Written in 54 minutes.

Elizabeth switched off the kitchen faucet, dried her hands, and reached for her phone, scrolling through the notification that had caught her attention. She grimaced at Lucky’s tersely worded call me we have a problem and debated ignoring him entirely.

While still making that decision, she heard the thud of footsteps on the carpeted steps, and looked towards the threshold of the kitchen, realizing it was more than one set. She’d tried very hard not to think about the conversation happening upstairs, knowing this needed to be Jason’s conversation to control, but it hadn’t been easy.

Elizabeth tossed her phone aside when Jake and Jason stepped into view, Jason hanging back behind their son a step or two, though she wondered if he realized how they’d mirrored their stances. The resemblance between them had only grown as Jake had matured, his features chiseling, the angles on his face sharpening until. They were both dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, Jason’s shoved above his elbows. Both had their hands tucked into the pockets, legs set apart.

Jake took a deep breath and slowly raised his gaze until it met his mother’s. “Uh, I guess you know why Dad came over.”

She stepped from behind the island, folded her arms because she didn’t know what else to do with them. “I do.”

Jake opened his mouth, closed it, made a face, then tried again. “Did…did you call him because of what I said?”

Elizabeth furrowed her brows, tilted her head. “What?”

“About…about not wanting to be here. Do…” He let out a rush of breath. “Do you want me to live with Dad because I called you a liar? A-and that I didn’t want to be anywhere near you?”

Behind him, Jason scowled but remained silent, and Elizabeth sighed, rubbed her temple. “I called him because I knew he wanted to talk to you about living with him, and with Danny, and well, you don’t seem very happy here right now. But if you’re asking me if I don’t want you here — if I called him to get rid of you, the answer is no.”

“Oh.” Jake pressed his lips together. “I know I should say I’m sorry. And I guess I am. But it’s…I don’t know how to make it not true.” His eyes glittered with resentment. “You are a liar.”

“Jake—” Jason stepped forward, but Elizabeth held up a hand to stop him.

“That situation exists with or without the question your father asked you. You need space and having me around right now isn’t making it easier, so that’s a bonus. But that’s not why your father asked you or why I agreed.”

“Don’t tell me you care about Danny,” Jake said with a roll of his eyes. “You wanted me to abandon him and go back to Spain, okay—”

“That’s not—” Elizabeth stopped, shook her head. “There’s no point in having this conversation with you. Everything I say just makes it all worse, so do whatever you want.” She turned away, scooped up her phone, and replied to Lucky’s message. We have nothing to talk about.

—

When her father had suggested Kristina take over Charlie’s pub, and return to running the bar, she’d agreed without hesitation. Something else to think about. To fill her hours, her head, and maybe eventually, her body would forget what it felt like to be pregnant, to carry a life, to—

Her sister dropped a phone on the bar and slid onto the stool, but nothing about the look in her dark eyes suggested Molly was in a good mood. “You left a message for me to come by. You said we needed to talk.”

Kristina nodded, reaching for a wine glass and setting it in front of Molly. “Yes. Yes. I know—I know we’re not—we’re not handling anything of right. You and me. Since I woke up in the hospital—”

“Since before that. Since I found those papers,” Molly said flatly. “When it was clear you were making plans to cut me and TJ out of Irene’s life.

Irene. What a horrid name for a little girl. Just more proof that Molly wouldn’t have been the mother her precious angel needed, but Kristina swallowed that. She was the big sister now, the oldest who had to take charge. Sam was gone, and there was no one else to stop Molly from screwing up her life.

“We’re not going to agree on what I wanted. You have your perspective, and it’s not changing,” she said carefully. “I want you to think about what you’re doing to Mom—” She poured her sister’s favorite white wine into the glass. “It’s been awful for her, what happened to me and—and the baby. And then those charges, and the—”

“Charges she wouldn’t have to deal with if you hadn’t stolen your father’s gun,” Molly interrupted, and Kristina nearly snarled in response, but swallowed it.

Big sister. Have to make her see reason.

“Losing Sam dropped the bottom out of her world—”

“And she’s the only one?” Molly asked, ignoring the glass Kristina slid towards her. “No one else is living with the Sam-shaped hole in our lives? Me? Danny? Scout?”

“She’s doing her best—what’s best for Danny and Scout. Can you see Drew and Jason actually being fathers?” Kristina snorted, turning away and not seeing the fury flash across Molly’s face. By the time she turned back, Molly had organized her features back into neutrality.

“Yes. I can. Drew was amazing before the Cassadines kidnapped him. And he’s done his best since he came home from prison. And Jason rebuilt a relationship with Danny. I know he’s working on it with Jake. He’s done that before — after the Cassadines kidnapped him, too. Both of them have had years stolen from them, Kristina. By Mom’s family. By our blood. And you want me to step back and forget everything Jason and Drew have done for us?”

“You’ve always had a hero worship,” Kristina said scornfully. “You think you’ve come so far from the silly girl who wrote romance novels—”

“I think that Jason and Sam nearly died to save you from the mess you got yourself into with Shiloh. Sam sacrificed her freedom for you.” Molly slid off the stool, her lips pressed together. “They lost time with their kids because of you. For you. Sam’s dead. She wanted her kids with their fathers. What right do you or Mom have to break her wishes? To say she was wrong? To steal more time from Jason or Drew? Haven’t you stolen enough from all of us?”

Kristina gripped the wine bottle more tightly. “There’s no talking sense into you. You’re going to break Mom’s heart and you’ll lose any way. Mom knows what she’s doing.”

“Mom hasn’t practiced law in years. I have a solid case, and I have right on my side. Legal and moral.” Molly lifted her brows. “Don’t worry, Krissy. Pretty soon you’ll have Mom all to yourself.”

Kristina scowled, watching her go. “Ungrateful brat,” she muttered, moving down the bar to refill another drink, hesitating when she recognized Lucky Spencer. “Oh. I didn’t know you were here. Did you want another one?” She asked, gesturing at the empty bottle.

Lucky shoved his phone down, then looked at her. “Yeah, might as well. Not like I’m going anywhere.” He picked the phone up again, flicked at the screen. “It’s probably not a good idea to tell someone to call you or you’re going to show up on their doorstep anyway, is it?”

“Depends on who it is.” Kristina tipped her head. “Who’s avoiding you?”

Lucky’s lips tightened into a thin line. “Elizabeth. She started a huge mess and now she won’t help me clean it up. Well, she’s gonna regret it when I tell Aiden just what she did—” He exhaled in a low breath. “Except I can’t. Jason will put me six feet under if I even bother.”

Kristina stopped half-listening, and focused. “Wait. What’s that about Jason?”

—

Why couldn’t he ever say what he wanted to say? Why did the wrong words always exit his mouth?  All his mother was trying to do was help and be nice about the asshole things Jake had said, and what had Jake done?

Made it worse.

And he really didn’t want to turn around and see the look on his dad’s face who had made it pretty damn clear if he kept his mouth going around his mom, he was gonna regret it.

“That wasn’t a fair thing to say,” Jake mumbled, and Elizabeth looked up, her brows lifted. “About you…not caring about Danny. I know it’s not right. I know you do. You didn’t like his mom much, but you made it work. You both did so that me and Danny could be together.”

“Sam and I love our boys more than we ever hated each other,” Elizabeth said softly. “I was upset when you came home the way you did. You didn’t talk to us, didn’t run it past us. Especially when your father spent a lot of money on tuition and board—”

“I don’t care about any of that,” Jason started, but Elizabeth gave him that look again, and his father stopped talking. She was good at that, Jake realized, and again, he wondered at their relationship, at the truths his father had shared with him.

“But I will regret for the rest of my life that I was too scared to hold on to you. That we lost all those years.”

Did his dad regret that he hadn’t held on to his mom, too? Was she part of that we?

“I know you don’t, Jason, but money doesn’t grow on trees. And we don’t throw it around like it doesn’t matter. Maybe you can pause your attendance, but that’s a year of tuition wasted, Jake. Without a conversation. Without consideration. I didn’t raise you that way.”

Heat crawled up Jake’s neck. “I didn’t—I didn’t think about it. I just—” He looked at his dad, who had no reaction. Money really didn’t matter to Jason, Jake thought, but maybe because he’d always had it. But he knew his mother hadn’t. That if Cam hadn’t had scholarships to Stanford, things would have been harder. That if his dad hadn’t stepped forward, his mother would have taken out loans that Jake would be paying back for years. And there’d been times when money had been tight, he remembered. Especially when his dad had been gone, and her hours had been cut at the hospital.

“I’m sorry. I should have talked to you guys. I don’t know if any of that can be fixed now. I didn’t think about any of it. I just—” His eyes blurred. “I remembered when you got sick last summer, Mom, and we had to go stay with Grandma Laura. When she didn’t have enough room for us and Ace and Esme. Grandma Monica wanted me to come stay with her, and maybe you wouldn’t get better. Maybe we would have been separated.”

Elizabeth’s lips parted. “I didn’t know about any of that.”

“You were sick?” Jason asked. “What happened?”

“Later,” she said, almost absently. “It’s too much to—it’s too much right now. Jake—”

“Danny’s doing that now, only it’s worse. Me and Aiden, we were—we were old. But Scout’s just a kid. And she was supposed to be my sister. I was supposed to protect her, but I can’t because she’s not. And I know she’s my cousin, but she and Danny are gonna be separated. Not just by a stupid lake or a couple of miles. By states. They’ll never live together again. I didn’t think, Mom. I just came home. I had to.”

“Of course, honey.” Elizabeth came forward, and Jake didn’t even flinch when she wrapped her arms around him, and he felt the familiarity, the warmth of her hug. She stroked his back, then cupped his jaw as she stepped back, her eyes glimmering with tears. “You’re such a good kid, Jake. You always were. You took every hit the world threw at you, and just got right back up. Of course you should be here with Danny. This is going to be so hard for him, and I’m sorry we can’t find a way out for both of them.”

“It’s no one’s fault, I guess. Even if Dad hadn’t kicked Drew in the teeth or whatever, he’d still be moving away.” Jake took a shaky breath. “So I’m gonna live with Dad and Danny because he needs me.”

“I’m glad.” Elizabeth stroked his face one more time, then stepped back. “I really am. This is going to be great for you. All of you. I’ll miss you, but you’ll be in town, and hopefully—” She folded her arms again, forced a smile. “Well, you’ll decide how much you want to see me.”

Jake opened his mouth, then closed it. For a minute, she’d been his mom again, and the rest of it had fallen away. But it had passed, and he couldn’t force the words out.

“I’m asking Diane to find somewhere close,” Jason said, and Jake looked at him. “You’ll want to see Aiden. And Cam will be home for the holidays, maybe.”

“Yeah. Right. Right.” Jake cleared his throat, looked back at his mother. “You’re right. This is what is right for all of us. Thanks. For knowing that. For making Dad come over tonight. And I’m sorry. For what I said.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Elizabeth squeezed his hand, then turned away, not before he saw the tears on her cheeks. “I’m so glad this worked out. That you two are going to be there for Danny. Everything is going to be just fine. I know it.”

+33

Written in 58 minutes. Conversation took a direction I didn’t mean it, too so the part is a bit shorter than I planned because I wanted to get it right.

Jason hesitated in the hallway outside of Jake’s room. A few hours ago, he’d stood with Elizabeth at Vista Point, confidently telling her what he wanted and bracing himself for her reaction. He’d been sure what he wanted to do was the best way forward, but uneasy about hurting her. She’d been dealt enough blows the last few days.

But now, Jason realized that had been the easiest step. Because he knew that with Elizabeth’s generous nature, the moment he’d what he wanted, she’d support him. Giving people what they wanted, what they needed — hadn’t that always been her weakness?

Now he had to face the son that was unhappy with both his parents, maybe with some good reasons, and find a way to make peace. To convince Jake that living with Jason and Danny might be the best thing for all of them.

He knocked lightly, and waited. A moment later, Jake’s voice could be heard. “I don’t want to talk, Mom.”

“It’s not your mother.”

There was silence then, and Jason wondered if Jake might just ignore him altogether. He’d come back or maybe just wait him out. Jake would have to leave the room eventually.

But then the knob twisted and Jake pulled the door open, his eyes unreadable. “What?”

Jason lifted his brows. “Can we talk?”

Jake heaved a heavy sigh, but stepped back, jerking the door all the way open. The room was just a little bare, evidence that it had been mostly deserted since he’d gone to Spain in August. A suitcase lay by the suitcase, clothing spilling out of the unzipped top. Some of the shelves were empty, and the desk was bare.

But there was a table tucked over by the windows with a large sketchpad open, pencils laying strewn over the surface, and chunks that looked similar to the charcoal Jason remembered from Elizabeth’s studio once upon a time.

Jake’s hands were a bit dingy, and he hurried over to the desk, flipping the pad shut. “Did Mom send you up here to talk to me?” he muttered.

Jason shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “That depends. Would she have a reason to?”

Jake grimaced, flopped on the edge of the bed, then stared at the carpet. “That’s a trick question, and I’m not that stupid. If she didn’t send you, then why are you here?”

“She did call me,” Jason said, sitting carefully on the desk chair after turning it to face Jake. “Because she knows I wanted to talk to you about Danny, and thought maybe you might be in the right mood to have the conversation.”

Jake snorted. “Why? I’m already pissed off, so whatever crap you’re gonna say won’t make it worse? Whatever.”

Jason waited a long moment, just long enough for Jake’s cheeks to flush, for him to raise his gaze to his father’s before he spoke again. “I know you’re not happy with me for reasons I deserve. And that you’re angry with your mother. Whether or not she deserves that — you and I aren’t going to agree on that.”

“Tell me the truth,” Jake challenged, his eyes glittering. “Did you even get mad at her for a minute when she told you she lied? Or did you do what you always do, what she always does for you and start making excuses? She likes to say she didn’t try to make me feel bad for being mad at you, but I knew she wanted me to be happy you were back. Danny wanted me to be happy, and—” He shook his head, looked away. “I don’t understand either of them. I don’t understand you, either. How can you let people walk all over you—”

“Jake, the night your mother told me you were my son, we were trapped in an elevator at the MetroCourt,” Jason interrupted, and Jake closed his mouth. “The lobby had just exploded, and it was the best I could do to get her to safety. I couldn’t get her out. I couldn’t—” He took a deep breath. “A man took the entire lobby hostage by gunpoint, including your mother. My sister was there that night. Sonny and Carly. Robin was shot and nearly died. My father had a heart attack that he died from later in the hospital. It was a long, terrible night, during which your mother nearly went into early labor. You almost didn’t exist, Jake.”

Jake swallowed hard, but didn’t look away. “Are you trying to make me feel bad?”

“No. You asked if I was angry with her. And I’m explaining why anger wasn’t the first thing I felt when she told me. We were in that elevator, waiting for help. And she felt you move. For the first time in hours, you started kicking, and she was—” Jason had to stop, take a moment, the memory of that night rushing back, the relief that had flooded his body when she’d looked at him, the joy in her eyes when she realized her baby was still alive.

“I can’t make you understand or accept how I handled the situation. Maybe I should have been more angry. I think it would be easier for your mother if I had been. She knew how to handle anger better. She expected it. Expected me to be disappointed in her. Everyone already was. When I told you about Lucky’s problems, I didn’t—” Jason leaned back, realized Jake was still listening, that he hadn’t tuned him out.

It wasn’t why he’d come here today, but if Jason could do anything to ease the tension between mother and son, it’d be worth it. “I didn’t tell you so he’d be the villain. Lucky got clean after that, and has been ever since, at least as far as I know. That matters, Jake. He got hurt in the line of duty, got addicted, and it got ugly. But he got help.”

“I guess that’s good, but—” Jake paused. “I don’t get it. If Lucky was such a bad guy, why would Mom want me to be his kid? Why wouldn’t—didn’t she think you’d be a good dad? I don’t understand. She always defends you. But not then? It doesn’t make sense to me. It doesn’t…it doesn’t fit who I thought she was. And now I keep looking at other things—”

“Other things don’t matter. And I’m not going to speak for her. Why she made the choices she did. I didn’t used to believe in regrets. You make your choices, and you stand by them, good or bad. Even when they were mistakes.” Jason leaned forward, clasping his hands his between his legs. “You know I haven’t always lived a good life. That I was on trial for murder just after you were born.”

“They brought it up when Franco died,” Jake muttered. “But you were acquitted. You didn’t do it.”

“I was acquitted,” Jason agreed, ignoring the rest of the statement. “But I was arrested shortly after you were born. Any thought I had of claiming of you, of labeling you as my son, putting that weight around your neck—” He paused. “You could be a cop’s son or a murderer’s bastard. I’ll stand by the choice I made that summer, Jake. When I thought I might never be free again, the best place for you was in a home with two parents and your brother.”

“So you don’t regret it?” Jake asked. He furrowed his brows. “You said—”

“Later. Later, I made the choice for a different reason. Your safety—not just you. All of you. Cam, your mother, you—I couldn’t stand the thought of any of you hurt. After my sister was murdered…” Jason had to look away now, at the sweet thought of his beloved sister, gone now for longer than she’d been his little sister. “We almost changed our minds. Your mother and I. We…I asked her to marry me.”

Jake pressed his lips together. “Mom…she said something the day Mr. C was here. That Michael…he got hurt.”

“It was like the world reminding me I had no right to a life,” Jason said. He looked at Jake. “Your mother wanted us to be a family. There’s nothing I wanted more than to have all of you with me. To adopt Cameron. It’s all I thought about. I proposed to her, and then five minutes later, the phone rang. Michael had been shot in the head, a bullet that had been meant for Sonny. Michael had the bad luck to be standing next to him. After that—” Jason shook his head. “I couldn’t…it was never going to happen. We…we eventually had to stop even being in the same room. For almost a year, I couldn’t even look at your mother without remembering.”

“But…you—” Jake swallowed hard. “You got married to Danny’s mom. You had Danny—”

“I made a mistake. I was too scared to hold on, and your mother was tired of waiting,” Jason told him. “And by the time I realized it—she hadn’t put her life on hold. So I tried to move on. I did for a long time. I’m not sorry I married Sam because I have Danny, and I love him. But I will regret for the rest of my life that I was too scared to hold on to you. That we lost all those years.”

“Maybe all that’s true,” Jake managed. His hands, resting in his lap, clenched into fists. “You threw away two more of those years, so—”

“It was never supposed to be two years. If I had known it would take that long, I wouldn’t have done it. I thought it was the right choice, but it was a mistake. I’ve made a lot of them.  I tried to put someone else first, tried to do what I thought was right for them. But it was wrong for me. For you and your brother. I can’t go back, Jake. None of us can. I want us to go forward. But if you’re not ready, I can accept that. It’s my fault. And if it were just that, I would give you all the time you need. Whatever boundaries you needed to set, I’ll respect them. But there’s more at stake right now.”

“You want me to stop being an asshole to Mom, don’t you? I knew you were here for her—”

“If you’re being disrespectful to your mother, yeah, I want you to stop that,” Jason interrupted and Jake made a face. “You don’t have to like what either of us did, but she and I buried it. We forgave each other, Jake. You don’t have to like it, but it’s a fact. I’m not going to apologize for not meeting your expectations of anger or resentment. But that’s not what I was here to talk about. I’m here about Danny.”

“Oh. Right. You—” Jake exhaled in an irritated sigh. “You said that. I guess you want me to stop being a dick in front of him—”

“He isn’t going to be able to stay with Scout,” Jason said, and Jake stopped again, surprised. “He isn’t ready to hear that. He thinks—he thinks I can find a way. And maybe if things were different with Drew, I could. But Dante and Rocco are already making plans to move out of the mansion. Drew’s moving to D.C. after the holidays. He isn’t going to leave Scout here, and even if he would, it wouldn’t be with me.”

“No, not after you kicked his ass,” Jake muttered. Jason lifted his brows and Jake flushed. “Everyone knows, Dad. Did you at least have a good reason?”

“Yeah.”

“Do I get to know it?”

“No.”

Jake made another face. “Worth a shot.” He was quiet for a moment. “I guess I always knew you wouldn’t be able to, and it’s not your fault. I was just…really mad at you. And at Danny. For not being mad at all. But I knew it’d be like this. That’s why I came home.”

“I know. Your mother wanted you to go back to school, but I understand why you’re here. And I’m glad. If you can really put Spain on hold, then you’re right. Having you here will help Danny adjust.”

“Oh.” Jake narrowed his eyes. “There’s a catch. Somewhere. You’re letting me off the hook too easy for being a dick, and—”

“You know how I feel about the situation with your mother, and if you do it in front of me, you’ll hear it again,” Jason said, and Jake dipped his head. “But there’s no hook, Jake. You have a right to how you feel, and I can’t change it. But we both want Danny to be okay. He’ll come live with me. I’d like it…I’d like it if you did, too.”

Jake lifted his head again, met Jason’s gaze and frowned. “What? You mean like on weekends again, like we used to? Sure.”

“No.” Now or never, Jason thought. “I want you and Danny with me full-time. Together.”

+34

Written in 48 minutes. I knew if I started another scene, I wouldn’t finish it, so this was a good spot to leave it. Plus it was all the scenes I’d hoped to get to in this part, so —

See you sometime this week — maybe Tues/Wed for another update.

Carly stood there with that smirk on her face, a smirk she’d directed in his direction for more than two decades — the smirk that said she already knew how this conversation would end — that the choice she’d presented was nothing more than a lie. She’d given him no choice, and he’d have to tell her something if only to make her go away.

It was a routine they had repeated so often that he nearly fell into it again without thinking, a habit he wore like a second skin, and he’d already opened his mouth to reluctantly give her a morsel of truth when he caught himself.

What he just told Elizabeth that day? That he was going to stop reacting, stop sitting back, stop doing and saying enough not to make waves—

Jason shook his head, then walked away from her, heading for the stairs to the second floor. She must have been more surprised than he’d expected, because he didn’t hear the clatter of footsteps following him until he was nearly at his room.

“Jason Morgan! We were in the middle of a conversation—oof—” The door nearly hit her in the face when she tried to follow him into his room. She slapped a hand against the door. “Hey! Watch it!”

“You were in the middle of the conversation,” Jason said, still gripping the door knob. “I wasn’t.”

“What has gotten into you?” she demanded. She folded her arms, huffed. “First, you go after Drew for whatever insane reason, and now you’re stomping around, yelling at Sonny, walking away from me—I don’t understand what’s going on!”

“None of it concerns you,” Jason said. “So if you really want to know, go find Sonny. I don’t have time to talk to you.” He wanted to call Molly, check on her since he knew her notice of representation had been filed this morning, he wanted to think about how to present all of this to Jake and Danny —

He did not want to explain any of it to Carly.

“See! See, that’s how I know something is wrong!” She jabbed a finger in his direction. “You always make time for me—”

“No, you always take time,” Jason interrupted, and her lips parted in surprise. “There’s a difference, Carly. I don’t—”

“Okay, let’s try this another way. You’re supposed to be my best friend. I’m supposed to be yours. You just had a horrible argument with your other best friend—the man you love like family, and I’m not supposed to be worried?”

He grimaced, exhaled in a huff. And this is why she’d always won every confrontation between them. She just talked him into circles until he felt vaguely guilty for having not said anything in the first place. Until he was too tired to keep fighting.

“You really want to know why I’m angry at Sonny?” Jason said. “Fine. He told Jake that Elizabeth lied to me about his paternity.”

“He—” Carly actually fell back a step. “He what? Why? That is absolutely insane! Why would he do that? Why would he bring that—” She furrowed her brow. “No. There has to be more. It’s not even a secret that the whole world thought Lucky was his father—”

“This is why I didn’t want to have this conversation in the first place. I told you what the problem is—”

“I have no doubt that Sonny did this. And I can even imagine he wasn’t that delicate about it. But for you to cut him off—” Carly pursed her lips. “I don’t understand why he did it. Where? When? Why?”

“None of that matters—”

“Oh, I am sure that the delivery of the information has to have something to do with it.” Carly lifted her brows. “Like I said, I’ll go ask Sonny, and you know I’ll drag it out of him. You really want me to hear his side?”

“You don’t care what I want. You never have,” Jason snapped and she blinked. “I told you I don’t want to talk about this, but you don’t care about that, do you? You think you know what’s best for me. That’s what Sonny thought, too. That’s why he went over to start a fight with Elizabeth, and instead of shutting his mouth when the boys came in, he deliberately told Jake half-truths about what happened so he’d hurt Elizabeth. He didn’t care about my son, didn’t care what that information might to do with him. As long as he got the last word.”

Carly pressed her lips together, some of the righteous indignation fading from her eyes. “That…that is disappointing,” she said finally. “Especially given that he knows what Michael went through when AJ came home. How hard it was for Michael to know things about…before. I…it’s hard for me to believe that he’d do that to Jake—I believe you, I mean,” she added hastily. “I just—”

“I never would have done that to him. No matter how angry he ever made me. Or you. The kids were off limits.”

“No, you loved our kids like your own.” Carly exhaled a slow breath. “And he and I haven’t been as loyal to you. You don’t have to tell me that, Jason. I’m sorry. I’m sorry he did that. How’s Jake?”

“Angry. Hurt. Confused.” Jason dragged a hand through his hair, a bit rattled that she’d so easily capitulated. That she’d seen his point of view—or agreed with him. “He’s been struggling with what I did, the last thing he needed was to have doubts and anger towards his mother.”

Her lips twisted. “I’m sure Elizabeth is properly devastated.”

Just when he thought Carly had turned a corner— “And what does that mean?” he asked, his shoulders tensing.

She wrinkled her nose. “Nothing. Just that Elizabeth plays the martyr better than anyone I know.”

“And that’s where this conversation ends—” Jason stepped back, reaching for the door. “You never let me down, Carly—”

“Oh, don’t take it that way. Elizabeth and I are at peace, okay? I’m sorry Jake got hurt, but maybe it’s time he remembers that people are human. If he can forgive Elizabeth, he’ll forgive you, too. And Elizabeth is hurt, well, good. She should have thought of that before she lied to you.”

—

Jake heard the words leaving his mouth, but it was like they belonged to someone else. Like this entire conversation was happening between two other people —

“Maybe everyone should just take a deep breath,” Aiden said, stepping between the two of them. “We’re all upset. I don’t even know why anymore. Okay? Nothing—” he swallowed, looked at his mother. “Whatever happened back then, maybe I’m curious. Maybe I wanna know, and I won’t apologize for it. And you shouldn’t either,” he said to his brother.

“I—” Jake started.

“But you gotta knock this off, man,” Aiden continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “Mom’s still Mom. She’s been here every single day I can remember. When I was sick or upset, or whatever, she was there. My dad never wanted to be.”

“Aiden—”

“Mom—” Aiden shook his head lightly. “Don’t defend him. Just don’t. He doesn’t love me the way you love me. He chose not to be here. Chose it. Over and over again. He didn’t come home when you needed him. When I needed him. Ever. I guess maybe I wanted to know why. Why he doesn’t love us.” He was quiet for a minute, his throat working hard as he swallowed, then looked back at Jake. “Your dad loves you. He came here the second he could, remember? Got released from jail, and came right here.  Dad was in town for days before I saw him. But whatever, you get to be pissed at him. But not at Mom. Not like this. You’re better than this, dude.”

“That doesn’t make—” Jake exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry,” he said in a dull voice. He stared down at the carpet, the shame roiling through him like red hot lava. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “I can’t make it stop.”

“There are no magic words to make what happened right,” his mother said. Her voice sounded thick, like she was on the verge of tears and Jake just knew he couldn’t look at her, couldn’t see that he’d made her cry.

Just like everyone else.

“I made a terrible, awful mistake and what’s worse, I made it over and over again. For a long time. I had reasons, and they felt right at the time, but they never were. None of it was right, Jake. I can’t understand why your father forgave me, I’m only grateful that he did. But I understand if you need time to get there. Or to get somewhere close to it.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’m going—I need—” His voice crackled, and Jake turned, walked quickly to the stairs, charging up them before he’d found the words to fix what he’d broken.

When his door slammed upstairs, Elizabeth pressed the heel of her hands to her face. “Aiden—”

“You don’t have to tell me anything about when I was born. You don’t. Not if it makes you upset. Or makes you cry. It’s not important—”

The tears did spill then. Her sweet baby, made of sugar and light. He’d always tried to make everyone happy. “I just—it’s too big to talk about. Not like this. Your father and I need to talk. I will—” She lowered her hands, took a deep breath. “I will fix this. I will. But for right now, can we let it go?”

“Sure.” He smiled at her, shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m gonna go upstairs and play some video games. Call me when we’re talking dinner, okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

When his door had closed as well, Elizabeth reached for the phone.

—

“Elizabeth didn’t start the lie, did she, Carly?” Jason retorted, and his irritation only escalated when she rolled her eyes. “Who told me Jake wasn’t my son first?”

“Oh my God, are you still blaming me? Man, you say I don’t clean up my own messes, but you’re not much better, are you?” Carly planted her hands on hips. “You need to blame me for the mess she started and you let happened, whatever, Jase. But it doesn’t matter what I said. She still kept her mouth shut for months, and then when you did know the truth, you let her guilt you into keeping it. Or you didn’t want her enough to make a life with her, I don’t know. Pick whatever truth keeps you warm at night. But I didn’t give your son to another man, did I?”

Jason opened his mouth to snap back, then closed it when he had nothing to say. He knew she was wrong, knew that she was doing what she always did — turning him in circles until he agreed with her. But she’d stumped him for the moment.

Because maybe Sonny and Carly had guilted Elizabeth into thinking the baby would make Jason’s life difficult — but Carly wasn’t wrong. Elizabeth had been the one who’d crumpled under that weight, and he hadn’t been paying enough attention to see she was drowning until it was too late to do anything about it.

Fortunately, the vibrating of his phone saved him from having to say anything. He jerked it from his pockets, not even checking the notification. “Yeah?”

“Hey. It’s me. Can you come?”

—

Maxie opened the door, scowled and immediately slammed it.

Lucky sighed, then knocked again. “Maxie, come on—I know Aiden was here earlier—”

She jerked the door open three inches, with only her face visible. “What the hell is going on? Why was he here? Why is he asking questions?”

“Because Jason Morgan has a big mouth,” he muttered, and her eyes widened. “We need to talk—”

“No! No! I made a mistake, okay? Like three times, I made that mistake, and I was nineteen years old, Lucky! I grew up! I have a right for all of that to be in the past! I did nothing wrong! You were the one who was married!”

“We made that mistake more than three times, Maxie. And let’s not pretend I seduced a virgin,” he retorted. Her face was red. “You and I can come up with a story, or you can shove your head in the sand. Make your choice—”

“No! You tell your nosy kid to stop asking me questions and come up with your own story! This has nothing to do with me!” She slammed the door.

—

Elizabeth was waiting outside in the driveway when Jason pulled the SUV to a stop, her arms wrapped around herself, the fading twilight casting her expression into shadows.

“What happened? What’s wrong?” he asked, hurrying up to her. “I meant to call you, to tell you what happened at the diner—”

“Oh. Something—” Elizabeth nodded. “Well, whatever it is, it explains the mood Jake came home in. You can catch me up on that, but I—I think if you want to talk to Jake about living with you, about Danny too, now is your best chance. He’s upset at me, but also mad at himself for…it’s not important.”

It was, but Jason would come back to that. “Are you sure?”

“I don’t think there will be a better time.”

+33

Written in 67 minutes, sorry, I got hung up on the ending.

This was a terrible idea.

And she knew it, even as Willow let herself sink into Drew’s embrace for just a moment, losing herself in the thrill that rippled beneath her skin, at the memory of their night together—

But then her hand snagged on something as her fingers slid towards the buttons on his shirt—her ring.

Her wedding ring.

Willow flattened that same hand against Drew’s chest and shoved. Hard. “What are you thinking?” she hissed, wiping the her mouth with the back of her hand as if that would erase what she’d done —  “Don’t touch me—”

“Willow—” Drew raised his hands but Willow didn’t stop to see what he might try to do with them next. She fumbled behind her for the door knob, found it, and fled, almost tripping in her haste to rush towards the stairs, towards home, towards freedom.

Drew watched Willow go with a grimace, then dragged a hand through his hair. It was probably for the best, he thought. The last thing he needed was a scandal as he began his political career — though an extramarital affair was hardly the killer it had been even a decade ago. It probably wouldn’t even make the headlines in Washington.

But the effects would ripple out in other, closer ways, and Drew was just going to have to live with the terrible timing of it all.

He turned away from the door, then froze when he realized — for the first time — he and Willow hadn’t been alone in the nursery.

His daughter was curled up on the window seat, her dark eyes wide, her little mouth pinched, looking strikingly like her mother right before Sam would go in for a kill shot.

Shit.

—

Jason watched Lucky’s car peel out of the lot, wondering if he’d talked some sense into the other man or if the Lucky would continue to fall into terrible habits. When he’d first found Lucky in Africa, Jason had thought Elizabeth’s ex-husband had grown up — or that they’d finally turned the corner on their complicated history. They’d been almost friends once, Jason thought, before Lucky’s return from Cassadine captivity and Jason’s relationship with Elizabeth had made that impossible.

He should have bit his tongue and been more careful when talking to Jake the other day, should have found a way to keep Lucky out of it. But if Lucky thought that Jason’s screw up meant it was open season to bring up everything, Jason wouldn’t hesitate to throw him to the wolves.

He’d tiptoed around Lucky Spencer one too many times, but he’d be damned if he’d do it again.

Jason shoved the diner door open, then winced when he saw a familiar face emerging from the kitchen and talking to someone behind the counter. Maybe he could back out before she saw him—

“Jason! Oh, I’ve been looking for you! And calling you!” Carly’s voice drew interested stares as she sailed across the diner, her eyes lit with a trouble mixture of concern and glee. “Why aren’t you returning my calls?”

Jason sighed. It was too late to run now. “What did you need?” If she’d gotten herself into more trouble—

Carly whacked his chest lightly. “Why do you always sound like that?” she complained. “I’m worried because Sonny said you’d gone postal on him, and I didn’t know if it was real or like last summer—”

“I don’t want you involved—”

“Too late buddy, I’m in it. So you can talk to me, or I can bug Sonny until he caves.” She arched a brow. “Your choice.”

—

Alexis folded her arms and leveled a glare at Diane. “This is your fault.”

“I’m sure it is,” Diane said, removing her coat and setting it on top of her briefcase. She nodded at Kristina by the dining table, then focused on Alexis standing in front of the fireplace, a legal brief in her hands. “I warned you that this would be a bad idea, Alexis. It’s hardly my fault if your foe found a worthy ally—”

“He  hired my daughter, Diane. How would he even know she’d take his case?” Alexis demanded. “What did you tell him? Did you tell him there were issues with Molly—”

“Oh, hardly—”

“Jason didn’t go to Molly, Mom.” Kristina rolled her eyes, approaching the back of the sofa. “You saw her that day when we were talking about the case. You know she was angry, and she wasn’t all that supportive—”

“I know you and your sister are having issues, but she wouldn’t—” Alexis exhaled on a huff. “I filed a petition to keep her from taking the case. Conflict of interest—”

“Am I here for any other reason other than blame? Because I had other plans,” Diane said with a sniff. “You’ll lose that petition, Alexis, and you know it. It’s family court. Molly isn’t a legal partner. Family members are on opposing sides all the time. If I were you, I’d think about settling or withdrawing—”

“I will do no such thing. We can do this. I can do this,” Alexis repeated, almost to herself. “Jason might have been a good father once upon a time, but he’s lost his way. He’s nothing but a tool for Sonny and Carly to point in whatever direction suits them. He’s was in Danny’s life a handful of years, and Jake?” she snorted, then shook her head. “Diane, you’re his friend, not just his lawyer—”

“Alexis, I’ve tried to be kind. I’ve tried to be hands off—” Diane tipped her head. “But you’re fighting a battle that can’t be won. Danny is old enough to say where he wants to live. He’ll choose his father. He doesn’t hold Jason’s absence against him—”

“He’s a child. I never knew what was right for me at that age either,” Kristina argued. “I’ll talk to him. I can—”

“Alexis. You can’t win—”

“Yes, I can. Molly is young, inexperienced. She’s never worked in family court.” Alexis headed for the table where legal documents had spread across the table. “I’ve been putting together my case, and I’m going to make it clear — Jake and Danny are wonderful children despite their paternity. Jake might be a bright, well-adjusted artist in a world renowned art program — but that’s entirely his mother. Look at Elizabeth’s children!”

“Cameron’s on a scholarship at Stanford,” Kristina reminded Diane. “And I saw that Aiden is in all Honors classes—”

“Yes, well, be that as it may—” Diane rubbed her temple. “Alexis, this is madness—”

“Madness would be letting my grandchildren be split up and separated hundreds of miles apart by selfish, absent fathers who left their children, who abandoned them — Sam would want them together. She would want me to do whatever she can to keep them together—” Her voice broke and she turned away.

Diane pressed her lips together, then looked at Kristina. “I know you’ve both been through a lot these last few months. What you’ve lost cannot be measured. And perhaps you’re right. Perhaps Sam would want them together. But she was a realist, Alexis. Like it or not, Danny and Scout have different fathers. Who loathe each other at the moment. Sam had a chance to write her wishes down, didn’t she—”

“She never thought she’d have to use that will. Damn it, Diane, who’s side are you on?” Alexis demanded.

“There are no winners here, Alexis. You go through with this — if you force Danny and Scout into court after they’ve lost their mother, everyone will lose.” Diane picked up her briefcase and coat. “And you might be remember this, the both of you. You don’t have the market cornered on grief.”

Kristina bristled. “What does that mean?”

Diane tilted her head. “You’ve been walking around since August as if you are the only one who was injured that day. As if your sister and her partner didn’t lose their child, their hope, their futures. And Molly also lost her sister. But she doesn’t matter to you, does she?”

Kristina’s cheeks went white. “How dare you—”

“I’ve never lied to you, Alexis,” Diane said, dismissing the middle Davis girl and focusing on her old friend. “Not even to make you feel better. You will regret what you’ve started here.”

“I think we’re done here,” Alexis said, tightly. “You can go.”

“With pleasure.”

—

Drew cleared his throat, and took a step towards his daughter. “Hey, princess. How—” He paused. “How long have you been there?”

Scout’s lower lip trembled. “You were kissing Aunt Willow.”

“I—” He pressed a hand to his chest, then looked behind him as if searching for someone else, then looked back at Scout. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You did. You were kissing Aunt Willow like—” Tears glittered at the corners of her eyes. “Like Mommy and Dante.”

Damn it. “Friends kiss sometimes, honey.” He fastened a smile on his face, then crouched down in front of her. “It’s okay to kiss your friends.”

Scout pressed her lips together, then shook her head. “But I watched on TV and that’s not—you kiss on cheeks—”

“I did kiss her cheek,” Drew said. “You were all the way back here, weren’t you?” He patted her knee. “And I’m so much taller than Aunt Willow. I think you just got confused.”

Her lips parted, but no sound came out. All right, progress had been made. “It’s important that you don’t make mistakes about what you see and hear, isn’t it? We always have to tell the truth.”

“We—yes. But—”

“Because lies hurt,” Drew took both her hands, wrapped his much larger ones around them. “Lies can make a lot of trouble, can’t they? And we don’t want to hurt Aunt Willow. Or Uncle Michael. You love him, don’t you? And your cousins. You love little Amelia like one of your  baby dolls.”

“Aunt Willow lets me brush her hair,” Scout said in a tiny voice. “And braid it.”

“Aunt Willow loves you, honey. And I love you. I know your mother taught you to be kind. She’d be so sad if you said you thought you saw something and hurt everyone who loves you.”

Her lower lip quivered and a tear slid down her cheek. “Mommy’s in heaven. Watching over me. Danny said.”

“He did. He’s such a good older brother. You’re so lucky to have so many people who love you here at the Quartermaines. We’re lucky to live here,” Drew continued. “I hope we get to stay here. But we can only do that if you’re a good girl. Can you be a good girl for me?”

“Okay, Daddy.” Scout wrapped her little arms around his neck and he sighed in relief, accepting her hug. Crisis averted.

Kids were so gullible.

—

Elizabeth heard the slamming of car doors in the driveway and went to the window to look, her heart pounding when she saw Jake and Aiden coming up the walkway.  She stepped away from the door when they came in.

They all stared at each other for a long moment. And then —

“Did Dad have an affair with Maxie Jones?” Aiden blurted out. Behind him, Jake winced and closed the door.

“What?” Elizabeth demanded. “Where on Earth—” She pressed her lips together. “Have you been talking to your father?”

“I don’t think you can count what happened as talking to him,” Aiden muttered. He flopped onto the sofa. “He was too busy trying to talk to Jake.”

“I—” Elizabeth turned to her middle son. “Jake? What’s going on?” When he said nothing, pretended to be very busy hanging up his jacket, her nostrils flared. “Jacob Martin Webber—”

“You gave me his initials.”

She stumbled to a stop. “What?”

Jake looked at her now. “You lied about my father to everyone, but you gave me his initials. That’s so weird. Why even bother?”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. “Oh, don’t even try to distract me. You get to be angry at me, that’s fine. But now your brother is involved—”

“Any lies about his paternity he should know about, or—” Jake looked at her expectantly, and her heart caught. “I can see you thinking how to answer that so the answer is yes, isn’t it?”

“Mom? Is he right?”

Elizabeth’s head to started to spin and she pressed two fingers to each of her temples. How had it all spun out of control so fast and was she ever going to be able to slow it down, to bring it back?

“Is this what you want?” she asked, letting her hands fall to her sides. “Tell me, Jake. Is this what you wanted? You must have told your brother what your father said—”

“Did you want me to lie to him, too? I guess you’re the only one who gets lie in this house, huh?” Jake said with a snort. “Rules for thee and not for me—”

“No, Jake, you’ve told your own share of lies, haven’t you? I suppose it might be genetic,” Elizabeth said, and Jake stared at her, startled. “Do you remember all the times you covered for Charlotte so that she could torment Anna? Trash her hotel room? Spray paint her home?”

Jake’s face was gray. “That’s not fair—”

“Oh, so you can dish it out, but you can’t take it?” Elizabeth folded her arms. “You want to wade into the big pool, Jake, you’re going to have to learn to swim in the deep end.”

“Mom—”

“I’ll deal with you in a minute,” Elizabeth snapped at her youngest son before looking back at Jake. “It doesn’t feel very good, does it? To have your entire life boiled down into your worst moments? I made a terrible, terrible choice a long time ago, before you were born. I hurt your father, I hurt Lucky, I hurt myself, and yes, some of it ended up hurting you. And it’s not the only mistake I’ve ever made. I’ve lived a long, complicated life and made choices that I am ashamed of. But you will not stand here, in this house that I have paid for, wearing the clothes I bought you, and treat me like this. I am your mother, and you don’t have to like me, Jacob Weber, but I have done my best by you. It wasn’t always good enough, but damn it, I did my best. So if you have nothing but smart ass remarks to throw at me, you can go to your room and stay there.”

Jake lifted his head. “And I don’t?” he demanded.  “What if I don’t want to be anywhere near you—”

“Then you’ll have to find somewhere else to live. But it won’t be under my roof.”

+36

Written in 48 minutes. Absolutely exhausted, so glad I managed as much as I did.

Elizabeth pulled her car into the driveway along side a sleek BMW she didn’t quite recognize — but she did know the man striding away from her front door. She honked the horn to get his attention, then switched off the ignition.

“Hey.” Michael met her at the hood of her car with a relieved expression. “I’m glad I caught you. I was gonna leave a voicemail, but I really wanted to talk to you in person.”

“I actually was going to call you, too,” Elizabeth said. She let herself into the house, ushered Michael in, and wondered how to broach the conversation. “What brought you over?”

“Well, first, I really was serious about getting together for dinner one night.” Michael followed her into the kitchen, watched her start a pot of coffee. “I’ve been kind of wrapped up with my own thing for a while, and I feel like I haven’t spent enough time with Jake—”

“Michael.” Elizabeth faced him, tipped her head, then smiled. “Sometimes you remind me so much of your uncle. You have your own family, and Jake’s been doing really well—” She bit her lip, made a face. “Well, until the last few days. But you’ve got your own family, and ELQ—and Willow was so sick—” She saw the shadow cross his face, and paused. “That’s part of the reason I was going to call you. I don’t feel right knowing what I do and not telling you.”

Michael tensed, met her eyes, and must have seen something that hinted at what she meant to say. “You’ve talked to my uncle, haven’t you? Did he say something—”

“Not until I asked him. I saw Willow at the hospital with Drew. Just talking—” Elizabeth added quickly when Michael grimaced. “But it connected a few dots for me. I know Jason and Drew are at odds, and you seemed so sad the other day—not—” she winced. “Not that it wasn’t a sad occasion, but—”

“Yeah, I know.” Michael let out a slow exhale. “Just talking, and you guessed?” he muttered. He dragged a hand down his cheek. “There’s no way to stop this. It’s just going to explode, isn’t it?”

“Well, I’m not saying anything,” Elizabeth told him. “And Jason didn’t even want to confirm what I’d already  guessed, but I know he’s angry about the whole thing, and, well, he told me…about the video. About the location. And suddenly I think maybe he didn’t do enough damage.”

“Nanny cam,” Michael muttered. “Motion sensor so we can see if the kids are up from their nap or out of their crib, and it catches—” He cleared his throat. “I don’t know what to do with any of it, and if it’s all the same—”

“I’m saying nothing. This is your life, Michael. But I just wanted you to know…well, to know  that if you need anything, even just someone to vent to, I’m here. I’m so sorry.”

“I know ignoring it and pretending it’s not real isn’t really the best way to handle it, but it’s all I have right now.” With a quick shake of his head, Michael sighed. “I actually came over here to apologize to you about my dad. I got some of it from Jason ripping into my dad, and then Jake filled me in on the rest—”

Elizabeth straightened. “You’ve spoken to Jake?”

“Yeah. I’m glad I ran into him. I have a little experience learning the hard way your parents existed as people who make mistakes before you’re born. And sometimes you feature in their mistakes. Not that anything you did is like Mom or Sonny—”

“I don’t know, I’m not that far off sometimes when you make the full list. But I’m glad Jake ran into you. I hope—I don’t want you to tell me anything. And you wouldn’t. But I hope it helped.”

“So do I. I hate that it came out that way — I hate that it—” Michael hesitated. “When AJ told me about  the way my parents screwed around with custody of me, when I think of the way they villanized him, made him into a monster — it’s nothing like what happened with you and my uncle. I don’t even have to know the details—”

“I wasn’t the one doing the drugging if that’s what you mean,” Elizabeth said. She poured Michael a cup of coffee, slid across the counter. “But I lied. And I pushed Jason out of Jake’s life—”

“But you didn’t raise Jake to think Jason was a monster. When Jason came home after the coma, he and Jake were able to build their own thing. I’m not saying you did the right thing or a good thing. But perspective, you know, it helps. I know you, Elizabeth. The way you’ve always stood by my uncle, by my dad—AJ—when he didn’t always deserve it—Jake’s gonna remember all of that. That’s why I wanted to come over.” Michael waited for their eyes to meet. “Before, you were his mom and even if he knew you weren’t perfect, there was still this idea of being untouchable. You’re his mom. You didn’t really exist outside of that bubble. Now you’re a person, who made mistakes. It’s going to color how he looks at you — but he’ll adjust. He’ll fit this piece into the lifetime of love you’ve given him, and he’ll be okay. You just—you just have to let him get through this part. You know? Don’t push. Don’t try to influence how he sees things.”

“It’s hard,” Elizabeth admitted. She sighed, stirred sugar into her own cup. “Jake is still reeling from everything with Jason, and now this has been dumped on him. All I want to do is explain myself, to make him understand—but you’re right. I have to let him to handle this. However he chooses.”

—

Jason might have enjoyed the look of horror spreading across Lucky’s face if his son and Aiden weren’t standing between the two of them — Aiden still looking perplexed and Jake’s mixture of disgust and irritation.

“What do you mean?” Aiden asked, furrowing his brow. “No, Jake, you’ve got it wrong. I only asked Maxie because she’s Aunt Lu’s best friend. They were, like, my age—”

Jake raised his brows at his former father with a smile on his face that made Jason think of Elizabeth in the middle of a fight. She’d smirk and he knew that nothing civil was coming next. She’d always had a way of setting off Carly — and Courtney. And Sam—

“No, not your age,” Jake said, and then the smirk deepened. “More like somewhere between Cam and me.”

Aiden wrinkled his nose. “Ew, Dad, tell me you didn’t cheat on my mother with a teenager. That’s, like, so nasty—”

“I did not cheat on her with a teenager,” Lucky shot back, his face flushed. “Just like Jason to get it all twisted—”

“My father is the only one keeping his mouth shut. He’s good at that,” Jake said, throwing Jason a dark look that reminded him he wasn’t entirely off the hook, though he’d apparently moved a few notches down on Jake’s shit list. “You’re the idiot who practically forced me to listen to your side, chased me and Aiden out of the diner, and gave up your own dirty secrets.”

“Dirty secrets? You want to talk to about dirty secrets? You think your mother is so goddamned perfect—let’s talk about what she did to me—her and my—”

“Time to go home,” Jason said, cutting Lucky off and stepping between the boys and the furious man. He sent Jake a look. “Now. Go.”

“No, it’s just getting good,” Jake said. “And you’re not in charge of me—”

“I still don’t understand what’s going on—”

“Go home now, and I’ll talk to you later. Now. This isn’t a conversation you or your brother need to hear.”

“More secrets?” Jake demanded. “What the hell—”

“Don’t you ever stop protecting her?” Lucky wanted to know. “She lied to you, to me—”

Jason’s fist itched to plant itself in Lucky’s jaw, but it was the thing this situation needed. “Yeah, okay, eighteen years ago, she did a terrible thing. You want to drag up things that happened back then, Lucky? Things you did? Or maybe we talk about last week when you came to see me.”

Lucky pressed his lips together, looked past him to the boys. “Go home—”

“Oh, not a chance—” Jake said, folding his arms, then hesitated when Jason looked at him again. He swallowed hard. “Aiden, we’ll have to find out the rest later.”

“Okay, but you’re explaining this when we get in the car,” Aiden muttered. “And Dad, you better stop avoiding my calls.”

Jason waited until the duo had disappeared into the parking lot before turning his attention back on Lucky. “Unless you want Aiden to know you took money from me to split town again, I suggest you shut your mouth about what happened with Elizabeth and Nikolas—”

“She’s not even here to enjoy your white knight routine—”

“You see what Jake’s dealing with finding out what happened when he was a baby?” Jason retorted. “You want Aiden to go through that? To find out his mother had a paternity test, that Helena faked the results? Is that what he needs right now? Jake and Cam don’t remember any of that.”

“I would have been fine with leaving all of that in the past,” Lucky hissed. “But you dragged up my life—”

“Do you think I wanted any of this, Lucky? We’d put it away, you and me. You and Elizabeth. All of us. It was dead, and it was buried, and neither of those boys needed to know anything.” Jason scrubbed his hands down his face. “Look, I’m sorry I told Jake anything about you. He was furious, ready to take off in the car, and Elizabeth was a mess — Sonny threw a grenade into her life, into Jake’s life when he’s still angry at me. All I wanted to do was—”

“Protect her,” Lucky said sourly. “You didn’t give a shit about me—”

“No.” Jason grimaced. “No. And I guess I should have expected Jake to tell Aiden, even though I told him not to. I told him that it was something you should get to share, but I guess Jake wasn’t in the mood to do me favors. I just—I didn’t want Jake to be angry with the only parent who’s never left him. Elizabeth made mistakes, Lucky. But we all did. She didn’t deserve to have it thrown in her face by someone who wasn’t even part of it.”

“You think I’m proud of anything that happened back then?”

“Do you think any of us are? But you’re the only one threatening to make it worse. You say one word to either of them about Nikolas, about Aiden’s paternity mess—” Jason stopped, not entirely sure if he wanted to finish the threat.

But Lucky never did know when to back down. He lifted his chin. “What are you going to do?”

“I won’t use your kid to get back at you, that’s for damn sure.” And he really didn’t have much else — Elizabeth would never let Jason drop this idiot into the harbor. “But you keep your mouth shut and I won’t tell Elizabeth you came begging me for money to pay for your ticket out of town.”

Lucky scowled. “Go to hell—”

“I mean it, Lucky,” Jason said as the other man strode towards the diner entrance. “You dig up ancient history just to hurt Elizabeth, I’ll make you regret it.”

+45