Written in 56 minutes. See you Monday!

“Lock this one up, too.”

When Jake had learned the truth about Drew’s identity and had to reconcile himself to building a relationship with another father, he’d been devastated. He’d cried himself to sleep, and though he’d eventually agreed to spend time with Jason by the time his birthday rolled around, his relationship with Drew had remained important to him. Until Drew’s plane went missing, and he’d been feared dead.

And now, standing in the middle of the PCPD, Drew might as well have been a stranger — an alien to them all, rather than the man who had celebrated Jake’s return from the Cassadines and begged Jake at that Nurse’s Ball to remember how much they loved him, to break him free of the control Helena had wielded from beyond the grave.

Lock this one up, too.

As if Drew weren’t speaking about two boys he’d loved and raised as his own for more than a year—

“Over my dead body,” Elizabeth snapped, striding forward to put herself between the irate politician and her son. Jason reached for her, trying to stop her before she could get far but she was too quick. But she didn’t direct her anger towards Drew, rather she stabbed a finger at Mac. “If you put those cuffs on my son, you will regret—”

“I don’t think threats are going to help—” Anna began.

“Just let Danny go!” Alexis said, standing next to Drew and Ric. “You don’t need to do this!”

“He tried to assault me!”

“Everyone shut up!” Mac barked. He released Jake. “No one is arresting anyone else tonight. Now everyone take a step back. Now,” he said when Elizabeth only lifted her chin in defiance.

“Get your hands off my son—” she began hotly but Jason took her by the shoulders and gently steered her to the side, away from Drew. She nearly shook him off, but saw the clench of his jaw and the vein in his forehead. He was as angry as she was — but the last thing anyone needed was her making a scene. Not when she was supposed to put herself in front of the judge in the morning.

“Give her a break, Mac,” Jason said flatly when the chief of detectives’ harsh gaze didn’t ease. “She just saw what did Drew to my son. He’s lucky he’s not laying flat with her shoe shoved down his throat.”

“Is that a threat?” Drew called but Ric whacked him in the chest.

“Shut up and stop making this worse,” the lawyer hissed. He focused on Mac. “My client is upset, of course. It’s been a terrible evening for all of us—”

“You’re not the fourteen-year-old kid in cuffs with a black eye!” Elizabeth retorted, but subsided when Jason touched her shoulder. She folded her arms. “Mac, let Jake go. He’s not going to touch anyone.”

“I might,” Jake grumbled, but Mac released him anyway and he went to stand with his parents. “Where’s Danny?”

“In the interrogation room with Molly. He’s all right,” Jason said, then looked at Mac and Anna. “I want to take my kids home. You’ve seen Danny’s face—”

“What did he do?” Jake interrupted, but Jason kept speaking.

“—there’s no judge in the family court system that will let these charges stand. We’ll take Danny home—”

“What home?” Drew sneered.  “You can’t be bothered to live with your own kid! How’s that going to look for the custody court?”

“Shut your client up before I turn my back and pretend to be deaf and blind,” Mac told Ric. He looked at Jason. “This is out of my hands. Believe me, no one here wants to press charges—”

“Which the mayor will hear about. The commissioner who won’t take a strong hand against assault, the chief of detectives bowing to a criminal—Hey, Elizabeth, how is threatening a congressman going to look when your probation is up for dismissal in a few months?”

She curled her fingers into a fist, her nails digging into her palm, but forced her tone to remain even. “I don’t know, Drew. How will your constituents feel when they find out you slugged a grieving child?”

“You hit him? You son of a bitch!” Jake shot forward, only stopped at the last minute when his father and Mac both went  after him, Jason wrapping both arms around him and lifting Jake away just before he reached Drew.

“I want him arrested! Throw them all in jail!” Drew hollered. Ric put his head in his hands.

“That’s it! I have had—” Mac growled, but the squad doors rolled open and Michael strode in with Willow hot on his heels, and for the first time, Elizabeth realized Aiden had come with Jake. He must have been waiting in the lobby, and slid through security with Michael and his wife.

“Oh, great, that’s just what I need,” the older man grumbled. “Sonny and Carly on their way?”

“No,” Michael said warily, looking around the room, bewildered when he realized Jason had Jake in a bear hold, the teenager still struggling to get free. “No, but we were at the house when Scout got home. She told us what happened.”

“Scout. Danny’s so worried about her. Is she all right?” Elizabeth wanted to know.

“Sobbing hysterically, but physically fine.” Michael looked at Drew. “She said you hit Danny. Is that true?”

“It was self-defense,” Drew said. “He attacked me, and I was forced to fend him off. I wasn’t trying to hurt him, but he’s out of control. Must run in the family,” he said, sliding Jake a dark look.

“Let me go, Dad. I won’t kill him,” Jake said, but Jason could feel the tension in his son’s body, the rage leaving him trembling slightly. He loosened his grip slightly, but didn’t release him all the way. He didn’t trust that Jake had the impulse control he’d need to hold it together. Not when it was taking Jason every ounce of his own to keep from shoving Drew against another wall and finishing this time.

“I’m not arresting anyone else tonight,” Mac repeated. “Unless you want to overule me,” he said, looking at his former sister-in-law.

Anna pressed her lips together, took a deep breath. “Let’s all take a moment to cool down. Drew, pressing charges against Danny might seem like a good idea right now—”

“Do I have to make a call and force your hand?” Drew asked, lifting his brows. “I was assaulted. I want justice. I have the right to press charges. Do it, or I’ll make sure you regret it.”

Then he stalked out of the room, passing Michael and Willow on his way out. Ric followed him, and after a moment, so did Alexis, likely hoping to continue begging him to change his mind.

“There are far too many people here right now,” Anna decided. She rubbed her hands together. “Anyone who isn’t Danny’s father or lawyer is going home. Including his brother and his mother,” she said pointedly to Jake and Elizabeth.

“I’m not going anywhere without seeing my brother,” Jake said, and then without even waiting for Anna to say anything, headed for the interrogation room. When she might have protested, Mac stopped her.

Jake yanked the door open, stared at Danny seated at the table, then looked back at his father. The mixture of fury and helplessness in his eyes mirrored what Jason felt. All he’d wanted to do was protect his son, and somehow that had put Danny at the PCPD with a black eye and facing assault charges.

Jason scrubbed a hand down his face, looked at Michael. “I’m glad you came down, even if it was just so we could find out about Scout. Can you—” He nodded at Aiden, standing near Willow. “Can you stay with Aiden until we’re done?”

“Yeah, of course. Whatever you need. I mean that. I’ll call everyone in the morning.” Michael fished his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll start now, actually.” He gestured for Aiden to head into the lobby, then left, not saying a word to Willow. She followed after a moment.

Aiden trailed after Michael until they reached the PCPD lobby and watched as the CEO scrolled through his phone contacts and began typing texts.

“Michael—maybe we should go home. We could drop Aiden off,” Willow suggested, smiling nervously at Aiden. “I’m worried about the kids, and about Scout—she’s going to be so confused when Drew gets home without Danny—”

“You think us being there is going to help anything?” Michael demanded, lifting his head to level a hostile gaze at his wife. It clearly unsettled Willow as much as it did Aiden, because she took a step back, bit her lip, and looked at Aiden again before focusing on Michael again.

“I think that we all need to calm down. Tonight has been difficult, but in the morning, when Drew’s had a minute to calm down, I know he’ll change his mind. He’s a good—” Willow jumped when Michael kicked a chair, sending it flying across the lobby, hitting the wall. Her face lost its color, and her eyes widened. “M-Michael—”

“After all this—after what you just saw—” Michael gestured towards the doors leading back to the squad room. Then he curled that hand into a fist he raised in the air. “After all this, you still think he’s a good man? What will it take for you to get it?”

“I think we’re all upset—”

“He wants put Danny in prison, Willow! He’s trying to put my cousin in jail! Do you not get it?” Michael demanded, taking a step towards his wife. “He’s been there, he knows what could happen there! Drew almost died there, and he damn well knows what happened to me!”

“All right, I know—” Willow raised both hands, trying to soothe him. “But it’s one night and Danny will be in juvenile detention—”

“One night? You don’t know that! No one knows that!”

“Michael—”

“What’s it  going to take for you to see what he is?” Michael demanded. He dragged a hand through his hair, turning away for a moment, forcing himself to think. He looked back. “He tried to drag Scout forcibly from the penthouse a few days ago, and ended up putting hands on Elizabeth. And then today, he actually drags Scout from Alexis, and she’s crying. Danny tries to stop him, and he hit him! He’s had him arrested! He tried to have Jake arrested!”

“Well, Jake was threatening—” Willow stopped when Michael growled. “Michael—”

“You won’t see him. You refuse to see him. Well, then fine.” He scrolled through his phone, then shoved it at her. “I tried to pretend I didn’t know, I tried to forget it, because I thought you’d get over it, but I can’t do this anymore. I can’t. Drew’s lost his damn mind, he’s hurting people I love, and I can’t do this anymore.”

Willow’s face paled as she looked at something on the phone, then raised stunned eyes to her husband’s. “You…you’ve had this all along? Sam—Sam died a month ago!”

Aiden frowned — he’d been following the argument well enough until now, but he was bewildered by this turn of events. What was on the phone—

“You think I’m the bad guy here, Willow? While his grieving daughter slept down the hall, when our kids could have come in at any moment, you were fucking my uncle next to the doll house and teddy bears.”

“Oh damn,” Aiden said. Willow looked over at  him, her cheeks flooding with flushed red. She dropped the phone, then ran out of the station, disappearing into the night.

Michael crouched down, picked up the phone, then stood. He looked at Aiden. “Tell Jason I had to go. He knows what—he knows what you just overheard. He’ll understand. Don’t leave the lobby.”

“Yeah, sure—” Aiden watched him go, then exhaled slowly. “What the hell just had happened?” he asked the empty room.

—

When Jason got back into the interrogation room, Jake was hugging Danny. “We’re going to get you out, okay? Dad won’t let you stay here.”

“Longer than a night,” Jason said, closing the door once Elizabeth had come in with him. He looked at Molly. “Drew won’t drop the charges.”

“I don’t understand. I just don’t—” Molly pressed her hands her to her face. “How can he thinks this will make him look good? How can he think any of this makes him look good?”

“I don’t know what happened to him in prison,” Elizabeth said. She folded her arms. “Maybe they broke something in him. He’s not the same man. He’s just—” She shuddered, took a deep breath. Looked at Jason. “We can’t leave Scout with him. Not this way. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself.”

“I need to talk to my mother again,” Molly said. “She has to see—she has to see how much you love Danny. And once she finds out that you and Elizabeth are getting married, I know it will help ease her mind so much—”

Jake snapped his head up, looked at them. “What was that? What is she talking about—”

Molly pressed a fist to her mouth. “Oh, no, I didn’t—I forgot you said—”

“It’s all right.” Elizabeth touched her arm. “It’s not a state secret. It’s just—” she looked at Jake. “And it’s not something we were keeping from you. It literally—it happened today. He put the ring on my finger and we got the call, Jake. I promise—”

“Yeah—I—” Jake looked at Danny, then looked back at his parents. “Yeah, I get that. I just—it’s kind all—” He released Danny, ran a hand through his head a bit nervously. “It’s just a lot.”

“Aunt Molly said it means that maybe they’ll let your mom take me home tomorrow. Since she has room for me.” Danny’s lips trembled. “I wanna go home now.” He looked at his father. “I don’t wanna stay here. Don’t make me stay here.”

“I don’t—” Jason came around the table, took Danny in his arms again. “I can’t stop it. I’m sorry. I’m doing everything I can, and I’ll—I’ll—”

“Should have let me get a punch in, and I could be in the cell with him,” Jake said. “Hey, it’s not too late. You think—”

“You’re not getting yourself sent to jail,” Elizabeth said, taking Jake by the arm. “That wouldn’t help anyone.”

“Maybe not, but I’d feel better,” Jake muttered.

“We’re going to get you out as soon as we can,” Molly said, coming to Danny’s side, stroking his back. She met Jason’s eyes, as resolute as her own, before looking back at her nephew. “I promise. One night.”

“Whatever we have to do, Danny. I won’t let it be longer than one night,” Jason promised. “I promise.”

+48

Written in 69 minutes. Went over, but I had a lot I wanted to get through in this part 😛

They could hear the voices even before Jason shoved open the double doors to the squad room. Mac Scorpio stood in the middle of the room, going to toe to toe with Drew, who held an ice pack to his cheek with one hand, and was wagging a finger at the chief of detectives.

Molly was standing next to Alexis, trying to break into the furious confrontation between Anna and her mother. Chase was at his desk, not participating in the circus, but clearly keeping track of the players. He saw Jason before the rest of them did, but before he could reach Jason and Elizabeth by the front desk, Anna abandoned Alexis and made a beeline for him.

“We have a problem,” she told him, throwing a glare at Drew. “Drew is insisting we press charges—”

“Charges—” Elizabeth broke in, coming around Jason’s side, her mouth set grimly as the man in question noticed them and started to stride forward. “I don’t understand—Danny’s only fourteen!”

“Old enough to know better,” Drew bit out. “But if this is the result of your influence on him—”

“I want to see my son,” Jason interrupted, ignoring Drew which was really the only way to avoid shoving the man’s teeth down his throat. “Now. Molly—have you talked to him?” he asked when his lawyer joined them.

“Not yet, I just got here, a little before you. I don’t even know what happened—and I don’t care to hear it from you,” she snapped at Drew who opened his mouth. “Get away from me. Right now.”

“Maybe you’d better come over here,” Chase said, taking Drew by the arm, steering him away. “Away from the, ah, angry people.”

“I want to see Danny,” Jason told Anna. “Right now. Where is he?”

“If you put my nephew in lock-up,” Molly began, but Anna scowled.

“Of course not. What do you take me for—”

“One of your officers slapped handcuffs on my fourteen-year-old grandson,” Alexis broke in, drawing Anna’s attention back to her. “After watching that lunatic manhandle a little girl, he arrested the child trying to protect his sister. So spare us the excuses—where is Danny?”

“He’s in the interrogation room,” Anna said. “I want to help, Alexis, but even you said Danny threw the first punch—”

“I can’t listen to you anymore. I’m calling the mayor.”

“You can see Danny now,” Anna told Jason, gesturing towards the interrogation room. When Elizabeth started to follow, Anna snaked out her hand. “Family only.” Elizabeth stopped, not wanting to argue, but Jason had no patience for this.

He brushed Anna’s hand from Elizabeth’s arm, then raised it so that the ring was visible. “She’s family. Now let me see my son.”

—

Jake tossed his jacket over the hook by the door, then headed into the kitchen where he could smell the tray of brownies his brother was pulling from the oven. “Mom’s recipe?”

“No, I made these from scratch.” Aiden dropped the tray on the warming rack. “I needed a distraction.” He made a face, looked at his brother. “My dad came by today. He’s leaving again.”

Jake took down two glasses and retrieved the carton of milk from the fridge. “Seriously? Just like that? I thought you said things were fine at Thanksgiving.”

“They were.” Aiden jerked a shoulder, waved a hand over the brownies as if that would cool them faster. “He didn’t want to talk about it. At least not to me. Now if you’d come—”

“I told you, it’s not about me,” Jake interrupted, and Aiden made a face. “It’s not. Lucky doesn’t give a crap about me. He just knows he can use me to hurt Mom, and piss my dad off. He doesn’t like me more than you.”

“I know.” But Aiden was staring down at the uncut brownies. “But maybe he sort of does. I mean, he raised you longer—”

“And he raised Cameron the longest. Cam actually remembers him which is more than you and I can say, right? And he doesn’t give a shit about him either. Aiden—” Jake waited for his brother to look up. “I’m sorry. I never should have said anything to you. I knew your history with Lucky was rough, and I know I made it worse—”

“I would have kept poking at you,” Aiden muttered, turning away to look for a knife to cut through the dessert. “Bugging you until you said something. It’s fine. My dad’s never been a factor in my life, why should now be different?”

“Because it should be.” Jake watched Aiden carefully slice through the brownies, measuring to create even slices. “But I’m sorry anyway.”

“How’d…” Aiden paused, considering what he wanted to say. “How’d you get past it? Your dad being gone?”

Jake picked up one of the brownies, wincing at the heat. He blew on it, tossing it from one hand to the other. “I don’t know if I’m really past it. Like, I still—it sucks. Knowing he chose to leave. I believe he thinks he had a good reason, but—” He made a face. “This is gonna be so mean, but I gotta tell you, part of the reason I think I can live with what my dad did is because…I see what your dad is doing.”

“Because my dad clearly doesn’t want to be here, can’t really explain why, and hasn’t been around at any point in my life?” Aiden asked, almost with a smirk. “And wasn’t exactly pounding down my door for forgiveness. Your dad at least looks sincere when he says he’s sorry.”

“Yeah. I guess that helps. And I was an asshole to him when I got home from Spain. He kind of took every hit, which he really didn’t.” Jake popped a piece of brownie in his mouth. “Really could have taken it personally. But he just kind of kept moving forward, like accepting that I wasn’t gonna get over it right away. The only time he ever got pissed at me was when I mouthed off to Mom. Which…fair. I…I was a real dick to her.”

“You didn’t mean to be—”

“I did. I’m just sorry I did. All of that—” Jake shook his head. “It’s still weird. Knowing everything I know. And all the things they’ll probably never tell me. But then I see what Danny’s going through, and I just— you know? It doesn’t seem that big anymore.” He frowned, looked around. “Hey. Where is Mom? I thought she was supposed to be home for dinner.”

“I don’t know, maybe she got called into a surgery or something—” Aiden picked up his phone, tapped a few screens. “She didn’t text, but she doesn’t always remember—oh.” He lifted his gaze to his brothers. “She’s at the PCPD.”

“The—” Jake sighed, wiped his hands on a towel. “All right. Give me a second to find the bus schedule.”

“Really? You want us to just show up at the police station? That feels like a bad idea,” Aiden said, even as he followed Jake into the living room. Jake was downloading the app onto his phone, and only half listening.

“If we wait for her to come home, we’ll never find out why she was there. We show up, we got a chance to find out what’s going on.”

—

He had already been struggling to keep his temper in check in the squad room, focusing on getting to see Danny, his irritation rising at every obstacle thrown in their way.

But now he realized Anna might have been stalling for a good reason — Danny was sitting at the table, his face red and swollen from crying — and a bright, puffy black eye forming, the bruise blooming down his right cheek.

Jason stopped still in the doorway, then whipped around to find Drew on the other side of the room, still talking to Drew. Before he could back over the threshold and act on the impulse to do similar damage, Elizabeth reached past him, and closed the door — shutting the squad room away.

“Oh my God,” Molly cried, rushing around the table and pulling Danny into a rough hug, before pulling back to frame his face. “I’m going to kill him—” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, stepped back. “We need pictures. Right now.”

Elizabeth picked up Molly’s bad from where she’d dropped it on the floor. “I’m going to get a first aid kit,” she told Jason, squeezing his arm. “I’ll be right back.”

Jason exhaled his first easy breath, turned his attention back to his son and went around the table to hug him. Danny had held up with Molly’s tearful hug, but he crumpled when Jason embraced him, his shoulders shaking. “I don’t know where he took her, I tried to stop him, but she was crying, and he wouldn’t let her go—”

“It’s okay.” Jason rubbed his back, met Molly’s eyes. “We’re going to take this one step at a time. First, Molly’s going to take some pictures, okay? We need to make sure we document this.”

Danny sniffled, then turned to his aunt, who’d found her phone and opened the camera app. “I know I hit him first, so I guess I’m guilty—”

“You’re a fourteen year old kid, Danny. He’s a former Navy SEAL and he’s three times your age,” Molly interrupted. She finished taking the photos, gripped it tightly in her grasp. “And he has my niece. Jason—”

Elizabeth returned then with a first aid kit. She gestured for Danny to take a seat back at the table and began to clean his cut. “Drew’s still out there demanding charges,” she told them. “Molly—tell me he can’t do this.”

Molly hesitated, grimaced. “If he’s insisting, and Danny…threw the first punch, the PCPD won’t have much choice. At least until we get in front of a court.” She pressed a first to her chest. “They might have to keep you overnight, Danny. You might be transferred to juvenile detention.”

—

“I don’t know why every meal in this house has to turn into a circus,” Tracy muttered, following behind Monica’s mechanized wheelchair. “I blame you.”

“I blame you—”

“Do they ever stop arguing?” Willow asked, joining Michael in the foyer with a smile. She held out a tumbler with a dark liquid. “I thought you’d need that after the third round between your aunt and grandmother.”

“Thanks,” Michael said, absently accepting the glass. He lifted it to his lips, but then looked over at opening of the door.

Scout ran through, her face flushed, breathing hard with pitched sobs. The nanny Drew had hired for her came after her, calling her name, but Scout kept running until she hit someone familiar—Brooklyn who crouched down and swept her into a tight hug.

“Hey, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Brooklyn asked. She looked over at the door, maybe expecting to see Drew. “Where’s your dad?”

“Where’s Drew?” Michael asked the nanny. He hesitated, knowing that Danny had been with Scout, too. “Where’s Danny?”

“Oh—” The nanny’s mouth trembled. “It was so awful, Mr. Corinthos. Mr. Quartermaine came to get Scout, but she didn’t want to go—”

“He-he m-made me,” Scout wailed. “And he hit Danny!”

“He—” Michael set the tumbler down with a thud, whipping around to look at the nanny. “Where’s Danny?”

“He’s been arrested. Mr. Quartermaine insisted.”

—

“Alexis—”

At the familiar sound of her ex-husband’s voice, Alexis whirled around, then stabbed a finger at Ric’s chest. “You,” she hissed with deep, utter loathing. “You tell that cretin paying your bills that he is going to release my grandson. Right now. Or I will make his life a living hell—”

“I see the mayor wasn’t returning phone calls,” Drew said, snidely, arriving at his lawyer’s side. “Ric, I think I have some paperwork for you to file on my daughter’s behalf.”

Ric looked back and forth between them. “I remind you both that we’re on the same side—”

“That remains to be seen. Ric, I need you to file an order preventing Danny from going back to the Quartermaines.” Drew gestured at his cheek. “Obviously I’m not safe there, and if he can do this to me, what could he do to his daughter?”

Alexis fisted her hands at her side. “Ric—”

“Drew, I think perhaps you’re a little shaken. Why don’t we all go home,” Ric said, “sleep on it, and if you want to press charges tomorrow, we can probably talk to the DA’s office, maybe some counseling for Danny—” He met Alexis’s eyes, lifted his brow. “He’s been through a lot, and a judge would make that—”

“It’s not the first time he’s threatened me, or put hands on my daughter. I expect you to do as I ask, Ric. Or I’ll find a lawyer who will.”

—

Molly paced the length of the interrogation room, trying to order all her thoughts, but every time she so much as looked away from Danny, she could see his face, the bruise, the black eye, the cut—”

“We’ll get you a real ice pack,” Elizabeth told Danny handing him the cold pack from the first aid kit. Danny winced when the chilled side hit his skin, then relaxed. He looked at his dad, standing by the door, as silent and still as stone.

“Dad? Can you find out how Scout is? She was scared and crying and—”

“I’ll make calls,” Elizabeth said, getting to her feet. She started to look through her purse. “Odds are the nanny took her to the Qs, and I can ask Michael what’s going on.”

“Molly, they won’t really let him press charges, will they?” Jason asked. He gestured at Danny who was still sniffling. “He’s a kid—”

“The cop filed a report,” Molly said almost apologetically, looking at her nephew. “You threw the first punch. And Drew, as much as we hate it, had the right to take his daughter from the house. By force,” she added when Danny opened his mouth. “When we get in front of a judge, I know he’ll understand, but the PCPD doesn’t have a lot of choices here. If Drew insists—and—the DA—” She looked at Jason, and he closed his eyes.

Danny was his son, so a DA wouldn’t care about much else. “Molly—”

“I’ll make all the calls I can, call in every favor,” Molly promised. “We’ll get a court date as soon as possible, but—” She bit her lip. “The judge might not release him back to the Qs. He doesn’t have a guardian there—and I don’t think my mother is the right place. I don’t—” Her face was pale. “She’ll use it against you in the custody battle. I don’t know if she’s ready to back down. Even now.”

“Jason has the house now,” Elizabeth said, tuning back into the conversation. “Michael’s not answering,” she added. “I’ll call again in a minute. But Jason has the house—” she looked at him. “That should be good enough.”

“No furniture. I can get that done tomorrow—” Jason said, looking at Molly. “But it’s not my legal address. Not yet. I don’t want to take any chances the judge will refuse.”

“I’m gonna stay in jail?” Danny asked, his voice teetering into panic. “I don’t want to be in jail—”

“We won’t let that happen—” Molly folded her arms tightly. She looked at Elizabeth. “I don’t have the space in my place, and you’re not related—”

“What about—” Jason grimaced, looked at Elizabeth. “I’m sorry. This isn’t—”

“What about a future stepmother,” Elizabeth asked, and Molly widened her eyes.

“A future what?” Danny demanded. “What does that mean?”

“It means we’re going to get you out of here tomorrow,” Molly told him firmly, and Danny closed his mouth. “That’s what matters, isn’t it? Elizabeth is Jake’s mother, which might be enough, but if you’re…if you’re engaged or planning—” She looked at Elizabeth’s hand. “It might be enough—”

“I’m sorry, Danny, this isn’t how we were going to tell you—” Jason began, but they heard more shouting and something fell — a voice that had both Jason and Elizabeth scrambling for the door, Molly and Danny hot on their heels.

When they had it open, they found Mac holding Jake back, a chair tipped over between him, and Ric with a hand on Drew’s chest, as if keeping the other man from striding forward.

“You son of a bitch! You had my brother arrested! What kind of man does that?” Jake demanded, struggling against Mac’s hold.

Drew shot Jason a smug look. “Like father, like sons.” He looked at Anna. “Lock this one up, too.”

+48

Written in 58 minutes.

Jason gestured towards the archway leading into another part of the house — a large open floor living room and kitchen space that was as empty as the foyer. “Uh, I didn’t really—there’s no where to sit—” He gestured at the stools by the counter that separated the kitchen from the rest of the space. “I guess that’s…”

Elizabeth set her purse on the counter, then looked at him, and it was almost a relief to see his own uncertainty reflected back at him. He knew Michael was right. He knew that the only way forward was a conversation, open and honest, about her suggestion, and what he wanted to do with it. And that usually wasn’t an issue for them—

Except when the topic of the conversation was their own feelings or their possible future. They did not have a great track record where that was concerned, and Jason was unsure how to stop them from repeating old mistakes.

No way to go but straight ahead, he thought. “I, uh, went to Alexis’s office. To talk to her alone.”

“Without Molly?” Elizabeth frowned. “Was…was that a good idea?”

“I know Alexis is representing herself, but I thought—” Jason paused, trying to think of the best to articulate his intentions. “I thought after this weekend, after what happened, Alexis might be willing to agree that I’m not the enemy. That she and I—we both love Danny and we can work together to figure out what’s best for him. She…was not willing to compromise.”

“Nothing except full custody?” Elizabeth asked. When he nodded, she folded her arms, looked at the floor. “Well, that’s not surprising. Alexis doesn’t back down easily. Not when she thinks she’s right.”

“No. And she’s not willing to consider anything that isn’t full custody of Danny and Scout. So we’re right back where we started.”

“Ah—” Elizabeth looked up, her arms still tightly crossed, but there was tension in the thin smile she offered. “So the visit to Alexis was trying to get out of what I suggested. And now I’m the last resort—”

He winced, held up one hand. “I know it might seem that way, but can you let—let me explain, okay? Before you—” When Elizabeth dropped her eyes, he clenched his jaw. “Please don’t do that.”

Startled, she lifted her gaze to his. “What? What did I do—”

“You decided what my intentions were before giving me a chance to explain, and now you’re already off and running. I can see you thinking, Elizabeth, and we’ve done this before. You’re jumping to conclusions, and if this—if this has a chance, we can’t do that. Okay? We have to—” He gripped the edge of the counter. “We have to be able to trust each other. We used to do be able to do that.”

“I—” The tightness eased from her expression, replaced by a flush of red rising in her cheeks. She bit hard on her bottom lip. “You’re right. You’re right. I do that. I—I think the worst, and I start preparing myself for it, and it’s not fair. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He stepped just a little closer, though they were still separated by almost a foot, and she lifted her chin higher so that she was still meeting his gaze. “Yes, I made an attempt to resolve this with Alexis because it would be better for Danny and Scout. But I also—” He looked down at his hand, focused on the edge of the counter that he still held because it was important that he find a way to explain this. Everything hinged on Elizabeth understanding why he’d done this.

“Also what?” she asked when he didn’t say anything.

He looked at her. “Because I didn’t want you to feel obligated.”

“Obligated—” she echoed, bewildered. “What?”

“Because I know—” He scratched the edge of his brow, shifted the weight of his body from one foot to the other. “I know we’ve been talking about what happened when Jake was born, and the regrets, and I know you carry a lot of guilt for how it got started, and I know that doesn’t change because I don’t blame you. You don’t think you deserve my forgiveness for that, and I haven’t been able to convince you otherwise. So, yeah, I guess I don’t want you to make a sacrifice because of you think you owe me something.”

Elizabeth exhaled slowly, looking away, her gaze focused on the bay window overlooking the street, the fading sunlight. “You think I’d be making a sacrifice,” she murmured finally. She brought her eyes back to his, and he was surprised by the slightly amusement he found there. “That marrying you would be a sacrifice. Something I should dread.”

“I—” Jason cleared his throat. “No, that’s not—I mean, yes. But—it would be. We’d—it’s not as simple as signing a certificate to make Alexis back down. A judge would expect us to—”

“To be married?” she finished, and he nodded. “Yeah, that was kind of the point of my suggestion. We’d have…figure out where to live, and how to tell the boys, and a lot of other things, but—I don’t know.” She chewed on her bottom. “I don’t see any of that as…a sacrifice. But…you do. And I don’t want that—”

“Wait—that’s not—”

“It’s the same, isn’t it? You’d have to give up something. I mean, you wanted to live with Jake and Danny—I don’t want you to feel obligated to me because you feel like I’m making a sacrifice. So I don’t know where—”

“I didn’t want you to marry me because you feel obligated,” Jason interrupted, and she closed her mouth, confused. “That’s not…that’s not why we should do this.”

Her lips parted and she crossed her arms again. “I don’t know if I’m hearing things, but…um, that almost sounds like…that sounds like you think we should.”

Relieved that for once, they seemed to be on the same page. He stepped closer again, leaving the distance between them only a matter of inches. “Yeah. I do.” Standing this close to her, he could see the pulse in her neck fluttering, her breathing was just a little faster.

“Oh.” Elizabeth licked her lips. “W-Why?”

He couldn’t stop himself, not this time. He just wanted to touch her, see if her skin was still as soft as he remembered. He cupped her neck, his thumb brushing over that racing pulse point, and her arms fell to her side.

“Because I haven’t been able to think about any thing else since you walked out yesterday,” he murmured, pulling her towards him, just close enough to feel her breath on his lips. How many times had he done that over the years, torturing himself just enough to see if she’d give in or pull away—

But this time was different. Her hands slid up his chest until they rested at his collarbone, and then she leaned in, brushing her mouth against his lightly, as if unsure of her welcome—

It was all the encouragement he’d needed, using his other arm to slide around her waist, pulling her against him hard, briefly trapping her hands against his chest, but she freed them, slid up, into his hair, the scrape of her nails sending sparks down his spine. He’d missed the way she’d touched him, the silky weight of her hair tumbling over his fingers, the soft curves of her body, and how they always fit against him perfectly—

She broke away from him, panting, clinging to him, then kissing him again, the nip of her teeth on his bottom lip. He pinched her butt lightly, and she laughed against his mouth, the curve of her smile intoxicating. He’d always been able to lose himself in the way she looked, smelled, the way she’d felt, and he’d had to put it away, to lock it up, and forget, the only way to survive losing her.

Jason lifted her slightly onto the nearby stool just so that he could part her denim clad legs. She wrapped her arms and legs around him like a vine, bringing the center of their heated bodies into contact—

He broke away—cupping her flushed cheeks in his hands, the glazed look in her beautiful eyes. “Is that a yes?” he murmured, before trailing lines of light kisses along her jaw, down to her neck, pressing his lips to her pulse, still racing.

Her fingers tightened in the fabric of his shirt, then slid down to his shoulders to push him away slightly, forcing him to lift his gaze to hers. “I thought I was the one asking this time. It’s my turn, isn’t it?”

“Well, if you want to get on your knees, I’m not complaining,” he said, and she threw her head back and laughed, long and full, her cheeks still flushed when she looked at him again.

“No, you never did.” Elizabeth stroked his cheek, her eyes soft. “Are we crazy? This feels crazy.”

“Maybe.” Reluctantly releasing her, he reached into his back pocket, and pulled out a black box. His fingers were almost trembling as he tried to flip it open. “It’s not—it’s not traditional—”

“Neither are we—” But her voice died when he turned the box around and she saw the ring with the emerald at the center, the gold twisted around it little emeralds laced through like leaves. “Emerald and Ruby. That’s…”

“Their birthstones—”

“You—” Her voice faltered and she lifted her shimmering eyes to him. “You included Aiden. Not just…Jake.”

“Yeah—I thought—I mean, it’s all of us, isn’t it?” he asked her, taking the ring from the box, setting that aside. “If we really want to make this work…I want you to be in Danny’s life. What you said yesterday—about what Alexis sees in you—she’s not wrong. You’re an amazing mother, and you’ve raised three incredible sons. I mean, it’s not just—I don’t just want you for Danny. I—” He forced himself to finish. “I want you for me, too, it’s just—”

“You’re a package deal.” Elizabeth’s smile was so brilliant he was almost blinded. “That’s—that’s—that’s what I want. All of us.” She held out her hand. “I didn’t even know how much until you….until right now.”

He slid the ring on her finger, and she wiggled them, the gems catching the light from above them. “It’s perfect.” She slid her arms around his neck, pulling him back against her. “I love it, and—”

She was cut short when a familiar, but unwelcome sound interrupted her.

His cell phone rang.

Jason shook his head. “I’m not answering—”

“You have to.” She took a deep breath, and when he didn’t reach for it, she slid her hand into his front pocket to retrieve it. She furrowed her brow. “It’s…I know that number. That’s Chase.”

“Chase?” he echoed. He took the phone from her, stepped back and answered. “Yeah?” His face tightened and he looked at her. “I’ll be right there. Tell him not to say a word.”

“What is it?” Elizabeth slid off the stool, already reaching for her purse. “Is it Michael or—”

“Danny.” Jason clenched his jaw. “He was arrested for assaulting Drew.”

You’ll never know how close I came to just ending this part with “And then the phone rang.” But I decided I did not want to be chased down with pitchforks. Toodles 😛

+46

Written in 59 minutes

At the knock on her office door, Alexis slowly rose to her feet. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to be here without your lawyer.”

“Maybe not.” Jason stepped across the threshold and closed the door, leaving it open a few inches. “But I’m here on my lawyer’s advice. In a way.” He paused. “I’ve been legally advised to take Danny home from your house, and move him into my full-time custody immediately. That leaving him with you and Scout may be used against me.” He lifted his brows. “Again.”

“Are you here to tell me that I shouldn’t expect my grandson to come home after school today?” Alexis asked coolly. “You could have left that message with my secretary—”

“I wanted to ask you about Scout.”

Alexis stopped, squinted. “What about her?”

“The reason Danny is with you is because what happened on Saturday. He wanted—needed—to be with his sister, and I didn’t want her anywhere near her father after what happened.”

Alexis sat back down, reached for her glasses, toyed with the ends. “I’m aware it was not a happy exchange—”

“Drew made it worse, and I don’t if he did it to be malicious or if he’s just that stupid. Maybe it’s both.” Jason rested his hands on the back of a chair. “He’d only sent over the proposal to sell the penthouse. Molly was preparing an injunction, and he had to know it was months away from happening. But he said it anyway. In front of his seven-year-old daughter. And when she was upstairs, in her room, sobbing into her mother’s sweater, he tried to forcibly remove her from the room. He ended up putting hands on Elizabeth instead when she tried to stop him.”

“And you put him against the wall. In front of your sons and my granddaughter—”

“Danny took Scout out of the room before that happened. Alexis—” He pressed his lips together, searching for patience, for the words to make this right. “I was never Drew’s biggest fan, I think that’s clear. I don’t know what happened to him while he was in captivity, and I know he did some time in prison—”

“I hardly think you’re one to talk about a criminal record—”

“You may not like me, and you may disapprove of the way I’ve lived my life, Alexis, but you have no record that I have ever put my hands on a child. Or a woman. Do you?”

She looked down at her desk, then met his gaze again. “No. You emotionally abused my daughter, and we both know you threatened to kill her. But you didn’t actually do it—”

“Your daughter stood by and watched my son get kidnapped, then hired men with guns to threaten Elizabeth and the boys in the park.”

“You forgave her—”

“We moved past it. If you want to hold that against me, that’s fine. That’s not why I’m here—”

“Then why are you here? We both know if you wanted to take your son away from me, you’d have done it—” Alexis leaned back, crossed her legs. “Tell me what you want.”

“If I thought—” Jason hesitated. “If I thought there was a chance that we could convince Drew to leave Scout in Port Charles while he goes to DC, if he’d leave her with you, then I’d be open to a compromise. Sharing custody of Danny—”

“The same terms as you had with Sam?” Alexis asked, leaning forward. “Because that’s the only agreement I’ll make—”

“Sam and I never had an opportunity to come to a new agreement, but if you mean what we had before I left, if you want weekends, we can—”

“No, I want you to have weekends. Maybe some holidays. If it was good enough for you then, and it’s clearly good enough for you with Jake, then I don’t see why this is any different.”

Jason clenched his jaw, biting back the words he really wanted to say. “I’ve already signed the papers for a property in town, Alexis. You know this. Jake is moving in at the end of next week, and Danny will be with me as soon as Drew takes Scout to DC. What Danny needs — what he deserves — is to be with his sister for as long as possible.”

“Because you don’t care enough to have them with you. We both know you and Elizabeth cooked up this custody of Jake scheme just to make yourself look better in the court. But it’s a lie, Jason.” She clasped her hands, looked at him coolly. “You’ve been coasting on being a full-time father for exactly one year, and that was decades ago. The only child you’ve ever shown any real interest in is the one you took from your brother. You let Sam do as she liked with Danny, and Elizabeth had free reign with Jake. It’s too late to pretend you’re anything than a part-time father. You want to do what’s best for Danny and Scout? You’ll leave them with me. Just the way things are now. That’s the only deal on the table.”

“I had a feeling you’d say that, but I had to try.” Jason went to the door, then looked back at her. “When Drew comes for Scout, and you and I both know he will, I’ll pick up Danny after that.”

“We’ll see.”

“I guess we will.”

—

Aiden swiped through a few recipes, hoping that some sort of inspiration or spark of interest would take a hold. He was used to shoving his frustrations into the work, kneading dough or hand mixing something until he was too tired to remember why he was angry in the first place.

But he just wasn’t interested in trying another sourdough starter or experimenting with macrons — he didn’t have the space for those anyway, he thought darkly, switching to Instagram.

There was a light, hesitant knock on the door, and Aiden barely looked up from his sprawling position on the sofa. “It’s open,” he said.

“Uh, hey.”

At the sound of his father’s voice, Aiden sat up warily. Lucky stood just inside the doorway, his hands in his the pockets of his coat. Remembering his mother’s words from the day before, he set his phone on the coffee table. “Hey.”

Lucky came in further, closed the door. “I…meant to call after Thanksgiving. It was good to have you there. Your grandmother likes when you visit.”

“Okay.” Aiden waited, because he knew what was coming. Had almost accepted it, he thought. And yet, he was bracing himself all the same.

“I, uh, had a chance to pick up a job. Escorting doctors into the Sudan. So—”

“So you’re going back to Africa.” Aiden nodded. “Okay. Good luck.” He reached for his phone, unlocked it, and made a show of scrolling through the apps, but his heart was pounding and his face felt hot.

“I really did think about staying this time, you know? I looked around for a job—”

“You don’t have to explain. I know you like your job. What you do. You like saving people.” Aiden shrugged, opened his email, stared at it blindly, not even seeing what was in the inbox. “No one here to save, right?”

Lucky didn’t say anything right away, but then he sighed. “I just…I don’t know what you really need me to do. Your mom—she’s got it all handed. You know? And there are so many people—”

“I used to wonder if it was me,” Aiden said, surprising himself. He still didn’t look at his father. But Lucky fell silent anyway. “I used to think maybe you knew that I was gay, and that’s why you stayed away. I mean, everyone knew, right? But you being back—” He finally looked at Lucky, met the older man’s gaze. “I was able to let  that go. You didn’t care that I was gay—”

“I don’t—”

“Because you don’t really care at all. About me. You never have. I get that now, and I forgive myself for ever wishing you would.” He got to his feet. “Thanks for at least have the decency to say goodbye, but there’s no point. You and I don’t have anything except DNA.”

“Aiden, let’s just—” Lucky took a step forward, stopping when Aiden held up a hand.

“Charlotte used to bully me, did you know that? Charlotte, your niece? She’s okay now, but when we were kids, she was a real brat, and she used to tease me that my dad didn’t love me the way hers did. Because her dad gave her a name. He was proud enough to claim her. Charlotte Cassadine. Like that was something special.”

“Your mother—”

“We all have Mom’s name, and I like it that way. Even Jake who has a dad who gives a damn. We have Mom’s name because she’s here. Not because she has to be. But she wants to be. You don’t. And you never did. I forgive you for that.” He leaned down, scooped up his phone. “You can go now, and worry about the people who need you. No one here does.”

And then he went upstairs.

His father didn’t try to follow.

—

Twenty four hours. Twenty four hours since her hasty run out of Jason’s office at the warehouse, and it had been radio silence.

Elizabeth stared blindly at the computer screen, updating the nursing schedule yet again, trying to figure out how to cover shifts without taking on more herself.

Jason hadn’t called. Hadn’t contacted her in anyway.

Maybe he was really thinking about it, she thought. Or maybe he was so appalled at the suggestion—

Stop it, now you’re just being an idiot.

She made a face, then sent the document to the printer that sat on a shelf beneath the screen, jerking the paper free as soon as she could.

“Bad day?”

Elizabeth looked over, saw Willow stepping up into the nurse’s station. “Trying to deal with this schedule. We’re still short two nurses, and I can’t work the doubles I used to. Not as the head nurse—”

“I can pull some extra shifts if you tell me when you’re needed.” Willow smiled, but it felt slightly forced. “I’m so grateful to be back, so just let me know and I can make sure to be available.”

Trying to stay out of the Quartermaine house and away from Drew? Elizabeth forced the thought away, hoping her reaction didn’t show in her face. She turned away, reaching for a pen. “Great. Thanks. I’ll get you the times, and you let me know what you can take.”

“No problem. Um…you had your deposition, right? For…Jason?” Willow asked, and Elizabeth looked up. “How did it go?”

Elizabeth furrowed her brow. “Fine, I guess. They’re not fun. Why?”

“Oh. I—I agreed to do one for Drew. You know, since we worked together for a while and we, um, got to know each other.” Her cheeks turned red and she dropped her eyes. “I was just wondering how they were.”

“Not a walk in the park, but you’ll survive.” Elizabeth paused. “You’re still willing to do that, even after Saturday?”

“Saturday—” Willow looked at her with wide eyes. “What do you mean?”

“What do—you live in the same house, how can you not know? Danny and Scout are with Alexis because Scout was so upset at the way Drew acted when they went to pack some things. He told her they were selling the place. He tried to drag her out of the room—”

“That’s—” Willow bit her lip. “That’s…I’m sure there’s some misunderstanding—”

“I was there, Willow. There’s no misunderstanding. Look, if you want to take a chance on Drew—” She waited for the younger woman to look at her. “If you want to tie your name to his…through this deposition, I can’t stop you. But I’d think about how much I really know that man. I’ve know him a decade, and I was scared what he might have done if Jason weren’t there.”

“Jason probably made everything worse. He wasn’t supposed to be there—”

“He—” Elizabeth closed her mouth. “You do what you want, Willow. Just think about what you’re risking.” Her phone buzzed, and she plucked it out of her pocket, sucking in a breath when she saw Jason’s name on the notification screen.

Can we talk?

—

Alexis set her briefcase on the floor, smiling when she saw her grandchildren on the sofa, Scout’s head bent over her homework and Danny explaining a math problem to her. This was exactly how it should be, she told herself. And it would be, just as soon as she won her battle in court.

Jason had already blinked, even if he didn’t realize it, and Alexis knew the key to getting him on her side was focusing on the bond between Scout and Danny, and their need to be together. And he’d given her ammunition against Drew—

No, as soon as she could get Jason to fall in line, they could focus on the real obstacle.

“Hey,” she said, approaching the duo. She stroked Scout’s hair. “How do you feel about some take out for dinner? I can order from the Grille.”

“Yeah, okay,” Danny said. He got to his feet. “Can I help you find the menu?”

She furrowed her brow, then gestured towards the kitchen where she kept the menus. Once inside, she turned to her grandson. “I imagine that you’re not really looking to help pick out dinner.”

“No, whatever you want is fine.” Danny slid his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “Um, I was wondering when we were going home. I mean, back to the Qs.”

Alexis froze, her hand partially in the takeout menu drawer. She looked at him. “Well, what if you didn’t go back?”

Danny hesitated. “Grandma, I know you and Dad are fighting about me where me and Scout should end up, but Dad only let me come here because of Scout.”

“Because he knows you belong with your sister. He said so today. That’s all I want, honey. To keep you together.”

“But Drew isn’t gonna let that happen. He said so, and Dad doesn’t think he’ll back down. He says he wants me to live with him. He got us place, Grandma. For Jake, too. I can’t stay here.”

“But—” The doorbell interrupted her, and she sighed. “Hold on to that thought. We’ll talk once I get rid of whoever is out there.”

But when she pulled open the door, she found Drew on her doorstep. Along with a uniformed police officer.

“Alexis. I’m done playing nice.” He waited for a beat. “Either you get Scout here right now or this officer will arrest you for kidnapping.”

—

Her stomach was swirling and knotting all at the same time as she climbed the short set of stairs of the house Jason had recently purchased. She hadn’t really thought about that when she’d made her crazy proposal, but when he’d texted her the address as a place to meet —

Jason had obviously been waiting for her, and had the door open before she could even knock. His expression, as always, didn’t leave her much to room to guess, but she was hoping it was nerves she saw in his eyes — or maybe it was just the reflection of her own feelings.

“Um, hey…” she followed him into the entry hall, her voice and steps echoing into the empty space. “I…I guess since you’re asking me to meet here, I have my answer. It’s okay, it was a crazy idea anyway—”

“I don’t have an answer yet,” he said, and she closed her mouth on a gulp. He took a deep breath. “I just didn’t want us to be interrupted.”

“Oh.” She nodded, swallowed hard. “Okay. So…let’s talk.”

I actually feel really bad for leaving it there, so I’ll try to update tomorrow or this weeked 🙂

+40

Written in 63 minutes.

She had obviously not planned to blurt it out that way. Will you marry me? Everything inside of her was cringing, the heat crawling up her neck, into her cheeks.

Jason actually took a step back, his brows lifting almost meeting his hairline, his hands raised slightly in front of him. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

“I said we should get married, but don’t say no—” she said, the words falling out in a rush, jumbled and almost breathless. “Just let me explain—”

“I wasn’t going to—” he said at the same time, and they both stopped at the same time. Had all the air been sucked out of the room, she wondered? Why was it so hard to draw a full breath?

“I know it’s insane and completely out of nowhere, okay, but it’s a good plan.” Elizabeth snatched her purse up from where it had dropped next to the chair. “It makes it impossible for Alexis to use me against you, and it might give us more time to figure out the other problem. So don’t say no just yet, just—” She reached for the door. “Think about it, okay?”

“Wait, let’s talk—”

“I have a shift, sorry. I’ll call you or you call me or—whatever works.” She smiled brightly, sure her cheeks were flaming red, then jerked the door open and rushed out of the office,  closing the door behind her because he could follow.

—

Not far away from the warehouse, Molly stood in line at Kelly’s, still going over the deposition in her head. She’d thought it went all right, all things considered, but she could mostly understand why Elizabeth had been rattled.

At some point, probably around the child support question, Elizabeth had realized what Alexis planned to do — Molly hoped her mother hadn’t noticed that Elizabeth had started evading questions more after that point, but it was unlikely. Not only had Elizabeth’s direct answers shifted, but her entire body had tightened, her shoulders stiff, her hands fisted in her lap. But she hadn’t lost control and had finished the deposition, so whatever Elizabeth had been afraid of, it hadn’t happened.

Had it?

The person in front of her moved, and it was her turn to order. “Molly. Hey.” Joss Jacks flashed a friendly smile, with her order pad out. “To go?”

“Yeah, just a coffee.” Molly folded her arms. “Um, how are you?”

“I’m good, but—” Joss poured the hot liquid into the to-go cup. “I heard you took a leave from the DA’s office. Dex,” she added when Molly looked quizzical. “And Mom said you were on Jason’s case. I just—if you need anything. Like a character witness, you know? Jason’s been an honorary uncle—” Her mouth tightened. “More like a father figure, I guess. He’s been around more than my actual father. But seriously. Just say the word.” She set the coffee on the counter.

“I appreciate that.” Molly hesitated, didn’t pick up her order. “You used to be really close to Cameron, right? You were dating for a while.”

“Yeah, a little over a year.” Joss tipped her head. “Why? You think he could help? He totally would. Jason rescued him when Cyrus kidnapped him and Trina that one time—”

“Oh. I think I knew that at some point, but—no, I guess I was wondering if you were close to his family. His mother and brothers.”

“Oh for sure, Cam and I go way back. Our moms pretty much always hated each other, but that comes and goes. But Cam’s mom is the best. She’d be a great person to testify for Jason.”

“No, I know that—” Molly made a face. “Never mind—”

“Wait.”

Molly turned back, raised a brow. “Yeah?”

Joss glanced around, then leaned in, lowering her voice. “Obviously, I’m not saying anything or whatever, but I overheard my mom and Sonny arguing about this, and Mom’s worried Alexis is going to talk about Jason working for Sonny. And, like, that being the reason he wasn’t around Jake much. I mean, you know about Jason—” She winced. “I mean, you don’t know. But you know the rumors.”

“I do. That was a factor in why Jason wasn’t around Jake when he was younger?” Molly asked.

“Oh, yeah. I mean, I can’t tell you how much of one it was, because Cam never knew. But we used to talk about it sometimes, especially after Jason came back and we found out about Drew.” Joss shrugged. “The way Cam heard it, any chance of Jason stepping in and kicking Lucky Spencer out was over after Michael got shot. And he sort of remembers Jason being around a lot until he was five or six, and then completely gone until after the accident.” She paused. “None of that should matter when it comes to Danny, though. Should it?”

“Probably not. But it never hurts to think of all the angles. Thanks, Joss.”

Molly stepped away from the counter, her coffee in hand. That might explain Elizabeth’s nerves, she thought. If they’d agreed to keep Jason’s paternity quiet because of his work with Sonny, that would certainly be an area Elizabeth might want to avoid in deposition. But why would they be so nervous about it? Kristina was Sonny’s daughter — surely, her mother wasn’t going to bring that up in court.

But she also wouldn’t have believed her mother would draw up custody papers against TJ. Molly bit her lip, then headed for the parking lot. She had a lot of thinking to do — and maybe Elizabeth had been right to look rattled today.

She couldn’t let her mother win. Just couldn’t.

—

“This is a late shift for you,” Lucas said, stepping up behind Elizabeth into the nurse’s station. When Elizabeth jolted at the sound of his voice, he held up his hands. “Sorry, I thought you heard me come up.”

“I was distracted.” And staring at the same work schedule for the better part of ten minutes. Elizabeth blew out a breath, then looked at him. “I’m sorry, did you say something?”

“You had the deposition today, didn’t you?” Lucas asked, digging through a pile of charts. “I still can’t believe Alexis is doing this, even knowing what Sam’s will said.”

Elizabeth sighed, returned her attention to the schedule. “Alexis has always thought she knew best. If Sam wanted the kids to stay together, she’d have said so, right? I mean, it’s not easy when you have kids with different fathers, I know that.”

“I won’t claim to know what my sister was thinking, but I’m almost sure she’d hate to see what’s happened. Molly going against her mother, the kids in the middle.” Lucas grimaced, made a note in a chart. “Can I ask a ridiculous question? One that’s none of my business?”

“You can ask. I might not answer.”

“Fair enough.” He popped the pen back into his lab coat. “How did you have it? In your will. I know Cam’s an adult now, and Jake nearly is. But you must have worried.”

“Um, for a long time, it was my grandmother. I wanted the boys to stay together, and there wasn’t a lot of arguments. Cam doesn’t have any one else, and Lucky wasn’t going to argue with me. Maybe Laura might have wanted Aiden, but it was Gram who’s been their number one. But…when Jason came home all those years ago, back when we found out about Drew?” she asked. “I changed it. Jason had missed so much time with Jake, that I couldn’t stand thinking of him missing more, and I knew Gram might not make it easy on him.”

“So you were willing to separate them, then?”

“Yeah. I was. It wasn’t easy, but I also knew Jason would make sure Jake was around his brothers.” Elizabeth shrugged, tapped a few keys. “And if anything happened to Gram, he would have taken Aiden and Cam. There really wasn’t any question for me.” She looked at him. “Why?”

“Just thinking, I guess. The way kids get treated like objects sometimes.” Lucas leaned against the counter. “My parents got divorced when I was a kid, and it was bitter for a couple of years. Then…with Wiley, it was…I know it was the right choice. To give him back to Michael. Not to fight it, especially knowing Brad and I were done. But man, sometimes—” He exhaled slowly. “Anyway. It sucks for Danny and Scout. Being separated, and now being dragged into court. I wish Alexis weren’t doing this.”

“Well, she might be the best place for Scout, but Danny belongs with Jason.” Elizabeth logged out of the workstation, turned to him. “Alexis will see that. I won’t give up until she does.”

—

Michael slid into the booth across from Jason, a bottle of beer already in his hand. “Hey. I’m glad you called.”

“I didn’t interrupt anything, did I? It’s late—”

Michael waved it away, then took a swig form the bottle. “One of the good things about having young kids — they’re both in bed at nine, and I—” He grimaced. “For obvious reasons, I don’t really want to be alone with my wife right now. Better to go back when she’s asleep.”

“Michael—”

“Don’t want to talk about it tonight,” he interrupted. “Like I said, I’m glad you called. I didn’t think Jake would say anything to you—”

“Jake?” Jason frowned, shook his head. “Uh, no. Why? What’s wrong? Michael,” he said when the younger man made a face, looked away. “What’s going on?”

“Drew cornered Jake in the parking garage the other day,” Michael said, and Jason tensed. “He doesn’t know that I know, or that Jake’s already told us about Scout. Wanted to make a deal — Jake shuts up about what he knows, and Drew doesn’t help Alexis in the case—”

“Tell him to go to hell, I don’t care who he testifies for. Why didn’t Jake—”

“He thought you might rearrange Drew’s facial features again.” Michael lifted his brows. “Was he wrong?”

Jason grimaced, looked away. “No,” he muttered. “But one day—”

“Yeah, well, we’ll leave that plan in the drafts for now. If it’s not about Jake, what’s up? You said it was important.”

Jason hesitated. Now that he was in front of Michael, he wasn’t sure how to have this conversation. How to even describe the conversation with Elizabeth in his office — or why he couldn’t simply tell her yes or no. Why he didn’t know the answer.

“Was it the deposition? I know Elizabeth was scheduled to go today. She was worried, but I know she’d never do anything to hurt your case—”

“It wouldn’t be her fault.” Jason shifted slightly. “For one thing, Elizabeth is worried Alexis is going to dig into why I didn’t claim Jake those first four years. Sam left me over the job, and kept Danny from me as much as she could, even when I got home, so Alexis already knows that much. With Elizabeth…”

“You made that decision after I got shot,” Michael said, and Jason nodded, a bit reluctantly. “Well, Alexis can dig into it if she wants, but at the end of the day, she’s a Cassadine. Whose family kidnapped Jake. And you. And Drew. Throw that in her face.”

“Yeah, that could work. Except there are no Cassadines left. Helena is dead, and so is that Victor guy. Valentin’s on the run, I guess, but no one’s said he’s dangerous.”

“While my dad is probably still under investigation for what happened last summer.” Michael stared down at the table, took a deep breath, then looked up again. “That’s a problem, I guess. But it would be a lot of rumors and unsubstantiated cases. Is that what worries you?”

“Enough to know it’s not a small problem. The thing is—Elizabeth’s deposition—she got the idea that Alexis is gonna try to make it seem like she’s the reason Jake is who he is. And that I did nothing to contribute.”

“And Elizabeth shut her down, right? I know she did,” Michael said immediately. “She can try it, but it’s bullshit.” When Jason didn’t respond, Michael scowled. “It’s bullshit, Jase,” he repeated. “And you need to get in your head before you testify and make that face like she’s right.”

“That’s—we can deal with that some other time—”

“Damn it—”

“Elizabeth thinks — and Molly agreed — Alexis plans to use her as evidence I can’t be a full-time father, that I’ve barely been a part-time father. She has…she has a plan to make Alexis drop that entire line of questioning. And maybe even drop the whole case.”

Michael tipped his head. “Does she have a plan the way my mom has plans, or is it an actual plan?”

Jason closed his mouth, considered the question. “I think there’s a strong possibility it’s both. It has elements of a plan, but it’s—that’s not—it’s not something I think I can do.”

“What? We get rid of Alexis? No, Elizabeth wouldn’t say that. Mom would, but not—” Michael squinted. “Short of murder, Jason, I can’t think of anything you can’t do.”

“She said—” Oh, man he couldn’t even say it. He picked up his beer, took a long pull, then looked at Michael. “We should get married.”

Michael didn’t respond right away, then frowned. “That’s it? That’s the plan?”

“That’s it.”

“Oh.” He leaned back, rubbed his chin. “You made me think it was—I mean, it’s not a perfect solution, but I kind of see the point. Alexis thinks Elizabeth is so amazing, that everything about Jake is all about her, well then she should be happy Danny will have such a great stepmom there to support you. You get the right sexist judge who still thinks moms do most of the work—” Michael stopped, leaned forward. “But you told her no?”

“She wouldn’t let me—no, I haven’t yet.”

“Yet. So you’re going to say no.”

“I don’t—” Jason picked up the beer again, shook his head.

Michael was quiet for a long beat, then folded his arms on the table. “I know first hand that getting married for a custody battle doesn’t always work long-term. Willow and I had…there was good in there, and Amelia—I wouldn’t change her for the world. But all things considered, it probably wasn’t the best choice. That being said, Willow and I barely knew each other back then. You and Liz? You guys have known each other my whole life. You know her. You can trust her to do this, and to be amazing with Danny—”

“That’s—” Jason looked away, struggling to put his order his thoughts. “Of course she would. That’s not the problem. I’d trust Elizabeth with my life. And my son.”

“Just not your name,” Michael said, and Jason winced. “I mean, I guess you’ve got the problem of an exit strategy. Danny’s, what, like fourteen? Four years he’s off to college, but there’s no chance Alexis comes back if she loses on this round. So how do you do that? You guys set a end date? Like we divorce in year two, year three?”

“That’s…” Jason shifted again. “That’s part of it.”

“Or,” Michael said, drawing out the word until Jason looked at him. “You don’t divorce at all. Is that the problem? It’s not that you don’t want to marry her. You don’t want to marry her like this.”

“I—” Hearing it put so starkly startled him, and he didn’t have a response right away. “Yeah. I guess—we’ve been talking a lot about when Jake was younger. That we…I know we both regret the way we handled things. Letting fear get in the way.” They’d had that conversation on Thanksgiving in the car, and he hadn’t quite been able to forget it.

“We would have had more kids.”

“Oh, probably. How many?”

“How many did you want?”

“Oh, dozens. To start with. You?”

“Whatever made you happy.”

“I’m not going to tell you that this the universe kicking at you, putting another chance in front of you. That’s not how the world works,” Michael said, and Jason looked at him. “And I know I don’t know everything about you and Liz, beyond the fact that you’ve always been close. I obviously knew you guys were a thing because Jake exists, but I never really asked you beyond that. Elizabeth is opening a door to a future you wanted once. Maybe she’s really only doing it because of the custody. But maybe she’s doing it because she’s having those regrets, right? Maybe there’s a reason it’s something she offers.”

“Maybe.”

“Because if you knew the answer no, Jase, you’d have told her that already. So talk to her. What does she want? Is she thinking one year and out, or maybe—” Michael shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe she’s not. But you won’t know until you talk to her.”

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