I went WAY over with this one, lol. 90 minutes. But it feels worth it, I think.

---

Port Charles Courthouse: Family Court

“Let’s move on to the next matter. Custody of Cameron Hardy Webber and Jacob Spencer.”

Elizabeth’s hand, already clutching Jason’s, tightened and he squeezed back, reassuring her. The paternity claim had been the easiest part of their petition, he knew that, and one that they would win fairly. Custody of the boys — while Jason had made his calls to assure they’d win, he still wanted to win on the merits. He wanted the judge to cut the last tie that held Elizabeth to Lucky.

Maybe it was selfish to watch Lucky out of their lives entirely — and maybe Jason would be the better man if he’d encouraged Elizabeth to give Lucky another chance after the park so that Cameron would have the same father he’d always known.

But Cameron’s sobs still echoed in his mind, and the way the toddler had clung to his mother, begging her to bring his father back — that he’d behave and be a good boy. Maybe Lucky had made a mistake —

Jason didn’t care. He wasn’t giving Lucky the chance to hurt Cameron that way again.

“Ms. Miller, your client has filed an amended petition.” The judge peered at his notes. “Mrs. Spencer is no longer requesting joint custody of the older boy? Please explain this position. I understand that while Mr. Spencer is not Cameron Webber’s biological or legal father, he’s stood in the role for most of the child’s life.”

“Your Honor.” Diane got to her feet. “When my client separated from her husband in mid-August, she made her position clear. She’d made a grievous error in judgment, lying about the paternity of the younger son. She wanted to correct that mistake, and try to make amends. At that time, Mr. Spencer indicated he wanted nothing less than joint custody of both boys — and if Jacob wasn’t included in a custody agreement, he would walk away entirely.”

The judge nodded. “Yes, I see that in Mr. Spencer’s original filing.” He glanced over to Lucky and his lawyer. “Mr. Frazier?”

“Your Honor. Mr. Spencer was terribly hurt and humiliated after his wife admitted to an affair and lying about the paternity of their son. This admission was broadcast on regional television, and added layers to an already terrible situation. He took some time to consider his position, and decided that he had raised Jacob since birth, and wanted to continue in the role. Mrs. Spencer refused to consider even visitation on the matter. My client simply wished to force his wife to come to the table and negotiate something that was fair. Cooler heads have prevailed, and now my client has agreed to joint custody for both boys or just Cameron if the court so chooses.”

“Ms. Miller, your answer to that?”

Jason hated all the legal speak, hated how reasonable the lawyer had made Lucky’s demands sound. Elizabeth’s hand gripped his so tightly, that her knuckles her white. He covered their joined hands with his free hand, and she glanced at him, misery swirling. She carried so much guilt for the last year — he wanted her to let it go. To put it behind them.

But they wouldn’t until this was over. And there would always be a piece of her that blamed herself for everything.

“Your Honor, Mr. Spencer only revised his demand after a terrible incident in Port Charles Park on September 14,” Diane responded coolly. “As Lesley Lu Spencer, his sister, will testify to, Mr. Spencer came across my clients in the park with both boys. Cameron recognized Mr. Spencer as his father, and ran to him. Mr. Spencer didn’t simply walk away, but—”

“Counsel is testifying, Your Honor,” Lincoln Frazier interrupted, almost lazily.

“Ms. Miller, perhaps the details can wait for Ms. Spencer’s testimony.”

“Of course. Our position is that on that day, Mr. Spencer had the opportunity to assert himself as Cameron’s father. He chose not to. My client is not under any legal obligation to allow Mr. Spencer any continued contact with Cameron. After two and a half years, most of Cameron’s life, Mr. Spencer declined to adopt Cameron and gain any legal standing.”

“Was adoption discussed?” the judge wanted to know.

“Yes. On several occasions. Mr. Spencer suggested that money was tight and that it was unnecessary.” Diane lifted her brow. “Again, Mrs. Spencer was happy to allow to her husband to maintain his role as Cameron’s father, perhaps making adoption part of the divorce settlement. But Mr. Spencer has proved over the last two months that he is not interested in being a hands-on father. With the testimony of my client and her sister-in-law, we will demonstrate this fact.”

“That’s your argument as to the older boy. As I understand, your client was never interested in visitation with the younger boy?”

“As Your Honor just ruled, visitation with Jacob is not a matter for this court. Lucky Spencer has just relinquished any legal standing he has to the child. Mrs. Spencer, having told what she will admit, was a terrible lie for almost a year, was unwilling to promise Mr. Spencer continued contact. She will describe her position more clearly.”

“All right.” The judge slid off his reading glasses. “I’m ready for testimony.”

——

Lucky had listened to Diane present the case with a twist in his gut, knowing that there was nothing he could do or say today that would change the outcome of the situation. Any chance he had of explaining away that terrible day in the park would be diminished when his own sister described the scene from her point of view.

When Diane called Lulu to the stand, Lucky turned to see his sister stand up from the back row, then his eyes caught someone else. Sam.

She must have come in after the arguments had started. Lucky glanced over at the other table, saw Elizabeth’s startled eyes, and Jason’s scowl. Neither of them had seen her until then either.

Sam merely lifted her eyes at Lucky, as if to suggest that she could still help.

Lucky turned away, faced forward. There was no help for him. There was only finishing what he’d started.

Lulu looked miserable as she took the oath and sat in the witness box. She adjusted the microphone, then kept her eyes on Diane.

She wouldn’t even look at her.

“Good morning, Ms. Spencer.” Diane went to a podium, a sheaf of yellow papers in her hands. “On the afternoon of September 14, did you have occasion to go to the park?”

“Objection, leading—”

“It calls for a yes or no answer, it does not suggest the answer,” Diane snapped before the judge could answer. “Go back to law school—”

“Objection overruled,” the judge interrupted. “Ms. Miller—”

“My apologies, Your Honor.” Diane looked back at Lulu. “Ms. Spencer, September 14?”

“I went to the park, yes.” Lulu cleared her throat, then fidgeted with the microphone.

“Did you go with anyone else?”

“Yes. My brother. I met him at the pier because he’d been staying with our brother on Spoon Island.”

“Why were you meeting with your brother?”

“Objection, to the extent it calls for hearsay—”

“Mr. Frazier—” The judge leaned forward. “This is not a murder case. This is a family court proceeding. Objection overruled.”

Lulu was thrown off by the interruption. “Uh, I wanted to talk to him. About the divorce. And the custody. I was angry. Because he was making everything harder. Um, I knew he was trying to force Elizabeth to give him visitation with Jake and he was using Cameron to do it. I wanted to talk him out of it.” She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. “So we were in the park, and we went towards the playground.”

“What happened when you reached the playground?”

“Objection—”

“What, if anything,” Diane said, through clenched teeth and a dirty look at Lucky’s lawyer, “happened when you reached the playground?”

“Oh. Um, we saw Cameron first. In the sandbox, playing. Elizabeth was there, too. And Jason. They were at a picnic table. Jason was holding Jake, and Lucky got all mad—”

“Objection—”

“His face got red and I saw him fist his hands,” Lulu said. “That’s how I know he was mad. Sorry, I know I’m supposed to describe what I saw.”

“Objection overruled,” the judge said. “Ms. Spencer, please wait for me to rule before you continue answering.”

“Sorry. I’m just—I’m nervous.” Lulu licked her lips, focused on Diane.

“That’s all right. What happened then?”

“Cameron was so happy—he scrambled out of the sandbox, and he ran so fast he nearly tripped—” Lulu smiled faintly. “And he was smiling, calling out for my brother—calling him daddy. But Lucky—he just held up his hands to stop Cameron from coming near him.” Lulu demonstrated, raising her own.

Lucky dipped his head, the regret and bitterness swamping him again. He was going to lose everything for a single incident. For one terrible reaction.

“Cameron didn’t seem to understand. Of course he didn’t. He was just—he’s a baby. So he kept coming anyway, and he hugged Lucky’s leg.” Lulu’s voice faltered, and she swiped at her cheek.

Lucky couldn’t look over at the other table, didn’t want to know what Elizabeth looked like as his sister recounted that horrible day.

“What did your brother do, if anything?” Diane asked.

“He picked Cameron up and he—he held him away—like maybe you would when a baby has a smelly diaper—” Lulu, again, demonstrated, by stretching his arms. “Cameron was confused at first, and then started to cry. Lucky shoved him into Elizabeth’s arms and told Cameron to ask his mother why he couldn’t be with him. And then he walked away.”

“Objection, hearsay.”

“Statement is an admission of a party-opponent,” Diane said immediately.

“Overruled, Mr. Frazier. Once again, this is family court and a certain amount of hearsay is allowed.”

Lucky grimaced. He knew his lawyer was just trying to keep out of the worst of the statements, but it probably wasn’t helping.

Nothing would.

“Did Mrs. Spencer or Mr. Morgan react in anyway?”

“I don’t—I left right away. To go after Lucky. But not that I saw. I think—I don’t know. It happened so fast. Elizabeth looked so surprised, and Jason—he wouldn’t have done anything—” Lulu paused. “I don’t know. I left. But I could hear Cameron sobbing — I didn’t stop hearing it until we were far enough away.”

“Thank you, Ms. Spencer.” Diane turned to Lincoln. “Your witness.”

Lulu finally looked over at the table, and met Lucky’s eyes. The shame he already felt amplified as he saw the distress in his little sister’s expression. She had seen herself in Cameron that day. He didn’t know if she’d ever respect him again.

“No questions, Your Honor.”

“Ms. Spencer, you may step down.”

Lulu hurried out of the witness box, and practically ran out of the courtroom.

“I’d like to call my final witness, Elizabeth Spencer.”

——

Lulu’s testimony had been terrible to sit through — to hear that Elizabeth’s own reflections of the matter were right — that it had been as dreadful as she remembered.

Elizabeth took the oath and settled herself in the box that Lulu had just vacated. In the back of the courtroom, she saw Sam sitting in the back row, a smirk on her face.

“Mrs. Spencer.”

Elizabeth focused on Diane. Her lawyer waited another moment. “Can you describe for the court, the situation in which you found yourself last fall when you discovered you were pregnant?”

“I—” Elizabeth fisted her hands in her lap, then looked at Jason. Found the reassurance she needed. “My marriage was on life support. In mid-August, I learned that my husband was not only having an affair, but that he was addicted to pain medication. We’d been having a rough time since he’d been injured,” she continued. “He thought I was having an affair with a friend from work, but I wasn’t.”

“Were you having an affair with Jason Morgan prior to mid-August, prior to learning about Mr. Spencer’s affair?”

“No. No,” Elizabeth repeated. “Jason and I have been friends for years. We—years ago, we were sort of dating. But it never went that far. I was—it just didn’t work out, and we both moved on. But we reconnected again last spring as friends. I knew Lucky was struggling after the injury, and Jason was a—he’s a good listener. And he helped me work through my worries.”

“But nothing physical happpened?” Diane asked.

“No. I wouldn’t have—as bad as things were with Lucky, I was still committed. For better or worse. I meant that part. And he’d gotten hurt trying to save me. How could I hold it against him? But he was so angry. All of the time. And with me.” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “Then, in August, I found him in bed with another woman. I confronted him about that, about the pills, and it was like—he made it my fault. He threw the colleague in my face, but I didn’t understand. Patrick—” She grimaced. Oh well. “Patrick and I were just friends. Back then, I barely even knew him.”

“After this argument, what happened?”

“I took Cameron and I went to my grandmother’s.” Elizabeth bit her lip. “But then I went back to the apartment, trying to tell myself that I made vows, and Lucky was clearly addicted to the pain pills. It all had to be part of that, didn’t it? Because—” She looked at Lucky for the first time, but he was staring at the table. “Because we loved each other. And I’d made those vows. I’d promised him. I wanted to keep that promise.” She paused. “He had the other woman in our apartment. In our bed. The same day I’d left him. Twice within twenty-four hours—” Her voice faltered and she looked down. “So I left.”

“And went where?”

“To where I always go when things fall apart.” Elizabeth looked up then, at Jason. “To Jason.  I knew he’d talk me through it. He’d make me understand what I’d done wrong. Why this was happening to me. He always does.”

Jason scowled slightly, and she knew it was because he’d remembered that night, and how she’d asked him, desperately, What’s wrong with me? Nothing. He’d told her that, almost angrily. Nothing was wrong with her.

“Mrs. Spencer, what happened when you got there?”

“Jason wasn’t having a good night either. Um—” She flicked her eyes to Sam in the back, and the other woman was glaring at her, almost malevolently. “It’s not important why. Just that we were both—we were hurt. So we started talking about the old days. Our friendship from before. When we’d sort of dated a few years ago. I think maybe we were both thinking about the road not taken.” She exhaled slowly, her chest didn’t feel so tight. “I know I was. Maybe if I’d been stronger, or more stubborn, or something—maybe I wouldn’t have made so many mistakes. We slept together that night. And I stayed until the morning.”

Elizabeth waited a moment, to gather her thoughts. “The next morning, I went home, and Lucky seemed to be a different man. He was promising to get clean, to be a better husband. And—I’d made those vows, hadn’t I? He wanted to get clean. If I left him, wouldn’t he just…wouldn’t he fail? How could I live with myself if I didn’t stick by him? Marriage is supposed to be hard. I knew that. So I…I stayed.”

“Did Lucky get clean?”

“No. No, he didn’t. I didn’t know for sure yet first. I found out I was pregnant, and I was just—everything was so complicated. If I told Lucky the baby might not be his, what would he do? And I didn’t even know. What if I blew up his recovery for nothing? And Jason—God—how would this affect his life? He wasn’t planning a child.” Her mouth twisted. “Not with me.”

“What about Lucky? How was his recovering progressing?”

“I found pills. I was so angry, so furious—here I was, pregnant, scared to death about what it might mean, trying to find the courage to tell Jason that I was going to ruin his life—and I’d sent Cam to stay with my grandmother so that I could be there for Lucky—and he was still on the pills—” Her voice broke, and she had to suck in a deep breath. Diane handed her a box of tissues.

“How did you find out?”

“I found them in his jacket. I—I was so stupid,” Elizabeth murmured, her mind drifting back. “So stupid. I confronted him. And he was angry, too. And somehow it was my fault again, which—I don’t know. How could it be my fault? He didn’t know about Jason. And I didn’t—” She shook her head. “I tried to leave, but he grabbed me. He stopped me.”

At the table, Jason tensed, and she couldn’t look at him. She could only look at Diane. “He stopped me. He grabbed my arms and shook me. He told me I couldn’t leave.”

“Did you leave?”

“Not—I couldn’t. He wouldn’t let me go. So I—I tried to get away, and then I was on the floor.” She crushed the tissue in her first. “I was on the floor, and he was confused. And then Nikolas was there.”

And Nikolas was there again today, sitting behind his brother. She hadn’t let herself focus on that. She found him now in the audience, his expression somber.

“Nikolas got me out of there. He took me to the hospital. Um, I left after that. I couldn’t keep—I couldn’t keep going. I told Jason, and he took a paternity test.”

“And then you lied about the results,” Diane said. “Why?”

“I didn’t mean to. It’s just—Lucky checked into rehab when he found out about the baby. He hadn’t known until after I left. And this time, he was getting real help. And Jason—he was back together with his ex-girlfriend, or almost. And—I didn’t mean to,” Elizabeth repeated. “The results—they came in. And Jason wasn’t there. A friend of his was, and she thought she knew the results. I didn’t—I didn’t tell her. But she assumed for whatever reason that it was Lucky’s baby, so she went to tell Jason that.”

She swiped at her tears. “When I got there, Jason told me that he knew the baby was Lucky’s, and that it was for the best, and I just—I just kind of fell apart. On the inside. Because part of me had been relieved Lucky wasn’t the baby’s father because I wanted to get out. I wanted to be done. But I thought—” She shook her head. “I’m not proud that I let him believe that. But I thought it was how he wanted it to be. For the best,” she murmured. “For all of us. And, on the surface, yes. It made it easier. Lucky would never have to know. He could get clean, and Jason could have a life with—with someone else.”

“Did you ever try to tell the truth?”

“I started to a thousand times,” Elizabeth said with a sigh. “But there always seemed to a be a reason not to. And Lucky actually—he went into recovery. He’s stayed that way, and I’m proud of him for that.” She looked at Lucky, hoping that he would raise his head. But he didn’t. “And Jason was trying to have a baby with his girlfriend, so I don’t know. I just—I let it go. For a while.”

“The time came when you told the truth.”

“Yes. Yes, um—” Elizabeth sighed, looked up at the ceiling. “The Metro Court. Hostage crisis. I was—Jason and I got trapped in the elevator, and I was so scared I’d do, and he’d saved my life, and I just blurted it out. I was going to tell everyone the truth after that, but I didn’t. I kept lying. I’m not proud of that. I asked Jason to keep—” She bit her lip. “I asked him to let Lucky raise the baby. Lucky wanted us to get back together, and I was just—I was so tired. And lonely. And scared.”

“Jason agreed?”

“He had his reasons, I know that. And I had no right to ask him. No right at all. It was just—it was a terrible mistake. And it kept getting worse. I wanted it to be over. I married Lucky again, and it was a mistake. I’m sorry for it. I wish I hadn’t. I felt like I was trapped under all of these lies, and if I tried to tell the truth, it would just mean I’d spend the rest of my life digging my way out, and I knew how angry everyone would be. And I was just—” Elizabeth closed her eyes. “I was so tired. I just wanted it all to go away.”

“But you told the truth on the stand in August,” Diane said, her tone almost kind. And Elizabeth was grateful she hadn’t probed more deeply into why Elizabeth had asked Jason to continue the lie. She’d admitted the shameful truth to Jason once, and that was more than enough for a lifetime. He’d forgiven her, and she really wanted to move on.

“I couldn’t keep lying. I couldn’t—to stand in front of the entire world—I looked at Jason, and I just—I couldn’t tell the world he wasn’t Jake’s father. I couldn’t keep doing this. When Jake got kidnapped, it was Jason who found him. He brought him home, but Lucky put him in jail for going across county lines while on parole. That’s how Lucky thanked him for bring Jake home. By sending him back into lockup. He’d sacrificed his freedom and I was supposed to keep lying? Looking right at him? I couldn’t. I’m sorry for how it came out. I know it was the worst way. I know it was worse for Lucky. And I’m sorry. But I just—I couldn’t.”

“All right.” Diane reshuffled her papers. “Your sister-in-law testified about the incident in the park on September 14. Does her recollection match yours?”

Relieved to be off that terrible topic, Elizabeth took a deep breath. “Yes. Cameron was devastated. He kept screaming that he’d be a good boy. And he was crying when we got home, and just…so listless the rest of the day. He’s usually so full of energy and life, and laughter. And he couldn’t be cheered up. I couldn’t fix it. And I’d started it. I knew it was my fault, partially. But Lucky finished it. Whatever I did to him, however I hurt him, I can take it. But Cameron—he’s a baby. And he wanted his daddy. And Lucky walked away.”

Diane paused. “You’ve separated from Mr. Spencer twice in the last year. Between September 2006 and March 2007, did Mr. Spencer ask for visitation?”

“No. We saw him at Christmas, but no. He never saw Cameron. Never asked to. He was in rehab for part of it, but no. Other than that.”

“And since the date of separation?”

“No. He’s never asked to see Cameron.”

“Thank you. No further questions.”

“Mr. Frazier.”

Lincoln Frazier got to his feet. “Mrs. Spencer, where do you currently reside?”

“Harborview Towers.” Elizabeth lifted her chin, met the lawyer’s gaze head on.

“Do you live alone?”

“No. I live with Jason Morgan, the boys, and Damien Spinelli, a family friend.”

“When did you move in?”

“September 14.” Elizabeth looked at Lucky, a bit more coolly, and now he raised his head. Their eyes met. “After the park. I decided there was no point in pretending it wasn’t where I wanted to be to spare anyone else’s feelings.”

“And if this custody hearing should conclude in your favor, what are your intentions once your divorce are finalized?”

Elizabeth frowned. “I don’t understand the question.”

“Do you intend to marry Mr. Morgan?”

“We haven’t discussed that.”

“Does he intend to adopt Cameron?”

“Yes.” Elizabeth paused. “We never discussed that until after the park. Until then, Jason supported my position entirely. But after that, yes, we decided that Jason would adopt Cameron. It’s my intention to do that regardless of this custody hearing. As his mother, I have the right to object to any attempt Lucky may make with regards to Cameron. He had two years to adopt him. He chose not to.”

“And what happens if my client wins?”

“The judge will decide that. That’s not up to me. All I can do is present my case.”

Lincoln waited for a long moment. “You married my client a second time. You renewed your vows. Even after you wanted to leave. Did you love my client at the second wedding? Did you want to marry him?”

“Part of me will always love Lucky,” Elizabeth said. “So the answer to that is yes. I still had hope that we’d be able to make something work. I wanted to believe in the dream we’d had since we were teenagers. But I didn’t recognize that we’d both grown apart. That we were too different. That I didn’t love him enough. I’m sorry for that. But it doesn’t change what I believe to be right for my children.”

“No further questions.”

——

Lucky exhaled slowly as Elizabeth finally stepped down and returned to the table with Jason. It had been worse than he thought to sit through all of that, to remember all the ways he’d battered Elizabeth down during those terrible months last year.

He’d wanted to believe that he’d recovered. That he’d tried hard enough the second time around to be redeemed. That he hadn’t done anything to deserve the way things had happened — not this time.

But the truth of it was that he’d destroyed enough of Elizabeth’s love and respect for him that they were always going to end up here. He’d done nothing but hurt her for years.

“Your Honor.” Lincoln got to his feet. “I’d like to call my first—”

“I don’t want to testify.”

Lincoln stopped, looked at Lucky. “What?”

“What?” Diane demanded.

Lucky got to his feet, looked over at Elizabeth, at Jason. Ignored the bitter hatred that licked at the back of his throat. “I never—I never thought about all the ways I broke you,” he managed. “All the ways I made you feel like it was your job to fix me.”

“Lucky—” Elizabeth began, but Diane put up her hand.

“Mr. Spencer—”

“Your Honor,” Lucky said, cutting off the judge. “I love Cameron. I love my son. I will always love him. I love both of them. I did this so that no one could ever say I was like my father. That I ran away when it got hard. I thought—last year, I was addicted to pain pills, so I ran then. But this—I’m clean now. I’m strong enough, I thought. And I am, I guess. I could keep dragging this out. I could appeal if I lose today. I could keep fighting. But I never stopped to think—” He took a bracing breath, almost surprised at himself. “I never stopped to think about how much damage I’d already done. How much I’d already ruined.” He looked at the judge. “I want to do what I should have a long time ago.” And now he looked to Elizabeth, who was crying. “I want to let you go. I want to let us go. We’re not those kids anymore, Elizabeth. And I’ve ruined too much holding you to promises we made in a church a lifetime ago.”

He cleared his throat. “I can withdraw my custody petition, right? Or you can just—you can give Elizabeth custody. Okay? Let her win. She’s an amazing mother, and I know—I know she’ll love them the way they deserve. What I did to Cameron—she never would have done that. So whatever makes this easy, do that. But I’m not fighting anymore.”

He sat down, his head clear for the first time in a long time. And strangely, relieved.

It was over.

“All right,” the judge said almost cautiously. “Then I rule in favor of Elizabeth Spencer, and award sole legal and physical custody of Cameron Hardy Webber and Jacob Martin Spencer.”

Written in 60 minutes.

---

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Jason emerged from the bathroom, fastening the last button of his dress shirt, then frowned as he saw an item of clothing fly from behind the open closet door and land at the foot the bed — where there was a cluster of sweaters, dresses, and pants.

“Elizabeth?” He stepped around the door to find Elizabeth basically inside the closet, her robe falling off one shoulder as she sorted through various hangers. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong is that half my clothes don’t fit, and the other half are just wrong—” Elizabeth yanked out a purple dress with thin straps. “Does this look like the responsible mother of two?”

“It looks like a dress.”

She sighed, tossed it over her shoulder. “I don’t fit into almost anything from before Jake, and the only thing thats seem to fit are black dresses I’ve worn to funerals—maybe that’s what I should wear—” She flicked through another set of hangers and pulled out another dress. “Does this make me look reasonable and rational and not like a terrible woman who just lies all the time?”

Jason hesitated. “You look beautiful in everything—”

“I don’t want to look beautiful, I want to look reasonable, rational, and responsible—” She shoved it back in the closet. “My boobs are too big.” She glared at him. “Don’t say anything—”

“I wasn’t—”

“It took almost eight months when Cameron was born, and I was breast feeding him—I couldn’t with Jake. I tried, but I was so stressed, and it never—” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I’m not crazy.”

“I didn’t say that.” He took her by the elbow, relieved when she let him lead her away from the closet. “I know you’re nervous about today. I know you don’t want to testify—”

“I just—I know that I have to get up there, and Lucky’s lawyer is going to ask me all these questions, and he’s going to make it look like last summer was worse than it was. I didn’t—” Elizabeth dug her fingers to her scalp, then slid her hands back until they were clasped at the nape of her neck. “In hindsight, yes, I think maybe I was stepping over a line with you—emotionally. Not you. I know you weren’t. But he’s going to ask me if I was in love with you, and I’ll have to say yes, and then the judge isn’t going to care that—”

“Hey. Hey.” Jason sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her down with him onto his knee so he could hold her. “Listen. Last summer, we were friends.”

“Jason—”

“Did we have feelings for each other? Yes. But neither one of us acted on anything until the blackout. We’d been managing our feelings for years and neither one of us ever actually stepped over a line physically. That’s going to matter, Elizabeth.”

She chewed on her bottom lip. “It’s just—it’s so hard to explain everything that happened in a way that doesn’t make me look terrible, which is fair because I was terrible—”

“Lucky has to explain things, too,” Jason reminded her. “If last summer is fair game, then what about Lucky accusing you of an affair with Patrick and having you followed? What about Maxie? The lawyer might stay away from a lot of that, because Lucky comes off worse. And you started your lie for a reason that made sense. You thought I didn’t want Jake—”

“I was an idiot—”

“I didn’t help. And you tried to tell me.”

“Don’t let me off the hook—”

“I’m not. I knew you were struggling with something, and I didn’t push enough. Hey. Can you look at me?”

She did, and he brought her hand to his mouth, kissed her knuckles. “We’re going to win today because our case is better. And—” he paused. “I made some calls.”

“You—” Elizabeth frowned. “You did?”

“I didn’t want to take any chances,” Jason admitted. “Jake is a lock, but Cameron might not be. And I don’t want to lose him. Maybe that’s selfish,” he added. “But I couldn’t forget that day in the park, and all the times Cam asked for Lucky back in the beginning. He’s never once tried to see him.”

“So today—”

“Is a formality. It’ll be tough, it’ll be painful, and embarrassing for all of us. But at the end of the day, we’re going to win. We probably would have anyway, but I couldn’t leave it to chance. Cameron’s too important.”

Elizabeth sighed and stood, going back to the closet. Jason rose. “Did I—Should I have talked to you about that first?”

“No. No. It’s just—I don’t know.” She folded her arms. “I’m glad that we know, and you know  how much it means to me that you love Cameron that much. I guess — after today, it all ends and I don’t even know what to do with all of this—” She gestured. “Anxiety. Stress. It’s been having over my head like a sword for all these weeks—months. And today, it’ll be over. Lucky could appeal, but he wouldn’t win, and then we just—” Elizabeth turned back to the closet and pulled out a dark green dress. “We just move on. And you probably think I’m crazy. Because I want to move on. I don’t want to live like this, but—”

“I think you’ve been under so much stress since Manny Ruiz kidnapped you that it’s part of you now,” Jason said gently. “You went from the kidnapping to Lucky’s injuries, then Manny on the run, I got hurt, the drugs, the pregnancy, the affair, the hostage crisis, Jake’s kidnapping, the trial—” He went to her, took her by the shoulders, rubbed them. “I don’t think either of us are going to know what to do with ourselves when we don’t have to think about this.”

“Yeah. Yeah.” She forced a smile. “I just want it over with. That’s all.”

“Today.” He kissed her, and she clung to him another moment. “I’ll get the boys up and make sure they’re ready to go to Audrey’s.”

“Thanks. I’ll finish getting ready. I promise. I won’t keep rummaging in the closet.”

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

“You’re not going to the custody hearing?” Robin asked, coming up behind Emily at the counter. She leaned around Emily to put away a chart. “I thought you’d be testifying.”

“Elizabeth said she wasn’t comfortable with asking me.” Emily made a face. “I wanted to. Because Lucky told me he was going to refuse custody of Cameron if he didn’t get visitation with Jake, but then the park happened, and Lulu is a better witness.”

“I guess.” Robin paused. “I’ll never understand how Lucky could have raised Cameron for so long and then be okay with walking out of his life.”

“Some douchebags shouldn’t be fathers,” Patrick muttered, and Robin turned, surprised to see him. “What? Look, any guy can show up and call himself a father. It doesn’t make him one.”

“No, that’s true. But—”

“Lucky was with Elizabeth for, what, two years? Cameron’s three.” Patrick scribbled his signature on a chart. “That means the kid only knows him. Doesn’t remember anyone else. Just Lucky. That’s his dad. And he’s going to walk out on that because he wants to throw a tantrum.” He snorted. “Takes a real dick to walk out on a toddler. It’s like kicking a puppy.”

Emily folded her arms. “I think he ended up backing down on that,” she said softly. “After the park. Elizabeth said he changed his petition. He still wants split custody of both boys, but it’s not an ultimatum anymore. But it was too late. Elizabeth was too angry. Too hurt.”

“She’s better off. I don’t know if Jason’s a better father, but he probably won’t screw a teenager—sorry,” he added to Robin because the teenager was, of course, Robin’s cousin. “I should have told her the first time I saw her together.”

“I didn’t believe you,” Robin murmured. “I feel terrible about that now. I talked you out of it.”

“Nah, I didn’t care enough to push. I didn’t know Elizabeth that well yet, but now I do.” He looked at Emily. “I know he’s your friend, too. Must be hard to take sides.”

“You’d think that,” Emily said, “and Lucky’s definitely pissed because I did. I don’t know, I was prepared to be more neutral—and I was trying to—but then he started all of this with Cameron. Even if he has a point — even if I understand how angry he was over how Elizabeth handled this — she’s the only one I see trying to protect the kids from the fallout.”

“And there you go. You can feel sorry for the guy — finding out like that must have been harsh. But how he handles it is on him. She did a shitty thing. Objective speaking, she should be the villain—” Patrick shrugged. “But I can’t find it in me to give a damn about him after how he abused her—”

“Oh, and the way he treated her during the kidnapping—” Robin reminded him. “The whole reason Lainey got involved was because Lucky agreed to it. He thought she’d hurt Jake.”

“She told me,” Emily said, remembering with a pang, “that Jason was doing more to support her from a jail cell than Lucky was while standing in front of her. I remember telling her it was because Jason wasn’t Jake’s father, but it hits different now.”

“See? He’s an asshole, and sometimes the universe hands dicks like him an extra dose of karma that no one even asked for. I hope he rots in hell.”

Patrick sauntered off, and Robin looked after him thoughtfully. “He’s really angry about this. I knew he and Elizabeth were friendly, but—”

“You know Lucky was just an idiot last summer,” Emily said, hurriedly. “It’s not like that with Patrick and Elizabeth—”

“What? Oh.” Robin shook her head. “No. No. I know that. It’s not the vibe I get anyway. He’s just—I don’t know. It just surprised me.” She picked up a chart. “Two years ago, he’d never had a female friend he didn’t try to sleep with, and now—he’s just changed a lot. I have to get on my rounds. Let me know if you get any updates about the custody hearing.”

“Will do.”

Spencer House: Living Room

Lucky stepped up to the mirror over the fireplace and tightened the knot on his tie. Behind him, the door opened and Nikolas came in.

“I thought I was meeting you at the court house.”

“I wanted to stop by and see if you’d changed your mind.” Nikolas remained at the landing, and Lucky went towards him, grabbing his coat as he did. “I can testify—”

“To what?” Lucky picked up his keys and wallet. The brothers left the house, heading down the steps. “My drug addiction? Throwing Elizabeth on the floor?”

“To the lies,” Nikolas said. “I mean, Elizabeth lied to all of us—”

“She’s not going to dispute that.” Lucky stopped, turned towards him. “I appreciate the offer. If I thought you had anything that might actually help, I’d let you do it. But you don’t. And Elizabeth didn’t put Emily on her witness list either.”

“No, it’s just Lulu,” Nikolas said, his mouth tight. “I blame Spinelli. He probably—”

“She called Diane the same day as the park,” Lucky cut in, and his brother fell silent. “She was thinking of herself, and all the times she begged Dad to stay. You and I both know any chance I had with Cameron disappeared when I did that. Even if I own up to it with the judge—I don’t have any legal standing with Cameron. I never adopted him.”

“You didn’t need to—”

“I made my choices. Bad and good. They’re mine to live with. I don’t see the point in dragging you into the middle of it when there’s nothing you can do.” Lucky opened his car door. “Do you want ride over with me?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I will. Lucky—”

“I’m going to fight as hard as I can, but—” Lucky paused. “There’s part of me that thinks maybe this is for the best. Maybe, after what I did last year, how I handled all of this, maybe this is how it’s supposed to be.”

“You can’t—”

“The boys are in good hands. Elizabeth is a good mother, and I remember Jason with Michael. They’ll be okay. They won’t be mine, and that’s hard.” Lucky paused, took a deep breath, forced down the bitterness. “It changed for me, Nikolas. You know that. The day I stood on the PCU campus, and I looked down at those girls.” His throat was tight. “At Georgie, this kid I’d known all her life. She was bruised and broken—and just gone. And it’s my job to find the bastard who did this.”

“Lucky—”

“I went to notify Spinelli,” Lucky continued, “and I couldn’t go inside the penthouse. Cameron was there, and Jason didn’t want me anywhere near him after the park.”

“That’s not his place—”

“No.” Lucky’s smile was sour. “No, it was mine. I was supposed to protect Cameron. And I didn’t. Mac blames himself. For not being there for Georgie, for not knowing something was wrong. Who do I have to blame for what happened but myself, Nikolas? Elizabeth didn’t force me to walk out on her for two weeks without a word. She didn’t force me to tie Cameron’s custody to Jake. She didn’t change her phone number or refuse me visits with Cameron. All of that was me.”

Nikolas was quiet for a moment. “Lucky—”

“My ego and my pride was more important to me than my son. Not just for a moment in the park, but for weeks.” Lucky paused.  “I have to live with that. I can’t change what I did last month. What I did last year. Yesterday. But today, I can go into court, try my best, and walk away when it’s over.  That’s all that’s left.”

Port Charles Courthouse: Family Court

Elizabeth waited tensely as the judge began the hearing and rifled through paperwork. At her side, Jason held her hand tightly. Even with the news that he’d made arrangements behind the scenes, she still couldn’t quite believe it would all be over after today.

“All right, let’s begin.” The judge slid on his reading glasses. “The first matter on the docket is a petition from Jason Morgan to establish paternity of Jacob Martin Spencer. I have the results of the DNA test and an affidavit from Elizabeth Spencer attesting to the facts.” He switched his gaze to Lucky and his lawyer at the next table. “Mr. Frazier, your client has filed an objection to the paternity petition.”

“My client is withdrawing that objection.”

Elizabeth blinked, swung her head to look at her estranged husband. Lucky was dropping his opposition to declaring Jason as Jake’s legal father?”

The judge raised his brows, then looked at Diane. “Ms. Miller?”

“Ah, if the respondent has no objection, then the petition should be granted. Lucas Spencer’s rights should be terminated, and Jason Morgan named as Jacob’s legal father.”

The judge waited for Lincoln Frazier to offer anything else, but the lawyer remained silent. “The plaintiff’s petition is granted.”

Elizabeth exhaled — at least the worst of the wrongs had been righted. She traded a relieved look at Jason, his eyes bright. He was Jake’s father in the eyes of the world and now according to the courts.

“Let’s move on to the next matter. Custody of Cameron Hardy Webber and Jacob Spencer.”

Written in 60 minutes.

---

Spencer House: Living Room

Lucky opened the door, then nearly wished he hadn’t when he saw Emily on his porch. “I’m on my way to work—”

“So am I, so this won’t be long.” Emily raised her brows when he didn’t move. “Aren’t you going to let me in?”

He made a face, then stepped back. “I really—”

“Don’t have a lot of time, I heard you.” She remained on the landing. “The hearing is tomorrow. It’s not too late—”

“Em—” Lucky stepped down from the landing and back over to the table where he’d left his coffee cooling. He picked up the mug, sipped it. “I don’t want to have this discussion again.”

“It’s not much of a discussion when you’ve been ignoring everything everyone’s said for months. Lucky, you haven’t seen the boys since the beginning of August—”

“Since Elizabeth testified.” He carefully set down the coffee, turned to face her. “I’m aware of that. I never came home that night. I went to Wyndemere so that I wouldn’t be alone. You know where I went first?” She shook her head. “Courtland Street. My old dealer is still around.”

“Lucky.”

“I nearly broke ten months of sobriety, so I went to stay with Nikolas. And no, I haven’t seen the boys since then. Not for longer than a few minutes. That’s not my fault—”

“You could have petitioned for visitation pending the custody hearing, and you know that.” Emily folded her arms. “Elizabeth moved out in mid-August. It’s two months later. The only time you’ve seen them is in the park. What do you think the judge is going to say tomorrow?”

“I made a mistake.” Lucky exhaled slowly. “One mistake. I let my anger take over, I let it blind me to what really mattered. Elizabeth lied over and over and over again — but she gets a free pass, doesn’t she?” He smirked. “She points to the drugs and Maxie as reason enough for why she lied to me for a year, but I don’t get the benefit of the doubt for a moment?”

“Lucky—”

“I know I’m not going to win.” Lucky took the coffee cup into the kitchen, and Emily followed. He dumped it into the sink. “Even if I had a decent case, which I don’t, Jason would just bribe the judge. You think I’m stupid?”

“Then why—”

“Because as much as Elizabeth wishes she could erase these last few years, she can’t. Because Cameron and Jake are going to grow up and I’m part of their story. I’m in the pictures. Jason isn’t anywhere to be seen. And if the question ever gets asked, I want to be able to say I fought.”

“You’re going to put everyone through this custody hearing tomorrow for that?” Emily scoffed. “Lucky, come on—”

“She humiliated me,” Lucky murmured, though the words lacked the heat he’d felt only weeks ago. “I sat in that court room and listened to her testify that she’d spent the night with Jason, that my son wasn’t mine. And I found out at the same time as the rest of the world. Maybe I deserved that, I don’t know. The addict did, sure. I was brutal last year, and I had the affair, and I did everything wrong.” He turned to face her. “For six months, I treated Elizabeth like garbage. I accused her of affairs that didn’t exist while I was taking so many pills, it’s a miracle I’m alive. Even when I promised to get clean, I didn’t do it. I kept sleeping with Maxie. Do you think I don’t know exactly how we got to this point?”

Emily said nothing, just stared at him, so he looked away, towards the window. “And if she’d divorced me, announced the paternity to the world, and went on her merry way, I wouldn’t blame her. But that’s not what she did.”

“No.”

“She came back to me. She told me she loved me. She married me again. And she let me believe in a family that wasn’t mine to keep. She lied every day she woke up and wished I was someone else.” Lucky met Emily’s gaze. “And then she humiliated me by announcing to the world that I’d been a fool. That’d I been lied to. A month later she moved in with Jason Morgan, and now she wants to give him the family she let me believe was mine.”

“I know Elizabeth made mistakes—”

“But her mistakes are okay because I was addicted to drugs, right?” Lucky cut in, scathingly. “Her mistakes get forgiven because she was scared and stressed and panicked, right? She gets the redemption because, hey, can you blame her for how it happened? But me? I got clean, Emily. I did exactly what I promised her I would do. I got clean, I stayed clean, and right until that day in court, can you tell me one thing I did deserve what’s happened?”

“I don’t think you’re wrong, Lucky,” Emily said carefully. “But—”

“But you’ve chosen sides. That’s fine. But you don’t get to tell me I have to let Elizabeth walk away without a fight. She can go screw your damned brother all she wants, but she had no right to start a new life while mine was still in ruins. She burned it down, Emily. Not me. I didn’t do a damned thing to deserve any of this.”

Lucky took a deep breath. “I’m going to lose tomorrow. I’m trying to make peace with that. I don’t think what I did in the park merits me losing Cameron forever, but she does. And I didn’t adopt him, so I guess I have to live with that. But I love him. I love them both. And I’m going to the hearing tomorrow so I can tell her that. So that she can see that her new, perfect life with Jason has a price. I’m going to that hearing so she has to tell the world what she did. So that she has to explain why the hell she let me believe that little boy was mine and why she married me again when she didn’t love me anymore. When she didn’t even respect me. Is that good enough for you?”

General Hospital: Lab

Robin flipped to a fresh sheet of paper in her notebook and scribbled a few lines — the formula needed some adjusting, but she was pleasantly surprised by the results —

She glanced over at the tap on her cubicle, finding Patrick there. “Oh. Um. Hey.” She’d gone out of her way to avoid him since Georgie’s service, since she’d spent the night with him. Instead, she’d buried herself in the lab, hoping that the monotony of the work would keep her brain occupied.

“Hey. Sorry to interrupt.” Patrick held out a thick case file. “I have a patient with an aneurysm in the subarachnoid. I know you’ve had some success in reducing the size with your drug therapy.”

“Oh.” She pushed back on her stool to give him space to come inside the workspace. He dragged over a chair and handed her the file. She flipped through it, finding the scans. “It’s not a good candidate for a surgery?”

“Not with the size of it. I’m thinking, in combination with your therapy and a WEB device, I can reduce the risk of rupture with an eye towards surgery then.” Patrick rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s probably one of the worst cases I’ve seen, but I don’t want to send this guy home without even trying something.”

“Because if you don’t operate, it’s a death sentence.” Robin skimmed the results of recent blood tests, then looked at the patient’s personal information. “He’s young. Only twenty-five. That’s a point in his favor.”

“Yeah, and pretty healthy. I don’t even know what would cause an aneurysm in a case like this. But—” Patrick caused. “He just got married, and there’s—his wife is pregnant.”

Robin’s eyes flew up. “You know personal details? That’s not like you.”

“He introduced himself that way,” Patrick said with an amused smile. “Hi, I’m David. This is  my wife, Halle. And I need you to keep me alive so I can meet my son.”

Robin’s amused expression faded. “No pressure, huh?”

“What do you think? Can we work on this? I didn’t promise him, but all the same—”

“You want to give him his best shot.” Robin closed the file. “There are other pathologists that can administer the treatment, Patrick. It doesn’t have to be me.”

“You’re the best, and it’s your research,” Patrick told her. “I wouldn’t ask if I thought anyone else could do this.”

“I know.” She paused. “Yeah. I need to do a few more tests and talk to him myself, but he’s a good candidate. Let’s see what we can do to keep him around to meet his kid.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Elizabeth emerged from the laundry room with a basket on her hip. “How can two small children go through so much clothes?” she grunted as she set it on the coffee table. “Spinelli, do you need any laundry? I’m going to toss in one more load for the boys—”

“No thanks, Fair Elizabeth. The Jackal doesn’t want to create more work for you.” The tech’s fingers flew over his keyboard. “Little Dude and Stone Cold the Second have you busy enough.”

“Hmm—” Elizabeth looked over at the playpen tucked under the windows, in the corner. Cameron was standing outside of it, dangling a stuffed rabbit that he’d let Jake grab, then take away, then grab again — “Cam, don’t tease your brother.”

“No tease, Mommy. Play. Jake like it.” Cameron lowered the rabbit again and Jake babbled, his tiny hands reaching for it.

She smiled as she watched them. They’d been at the penthouse for a month now, and every day Cameron seemed to be more and more comfortable. And after tomorrow, after the hearing, Elizabeth was looking forward to nothing more than a boring routine of going to work, coming home to her guys, and watching her boys grow and change.

Behind her the door opened, and she turned, smiling as Jason came in. It was one of the rare days he’d gone into the warehouse since the trial. “Hey. You’re just in time for dinner. I ordered from Eli’s.”

“Sounds good.” He kissed her lightly, curling his arm around her waist. Then he went to the closet to take down his lockbox. She followed him into the kitchen where he removed the gun from the holster at the small of his back, then tucked it inside the metal box.

“Diane called,” she said, leaning against the counter. “She said we’re all set for the hearing tomorrow. She’s only going to call Lulu, you, and me as witnesses.” Elizabeth paused. “Lucky isn’t calling anyone.”

Jason frowned, turned to her. “What? I thought we had his list—”

“He changed it. Nikolas isn’t going to testify for him, and Luke was supposed to be on the list, but apparently, he took off and can’t be located. I think Mac was going to testify—but that was before Georgie.” Elizabeth made a face. “I feel guilty, even though I shouldn’t. I didn’t go looking for Lulu. She came to Diane.”

“Don’t feel guilty.” Jason came to her and drew her into his arms. “You were willing to give him joint custody of Cameron. He’s the one that used him for leverage and pulled that stunt in the park.”

“I know. It’s just—” Elizabeth shook her head, flattened her hands against his chest to look up at him. “No. I won’t do this. I promised you and myself that I was going to stop this. Diane and I talked about something else —” She licked her lips. “When the hearing is over, if it goes the way we expect it to, I was hoping you might want to start the paperwork to adopt Cameron.”

Jason tensed, but his eyes were soft as he searched her expression. “You’re sure? We—we haven’t talked about it since I brought it up—”

“I know. And I wanted to take some time. To let Cameron settle in here, to let us settle,” she added. “But if it’s something you want, too—”

“You know I do.”

Elizabeth smiled, leaned up to kiss him, lingering. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

“What do you want to tell Cameron?” Jason asked as she slipped away to go to the doorway and check on the scene in the living room. Somehow, Cameron had convinced Spinelli to put down his laptop and come join them. The tech was on his knees with a stuffed brown bear, dangling over Jake so that the infant was reaching for it with his left hand while his right hand was still trying to get the rabbit from Cameron. Jake was babbling excitedly, Cameron was giggling, and Spinelli—

“It’s good to hear Spinelli laughing,” she murmured. “He hasn’t done that much these last few weeks.” She cleared her throat, looked back at him. “I don’t know what to tell Cameron. He doesn’t ask for Lucky anymore, but I also don’t know if we just sit him down and tell him or ask him, or just…let it happen naturally.” Elizabeth rubbed her finger across her lips. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know. He’s older than Michael was when he went to live with Sonny.” Jason joined her at the living room. “Cameron’s old enough to know I wasn’t always there.”

“He won’t remember that forever. I don’t remember anything about being three,” Elizabeth said.

“Why don’t we just let it go on like for a little while longer?” Jason suggested, curling his arm around her waist again. He never went that long without touching her in some way, and it was definitely one of her favorite things about their relationship. It was like they’d bottled up years of wanting to touch each other, and it kept spilling out in small ways. He liked to touch her hair, and she was always taking his hand—

“I think that’s a good idea. Oh, I was thinking that the last guest room — what would think about redoing it for Spinelli?” Elizabeth suggested. “He’s been in Brenda’s old room since he’s been here, and while I think he’s used to the pink room, it might be nice for him to have his own space. A workstation with a good computer—” She broke off when he just smiled. “What?”

“A few weeks ago, Spinelli offered to move out. He was worried he was….intruding,” Jason added.

“You told him no. Of course you did. It would be so strange here without him. The boys love him — he’s like a silly uncle who’s not too grown up to play their games—” Elizabeth rested her head against Jason’s shoulder. “And he keeps you from being too serious. Plus, I’d worry about him being on his own right now. He’s still carrying so much weight from Georgie and Chelsea.”

“I told him no,” Jason said. “And I think it’s a good idea. We’ll have to find a way to make it a surprise. I’ll get his class schedule, and they can work around it.”

“I love that. Oh, this will be fun. I’ll get Cameron to help — just like Spinelli set up their room. I’m sure Cam would love to help him, too.” She kissed him, and he held her close for another minute when she would have pulled away.

“Tomorrow will go just the way we planned,” Jason assured her. “And then we can get started on the rest of our lives.”

“That sounds like a great plan.”

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

Lucky set the most recent case report in front of Mac. “I traced the burner phone that made the hangups to a batch sold from a convenience store, but it was a cash sale last July. And any security footage is long gone.”

Mac sighed. “And the florist?”

“I can’t find a single floral delivery service in the city that had an order delivered to Lewis Hall.” Lucky paused. “I’m leaning towards it being personally delivered by our suspect. But the video footage doesn’t give me more than an estimate of his height and build. Lewis Hall doesn’t have any visitors logged in for that day.”

“That doesn’t tell you anything?” Mac demanded.

“Not having a visitor signed in means our guy even slipped through a crack which isn’t unknown. Emily lived on campus for a while,” Lucky added, “and it wasn’t that hard to get into a dorm room. But I’m also looking into anyone who had access to the campus and wouldn’t need to sign in. It’s a longer list than I’d like, and I don’t have a lot to exclude anyone.” He paused. “I’m hoping that we get a DNA profile back in a week or two.”

“You can do a fishnet search?”

“Yeah. That’s the plan. With a profile, we’ll ask anyone on campus who had access to volunteer a sample for comparison. And then make a list of anyone who refuses.” Lucky paused. “But that’s all I’ve got Mac. I’m sorry. I know you wanted more. I wish there was more.”

“Robert’s been looking over the reports,” Mac murmured. “I worried I wasn’t being objective, that I wasn’t seeing things clearly — but he says you’ve done everything the way he’d have ordered it. So—” Mac slid the report back to him with tired eyes. “I guess we hope for a miracle.”

No idea how long this one took. The Supreme Court screwed over the student loan forgiveness program, and I got distracted. And then the Liz/Patrick scene got carried away, so I figured what the hell.

---

General Hospital: Locker Room

Robin stared blankly at the inside of her locker, at the pair of emergency scrubs she always kept neatly folded at the bottom of her locker, with an extra pair of sneakers in a plastic bag resting on top. On the inside of her locker door, she had taped a few photographs — one with her uncle at high school graduation, one with Stone so she’d never forget the reason she’d become a doctor—

And a photograph of Robin with Maxie and Georgie, the last Christmas before Georgie had graduated high school. Robin had only just moved home and begun working at General Hospital, Maxie hadn’t yet lost Jesse and spiraled out of control, and Georgie—

She hadn’t been back at work since that terrible day, since Mac had come to the hospital, and he’d told her, and the world had stopped spinning for a horrible second, and now it seemed like it was spinning too fast—

Robin carefully lifted the photo from the locker, pulling gently at the tape so that the photo didn’t rip. She touched Georgie’s smile and thought about how she’d never see it again.

She couldn’t quite understand why this was hitting her so badly. She’d lost people before. Her grandmother when she was a child. Duke. Then her parents. She had them back now, but that hadn’t erased the pain.

And of  course, Stone. Beloved, wonderful, forever young Stone. And those years she’d grieved for Brenda—

But somehow Georgie’s death—her murder—it was more jarring. Life-altering. And maybe it was because she’d been young when she’d lost her parents, and the grief felt fuzzy and immaterial after all this time. Stone—she’d had time to prepare. To be used to it. She’d watched him gradually fade away until his death had been a sweet release from the pain of living.

Brenda had been like a sister to her, a best friend. But she’d been older and they’d found their friendship later in life.

Georgie—Robin had known her from birth, had watched her grow and shift from the sweet baby to a thoughtful child to a compassionate young woman—she’d watched Georgie blossom and grow up. She’d been an older sister, and there was some weight in being the eldest. A sense of responsibility.

And while Robin could rationally remind herself that she couldn’t have prevented Georgie’s death, that didn’t mean she couldn’t find a way to blame herself. Her cousin had been receiving strange flowers and hang-ups. But she’d told no one but Chelsea and Spinelli. Mac had been preoccupied with Maxie, whose flair for the dramatic had always commanded more attention—and maybe if Robin hadn’t been so absorbed by the end of her relationship with Patrick—

“Robin?”

She broke out of her thoughts slowly, and it took a moment to focus on her friends and roommates as they stood in the aisle of the locker room. “Kelly. Lainey.”

“Hey.” Kelly looked over her shoulder at the photo in Robin’s hand. “That’s a great picture of you guys.”

“Yeah. It is.” Robin put it back on the door her locker, rubbing her thumb firmly over the tape to reapply the stickiness.

“If you need more time, I’m sure Dr. Ford would give it to you.” Lainey wrinkled her nose. “Or Patrick can put you on a case and not use you. That would give you time, too. It’s the least he can do after everything he’s put you through.”

Robin exhaled slowly, pulled her sweater over her head. Dr. Ford, appointed as the Chief of Staff after the death of Alan that winter, had already granted Robin more time than he probably should. Ten days was enough time. Robin needed to get back to work, back to her life. She’d waved goodbye to her parents, to Felicia and Frisco, and now—now it was time.

Then the second part of Lainey’s statement registered and Robin turned to her. “I really wish you’d both lay off Patrick. I told you, there’s no bad guy here. He didn’t cheat on me. He didn’t break my heart—”

“He dated you for over a year knowing damn well you wanted a family—” Kelly snorted, folded her arms. “It’s selfish, of course, but who’d expect anything else from him?”

“Never trust a guy with dimples—”

“Would you rather he married me, had a family with me, and then resented us all in a few years?” Robin shook her head. “And he didn’t know that I wanted kids. I didn’t make that clear to him. When I did—”

“Please. He’s using it as an excuse to run from being an adult—”

Robin slammed the locker door, and Kelly jumped. “Stop it. Just stop. I’m asking you to stop making this harder.”

Lainey frowned. “We’re not making it harder, we’re just saying that you should be able to lean on people you love during this and he deliberately—”

“And this is how you help?” Robin wanted to know. “By being petty about something that didn’t happen to you?” She yanked her hair out from beneath the collar of her scrub top, wound her stethoscope around her neck. “Patrick, by the way, has been amazing through this. He’s checked on me. He’s done everything I’ve asked him to. You could take a lesson or two from him.”

General Hospital: Cafeteria

“That does not look edible,” Patrick said, leaning towards the serving dish that held some sort of brown meat dish. He wrinkled his nose and looked at Elizabeth. “You think it’s dog food?”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, slid her tray down towards the cash register. She paid for her salad and water, and wasn’t that surprised when Patrick followed her to a table. “You don’t have anyone else to bother today?”

“Nope. Free until surgery later. You sure you don’t want to scrub in? It’s supposed to be a good one.”

“I absolutely do,” Elizabeth said, “but I can’t. Epiphany has me on insurance detail for another week. It’s supposed to discourage me from doing foolish things like coming back a month early from maternity leave.” She jabbed her fork in her salad. “She’s mad at me.”

“Why did you come back? I mean, if you were still at your grandmother’s house, I guess I’d understand. But you’re, uh, living with Jason now, right? So he can’t afford the bills on his own?”

Elizabeth furrowed her brow. “We haven’t talked about it. And it’s not about the bills. I have to take care of my kids. Cameron isn’t Jason’s son. He needs to eat. And he’s growing so fast—” She jerked a shoulder. “And I don’t want anyone to think I left Lucky because Jason has money.”

“Why do you care what anyone thinks? Isn’t that what got you in this mess?”

“Okay, I don’t want the judge in my custody case to think I’m just a gold digger hopping from one baby daddy to another.  I can provide for my kids. I can also be in a healthy, supportive relationship where money isn’t a factor. I’m not on Jason’s accounts—”

“Ha. I bet he put you on them the day you agreed to move in.”

Elizabeth opened her mouth to protest, then closed it because that sounded like something Jason might do and just not mention it. “Okay, well I didn’t ask to be. He can do what he wants with his money. I’m not asking for it.”

“I don’t care what you do. I’m just saying—” Patrick shrugged. He shoved his tray away, folded his arms. “Listen, I have a question. And it’d be nice if you’d just, you know, answer it without thinking about why I’m asking it or that I have ulterior reasons or if I’m thinking about changing my mind, because I’m not. I’m collecting information. Okay? That’s it.”

“Oh, this should be good.” Elizabeth set down her fork. “I love when there’s conditions on questions. Sure. Go for it.”

“Did you always want to have kids?”

Elizabeth blinked because she hadn’t really expected that, though now his preamble to asking it made sense. “Honestly, no. I don’t think I really thought about it much. When I was a teenager, and Lucky and I were dating, I knew we would always  be together the way you do at that age, but the future was, like, this abstract concept. And maybe I thought kids would be part of it. Later, when I thought he was dead, I wished we’d had a kid. Even though we were young. So there’d be a piece of him to love. But if you’re asking me if I ever sat down, and thought I would like to have children and this is the man I want, and then we went ahead and did it, no. I never really thought about kids until I got pregnant.”

“Okay.” Patrick absorbed that. “Follow-up?”

“Go for it.”

“And remember, this—” Patrick mimed making a box around them. “This is a judgment-free zone. So my follow-up is—when you found out you were pregnant—either time—did you ever think this is a terrible idea and I have no business bringing life into this world when I have the emotional capacity of a hamster?”

“That’s oddly specific, and I think you underestimate yourself—” He glared at her, and she sighed. “Patrick, if a parent ever tells you they have it all figured it out, they’re just fucking lying. And there are days when I regret every single moment that led me to being up in the middle of the night changing Jake’s diaper because there are things that come out of a child’s  body that can’t be human—”

“I need you to take this seriously.”

“I am. Yes. Every single time I had a positive pregnancy test, I was pretty sure that this was a terrible mistake, and that I had just made my life more complicated. I had a miscarriage before Cameron,” she said, and he frowned. “About six months before. I had just found out Ric was a terrible lying liar who lies like people breath, and—well, we won’t get into that. I thought I would be a single mother who was working as a waitress and lived in a drafty studio without a bathroom of my own. I considered abortion.”

“You didn’t go through with it.”

“No. I lost the baby a few weeks later. After I’d made the mistake of forgiving and marrying Ric. Later, when I was pregnant with Cameron, and I realized Zander was his father, God, I was so angry with myself.” Elizabeth bit her lip. “Here I was again, in the same situation. I still didn’t have a stable life. I knew that Ric wasn’t trustworthy. Zander’s life was chaos, and I was supposed to bring a life into that situation?” She shook her head. “What business did I have being a mother and being in charge of raising a decent human being when it was clear I could barely take of myself.”

“But you went through with it.”

“I did. And that’s not the right answer for everyone, Patrick. Last year, when I was lying about Jake’s paternity, I doubted myself at every moment. It’s a terrible way to live, and to wonder if you’re doing more harm than good creating life and bringing it into the world. That was my experience a lot of the time I’ve spent pregnant. Because my life is littered with a series of terrible choices, mostly made because I was scared to be alone, so I’d cling to anything or anyone I thought would keep me afloat.”

Patrick nodded, stared at his hands. “So you get it. You understand why I don’t want to take that chance.”

“I do. And I respect you for it. No one should be pressured to be a parent. And as much as what you and Robin are going through hurts—you’re doing the right thing if you honestly don’t want to have kids.” She bit her lip. “Am I allowed to give unsolicited advice?”

“It’s not really unsolicited at this point, is it?” he muttered. “Clearly, my clever ruse hasn’t fooled you.”

“As someone who has made life-altering choices because I was scared of the harder road—if you live your life that way, it’s lonely. And it’s painful. Don’t deny yourself something you might want because you’re afraid of what kind of father you’ll be.”

He sighed, nodded. “That’s fair.” He met her eyes. “What’s it like? Being a parent, I mean.”

“Chaotic joy.” Elizabeth’s lips curved into a smile. “Constant wonder. The fear never goes away. The world is a scary place, and children are fragile. It’s terrifying.” She closed her eyes. “I remember when they gave me Cameron for the first time. He was this wet, slimy mess, and they laid him on my chest—and our eyes met, and I just—” Her voice faltered. “You can’t describe the way your heart and world just expands in that moment. How you can love someone so deeply that didn’t exist five seconds ago. Being a parent, it’s not for everyone, Patrick. But it’s a pretty wild journey that never gets boring.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Lucky checked his inbox for a report from the state lab, and grimaced when it was still showing the DNA results were a few weeks ago. The lab was backed up, and his wasn’t the only murder in New York state.

He leaned back, irritated with the world, and with himself because it certainly wasn’t fair that he had nothing but the slim hope whoever had murdered Georgie and Chelsea had their DNA in the CODIS system.

He set aside the murder file, as much as it pained him, and worked on other open cases, preparing some for warrants, and looking over his notes for court next week — he was due to testify on a robbery—

“There you are!”

He glanced up, found Sam smiling at him as she stood next to his desk. He’d declined her invitation to unload on her a few days ago after he’d learned Lulu planned to testify against him at the custody hearing. While Sam might argue they were on the same side, he knew that wasn’t true.

Lucky wanted his kids. He wanted Jake and he wanted Cameron, and that was the end of it. At the beginning, he’d been interested in revenge, in punishing Elizabeth, but after that day in the park — after standing over Georgie’s broken and bruised body with her roommate only steps away—there was no point in punishing anyone. He just wanted to move on with his life.

Sam had no dog in the fight, only the desire to watch the world burn.

“Did you have something on an open case?” Lucky asked, leaning back in his seat. “Because otherwise, Sam, I’ve made it pretty clear that there’s nothing I can do for you.”

“I thought about what you said at Kelly’s, and you’re right. You’re right,” Sam repeated, dropping into the wooden seat next to his desk. “I was just focused on hurting Jason. You’re a good guy, Lucky. I just keep thinking about how it’s not fair. I can’t get the revenge I want, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help you win.”

“I tried it your way, and I ended up feeling like a scumbag, Sam, so I’m good.”

Sam’s eyes darkened. “I didn’t—”

“I appreciate the offer, I do. And I can almost understand why you want to keep putting the screws to Jason. He humiliated you in court when Diane called you a gold-digging tramp—”

“That wasn’t the words she used,” Sam said, her teeth clenched.

“No, that was the papers. Sorry. You got humiliated there, and now Jason’s moved on and Elizabeth is living with him—”

“And that doesn’t make you angry?” Sam demanded.

“Am I angry that my wife has moved on before our divorce is final?” Lucky sighed. “I am. I am furious that Elizabeth could and has walked away so cleanly like nothing in the last two years mattered to her—”

“So—”

“And I was willing to do whatever I could to make her pay, to twist her to what I thought I deserved — and maybe it’s not fair that she’s going to probably end up with full custody and a new husband before the end of the year—”

“Damn it—”

“I have a dead girl, Sam. Two dead girls,” he added. “I don’t have the luxury of worrying about getting revenge on my ex-wife.” He gestured to the door. “You wanna waste your life on it, go for it. But I’m moving on. I’m going to plead my case, hope for the best, and then close the door.”

“You know what? You deserve whatever happens to you, you weak son of a bitch,” she bit out, then stormed out.

“Funny, five minutes ago I was the good guy.” Lucky dismissed her and got back to work.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

“Stone Cold—” Spinelli stopped, furrowed his brow. “What are you doing?”

Jason paused, the rag in his hand poised above the stain on the rug next to the sofa, glanced up at the younger man. “What does it look like?”

“Well,” Spinelli said, then looked at Cameron sitting on the sofa, his mouth stained with red. “It looks like Little Dude got in a fight and the rug won.” The rug in question was also stained with the same shade.

“Mommy said no juice on the sofa.” Cameron blinked at Spinelli, slid his hand over the sofa cushions. “See. No juice on the sofa.”

“No juice on the rug either,” Jason said. He sat back on his knees. “Did you need something Spinelli?”

“Oh. It can wait—”

“No, it’s good.” Jason got to his feet, rag in hand. “Cameron, you’re still in time out for two more minutes.”

“Don’t move from sofa.” Cameron nodded. “No moving.” He held his hand out. “See? I froze.”

Jason considered the toddler with a furrowed brows, likely trying to sort out the next loophole Cameron would discover, but evidently decided to give up. “We can talk in the kitchen.”

Spinelli followed, waited as Jason washed his hands. “The Jackal was wondering if maybe he should pursue other living arrangements.”

Jason frowned, turned to him. “What? Why?”

“Uh, well, our humble abode is quite full, and the Jackal thought now the Fair Elizabeth and Little Dude and Stone Cold the Second have joined us, Stone Cold might want some, uh, privacy.” Spinelli shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Spinelli—if I wanted you gone, you’d be gone.”

Spinelli looked up. “Really?”

“Yes. Really.” Jason hesitated. “Elizabeth and the kids like you. And if you don’t mind occasoinally hanging out with Cameron, then I don’t see why anything has to change. Now, if you want more privacy, we can move you somewhere else in the building. But for right now, I’m fine with how things are.”

Spinelli’s chest relaxed. “The Jackal is not imposing on the family bliss?”

“The family bliss—” Jason narrowed his eyes, went around Spinelli. “Cameron!”

Spinelli turned to find that Cameron had climbed onto the back of the sofa, with one leg on either side. His eyes were wide. “I still on the sofa! Cameron a good boy!”

“Sofa cushion. Don’t move from the sofa cushion—” Jason went back into the living room to once again negotiate with a terrorist leaving Spinelli relieved in the kitchen. He wasn’t going to be expelled from the only home he’d ever really known.