, dealing with Ric and Faith. Sonny bent over backwards to make sure Jason and I had time together—he took a long business trip in the middle of Carly’s pregnancy so Jason wouldn’t leave me.”

She closed her eyes. “It’s like he was trying to make up for what he thought had been partly his fault before—Jason never being home. But then that mess with Kristina blew up a few months after we got married…” She shook her head. “And it’s like he takes it for granted that I’ll be around, that I’ll put up with the long hours, the meetings—”

“Have you or Jason talked to Sonny about letting up?” Robin stirred some sugar in her iced tea. “Especially since you had Jake? I mean, you were in the hospital for three weeks after he was born. Jason was always around then.”

“I don’t know what happened,” Elizabeth admitted. “I was pretty in and out of it for the first few days. I’m just not sure Jason…” She hesitated. “I’m not sure it occurred to him to leave the hospital. Other than making sure someone was with Cady. I just know every time I woke up, he was with me.”

“We didn’t know for a few days if they’d stop the bleeding,” Robin murmured. “It was pretty scary, and Jason just looked…I mean, I’ve seen him scared, worried—when Michael was kidnapped all those years ago. But it was more than that—I know things are difficult right now, Elizabeth, but he loves you—”

“Oh, God, that’s not…” Elizabeth exhaled slowly. “No, I’m just tired, you know? And I miss my husband. I miss some semblance of family life. I don’t doubt for a minute that he loves me. And I love him. I just…I want Sonny to respect that again. He’s taking our stability for granted, you know? Like…Jason and I have been together for four years, we have two children, and somehow Sonny thinks that’s it. We don’t need to do anything extra. We’re a happy family without working at it.”

“To be fair, I can’t blame him. You and Jason are probably the most stable people I know.” Robin wrinkled her nose. “I mean, marriages in this town do not last long. Even the Spencers have had some bumps in the road—not so much since Laura came home a few years ago, but you and Jason haven’t had so much as a blip. No huge arguments, no storming out. No secrets.”

“Well, we managed to do plenty of that before we got married.” But Elizabeth smiled, because it was the truth. There had been so much drama in the beginning of their relationship that she felt like there was nothing left to worry about beyond the everyday. They were in love with a beautiful home and two beautiful children—

If Sonny would just let Jason have blessed moment to himself, life would be nearly perfect.

“You know, before I came home two years ago,” Robin began as the waitress placed their food in front of them. “I wondered how I’d feel knowing Jason had married you, that you had kids. I mean, I remembered you from before. Sort of. I’m not entirely sure we ever officially met other than running into each other at the garage.”

Elizabeth arched a brow. “Worried I wasn’t good enough for Jason?”

“Not so much,” Robin laughed. “Just that—I couldn’t see you two together. I don’t know, it’d be like going away for several years and learning that Lucky had married Maxie Jones. You know, someone you’re kind of aware of but, wow, cannot picture him with.”

“I can barely picture him with Sam, but that might be residual annoyances since Sonny and Sam’s affair during the divorce only made life worse,” Elizabeth sighed. “But yeah, I get it. So, what’s the verdict?”

“I like the two of you together,” Robin said, dumping ketchup over her fries. “Then again, after everything that happened with Carly and Michael, particularly my part in it…I decided that I would like anyone that gave Jason the chance to be a father again.”

“Well, he gave me the chance to be a mother, which most days, I’m grateful for. Today? Maybe not so much.” Elizabeth smiled and dug into her chili. “So, somewhere in that pile of paper is the contract for next month.”

“Carly agreed to hold the benefit at the Metro Court?” Robin frowned. “I thought she’d give me more trouble—”

“Well, I told her I’d be her liaison with the foundation, and when she still balked, Jax twisted her arm.” Elizabeth shook her head. “You’d think after two years, you’d two be…I don’t know. Somewhat civil. Considering neither one of you are involved with the man you fought over in the first place.”

“Except Carly still thinks I was wrong to tell AJ the truth.” Robin sniffed. “I’m willing to accept that fact, but I’ll never admit that to Carly. Plus, there was that business with her trying to sleep with Patrick.”

“That last summer before she and Jax got serious,” Elizabeth reminded her. “And mostly it was to annoy you. Which it did.”

“I thought about making Patrick bathe in bleach before I agreed to sleep with him again, but I decided to take his word for it that nothing happened,” Robin decided. She pointed a fry at Elizabeth. “Did Nadine tell you about her latest goober?”

“God. There was a rambling message on my voice mail this morning, but I didn’t get a chance to listen to it closely. Something about a jackass, a good cocktail and a broken finger?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yeah, one of Patrick’s friends asked her out. Pete Marquez? The English professor who went to Vegas with him a few months ago?”

“Oh.” Elizabeth frowned. “She’s getting desperate.”

“Yeah, something about being the only single girl left in the group.” Robin shrugged. “I tried to tell her Kelly’s still on the market, but that didn’t cheer her up.”

“I guess we all have paired off since that first time at Jake’s.” Elizabeth smiled at the memory of her first Girl’s Night. “Lainey’s been dating AJ—what nearly a year now? You and Patrick are stupid for each other. I’m spoken for. Emily’s engaged to Nikolas—it just leaves Nadine and Kelly.”

“I think she’s still hung up on the idiot she was dating before she hit PC but the last time I mentioned her looking up Johnny Zacchara, she nearly took me out with a bottle of tequila.” Robin scowled. “It’s not my fault he’s a dillhole and she’s mooning over him.”

“She’s dated plenty in the last four years,” Elizabeth said. “Though I guess it doesn’t cheer her up that most of her previous attempts have gone on to more serious relationships. There was Lucky—who’s dating Sam now. And of course, Nikolas, though the two brothers thing was weird enough.”

“Don’t forget her brief and disastrous date with Patrick before I moved here.” Robin laughed. “He still talks about that bar fight.”

“I know. I told her it was a bad idea, but what can I say? Nadine’s a romantic.” Elizabeth leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath. “I feel a lot better, Robin. Just…sitting here. Bitching about my almost perfect life, reminding myself as bad as it could be, at least I still have this wonderful man to go home to.”

“Right?” Robin shrugged. “All things considered, Elizabeth? Life could suck a lot more.”

“I completely agree.” Elizabeth lifted her mug of tea to click against Robin’s glass of iced tea. “To life not sucking all that much in the grand scheme of things.”

December 24, 2014

Merry Christmas! I had mentioned on my Facebook page that I was planning a few special Christmas surprises, so I hope this lives up to it. I’ve got a few things for you today, and a few things tomorrow.

1. The Ebooks page has been completely redesign so hopefully it’s a bit easier to find what you’re looking for and answers a few more questions. For those of you who may have had trouble with the file formats, I’ve included a .pdf file for the two books that are currently online, Daughters and A Few Words Too Many.

2. All I Want For Christmas – Part Six has been added. There are only two parts left, and will be posted December 27 and December 31.

3. On my Facebook page, I asked for some prompts to write a new entry in The Adventures of Lucky and Lizzie. Caroline sent me in one, so I wrote The Envy of All Men.

4. And finally, as a sort of follow-up to Other People’s Truths, a ensemble Christmas story set this year with everyone from Dante and Lulu to Jake and Elizabeth. The first part of A Merry Little Christmas is posted today and the conclusion is one of your presents tomorrow.

I don’t think I’ll be posting The Best Thing today. I sent the chapter over to Cora later than I should have, and you know, it turns out there are holidays and what not. Ha. I’ll post it as soon as I get it back 🙂

Happy Holidays!

This entry is part 6 of 9 in the All I Want For Christmas

And when those blue snowflakes start falling
That’s when those blue memories start calling
You’ll be doin’ all right, with your Christmas of white
But I’ll have a blue, blue blue blue Christmas
– Blue Christmas, Sheryl Crow

December 24

Morgan Penthouse: Jason’s Bedroom

“Kiki, I don’t care if God himself plants his ass in front of you to block traffic, you had better have those presents in GH’s conference room by 11 AM this morning or I will send you back to your mother in pieces.”

Elizabeth hit the end button on her phone and scowled. “I miss being able to slam my phone down. It was so much more satisfying.”

Jason laughed from across the room where he was hanging up the tuxedo they’d tossed over a chair the evening before—her dress had only fared mildly better. The fear of Kate Howard’s wrath had caused her to break off the delightful activities right after he had peeled it away (with the promised teeth) in order to carefully place it on a hanger in the closet.

“Why did you go to the trouble of stealing her from Ava Jerome if she’s not capable?” he asked, closing the door and striding towards her.

She pursed her lips, considering him in those black briefs, and winced. Her schedule this morning did not allow for more than another twenty minutes at his place.

She had a party at GH at noon, another at Mercy at two, and then the gala at the Metro Court at eight. Christ on a crutch, how did Emily do this every year?

She blinked because he had asked her a question and he stood there, patiently waiting for the answer. “Oh. Kiki. Well, first, she’s usually fine. She’s just feeling the pressure of it all. Second, I did it because Ava was a pain in the ass who threatened to sue me for terminating my contract with her because I was supposedly violating my non-compete clause.”

“You’re a corporate planner,” Jason said. “We wouldn’t use Ava’s services anyway.” He wrinkled his nose. “Though she used to be Ned’s type.”

“I have no doubt of that—I’m familiar with Faith Roscoe.” Elizabeth crossed to the dresser and slid a watch over her wrist. “Kiki’s got a great eye for colors and design. She’s only hanging with me to get experience and contacts—she wants to break out into wedding planning eventually.” She shrugged. “Anyway, she just doesn’t want to mess up the GH party since your father is on the board.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He stepped behind her and slid his hands up and down the arms left bare by her green silk dress. “I think you did a great job last night.”

“Hmm, well, you’re biased.” She reached for the diamond studded earrings in the porcelain bowl she used to store her jewelry. “Honestly? I don’t know how Emily does this every year—juggling all of this while still doing the estimates for the next year.” She shuddered. “Thank God I don’t have her job.”

“You never know.” Jason brushed his lips over her nape. “Her boyfriend that swept her away on this vacation? He’s the head of Cassadine Industries and might steal her away for his events.”

“That’s not remotely funny.” She bumped him. “You have to get a shower, and I have to finish dressing. We’ve both got a crazy day in front of us.”

“Only because I want to take off the week after Emily gets back from Greece. How would you feel about a trip to the Bahamas?”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. “Are you asking me to go on a tropical vacation, leaving all my duties and responsibilities on your sister?” She smirked and reached for a comb to draw her through her hair. “Where do I sign up?”

“Maybe not the islands, though,” Jason said, leaning against the wall next to the dresser. “What about Europe? You’ve been to London as part of ELQ, and I know Ava worked out of France and Spain.”

“Mmmhmm….and I spent a month in Portugal to plan one of her events.” Elizabeth reached for the charcoal blazer she’d left on the armchair. “I’ve never been to Scotland or Germany.”

“What about Italy? Florence or Venice?”

She paused. “Seriously? You think I could do either of those in a week?” She laughed. “I couldn’t do those in a lifetime. Maybe we should stick to the islands where I won’t be so distracted by the scenery.”

“Well, we’ll nail it down after tonight. You have a lot on your plate today.” He kissed her forehead. “Too bad you’re almost ready or I’d suggest you jump in the shower with me.”

“The next time I have to go early, I’ll wake you up.” She slid her arms around his waist and reached for up another kiss. “Now, let me finish my makeup in peace or I’m going to miss meeting with your father on time. I don’t want him thinking because I’m sleeping with his son that I expect special treatment.”

“All right, all right.” He kissed her again before disappearing into the bathroom. A moment later, she heard the water running.

She was glad she’d put last night out of her head. She was not going to let catty, jealous women ruin this for her.

Or his grandfather with his innuendo. Or his father. Or any other Quartermaine.

The cell phone on the dresser buzzed. Elizabeth reached for it, had it in her hand before she realized that it was Jason’s and not hers.

And then she saw the name scrawled across the front. Samantha McCall.

An image of the tarty brunette with the plunging neckline flashed in her mind. Why the hell…?

And even though she knew she’d regret it later, she hit the decline on the call, slid the bar to unlock his phone and went into his call history for her number. God, she was one of those women now. Her life sucked.

Sam had called him three times the day before. Twice before that. And they’d spoken several times—not all her calls had been declined or sent to voicemail.

Carefully, she set the phone back on the dresser and reached for her eyeliner.

Had that been why the woman was so upset the night before? Had she harbored hopes of reuniting with him? And why hadn’t Jason mentioned an ex-girlfriend calling him so often?

Wasn’t that part of the relationship rules?

She set the eyeliner on the dresser with a thud, her eyes meeting her own in the image reflecting back. They were exclusive, weren’t they? They hadn’t said it, but you didn’t always have to say it.

Did you?

“Damn it.” Elizabeth dumped the rest of her makeup in her bag and left the room without another word.

So much for not letting last night in her head.

ELQ: Conference Room

Jason frowned at the text message from Elizabeth, then glanced up at his cousins, busy with their own paperwork. “Elizabeth just told me not to pick her up tonight, that we’d meet at the hotel.”

AJ finished scrawling his signature at the bottom of a contract and slid it over to Ned. “So? She’s the party planner, not just your arm candy. Maybe she has to be there early.”

“So I’d go early.” Jason set his phone aside. “I—I think she saw a phone call on my phone this morning. Before she left. I was in the shower.”

“You left a phone unintended with a woman you’re sleeping with?” Ned said. He shook his head, sadly. “Young Skywalker, have I taught you nothing?”

“Shut up. I’m saying that maybe the phone rang and she saw the caller ID. I had a missed call when I got out of the shower.”

“Your phone was locked, though, right?” AJ leaned forward. “If nothing else, little brother, that much you’ve learned from me.”

“Who the hell has time to put a fucking pin code in every damn time they want to use their phone?” He scowled. “No, it wasn’t locked.”

“Hell. Then if she saw the phone call—and believe me, we’re getting back to that in a moment—then she probably checked the call history.” Ned arched a brow. “Would that have raised flags?”

Jason glared at his phone. “Sam called me this morning.”

“Oh, hell. I knew you should have fired her. We could have settled any sexual harassment lawsuit,” AJ told Ned. “She tried to get her hooks in me, too. Thought I’d be too drunk to remember protection. Ha. Haven’t forgotten to dress myself for a party since Carly.”

Ned rolled his eyes at AJ, and turned his attention to Jason. “Listen. It’s not the end of the world. She probably doesn’t even know who Sam is. It’s a guy’s name—” He closed his eyes. “She’s in your phone as Samantha, isn’t she?”

“I’ll just tell her that Sam’s been annoying me to transfer back to Port Charles, into my department, but I usually tell her it’s not my decision and hang up.” Jason nodded. “That’ll fix everything.”

“You’re an idiot. Never let one girlfriend know about the other—” AJ scowled. “Do you not know the rules? You’ve dated enough women in the company—”

“Three,” Jason said, his teeth clenched. “And Brenda barely counts.”

“Your forty-eight hour wife doesn’t count?” Ned asked. “Because—”

“We were drunk and AJ bet me—” Jason shook his head. “Not important. Where else do I meet women? I’m always working.” He hesitated. “People don’t think I’m like you idiots, do they?”

“Ah…” AJ blinked. “You mean, that you’re following in the footsteps of our illustrious grandfather? Of the nefarious Alan Quartermaine? You’re kidding, right? You’ve dated four women total at ELQ, and Elizabeth is the only one who still works here.”

“Son of a bitch.” Jason rapped his fist against his head. “How much do you think people said to her last night? She was acting off for most of the night. And, of course, Grandfather didn’t help.”

“The sad fact is he tries so hard to,” Ned mused. “But, odds are more than one person commented on it. Listen, explain the Sam thing to Elizabeth. I’m sure it’s not an issue.” He looked at AJ, jabbing a finger at him. “You, stop comparing Jason to the rest of us. Do not insinuate in front of Elizabeth that she’s like all the other women.”

“Well, I know she’s not. She’s got more brains. But I can’t control the world.” AJ shook his head. “Much as I’d like to, I just don’t.”

“I hate you both.”

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

“Did I do it right?” Kiki asked, wringing her hands together as she and Elizabeth watched various children, doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff members and their families gathered around Edward Quartermaine dressed as Santa Claus, listening to a story.

“You were fine, Kiki. I need you to relax.” Elizabeth shifted from one foot to the other. She loved these shoes, but her Jimmy Choos were not made to hit the ground running at seven-thirty without sitting for six hours.

“Okay, I mean, it’s just a big deal, you know? Because the board is here and I just want them to like me.” Kiki blew her hair out of her eyes. “And there’s Michael Quartermaine. Oh, he’s so pretty. Does he work at ELQ? Can you introduce me?”

Elizabeth glared at her assistant who just offered a sheepish grin. “Does everyone think with their hormones in this company?” she muttered.

“Totally not picking that up and running with it.” Kiki sucked in a breath. “Dr. Quartermaine is heading for us, Lizzie. What do we do?”

“First, you stop calling me that. Your mother always thought it was hilarious.” Elizabeth tried not to look directly at Alan Quartermaine as the older man approached them, but eventually, there was no ignoring the fact he was coming right for them.

“Elizabeth, we didn’t get a chance to speak much last night.” Alan reached for her hand, held it between both of his with a winning smile. “You were flawless at the gala.”

“Well, I couldn’t have done it without Kiki and my team,” Elizabeth said, tightly, choosing to believe he was referring to her work on the party and not her appearance. Jason’s father was not hitting on her. Her fragile temper could not handle that nonsense today.

“I was so pleased when I saw you arriving on Jason’s arm,” Alan continued. “From what I heard, you’re a step above his usual sort.”

Kiki’s eyes were as wide saucers. “You’re kidding me, right?” she muttered, but the chief of staff either ignored her or didn’t notice.

Elizabeth’s smile froze in place, a familiar feeling when dealing with Quartermaine men. Was any man in the world worth this kind of nonsense?

Thinking of that morning and the black briefs, she took a deep breath. “That’s very nice, Dr. Quartermaine. If you’ll excuse me, I have another party at Mercy—”

“I didn’t like the last one at all,” Alan said. “And of course, Courtney was all right but not really up to par with the Quartermaines.” He furrowed his brow. “I could have lived with Brenda, but they annulled that—”

Annulled? What in the name of all that was holy—had Jason been married? Shouldn’t that have come up at some point?

“I’m very…” Elizabeth tugged her hand from his. “I’m flattered, I’m sure. But as I said, Kiki and I have a long day in front of us. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

She grabbed Kiki by the arm and steered her towards the elevator. To hell with this.

Metro Court Hotel: Ballroom

“Elizabeth, I really think you’re overreacting,” Kiki murmured as she handed a glass of champagne to her. “His family is appalling, but he’s been nice enough—”

“You’re not being paid for your opinion on my love life.” Elizabeth flexed her ankle, wishing she’d sprung for a set of flats rather than the silver Manolo Blahniks Maxie had insisted went perfectly with the green confection she wore.

Why did men get to wear flats and still look professional but women were pressured into these heels to make their legs long and their asses stick out? Damned patriarchy.

“No, that’s free,” Kiki chirped. “Look, he’s got a colorful history. I’m sure yours doesn’t look as good under scrutiny—”

“Yes, but my family isn’t walking around reminding him of it—” Elizabeth stopped and took a deep breath. “I’m fine, Kiki. I need you to run interference with the orchestra and keep them from enjoying the booze as much as last night.”

“I’m on it,” Kiki began, but as she turned away, she almost ran into another member of the Quartermaine family.

“Ms. Quartermaine,” Elizabeth said politely to Ned’s mother, Tracy. “You look lovely this evening.”

“You’re smart to keep your day job, Ms. Webber,” Tracy snipped. “That sets you apart from the rest of the social climbers that try to weasel their way into my family’s money.”

“I enjoy my job,” Elizabeth said blandly. She reached for Kiki’s arm to hold her in place. “Kiki Jerome, this is Tracy Quartermaine. My assistant—”

“You want to be taken seriously?” Tracy snapped. “Drop the Kiki. You sound like a stripper.”

Kiki’s mouth dropped. “Are you kidding me? You people are—”

“Don’t make the same mistake the others do,” Tracy said, dismissing Kiki’s protests. “Jason doesn’t marry whatever walks in front of him like my son, and he’s not going to buy an accidental pregnancy like my idiot nephew.” She smirked. “He’s more like my brother and father. They’ll screw whatever is on front of them, maybe even pretend to love them, but they never do.”

She pursed her lips. “So don’t get your hopes up.”

Tracy whirled and disappeared into the crowd.

“I’ve changed my mind,” Kiki said. “I don’t want to meet Michael after all. These people are insane. You should run as fast as you can.”

Was it worth the headache for another few months of fun? Of constantly being accused of being just a step under a whore every time she went in public or saw a member of Jason’s family?

And what about those phone calls to his last girlfriend? Why bother to wait around two months and find herself transferred?

“I’m certainly considering it,” she murmured.

Timeline

This is set in the fall of 2014. Michael is war with his family over the AJ murder, Jake Doe has entered Elizabeth’s lives, and people are suspicious of him. Joss, Cameron, Spencer, and Emma are a little group of hellions. Maxie has recently lost custody of her daughter due to her lying and relationship with Nathan, Olivia and Ned are flirting but he picked Alexis instead of her. I think that’s mostly it.

Inspiration

This is a short ensemble story, told in the style of the movie Love Actually, in which there are lots of interconnected characters and stories. The people of Port Charles are ridiculously involved in each other’s lives, and I wanted to try and write something that represented all that.

This is my first time writing half these characters — Morgan, Nathan, this version of Lucas, Dante, Olivia, etc. It also features Jake/Elizabeth as he is on the screen at the moment.

It’s a sort of follow up to my short story, Other People’s Truths, and it saves me from having to write a sequel.

I wrote it in the style of the show with five segments. Nothing on the show happened after Thursday, December 18, 2014’s episode. I don’t know the paternity of Baby Jerome, nor do I know her name. I haven’t watched the show yet, so she’s Morgan’s daughter in this story because I can’t stand the thought otherwise. Ric hasn’t been released yet, etc.

Banner Here

Segment One

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
Next year all our troubles will be out of sight

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

The Metro Court: Ballroom

If there was an ounce of tinsel left in the entire state, Olivia Falconeri couldn’t imagine where because it felt like the ballroom had vomited that particular decoration in streams of red, gold, silver, and green.

Christmas was good thing, she told herself as she stood next to her partner, Carly Corinthos-Jacks, and greeted the various guests.

“Ugh.” Carly wrinkled her nose and muttered under her breath Elizabeth Webber and Jake—what the hell was the man calling himself anyway?—walked past.

Olivia raised a brow. “I thought you and Elizabeth were past all that,” she said as she turned her back slightly to avoid making eye contact with Ned Ashton whose dark eyes swept his way as he entered behind Monica Quartermaine and her date. Of course Alexis Davis was on his arm.

Story of her damn life.

“We are,” Carly said, her eyes trained on her son Morgan as he walked in with her mother Bobbie Jones and brother Lucas, Kiki Jerome just behind them. “Just…something about seeing her with Jake bothers me.”

Olivia snorted. “Why, you want to sleep with him too?” she muttered.

“What?” Carly demanded. “No. I just…” She gestured to where Jake and Elizabeth were standing with Sabrina Santiago and Felix DuBois. “I’m sure he can do better.”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “Whatever,” she muttered. She saw Alexis wave at her and, pretending not to notice, Olivia turned away.

Fifteen feet away, Alexis frowned and tugged on Ned’s tuxedo sleeve. He turned from a conversation with Monica and frowned. “What?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Olivia.” Alexis gestured towards the front of the room where Carly and Olivia were standing. “She just…looked away. She has a problem with me, doesn’t she?” She frowned. “No. It’s not with me. It’s about me.” She whacked his sleeve. “She likes you.”

“We’re in junior high again?” Ned asked dryly, stepping out of reach of Alexis’s next hit. “Of course she likes me. We’re friends.”

“Don’t you pretend I don’t know what I’m talking about, Ned Ashton. She wants to date you and I’m in her way.” When Ned just swallowed and looked away, she nodded. “Well, I can’t fault her taste.”

“Alexis—”

But Ned’s words were caught off when Sam Morgan stepped up to them. “Mom, you look great,” she said, embracing her. “I love that green on you.”

“Thanks. You look good yourself.” Alexis waved at Patrick Drake and his daughter, Emma, standing a few feet away. “I see you’ve decided to forgive Patrick.”

“We’re…” Sam turned slightly to offer the doctor a smile. “We’re working on it. I actually—” She cast an apologetic smile at Ned. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to know if you’d seen Julian since he made bail.”

Ned scowled, but Alexis ignored that. “No, I haven’t.”

“Oh, okay.” Sam shrugged and returned to Patrick’s side.

“She hasn’t seen him?” Patrick asked her, reaching for her hand. Sam tensed, but forced herself to relax. She was going to learn to trust him again. If Jason had forgiven her for lying about Robin’s supposed death, she could find it in herself to forgive Patrick.

His heart had been in the right place.

“No.” Sam sighed. “I don’t even know what I’d say to him if I saw him right now. To know he was working with Faison…the man who killed Jason—” She shook her head. “I just don’t know what to do with that.”

“Did he know?” Emma asked in her bright voice. “Did your dad know that awful man hurt your husband?”

“Emma,” Patrick began.

“It’s okay. It’s a good question.” Sam smiled at Emma. “No, I don’t think he did, but I guess I just want confirmation of that.”

“Hey, there’s Cameron,” Patrick said, changing the subject and gesturing across the room. “Do you want to say hello to him and his mother?”

Sam winced, seeing Elizabeth on the arm of Jake Doe. “Ah, that’s probably not a good idea. For me to go, I mean.” She touched Emma’s shoulder. “I’m sure Cameron would love to see you.”

“Can I go, Daddy?” Emma asked. When Patrick nodded, she bounced on her feet and darted into the crowd.

Patrick eyed Sam. “What’s your issue with Elizabeth and Jake?”

Emma rounded a doctor from the hospital and stopped by Cameron. “Cameron! Hi!”

Elizabeth grinned and leaned down to kiss her son’s friend on the cheek. “You look fantastic, Emma!”

“Thanks.” Emma smiled shyly. “Hi, Mr. Doe.”

“I have to get a new last name,” Jake said, with a wince.

“Mom, can me and Emma go say hi to Spencer?” Cameron asked, his eyes lit up with an unholy glee that Elizabeth recognized all too well.

She sighed. “Yeah, but try really hard not to gloat too much. It tends to backfire with Cassadines.” The last part was directed at Cameron’s back as he and Emma disappeared into the crowd.

“That sounds like a good story,” Jake said, drawing her attention back to him. She rolled her eyes.

“Oh, God, more like a nightmare, but that’s not important.” She frowned. “How long do you think it’s going to take Sabrina and Felix with the drinks?”

“In this crowd?” he shifted, and tugged at the knot of his dark green tie. “You know, I don’t know much about who I used to be, but I don’t think I liked dressing up much.”

Elizabeth laughed and straightened his suit jacket, her fingers lingering on his lapel. “You look nice, though. I figured you’d clean up good.”

His mouth spread into a sheepish grin. “It’s just nice to finally wear clothes I bought for myself, thanks to Michael Quartermaine and the job working on his construction crew. And I’ll earn the advance he gave me.”

“I’m sure you will,” Elizabeth said, smiling back, but she looked away. Because now Jake had a job. Soon he’d move out to his own place. And he’d start making friends that weren’t her.

And that was fine. Mostly.

Spencer groaned when he saw Cameron and Emma approaching him. “Great. The townie.” He winced when Nikolas slapped the back of his head. “Hey!”

“Do not call Cameron a townie, or I swear I will buy the house across the street and make you live there,” he threatened. “Then who will be the townie? He’s your cousin.”

“Hardly,” Spencer responded with a dramatic roll of his eyes. “Aidan is my cousin. Cameron’s the baggage that comes with him—”

“I’m not having another Spencer and Cassadine feud on my watch,” Nikolas told him. “And his mother counts.”

“Whatever.” Spencer frowned.

“Hey, Uncle Nikolas,” Cameron said with his usual bright smile. “We were wondering if Spencer could come with us to go see Joss. We wanted to get milkshakes and Olivia said there was a kid’s table.”

Spencer huffed. “I’m on house arrest,” he told them. “Since I tried to run away and Great-Grandmother showed up.”

“You can go as long as you don’t leave the room or plot any world takeovers,” Nikolas told him, then watching as his son lit up and disappeared with Cameron and Emma.

“Why is my wonderful brother standing all alone over here?” a voice from behind him said. He turned to find his sister, Lulu Falconeri. “You should be the life of the party.”

“I have never been the life of the party,” Nikolas replied, hugging her. “Where’s your husband? Why has he let you loose on the world?”

“He’s with Nathan, having a pity party.” Lulu eyed a spot across the room where Dante Falconeri and Nathan West were sitting at a table, talking. “So, I hear Helena didn’t die again.”

“Yeah.” Nikolas shuddered. “I had a brief run in with her last week. She’s up to something Lulu. God only knows what it is this time. I don’t understand why she’s not dead.”

“My dad always thought it had something to do with a Faustian pact,” Lulu replied. She jabbed him in the chest. “You have not been by to see your nephew lately.”

“I haven’t seen either of my nephews lately,” Nikolas admitted. “It’s all I can do to keep Spencer in line. I’ll stop by tomorrow, I promise.”

“You’d better.”

When she returned to her table, Nathan was still talking about Maxie. “I shouldn’t have promised her I’d get her Georgie by Christmas,” he admitted as Lulu sat down.

“It does seem like a hasty choice,” Dante remarked. “Especially since you know, there’s nothing you could do.”

“I really thought Alexis could help.” Nathan leaned back in his chair. “I was so desperate I asked my mother to help.”

Dante choked on his beer. “Wait, what?”

“You asked Liesl Obrecht for help?” Lulu repeated. “Oh, hell.”

“I know.” Nathan scrubbed his hands over his face. “Clearly, I was desperate. I just…” He looked at them. “I want what you two have.” His eyes moved across the room, and Lulu twisted in her chair to see Maxie Jones with her cousin Lucas. “I wish I could ask her to dance.”

“You should probably stop staring at him.” Lucas patted Maxie’s arm. “Walters is here somewhere.”

“Oh, screw Walters,” she muttered. “I hope he falls off a cliff.”

“Hey,” Lucas put his arm around. “Maybe he’ll piss off a Cassadine. You know, I could probably call my father.”

Maxie let out a startled laugh. “Did you just offer to set me up with the mob? Lucas.” She pressed a hand to his forehead. “What is wrong with you?”

“I hope Michael shows up,” Bobbie said, stepping up to them. “But I don’t think he will. Not with Carly, Morgan, and Kiki here.”

“Yeah.” Lucas switched his attention to his mother. “How does it feel to be a great-grandmother now that Morgan is officially a father?”

“Oh…that’s not even remotely funny.” Bobbie bumped him with her hip. “That makes you a great-uncle.”

“Well, I have always been a great uncle.” Lucas grinned. “Nothing new there.”

“Hey, now that Morgan is the babydaddy, does he get to name her?” Maxie asked.

Bobbie nodded. “And they just signed the papers yesterday. They only waited so long to make sure Ava wouldn’t throw a hissy fit.”

“Well, what did they name her?” she demanded.

“It still feels weird,” Morgan Corinthos told Kiki. He held out his phone to look at another photo of his daughter. “She’s not the baby anymore or the girl, or just my daughter. She’s got a name now.”

“You don’t have to remind me,” Kiki replied. “I spent three hours going through the books with you.”

“I wanted something just right,” Morgan said. “Sophia Grace. I like it.”

“Do you think Michael will be here tonight?” Kiki asked. She stretched up on her toes and peered over the crowd. “I haven’t seen him since Diane served him with the injunction.”

“I’m not sure I want to see the jackass,” Morgan muttered. “Imagine throwing his brother and niece out at Christmas. He’s more like Dad than he’ll ever admit.”

“I just…wish we could have found some other way to resolve it,” Kiki said. “We were wrong, Morgan—”

“That doesn’t make him any less of an ass,” Morgan muttered. “Serves him right. If he wants to evict me, he’s going to have to come to court next month and look me in the face in front of a judge. It’s the only way he’s really going to get it—” He stopped when a familiar blond stepped through the door way. “Kiki.”

“Oh…he’s here.” Kiki twisted her fingers together. “Oh, oh, what now? Do you think he’ll talk to us? Maybe we shouldn’t go near him. What do we do?”

“I’m standing my ground.” Morgan set his face. “Look, maybe I lied, but it’s not like I wasn’t dealing with my own crap. Michael’s just like Mom. Everything’s about him.”

“Oh, God, Morgan, do not ever use that reasoning with him.” Kiki whacked his arm. “You chose your trouble when you crawled into bed with my mother. It’s not like Michael asked for this.”

“Christ. You’ll defend him until you’re blue in the face.” Morgan narrowed his eyes. “Wait, where did Michael go?”

Segment Two

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the yule tide gay
From now on all our troubles will be miles away

Elizabeth smiled when she saw Michael heading her way. “Hey! Twice in one week,” she said, as he stepped up to them and kissed her cheek. “And don’t you look handsome in your tux.”

“Thanks.” Michael turned to Jake. “It’s good to see you again.” He offered his hand. “How’s the Courtland Street project coming?”

“In the two days since I started?” Jake asked with an arched brow. But he shook Michael’s hand. “Good, I guess. I haven’t cut off my hand yet, and it turns out I can mix some pretty mean cement.”

“Are the boys excited for Christmas?” Michael asked Elizabeth who nodded.

“Beyond. Cameron decided to give Aidan his old Chuggin’ Charlie train,” she told Michael. “It’s eight years old this year and looking pretty dingy, but it’s Aidan’s favorite thing to play with.” Her smile faded slightly. Jake had loved it, too. “All my boys love motorcycles, trains, and cars. Anything that moves.”

“Must be the time they spent with my uncle.” Michael hesitated. “Ah, you should know I talked to my mom about what we discussed—that I know that she lied to me about my name. I didn’t get very far because we just started arguing about Sonny, but eventually she’s going to come back to find out what I was talking about.”

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Oh, hell. I wondered what the dirty look was about.”

“I didn’t mention you specifically,” Michael clarified. “But never underestimate my mother’s ability to find someone else to blame.” He kissed her cheek again. “I have someone I have to apologize to.”

As Michael disappeared into the crowd, Elizabeth sighed. “Great. I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. Carly and I were getting along so well.”

Jake frowned. “What’s your deal with Carly? Do you guys have some sort of history?”

“Oh, just the same history I have with most of the women who knew Jason,” Elizabeth murmured. “He doesn’t even have to be alive apparently.” She pursed her lips. “Sorry, I know he…I know Jason comes up an awful lot.”

“It’s cool.” Jake tilted his head. “It doesn’t really bother me much. Did you say your son has a Chuggin’ Charlie?”

“Yeah, why?” Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. “Do you remember what is?”

“I…” He shook his head. “No. I don’t think so. It just…sounds familiar.”

Michael frowned when he saw the way Morgan had angled himself in front of Kiki as he approached the two of them near the bar.

“Morgan, Kiki.” He cleared his throat. “I—I heard you found out that the baby is yours.” Michael shifted. “I’m glad.”

“Yeah, so glad you’re throwing us out on the street—” Morgan began, but winced when Kiki elbowed him in the back. “What? It’s not a lie.”

“It’s Christmas, Morgan. Stop being yourself for five seconds.” Kiki stepped from behind him and offered Michael a hesitant smile. “We named her Sophia.”

“I heard that, too.” Michael bit his lip. “I’m dropping the eviction,” he told them. “It’s…not important why. I just wanted you to know that before I ask to speak with Kiki alone.”

Morgan lifted his chin. “Not if you’re going to be an ass.”

“Morgan, go away,” Kiki ordered. “I can handle myself.”

“Yeah, but I’ll be right over there.” Morgan gestured towards Bobbie, Lucas, Maxie, and Carly. “So, you know, if she even looks upset—”

“I promise to behave,” Michael said, irritated. “Go away, Morgan.”

“Whatever. Dillhole,” his brother muttered under his breath.

“For the last time, Carly,” Maxie said as Morgan stepped up next to her. “I don’t hear from Spinelli all that often. We’re not allowed much contact.”

“I see my mother is making friends again,” Morgan said.

“I’m trying to be friendly,” Carly said, exasperated. “Fine. Lucas, where’s Brad tonight?”

“Working.” Lucas’s one word answer just made his sister narrow her eyes. “Should I elaborate on that so you can practice this friendly thing more?”

“All right, all right.” Bobbie waved her hand between her children. “To your corners.” She looked to Morgan. “This would be a great time to hear all about my new grand-baby. I want to see pictures.”

“Well,” Morgan reached for his phone with a grin. “You should have seen her smile today.”

With the crowd firmly focused on Morgan and his strange love child, Maxie slipped away towards the terrace.

She wished she hadn’t allowed her parents to convince her to come tonight. What if being here, just in the vicinity of Nathan would get her in further trouble?

And of course, there he was. On the terrace, leaning against the wall that overlooked the city. Her life sucked.

“I’ll go back in,” she said when he just looked at her. “I mean…you were here first—”

“Maxie.” He held up a hand. “Just—I wanted to apologize. I know I said I would make sure you saw your daughter tomorrow, but—”

“You were just being a good friend.” Maxie wrapped her arms around her waist. “I know that. But it’s my fault. I didn’t take Judge Walters serious. I…I really care about you, Nathan, but I can’t—I can’t be selfish.”

“I know,” Nathan replied. “I want you to be with your daughter. I hope Alexis’s appeal works—”

“You guys had better scram!” Lulu burst through the terrace doors. “Monica and Walters are headed over to this side of the ballroom. If they see you coming in together—”

Maxie squeaked and grabbed Nathan’s hand. “There’s a service entrance towards the hotel kitchens. I remember from when I worked here.” They disappeared around the corner.

“Hey, they stopped at the bar,” Dante said, joining Lulu on the terrace. “Where did Nathan and Maxie go?”

“Through the service entrance,” Lulu replied. “It opens into a hallway that links the ballroom and the kitchen.” She scowled, planting her hands on her hips. “This is ridiculous! Hasn’t Maxie been through enough this year?”

She narrowed her eyes when she saw the way Dante was smirking at her. “What? Why are you smiling?”

“Because considering all the reasons Maxie is in this particular mess with her daughter,” Dante said, drawing Lulu into an embrace. “It’s pretty sweet of you to be worried about her like this.”

“Oh.” Lulu frowned. “Well, yeah, what happened was pretty awful, but in the scheme of Maxie shenanigans? It’s not nearly as bad as the time she faked her pregnancy by my brother.” She sighed. “Maxie…you know she’s complicated. She tries so hard to be more than just herself. She has a lot to live up to.”

“What? Her parents?” Dante tilted his head. “Why do you say that?”

“Not her parents,” Lulu said, “but her cousin. And her sister. BJ and Georgie died when they were super young—you know Maxie has BJ’s heart, and she went through a really bad time after Georgie. I think she feels like people look at her and think…the wrong sister died.”

“It’s tough,” Dante agreed.

“It’s not just it’s tough, but it’s this impossible standard,” Lulu explained. “To always feel like you have make up for them not being here. To live for them instead of just yourself. She tries too hard to do the right. Way too hard. Which is how you get her rationalizing that giving us her biological child made sense.”

“It was a pretty huge sacrifice she tried to make,” Dante murmured. “And now that we have Rocco, I can’t imagine how she even did it for five minutes.”

“Because Maxie is much more than people give her credit for,” Lulu murmured.

Nathan promised to wait in the hallway for ten minutes before reentering the ballroom, so when Maxie stepped over the threshold, she was alone.

“Maxie!” Alexis rushed up to her. “I’ve been looking for you!”

“Oh, God.” Maxie sighed and smiled at Ned who looked annoyed. “What now? Did Walters put me under arrest or something?”

“No, I just got a text from the clerk’s office.” Alexis grinned. “You’ve been granted an appeal next Tuesday.”

“An—” Maxie swallowed. “An appeal?” She fisted her hands. “What—what does that mean?”

“It means you may not have your daughter for Christmas,” her lawyer told her. “But I might be able to swing New Year’s. There’s no way another judge is going to uphold Walters.”

“Oh my God!” Maxie squealed. In her joy, she embraced Ned and Alexis. “I have to find my parents!”

“It’s nice to finally give good news,” Alexis said, watching as Maxie disappeared into the crowd.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten our conversation,” Ned said. “I want to know how long I’m going to have to deal with the specter of Julian Jerome between us.”

Alexis blinked and looked at him. “I—Ned, I never pretended he and I…that it wasn’t…that I didn’t love him.”

“You…” Ned nodded. “You are absolutely correct.”

“My mother looks upset,” Sam said. “I should go check on her—” But Patrick put a hand on her elbow. “What?”

“You’re not getting out of this so lightly. I want to know what’s wrong with you and Elizabeth?” he asked. “I thought you were past all the stuff from before. That you’d buried the hatchet.”

“We did,” Sam admitted. “When Jason died. There just…didn’t seem to be a point to any of it.” She eyed Jake and Elizabeth across the room. “If Jason were here, he’d be just as worried.”

“Worried about what?” Patrick frowned. “I’m not thrilled about her getting close to Jake, but he seems all right. Mostly. I mean…” He shrugged. “Things were fine at Thanksgiving, weren’t they?”

“Have either of you seen Spencer?” Nikolas asked, joining them. “He, Cameron, and Emma went to find Joss almost a half hour ago and I haven’t seen them.”

“Hell,” Patrick frowned. “That’s not good.”

Metro Court: Hotel Kitchens

“I want answers, and I want them now.” Olivia planted her hands on her hips and tapped her foot.

Joss nudged Spencer. “This was your idea, you fix it.” And then Cameron shoved him forward.

“Traitors,” the Cassadine scion hissed at the trio who just flashed innocent smiles at them. Ha. Like she’d believe that for a second. She wasn’t born yesterday. “Ms. Falconeri, you look lovely this evening.”

“Oh, that’s not going to help anything,” Joss groaned. “You are not nearly as charming as you think you are.” She bumped Spencer aside. “Listen, Liv. This is my mom’s hotel, which means I can go anywhere I want to go.”

“Yeah!” Spencer nodded. “How did you find us anyway?”

“We’re going to get in so much trouble,” Emma told Cameron.

“That’s it. You’re all going back to your parents.” Olivia pointed towards the door. “March.”

Segment Three

Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more

Metro Court Hotel: Ballroom

“Sam, I want to know what the problem is,” Patrick repeated and Sam looked around hoping for another interruption. She did not think this was the time and place to reveal her suspicion that one of Patrick’s favorite people might be falling for a sociopathic criminal.

“Why does Olivia have Emma and the other kids?” Sam said, her eyes brightening. “They look…”

“Guilty,” Patrick finished, as Olivia and the brood reached them. “Emma Grace.”

“It wasn’t my idea,” Emma said. “I swear.”

“Yeah, it was all Spencer!” Joss said.

“You suck,” Spencer snarled, jabbing her in the side. “You were supposed to blame Cameron—”

“I found them in the hotel kitchens near one of our large freezers,” Olivia said, putting a hand on Cameron’s head to keep him from lunging at Spencer. “So this one belongs to you.”

“Daddy, I was just—” Emma began.

“Not using your judgment,” Patrick said. “You can’t always blame Spencer—” he continued as Olivia dragged Spencer and Cameron by their arms towards Elizabeth. Joss followed a sullen glare.

“Oh, that does not look good,” Felix murmured, and Elizabeth turned to see her son and nephew heading her way. “I wonder what they did now.”

Elizabeth sighed when Olivia released Cameron’s arm. “What did you do?”

“Spencer was trying to set me up,” Cameron complained. “He wanted me to get Emma in trouble!”

“Hey, Joss blamed me, that doesn’t mean it was actually my fault.” Spencer scowled. “Why does everyone always assume I’m guilty?”

“Because you usually are.” Olivia sighed as she hauled Spencer and Joss across the room.

“Mom, I promise—” Cameron said.

“Don’t start, Cameron. I’ve told you not to get caught up in Spencer’s schemes, but you never listen.” She tugged on his suit jacket. “Now you have to hang out with your mother.”

“It could be worse,” Jake told him when Cameron scowled. “You could be stuck at home with your brother.”

“That’s true,” the boy admitted. “Aidan’s with Rocco and Grandma Lesley,” he reported to Felix and Sabrina. “They’re just babies. I wish Jake were still here. Two is always better than one.”

Elizabeth’s hand slid from Cameron’s shoulder and her face paled. She swallowed hard. “Cameron—”

“Sabrina!” Felix said almost a bit too loudly as Jake put a hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder to steady her. “Tell us about the job Michael offered you.”

“Oh.” Sabrina nodded. “Yeah. He’s opening the clinic in AJ’s memory, and he wants me to be the head nurse, but I just don’t know. I mean, it’s kind of him to overlook what happened at GH, but…” She shrugged.

“He seems like a good kid,” Jake said. “It’s a shame what happened with his father, but his mom doesn’t seem so bad.”

Felix snorted while Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “Wait until you’ve been here longer than ten minutes, Jake. You’ll learn.”

Olivia stopped by Carly, Lucas, Morgan, and Bobbie. “I found your kid in the kitchens.”

“Mom, would you please explain to the help that we own this hotel and therefore I can go wherever I want,” Joss said, stamping her foot and throwing Olivia a dirty look.

“The help?” Olivia repeated. “You are lucky you’re not my kid.” And with that, she disappeared dragging Spencer along with her.

“Jocelyn Jane Jacks,” Carly began.

“That is a seriously horrible name,” Lucas murmured to Morgan who snorted.

“We’ve got to do something about this sense of entitlement,” Bobbie said, shaking her head. “Joss, you know very well Olivia shares ownership in this hotel.”

“Only because my father gave it to her cousin,” Joss said, with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “Right, Mom? That’s what you said last week—”

“Carly—” Bobbie sighed.

“Oh, suddenly this is my fault?” Carly demanded. “I’m going to go find someone who doesn’t think I’m a horrible person.” She took Joss’s arm and left the group.

“You know, I love my mother,” Morgan said after a moment, “but I’m thinking in this room, that’s a difficult thing to do.” He leaned around. “Oh, hell, she’s making a beeline for Michael and Kiki.”

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Kiki asked after a moment of silence. “Because if it’s about the injunction—”

“No.” Michael shook his head. “No. It was getting that notice a few days ago that made me realize how insane this all is.” He sighed. “I don’t want to be this person, Kiki. I try to tell myself I’m not going to say something, that I’m just going to stop it—and then…I don’t know. I step outside of myself.”

“You’ve been dealing with so much,” Kiki began.

“No, don’t excuse me.” He held up a hand. “I’m not going to get caught up in my anger. I talked to someone who made me realize it’s not what my father would have wanted.” He looked away. “Every time I turn around, I learn how much my mother has kept from me. How much she continues to lie.”

“I’m so sorry that I lied to you, Michael.” Kiki stepped towards him. “I’d take it back if I could. I just…I want to be there for you.”

“You decided to tell me the truth in the end,” Michael told her. “Not as soon as I’d want, but you could have kept lying. There was no reason to tell me the truth. But you decided to come clean, and you know, that’s something I’m thinking about. You told me even though you knew how angry I would be.”

“I don’t want to be another person who lies to you.” Kiki chewed on her bottom lip. “I don’t want you to be as angry with me as you are with your mother—but I promise you, there’s nothing else I’m keeping from you.”

“Which is definitely not something I can say about my mother,” Michael muttered. “I just found out she lied to me about my name. She told me Jason named me for Sonny. That he named me Michael Corinthos. And it was just another lie to serve her purpose.” He paused. “He named me Michael Morgan. Because everyone believed he was my father.”

“What?” Kiki’s eyes were wide.

“Who the hell told you that?” Carly hissed from behind them. Michael turned to find his mother standing, Joss standing next to her with her jaw dropped.

“Finally!” Olivia said, spotting Nikolas near the dessert buffet. “Nikolas, I have someone you’ve been looking for—”

But she stopped abruptly as she realized Spencer’s father was standing next to Ned and Alexis. She stopped in her tracks. “Ah.”

“Spencer…” Nikolas narrowed his eyes. “What did you do now?”

“Technically, I didn’t do anything,” Spencer told him. “I may have planned to do something, but the lovely Ms. Falconeri foiled my plot, so when you think about it—”

“I think—” Olivia swallowed and looked away from Ned. “There was something about framing Cameron Webber, but I’m not sure I got that right. I’ll leave you to it.”

She spun on her heel and headed for the terrace.

“Olivia, wait!” Ned called, following her.

Nikolas frowned and looked back at his aunt. “What is that about?”

“It appears,” Alexis said, slowly, “that Ned is fed up because I haven’t quite managed to put Julian in my past.”

“Aren’t we all?” he replied dryly.

“Hey!” Alexis jabbed a finger at him. “You, of all people, do not get to judge my bad taste in romantic partners.” And with that, she walked in the opposite direction.

“Women,” Spencer said with a sympathetic shake of his head. “What are you gonna do?”

“Don’t start.”

“Dante, Lulu!” Maxie halted when she saw that the duo were standing with Nathan. “Oh. Um.”

“I’ll go.” Nathan reached for his drink on the table.

“Wait, I think I don’t have to worry about it anymore.” Maxie grinned. “Alexis got me an appeal! I just know another judge is going to take care of this!”

“Maxie, that’s fantastic!” Lulu squealed and embraced her best friend. “Dante, did you hear that?”

“Because I’m standing right here, yes.” But he was smiling and clapped Nathan on the back. “Do you think your mother helped?”

“Your mother?” Maxie asked. “Oh, God, you asked Obrecht for help?”

“Well,” Nathan began.

“Ms. Jones.” Judge David Walters’ deep voice boomed from behind the group. “I see that you still aren’t taking me seriously.”

“Oh, my God!” Maxie groaned as she turned to face her worst nightmare. “What, did you plant GPS on my ass?”

“Young lady,” Walters began but apparently it was all Lulu could take.

“What is wrong with you?” Lulu demanded. “It’s Christmas for Christ’s sake. She’s my best friend, and Nathan is Dante’s partner. They’re supposed to be rude to one another and pretend they never knew one another? What is your problem anyway?”

“What’s going on here?” Monica asked, stepping up next to them. “Lulu—”

“Monica, how could you date someone like this?” Lulu asked.

“Lulu,” Maxie said, her eyes wide. “I don’t think this is necessary—”

“I mean, do you even know the crap he’s putting Maxie through?” Lulu ignored her and stepped right up to Monica. “C’mon, you of all people must know how horrible it is to be separated from your children.”

Monica paled, while Dante groaned. “Lulu, knock it off—”

“I think you’d better tell me what’s going on. Right now.” Monica turned her attention to her date. “You’re the judge on Maxie’s case?”

Metro Court Hotel: Hallway

“Olivia, wait—!”

Oh, hell. If she kept hauling ass to her office, she might be able to close the door. Surely, he wouldn’t just barge right in.

But she didn’t quite trust that, so she turned abruptly and Ned nearly ran right into her. “What?” she demanded.

“Uh.” Ned swallowed, backing up a bit. “I wanted to talk to you.”

She lifted her chin. “So talk.”

“Ah.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Listen. I-I was wrong before. About you. And me. And Alexis.”

“Well, that clears it all up.” Olivia folded her arms. “I’m busy here, Ned—”

“There’s no second chance with Alexis for me.” He stepped closer to her. “I want to take you to dinner—”

“You mean you finally wised up to the fact she was using you to forget about Julian Jerome?” Olivia cut in. “That you’re her second choice? Well, news flash, Ned. I don’t want to be yours.”

And she walked away. Fast. Because if she thought about it, she might jump him and that would be hell on her new sense of self-esteem.

Segment Four

Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough

Metro Court Hotel: Ballroom

Cursing under his breath, Ned returned to the ballroom only to find his aunt arguing with her date for the evening. As Ned drew closer, he overheard the words Maxie, bastard, son of a bitch—

“Is everything all right?” he asked, stepping up to the group which included Dante, Lulu, and Maxie, all of whom looked upset. “Monica?”

“David is the judge on Maxie’s custody case,” Monica said, her cheeks flushed with anger. “Who took away her daughter—”

“Monica, this really isn’t something I can talk about with you,” the judge said, with his hand up as if ward off an attack. “It’s unethical—”

“Oh, because cornering Maxie on a date with Nathan here at the hotel was so ethical!” Lulu spat. “You just don’t like that he lied to you!”

“Where’s Alexis?” Ned asked Dante.

“Nathan went to find her,” Olivia’s son responded. He eyed Ned with a suspicious eye. “Where’s my mother?”

“Ah—”

“Monica,” David began again.

“You cannot keep this woman from her child because you don’t like her boyfriend,” Monica snapped. “And Lulu tells me you used our lunch together at the hospital as evidence as against her—”

“Nathan’s a good man and a good cop who just got shot in the line of duty,” Lulu cut in. “You know, Maxie, we should have thought of this before—let’s take it to the press!”

“The press?” Maxie repeated. Her eyes narrowed. “Yeah. Let’s talk to the newspapers. My lawyer knows Julian Jerome—”

Ned sighed and rolled his eyes. Fantastic.

“—and he runs the local paper. And I bet I can find someone who’d listen to me. Just wait until they find out how you’re maligning poor Nathan—”

“Let’s not be hasty,” David said with a patronizing smile. “Perhaps some consideration is order—”

“Ned, can you help me find my lawyer?” Maxie asked with a dazzling smile. “I think Alexis needs to get Julian on the phone.”

“I told the two of you to be careful,” Alexis sighed as she and Nathan moved towards the scene in the front of the room. “Seriously. I got an appeal, not a miracle—”

But Maxie broke through the crowd before they could reach their goal. “Alexis! Nathan!” She was nearly bouncing in excitement. “Monica totally freaked out on Judge Walters and then Lulu threatened him with the press—”

“Because Nathan is an upstanding member of society,” Alexis said. “Did it work?”

“He vacated the ruling!” Maxie threw her arms around Nathan. “We can date. And Spinelli can bring Georgie to me!”

Nathan lifted her off her feet and spun her in a circle. “That’s fantastic!”

“Oh, I’m so glad, Maxie.” Alexis offered her temporary client a brief hug.

“I want to tell my parents!” Maxie took Nathan’s arm and dragged him away. He offered a wave before a crowd enveloped him.

“Hey, Aunt Alexis.”

Alexis looked down at the small voice next to her and narrowed her eyes. “Where’d you tie up your father?”

“I’m small, it’s easy to duck under people,” Spencer offered with a grin. “How come you’re alone again?”

She huffed. “That’s a damn good question.”

“I’m alone, too,” Spencer said. “Because Emma prefers Cameron. I don’t get it. Is it a Cassadine’s fate to die alone? Maybe we expect too much. That’s where I went wrong with Emma, I think.”

“And now I’m getting advice from a ten-year-old.” Alexis pressed a hand to her temple.

“Have you seen Spencer?”

Elizabeth turned and rolled her eyes. “Nikolas, when are you putting that kid on a leash?”

“As soon as I find him this time, we’re going home.” Nikolas looked down at Cameron. “Do you know where he is?”

“Joss has shown him a lot of places to hide in the hotel,” Cameron reported. “Can I help Uncle Nikolas, Mom?”

Elizabeth sighed. “All right, but Nikolas, try not to lose my kid as well.” She grinned because they both knew she was teasing, but he scowled anyway.

He disappeared into the crowd, her son in tow.

“Spencer seems like handful,” Jake said from beside her. “Isn’t that the second time Nikolas has stopped by looking for him?”

“He’s a bit mischievous,” Elizabeth allowed with a half-smile. “I think it comes from the amount of moving around he’s done, and sometimes, suffering from a bit of a too much time with nannies. His mother died when he was born, and Nikolas’s fiancée was murdered later. It was a rough few years. For all of us.” She sighed and looked away.

“You were close with his fiancée?” Jake asked.

“Best friends.” She pursed her lips. “Emily was more of a sister to me than my own. It’s been eight years since she died, but God, it still feels like yesterday.” She rolled her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I feel like I’m always bringing up people I’ve lost.”

“It’s fine.” Jake wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I’m just sorry you’ve had so much loss.”

“Elizabeth!” Bobbie stepped up to them, and squeezed her hand. “So, Carly and Michael just had a bit of a fight.”

“Oh, hell.” Elizabeth saw Carly’s blond head waving towards them from halfway across the room. “Michael dimed me out.”

“Well, I love my daughter, but I think she’s had this moment coming for a very long time.” Bobbie flashed a smile at Jake. “Hello, you must be Jake. My grandson has mentioned you.”

“Oh…” Elizabeth put a hand on Jake’s sleeve. “Jake, this is Bobbie Spencer, one of my favorite people in the world even if she is Carly’s mother. Bobbie, this is Jake Doe. He’s staying with me.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Bobbie shook Jake’s head.

“I think we need to change locations,” Elizabeth said. “Maybe find Dante and Lulu?” she suggested.

“Oh, but before that…” Bobbie gestured towards the space above their heads. “Bad luck to ignore the mistletoe!”

“I’m sorry for my mother’s interruption,” Michael said, his eyes looking past Kiki to where his mother was making a determined beeline for Elizabeth. Joss had escaped during the confrontation, so God only knew where his sister had ended up.

“Should you go ahead her off before she finds Elizabeth?” Kiki asked, half-turning to follow Michael’s eyes.

“Elizabeth can take care of herself. She’s got a lot of history with my mother.” Michael looked back at her. “Kiki—”

“You forgive me,” she interrupted. “And I don’t hold anything against you. Does that mean…” She licked her lips. “Can we just…be together again? I love you—”

“I love you, too.” Michael brushed his fingers against her cheek. “But this last year—you lied to me more than once. And I’ve hurt you. Not just…with the way I spoke to you. But there was Rosalie—”

“Michael, none of that matters—”

“In this moment, maybe not,” he allowed. “But tomorrow? The day after that? I don’t want to pretend we haven’t done damage to this.”

“And I don’t think we should throw it away.” Kiki stepped closer to him. “Trust has to be earned, I get it. But Michael, I love you enough to try.”

“Looks like that’s starting to work out,” Lucas murmured to Morgan as they both watched Kiki and Michael talk in hushed tones. “Is that okay with you?”

“Look, my family is screwed up enough. My mother used to date your father, but you’re also my uncle. I was once married to my daughter’s sister, and my brother dates her.” Morgan glanced at Lucas. “Kiki and me? We had fun. But it’s over now. She’s good for Mikey.” He glanced down at his phone whose new wallpaper was his little girl. “I’m going to go home and concentrate on my daughter.”

“And I’m going to go try to save the world from my sister,” Lucas said.

Dante found his mother talking to a server near the bar. “Hey, Ma! Did you hear Maxie’s good news?”

“It’s been going through the room since the fight was pretty loud.” Olivia embraced her son. “Your first Christmas with your boy! I remember when you were that young.” She sighed and ruffled his hair slightly.

“You okay, Ma?” He touched her shoulder. “This…this has been a rough year.”

“But this is going to be a better year.” She leaned her chin on his shoulder to look up at him. “You and Lulu are better than ever. Maxie has her life together, her daughter will be back. I have a fantastic job. It’d be easy to dwell on the things I don’t have—” She shook her head. “But I have so much.”

“Come over with me and Lulu. We’re toasting to Nathan and Maxie—”

“No, no…” Olivia kissed his cheek. “You go be with your friends. I have a lot to do tonight.”

As Dante disappeared into the crowd on the left, Ned emerged from the right. She pressed her lips together and turned away.

“Olivia, you’re not going to get away from me that easily,” he said. He took her by the elbow and gently turned her back. “I’m not satisfied with how we left things.”

“Crap, my father found me.” Spencer sighed as he saw his father and Cameron pass Felix and Sabrina and make a beeline for him.

“Well, it was bound to happen,” Patrick said.

“We’re going home,” Nikolas announced. “Sam, Patrick. I hope he’s not bothering you.”

“No, I saw him heading towards the door with Joss,” Sam said, “so I corralled him until you passed by. I had a feeling you were on the hunt of my young cousin.”

“Farewell, my lady.” Spencer bowed with a flourish to Emma as his father dragged him away. Cameron scowled after him.

“Sam—”

She rolled her eyes. “Emma, do me a favor? Can you walk Cam back to his mother?”

“Sure!” Emma chirped.

When they were gone, Sam looked to Patrick. “Fine. I think Jake held me hostage. And I told Elizabeth, and she laughed in my face.”

Lucas caught his sister’s elbow just before Carly was able to reach Jake, Elizabeth, and Bobbie. “Walk with me, sister dear.”

“You know, you never used to be this bossy,” Carly said as he steered her into the hallway by the elevators. “What’s your problem?”

“You’re going after Elizabeth because she told Michael about Jason pretending to be his father,” Lucas said. “Seriously.”

Carly scowled. “How do you even know?”

“This is a small town with an even smaller ball room.” Lucas stepped towards his sister. “I don’t know exactly what Elizabeth told him, but knowing her, she probably sugar coated it.”

“Ha! You all defend her.” But Carly folded her arms and looked away. “She didn’t know the worst of it anyway.”

“Michael was smart to go to her, because she’s been around forever and knows everyone. Carly, you were a horrible person.”

“That’s not…” Carly looked down. “I know that, but why does Michael have to know it too?” Her eyes were damp when she met his. “I was horrible, Lucas. But I’m not that person now—”

“No, but you’d also rather pretend it never happened. You didn’t want Michael to learn from someone else that Jason named him Michael Morgan?” Lucas arched a brow. “Then you shouldn’t have lied. Again.”

“I just…He changed his name.” Carly sucked in a breath. “He threw away all the plans I had for him—”

“And he’s making his own. Look, I should hate you.”

Carly bit her lip. “I guess.”

“My mother should hate you. Instead, we made you part of our family.” He touched her shoulder. “I had another sister once. I had BJ. And the only way my mother ever really recovered from losing her was finding you. You weren’t a replacement, but you filled part of her heart.”

“Lucas—”

“It was hard to let go of what happened to my father,” Lucas continued. “But I managed it. Because most of the time, I know you’re a better person now. But you have got to stop white-washing it. Michael has a right to know about his own life. He had a right to know AJ, the way I have a relationship of sorts with my father.”

“Lucas—” Carly tried again.

“Michael is never going to forgive you if you don’t own your mistakes and stop lying to him.”

Segment Five

Here we are as in olden days

Carly blinked and sighed. “So going after Elizabeth for just doing what I wouldn’t….” She pursed her lips. “Not a good idea huh?”

“Probably not going to help your case with Michael, no,” Lucas said.

“Then I’ll take your advice this time.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks for being a good brother.”

As she disappeared back into the ballroom, the elevator door opened and Brad Cooper stepped out. He grinned. “Lucas!”

“Hey!” Lucas kissed him. “You broke free of Obrecht early?”

“Yeah, let’s go have some fun.”

As Lucas and Brad stepped inside, Nikolas all but dragged his son towards the bank of elevators.

“Why do you have always to push me?” Nikolas asked, jabbing the down button.

“Because it’s fun,” Spencer admitted. “It could be worse.”

“I fail to see how,” his father responded.

“Well, I could be Uncle Luke. Or Grandfather Stavros or Great-Grandmother Helena. Or hey, even like Uncle Sonny.” Spencer beamed. “Those are all worse.”

Nikolas paused to look at him as the elevator opened. “When you put it that way, a smart-ass is better than all those options. You’re still grounded.”

“I figured.”

Happy golden days of yore

“Sam—” Patrick blinked. “You think Jake—” He stepped away, in the direction where she knew Jake and Elizabeth were standing. “Sam—”

“Hey, I have no proof…” Sam caught his arm. “And I made a mistake telling him and Elizabeth I suspected him. So don’t make it worse. Let’s just…play it cool.”

“Fine, but if he hurts one hair on her head—” Patrick began.

“He’ll pay for it.” Sam frowned and looked around. “Have you seen my mother lately?”

Metro Court Hotel: Lobby

Faithful friends who are dear to us

Alexis stepped out of the elevator and stopped in her tracks when she saw Julian Jerome standing in front of her. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m coming to see you.” He tilted his head and offered a smile. “Where are you going?”

Maybe we expect too much.

And maybe the ten-year-old had a point. “I’m coming to see you.”

Julian grinned as he reached for her hand to draw her close. “What about Ned?”

“He found someone better.”

Metro Court Hotel: Ballroom

Gather near to us once more

“Ned, I really don’t think this is a good idea—” Olivia began. “I told you, I don’t want to be your backup plan—”

“It’s scary, isn’t it?” Ned stepped closer to her, so close she could smell that delicious aftershave that made her head feel a bit lighter. “Starting something new. Particularly when you really care about someone and you don’t want to lose the friendship you have—”

“Yes, well…” Olivia twisted her fingers. “That’s…why I said no to you, but—”

“It can be tempting to stick with what you know. To take a familiar path.” He grinned. “But you know what? I think I want to try the road less traveled.”

Olivia sighed. She wasn’t a martyr after all. “Dinner. But I make no promises.”

Through the years we all will be together

“If he hurts my mother…” Dante began as he watched his mother smile up at Ned Ashton.

Lulu patted his hand. “Ned is fantastic and he’ll be the best thing that’s happened to her since she hit town.” She glanced across their table at their companions. “It’s been a good night for all of us.”

“I think she has my smile,” Maxie said, showing Nathan another photo Spinelli had sent to her on her phone. “Did I show you this one yet?”

“Three or four times.” He grinned. “But I’m more than happy to see them again. I can’t wait to meet Georgie.”

“I can’t wait either.” Maxie sighed, her eyes shining. “I’m finally going to get it right, Nathan. And everyone’s going to be so proud of me.”

“They already are,” Nathan said. He leaned forward to brush his lips against hers. “This is going to be a great year.”

If the fates allow

Michael sighed when he saw his mother coming back towards her. “I’m not in the mood for another go around,” he began, tucking Kiki behind him slightly.

“I know.” Carly sighed. “I just wanted to apologize for earlier. And for lying. Again. I hate that Elizabeth told you, but…” She shrugged and looked away. “It’s not like she lied. So if you have questions, I promise to tell you the truth.”

He eyed her, and she rolled her eyes. “And you can double check the facts with Elizabeth or something.”

“This doesn’t change anything,” Michael told her. “I think I’m better off without you in my life—”

“Michael,” Kiki murmured. “Don’t—”

“But I don’t want to fight every time I see you either.” He sighed. “So let’s declare a cease fire.”

She frowned, but nodded. “I’ll take it.”

Carly turned and caught Jake and Elizabeth across the room. Something about that just set her teeth to clenching, but she was not going to say anything.

Hang a shining star upon the highest bough

“I’ll go distract Carly.” Bobbie patted Elizabeth’s shoulder and moved away.

Jake glanced up at the spring of greenery over their head. “So. Mistletoe.”

“Hmm…” Elizabeth bit her lip. “So.”

He grinned. “I think I’ve had enough bad luck to last me a while, so…” He brushed her hair behind her ear and leaned down.

His lips brushed hers, and then he stepped back with a frown. She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes a bit. “What?”

“It’s just…” He looked down for a moment then back, up. “It was like—”

“Deja vu?” she suggested. “I know what you mean.”

Jake rolled his shoulders, then grinned again. “Hey, maybe we knew each other in a past life.”

And have yourself a merry little Christmas now

The End

This entry is part 19 of 19 in the Adventures of Lucky and Lizzie

Prompt: The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. ~ Clement Clarke Moore

Thanks Caroline!

“Can I just say the world is a better place now.”

“Lucky, you’re being overdramatic. I never said I was committed to the name.”

“You did, you so did. You had blankets made.”

“That….may be true, but it doesn’t mean anything.”

“What made you decide that Sebastian Morgan was a nogo?”

“To be honest, Jason.”

“Seriously? I didn’t think he cared about names.”

“Apparently, he has some strong feelings about certain ones.”

“We all do. It was a horrible name.”

“Shut your face. You of all people have no room to talk.”

“Hey, my name is Lucas. Lucky is a nickname, it’s not my fault. See? My parents did it to me. You could have inflicted that damage on poor poor David.”

“First, you introduce yourself as Lucky, so the time to blame your parents has passed. Two, Sebastian—again—is perfectly nice name.”

“Did you tell Jason why you picked it?”

“…No.”

“Ha. I knew it He doesn’t care that you read trashy romance novels, but he might care you’re naming your kids for them.”

“Let’s just discuss that you even knew Sebastian came from my books. Have you been dipping into the book stash Gia, Brenda, and I share?”

“You think Gia doesn’t tell me these things? You think I don’t know why you women read these books?”

“I know she doesn’t and you have no idea why we read them.”

“For ideas.”

“…for the kinds of men we should be dating…? Or sex ideas? Because both are wrong, and both are nasty. Lucky. Why are we friends again?”

“Something about not being able to fight fate. I hope you’re not looking for advice on men. Sebastian was the guy who kidnapped the one woman right? From those flower books.”

“I am so disturbed right now.”

“Don’t be mad because I know what women are thinking.”

“The levels of bullshit emanating from you at the moment are staggering.”

“I am the envy of all men.”

“I’m going to need a barf bag.”

“Lizzie, don’t mock what you don’t understand.”

“Oh, I definitely don’t understand you. But I can’t wait to tell Gia you read romance novels—”

“Whoa, wait, I never said I read them—”

“—because this is going to be so much fun. You can join our book club!”

“—let’s not be hasty—”

“We’re reading Courtney Milan next month, in honor of Christmas.”

“I’m afraid to ask.”

“Because Gia discovered her two Christmases ago, so we always read her for Christmas, but Brenda argued for Sabrina Jeffries’ Christmas book this year—”

“You’re just torturing me now—”

“Oh, this is going to be so much fun. We’ve never had a guy in the club before. Nadine brought her boyfriend once, but—”

“Lizzie, what can I do to make you keep this to yourself? What can I give you?”

“You can stop calling me Lizzie.”

“Um. How about something I can actually do?”

“You can admit you actually read some of the books.”

“…I like the spy ones. With the wars and stuff.”

“Don’t mumble, Lucky.”

“There was a good one. With some spies.”

“Good. And you can hang these stockings on the wall—”

“What, why? Can’t Jason do it?”

“Where’s my phone? Gia has to plan for one more—”

“All right, all right. I hate you.”

“Merry Christmas, Lucky.”

“Merry, Christmas, Lizzie.”

December 22, 2014

story Your new weekly Fiction Graveyard update! Today, we have two more new stories and updates to longer ones.

So the way the update newsletter works is that you guys get emailed every single new post I make on the site. Most of the time, this isn’t a problem, but with these particular updates, I worry that you guys forget at first that these chapters I’m posting today are not part of stories that are actively ongoing.

The only stories I am actively updating now are The Best Thing and All I Want for Christmas. Unless I indicate otherwise, any other story updates will either be short stories or additions to the graveyard section, which means they’re incomplete stories.

I discovered the rest of the missing chapters for True To Your Heart on the Internet Wayback version of the original crimsonglass.com domain, so that’s really good. I also discovered that Silent Reverie and the unposted Shatter each have a missing Chapter 4 that I don’t have anywhere. If anyone knows anywhere they may have been posted, please send over a copy!

I’ll be back on Wednesday with All I Want and The Best Thing.

Additions This Week
– Mad World: Chapters 4-6
– True To Your Heart: Prologue & Chapter 1
– The End of Everything: Prologue-Chapter 5 (Repost complete)
– Out of the Dark: Prologue & Chapter 1 (Repost complete)

This entry is part 2 of 13 in the Fiction Graveyard: True To Your Heart

Alexis sat beside her daughter’s hospital bed and debated on the best way to present the situation. She had goal in mind–she needed Sonny and his children to be tested for donors. She wondered if there was a way to do so without Sonny finding that Christina was his daughter.

Casting a look at her daughter’s tanned complexion and dark hair, she often wondered why no one else had seen it. Christie didn’t look like the rest of the family and she sometimes acted just as selfish as her father–but Alexis adored the little girl who kept her going after Kristina’s death.

Christie’s dark brown eyes opened and she smiled, seeing her mother at her side. Alexis wanted to cry–Christie had the same dimples as her father. Good lord. She’d never looked so much like Sonny.

“Mama?” Christie yawned. “Where’s Daddy?”

“He went into work,” Alexis said, patting her daughter’s hand. “He’ll be here in a little while.”

Christie shifted on the bed. “You were wearing those clothes yesterday. You didn’t go home again.”

Alexis smiled. “Guilty as charged, baby.”

Christie returned her mother’s smile. “Mama, go home. Get a shower and some sleep. I’ll be all right.”

“I don’t want to leave you,” Alexis said. “Your father will be here soon–I’ll go then.”

Christie shook her head stubbornly. “No, Mama. You need some sleep. Go now.”

Alexis briefly thought about arguing with her daughter but realized that she did need a shower and a change of clothes before she started wrestling with this latest problem.

She stood up. “All right. But call me if you need me, all right, kid?”

Christie nodded. “I promise.”

“I love you sweetheart,” Alexis said softly, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek.

“I love you, too.”

—-

Michael pushed his eggs around on his plate and stared at the Morgan children sitting across from him. Delilah Morgan was currently trying to wipe the ketchup out of her blonde hair while David was picking up a piece of toast and stuffing the entire thing into his mouth.

“Davie!” Carly scolded. “Chew your food.”

The two-year-old didn’t really understand Carly’s command and promptly burst into tears. Delilah, always the protective one, put her ketchup stained napkin down and hugged her brother. “S’okay, Davie-gravy. Dee-Dee’s here.”

“Stupid baby,” Amanda Corinthos said, disdainfully. At age seven, Amanda looked exactly like Carly–from the blonde hair to the stylish clothes to the attitude. Her twin, Andrew, was more like Sonny–sullen and withdrawn half the time. Michael had a hard time remembering some times that these were his siblings.

“Leave him alone, Mandy,” Michael said absently.

“I want my mommy,” Davie said, wiping his eyes.

Michael and Carly traded looks as Carly stirred her coffee. “I told you last night, Davie. Your mommy’s sick and she’s in the hospital.”

Delilah’s big blue eyes turned to her aunt. “Aunt Carly, is Mommy gonna be okay? Where’s Daddy?”

“Your daddy’s with your Mommy,” Carly said, “and she’s gonna be just fine.” Her bright smile was fake–but only Michael caught it. Sonny emerged from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dishtowel.

“I’m heading by the hospital before I go to the warehouse,” he said. “Michael, you want to come with?”

“I want to come!” Andrew announced.

“Take Drew, Dad,” Michael said, finishing his orange juice. “I’m meeting Lu anyway.”

“I don’t want Drew at the hospital,” Carly said. “He’s just getting over the chicken pox.”

“Aww, come on, Mom,” Andrew grumbled.

“Your mother’s right, kiddo,” Sonny said, pulling his suit jacket on. “You need a ride to the Spencers?”

Michael shook his head. “Nah. I’m meeting her at Luke’s.”

Carly stood up and to give Sonny a kiss. “Tell Liz and Jase I’m thinking of them and that the kids are fine,” she said.

“I will, baby. I’ll call you when I get to the warehouse.” Sonny pecked her on the lips and left.

Carly sat back down at the breakfast table. She was trying to control the four children still eating, but her mind kept wondering to Alexis Ashton and her daughter stricken with leukemia that only a bone marrow transplant could take care of.

She cast a look at her blonde haired twins and realized with a start that Amanda, Andrew and Christina all looked alike–that if anyone took the time to look, you could tell they had a parent in common.

She wondered if the time had come for this particular secret to be revealed.

—-

Michael leaned over the pool table and lined up his shot. “So you went straight to Lucky’s.”

Lu smirked. “Yep.” She leaned on her pool stick. “I think Lucky’s still in love with her.”

“What about Emily?” Michael asked, concerned for his aunt.

Lu shrugged. “Look, Emily knew what she was getting into when they began dating–I think that’s why she refuses to marry him.”

“Probably,” Michael murmured. He angled his shot and took it, sending three balls down the corner pocket.

Lu leaned over to take her shot. “How are Dee and Davie?”

“They’re upset,” Michael replied. “Mom didn’t tell them what’s going on, but they’re smart kids–they know something’s wrong.”

“Poor Liz,” Lu said. “She must be devastated.”

“You should have seen Jase last night,” Michael said watching Lu sink the black ball, ending the game. “I thought he was going mess up the doctors if they didn’t tell him anything.”

“Yeah, he tends to be a little high strung,” Lu replied. She tossed her pool stick down and headed to the bar. “You want a soda?”

“Sure.” Michael followed his cousin and took a seat on the stool. “So they’re gonna stay with us until Liz is discharged.”

“Hey, did you hear about Alexis Ashton’s daughter?” Lu asked. “Lucky was telling me about this morning–you know since it’s Emily’s niece and all.”

“What about her?” Michael asked, flipping the tap of his soda open. He took a healthy swig.

“She’s got leukemia,” Lu replied. She grimaced. “She needs a bone marrow transplant, and Eddie, Alexis and Ned aren’t matches.”

“Isn’t her best bet usually a sibling?”

Lu nodded. “Yeah, like Nik was for me. So I don’t know what’s gonna happen to Christina. Unless a sibling comes creeping out of the woodwork, she’s screwed. She’s a good kid though.”

—-

Sonny found Jason leaning against the wall outside of Elizabeth’s room. He stopped for a second–wondering why Jason wasn’t inside. Jason never left Elizabeth’s side–not since the day she’d come home to the penthouse all those years ago. The only time they were ever separated were the days Jason was away on business.

“Jason.”

Jason looked up and crumpled the paper cup that had been in his hand. “I hope that’s real coffee,” he said, nodding towards the steaming cups in Sonny’s hands.

Sonny handed him one. “Black, just the way you like it.” He nodded his head towards the closed door. “Why aren’t you in there?”

Jason sipped his coffee and rubbed his eyes. “She had me thrown out.”

Sonny raised his eyebrows. “Thrown out? How? Why?”

“She called security,” Jason replied. “Apparently, what the patient wants, the patient gets.” He frowned and looked down at his coffee. “She’s shutting me out.”

“I’m sorry, Jase. I wish there was something I could do,” Sonny replied.

“Yeah?” Jason said. “Me, too. I used to know what to say to her, you know? Back when we were first friends…I never stuttered, never fumbled, I just spoke and it always seemed to be what she needed to hear. Now? I can’t say anything right.” He looked Sonny. “Why is that?”

“The stakes are higher,” Sonny replied. “You’re in love with her–you’re married.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Jason was silent for a while before asking, “Are Dee and Davie okay?”

“Yeah. They’re a little upset–you know, ’cause they don’t really understand what’s going on. But they’re going to be okay–Carly’s with them.”

“When Carly lost the baby,” Jason said, “how did…how did you deal with that?”

“We pulled away from each other for a while but we eventually bonded over it–I can tell you this–what happened with Carly is different. We were able to deal with it because we knew why it happened–you don’t. And Elizabeth is going to be blaming herself. There’s no where else she can put the blame. So don’t let her shut you out.”

“I never knew how it felt,” Jason said quietly. “You know…during the months we were apart after that Alcazar thing…and I was shutting her out so that I didn’t have to feel her pain–I never knew how it made her feel.” He looked up at his friend. “Now I know.”

—-

Alexis emerged from the bathroom of the bedroom she shared with Ned. She stopped dead in her tracks. “Ned! I didn’t expect you home!”

Ned finished buttoning his dress shirt. “I’m just changing. I thought you were at the hospital.”

“Christie convinced me to come home and shower and take a nap,” Alexis replied. “Is Eddie still with Monica and Alan?”

Ned nodded. “Yeah. They send their prayers.”

Alexis sank onto the bed and stared down at the plush white carpet. “I don’t know what to do,” she whispered. “How am I supposed to go to him and tell him the truth after all these years? How am I supposed to convince him to let Amanda and Andrew be tested?”

Ned sat next to her. “I don’t know–but Alexis, we have to do it soon.”

“I know.” Alexis scrubbed her hands over her face. “I never dreamed this day would come. We’ve been happy–haven’t we Ned? I mean, we’ve been good up until now.”

“We have been,” Ned agreed. “You, Christie, Eddie and Brooke are my whole life.” His expression darkened. “Lois called. She wants to get Brooke tested.”

Alexis sighed. “I don’t want to put Brooke through the test. It’s painful.”

“I know. I told Lois I’d discuss it with you. We need to make a decision and we need to make it now, Alexis.”

“I know, I know,” Alexis murmured. “So, do I tell Carly she’s got the go ahead or do I tell Sonny?”

“As easy as it would to let Carly field this…” Ned stopped and shook his head sadly, “it wouldn’t be fair to her. It’s bad enough we have to do this–but I don’t see why Sonny has to know Carly knew all along.”

“You’re right,” Alexis agreed. “Because even though she’s been good to him for ten years, and they have a family, he’d leave her. He’d see it as a betrayal and it’s not fair to her. She was only keeping my secret.”

“So you’re going to tell Sonny,” Ned said.

Alexis nodded. “Yes. But I have so many people to think about…oh, God, what is Christie going to think of me?”

“It won’t matter,” Ned replied. “Christie loves you. She’ll love you no matter what.”

“She’s nine years old–she won’t understand my decisions.”

“She’s a mature nine and she’s heard of Sonny. She might surprise you.”

“I don’t want her to surprise me,” Alexis said softly. “I want her to stay nine and innocent for the rest–” she broke off, naked fear filling her eyes. “Oh, god! She is going to stay nine and innocent the rest of her life! She’s going to die!”

“Alexis–” Ned took her by the shoulders and gave her a little shake. “Breathe.”

Alexis took a deep shuddering breath. “I don’t know if I can do this, Ned…I don’t know if I can walk up to my baby girl and tell her you’re not her father.”

Ned looked away. “Alexis–”

Alexis gasped. “Oh, God, that’s not fair. I’m so sorry–you’re her father, she loves you and I know you love her–I’m sorry–”

“Alexis,” Ned cut in. “Please…calm down. We need to discuss this–how we’re going to handle this situation.”

Alexis ran a hand through her hair. “I know.” She stood. “Let’s head back to the hospital. I don’t want Christie there too long by herself.”

—

Emily Quartermaine strode briskly down the hall, a long tan leather jacket slung over her left arm. Her dark brown hair was highlighted blonde and worn long. She reached Elizabeth’s hospital room and was about to push it open when her brother stopped her.

“Em–”

“Oh, Jason!” Emily said, throwing her arms around him. “I am so sorry! Is Liz okay? Is there anything I can do?”

Jason extracted himself from his sister’s arm and led her away from the door. “Actually, yeah. I need you to not visit Elizabeth right now.”

Emily sank into a chair, wounded. “Why?” she asked, straightening her black skirt. She set her jacket on the chair next to her and watched as Jason sat next to her. “Why aren’t you in there with her?”

“Elizabeth–she’s taking this very hard,” Jason began. “I don’t blame her–but I don’t think it would be good for her to see you.”

Emily sat back, her hands absently going her slightly bulging abdomen. “Because we were both pregnant.”

Jason nodded. “I don’t want to upset her any further.”

Emily nodded. “All right. I’ll respect that.” Her brown eyes softened. “Mom wants to know if there’s anything she can do.”

Jason shook his head. “No. But tell her thanks.” His eyes darted around the corridor as if expecting Edward Quartermaine to jump out of the shadows. But Edward was dead–and had been for a few years.
“Dad’s keeping his distance,” Emily said, breaking into Jason’s thoughts. “But he sends his prayers. Things are so tense around the house with what’s happening to Christie.”

Jason frowned. “What’s happening?”

“She has leukemia,” Emily answered. “A bone marrow transplant is her only hope.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason said. “I know–I know that must be hard.”

“Yeah,” Emily said. She straightened. “Why aren’t you in the room with Liz?”

Jason shifted. “She had me…removed.”

Emily’s left eyebrow quirked up. “Removed?” she echoed. “Why?”

Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “She’s trying to shut me out. But I’m not leaving this hospital until she does. Whether I’m sleeping on a chair in the hall or in the room, I’m going to be there.”

Emily leaned forward and patted her brother on the hand. “Liz–she’s going through a difficult time and I know it means a lot to her to have you. It’ll be okay.”

“Yeah…” Jason sat back and stared ahead at the white walls. “Yeah, I hope so.”

—-

After leaving her brother outside of his wife’s hospital room, Emily headed for the physical therapy room where she knew AJ was working that day. AJ had gotten his license to work as a physical therapist a few years ago, shortly after Jocelyn was born. He and Courtney had been able to move out of their small apartment into a larger cottage on the outskirts of town.

She entered the gym and leaned against the wall for a few minutes, watching her eldest brother work with a patient. AJ had really gotten his life together after his marriage to Sonny’s sister. Emily wasn’t particularly fond of her sister-in-law, but after ten years of sobriety on AJ’s part–she figured something had to be going well in his life.

AJ looked up after about ten minutes and smiled at the sight of his baby sister–though nearing the age of thirty, she was far from a baby. Her brown hair was hanging over her shoulder and her black power suit made her look older than she normally did. He couldn’t help but picture the day he’d first met Emily Bowen–she’d grown up so fast.

“I think that’s enough for today, Kyle,” AJ said to the teenager sitting on the bench, lifting weights with his ankle. AJ marked something off on his clipboard and helped the blonde to a standing position. He handed Kyle the crutches. “Just remember to do your exercises and I’ll see you in a few days.”

After Kyle had left, AJ embraced his sister. “Hey, kid, what brings you by?”

“I came to see Liz and Christie,” Emily said. She checked her watch. “I still have about twenty minutes before I have to head back to the office. Do you have time for some coffee?”

AJ nodded and pulled the gym door open. He followed Emily out and the two headed for the vending machines. “Edward knew what he was doing leaving ELQ to you.”

Emily flashed him a bright smile. “That means a lot to me.”

AJ put some coins in the machine and punched the necessary buttons. As coffee filtered down to his cup, he looked at her. “What’s Liz doing here?”

Emily’s eyebrows knitted together. “You mean you don’t know?” she asked.

“Know what?” AJ asked, pulling his cup out of the machine, letting Emily get her own drink.

“Liz had a miscarriage last night,” Emily replied, removing her coffee. She and AJ headed for a grouping of chairs. “I thought most of the family knew.”

AJ sat down and sipped his coffee. With a rueful smile, he remarked, “I don’t think Jase considers me family.”

Emily smiled at him. “Liz does–and you know that.”

“Yeah.” AJ shifted in his chair. “Liz has been good about that. I’m sorry this happened to her. I don’t know what I’d do if I were Jason.”

Emily sipped her coffee and sighed. “I had another fight with Lucky.”

AJ eyed her. “The marriage thing again?”

“Yep.” Emily shook her head. “He just can’t understand why I don’t want to get married.”

AJ leaned forward. “Do you understand why?”

Emily glared at him. “Yes. I don’t think that just because I’m pregnant that I should have to get married. This is a new century–a new millennium–”

“Emily.”

She sighed and looked into the dark thick liquid in her paper cup. “I’m scared, AJ,” she said softly.

He patted her shoulder. “Yeah, that’s what I thought, kid. What’s got you running?”

Emily looked up, her eyes lush with tears. “I think I’m his second choice.”

AJ let a long slow breath out. “His second choice?”

Emily shoved a piece of hair behind her ear. “I know that whatever he and Liz shared–that’s it been over physically from the second she went back to Jason. But…she led him on, AJ. She let him believe there was a chance. And he fell in love with her all over again. Then she left him. I think…I think he’s still in love with her.”

“Have you said anything to him about this?” AJ asked.

Emily shook her head. “No. What if I’m wrong? You know and he leaves me because I’m stupid?”

“Emily, you are not stupid,” AJ said firmly. “I was around during that time–because Courtney and Liz were so close. I know how he felt about her–and it was a long time before he got over her. But I know that Lucky loves you–and I think you should sit down and talk to him about this. Get it into the open. He’ll never understand why you keep rejecting his proposal until he knows the whole story.”

Emily smiled. “When did you get so smart?”

AJ grinned. “Years and years of screwing up.”

Author Archives: Melissa

December 25, 2014

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December 24, 2014

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December 22, 2014

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