And the ever present pit I feel
I’m turning on some spinning wheel
Of faces and the scenes I see
And none of it seems real to me
Just the bleary haze of the morning still to come
I just want to be numb
– Numb, Airborne Toxic Event

---

Monday, April 28, 2004

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Jason emerged from the bathroom with Cameron already in his first layer of clothes, cradling the newborn against his chest. “I’ll be glad when the weather stays warm,” he said as she dressed him another layer. There would still be another of clothing when she took him outside, but two would be enough inside.

“I know. I’ve barely been able to sleep. I keep coming over to check his temperature.” She wrinkled her nose, zipping up the sweater.

Jason kissed the top of Elizabeth’s head. “A few more months, and we’ll be able to relax more,” he promised. “Why don’t I go with you today? I can put off this meeting—”

“No, it’s okay.” Elizabeth turned to him. “I need to do as much as I can right now because when I have the surgery, I won’t be able to lift him much all summer. Richie will be there, and I’m going to grab lunch with Emily before our appointment with Dr. Devlin.” She handed the fully dressed baby back to Jason so he could feed him. “I already warmed the bottle.”

“If you’re sure,” Jason said, still doubtful. He sat in the chair and arranged Cameron against his chest.

“I’m sure.” Elizabeth took a breath and enjoyed the sensation of nearly being able to expand her entire chest. She’d never take that feeling for granted again. “I can’t wait to be done with this for good.” She bit her lip. “I sent in that acceptance for the grad program. I’m starting in the fall.”

Jason raised his brows, then grinned. “I’m glad you didn’t wait a year.”

“I’m still nervous,” she admitted, “about making it work. But Carly’s running the club full time and she’s got two kids without a nanny now, so I should be able to make it work without a job. Plus, Cameron hasn’t had any complications, so that’s some weight off my shoulders.” She folded her arms. “I can do this. And I miss the support group. I was gonna stop by Gail’s office and find out if they’re still meeting. If they want me back. Or maybe there’s another one she can find for me to work with.”

She sat on the edge of the bed. “It feels so strange to be able to plan for all of this. Like we were living in limbo for so long with the baby, with Ric and Sonny, and all of that—”

Jason glanced up, his fingers wrapped around the end of the bottle, and met her eyes. “But now we get to think about what’s next.”

“Yeah. For the first time since…” Elizabeth shook her head. “God, for the first time in years, honestly. It’s like I’ve just been putting one foot in front the other, scared to look up, but now I can and I like where I am.” She looked down at her hand, twisting her wedding band, then at Jason and Cameron in the chair. “Two years ago, I couldn’t even dream of having this.” She paused. “What about you?”

Jason hesitated. “I told you once that I wasn’t really good at dreams,” he reminded her. “But I liked believing in yours. I still do.”

It was a sweet memory, one of the last good ones before it had gone wrong. Elizabeth smiled. “I remember. I should have told you then what mine were. Maybe it would have been different. I know we said we wouldn’t talk about regrets anymore,” she added when he frowned slightly. “But sometimes I wonder what would have happened. The day you told me that?” She paused. “If I’d told you that my dream was to wake up next to you in Italy and not get out of bed for days.”

“I probably would have tried to get us on the next flight,” he said, and she laughed. “We might not get to Italy this summer, but we’ll go.” Cameron finished his bottle, and Jason adjusted so that he could burp.

“I know. Italy always felt like this far away fantasy that I used to think about when things were bad. When I was unhappy, I’d close my eyes.” She sighed, closing them now. “And I’d think about walking in Piazzo San Marco or taking a water taxi in the canals, or touring the museums in Florence. With that sunlight washing over the buildings.” She opened her eyes. “It was my happy place, but I don’t need it the way I used to.”

“Happy place,” Jason repeated. “Robin used to tell me about that, just the way you described it. When you were unhappy, you’d picture yourself somewhere else. It never made sense to me then,” he confessed. “If you were unhappy, then go make yourself happy. It seemed like the obvious solution.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course it did.” She got to her feet and went over to take Cameron from him so he could go down for a brief nap before the hospital. She settled Cameron in the cradle, checking his forehead again to make sure he was warm enough, but not too hot. Jason’s arms encircled her waist from behind her. She leaned back against him.

“I eventually understood what she meant,” Jason told her. “For a long time, it was being on the bike for me.”

“Going nowhere fast,” she murmured, closing her eyes, resting her arms along his at her waist. “That’s a good one.”

“But this right here. Being with you, watching Cameron sleep. This is my dream. I just didn’t know it until it came true.”

Spencer House: Kitchen

Luke knew even before Laura sat down that he was in trouble. She just had that look in her eye and her jaw was set.

He grimaced and poured himself another cup of coffee. “All right, let me have it.”

“Lucky and Kelsey are going to Anna today and having her reopen her father’s case.”

Coffee sloshed over the rim as Luke fumbled and stared at her. “What—”

“And you’ll probably be the first or second person on the list to question.” Laura folded her arms. “When that happens, I expect you to tell the truth.”

“Angel—”

“Don’t even bother. I know you can help Kelsey more than you are right now, and I’m not going to sit here and let you lie to me one more time.” She lifted her chin. “Who are you protecting, Luke? If you didn’t do this, and I know you didn’t—”

“I sure as hell hope you know it—”

“Then tell me why you think Sonny deserves your loyalty.”

Luke cleared his throat. “What makes you think I’m protecting Sonny—”

“Because he’s the only person left who might have wanted to do something to Ollie. Ollie worked in the clubs, Luke. Did you think I wasn’t listening?” Laura demanded. “The clubs. Sonny worked there, too.”

“I—”

“If Sonny ordered Ollie’s murder or he carried it out, Kelsey deserves to know that.” Laura hesitated. “And Lucky deserves to know that you accept him.”

“I do—”

“He’s a cop now, Luke. He’s asking you to help use what you know to give Kelsey justice. Nikolas told me how you reacted when Lucky went into the academy. You told him he wasn’t any son of yours.”

“I—”

“I’ve asked very little of you over the years,” Laura said, her voice quiet now and Luke just stared at her. “Much less than I ought to have. I’ve forgiven you for what happened between us at the beginning. For what you did to me. I believed you when you said you were a better man.”

Luke didn’t respond this time. He sat at the kitchen table, looked around the room, thought of the house that Laura had set her heart on from the moment they’d returned to Port Charles. The family she’d wanted to build.

The family he’d told himself made him stronger. He was a better man now, wasn’t he? He’d promised himself he’d do better by the people in his life. He’d taken Carly under his wing, and he’d opened his heart to Lucky’s new way of life—

But Laura was right. He was still holding back. Still protecting the pieces of the old Luke.

“I didn’t know anything at the time,” Luke said slowly. “And I meant what I said about only hearing rumors. Ollie worked at the clubs, yeah, and he worked with Sonny. They didn’t get along. Then Ollie was dead, and we were off and running with Frank Smith. I can’t tell you if Sonny had anything to do with what happened, only that—”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Sonny used to talk about what happened when people came for his power, tried to take it from him. And how he needed to put the Paradise behind him. Why he’d insisted on razing the club to the ground and rebuilding. What happened there needed to stay there. When I asked him about Ollie, he told me never to say that name again.” Luke met Laura’s eyes. “So I didn’t.”

“Will you tell that to the next person who asks?” Laura asked. “Or are you looking to protect Sonny?”

“Not thinking about Sonny so much, darling. Thinking about all the people around him,” Luke admitted. “Caroline doesn’t need one more thing dropped on her, and Jason and Elizabeth have that sweet baby home now. Dragging Sonny into another crisis doesn’t seem like much of a favor. And maybe—” He closed his eyes. “Maybe I don’t want to admit that I suspected what Sonny did and still let my boy grow up to idolize him.”

“Luke—”

“I can tell you I’m a better man, Laura, and I think sometimes it’s true. But then I think about the things I’ve done—and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to scrub the red from my ledger.” He got to his feet. “But it’s time to face the music, I guess. If Cowboy or someone else at the PCPD comes at me, I’ll tell them.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Anna ushered Lucky and Kelsey into her office and closed the door. “Lucky said this had to do with your father?”

She gestured for them to sit at her conference table. “I didn’t realize Oliver Joyce was related to you when we met,” Anna said.  “I knew him, of course. I knew most lawyers in town, particularly anyone involved in the clubs back then.”

“I didn’t realize.” Kelsey bit her lip. “Then you knew my dad worked for Frank Smith.”

“Frank Smith was in jail, and wasn’t running much of anything to be quite honest. His daughter had left town, and his son wasn’t really involved with things. If I recall correctly, Damian had kept some of his father’s clubs, but it wasn’t a huge part of the business. Oliver worked for a lot of people during those days.”

“Oh.” Kelsey’s smile was small, but relieved. “So he wasn’t like, actually, a criminal.”

“Well, I can’t say that he wasn’t aware of some wrongdoing,” Anna cautioned, “but no, I don’t think he was actively involved with that part of the business. Generally, most of these organizations have legitimate lawyers working for them that stay apart from the business. I remember your father being more along those lines. I—I’m sorry to hear that he passed—” She gestured at the file in front of Lucky. “What happened to him?”

“Well, my mother told me that he’d died in a car accident in June of 1994, when I was thirteen,” Kelsey told her. “But recently, I found out he’d been shot.”

“We looked up the file in the PCPD archives.” Lucky slid it across the table to Anna. “It was ruled an accident.”

Anna frowned, opened the file and removed the report. “In the head—point blank—” She looked through the rest of the folder, focusing on the autopsy report. “How could this be ruled accidental? Within hours?”

“Mom said she was brought to the morgue the morning after the accident,” Kelsey said. “And she was told that if she fought the report, she’d regret it. She left town.”

“But that’s—that’s not right—I can’t believe Sean would have allowed this.” Anna exhaled slowly. “This was a cover up that went further than just the detective. The responding officers, the coroner—so many people had to be paid off for this to disappear like this.”

“Well, not necessarily,” Lucky reminded her. “The coroner, yeah. But the first responders — if they never followed up, then they might not have known it was filed this way. All they’d think is that it didn’t get headlines.”

“That’s true.” Anna tapped a pen. “You’ve obviously been looking into this. What are your thoughts?”

“My dad—” Lucky winced. “Um, I talked to him because he knew Frank Smith back then. He said that he remembered the cop on that report was one of Frank’s guys. And that he continued, uh,” he scratched his cheek. “His loyalties continued to be divided until he retired.”

“Ah, in other words, he was one of Corinthos’s moles,” Anna said dryly. “Did your father have anything else to offer?”

“He said he didn’t know a lot—he wasn’t really in the Smith fold at that point. He agreed with you that her dad was mostly on the legit side of the business. But that’s all he was willing to say to us.”

Anna sighed, looked down at the file. “And you were thinking maybe we might want to reopen the case?” she asked Kelsey.

“I don’t know. I honestly—I almost didn’t say anything. My mother is still scared,” Kelsey admitted. “And after the scandals the PCPD has weathered, I didn’t feel great about bringing another up. I know from what Lucky’s told me—there’s been a lot of mob turnover—”

“That’s true. The scene faded a bit after the Jeromes fell,” Anna said. “It was all gambling and drugs then. The smuggling—that’s new—mostly because of the fall of the Soviet Union.”

“Wait—” Kelsey frowned, traded looks with Lucky. “Really? That’s why it picked up back up?”

“Well, yes — according to Mac — when Corinthos took over, he brought connections to Puerto Rico and South America,” Anna told her. “Which made a water route to Canada very lucrative for drug and gun runners. There aren’t that many places with a water border to Canada and organized crime as well. You see it in Vancouver on the Pacific Coast. Once something is in Canada, it can be smuggled to Russia more easily—something that was more important once the Soviets fell.” She shrugged. “I had wondered why Corinthos was so important to the syndicate when I moved back. Port Charles had never been much of a power player before.”

She studied the report again. “And since Corinthos took over, they’ve gone through a number of local gangs as well as a few international foes from South America. Most of the men who worked for Smith—if they’re still alive and in the game, they work for Corinthos.”

“Sonny worked for Frank Smith, too,” Lucky said quietly. He looked at Kelsey. “I was thinking about what else my dad would keep secrets about. He never talked about Sonny other than the cop being his inside guy, but Sonny had to know something. He came up in the clubs, too.”

Lucky turned back to Anna. “Sonny helped Dad get out from under Frank Smith, and Dad got caught up in that stuff for a while. Until my mom almost left him. Sonny used to own shares in Luke’s. That’s why my dad wants it to be left alone. He doesn’t want us to dig up dirt on Sonny. Especially now.”

“It’s possible that’s a motive, but we won’t know unless your father divulges more.” Anna looked at Kelsey. “If you’re sure, I’ll assign the case to Lieutenant Taggert.”

“I’m as sure as I can be. I have to know the truth.”

The Star Lounge: Bar

Johnny stepped out from the office, wincing when he saw Jason seated at the bar. “Oh, man. My old man did something, didn’t he? That dumb fuck.”

“I don’t know,” Jason said. He reached into the inside pocket of his leather coat and set something on the bar. “You tell me.”

Johnny stared down at the stuffed yellow bear, then blinked at Jason. “I’m lost.”

“The bear came from Solana Ruiz for my son. Javier Ruiz did a favor for Anthony and told us that Ric Lansing had tried to use them to get back into the country back in January.”

Johnny exhaled slowly. “Which would have been three months after my father killed him. Okay, so that means the Ruiz family is just cruel and insane. That can’t be news to you. You’ve heard the rumors about the youngest son, haven’t you?”

Jason’s glare just grew colder. “That bear is an exact replica of one Ric Lansing gave my wife just before she miscarried last year.” He leaned forward. “You’re telling me that’s a coincidence?”

Johnny looked at the bear with renewed interest. “Someone sent her a bear to remind her of her first marriage and a miscarriage? That’s pretty cold,” he admitted. “And, yeah, I guess sending it through the Ruiz family is gonna make you wonder.” He put the bear down. “If it was my father, I don’t know anything about it. He likes to say he wants me to take over the business, but he’s kept me out of it.”

Jason put the bear back into his coat pocket. “You said you liked it here,” he said. “I know you’ve settled in and started to make a life for yourself. Tommy says the club profits are up.”

“Yeah,” Johnny drawled, skeptically. “I like it fine, so what?”

“Would your family do something like this?” Jason wanted to know. “Dig up something like that to use against me?”

“Would my father use psychological torture by attacking you through your family? Yes,” Johnny said. “Absolutely. But—I mean, who would know about the bear except your wife and Ric Lansing? I doubt Lansing told my dad or his own about any of this. And before you ask—” He held up a hand. “I had the unfortunate pleasure of being in the room when my father snapped and choked the life out of him.”

Jason nodded. “Why did Anthony snap that night?”

“Oh.” Johnny grimaced. “Well, the trial was coming up, and Dad was getting antsy about it. He thought Ric would make a deal, and he tried but your DA refused. Said he wanted to go to trial and wasn’t gonna give an inch. Basically, the only way Ric was gonna get out of this was to disappear or make a better deal with someone higher up.”

Jason’s mouth twisted. “He was thinking about turning on Zacchara.”

“Yeah, I think Dad got wind that Lansing was talking to the feds. I don’t know all the details — Dad just called a family meeting. He was fuming, and I knew he was on the edge. He doesn’t get like that a lot,” Johnny continued, “and when he does, you try to stay out of his way. Ric showed up and said something sarcastic, and Dad lost it. Trevor tried to get him off Ric, but when Dad gets like that—” Johnny shook his head. “Then Ric was dead. And Dad dumped his body. They deactivated the ankle bracelet and tossed it with him.”

“So, at first, the sightings were so no one would look at them for the murder,” Jason surmised. “To keep the suspicion from themselves.”

“Yeah, I think so. Always thought it was pretty cold for Trevor to help cover up his kid’s murder, but he’s always had ice in his veins.” Johnny shuddered. “Like I said, I’m not saying my dad wouldn’t do this — I just don’t know how he’d have the knowledge.”

“Yeah.” Jason got to his feet. “Thank you.”

“No problem. I told you, I don’t want any piece of this. I came here to keep things quiet and to get away from my father. If he’s doing anything to screw up the truce—” Johnny’s mouth twisted. “Doesn’t say much about how much he actually values me, does it?”

Quartermaine Mansion: Parlor

AJ stared at the petition for a long moment before looking at his grandfather. “I’m not crazy for signing this, am I?”

“No, I negotiated in good faith with Alexis.” Edward tipped his reading glasses up, glanced over his copy one more time. “Your parental rights will be reinstated, pending termination of Sonny’s adoption.” His mouth twisted. “This might be my favorite sentence ever put in print.”

AJ agreed but it still didn’t feel real. “And visitation. Carly agreed to it.”

“She did. She’s worried, of course, about Michael adjusting to everything, but your idea about family visitation rights helped.” Edward found the provision. “A supervised visit in a group setting for the first six weeks. At that point, you’ll determine whether Michael is ready for one on one.”

“It’s just—I’m close to getting my son back,” AJ murmured. “I’ve missed so much time with him, but he’s only six. I-I can make up for that, can’t I?” He found his grandfather’s eyes. “I don’t even remember anything before I was six. Maybe Michael won’t even remember any of this one day.”

“Maybe.” Edward slid the paperwork across the coffee table. “So sign it and let’s get your son back.”

AJ scribbled his name at the bottom, and a few minutes later, Alice led Carly and Alexis in from the foyer. Edward handed the petition to Alexis who put it in her bag.

“I’ll be filing it first thing in the morning,” Alexis told them. “I think it should be on the docket in about a month.”

“If not sooner.” Edward lifted his chin. “I’ll be making some calls,” he told Carly. “I think we’d all breathe more easily when this custody situation is dealt with.”

“Yeah.” Carly’s smile was thin and nervous. “Sonny had some sort of epiphany and he dropped his countersuit for the divorce, so it might not be as bad as I thought. At least that part. The custody, I still think he’s going for blood.”

“After what happened to Jason’s family, I fully support getting both those boys away from Sonny,” Edward said darkly. “I’ll be keeping my eye on this—”

“You don’t have to do that—”

“Morgan is Michael’s brother,” Edward said. “Which makes him part of this family. You spent a lot of time running from us, young lady—”

“For good reason,” AJ replied, and his grandfather glared at him. “What? We were all thinking it. And it’s not like Alexis didn’t run screaming from the altar when faced with joining the family.”

“I wasn’t screaming,” Alexis pointed out. “But, uh, yes, there was running involved.” She turned to Carly. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I have to get to the club.” Carly looked at AJ, hesitated. “This weekend, I’m taking Michael over to Jason’s to meet Cameron. I’ll talk to Jason, but maybe we can make that the first visit.”

“I’d like that. Maybe Mom can come with us to make it less obvious why I’m there,” AJ offered.

“I’ll call you when it’s filed,” Alexis reminded AJ.

When they were gone, AJ looked back at his grandfather. “I’ll be going back to New Orleans next week, but I’ll be back June 1 to officially take over ELQ.” He was coming home to Port Charles and getting his son back.

As long as nothing went wrong.

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

“Scott, Taggert, thank you for coming in.” Anna closed the door behind the lieutenant and district attorney, waited for them to take a seat. “I had a cold case brought to my attention yesterday, and I think it’s worth looking at.”

“Oh, God, not another rape we missed.” Scott shook his head. “If you tell me we screwed up one more sexual assault, I’m going to throw myself out that window—”

“I invited you here because you have a connection to this case.” Anna set the file on the table. “And Taggert, I know that there are reasons this case ought to be assigned to Organized Crime, but I think that it requires your eye for detail.”

“What’s going on?” Taggert asked, looking at Scott, then Anna. “What’s the cold case?”

“Oliver Joyce.” Anna slid the file over to Taggert as Scott closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

“Joyce?” Taggert repeated. “Is that—is that someone related to Kelsey?”

“Her father,” Scott said quietly. “Kelsey looked up the file, didn’t she?”

“She did.” Anna watched as Taggert opened the file, skimmed the report, then frowned as he saw the autopsy report. “You see the problem?”

Scott scowled. “What problem? The case went cold, didn’t it? That’s what Angie said, but—”

Taggert passed him the autopsy report and Scott stared at it. “Wait. This isn’t—this isn’t right—”

“You knew he’d been murdered?” Anna asked. “I’ve looked at this — even the newspapers reported it as a car accident. How did you—”

“Angie told me a few years ago,” Scott admitted. “When Kelsey was talking about being a lawyer like her dad. She got into college at sixteen, you know,” he reminded them. “And Angie was worried. She let something slip, so I pressed her. She said Ollie was killed by a stray bullet while driving. This isn’t—” He swallowed. “This isn’t a stray bullet. How did this get closed as a car accident?”

“David Case.” Taggert’s mouth tightened, and he looked at Scott who closed his eyes. “Yeah, you remember that asshole.” He looked at Anna. “Why is this coming up now? I mean, not that Kelsey doesn’t deserve to know what happened, but—”

“After Lucky was shot last month, Kelsey’s mom came to Port Charles, and said some things that made her wonder. She looked up the case, found out he’d been murdered, but held on to it.” Anna hesitated. “Yesterday, she and Lucky brought it to me.”

“A mob case from ten years ago.” Taggert looked at her. “I don’t do mob cases—”

“I know,” Anna said gently. “But I can’t give this to anyone else, and while I don’t know Kelsey very well, I respect her. Robin was only a little older when Robert and I—” She cleared her throat. “Robin didn’t know what happened to us. I don’t want to leave another little girl wondering.”

“Not a lot of suspects left,” Scott said, grimly. “You could talk to Luke Spencer—”

“Lucky did talk to his father briefly, but Luke was cagey. He did say that Detective Case was one of Corinthos’s moles, likely inherited from Frank Smith. Then he told Lucky to leave it alone.”

“Did he?” Scott lifted his brow, scowled. “So he knows something.”

“I think that if all the people who mattered were dead,” Anna said slowly, “Luke probably would have been more forthcoming. I believe Luke when he says he only has rumors. But her mother might know more. She’s just too scared to say anything.”

“But it’s a place to start.” He looked at Scott. “You knew this guy.”

“I did. You wanna start with me?”

“No, I think—I think maybe I wanna get some impressions from Spencer first. He might be willing to talk more now that Lucky’s had the case reopened. And if he doesn’t, well, I’m not sure we can do much without his help.” Taggert closed the file.

Scott looked at Anna. “Thank you. For putting this on the front burner.”

“One of our own failed this family,” Anna said as they stood. “It doesn’t matter if none of us were here then. We carry the weight.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

“Okay, so I got his schedule.” Maxie laid a sheet of paper flat on the table and looked expectantly at Cruz. “What day is good for you?”

“I think I missed something,” Cruz said, squinting and looking over at Dillon. “What’s going on?”

“I find if I’m quiet long enough, Maxie will keep talking and answer all my questions,” the other man said. He winced at the crash of thunder. “How long is it going to rain?” he complained. “All day—”

“Surprised you came out of your house long enough to notice,” Maxie muttered, still smarting from his earlier comment. “Anyway, before I was rudely interrupted—” She picked up the schedule. “I think Thursday is my best day. What about you?”

“Thursday’s child is full of woe,” Cruz offered. “So no.” He leaned over, then frowned. “That’s Dante’s work schedule.”

“Yeah, we’re planning the intervention.” Maxie made a face. “You’re right about Thursday. It has bad connotations.”

“That’s not what I—”

“Intervention?” Dillon said at the same time. “And wasn’t it Wednesday’s child was full of woe?”

“That’s right—” Maxie slapped his arm. “Thursday has far to go. There’s something to this. Thursday’s back in—”

“I have absolutely no idea what’s going on,” Cruz complained. “I was just eating my lunch—”

“We’ve given Dante plenty of space,” Maxie said in a tone that was clearly exasperated with the dumb boys around her. “Lucky got shot almost two months ago. No one is talking about Sonny anymore. Capelli’s long gone. It’s time for Dante to stop wallowing, go home to Cruz, and back to work protecting and serving. Lulu has let me down—”

“Why is this your business?” Dillon wanted to know. “And maybe Lulu knows more than we do—”

“Impossible. And it’s my business because I decided it was. That’s how it works here,” Maxie told Cruz. “Dillon’s slow on this—”

“Dillon’s going to declare mutiny in five seconds—”

“I run this show,” Maxie explained, patiently putting a hand up when Dillon opened his mouth to protest that. “No one likes to admit it, but that’s just how it rolls. I plan the events, I spread the gossip, and I fix the problems.”

“She’s the control freak,” Dillon clarified. “And we let her get away with it because—” He squinted, then scowled. “Okay, sometimes she’s right. But not this time. This time, Maxie, I think we just need to leave Dante alone.”

“But—”

“But nothing.” Dillon shoved the schedule at Cruz. “Not everyone likes being dumped in the deep end of the Maxie Jones friendship pool, okay? You’re an acquired taste.”

Maxie pursed her lips, trying to decide if she’d been insulted or not. Cruz didn’t think they’d want to find out what happened if she decided on the former, so he jumped in. “Dillon’s right. Dante’s getting closer. I mean, he’s dating Lulu now, and you know she’s not gonna let him sit around much longer.”

“Hmmm, maybe. But I’m keeping my eye on this.”

GH: Examining Room

Elizabeth tried hard not to fidget as Dr. Devlin checked Cameron’s weight and other vitals, then his reflexes. “He’s sleeping well,” she volunteered. “I mean, as much as they said he would. About an hour at a time. And we’re checking his temperature all the time. Plus—”

“Relax, Mrs. Morgan,” the doctor said with an easy smile. He lifted Cameron from the scale and handed him back to Elizabeth. “I know how scary and nerve-wracking the first few days at home can be, but Cameron is progressing very well.”

“He is?” Elizabeth asked doubtfully, checking Cameron herself as if she couldn’t believe it. “Are you sure? I mean, of course you’re sure.”

“He’s gained weight faster than some babies his age, and that’s good,” Dr. Devlin assured her. “He’s a little ahead of where we thought he’d be. It’s only the first follow-up,” he cautioned her. “But if he continues to progress at this rate, then I think he’ll be caught up with other babies his age by his first birthday.”

“Caught up?” Elizabeth echoed. “Like developmentally, you mean. We won’t have to adjust his age anymore?”

“No, you won’t. He could still slow down, and we could have some complications,” the doctor warned as Elizabeth fastened Cameron into the stroller. “But you’re doing everything you should be.”

Elizabeth smiled down at her son who had already started to doze. “You hear that, Cam? We’re both getting a gold star.”

She took down the notes and suggestions, then thanked the doctor before heading out to the hallway where Richie was waiting outside the door.

“You ready to head home, Mrs. Morgan?” Richie asked as he straightened. Before she could answer, they heard the roll of thunder, and then a sharp crack of lightening. The lights flickered slightly in the hospital before coming back on. He frowned. “That storm is getting worse.”

“Yeah. It’s supposed to rain all day.” She grimaced, glancing at the elevator. “Maybe we should take the stairs. It’s only three flights, but I’d hate to get stuck in the elevator.”

“That probably won’t happen,” he said as she started down the other hall towards the stairwell. There was another roll of the thunder, and the lights flickered again. “Then again—”

He braced open the door for her to push the stroller through. “You okay to carry him down the stairs? I can take the stroller,” he offered.

“Yeah, that’ll be the best.” Elizabeth leaned down to unfasten Cameron and lift him into her arms. God, she loved holding him. Her precious miracle. “Let’s get down to the parking garage level and get home. I can’t wait to tell Daddy how good you were,” she told Cameron as they started down the stairs. She went first, and Richie came behind her, grunting a bit from the weight of the stroller.

She reached the landing below, then turned to find Richie still halfway up the stairs. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said to him, seeing how he was struggling from the awkward shape and weight.

“It’s fine—”

The lights flickered again, and then went out completely, plunging the stairwell into inky darkness. Elizabeth heard a grunt and a shout, then the sound of crashing. She clutched Cameron tightly, looking around frantically, trying to get her bearings.

Then the lights flashed and, and for a moment, at the top of the stairs—Elizabeth saw the outline of a man with dark hair. She screamed, then the lights went out, leaving them in complete darkness.

I don’t know
This could break my heart or save me
Nothing’s real
Until you let go completely
So here I go with all my thoughts I’ve been saving
So here I go with all my fears weighing on me
– Sober, Kelly Clarkson

---

Saturday, April 26, 2004

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Office

“Hey, I didn’t think we’d see you back here for at least a week,” Justus said as he came into the office with Bernie on his trail. “What’s up?”

Jason set the yellow bear on the desk. “Elizabeth went through the gifts last night,” he told them. “How did one from the Ruiz family get through?” he asked Justus. “You said you put those aside.” He flicked his eyes to Bernie who exhaled slowly. “And you had Elizabeth write a baby shower card for Solana Ruiz.”

“I did,” Bernie said. “We can afford to test the loyalty of some of the others involved with Zacchara, but too much of our business rests on the Miami ports,” he reminded Jason. “We have to stay on good terms until we have something concrete to use against them. Right now, all we have is Javier Ruiz. We can’t tie Hector to it, and everyone knows Javi and Manny aren’t trustworthy. Maybe we should have run it past you, but—”

“You don’t have a lot of patience with things that personally affect Elizabeth and Cameron,” Justus cut in, and Jason glared at him. “I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m just saying we’ve been trying to walk a line with all of this. Cameron’s home and has a clean bill of health. I can be more annoying now. Yeah, we gotta deal with the assholes who faked the sightings for Zacchara, but you let Anthony Zacchara keep breathing. So you’re limited on what you can do to other people in retribution.”

Jason clenched his jaw, then nodded sharply. “Yeah. Okay. You’ve got a point. But it’s not just that the Ruiz family sent a gift. They sent this gift.” He nodded at the bear. “Elizabeth had one just like it last year. It was a gift from Ric when they got married for the child she miscarried. She made him get rid of it.”

Justus’s mouth formed an ‘o’ as he reached for the bear. “This has a price tag—”

“And it could be a coincidence,” Jason said. “But I’m not going to write it off. It means the Ruiz family gets watched. If they knew about the damn bear and sent it to Elizabeth deliberately, knowing she’d see it and remember—”

“Jason—” Justus set the bear back down. “That would be suicide—”

“Why go after Elizabeth like that?” Bernie cut in. “It’s one thing for them to fake the sighting. That was against Sonny, but sending a gift that they’d know would hurt Elizabeth after what she’s been through—I’ve seen Solana Ruiz’s handwriting. It’s a genuine gift. I don’t think Hector would go through these channels.”

Jason wanted to agree with them both, but he couldn’t. “I know all the reasons it would be insane for them to use this, but that doesn’t mean we ignore it. Things are finally quiet for the first time in a year. I need it to stay that way. Make sure that it’s not the Ruiz family sending a message. I’m going home.”

The Cellar: Bar

Carly slid the paperwork over to her brother. “I mean, I’m not going to charge you anything,” she told him, “but you’re underage, so—”

“For like another year,” Lucas muttered as he looked over the liability waiver. “I just wanted to throw a party for the end of the semester, and we’re already doing something else for Felix’s birthday.”

“What are you planning?” Carly asked. “Sign here,” she said, pointing. “That protects me from being sued by you morons if you sneak in any alcohol.”

“Some sister you’re turning out to be.” But he signed it. “Yeah, a bunch of us going down to a club in Rochester. Maxie suggested it.” He rolled his eyes. “She’s concerned that she hasn’t done enough to accept me being gay, so she wants to prove she’s an ally by taking Felix to a gay club for his birthday and dragging us all with her.”

“She sounds exhausting.” Carly signed her own name to the bottom of the contract. “But it’ll probably be fun. I used to go to those clubs all the time when I was living in Florida,” she added when he just blinked at her. “Oh, yeah. A lot of straight women like gay clubs. No one pinching our asses.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good point.” Lucas turned at the sound of footsteps on the stairs, then tensed when Sonny appeared in the doorway. He immediately slid off the stool, leveling a glare at his sister’s estranged husband. “The club is closed.”

“I, uh, just hoped Carly would give me a second,” Sonny said, edging around to look at Carly who came out from the other side of the bar to stand beside her brother. “You can stay,” he told Lucas. “If you think I’m gonna do anything stupid.”

“Carly,” Lucas told her, “let me just go call someone—you still have a restraining order, don’t you?”

“It’s okay.” But she handed a phone to Lucas. “In case I change my mind.” She focused on Sonny. “You shouldn’t be talking to me. We should be communicating through our lawyers—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But I just—I didn’t know—” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his suit. “You haven’t been by the penthouse. Jason’s, I mean. He just brought the kid home, didn’t he?”

“He did.” And Carly ached to see Jason’s son, the little boy that had already been through too much. “But I’ll see him when Cameron is strong enough. I went to the penthouse the day you got out, Sonny, and that was hard enough. It’s not my home anymore—”

“No, but I, uh, don’t—” Sonny took a deep breath. “I’m on medication,” he reminded her. “I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, and no one is giving me a break—”

“Giving you a break—” Lucas scoffed. “Do you remember terrifying your kids and shoving me into a wall after punching my boyfriend in the jaw? You pushed Carly that day, too—”

“Lucas—” Carly held up a hand as Sonny’s eyes clouded with a mixture of irritation and shame. “Look, Sonny, I’m glad you’re feeling better. And you look better. But you don’t get to come home and expect everyone to go back to normal. We all went through hell, and we’re dealing with it. No, I haven’t been to see Cameron because he came home yesterday. I’m giving them a little space to get him settled in. You haven’t met him yet, have you?”

“No,” Sonny said shortly. “And I doubt I will.”

“Why the hell should Jason let you anywhere near his family after Elizabeth nearly died in front of you?” Lucas demanded. “You know, this is your problem. You make everything about you, and it’s not, Sonny. Great. You know what’s wrong with you and you’re getting treatment. Well, Jason’s kid nearly died, and Elizabeth still has to get surgery. Carly still has nightmares—”

Carly flinched. “I’m sorry,” Lucas muttered, “but you do.”

“It’s okay. It’s true, Sonny. I’m still struggling. I’m better, but I’m not okay yet. And I might never be. Ric’s dead. But that doesn’t make it over.” Carly folded her arms in front of her. “I begged you to get help months ago after you locked me in our room. You triggered my disorder when I’d already gotten it under control. It’s been harder to put away this time because you’re still in my life.”

Sonny swallowed hard. “I triggered…” he trailed off. “So it’s—it’s me—I mean, I’m—” He took a deep breath. “Ric being dead didn’t make it stop.”

“No. Because it came back after December. I don’t know how much of it you really understood at the time, Sonny, but I had a dissociative episode. I thought I was back in that panic room, clawing and screaming to get out.” Her eyes burned. “You hate small dark spaces because you think, for a minute, you’re back there with Deke. That’s what happened to me. Because of you. I’m not interested in giving you a break, Sonny. I’m sorry. I can’t. I want a divorce and I want you out of my life and away from my boys. Permanently.”

Sonny’s eyes were dark and tormented as they met hers, then he nodded. “Okay. Okay.” He turned and went up the stairs, disappearing.

Carly dragged her hands through her hair. “God, I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing,” she muttered. “He’s not okay yet, and maybe he would be if he had more people supporting him.”

“That can’t be your problem,” Lucas began.

“Well, it needs to be someone’s,” she snapped, then subsided. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay.” He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. “You just gotta remember you did support him. You just couldn’t wait for rock bottom.”

“What if he goes off the meds?” Carly fretted. “What if he feels alone, like no one has his back, and he decides it’s not worth it?”

“That also can’t be your problem,” But her brother’s tone was more gentle as he said it. “Sonny is an adult who knows he has a mental illness. If you take that on now, Carly, you’ll never get out. He’s been home for two weeks. It’s not nearly enough time for anyone to come around and give him a second chance. Stop beating yourself up. You’re doing the best you can.”

“I know, but sometimes, it just doesn’t feel like enough,” she murmured.

Kelly’s: Dante’s Room

Lulu rolled over, then slid an arm across Dante’s chest, burrowing into his side. “How can it be almost May and your room is still cold?” she complained.

He laughed, then drew the blanket in tighter around them. “Because this blanket is about as thin as the sheets.”

“I’m going to buy you a new comforter,” she muttered. “We can’t go to my place because my dad still has a shotgun. It doesn’t matter how much he likes you—”

“Comforting.” Dante stared the ceiling, his fingers trailing across the smooth skin of her shoulder. “Cruz came by earlier this week. He wanted to know if he should look for a new roommate.”

Lulu stilled. “What did you tell him?”

“I told him I’d let him know. I’ve been paying my part of the rent,” he assured her. “So it’s not like I screwed him over, but I can’t keep paying for Kelly’s and my old place. Not on what I make here.” He sighed. “I was thinking I might move back in with him. I only left because of the press, and they’ve mostly moved on.”

“That’s true.” Lulu folded her arm on his chest, then propped her chin on his shoulder. “But you also stayed away from all of them after you quit because you knew they’d badger you about going back.”

Dante exhaled slowly. Outside, he could hear the rain falling softly against the windowpane. “Yeah. I know.”

“Things have really died down,” Lulu said, echoing his earlier words. “I mean, if you went back, there might be a bit of a stir, but it would go away.”

“Until I made an arrest and it got brought up again.” Dante grunted, then rolled out of bed. He reached for the briefs he’d discarded on their way to bed and pulled them up, then tugged on his jeans.

“I guess we’re done with the nooner,” Lulu mumbled. She got out of bed and started to dress. “I’m not saying you should go back, Dante—”

“I know.”

“I just—” She buttoned her shirt. “You’re a great cook, and I love working together. I do. We’re having a lot of fun. But I know it’s not what you want. You told Sonny yesterday being a cop was all you ever wanted—”

“Lu, just drop it—”

“I can’t.” Lulu pressed her lips into a thin line. “Because I care about you, and I want you to be happy. I know you miss your job, and hanging out with Lucky and Cruz and everyone. I just don’t know why we can’t talk about ways to get that back—”

“Because every time I do something, they’ll bring up Sonny—”

“So what?” Lulu demanded. “After Capelli got fired, no one is going to screw you over. They know the department has your back. And it doesn’t matter if they bring up Sonny over and over again, you’re a clean cop. You’re one of the good guys, and it doesn’t seem fair that all the jackasses can chase you away—”

Dante growled. “Drop it, okay?” He glared at her. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to go back to living with Cruz—”

“Cruz isn’t going to bother you about the job. Not if you tell him not to. And I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I just—” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I just want you to be happy—”

He sighed and crossed the room, put his hands on her shoulders. “I know. And you’re right. I’d be happier if I could be a cop. But right now, I don’t see a way for that to be possible unless I sign up to be constantly reminded about who my father is. I couldn’t deal with it before, and I don’t want to go back unless I know I can.”

“Okay. Okay. I know you’re right. But Lucky and Cruz are still your friends. And you should have your own bathroom.”

Dante smirked and kissed the top of her nose. “You just don’t want to use that bathroom when you stay over.”

She scowled. “No. I really don’t. So, if you care about me and our sex life, you should move back in with Cruz.”

“When you put it that way—” He leaned down to draw her into another kiss. “Why don’t we go back to bed?” he murmured against her mouth.

Harborview Towers: Hallway

Jason stepped off the elevator and nearly ran straight into Sonny. He scowled and stepped back, holding the door open. “What are you doing?”

“I’m not going near your penthouse or anywhere else,” Sonny bit out. “I’m going for a walk or isn’t that allowed either?”

Jason shook his head and stepped off the elevator. “Whatever—”

“I’m getting real tired of everyone walking out on me—”

Jason turned back and just stared at his former best friend. “Walking out on you? What are you talking about?”

“No one is giving me a chance,” Sonny snarled. “I’m doing everything I’m supposed to, aren’t I? I got the damn therapy. The meds. I’m doing it all, and I’m not even trying to take back the business—”

“No one owes you a damn thing, Sonny. You don’t get any credit because you’ve been on meds for two weeks.” Jason shook his head. “We begged you for months, and you ignored us—”

“Carly won’t give me the time of day—”

“You don’t—” Jason held up his hands, took a deep breath. “I’m not getting in the middle. Carly’s made her choice, and I’m standing behind her on this. I don’t have time for this, Sonny. I’m sorry if that upsets you, but I can’t clean this up for you. Not again.”

Sonny’s eyes were dark with pain. “I just want a chance. Dante doesn’t want to know me, Carly’s going to take my boys and I’ll never be able to fix things with Michael now—and you’re shoving me out of your life—” His hands were shaking. “What’s the point of the meds if there’s nothing left on the other side?”

He was an idiot, but Jason felt a twinge of sympathy for him now. He cleared his throat. “I’m not shoving you out of my life, Sonny. I just don’t have a lot of room right now. Cameron just came home and he needs a lot of care. We’re cleaning up after all the Zacchara problems. You want to make things better? Have your lawyer back down with Carly. You filed first and went nuclear. The custody — that’s not going to change. But you had no right to blame her for the divorce. You know she did everything she could.”

Sonny closed his eyes. “I can’t stop being angry. I can’t. If she’d just stayed—”

“You always told me you wished your mother had left the first time Deke put his hands on her.” Sonny’s eyes flew open and he stared at Jason. “You’ve shoved Carly. More than once. You locked her up and traumatized her.”

Sonny dragged a hand over his face, then nodded. “Okay. Yeah. I get it. Okay. I’ll—I’ll talk to Jordan.” He turned away, started towards his penthouse, then stopped. “Cameron.” He faced Jason. “He’s doing okay?”

“Stronger every day.” Jason shoved his hands into his pockets. “No complications or major health problems. We got lucky.”

“Yeah. Good. Good. You deserve it. Um—” He paused. “And Elizabeth. She’s okay, then. After…what happened.”

“Best she’s felt in months. She’ll have the surgery in a few months. It’s over, Sonny. Ric’s dead. Carly and Elizabeth are dealing with that. It’s time you did, too. It’s over,” Jason repeated.

“Hard to believe,” Sonny murmured. “But I guess you’re right. Time to move on.”

Lucky & Kelsey’s Apartment: Living Room

“Mom.” Lucky stepped back from the front door, and glanced back at Kelsey in the kitchen. “I didn’t expect you—”

“No, and I’m sorry to drop in like this.” She kissed his cheek, then offered Kelsey a hug. “But I waited until your father was at work.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, no—” Laura bit her lip. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about all of this since you came by,” she told Kelsey. She waited for Lucky to join them at the counter in the kitchen. “Luke knows more.”

“I know he does, Mom, but he’s stubborn—”

“Because he thinks he can get away with it,” Laura said. “Because he’s so sure he’s right.” She reached for Kelsey’s hand. “I’ll drop it if you want me to, but I think we can make him tell you everything.”

“I—” Kelsey licked her lips. “I don’t want to cause trouble—”

“You won’t—” Lucky began, but Laura shot him a look and he stopped.

“There’s no way to avoid that, sweetheart. From what Lucky’s said, your father’s case was covered up by someone at the PCPD. Someone knew he’d been murdered, and they closed him away. They checked off a box like he didn’t matter.”

Kelsey closed her eyes, swiped at her tears. “Everyone just accepted it, but people knew. The crime scene techs. That damn detective—”

“The truth might not make any of us happy, but it’s better than the secret. It’s better than letting your father be forgotten. Ollie was a good man. Good men can work for men like Frank Smith. Luke did—” Laura flashed her son another look. “Don’t start.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“And Jason Morgan is a good man,” Laura continued. “It’s too easy to draw a line and say everyone who follows these laws is a good person, and everyone on the other side is a bad one. Humanity doesn’t work that way. Ollie was a good man,” she repeated. “And you deserve to know why he was taken from you.”

“You think you can make Dad tell the truth?” Lucky said. “How? We’ve all tried—”

“I’m going to talk to him again, but if you make it clear this is going to be public—take it to Anna, Lucky. Reopen the case. We’ll shine a light so bright Luke won’t be able to look away. I promise you I won’t let him.”

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Jason came in just as Elizabeth sat down to feed Cameron. “Hey. I’m sorry, I’m late.” He winced. “I said I’d be here, and then—”

“You were gone for four hours yesterday and two today.” She lifted her brows. “The horror.”

He smiled faintly, perching on the edge of the bed, watching as Elizabeth fit the bottle into Cameron’s mouth. She stroked the side of his cheek to encourage his suction. “He’s already getting so big,” he murmured. “At the hospital, he seemed smaller.”

“It was all the tubes,” Elizabeth replied, the chair gently swaying back and forth. “We have a doctor’s appointment on Monday. The first of many.” She wrinkled her nose. “He’ll have so many tests this first year.”

“We’ll get through it.”

“I know. I just hate the idea of him struggling even for a minute, but we’re doing okay so far.” She met his eyes. “I was thinking about that bear.”

Jason tensed. “The bear?”

“The one from last night. I don’t want it,” she added, “so it’s okay if you already did something with it. But I’ve been working so hard to forgive myself for what happened to that baby, and I think—I think looking at Cameron, it’s easier,” she admitted. “Because I look at him, and I know that I would give my life for him. I almost did. I would have done anything to save that baby last year.”

“I know.”

“I wish I had trusted myself more though, or realized I could ask for help. Instead of marrying Ric, I should have called Emily. I have dreams about it sometimes,” she admitted. “I call Emily as soon as I get the test, and I go to California.” She stroked Cameron’s cheek again. “But if I’d saved that child, I wouldn’t be here with you right now, and we wouldn’t have Cameron.”

“Elizabeth—”

“Maybe the miscarriage was supposed to happen. Maybe there was never anything I could do to save that baby. It’s hard to admit that,” she continued.

“I know.”

“When I saw that bear after the miscarriage, I made Ric get rid of it,” she said again. “Because it reminded me of what I’d done to cause my baby’s death. I’d fallen down those stairs, I’d thought, because I’d been arrogant enough to think I could ask Sonny for peace.”

“It wasn’t arrogant—but—”

“But I didn’t fall. I was pushed. I know. I’m glad Faith Roscoe is gone,” she continued. “She pushed me for no other reason than jealousy. She murdered my child because she wanted my husband. I would have given him to her to save that baby.” A ghost a smile played on her lips. “Faith might still be alive if she’d just asked nicely.”

Jason grimaced. He knew Elizabeth was aware Faith was gone, and that he’d been one to kill her, but it never sat well with him to think about it. Faith’s death had been personal, an act he rarely allowed himself.

He had no regrets, though, and would do it again.

“I might need to go in again on Monday,” Jason said, regretfully. “I’m trying to take more time off, but there’s a lot of cleanup from Sonny and the last few months. And from Tommy. I’ll try to be back in time for the appointment or meet you at the hospital.”

“It’s okay. Cameron’s going to have a lot of doctor’s appointments. You can go to the next one.” She finished Cameron’s feeding, waited for him to burp, then smiled as Jason lifted their son into his arms to put him back in the cradle. “The worst is behind us. Cameron is home and healthy, and I’m going to have that surgery in June. What else can we ask for?”

Manhattan, New York

Hôtel Plaza Athénée: Luxury Suite

“Well?” Ric demanded when Claudia strolled in that evening. “Were you able to make contact?”

“Oh, yeah.” Claudia went over to the bar. “I’ll try remember to thank Zander Smith,” she said. “Not all the names came in handy, but one of them works in the warehouse and saw Jason come in today. He had a gift bag in his hand. He checked with one of the clerks in the offices. Apparently, the wifey didn’t like the gift from the Ruiz family.”

Ric’s lips curved into a smile. “She remembered.”

“Possibly. Or maybe Jason didn’t want anything from the Ruiz family, but if that were true, he wouldn’t have even taken it to the penthouse to show the wife.” Claudia sipped her gin and tonic. “And the clerk was very clear on what he’d heard. Elizabeth is still doing the thank you note, but the gift isn’t staying.”

“She remembered,” Ric repeated with a reassured nod. She’d seen the bear and known. Maybe she didn’t think it was about Ric, but he could deal with that. He’d only wanted to remind her of what she’d promised him.

“And interesting — one of the other names Smith gave us — this Richie guy. Just got the promotion to guard the wife.” Claudia fluttered her eyelashes. “He might not turn yet, but it’ll be worth keeping an eye on him. If we can get to her guard once, why not twice?”

“Why not, indeed? Let’s hope it happens soon,” Ric said. “The kid is home and out of the woods. It’s time for the endgame.”

One after another, they’ve always come and gone
So what if I’m a monster that’s been here all along
They’re dropping like flies whenever I’m around
So used to goodbyes, there’s comfort in the sound
Maybe I’m the monster that’s been here all along
Bending ’till you break and you can’t take anymore
I’m not worth the trouble it seems
I would say you’re wrong, but I’ve been here before
You won’t be the last one to leave
– Monster, Gabbie Hanna

---

Friday, April 25, 2004

General Hospital: NICU

Elizabeth beamed as Nadine gently placed Cameron in her arms for the last time. She turned to look at Jason whose own grin was bigger than she’d ever seen.

This was the last day Cameron would ever spend in the NICU. Today they were bringing their son home.

“I’m gonna miss this little guy,” Nadine told them with a smile of her own, “but my favorite day is always their last day. I’m so excited to see him leave.”

“Thanks for taking such good care of him,” Elizabeth told her. “And for the tour before I delivered. I was so…” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, before focusing on the nurse again. “I was so scared of what he’d face. But you believe me feel like he’d be safe.”

“Thank you,” Jason offered as Elizabeth handed him the baby. “For everything.”

“My pleasure. You know, we don’t always see a lot of family. Not because they don’t care,” Nadine added, “but for a lot of people—this is really hard. People get scared of getting attached or seeing the machines and wires. But your family—they really stepped up. And it makes me happy to know this little boy is going to have such a great start. Good luck. And, hey, send us pictures! I wanna know how he turns out.”

With another wave, the neonatal nurse left and Elizabeth turned her attention to packing up the things they’d brought to make Cameron’s room feel more comforting. A few photo frames, some stuffed animals—she tucked them into her tote as Jason fastened Cameron into the carrier. The baby swung his hands, opened his eyes briefly, then closed them again.

Cameron had already survived the car seat test the day before to make sure he could breathe without any issues. It had been the longest two hours of her life, but he’d emerged like a champ and—even more important, he’d gained two more ounces over the last few days. He was almost six pounds.

Their little miracle.

“You got everything?” Jason asked.

Elizabeth looped the tote over her shoulder, and he frowned at her slightly. She raised her brows. “It weighs, like, a pound. Cameron’s heavier.”

“I know.” He winced. “Sorry.” He lifted the car seat and she looped her arm around his, smiling at him.

“Nothing can get me down today,” she told him as they left the NICU. She waved at a few of the nurses she’d gotten to know over the last month, and they walked towards the entrance. When they’d exited the ward and started towards the elevators, she blinked back tears.

“Oh, man, he’s really going home. I kept thinking they’d stop us on the way out.” Elizabeth swiped her cheek, then pressed the button. “You sure you’re okay to be at home with us for the next few days?”

“I have a few things to handle today,” he reminded her, “and then I’m all yours. If Justus and Bernie need anything, they know where to find me. Stop finding things to worry about.”

He said this last part with a smile, so she knew he wasn’t really irritated. “I can’t help it. When we go to bed tonight, he’ll be with us. Honestly, I might not let him even sleep in his own room until he’s six. Or never.” She nodded as they stepped onto the elevator. “Never sounds good.”

“Uh huh.”

“You’re laughing at me again. I can tell without even looking at you.” She slid him a playful glare from under her lashes, then pressed the lobby button. “You know, I can make you pay for that.”

Jason smirked. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“Oh, according to Kelly, I can keep that promise in about—” Elizabeth pursed her lips. “Five more weeks.”

“Five weeks?” He met her eyes, held them as her cheeks flushed. “Five it is.”

Lucky & Kelsey’s Apartment: Bedroom

Kelsey sat on the bed and picked at her cuticles. “Maybe your dad is right.”

Lucky drew a shirt over his head, then turned to her. “About letting it go? Kelse—”

“I mean—” She sighed. “If he can make sure my mom is safe, maybe I should just put the file back. I have to do that anyway, but maybe there are things I don’t want to know.”

He sat next to her, reached for her hand. “Kelsey—”

“My dad was a good guy. If I bring this out, the world will find out what he did for a living and maybe that’ll be how people remember him.” She rested her forehead against his shoulder. “Is that what I want?”

“You’re the only one who can answer that, baby. You tell me to drop this, we will. We’ll put it away.”

He would, she knew that. Because she’d ask it of him, and she mattered. Had she dreamed she’d find someone who’d love her like this when she’d sat at his bar last summer and flirted with the cop and his pretty eyes?

Could she live with herself if she buried this again?

“I don’t know. I keep going back and forth on this, I’m sorry—”

“You don’t need to apologize for anything.” He cupped her cheek and kissed her. “This is your family. Your father—”

“It’s yours, too—”

“And I can live with my dad and his secrets. I had to learn that lesson a long time ago.” Lucky paused. “The only thing I can’t live with is if my father’s past comes between us. I believe him when he says he didn’t do it—”

“So do I—”

“But I don’t think he’s told us everything. We’d have to let that go.” His thumb swept over her cheekbone. “Can you do that?”

“Can you?”

Lucky laughed lightly, and it was lightly tinged with bitterness. “I’ve been letting my old man get away with a lot worse, you know. He’s never told me a truth when a lie sounded better. I didn’t always know that,” he murmured. “I used to believe every word out of his mouth like it was gospel. Like he was Moses on the Mountain.”

“Lucky—”

“And then I found out what he’d done to my mother, and I had to accept it wasn’t about me. I was horrible to her, did I ever tell you that?” he asked her. He got to his feet and went over to the dresser to pull out jeans. “Made it her fault that she’d fallen in love with the man who’d raped her.”

“Lucky—”

“Nikolas came along, and I made that her fault, too—because I didn’t know who my father was. I didn’t see him for who he was. I love him,” Lucky murmured. “Maybe that’s the hardest part of all of this. I couldn’t understand how my mother forgave him and lived with him, but didn’t I do the same?”

“You made peace with it, Lucky. And I can see why. Your father—”

“Is still lying to me. Still only telling me what he wants me to know. I had to learn the hard way to listen for the truth inside his lies. He lives his whole life like that—” Lucky scowled. “There’s the truth, the lie, and Luke Spencer is always somewhere in between. I can live with him lying to me, but I don’t know if I can live with him lying to you.”

Lucky zipped and snapped his jeans. “If you want to let this go, I can do it. Because this is your father and your life, and I love you. You matter. Whatever you want to do, Kelsey. I can do it.”

“I know you can.” She wound her arms around his waist and drew him in for another kiss. “And that’s why I love you.”

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Office

Jason walked into the office, impatient to get the few meetings he’d scheduled over with. Now that his son was home, he wanted to spend as much time as possible with him. Cam still required a lot of close attention and constant care, and Jason wanted to be part of it.

He scowled when he found Johnny Zacchara standing by a table, a gift bag in his hand.

“What are you doing here?” Jason asked, frowning. He barely remembered that Johnny was even in Port Charles. The Zaccharas had been quiet and the son had been working at one of the clubs without an issue.

Johnny turned. “Dropping off a gift for the kid.” He nodded at the table. “Bernie put out word that it was okay. You know, people want kiss ass, Morgan. Or maybe people like your wife. I don’t know. It’s just what you do when the boss has a baby.”

Jason walked over to the table — it was stacked with several gift bags, a stack of cards, and a few boxes that had baby-related things on it. He grimaced. “We didn’t do it for Morgan,” he said more to himself.

“I don’t know anything about that, but Tommy stopped by the Star—the club he’s letting me manage,” he added when Jason didn’t say anything. “He said it might be a gesture of goodwill. It’s not from my dad—”

“It’s fine. Uh, thanks. We just—” Jason picked up the stack of cards, sure there were was some hefty cash gifts. He didn’t want to deal with any of this. He looked at Johnny. “We’re not much on the old school stuff in Port Charles.”

“Yeah, Dad used to hate that about Sonny,” Johnny said easily. “Some of that old school stuff kept up the lines of communication. Made it easier to stop things before it got bad. I don’t want anything to do with this stuff,” he reminded Jason, “but I grew up with it, so I guess I gotta say that anything that keeps the peace or at least the crap away from your family is probably worth it.”

“Yeah.” Jason agreed with that, and it made sense now that he remembered Bernie had been the one to talk to Elizabeth about the guest list. She’d played into those traditions and the men she’d invited were probably returning the gesture. He looked back at Johnny. “You’re good at the Star?”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s nice. My sister was right. Coming up here to get away from Dad and do something I actually like—not a bad thing.” Johnny shoved his hands into his pockets. “Course if I try to stick around after the six months are up, I’ll have to give Dad a good reason.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Jason told him. “I’ve got meetings—”

“Yeah, yeah. See you around. Congrats on the kid, by the way. Coming home, I mean. It’s gotta be a relief,” Johnny said over his shoulder as he left. Jason looked back at the table, peering into one of the bags that held a stuffed yellow bear. He’d have to take this stuff home to Elizabeth, and she’d probably have to write thank you cards.

He’d never wanted to be in power, but Sonny hadn’t left him a choice. Jason wouldn’t make the same mistake he’d made six years ago, thinking there was a chance to get out. There was no getting out, so he’d just have to make the world he lived in as safe as possible for his family.

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Sonny smoothed a hand down his chest, his heart beating a bit fast. He hadn’t felt nervous until Max had pulled up in the parking lot and let him out. He wanted to get back to his life, wanted to be normal again but people kept looking at him. Kept waiting for him to flip.

He wasn’t going to do that. He was under control again. He’d agreed to therapy, hadn’t he? Wasn’t he shoving the medication down his throat every day? Hadn’t he sworn off alcohol?

He deserved a second chance, damn it. He’d done some terrible things, but he was sick. And he was getting better. If Justus, Jason, and Carly were too selfish to see it, that was fine. There were other people who might give Sonny a chance.

He went into the diner, smiling at Lulu Spencer behind the counter who stared at him for a long moment, her eyes wide. She looked so much like her mother, Sonny thought, as he slid into the seat. “Hey, Lu.”

“Uh, Mr. Corinthos, hi. I didn’t—” Lulu took a deep breath. “I didn’t know you were home. I’m glad you’re feeling better. Can I get you anything?”

“A coffee.” Sonny flipped the cup over and waited as she poured the liquid. He saw a flash of dark hair in the window behind her. “And maybe a small favor.”

“A favor?” Lulu’s hand trembled slightly as she set the carafe back on the hot plate. “What’s up? Did you want to talk to my dad?”

“No, I thought you might go and ask Dante if he has a break coming up,” Sonny said. He cleared his throat. “I, uh, hoped he’d talk to me. For a few minutes.”

Lulu pursed her lips. “I’m not sure—I mean, I could ask him,” she allowed, “but I’m not sure he’ll come—”

“If he says no, that’s fine,” Sonny assured her. He could understand that. He’d heard somewhere that Dante was friendly with Lucky which naturally followed to his sister. He was glad Dante was the kind of man who inspired people to look out for him. He was sure Olivia had done an excellent job raising him.

And unlike Alexis, Sonny held no ill will towards Olivia for hiding the truth. He’d broken her heart and tossed her over for Connie, then he’d left the neighborhood. No, Olivia didn’t owe him anything. Neither did Dante. That was why it was easier to approach him. To ask him for a chance. Just a small one.

He just needed someone to give him a break.

“Okay,” Lulu said. She went into the back, tossing another glance at Sonny over shoulder.

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Office

“I’m putting together a buyout package,” Justus told Jason, “but I thought we might want to discuss doing a more silent partner thing. It might be easier for Sonny to agree to,” he added.

“Yeah. Yeah.” Jason scrubbed a hand over his face, scanning the vendor contracts and the property agreements. “I don’t care. Whatever Sonny will agree to. I don’t want him at the warehouse, confusing the guys.”

“He’s handling all this pretty well,” Bernie admitted. “When he came home, I thought we’d have a fight on our hands.”

“He’s saving that for Carly,” Jason replied, getting to his feet. “Maybe his meds are starting to work. Maybe he’s biding his time. I don’t know.” He glanced at the clock on the desk. “All I know is he’s not making any moves. Max would tell me if he was, and it’s been quiet. He hasn’t even come over to talk to Elizabeth.”

“Well, that’s good.” Justus paused. “It just seems like it all ended abruptly, but I’m not going to be mad about it.”

“Is that the last of it?” Jason asked. “I’ve already been gone a few hours. Cameron needs feeding every few hours, and Elizabeth needs to make sure she’s still resting.”

“I thought she was recovered,” Bernie said, alarmed. “I know she hasn’t had the surgery—”

“She’s recovered from the C-section, but she’s still at risk for blood clots—” Jason caught sight of the gifts out of the corner of his eye. “About those—”

“Oh, yeah, Tagliatti reached out when Cameron was born,” Bernie said. “Wanted to send over something as a sign of respect. He paused. “I thought—”

“We both thought it might be better if everyone waited until Cameron had a release date,” Justus finished. “I didn’t want you have to deal with any of that if—”

If Cameron hadn’t survived. Jason nodded. “Yeah. I wasn’t expecting—I mean, I didn’t think—”

“Some are from guys in our organization,” Justus reported. “A lot are from the families that Elizabeth invited to the wedding. And there are several from the organizations that, uh, Zacchara used to screw with us on the Ric stuff.”

Jason grimaced. “You mean those assholes sent me a baby gift thinking I’d forget about the bullshit they pulled?” He scowled. “I don’t want anything from them, and I’m not making Elizabeth write them a damn thank you card—”

“I put those aside,” Justus assured him. “We need to deal with that at some point, but look at it this way—they’re groveling for your favor. That’s a good sign. We could donate them or something. It’s a peace offering, Jason, and I don’t think they’re expecting a thank you card from Elizabeth.”

“Make sure they’re not.” Jason pulled on his leather coat. “I’ll take them home and let Elizabeth start sorting through them.” He might not like the idea of people using his son to curry favor with him, but Elizabeth always saw things like this in a different light. He’d let her decide what to do.

Kelly’s: Kitchen

Dante was at the tail end of the lunch rush, clearing the last of the tickets, and looking forward to the end of his shift when Lulu came into the kitchen. “Hey,” he said, grinning at her. “You’re off at two, aren’t you? You wanna go do something?”

“Um, yeah. Sure. We can do that, but Dante—” She put a hand on his forearm. “Sonny’s out at the counter.”

Dante stilled as her words sunk in. “Sonny.”

“He asked to talk to you. He says it’s okay if you said no, but that he wanted me to ask anyway. I was going to refuse,” Lulu said when he looked at her. “But I thought—I don’t know. It should be your choice if you talk to him or not, you know?”

“Yeah.” His good mood had faded. “I heard he was home, but I figured he wasn’t going to look me up. Why would he?”

“Aunt Bobbie said that he’s in therapy for the bipolar diagnosis,” Lulu reminded him. “And that he started meds like three weeks ago. He could be feeling better from all of that.” She paused. “The Sonny we’ve seen the last year or so — it’s not the best version of Sonny. All the problems since the kidnapping, I mean. But I grew up with him, you know. And there’s—I don’t know. I just—” She lifted her hands. “The man at the counter? He looks like the guy I knew as a kid.”

“And it’s harder to say no to that,” Dante said. “I’m not mad, Lu. You don’t need to shield me from things like this.” He’d been feeling better lately. Leaving the department and getting away from all of that, taking the job here, and letting himself finally open up to Lulu — Dante felt like he had a future again.

“I’ll go out and talk to him,” he decided. “He deserves that much, I guess.”

“Yeah?” Lulu’s brows shot up. “I thought—”

“I may not like the idea of him being my father,” he cut in. “And I may not want a relationship with him, but if you’re right—if the illness caused most of what was going on, then he should at least hear that from me. It’s only fair.” He met her eyes. “You’ll come out with me?”

“If you want me to.”

“I do.” He turned down the heat on the pot of simmering chili, then took Lulu’s hand, and led her back out to the counter where Sonny was sitting.

It was the first time he’d been face to face with the notorious gangster since moving to Port Charles.  Dante wasn’t sure what he expected. Sonny was clean-shaven, his hair was carefully slicked back, with strands of gray still showing at his temples. The suit he wore was obviously expensive, a ring on his finger flashing as he sipped his coffee.

Objectively, Dante could even see a resemblance to his own face. The color of his hair, the line of his jaw—Sonny Corinthos was, without a doubt, the man who had donated the genetic material necessary to create Dante.

But that didn’t make him a father.

“Uh, hey.” Sonny straightened, setting down the cup. He flicked his eyes to Lulu, then down to their intertwined hands before meeting Dante’s cool gaze. “I didn’t—I didn’t expect you to come out. I mean, I thought maybe—”

Dante squeezed Lulu’s hand once more before releasing it and going over to the counter. “I came out because we should at least talk,” he told Sonny. “I’m sorry you found out from the papers. About me and Kristina.”

“You—you already knew?” Sonny’s voice sounded nervous, and that comforted Dante a little bit. “I mean, did you know when you came to Port Charles—”

“No. If I had suspected it, I wouldn’t have moved here,” Dante cut in. “I wanted to be a cop my entire life, and I can’t be a cop with people knowing we’re related. I never would have come here and put that in jeopardy. I’m sorry, Mr. Corinthos, but that’s just how it is.”

“No, I, uh, get that. So you did you find out from the papers—”

“No. My grandmother told me after the hearing,” Dante replied. “Apparently testifying against my cousin the serial raping monster made me no better in her eyes than you. I’ve known for a few months, and I was hoping that no one else ever would. I don’t know you, Mr. Corinthos. Lulu says you were a decent guy to her growing up, but that’s not the man I’ve met.”

“No, I know that—”

“And I’m not a cop anymore because the whole world knows the truth now.” Sonny’s head dipped. “I liked being a cop. It was all I ever wanted, and the world finding out about you made it impossible for me to have that. Thanks for coming today, but I don’t really have an interest in getting to know you better. I’m sorry, but that’s just how it is.”

Sonny closed his eyes. Nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. No, I get that. Um, I just—if you change your mind or you need anything—”

Dante nearly told him he wouldn’t, and even if he needed an organ, he’d never ask him for it—but there was a sadness in the man that stopped him. A year earlier, Sonny had been one of the most powerful men on the East Coast, and he’d lost it all. His wife and children were gone, his business, the respect, even his own mental health was fragile.

Dante didn’t need to slide the knife even deeper. “Yeah. Sure. Thanks for coming by.”

“Yeah.” Sonny took a deep breath, then laid a hundred down next to his cup. “Thanks for this, Lu,” he told her. “You grew up really good, you know. Your mom—she did good work. I’m glad she’s home.”

“We all are.” Lulu stepped up to Dante’s side. “And I’m glad you’re feeling better,” she told him. “I really am. I hope one day your boys—all of them—get to know the guy I grew up with.”

“Thanks.”

Sonny left then, ignoring the stares of the people at the tables around him.

Lulu bit her lip. “I’m sorry for the last part,” she told Dante. “I just—he looked so sad—”

“Yeah, I know. I thought it would feel better to turn him away,” Dante murmured. “But it really didn’t.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Elizabeth was just stepping off the bottom step when Jason came in, followed by Marco and another guard, both of whom had their arms full with boxes and bags.

“What’s going on?” she asked, mystified as Jason kissed her cheek and the guards set down their items. “Hey.”

“Hey. First, I told you were getting a new daytime guard,” he said, nodding to the new guard. “This is Richie. He’ll be on the door and going out with you. Marco’s going back to nights.”

“Oh, good. I know you like that schedule better,” Elizabeth said to Marco. She smiled at Richie. “I probably won’t be going out much with Cameron home, but I hope I won’t be any trouble.”

“None at all, Mrs. Morgan.” Richie flashed her a warm smile, then nodded at Jason. “Is that everything?”

“Yeah, thanks.” Jason closed the door, then turned around to find Elizabeth going through the boxes and bags. “I’m sorry. I went in today, and this was in the office. Apparently, people wanted to give us something for Cameron. Justus had them waituntil Cam was home.”

“That makes sense.” Elizabeth sat down, blinking as she opened the first envelope and took out a thick wad of cash. “Holy crap—”

“Yeah, uh—” Jason hung up his coat, then crossed to her. “Look, if you don’t want any of this, then I’ll have them send it back—”

“No, no. Bernie said before the wedding this kind of thing helped. I actually just sent a card off to that guy in Baltimore,” Elizabeth told him. “His daughter is getting married, Bernie told me. So I wrote them a card and he said he’d put in some money.” Her eyes continued to widen as she counted the money. “I guess my idea of some money and his are very different.”

“You shouldn’t be worrying about any of that right now,” Jason said with a scowl. “How long has Bernie been bringing this kind of thing to you?” And Baltimore? Which guy in Baltimore? Had Elizabeth been asked to send congratulations to one of the assholes who’d helped Zacchara?

“Since the wedding. Carly used to do this stuff,” she continued. “She told me that. She helped me write the cards. Benny used to bring it to her before he died—” Elizabeth frowned at him. “You didn’t know that?”

“No, I—” Jason leaned back. “Benny brought it up once. When I was with Robin, after Sonny left. But I turned him down. Robin wouldn’t have been interested. I didn’t—” He shook his head. “I didn’t think about it.”

“Oh. I thought you—well, anyway, it’s like an hour a week. Plus—” Elizabeth shrugged. “I don’t get to do a lot to help you with the job. And I don’t want to,” she added when he frowned. “But it seems like an easy thing to do to keep peace. Or at least humanize all of us. Bernie was telling me that everyone wants to do more to contain collateral damage. Except for Anthony Zacchara. I heard what he did to that guy’s wife.” She shuddered, then continued going through the cards.

“Thank you,” Jason said after a long moment. She met his eyes, confused. “I guess it’s selfish of me to wish none of this would ever touch you.”

“Jason, this is your life. It touches me because you’re part of it. I can’t keep you safe when you go out the door. I can only hope the men you’ve paid will do what they’ve agreed to do. If I can write a few stupid cards and throw some parties that make the men in your business happy, it’s a simple thing—”

She opened another bag and slowly pulled out a yellow bear. The same one he’d noticed earlier. “Elizabeth?” he said when she just stared at it. “Hey, you okay?”

“Baby’s first toy.” Elizabeth brushed her fingers over the soft fur. She looked at him, and he was surprised to find tears clinging to her lashes. “This—I’m sorry. It’s just, um—” She closed her eyes. “Last year, the day after we got married, Ric gave me a bear that looked like this one.”

His throat tightened as Jason looked down at the bear again. “Like this one?” he echoed.

“Yeah, it was a present for the baby. When I got out of the hospital, I saw it sitting on the mantel—” She turned the bear over in her lap, sliding her fingers over the price tag. “I made Ric get rid of it. I didn’t want to see it. It was supposed to be the baby’s first toy, but—” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. It’s not—it’s over. It really is. I have you and I have Cameron—”

He drew her into his side as she pressed the bear to her chest, the tears sliding down her cheeks. “But you loved that child,” he murmured. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Or it will be. One day.” Elizabeth took a deep breath, kissed his cheek. “It just—it threw me for a minute. But it’s not—it’s not someone messing with us, you know? It’s—there’s no way someone knew about that toy unless Ric told them, and it’s new—” She tapped the price tag. “See? It’s not the same one. If Ric had done this, he’d have sent the old bear.”

“I guess.” Jason took it from her. “I don’t know—which bag did it come from?”

She pulled out the card and skimmed it. “It’s from Solana Ruiz,” she said. “I don’t remember who she is.”

“Hector Ruiz’s wife,” Jason said tightly. And one of the families that had manufactured a Ric sighting. Obviously, Justus hadn’t gathered all of them. “He has three sons and a few daughters.”

“Oh, oh, I remember now. Her daughter just had a baby, too. I sent a card for the shower.” Elizabeth nodded. “That makes sense. She must have sent this. I can’t—I can’t keep it. But I’ll write a thank you note anyway. It’s not her fault.” She put the bear back in the bag.

“I’ll take care of it. I’ll donate it to the hospital,” he told her. “Isn’t it time to feed Cameron?”

“Oh, yeah, in about ten minutes.” Elizabeth got to her feet. “I’ll go get his bottle ready, but you want to do it, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be up.” He smiled as she went into the kitchen, then pulled out the bear again. It could have been as simple as Elizabeth said. She’d sent a card for the Ruiz family, and they’d reciprocated. And maybe Bernie and Justus hadn’t put the Ruiz family in the same category as the others. After all, it hadn’t been Hector who’d called it in, and Sonny hadn’t been contacted.

But it still gave him pause. Was it a coincidence that Elizabeth had received a replica of a bear that brought back such a dark memory from the Ruiz family? Or was something else going on?

It’s always been up to you
It’s turning around, it’s up to me
I’m gonna do what I have to do
Just don’t
Give me a little time
Leave me alone a little while
Maybe it’s not too late
Not today, today, today, today, today
– Tomorrow, Avril Lavigne

---

Monday, April 19, 2004

Quartermaine Mansion: Family Room

Jason was more comfortable at the mansion than he used to be, but that still didn’t mean he liked spending time inside. He preferred meeting Lila in the gardens whenever he had to come over, but today, she’d surprised him by insisting on the family room.

He realized why when he came in and saw AJ on the sofa, a cup in his hands. His older brother set the cup on the table, flicked irritated eyes to their grandmother, then he got to his feet. “Jason. I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Oh, did I forget?” Lila asked, her eyes wide. “Dear me, darling. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know AJ would be in town until this morning—”

“I can go,” AJ said. “I have a meeting I should be prepping for—”

“It’s fine,” Jason said, even though it really wasn’t. They hadn’t been alone together since Courtney had filed for divorce and AJ had left for New Orleans. Though Jason knew now he’d never loved Courtney the way she’d deserved, he still felt a measure of guilt for his part.

And clearly AJ hadn’t forgotten where Courtney had ended up after the separation and with whom. The two of them eyed one another warily before Jason came around the end of the sofa.

“We need to co-exist,” Jason said finally. “If you and Carly are serious about all of this, we’ll be around each other.” He reached into his pocket for the packet of pictures he’d brought his grandmother. “She thinks you can be trusted.”

“We’re both taking a chance,” AJ said. He nodded at the photos. “I hear your son is doing well. I’m glad.”

“Yeah.” Jason handed the photos to Lila and sat down so he could talk her through them. “We’re getting closer to bringing him home,” he told her. “And as soon as we do that, we’ll bring him to you.”

“Oh, how darling—” Lila murmured. “Alan said he was in a crib now. And Elizabeth looks so happy. I’m so glad this is behind you.”

AJ gingerly sat at the end of the sofa. “Are you worried about any complications?” he asked after a minute. “Don’t premature babies have to deal with a lot of those?”

Jason tensed, but he saw Lila’s pleading. His beloved grandmother didn’t have much longer, he knew. And if she wanted peace in the family, he could give that to her. For all the times he hadn’t. “We’re in the clear on most of them,” he said finally. “He’s breathing and eating on his own. We might have vision issues later,” he added. “But glasses will take care of it.”

“How much longer?” Lila asked. “Your father said you and Elizabeth spend nearly every minute there now. It must be uncomfortable.”

“We’re doing overnight stays now, so yeah. A lot of time in cots.” He handed her a photo of Edward holding Cameron. “But sometimes Monica talks Elizabeth into taking the sofa in her office.”

“Is that Grandfather?” AJ wanted to know, leaning forward. “You let him near your kid willingly?”

Jason scowled, then forced himself to relax. AJ’s tone was light, almost teasing. He could do this. “It’s important for Cameron to be around people,” he muttered.

“Edward was a great source of support last fall,” Lila told AJ with a proud smile. “With the case and the mayoral race. It makes me very happy to see you taking your place in the family again, my darling.” She touched Jason’s hand. “I know there are things we can’t ever undo. Words that were said. Actions that were done.” She eyed AJ who looked down. “But I believe in second chances. In redemptions. Your grandfather has not always been a fair or kind man. But he’s always been a good one.”

“I don’t know—” Jason shook his head. “I know that’s true in a lot of ways,” he said finally. “And I know that everyone did their best after the accident. Including Grandfather,” he forced out. Lila’s smile was reward enough. “So we’re just going to see how this works out. It means a lot to Elizabeth for Cameron to have a lot of family around him, and she doesn’t really have anyone of her own with Audrey gone.”

“Steve and Audrey would be so proud of her,” Lila said. “They loved her very much, and I know they’re looking down with happiness.” She paused. “I won’t be here forever, my dears—”

“Grandmother—” AJ protested.

“I hope that you both learn how to see each other again. You competed all your life,” she continued. “And battled. And sometimes, you took care of one another. I know that’s behind you now,” she continued when Jason grimaced. “But my hope is that you can do this. Sit in a room and acknowledge who you were. Only then can you truly go forward.” She clutched a photo of Cameron and Edward to her chest. “I would like this framed, darling. So I can look at it often.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Jason glanced at AJ, then cleared his throat. “Elizabeth and I are testifying in the custody case,” he muttered. “For Carly. And—” He paused. Took a deep breath. “I know why she’s doing it. I support it. And I’m…sorry. For my part.”

AJ blinked. “Sorry—” he cleared his throat, then nodded. “All right. Okay. Thank you.”

Luke’s: Office

“Well, Barbara Jean—” Luke smiled as his sister came in. “This is a good surprise. You here to help me with the books?”

“Absolutely not. I gave Kelly’s over to a professional a long time ago,” Bobbie said, rolling her shoulders. “And you should do the same.” She kissed his cheek. “I just had lunch with Lucky—”

Luke wrinkled his nose. “Don’t tell me Cowboy is asking you for old stories—”

“He mentioned you didn’t seem all that interested in talking about Ollie Joyce or the old days.” Bobbie set her purse down on the desk and raised a brow. “I knew him, too, Luke. When Roy worked for Frank. Ollie was a good man. According to Lucky—”

“He was a nice guy, but don’t get it twisted. Good men don’t stay working for Frank Smith for almost two decades.” Luke lit a cigar. “I told Cowboy to leave this alone—”

“Because of what you know or because it brings back memories of another kid learning about the crimes of their parent?”

Luke grimaced, sat at his desk. “It’s not about any of that, Barbara—”

“Lucky thought you hung the moon. Laura had tumbled off the pedestal when Nikolas showed up, but he still thought you were the hero who’d saved the world.” Bobbie paused. “Kelsey thought her father was upstanding lawyer who died in a car accident. Lucky knows what she’s going through. He wants to find her answers, just like he found for himself.”

“None of that did any good,” Luke muttered. “Things are better left in the past. Dragging all that up for Laura—”

“What is there to find about her father, Luke, that’s so terrible?” Bobbie wanted to know. “Tell me.”

“It’s not about Ollie,” Luke said finally. “And I don’t know anything for sure. I can’t be talking about what I think happened. I’m not doing it. End of story.”

Kelly’s: Kitchen

Dante winced when Cruz appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. He caught Lu’s eye in the order window and glared at her. She just kept pushing, didn’t she?

“Don’t blame her,” Cruz said, leaning against the door. “And I’m not staying or anything. I just—” He hesitated. “I wanted to touch base is all. I got your rent payment, and thanks for that, but it’s been like two months. How long is this to keep going?”

“I’m not—”

“And I don’t mean the job. I get your concerns about the PCPD. I still got them, but—” Cruz paused. “You came here to get away from the reporters, Dante. And you stayed after the shooting to get your head together. But now it feels like—”

He didn’t turn to look at his friend, at his roommate. Dante just stared into the pot of chili simmering and bubbling on the stove in front of him. “Like what?” he asked when Cruz didn’t say anything.

“You’re hiding. Running from all of it. I don’t know why you’re still staying here when you’ve got the apartment,” he added. “Is it me? Because I’m still a cop?”

“No—” But maybe it was. Maybe watching Cruz get up and go to work at the job Dante missed like a lost limb. Cruz got to go to work every day. He still got to be part of the dream. They’d had plans after leaving the academy. Lucky and Cruz still got to be cops.

Dante couldn’t figure a way to be one anymore, and maybe he resented them both for it. Maybe that was why he couldn’t go back to the apartment. Why Lu had to drag him out of Kelly’s even for a date. Why he’d barely talked to Lucky or Cruz since the shooting.

“It’s not you. It’s nothing to do with you or who you are,” he told Cruz. “It’s me. I’m still working through things.”

“Should I look for a new roommate?”

Dante looked at him, but he couldn’t see anything in Cruz’s eyes. Not irritation, resentment, or even worry. Cruz could have been asking him to pass the salt for all that Dante could get from him.

“I don’t know,” Dante murmured. “I’ll let you know.”

Brownstone: Living Room

“I’m glad I ran into you,” Elizabeth said, following Carly into the room. “I was looking for Bobbie, but I wanted to let you know that if Alexis wants to schedule me for a deposition or whatever, I’m ready—”

Carly picked up a blanket from the sofa and folded it. “Are you sure? I thought you’d want to wait until Cameron came home—”

“We’re only a week or so away from that,” Elizabeth said. She reached into her purse. “And I know you haven’t been able to see him, so I was going to drop off pictures. You’ll be our first visitor when he comes home.”

Carly smiled. “If I’d known working at the hospital or being on the board would be my only way in, I would have finished the nursing program,” she said. She pulled out the first photo. “He’s bigger.”

“Yeah. We’re having hearing and vision test today, and Dr. Devlin wants to do the car seat test at the end of the week. If he passes all three—” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “But I’m not here to talk about that. I know Jason’s not wild about me being involved because he knows what Alexis will ask—”

“And what Sonny’s lawyer will do,” Carly said. “Jordan Baines doesn’t have a heart. She’s going to go after you anyway she can. I don’t blame Jason for not wanting to do any of that.” She sighed. “I wish this were over, but—” she wandered into the kitchen and Elizabeth followed. “You want something to drink? Water?”

“Sure.” They sat at the table. “Jason said that the judge rejected Sonny’s push for a temporary custody order. That’s a good sign, isn’t it? He’s not getting visitation even without the hearing.”

“Alexis said it was. We filed in family court for AJ’s paternal rights. Which feels weird to say out loud.” Carly dragged her hands through her hair. “It’s been one thing after another,” she murmured. “For years. I’m so tired.”

“And I know this will take time. Sonny will fight every step of the way, but Jason and I are behind you. And it might be weird to have AJ back in this, but that means the Quartermaines are behind you now.”

“That used to scare the crap out of me.” Carly leaned back. “A year ago, do you know where we were?”

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Hating each other?”

“Well, yes,” Carly allowed. But also— I was solid and happy in my marriage, overjoyed at being pregnant. Happy that Jason was dating someone who I could get along with, and so sure that no matter what life threw at me and Sonny, we could get through it.” She rested her chin on her fist. “And now—I can’t even remember what it felt like.”

“I had just broken up with Ric for the first time,” Elizabeth murmured. “After learning all the lies and things he’d done to you, to Sonny—”

“I don’t know why the panic room had to change everything so much,” Carly said when Elizabeth didn’t finish. “Why it twisted and broke so many things. Some for the better. Jason’s definitely better off than he would have been. Outside of all of this with Sonny, I mean. That is what it is. But he’s happy with you.”

“Carly—”

“For a long time, I kept thinking I wanted to go back to how things were before. That I wanted to be that Carly again. But what’s broken inside Sonny—it was always there. If it wasn’t Ric, it would have been someone or something else.” Carly took a deep breath. “I will never be grateful for what happened to me. To either of us,” she added. “I know Jason found a silver lining because without it, Cameron isn’t here, but I couldn’t find mine. I couldn’t see what it had brought me except trauma and terror.”

“And now?”

“I’m going to be a better person because of it. It made me look at everyone in my life. To look at who I was and how I reacted to things. I never would have let AJ back into Michael’s life, or God, apologized to Tony.” Carly bit her lip. “I wish it had never happened, but it did. It’s okay to find good in it. To find benefit. Isn’t it?”

“I think it’s the only way we can ever really move on from it. I’m a better person because what happened to me,” Elizabeth told her. “The rape. Ric. All of it. It brought me to this moment, to this life.” She twisted her wedding ring. “I have Jason and we have Cameron. I’m stronger than I would have been, I think. I found the good in what happened to me, Carly. But that doesn’t mean I wanted it. Or that I’m grateful. It just means I’ve found a way to live with it.”

“I guess that’s all we can hope for.”

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Taggert emerged from the diner, pausing when he saw Justus at a table reading over some paperwork. He had never been all that interested in the man but he’d be connected to Justus for the rest of his life thanks to Portia. Portia adored her family, and thought of Tamika Ward as her best friend, not just a sister.

And Justus was a father. Kimi would be his kid’s cousin.

Maybe it was time to put the old feelings aside.

“You, uh, got a minute?” Taggert wanted to know. Justus squinted at him, then nodded. “Thanks.”

“What’s going on?” Justus asked. “Is there something at the station—”

“No, no it’s not about any of that. You and I don’t have a lot of run ins these days as long as Sonny stays away from Carly.” And it went without saying Morgan wasn’t going to show up on Major Crimes’ radar. “Um, I know you know about Portia. She said she told her sister before me.”

“Yeah. Mikki said something.” Justus shifted. “Congratulations. She brought over the DVD. Mikki can’t wait to be an aunt.”

“Yeah, she’ll be a good one. Kimi’s a cute kid, so—” Taggert sipped his coffee. “Uh, I guess this means you’ll be my kid’s uncle.”

“That’s usually how it works.”

Taggert scowled. “Look, I’m just—” He exhaled in a huff. “Portia and I are good. Solid. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me, and I’m gonna be a good dad, but she’s got her heart set on a little girl. That scares the hell out of me.”

“Having a daughter?”

“You know this world. I’ve seen—” Taggert looked away, looked towards the diner where Georgie Jones was visible. “I’ve seen too much. And I can’t stop the world from hurting my kids.”

“I know it. I’ve had nightmares thinking about my little girl out in the world. Don’t think I’d do much better with a son,” Justus added. “Because there are whole conversations you gotta have with your son about walking around this world as a Black man.”

That hadn’t even occurred to Taggert and now his chest tightened. “How old were you when your mom had the talk with you?”

“Maybe seven,” Justus said, after some thought. “I got hauled in by some cops in Philly,” he continued. “I spent too much time in the candy aisle and the owner called in a beat cop.” He exhaled slowly. “You?”

“About the same. Mom told me that I was gonna have to fight harder than everyone else just to be seen half as good. She didn’t want me to be a cop,” Taggert added. “But I’d met a good one, I thought, and I wanted to help. I wanted to be part of a better world.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how anyone brings a kid into this world.”

“We’ve got an okay corner of it here. You’ve done good work at the PCPD,” Justus told him. “And you got good taste. Portia’s amazing. She’s going to be a world-class mother. And you’ve got family here. Whether we like it or not,” he added. “Mikki wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Taggert got to his feet. “Appreciate it.”

“Any time.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

“I swear, if Penny gives me that look one more time,” Georgie muttered as she rounded the counter and flashed an angry look at the equally irritated waitress across the room. “I was gone for six months, and she acts like I’ve never worked a day in my life—”

She huffed and looked at Dillon. “You want the usual?”

“Yeah. Penny’s just mad because she’s always been everyone’s, like, third favorite waitress,” Dillon assured her. “Remember? You told me she thought she’d get promoted to manager when Elizabeth quit last year right after Courtney did.”

“And instead Bobbie just hired more waitresses and does the schedule herself.” Georgie smirked. “Yeah, I remember when Elizabeth trained me. She and Courtney got more tips, and it pissed Penny off. Now, Lu and I get more tips. You’d think she’d figure it out.”

“I think Lucas got more tips and he only worked here last summer.” Dillon flipped a page in his text. “You ready for finals?”

“Yeah, I think. Worried about the chem final. If I want to get into organic next year, I need to ace it. I’ll probably pull all nighter.” Georgie ducked into the kitchen to put in another order. When she came out, “I talked to Lu. She and Dante are trying to put together a movie night. I feel like we haven’t done one of those in ages.”

“No, not since—” Dillon made a face. “Christmas. Lu and I broke up and it kind of soured things. But we should.” He hesitated. “There’s a Joan Crawford movie festival next week at the Harwin. They’re doing Baby Jane and Mildred Pierce on the first night. You wanna go?”

“Aren’t they both black and white?” Georgie asked. “You know Maxie hates those—”

“No, I just meant—” Dillon paused. “You and me. Just us.”

Georgie stared at him for a long moment, and he thought he’d made a terrible mistake. They’d only dated for a few months nearly a year ago and things had exploded. She wasn’t interested, and—

“Just you and me,” she echoed. “Dillon—”

“Hear me out, okay?” he said in a hurry. “We said we’d be friends again, right? But the thing is, Georgie—” He cleared his throat. “We were never friends in the first place, you know? From the first second we saw each other. And I know you were dating that guy for a while, but Maxie said that was over—”

“So you want to go on a date? With me?” Georgie said. “I know you said you forgave me for what happened—”

“It’s in the past. I promise. I’m not that innocent, either, you know. We all could have handled things better,” he continued. “And I just—” He met her eyes. “I just thought we could see if anything was still there. I never stopped caring, Georgie.”

“Neither did I,” she said softly. “And I miss your movies. Yeah, let’s go.”

Spencer House: Porch

Laura opened the door and blinked, stepping back. “Kelsey, this is a surprise—”

“I’m sorry just to drop in like this, but I went to the club, and the bartender said—” Kelsey stepped into the entryway and saw Luke standing by the sofa. “I hoped you’d give me a chance to ask you a few questions.”

“I told Cowboy everything I knew—”

“Yeah, he told me.” Behind her, Laura closed the door. Kelsey cleared her throat. “But he thought maybe you didn’t tell him everything, and if there’s something you don’t want people to know about my dad, I get it. I just—” She stepped down, closer to him. “I hope you’d at least hear me out.”

“He will,” Laura said, glaring at Luke. “He’ll hear you out and answer anything he can. Won’t you, Luke?”

“I can try,” he said, gesturing at the dining table. “What’s on your mind?” He sat across from Kelsey, his mouth tightening when Laura sat next to her and not him.

“I understand if you’re worried about things coming back on you, I really do get it. Lucky said you were mixed up in all of this for a long time.” Kelsey paused. “It’s just—I thought I knew who my dad was. I thought I understood what happened to him and why we left. But my mother’s still scared. Does that mean someone is out there? Still threatening her?”

Luke hesitated, then shook his head. “I’d be surprised if anyone has thought about your mother in a long time. I can appreciate her worry, but I’ll tell you Angela is safe. Even if she weren’t, I can make a few calls to make sure of it. Jason’s a good friend and this is his town now.”

“Okay. Okay. That helps. Did my dad—he was Frank Smith’s lawyer, and I know from the papers I’ve read Frank wasn’t a good guy. I know some of the terrible things he was accused of. They said he was running drugs and women in the clubs.” Kelsey’s eyes burned with tears. “Was my dad part of any of that?”

“Like I told Cowboy, your dad might have known about some of that, but he stayed on the right side of the line. Kelsey, you mean a lot to my boy, so I’m doing what I can here, but—”

“Do you know who murdered my father?” Kelsey asked.

Luke closed his eyes. “It wasn’t me, if that’s what either of you were thinking.” He saw Kelsey’s shoulders slump. “That wasn’t my thing,” he added, “and I wasn’t in the inner circle like that. Frank and me were enemies mostly. What happened to your dad seems like an internal thing, you know? I don’t know who did it.”

“But you know who might have.”

“I know who the players were,” Luke clarified. “And that’s all I know. I could give you names. But none of it would help. I’m sorry your father’s case got screwed up like it did. But the time to do something about it, that’s gone.”

“There’s nothing else you can tell me?” Kelsey wanted to know. “Please—”

“There’s nothing else I can tell you.”

When Laura had closed the door behind her son’s girlfriend, she turned to her husband who seemed already braced for what was coming.

“Secrets and holding things in for years and years is what broke me,” she told him. “I never said the things I wanted to say, and I didn’t deal with all that I’d been through. I can’t let that happen again.”

“Angel—”

“Lucky loves her. And I mean he loves her. This isn’t like Elizabeth. It isn’t young, first, sweet love. Kelsey is probably going to be our daughter-in-law in the next few years. Our first grandchildren will come from her.” Laura lifted her chin. “If you are holding on to secrets about her father, that will fester and simmer. The truth might not come out today. But it will come out. It always does. You need to decide where you want to be standing when it does.”

NICU: Cameron’s Room

Elizabeth’s fingers dug into Jason’s as Dr. Devlin slid the tiny probe inside Cameron’s ears as Nadine held the newborn steady. His little face scrunched up, but that was the only sign of discomfort.

“It’s okay,” Jason murmured against her ear. “We’re almost there.”

“I just—” Elizabeth tightened her grip, then winced when she felt Jason flinch. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Dr. Devlin drew the probe out and said something to Nadine. The nurse laid the baby back into his crib, and the doctor turned back to the parents. “He’s passed with flying colors. Just like all the other tests.”

Elizabeth’s air rushed out like a waterfall. “Oh, thank God.”

“All we need now is the car seat test.” He made a note in the chart. “I’d like to give Cameron a few more nights, so let’s schedule the test for Thursday. If it goes well—” Dr. Devlin looked up and flashed another smile. “Friday, you can take your little boy home.”

So little time
Try to understand that I’m
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody’s changing, and I don’t feel the same
You’re gone from here
Soon you will disappear, fading into beautiful light
‘Cause everybody’s changing, and I don’t feel right
– Everybody’s Changing, Keane

---

Friday, April 9, 2004

The Cellar: Office

“I’m sorry,” Carly said as Jason closed her door. “I never meant to blindside—”

Jason held up a hand to ward off her protests. “You don’t owe me an explanation. Michael is your son—”

“But everything about Sonny affects you. Especially right now,” Carly cut in and he exhaled slowly. “And it’s not like I didn’t have a chance to tell you”

“I knew you were working with AJ—”

“But I didn’t tell you what I was going to do.” Carly folded her arms. “At first, it really was just about getting Sonny out of Michael’s life. Even if Sonny does get better, Morgan’s an infant and he won’t have memories of this time. Michael always will. And I knew there was a big chance Sonny would win supervised visitation. Revoking the adoption was my only way out.”

“I understand all of that—”

“And after Sonny was forced into Ferncliffe, I was even more determined. But then, the bipolar diagnosis came down and I—” Carly sighed. “I told AJ we were still going forward, I just wanted to wait until Sonny was released. It would look better in court.” She paused. “And then AJ tried to talk me out of it.”

“AJ.” Jason stared at her. “He tried to talk you out of the revocation?”

“What’s stopping me from doing this to AJ in two or three years?” Carly asked softly. “How many times have I jerked my son around, pushing him from father to father, Jason? From Tony to you to AJ to Sonny—” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I can justify it all I want, but AJ’s right. I still think of Michael as mine to give and to take.”

She opened her eyes, stretched her mouth into a thin, sour smile. “You’re not going to argue with that?”

“No,” Jason replied. “No. I can’t. Because I’ve always seen Michael as yours. From the beginning. I never cared about Tony or AJ. You were the one who was pregnant. It made sense to me then that you should be in charge.  The rights of the mother—” He paused. “Then I realized what it meant to be a father. I understood what I’d done. It was just too late, and I was in too deep. I loved him too much.”

“You still walked away,” she murmured. “And I wish I’d let it go then, Jason. When you gave up visitation, when you tried to cut ties. You told me to move on, but I clung and I dragged you along, still believing we could have everything.” She sank down, into her chair, her hands on her desk. “And when you didn’t do what I wanted, I tried to hurt you.”

“And you did it,” Jason said roughly. “You and Sonny destroyed me. But you did me a favor at the end of the day. Because I was still holding out for the chance to be with Michael again. I had to let go, and I don’t know if I could have if you hadn’t—”

“You were almost there, Jason. I know what we thought we felt, but it was never love.” She smiled sadly, and he nodded. “But that’s why I have to do this now. I never had the right to cut AJ out. He never, ever hurt Michael. And he was a good father. This isn’t about Sonny anymore. This is about taking accountability for the things I’ve done. I’m sorry if this makes things harder with Sonny, I am. But I have to do this—”

“It’s okay,” Jason said. “I wish you’d said something earlier, but I can understand it’s not an easy conversation to have. I don’t really like going back to that time. I hurt a lot of people,” he continued. “I’ll never regret the time I spent with Michael because loving him, being his father made me a better man, but I hurt Robin. I lied to my grandmother—” He shook his head. “You need to make it right however works for you, Carly. I’ll support it.”

“Thank you.” Carly took a deep breath. “That leads me to why I asked you to come by. Before I could file my paperwork, Sonny got there first. He must have been meeting with his lawyer in Ferncliffe.”

Jason grimaced. “How bad is it?”

“He’s going to drag every wrong thing I ever did through the mud to make sure I’m labeled an unfit mother and blame the breakdown of the marriage on me.” Her throat tightened. “I know this is going to make things worse with him, but I need you. I need you and I need Elizabeth to tell the court about December. I need Elizabeth to talk about all the things he’s done to her, even after he knew she was facing a fatal pregnancy complication. And if it’s possible, if Justus could—”

“That’s—” Jason scrubbed a hand down his face. “I’ll testify, and I can talk to Justus, but—”

“I know. You want to leave Elizabeth out of it. I wish I could, Jase. I really do. But she’s the other target of Sonny’s anger. He never turned on you like he did on us. She can say no. I’ll be okay with that. But I need you to ask her. Or I need to. I just—I have to get Sonny out of my life. And I can’t afford to play safe or fair. He won’t.”

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Dante unfolded the last chair and set it in place by a table. Georgie and Lulu had both argued to set up the courtyard for the day, but he liked the physical labor and they had to deal with customers all day. The least he could do after the first morning rush was give them a break.

He adjusted a few of the chairs, then headed for the diner entrance. He stopped when he heard his name called.

“Dante, I was hoping to catch you before your shift.” Alexis walked through the arched entrance and flashed a smile. “Do you have a minute?”

“I’m on break, actually, but yeah—” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Is this about Capelli or the PCPD—”

“Oh. No. I’m not dealing with any of that, actually. I was just—” Alexis paused. “I’ve wanted to reach out to you since all of this hit the fan, but I thought it might be better if I waited until the press died down. The reporters are gone from the building, and I asked Lu if they were still around here.”

Dante shrugged. “Every once in a while, but not like before.”

“Good. Good. I’m so sorry this came out the way it did. I never wanted anyone to know about Kristina,” Alexis said, “and clearly you and your mother felt the same way—”

“I saw the press conference,” Dante said. “With you and Aunt Lo. I’m glad Ma didn’t go through it, but I guess you and Aunt Lo work for the city, so—”

“But the truth is out there now,” Alexis interrupted. “Whatever you decide to do about your relationship with Sonny—you’ll do what’s best for you. But you have a sister. And brothers,” she added, “but Carly will choose her own path there. Kristina is your sister, Dante.”

Dante stared at her for a long moment, then cleared his throat. “I—”

“She’s much younger than you, of course. Still just a baby still.” Alexis flashed a hesitant smile. “I had a sister once, too, and I was separated from her most of my life. Once she came back into my life, we didn’t have nearly as much time together. I just thought you should know if you want to be part of Kristina’s life, if you want to be her brother, the door is always open.”

NICU: Cameron’s Room

Cameron was out of the incubator when Jason arrived that morning and laying on a table with Dr. Ian Devlin and Nadine on one side, Elizabeth on the other, her arms tightly crossed.

“Is everything all right?” Jason asked, quickly crossing to his wife, a hand on her shoulder. “Cameron—”

“They’re doing a temperature check,” Elizabeth told him. “If Cameron can regulate his own temperature for a longer period of time—” She took a breath, and Jason immediately noted that it was much deeper than before she’d delivered the baby. Her lungs could nearly fully expand now—

She cleared her throat. “It’ll be a big step towards letting him come home soon, right?” she asked.

Dr. Devlin removed the thermometer and studied the results. He grinned, and Jason’s chest eased. “97.7,” he told Nadine who scribbled it down. “Exactly where he needs to be.”

“What does that mean?” Elizabeth asked immediately. “Does that mean we can take him home—”

“Not yet, Mama, but we’re getting closer. This means Cameron can stop using the incubator,” he said. He nodded to Nadine who left the room. “We’ll be upgrading him to an open bed. He can start wearing t-shirts but you’ll need to keep his head covered at all times,” he told them. He lifted Cameron, then settled him in Elizabeth’s arms. “This is a big step. I want him to gain a bit more weight to help him continue maintaining that temperature. I think we can start scheduling overnight stays,” he told them. “One or both of you staying overnight with him to handle the feeding and changes—”

Elizabeth’s eyes glittered with tears. “I can stay now. Tonight—”

Dr. Devlin laughed, but Jason knew she was completely serious. If the hospital gave Elizabeth the opening, she’d move into Cameron’s room. And he’d be right there with her. “We’ll look at that. I think we can start thinking about scheduling the tests he’ll need for release. As soon as he gains two more ounces, we’ll do the hearing and vision tests. And don’t forget about the car seat. He needs to be able to sit for almost two hours in one without any issues—”

He made some more notes in the chart. “Nadine will arrange for the open crib—it should be here in a few minutes. Now that Cameron can regulate the temperature, we don’t want him getting overheated. Congratulations, Mom and Dad. He’s doing great.”

The doctor set the chart aside and left the room. Elizabeth beamed at Jason. “We’re going to be able to bring him home soon!”

“I heard.” Jason ushered her over to the chair. Her health had rebounded but he still wanted her to take it easy. “And as soon as they tell us we can do overnight, we’ll do that.” He hesitated. “I talked to Carly this morning.”

“And judging from the look on your face, it didn’t go well?” she asked, adjusting Cameron again, sliding her fingers over his fuzzy head and tufts of blond hair.

“I don’t know.” Jason sat in the other chair. Before he said anything else, Nadine and a few other hospital techs rolled out the incubator, replacing it with an open crib. He went over to one of the bags they’d kept there, and drew out a t-shirt. He handed it to Elizabeth and Nadine gave them a stash of hats.

“Congratulations,” Nadine told them again. “He can spend as much time as you want out of the crib, just make sure his head is covered and check his temperature every twenty minutes or so.”

When they were alone and Cameron was dressed in his new clothes, Jason told Elizabeth about Carly’s decision to bring AJ back into the picture and Sonny’s divorce paperwork. “She’s having Alexis send me a copy so I can get an idea of what he’s saying, but—”

“It’s terrible. You can’t even blame Sonny’s reaction on AJ because he clearly had this ready to go. He was planning this in Ferncliffe,” Elizabeth said. “Doesn’t that bother you? While he was starting therapy and supposed to be getting better, he was planning how to destroy Carly.”

“It tells me she’s right to get out.” It seemed even colder to him knowing that Sonny had walked into the penthouse the day before asking Carly for another chance. He’d had this paperwork waiting, ready to launch it like a nuclear attack. How could someone claim to love someone and do this?

He paused again, watched as Elizabeth readjusted Cameron from one side to the other, fussing over the hat and t-shirt, making sure they weren’t bunched up and their son was comfortable. Everything outside this room was still a complete clusterfuck, but his family was safe. Happy. Healthy. For the first time in months, Jason felt like he could actually breathe and think clearly.

“She needs me to testify about December,” Jason told her. “And about last summer. She’ll limit it because she knows Sonny can’t afford to go too deep, but Bobbie’s already going to talk about what she saw.” He paused. “She needs you, too.”

Elizabeth squinted. “Why do you say it like that? Of course she does. I was there that night. And I’ve seen how scared Michael is of Sonny. Plus, I’m sure she wants me to talk about the things Sonny said to me right before I got sick.” She stood and handed Cameron to him. “Your turn.”

“I just—” Jason shook his head. “It’s instinct, I guess. After all of this. I don’t want you to have to think about any of that. To think about the panic room and last summer or how sick you were—”

“I don’t want to, either, but this is the right thing to do, Jason. Michael and Morgan need us. I want them to have the best life they possibly can.” Elizabeth bit her lip. “I know all the reasons it isn’t my fault, but I still feel responsible for what happened in that panic room—”

“Elizabeth—”

“For that entire week, we weren’t just working to find Carly. We were trying to bring Morgan home safely, too. And Michael saw what happened to his mother. I wish this weren’t the answer. I wish Sonny could have bent just a little six months ago when it came to the trial. Or maybe I wish Carly and I had felt differently. There were hundreds of little ways maybe we could stopped what’s happening. We didn’t, Jason. I’ll never forgive myself if Sonny ends up with custody of those boys. The man who screamed at me while I was so sick—who locked Carly in that room—he’s not a good father. It’s up to Carly to stop that. She’s asking us for help. We need to be there.”

General Hospital: Hallway

They left Dr. Lee’s office and walked towards the bank of elevators, but Taggert’s head was still back in the room, watching the little black screen and green squiggles. It hadn’t looked like much, but then he’d seen the heartbeat—

A little pulsing squiggle on a screen was the heartbeat of his kid. And it was beating inside of the woman walking next to him, her arm wound through his—

“It didn’t seem real before,” Taggert said suddenly, and Portia stopped, blinking up at him. “I mean, I saw the test and I knew it was, but before—”

“Before it was a concept,” she finished. She reached into her purse, drew out the print they’d been given, the DVD still tucked inside. “Now it’s here. Our baby has a heartbeat.”

“I want to be a good father,” Taggert said. “Not like mine. He took off, and he broke my mother—” He cleared his throat.

“Marcus, you’ll be an amazing father.” Portia leaned up to brush her mouth against his. He cupped her face gently. Delicately. How did women do this? How did they grow a whole person inside of them? And how did people just let them walk around normally? He wanted to wrap her in bubble wrap so nothing could touch her—

“I don’t know about amazing. But good—” He nodded. Good was a realistic goal. “I know this is all still new and we’re figuring things out, but I love you, and I love this baby already.”

Portia grinned. “I knew all of that, but it’s nice to hear.” They resumed walking towards the elevator. “Now, I don’t want you thinking that we’re gonna rush into getting married or anything.”

He frowned. “But—”

“I always wanted to design my own dress,” Portia continued, “and that’s gonna take me some time. We’re gonna have to have two ceremonies,” she decided. “A small one up here in Port Charles for this part of our family, and then we’ll go to Philly—” Her smile broadened. “You need to meet everyone—”

Taggert pursed his lips. “How are you so sure I was gonna propose?” he demanded. “Maybe I wasn’t—”

She arched a brow. “Marcus, this isn’t the time to be playing funny. We both know that you got a ring burning a hole in the top drawer of your dresser. So you’ll go ahead with your plans to ask me properly so one day we can tell our daughter—”

“Daughter—”

“Women just know,” Portia said, “and we’ll tell her about how you asked all romantically. Then—” Her eyes lit up. “Oh, and if we wait long enough after she’s born, she can have the cutest dress—you need to drop me off at the shop. I wanna start sketches. I just know exactly what she should wear—”

She practically danced into the elevator, and Taggert followed, still a bit mystified and overwhelmed, but damned if he wasn’t already thinking about his pretty Portia in a gorgeous gown, and maybe his mother in the front of the church holding a baby girl in her own dress—

Portia did know how to paint a picture in your head.

Spencer House: Kitchen

Lucky stepped into his parents’ house by way of the kitchen door, and stood there for a long moment, enjoying a sight he’d never take for granted again.

His parents were standing by the sink, laughing and teasing one another as Laura washed the breakfast dishes and Luke dried them. He’d watched them do that a thousand times growing up, but he hadn’t seen it in so many years.

Not since his mother had been away, living in London then North Carolina with his grandmother. Lucky had never lived with both of them at the same time again.

“Hey.” Laura smiled broadly at her son. She flicked her hands at Luke, letting the last of the water hit his face. He tried to grab her, but she danced away from him to cross over to Lucky. She hugged him. “I wasn’t expecting you. No work tonight?”

“I have the second shift,” Lucky told her. She kissed his cheek. “Got any coffee left?”

“Sure thing, Cowboy.” Luke reached for a mug and filled it with the last of the pot. “What brings you by?”

“Some questions,” Lucky said. He went to the fridge to grab milk, then joined his parents at the island.

“When I was shot—you know, Kelsey—” Lucky hesitated. “She struggled with it. We’re fine and everything, but her mother brought up her dad’s death and said something that confused Kelsey. So she looked up his case.” He saw his father drop his gaze to the counter. “You already know what she found, don’t you, Dad?”

“Luke?” Laura said when Luke didn’t answer. “What is he talking about?”

“He was shot in the head, execution style.  He was driving home from a meeting, and someone was with him in the car,” Lucky continued. Laura closed her eyes. “He died in June. When Frank Smith was still alive and could have ordered it.”

“I knew Ollie worked at the clubs, but—” Laura looked at Luke. “He worked for Frank? Like that?”

“Dad—”

“I don’t know much,” Luke said, with a shake of his head. “Ollie worked for Frank Smith from the beginning. Low-level stuff. He probably didn’t know what he was dealing with. He did the books for the club,” he told Laura. “The…disco.” Her mouth tightened as she looked away. “When we left town, that’s what he was doing. He was just one of a few lawyers that worked with the Smith organization. And—to the best of my knowledge—it was all legal.”

“Until it wasn’t,” Lucky said. “What about when we moved back?”

“Ollie had moved up. He was Smith’s top lawyer. I still think it was mostly legal. You generally—you have two lawyers. Look at Jason and Sonny. They have Bernie and Justus. Bernie—and his brother before him—was trained in the law and accounting. That’s what made him valuable. Benny worked for Frank Smith, too. He and Ollie worked together. Ollie handled the legal end of the business.”

“But he knew who he was working for.”

“Oh, yeah, no doubt. You don’t work for a man over a decade without finding out a thing or two or crossing the lines at times.” Luke shrugged. “That’s about as much as I ever knew. Ollie handled the legal end of the clubs and gambling—which was all Frank really got into at the time. The smuggling and international stuff—that was Sonny’s contacts from New York and Puerto Rico through Lily.” He winced. “This is off the record, right, Cowboy?”

“It’s not a PCPD investigation. It never was. The cop who handled it closed it.” Lucky lifted a brow. “You ever work with a Detective Case? David Case?”

“I didn’t work with him, no,” Luke said tightly, “but I knew he wasn’t clean. He closed it? No investigation?”

“No. That wouldn’t have raised flags for the commissioner? I didn’t know Sean.”

“You work for the PCPD—you tell me. Mac was a good guy, and still people get away with all kinds of shit.” Luke hesitated. “Look—I don’t know what bringing this up now is going to solve. I don’t know what I can tell you. I wasn’t part of the organization back in ’94. Not after I helped Frank get out of prison.”

He paused. “Maybe Ollie asked the wrong questions. I can’t say, Cowboy. But I can tell you that there’s no point in bringing this up now.”

“I can’t just leave it alone, Dad. Kelsey talked to her mother. Her mother claimed she was threatened and paid to leave town right after. Her mom is still terrified.”

“That poor woman,” Laura murmured. “To lose Ollie, then this?”

“Her mom asked Kelsey to drop it, and she did at first, but Kelsey’s having trouble putting it away. She thinks her dad deserves more—”

“If Frank Smith ordered it, I already got her father justice,” Luke told him flatly. “There’s no point in dragging up ancient history. Does that cop still work at the PCPD?”

“No, he retired in ’97 and died last year.”

“Then why go into it now?” Luke shrugged. “Let her father rest in peace. It was a bad time for us, Cowboy. Leave it alone.”

Lucky studied his father for a long moment, then finished his coffee. “All right. Let me know if you think of anything else.” He hugged his mother, then left.

When he was gone, Laura turned to Luke and raised her brow. “What do you know?”

“What I know, Angel, is not provable in a court of law,” Luke told her. He kissed her forehead. “And some people got enough problems without opening up that can of worms.”

Laura scowled, but Luke set his coffee cup in the sink and left the kitchen.

Brownstone: Front Step

The universe was sending all kinds of signals these days, Carly thought as she approached the front step of her mother’s home and saw Tony Jones jogging down the steps. He stopped when he saw her, his face tight.

“Tony.” Carly tightened her hand around the strap of her purse. “I don’t see you much around here.” Her stomach fluttered. “That’s my fault, isn’t it?”

“Not entirely,” Tony admitted. He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Lucas is old enough to come to me, and we don’t do visitation anymore.” He cleared his throat. “I was dropping some things off. I thought you’d be at work.”

“Early night. Um—wait—” she said as Tony started towards his car. “Can I—” He turned back towards her, his facial expression carefully blank. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’ve…about the things I’ve done. Um, I’ve been in therapy off and on since last summer.”

Tony exhaled slowly, nodded. “I heard something about that, I think. We don’t need to—”

“No, we do. I wasn’t always a good person.” Carly made a face. “I’m not sure I qualify now, but I’ve been working with AJ to get his parental rights reinstated.”

Tony raised his brows. “Really? Things with Sonny that bad?” he said sourly.

“No, well, yes,” Carly admitted. “And that’s how it started. But it’s not why I’m still doing it. I was messed up about a lot of things back then. Why I went after you, why I lied about the baby, the things I did to AJ—I have a lot of regrets, Tony. I’m sorry I lied to you about the baby. About the way I treated you when you found out the truth.”

“Sorry about shooting me?” he asked dryly. She grimaced. “No, that one is on me. I went a little crazy for a while,” he admitted. “And look, we both did a lot wrong, Carly—”

“Tony—”

“Let’s just leave it there, okay?” he told her. “You’re not the same person—”

“You know, people say that all the time,” Carly cut in, “but it feels wrong. It feels like I’m blaming someone else for what I did. I’m still her, Tony. I did those things, and I did them without a regret in my heart for a long time. God, even six months ago—” Her chest tightened. “I’m not sure I could have stood in front of you and felt bad about it.”

He said nothing, and she took a deep breath. “But I am sorry now. Mama forgave me a long time ago, even though I barely gave her a reason, too, and I think Lucas is on his way. Maybe. I hope so. He’s been good to me. To me and to my boys.  You don’t need to forgive me, Tony. I can’t ask for that, and I won’t. I still need to offer the apology.”

“All right,” Tony said slowly. “Then let me give you an apology, too,” he said, and she blinked at him. “Because you did what you did, but I lied to you, too, didn’t I? I didn’t love you. And I nearly married you for the baby. I kept lying to you because I was going for custody. Maybe if I’d come clean, if I’d admitted it earlier, you might have done things differently.”

“I wish I could believe that. You were kind to me, Tony, and for a while, I thought that meant you loved me. I thought it meant I loved you, too. We were both wrong, I guess. But I know I was more wrong. For going after you—”

“Yeah, the reasons you targeted me weren’t right, but I still said yes, didn’t I?” Tony shrugged a half shoulder, but his face had loosened. “I still made the choice, Carly, and I’m not here to give you more blame than you deserve. Thanks for clearing the air.”

“Thank you for listening.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

“Now, you can have this one cookie,” Tamika told her daughter. “But we’re taking the rest home.”

Kimi pouted, then turned her dark eyes on her father. “Daddy—”

“Not a chance. Me and Mama are a team,” he reminded her. His eye caught someone in the courtyard, and he grimaced. “Mikki,” he murmured to his wife. “Stay in here with Kimi. Sonny’s outside, and he just made eye contact with me.”

“Justus—”

“It’ll be fine. We’re in public.” He kissed her temple, then left the diner to find Sonny waiting for him. “How did you know I’d be here and what do you want?”

“I didn’t know,” Sonny said, squinting. “I came to grab something to eat—” He paused. “And maybe see if I could talk to my son—”

“Dante isn’t working right now,” Justus said, “and I doubt he wants to see you. You’re the reason he had to leave the department—”

Sonny scowled. “You don’t know that—”

“I know that everyone was looking at him funny, thinking he knew about his father and was a dirty cop. So maybe you came looking for Dante, but you saw me. What do you want?” he repeated.

“I thought I could apologize—”

“Not interested.”

“Justus, come on—” Sonny said as Justus reached for the door. “I’m trying to do better, okay? I’m doing the damn therapy, the meds. No one is giving me a chance—”

“What makes you think you deserve one?” Justus wanted to know. “Maybe six months ago when Carly walked out on you the first time. Or four months ago after you locked in her a goddamn room. Maybe two months ago when Jason told you Elizabeth was sick. Maybe then you had a right to ask about chances. But no one owes you shit, Sonny. Don’t be mad. It’s called the consequences of your actions—”

“I didn’t know—”

“You didn’t know the diagnosis,” Justus retorted, “but you damn well knew you weren’t okay. But you’re the big bad Sonny Corinthos, right? Can’t go for help even though your family is begging you. You made that choice, Sonny. Not the illness. You’re not going to get back in by appealing to me. Jason’s my cousin. My loyalty is with him. You and me got nothing else to say to each other.”

Hearts are worn in these dark ages
You’re not alone in this story’s pages
The light has fallen amongst the living and the dying
And I’ll try to hold it in, yeah, I’ll try to hold it in
The world’s on fire, it’s more than I can handle
Tap into the water, try to bring my share
Try to bring more, more than I can handle
Bring it to the table, bring what I am able
– World on Fire, Sarah McLachlan

---

Thursday, April 8, 2004

 Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

“Thank you,” Carly told Jason as he let her into the penthouse. “For—for letting me do this here. I know you don’t want him here—”

“I need to make things clear to him,” Jason told her.  “You didn’t want to see him alone, and I know you don’t want to go back to the penthouse.” He paused.

“No, that’s definitely not in the cards.” Carly leaned against the desk. “How’s Cam? Do you guys have a date to bring him home yet?”

“Not yet, but the doctor said it might be in two or three weeks. Elizabeth is at the hospital with him now. He’s—” Jason grabbed a stack of photographs. “We’ve been taking pictures. I’m sorry you haven’t been able to meet him yet—”

“No, I get it. Parent and medical professionals only. And apparently board members,” she said dryly. She glanced through the photos and smiled at one of Jason holding Cameron. “Oh, man, look—he’s getting bigger.”

“Yeah, he hit five pounds yesterday.” Jason couldn’t stop himself from grinning again. He’d been there when Cameron had hit that milestone—that was huge. “His lungs are clear, and he’s regulating his own temperature. He just needs more time on the oxygen, and they want him to gain a few more ounces.” He saw her looking at a photograph of Monica and Cameron. “I’m sorry,” he said again.

“They work at the hospital. It’s just…” Carly ran her fingers over a photo of Cameron by himself in his crib. “He’s such a huge part of your life, Jason, you know? This is your baby. Your son. And I haven’t met him. I hate it. I hate that you didn’t get to bring him home yet—” She handed him the photos. “I hate everything Ric Lansing has done to us.”

Jason hesitated, then looked down at the photo —Elizabeth holding the baby, Cameron’s skin against hers, a blanket covering them both. “I do, too,” he admitted. “But—I also—I wouldn’t—”

Carly frowned slightly, looked down at the photo he was holding. “But maybe you wouldn’t have them if not for the panic room,” she murmured.

“Yeah. That sounds terrible,” Jason added quickly. “I’m sorry—”

“Don’t be. If not for me being kidnapped, she might still be married to Ric. You might have married Courtney. It’s not—” Carly forced a smile. “It’s not wrong to look for the silver lining, you know? I’m glad that you get to be happy. I’m working on it.”

“Carly—”

“Maybe I would have stopped your wedding,” Carly offered. “I was thinking about it, you know? I wonder what would have happened if I had just, like, stood up and said, did anyone notice he’s totally miserable?” She shrugged. “We’ll never know.”

“No, but it might have been fun to watch.” Jason put an arm around Carly’s shoulders, hugged her lightly. He started to say something else, but then there was a knock on the door. “You ready?”

“No, but let’s get it over with.”

Carly straightened as Jason went to answer the door. Sonny stood there, Max behind him. His former friend had clearly been home and showered already. He was dressed in a suit, his hair slicked back—

Almost as if this was just another day.

“Jason.” Sonny cleared his throat, looked at Carly standing by the desk. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah.” Jason stepped back, let Sonny in while Max waited in the hall. He closed the door.

“I, uh—” Sonny studied the two of them. “I’m not really sure where to start. After you left last month—” He met Jason’s eyes. “Dr. Winters and I talked. I…didn’t want to go on medication, but she—she convinced me that maybe I needed it.”

“I’m glad,” Carly offered when Jason said nothing. “Really, Sonny. I’m glad that you’ve got a diagnosis and that you’re being treated. I hope you start to feel the difference.”

“Yeah, she said it might be another a week or two before I do. But I know you were both worried. And—Dr. Winters and I talked. About um—what you said. That I maybe I was using my illness as…” He squinted. “She called it a shield, I guess. To…stop from being held accountable.”

Carly traded a glance with Jason. “Okay,” she said slowly. “What do you think about that?”

“It’s, um, possible. I think.” Sonny scratched his chin. He looked over at the sofa, and his eyes darkened. “I don’t remember if—you said she was struggling to breathe.”

Jason’s voice was clipped. “Yeah. Her lungs were bleeding. She nearly choked on her own blood.”

Carly winced as Sonny closed his eyes. “I don’t remember. I’m sorry.” He turned to look at Jason. “You don’t have to believe me. Or accept that. Dr. Winters told me that Elizabeth nearly died at the hospital, but I don’t remember her being that sick—”

“Why does that matter?” Carly asked with a shake of her head. “It happened—”

“Because I think Jason’s right,” Sonny said slowly. “That some of the times I was angry with Elizabeth—that it wasn’t about my illness. And that day—I was so angry with her that I wasn’t even seeing her.”

“None of what’s happened is her fault,” Carly said flatly. “It’s not mine. And it’s not Jason’s.”

“No, it is my fault. At least some of it,” Jason said roughly. Sonny frowned at him, and Carly shook her head.

“Jason—”

“Because I covered for you for years. And I convinced Carly that it was how it needed to be handled. The first time she saw you like that—she wanted to get you help. I said no. You didn’t want it, and I never thought it would get so bad. But I should have done something months ago. Years,” Jason corrected. “For that, Sonny, I am sorry. But I’m not apologizing for anything else.”

“No, I don’t—I get that. And I can—I’m working on accepting that,” Sonny admitted. “I, uh, I know things can’t go back—that I don’t have the right to ask for a second chance. But I still…” He swallowed hard, met Carly’s eyes. “I still want one.”

Carly was quiet for a long moment. Jason wasn’t sure if she’d be moved by his words, but Sonny’s attempt to shoulder some of the blame might have swayed her.

“I’m sorry,” Carly said finally. “I—I still want a divorce. I know you were sick, Sonny. But you were lucid some of the times you refused to listen to me. And you were lucid when you refused to ask for help. I will always love you, but you need to focus on yourself. I’m having Alexis file for divorce.” She paused, saw Jason brace himself. “I’ll be asking for full custody of Morgan and petitioning to revoke your adoption of Michael—”

“What the hell?” Sonny exploded. “You can’t take my boys!”

“Morgan does not know you, and I don’t trust you,” Carly said bluntly. “And Michael—” She traded a look with Jason before staring at her hands. “That’s not about you. At least not anymore.”

“What the hell does that mean—”

“It means that Michael isn’t going to be used by anyone ever again. I’m doing what I should have done from the start,” Carly replied. “I’m joining a petition with AJ to reinstate his parental rights—”

“AJ!”  Sonny hissed. “You can’t do this—”

“I’m doing it. And don’t look at Jason. This wasn’t his idea, and he’s not happy about it either—”

“I never said that,” Jason said, making a face.

“I did everything you wanted me to!” Sonny snarled. He jabbed a finger at her. “I got help, didn’t I? I’m taking the damn meds!”

“You were forced into this, Sonny. Kicking and screaming. Did you honestly think you could walk out of Ferncliffe and have everything go back to normal? Did you think I’d move back?”

Sonny fisted his hands at his side. “I didn’t think you’d steal my kids—”

“I begged for months,” Carly said softly. “I asked over and over and over for you to get help. To get better for them. I didn’t decide to do this overnight, Sonny, but once I got going, I couldn’t turn back.”

Sonny swung around to glare at Jason. “And you? You gonna stand here and let her take my boys?”

Jason shoved his hands in his pockets, offered Carly a long, irritated look that told her they’d be discussing this later, then met Sonny’s eyes. “It’s none of my business, and I’m staying out of it.”

“And the business?” Sonny bit out. “You shutting me out of that, too?”

Jason exhaled slowly. “The Zaccharas know you’re not stable. The men know it, too. They’re not going to follow you. It’s over, Sonny. I’m sorry. You’re not coming back.”

Sonny fisted his hands at his side, his face flushed. “You can’t keep me out of this—Ric Lansing is still out there—”

“He’s not.”

Sonny’s words stumbled to a stop as he stared at Jason. “You found him? Where the hell is he—”

“He went off the grid in November because Anthony Zacchara killed him.” Jason paused. “And then used sightings of him to agitate us. That’s why our guys kept getting all the sightings, and authorities never got a whiff of them. It’s why they started calling you, Sonny. They knew we were having problems internally. The last one? The one about Ric in New York? That never even came through the channels to us. Only you got that call.”

Sonny dipped his chin to his chest and was quiet. “Ric’s dead.”

“Yes.”

“The Zaccharas were screwing with us.”

“Yes.”

He lifted his chin now. “And what are we doing in retaliation?”

“Anthony’s son Johnny is under our control for the next six months. If the Zaccharas step out of line even a little, I told him I’d send their son back in a body bag.” Jason paused. “What I’ll actually do is eliminate Trevor and Anthony, but they don’t need to know that.”

Sonny made a face, then nodded again. “Okay. Yeah. I got it. Can’t really go all out with the kid in the hospital and me in the loony bin. Okay. Okay.” He paused. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t be part of the business—”

“The entire syndicate knows where you’ve spent the last month, Sonny. And so do our guys. They’re not going to follow you. I’m sorry. This is how it has to be.”

Sonny’s eyes darkened. “For now.”

“For good. I’m not doing this in another year—”

“That’s not up to you.”

Sonny stalked out, slamming the door behind him hard enough to shake the framed photos on Jason’s desk.

Kelly’s: Courtyard

“Thanks for helping me,” Georgie said as Dante lifted another table into place. “It feels like it took forever to get warm enough to open up the courtyard.”

“Yeah, spring definitely takes its time up here,” he said, unfolding a chair. “By this time in the city, we’re almost roasting.”

“Do you miss it?” Georgie smiled at a customer who passed them to head inside. “Being in New York, I mean.”

“Sometimes. I miss the Yankees. And the way something is always going on, but this isn’t too bad.”

“Really?” she lifted her brows, skeptical. “Port Charles?”

“There have been downsides,” Dante admitted with a pinched mouth, and she winced. “But it’s not like Bensonhurst would be much better.”

“Yeah, I guess not. It’s hard to be in the papers,” Georgie ventured. “When, um, Mac was getting all that press last year, reporters followed me and Maxie around.” She finished arranging the last set of chairs.

“Yeah, I saw that. They wrote some pretty mean things in the Sun.” Dante touched her arm as she started past him. “I’m sorry about that. You and Maxie didn’t deserve any of it. Mac should have done more to protect Brooke and the others, but you guys shouldn’t have been dragged through the mud because Mac told you to avoid the park.”

“I just wish we’d been nicer to Brooke. I think about it sometimes. If we’d tried harder—” Georgie took a deep breath. “It’s not our fault, but it feels like it. And maybe that’s why I took Mac’s side, you know. Because I didn’t want it to be his fault either.” She flushed. “It was, I know. But—”

“But even if he’d done everything right, they might not have caught Vinnie earlier. Yeah, I know. It’s okay, Georgie.”

“You don’t—I didn’t mean to bring any of this up. I’m sorry—”

“Don’t be. You and I don’t know each other that well,” Dante continued, “but Maxie’s a friend. I’m not sure how that happened—”

“No one ever is.” Georgie smiled. “Thanks.”

“Hey, awesome, the courtyard’s open!” Lulu was practicing bouncing as she and Dillon came in from the parking lot. Her bag was slung over her shoulder. “More tables, more tips!” She elbowed Dillon. “Get us a table, and then you can finish helping me with algebra. I’m gonna go in and grab something.” She stopped briefly to kiss Dante before disappearing into the diner.

Dillon scowled as Lulu headed inside, then focused on Dante and Georgie. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Dante folded his arms. “How’d she get you to help with her algebra? I got fired after she failed the last test.”

“I don’t know,” the younger man said darkly. “Witchcraft, maybe. Georgie—”

“Oh, no. Lulu is untutorable.” Georgie shook her head then went into the diner.

Dillon coughed uncomfortably as he sat down. “Uh, so you know, there’s, uh, no hard feelings or anything. With, uh, Lu. I mean, I hated you for a while back in December,” he added when Dante frowned at him. “But that’s just because I knew she was into you and felt guilty about it.”

“Listen, man—”

“No, no. Nothing happened. I know that. I gave Lu grief over it,” he continued, “but she’s not like that. You can trust her.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway. I hope it’s okay we’re, like, friends again.”

“Not up to me,” Dante told him as Lulu returned outside. “Why don’t you give up on algebra?” he asked her.

She rolled her eyes as she sat down. “I wish I could, but it’s remedial algebra. They won’t even let me take the regular math classes I need for my degree.”

“I’ll be right back,” Dillon told her, then went into the diner where Georgie was behind the counter.

“Oh, hey, did you guys want to order?” she asked as he approached her, smiling hesitantly. “I can—”

“No, no, I wanted to give them a minute, and I wanted to talk to you.” Dillon slid onto the stool. “Um, I feel like we’ve been really awkwardly trying to be friends again since last summer, but I just—” He exhaled slowly. “I don’t know. You were the first friend I made here, you know?”

“I’m sorry,” Georgie told him. “I wish I’d handled things better. I was just telling Dante that. I feel like I let Brooke down, but I didn’t know how to turn my back on Mac. I should have—”

“I get it. Family is family. And I was feeling protective of Ned and what he was dealing with. What we were all dealing with. We were all…” Dillon shook his head. “It’s been eight months. You know? Since that night at the movies.”

“Yeah. It feels like yesterday and a hundred years ago, all at the same time.” Georgie tapped her pencil against the order pad. “I have nightmares sometimes,” she admitted. “I keep going back to that night and reliving it, but like, from outside my body—”

“And you spend the entire nightmare screaming at yourself not to get into a stupid fight or to look around—” Dillon stared down at the counter. “I even see Brooke walking away, and I can’t make any of us look.”

“And what you and Kyle and Lucas went through—the interrogation and the—” Georgie swallowed hard. “For a long time, I was ashamed, Dillon, because I was glad—I was glad it wasn’t me. I thought it could have been if I’d run away instead—and then I was even angrier at myself when we read the transcripts—”

“He knew it was her,” Dillon murmured. “He might not have grabbed anyone else. It was about Brooke. He wanted it to be someone he knew.” His stomach rolled. “You don’t have to feel bad about that, Georgie.”

“I’ll regret for the rest of my life that I didn’t find a way to help Brooke or be a better friend. Or that I wasn’t better to you,” she added softly. “It feels like we should have figured it all out sooner.”

“Yeah, it’s something that’s gonna stay with me,” Dillon admitted. “And that’s why I knew I had to say something to you, Georgie. I should have months ago.” He got to his feet. “I just want it all to be okay again. Or as close as it can get.”

“Same.” Georgie smiled. “Thanks for coming in to say that. I wanted to, but I didn’t think—I don’t know, I felt like it needed to be you, you know? Like I didn’t have the right to bring it up again.”

“We’re good, Georgie. I promise. I better get out there before Lulu comes looking.” He offered her another grin then left the diner.

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

He knew he shouldn’t be drinking anymore. He’d even intended to have the mini bar dismantled as soon as he got out of Ferncliffe. Sonny had spent hours talking to his doctor, and she’d pointed out how often he talked about reaching for the bourbon—

None of that was on Sonny’s mind as he stalked across the living room, towards the bar. His hand was shaking as he shoved the glass top from the decanter and poured it into one of the tumblers that was always there. He dimly remembered sliding his arm across the bar that last night, hearing the glass shatter—

But maybe he was imagining it. Maybe it was like all those other times he’d destroyed it, thrown the glass and the liquor against a nearby wall. There was nothing nearly as satisfying as hearing glass break. Nothing felt more soothing—

Except the burn of the bourbon sliding down his throat. This felt like home, and later Sonny would think about why but now he just wanted to focus. He just wanted to think clearly.

And he needed the alcohol to feel like himself again. He needed to be Sonny Corinthos. He needed to get the control back.

No one stole from Sonny Corinthos. No one threatened him or locked him up or put him in the dark. He’d scraped, dragged, killed, and stolen to get the power.

There was a light knock on the door and Max opened it gingerly. “Uh, hey, Mr. C.” He cleared his throat. “You wanted to see Ms. Baines?”

“Yeah.” Sonny tossed back the last of the alcohol and turned as his lawyer came in, nervous, her dark eyes darting back and forth. He waited until Max had closed the door. “You got my message.”

“Ah, yes, but Mr. Corinthos—” Jordan hesitated. “Are you sure you don’t want more time to get settled—”

“Are you going to do it or do I have to find someone else?” Sonny demanded. “I gave you everything you needed while I was in the hospital.”

“I just—”

“Then get it done.” Sonny poured himself another glass, already feeling more at ease. More himself. “Because if she thinks she’s going to take my boys from me, I’m going to make her sorry she was born.”

Lucky & Kelsey’s Apartment: Living Room

Lucky winced as he hung up his jacket and joined Kelsey on the sofa. “I’ll be glad when I’m done with therapy and off desk duty. The trainer is gonna kill me—”

“He needs to make sure you’re fit to be back on the street.” Kelsey swept her eyes over him dubiously. “The bullet nicked your lung, Lucky. You might have mostly bounced back, but it’s gonna take time—”

“I hate sitting on the desk.” He peered over her shoulder, then frowned as he recognized the file she was working with. “I thought you put your dad’s file back in the archives.”

“I did.” Kelsey ran her fingers over the police report. “But I went back and got it last week. I know my mother is right,” she continued as she turned on the sofa to face him. “I know it’s horrible to put her through it, especially since it’s not likely to do anything. The cop who covered this up is gone, but—”

“But?” Lucky prompted when she stopped talking. “Kelse?”

“But Mom is still scared. And she knows who sent her running. Doesn’t that sound like the guy is still around? Didn’t you say a lot of Frank Smith’s men are still working with Sonny?”

“Uh, yeah. I know Dad was using a lot of those old connections when he was helping with Carly’s thing.” Lucky frowned. “One of the big guys is still around—Tommy, I think his name was. I don’t remember his last name. But he and Dad were friends back in the day. You think your dad’s killer is working for Sonny?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. It just—I get that Mom is scared, but I keep going over these reports—” Kelsey tapped her pen against the paper. “I want to pull more of David Case’s files. I think there’s a chance that could tell us who he was working for. This can’t be the only thing he ever covered up. It was too quick, too simple. He had to have the connections in place already.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. He had the coroner signing off by the time your mom was notified.” Lucky paused. “Let me talk to my dad before we do that, though. You start pulling cases like that, it’ll get noticed. Maybe he can point us in a better direction or at least help us focus. If we start pulling files, especially after everything that happened with Capelli, Anna is going to notice.” He paused. “Are you sure you want to go down this road? Your mom was right. Once we do this, we can’t unring the bell.”

“I want to know who my father was,” Kelsey murmured. “And he deserves a measure of justice no matter what. We might not close it, but Dad shouldn’t be forgotten. Not like this.”

General Hospital: NICU

Elizabeth smiled as Jason entered Cameron’s room. “Hey. I was wondering if you’d be here in time for his thirty minutes.” He leaned over and kissed her softly.

“Sorry, I got held up.” Elizabeth handed him Cameron, and they reversed so that he was sitting with the baby in his arms. “Was the doctor here?”

“Yeah.” Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Cam still needs to be on oxygen for another week, maybe even two, he thinks. So we can’t take him at least until then.”

Jason readjusted the blanket around the baby, then frowned at her. “Isn’t that what we thought?”

“I know.” Elizabeth sat in the other chair in the room and made a face. “I guess I was hoping for better news. I’m glad he’s improving—I just—” She looked around the room. “I know how lucky we are that Cam’s healthy and that we get to have all this time with him—”

“You just want to be home with him,” Jason finished. “I know. I do, too.”

“How was Sonny today?” she asked.

Jason hesitated, shifted Cameron against his chest to change his grip. “He said he’s starting medication.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good, right?”

“He said it’ll be another week before he’s supposed to feel a difference, but I don’t see one yet.” He paused. “He asked for another chance.”

“Another chance?” Elizabeth folded her arms. “Like—with Carly? Or—”

“The divorce and the business. We said no.” Jason met her eyes. “He seemed sorry about what happened with you, but it’s not enough. Carly isn’t changing her mind about the divorce. And I’m not putting anything else on the table.”

“Does he know what happened with Ric? With the Zaccharas?”

“I told him today. He seemed to take it all right, but we’ll see. There’s some other stuff with the divorce, but I need to talk to Carly first about it.” He waited a minute, but Elizabeth didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what to say. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” She bit her lip. “Yeah,” she repeated. “I’m nervous about being across the hall from him, especially with Cameron coming home. But I also know that he’s a big part of your life, Jason, and I hope that he’s doing better. I want him to be better.”

“He’s not—things won’t be like before. I’m not even sure how I feel about Sonny right now.”

“Right now, knowing that Ric is dead—it gives us room to breathe, you know? I’m not at death’s door,” she continued, “and Cameron is here. He’s healthy. I just told Emily earlier today—I’m okay with giving Sonny a chance to get better. Whatever you ultimately do about him in the business—that’s your decision. I’m talking about personally. The friendship. He was your family, Jason. And if that’s something you want to fix—I’m okay with that. I want to do what’s right for you.”

“I don’t know if we can get that back, but I—” He met her eyes, held them. “Our family is what matters right now.”

“Okay. Then that’s what we’ll focus on.”

Brownstone: Living Room

Carly bounced Morgan on her hip as she stepped aside to let Alexis in. “Hey. Sorry about asking to meet here.”

“No, it’s fine.” Alexis followed Carly into the kitchen, where the other woman set the baby into the high chair. “How was it this morning? With Sonny, I mean.”

“Not great. I told him about AJ,” she replied. “But—”

“That’s why I wanted to meet with you.” Alexis paused. “Jordan Baines filed a response petition in family court, and he’s filed for divorce first. Sonny is counter suing you for complete custody of the boys, and he’s arguing an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.”

“What? He filed?” Carly’s eyes bulged. “He was just released a few hours ago—”

“I imagine his new attorney saw him in Ferncliffe. He has several legal situations he needs to sort out. The assault charges against Taggert, against Ned, and of course, this situation.” Alexis drew out the papers. “Jordan put together a list of your greatest hits.” Alexis set down another stack of papers. “I have copies for you to review.”

“He didn’t tell me he’d already planned to file—”

“He filed these both after your meeting, and we were served about an hour ago.” Alexis paused. “He waited to see what would happen with you and Jason, then acted.”

“So he had these ready.” Carly reached for the custody paperwork first. “An unfit mother,” she murmured. “That’s in the first paragraph.”

“He talks about his own knowledge of your past. Your affair with Tony, the lies you told him. What happened with AJ from Sonny’s point of view, and he claims you sent Sonny to get AJ to terminate his rights.” Alexis tipped her head. “He’s blaming the meat hook on you. It was your idea.”

Carly closed her eyes. “I did want AJ out of our lives,” she admitted. “And I told Sonny to get it done. I didn’t want violence, but maybe I knew he’d do it anyway.” She sighed. “It could have been worse—”

“And it is,” Alexis said gently. “He brings up your abandonment of Michael after he was born and claims you admitted to defrauding the court to get a lighter sentence after shooting Tony. As well as the false charges you almost filed against Jason for kidnapping.”

Carly’s throat tightened. “But I didn’t go through with it—”

“In a custody filing, all of that is admissible. And the court can subpoena Jason to testify.” Alexis waited as Carly continued to skim the papers. “Carly, it’s nothing we didn’t expect. We knew that if we went hard in our petition, which we did even if he doesn’t know it yet, Sonny would hit back.”

She knew Alexis had a point, but, oh, God, it stung to see her worst crimes listed here as a reason not to be a mother. All the things she’d believed about herself growing up—all the things she knew to be true — she hadn’t done that to him. She hadn’t dragged Sonny through the mud. She’d kept to the recent history. Sonny’s mental health struggles and the incident in December.

Was it taking back the adoption? Going to AJ? No, it couldn’t be.  He hadn’t known any about any of that yet.

He’d put this together, then asked her for another chance. Had he even meant it? Had he truly wanted a fresh start? Tears stung her eyes.

“If you decide to continue with the revocation,” Alexis began, and Carly looked back at her. “We have options. Much of what Sonny knows — he knows because of Jason. Jason would have to testify. He could refuse.”

“We need him,” Carly said after a long moment. “Jason has first-hand knowledge of more than I do. And he was there in December. He corroborates it.”

“Jason isn’t the only person we can call on for that. Elizabeth, I’m sure, would put her weight behind you. And so would Bobbie. They’re well respected. Justus was there that night, and it wouldn’t be protected by the attorney-client privilege.”

Carly’s fingers trembled. “This is everything he knows about me. And I can’t imagine the divorce papers paint me in a better light.”

“No, they don’t. He blames you for the breakdown of the marriage. You left on both occasions and refused to return. He claims you blocked him from communicating to repair the marriage and from his children. And that, he claims, is your ultimate aim.”

Carly frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“The petition insinuates that you go from man to man, looking for a meal ticket,” Alexis said, shifting. “And when you’re done with him, you block him from any child created. You’ve done it with AJ, and you’re attempting to do it with him. He says it’s a pattern of you using and deceiving people.”

The weight of that statement slammed into her, and for a moment, Carly couldn’t speak. “I can’t—we can’t defend against that, can we? Because it happened with AJ—”

“It did. But AJ can testify to his alcoholism—”

“No. No.” Carly closed her eyes. “No. It’s not fair to use that against him. It’s not why. It’s not why I shut him out. I did it because I wanted Michael to myself. I was selfish. And I’m trying to fix that now. Won’t that make a difference?”

“It might. It should,” Alexis added. “Having AJ join our petition and petition for his rights will take a lot of the sting out of that.”

“So what do I do?”

“It depends on what you want, Carly. Is there a chance that Sonny’s recovery could make a difference in custody?” Alexis asked. “Because he might be more open if you backed off complete custody—”

“That’s not an option. Not with Michael, at least.” Carly stared back down at the divorce petition. “Can we win?” she asked softly. “If we go into court, and Sonny argues all of this, and Jason has to testify against both of us. Could I still win?”

Alexis leaned back. “You mean, even after Sonny drags you and up down that courtroom? Yes, I think you can, Carly. You have a documented medical history and plenty of witnesses to the behavior of the last year. Whatever Sonny feels about your history, I can make an argument that none of it matters prior to June 2003. He knew all of that and still married you. He renewed those vows on at least two occasions. Sonny isn’t innocent, and he brings it up to scare you. To intimidate you.” She leaned forward. “Kevin Collins can testify that you were suffering from Acute Stress Disorder and that it was exacerbated because of what Sonny did to you in December.”

“That’s all good, I guess—”

“I’m not finished.” Alexis held up a hand. “We also have several witnesses to Sonny losing control in front of Michael. Sonny is on record breaking into the Brownstone and assaulting a police officer, as well as your brother’s boyfriend. He also assaulted Ned while trying to get to me — and I’m your divorce attorney. He knew that. He went after me not just because of Kristina — but because he assumed you knew all along about her.”

“I suspected,” Carly murmured, “but once he decided to believe you, I decided my obligation was at an end.”

“I can win the case, Carly. You’re not asking for a large financial settlement for yourself, only ownership of the club. You’re not asking for a great deal of child support for Morgan, and you’ve asked for nothing regarding Michael. You’ve also acknowledged your mistakes with AJ, and you’re seeking to correct them. All of that weighs favorably. Sonny is going to have to put you on trial to drag you through the mud after you were kidnapped and traumatized because of his half-brother.” Alexis’s eyes lit with a martial light. “You were right to ask me to do this. He’s not the man that either of us thought he was, and I don’t know if medication or therapy can ever make this better.”

“He filed all of this after Jason and I made it clear we weren’t going back to how things were.” Carly slid the papers over to Alexis. “You and I both know I kept things out of that petition that could have sunk him legally in so many ways. I did it because it wasn’t part of the story. Because it didn’t matter. He wanted to hurt me. He wanted to scare me. Just like Ric did.” She shook her head. “I won’t ever be able to face Ric Lansing and make him pay, but I’ll be damned if Sonny gets away with doing this to me. I want to be done with Sonny Corinthos. Permanently.”

Miami, Florida: Cafe de Lune

Claudia slid into the seat across from the dark-haired man with the sour expression and lifted the tequila she’d brought over from the bar. “You’re a hard man to get a hold of.”

Zander Smith just lifted a brow and leaned back, the sourness fading into a smirk. “Not really. You just have to know how to ask nicely.” He took a long swig from his beer. “Javi said you were willing to pay for some information.”

“I am.” Claudia leaned forward, her eyes dancing. “And if it’s good information, I’m open to bonuses.”

Zander set the bottle down, then folded his arms on the table, leaning in as well. “So, ask your questions.”

“Corinthos and Morgan. The organization is in chaos, but it’s hard to know who to approach to get on the inside.”

Zander’s smirk faded. “Corinthos and Morgan,” he muttered. “Fucking assholes chased me out of the business, and then his sister used me like a toy. Yeah, you can barely chip at that inner circle, and believe me, there’s resentment because of it. Most just aren’t irritated enough to do anything about it.”

“And the others?”

Zander hesitated. “Some of my names are going to be out of date,” he warned her, “and I worked mostly at the warehouse. I know some of the security guys who might still be around. Francis Corelli runs that arm of the business, and it’s hard to move up. Most wanna guard the big guys, but Sonny and Jason tend to use the same guards, which makes it almost impossible to get anywhere.”

“So—”

“So, you wanna check on Mikey Balenciaga, Chuck Ulhendorg, and, uh—” Zander squinted. “Richie Kraemer. They made a lot of noise about not being asked to do more when the Sorel crap was going on, and I know Richie was pissed when Marco was pulled for penthouse duty. Me and Elizabeth were staying with Jason for a few weeks, so they needed guards. Marco got put on the door and given the cushy job of following her around. A lot of them thought Elizabeth was gonna stick, so getting the job on her was a big deal.”

“Thanks.” Claudia dropped a few bills on the table. “Any of those names checks out, I’ll let you know. If you think of others, have Javi get in touch.”

Hear the thunder and rain
Feel our heart fill with pain
Travel through time and space
Where did love lose it’s place?
Can we find who we are
If we stare at a star?
And the silence, it screams
There is nothing that is as it seems
– Nobody Listen, Lifehouse

---

Thursday, March 18, 2004

Kelly’s: Diner

Lulu pulled the door open and glared over her shoulder at her ex-boyfriend. “You know, you look like a fish when you make that face.”

Dillon narrowed his eyes, dumping his books and coat at a table, and scowled at her. “The only reason I’m not telling you what you look like is because you failed another algebra quiz, and there’s a twelve hour delay—”

“You make the dumbest rules—”

Georgie hesitantly approached the duo with her order pad. “Hey, sorry to interrupt—”

“Hey, I forgot you were coming back to work today.” She sighed happily. “That means I don’t have to pull doubles anymore unless I really want to.” She waved Georgie closer. “He did that when you were together, didn’t he?” she asked. “Made up stupid rules—”

“Stupid—” Dillon shoved a finger at her. “See, that’s why we broke up—”

“I thought it was because I made a snotty remark about Citizen Kane,” Lulu offered with a fluttering of her eyelashes. They both knew why they’d actually broken up, but it was nice to be back on sparring terms with Dillon after the last few months.

“That, too.” He nodded. “I made a list—”

“Of course you did, nerd.” Lulu huffed. “I’ll have a burger,” she said to Georgie. “And Oscar Wilde over here will have—”

“Oh my God, please do not tell me you think Oscar Wilde directed Citizen Kane.” Looking actually distressed now, Dillon stared at her. “Please. Tell me I did not spend four months dating someone who doesn’t know the difference between Pygmalion and Citizen Kane.”

“Oh, wow, this I didn’t miss,” Georgie admitted to Lulu. “He gets very cranky over this kind of thing, doesn’t he?”

“He really does. No woman is ever going to be good enough for him,” Lulu said with a tragic air.

“You didn’t answer the question. That’s not a good sign.” Dillon narrowed his eyes. “It’s not a crime to have standards—”

“No, but it’s clearly a mental disorder we’re going to need to add to the book. I’m gonna be the first to name it. Citizen Kane disease, inspired by Henry Ford.”

“He didn’t direct it either!”

Lulu snickered as Dillon’s face flushed again. “You are really too easy to wind up. You’re like one of those idiots who listened to War of the Worlds and thought aliens were really invading.”

“Isn’t that being remade? I think they said Tom Cruise is supposed to be in it,” Georgie said, tapping her pen against her pad. “We should go see it. I love Tom Cruise.”

“Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise?” Dillon repeated. He got to his feet, gathered his things, and huffed. “I’m going to go find friends who aren’t insulting me.”

And then he actually left — which, Lulu had to admit— was an impressive exit. “You know, needling him really does perk me up. How long do you think it’ll take him before he realizes I dropped War of the Worlds on him because I know damn well Orson Welles directed Citizen Kane?”

“It’s really too easy,” Georgie agreed. She flashed Lulu a shy smile. “We should, though, you know, go see a movie sometime. I mean, I know—I know we haven’t really talked a lot since—”

“Since,” Lulu agreed.

“How’s your brother?” Georgie asked as Lulu picked up her things and followed her to the counter. “They said on the news that they arrested the guy—”

“Yeah, they did. He’s back at work which makes my mom kind of antsy.” Lulu flicked her eyes towards the stairs, and Georgie smirked.

“He’s not here. He left a little while ago, but he has the closing shift.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Lulu studied the menu, feeling an itch between her shoulders. She and Dante were still in the beginning stages of whatever it was, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready to tell the whole world.

“Uh huh.” Georgie put in her order, then folded her arms with a smirk. “He’s very cute, you know. That dark hair, the dark eyes—I like a New York accent—”

Lulu scowled at her. “Dibs.”

“Oh?” Georgie snickered. “You dated my ex-boyfriend, and, uh, I didn’t see a sign on this one—”

“Ugh, I hate you again,” Lulu muttered. She hesitated. “Okay, fine. We’re sort of dating, even though we never seem to have the same shift off. We’ve been trying to plan a movie date for more than a week. You’d think with my aunt owning the place, I’d get a break.” She bit her lip.

“Is he why you broke up with Dillon?” Georgie asked. She winced. “That’s none of my business—”

“No, but—maybe a little,” Lulu admitted. “I mean, look, Dillon’s great. And we had fun for a while, but it just fizzled out. For both of us. We both had a list of things that drove us crazy about each other. We broke things off before we slid from irritation to hate, which I’m glad about. It means we can be friends again now.” She wrinkled her nose. “You’re not mad because I dated him right after you, are you?”

“I was,” Georgie admitted. “But we only dated for a few months, and I really…didn’t handle everything well. I should have been more supportive about Brooke.”

“Mac’s basically your dad, Georgie. Dillon always understood that. We all did. You stood by your family. I respect that.”

“Didn’t feel like it last year,” Georgie murmured.

“No, I was an idiot last year. We were all messed up after what happened with Brooke, then Dante’s cousin got arrested. It’s put a lot of things in perspective.” Lulu paused. “You and Dillon are friendly again.”

“Sort of.” Georgie looked out the door wistfully. “But it won’t ever be like it was.”

“Nothing ever is.” Lulu glanced down at her phone, smiling as she read Dante’s text. shift covered. Movie tonite. “But sometimes it gets better.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

There was a brief knock on the door, and Elizabeth looked over from her hourly lap around the sofa. Oh, man, everything still hurt, and she was really tired of it, but she needed to move around. “Yeah?”

“Hey, Mrs. Morgan.” Marco poked his head in. “You said you wanted to see Cody when he got back from Puerto Rico.”

“Oh. Yeah.” Elizabeth grimaced, then nodded. “Yeah, thanks.”

“You still need me?”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth said as Cody walked past Marco. “Cody’s not working today.” She waited for Marco to close the door, then looked at the man who’d been guarding her since the day after Carly’s kidnapping.

He’d stood outside her studio every day—had sat in a car, watching over the house—hung out in the lobby of her condo building. Had driven her to doctor’s appointments, to the hospital, everywhere—

She’d felt safe with him—and he’d betrayed them.

“It’s good to see you up and around, Mrs. Morgan.” Cody stood in front of her but couldn’t meet her eyes.

“I was very lucky. Thank you for getting me to the hospital so fast,” Elizabeth said, wincing as she sat down.

“Mrs. Morgan—”

“Take a seat, Cody.” Elizabeth inched back so that he could sit on the sofa. He perched on the edge, as far away as he could. “Jason told me that what happens next is up to me.”

“I know.” But he still didn’t look at her.

“You sold my husband and Sonny out to the Zaccharas who’d be happy if they were both dead.” Cody flinched, but she continued.  “You also rushed me to the hospital the day I almost died last summer and protected me every day since Carly was kidnapped. So I guess I’m having trouble trying to link these two things together. When Jason told me—I couldn’t believe it. I know—I know you work for Jason and Sonny. That you get paid to protect me, but I always—and maybe I was wrong—” She hesitated. “I always felt safe with you.”

“I—” Cody swallowed. “I never took a cent from the Zaccharas. I wouldn’t. And I didn’t do anything until after—” He looked at her. “I don’t want to make excuses. There are none. But if I could just tell you why.”

“I’m listening.”

“When I was a kid, I had an older sister. Um, not that—I mean, I’m older than you, so it’s not—” Cody closed his eyes, took a deep breath. “She had this guy she was living with at college. And he was—he was abusive. I saw him hit her one time, and I was just—I couldn’t stop it. I tried—he pushed me, and I broke my arm.”

“I’m sorry.” Elizabeth tipped her head. “What happened to your sister?”

“She got out of it, and she’s okay. But I just—I never forgot what it was like—I thought maybe I’d be a cop or something. I went into the army—but it just—it wasn’t a good match, and I found out that guy—that abusive piece of—” He grimaced. “He became a cop. I didn’t know how they didn’t see what he was capable of. So when Francis was hiring security, I thought it might be a good fit.”

“It was because of last December, wasn’t it?” Elizabeth asked softly. “What happened with Carly—”

“Sonny pushed you,” Cody said, his eyes flashing, then he looked away and swallowed. “I’m supposed to protect you. That’s the job. And Mrs. C. The kids. Francis made that clear. That Jason and Sonny were good men who stayed good because they had families. And I knew that was true the first time I got assigned to you.”

“The job is also to be loyal to Jason and Sonny,” Elizabeth said slowly. “But I can see—I can see how that might have been hard. Especially these last few months.”

“After what he did to Mrs. C, to you—I just—I thought something would change. But no one did anything. Mrs. C just left, and you were still here, but Sonny—he didn’t even seem sorry.” He cleared his throat.

“How did that lead you to the Zaccharas?” Elizabeth asked. “I don’t understand, Cody. Why didn’t you say anything? To me? To Jason—”

Cody hesitated. “I thought if we could just—if we could just get rid of Ric, it would be better. So I went to Trevor Lansing. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“And Trevor told you what happened to Ric?” Elizabeth shook her head. “I’m just—I’m surprised it was that easy.”

“I—” Cody made a face. “There was an open call for any of us to go to Lansing. For enough money, you know, any of these guys might turn. But Jason makes sure we get paid pretty well. I didn’t do this for money. I told Lansing that Jason and Sonny wanted to find Ric and get rid of him, and I guess—I thought he might help. I told him Sonny was out of control. I don’t know what I thought would happen. I just — I didn’t know what Sonny was going to do next. Mrs. C was gone, and it was just me here with you a lot. I didn’t know if Max and I could stop him, and we almost couldn’t.”

“Jason told me that I could decide what happened because, at the end of the day, we both believe you did it because of that night in December. Because you thought this would protect me. You wanted Jason in charge.”

“Yeah. I did. I thought—I just—thought we’d all be better off.”

“Cody, the only way I can breathe sometimes when Jason walks out that door is because I know the guys he works with—men like you and Max—Marco—Francis and Johnny—I trust the men who are supposed to be loyal to him. Going against Jason? That can’t happen. Because the next time, it might get him killed.”

“I wouldn’t—”

“You know better than that.” Elizabeth waited for him to look at her again. “You either accept this life, or you don’t, Cody. Thank you. For wanting me to be safe. For wanting my family safe. For caring about Carly and her kids. I know that was at the root of what you did. But we can’t go back.”

“You’re firing me?” Cody nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, okay, I get it. I should be lucky it’s not worse.”

“I’m not firing you,” Elizabeth said softly as he stood up. “I’m telling you that you were hired to do a job. Yes, protecting me was part of that. And you did that. But you put my husband in danger to do it. Trevor and Anthony could have used your information to hurt him.”

“I never wanted any of that. I just—” Cody swallowed. “Something had to change.”

“For now, I think maybe you should let Francis reassign you.” Elizabeth slowly stood, wincing. “Whatever Jason and Francis decide. But I can’t have you on our door.”

“I understand.” He started to leave, then turned back. “Thank you for letting me tell my side.”

Ferncliffe: Conference Room

Jason frowned when the door opened, and Sonny entered alone. His former best friend looked better than he had the week before. He’d clearly been sleeping better, so his eyes weren’t red and bloodshot anymore.

Jason cleared his throat, got to his feet. “Your doctor isn’t—”

“I didn’t think you wanted the doctor sitting in on this.” Sonny took a seat, leaned back, and waited for Jason to sit down. Almost as if they were back in the warehouse, and Sonny holding court.

Jason slowly sat back in the chair. He said nothing. After a long moment, Sonny scowled. “Well?”

“Well, what?” Jason asked bluntly. “You called this meeting.”

“Didn’t Carly talk to you?” Sonny demanded. “Didn’t she tell you there’s an explanation?”

Jason closed his eyes. Carly was right—Sonny was just going to use this to pretend nothing was wrong, that nothing had to change. Then he opened his eyes. “She told me.”

“And?”

“And what? What you do want from me, Sonny?” Jason retorted. “Why am I here? I should be at the hospital—”

“Carly said your kid was fine—”

“He’s in the NICU, Sonny. For at least three more weeks, if not a month,” Jason snapped. “And Elizabeth is recovering from a c-section and coughing up blood—”

“None of that is my fault. None of that justifies what you did—”

“What I did? You think I’m sorry?” Jason got to his feet, his chest tightening, his blood running hot. “You should just be glad Carly came when she did!”

“I was sick!” Sonny roared. He shot out of his chair, slammed his fist on the table. “And you choked me—”

“That’s not how this works,” Jason said, his tone quiet. Dangerously quiet. “You think that nothing you did matters because of the bipolar disorder. That Carly and I should pretend nothing matters. I told you to get help. In July. August. November. December. For months. And when you refused, I told you to stay out of my home and away from my family.”

Sonny narrowed his eyes. “I was out of control—”

“Really? The whole time?” Jason shook his head. “No. Not every day. And you didn’t go after everyone. You didn’t go after me. You didn’t go after the guards. You targeted Elizabeth and Carly. Because you blamed them.”

Sonny scowled. “That’s—that’s not fair—”

“You think I don’t know the difference between an episode or when you’re you?” Jason cut in. “The night when you locked Carly up? You were out of control, and I knew it. But on my wedding day when you called my wife a freeloader? When you blamed her for Ric? You’ve blamed her for what’s going on with Carly since the day I told you Elizabeth didn’t want a deal—”

“It’s her fault!” Sonny roared. “She did this to Carly—she made Carly think this was different!”

“Elizabeth didn’t do any of that.” Jason looked at the doctor who came in, her eyes wide and her face a bit panicked. “We’re fine. I’m just leaving—”

“You don’t get to walk out on me, Jason!”

“Why don’t we just start over,” the doctor said. “Mr. Morgan, please—I thought Sonny was ready to do this—”

“He wasn’t,” Jason said flatly. “And I don’t have any more time to waste.” He looked at Sonny. “If you think I’m sorry for putting my hands around your throat and making you feel—for a moment—what Elizabeth felt when she was gasping for air while you were screaming at her—if you think I have an ounce of regret for that—”

Lainey Winters looked at Sonny with confusion. “What’s he talking about?”

“He tried to kill me,” Sonny said, his eyes flashing. “The day I threatened to kill him—because he threatened me first—”

“Is that—” Lainey blinked, looked back at Jason. “Is that true?”

“You want to press charges against me, Sonny? Go for it. You had to be physically removed from my home. My wife almost died. My son almost died. Let’s see who the PCPD listens to.”

He looked at Lainey. “Don’t call me again. He and I have nothing to say to each other.”

Buffalo, New York

Joyce House: Driveway

Kelsey pulled her car in behind her mother’s Cadillac and stared at the bumper for a long moment. She had driven two and a half hours to have this conversation, but she knew if she went inside the house to force the truth from her mother—

There would be no going back.

Right now, only a few people knew what she had found. She could still let it stay buried. What good would it do to drag out another scandal for the PCPD? Would it bring her father back? Would it mean justice?

Lucky had wanted to turn things over to Anna immediately and kick up an investigation. He’d been horrified by the reports and lack of investigation. He still believed that things could be made right. It was one of the reasons Kelsey had fallen for him in the first place —

But since moving to Port Charles nearly a year ago, Kelsey herself was more cynical. Justice was a word that rarely offered anything more than nightmares and more unanswered questions.

She looked at the bag, thought of her beloved father, slumped over the steering wheel, blood trickling from the gunshot behind his ear. Would she be able to erase that image?

Kelsey reached for her bag, then the door.

“Kelsey!” Angela was smiling as she opened the door, then embraced her daughter, but her eyes were quizzical. “It’s the middle of the week—”

“I called in sick,” Kelsey said, clutching the strap of her bag more tightly over her shoulder, her fingers digging into the material. “We need to talk.”

“Okay.” Angela stepped back and closed the door. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“After you came up a few weeks ago,” Kelsey began, setting the bag on the table and flipping it open, “I started to ask myself some questions.”

Angela’s face, framed by her shining dark hair laced with strands of gray, went still. “Kelsey.”

“I went to talk to Scott, but he didn’t make me feel any better, so I went down to the archives at the PCPD.”

“You shouldn’t have done that—”

“It took me so long to find the file.” Kelsey removed it from the bag and set it on the hall table. “It was in the wrong place. Not the first time we’ve had that problem at the department.”

Angela closed her eyes, looking every inch of her fifty-three years for the first time in Kelsey’s memory. “You know.”

“Yeah, Mom. I know that Dad was murdered, that the PCPD covered it up, and that instead of fighting it, you took me and ran. You’ve been running ever since.” Kelsey stepped towards her mother. “And until  right now, I was telling myself that maybe you didn’t actually know what had really happened. That you thought it was an accident—but I was lying to myself. Just like you lied to me entire life—”

“What should I have told you, then?” Angela demanded, her eyes snapping open, anger flashing. “Should I have told my daughter that her father’s mistakes had caught up to him? That a job he’d taken out of law school ended up killing him and putting us in danger?”

“What are you—” Kelsey’s lips pressed together. “Lucky’s dad told me that Daddy worked with some real tough guys, but he said Daddy was legit. That he worked the business side—”

“He did.” Angela fisted her hands at her side. “He never once stepped over the line. He wouldn’t. But—” She took a deep breath. “He knew others did, and he didn’t say a word.”

Kelsey’s chest tightened. “Who?”

“I don’t know. He wouldn’t say, and every time he came close to leaving, something changed.” Angela folded her arms and walked towards the fireplace at the end of the living room, looked at the photo of Oliver Joyce that sat on the mantel. “First, it was just Frank Smith going to prison. Ollie managed the clubs and properties while Smith was gone. The son wasn’t old enough. That seemed fine.”

Angela picked up the photo. “Then the Jeromes came to town. Your father never told me much, but he knew if he lost any ground to them, Frank Smith or his son, Damian, would make him pay. Your father wanted to leave then. When the turf war was happening with Sonny Corinthos and Frank Smith—” Angela looked at Kelsey. “They killed him for it, baby. He knew too much.”

“Who is they?” Kelsey demanded, her voice tight. Her father had been in the mob. Jesus Christ. Even if he’d been a low-level adviser and lawyer like Bernie Abrams or Justus Ward—how could she ever accept that—

“I don’t know. It happened so fast,” her mother murmured. “The police came to tell me that your father had died in an accident—”

“They told you—”

“It was early morning, and that detective—” She nodded at the file. “David Case. I’ll never forget his name. He came to tell me that Ollie had died. Probably fallen asleep at the wheel,” Angela said bitterly. “I couldn’t believe it. Your father never—he wouldn’t have—” She dragged a hand through her hair. “I demanded to see proof. I wanted to know for sure. I needed to see him—so he took me to the morgue. I thought they’d bring me to Ollie’s body, but there was a man there.” She closed her eyes. “Don’t ask me who. I won’t tell you that.”

“Mom—”

“And the man told me that if I said nothing, if I let it be an accident, he’d make it worth my while. He’d make sure that we were taken care of.” Angela looked at Kelsey. “He’d give you a trust fund for college. But if I fought it, if I tried to make the PCPD investigate, he’d kill me. And you’d be alone. And then they showed me Ollie’s body. And I saw what they’d done to him. I knew he was telling me the truth.”

Kelsey’s throat tightened. “Mom.”

“He told me to leave Port Charles and never come back. So I did that. And for a decade, I listened.” Angela set the photo back on the mantel. “You need to put that file back where you found it—”

“Because the men who killed Daddy are still in power?” Kelsey demanded, her voice sharpened.

“I don’t know. But men like that—they never die. Not really. Another one just takes their place.” Angela faced her daughter. “I’m asking you to let it go. Your father would never want his way of life to come back and hurt us. If you push this—if you tell people—” Her skin looked gray and sick. “I lost your father. Don’t put me through this. I can’t do it again.”

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Jason’s Office

Jason scribbled his name at the end of yet another contract, eager to finish this and get back to his family. He wanted to shove Ferncliffe out of his mind for as long as he possibly could.

“Hey, Boss—” Francis tapped the slightly ajar door. “The kid finally turned up.”

Jason clenched his teeth, then got to his feet as Francis pushed the door open further, and Johnny Zacchara finally slunk in, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his dark jeans. “I told your father a week.”

“Yeah, he, uh—” Johnny cleared his throat. “He thought you might be bluffing.” The younger man swallowed hard. “But he got your package and thought better of it.”

The package had been the body of one of the estate security guards. When Johnny Zacchara hadn’t shown up in Port Charles last Monday, Jason had debated how to strike at Anthony Zacchara. Reminding him that Jason could get to the head of the Zacchara crime family anytime he wanted had seemed like the best option.

“You’re here because your father can’t be trusted,” Jason said flatly. “You know what he did.”

“I do.” Johnny exhaled slowly. “But I also know he could only do it because one of your guys turned on you. That’s the business, man. You don’t trust anyone.”

“That’s the way your father does the business, and that’s why he has more enemies than allies.” Jason paused. “My guy wanted Sonny out of the way. Your father was hoping we’d kill each other and save him the trouble.”

“Look—”

“And because of that, my wife and son ended up almost dying, and Sonny’s institutionalized. Ric Lansing has been dead since November.” The words felt like ash in Jason’s mouth because it still felt wrong that everything had ended so anti-climatically. He’d never been able to do more than punch Ric that day in Elizabeth’s hospital room. The monster had deserved more. “This could have been over months ago, but your father wanted to play games.”

“I told you that night I don’t want a damn thing to do with my father’s business—”

“But you’re the only person he might actually try to protect,” Jason cut in. “Yeah, I know he gets fits of rage. Everyone knows that. I know he tried to kill you and ended up murdering your mother.”

Johnny lifted his chin, defiance sparkling in his eyes. “Then why the hell would you demand me as leverage—”

“Because he doesn’t want you dead. People do things in fits of rage they wouldn’t do when they’re lucid.”

“So if my father breaks the truce, you’ll kill me.” Johnny scowled. “And I’m just supposed to put up with that—”

“No. You’re supposed to let your father think that. Your father breaks this truce, he’ll be the next body I dump.”

Johnny furrowed his brow, thrown by that. “Wait, what? I—”

“I don’t attack women and children. That’s your family. Your family sent Ric Lansing here, and he preyed on Carly, Elizabeth, and Courtney,” Jason added as an afterthought, remembering the botched kidnapping and engagement attempt Ric had orchestrated. “I don’t have to go after the vulnerable.”

“No, I guess not.” Johnny nodded. “Okay, fine. What keeps me from telling my father that I’m not in any danger?”

“You already told me. You don’t want a damn thing to do with this business. I don’t want my son near it either. You stay in Port Charles, you stay out of trouble, and your father keeps the truce, maybe you find a way out of this.” Jason reached for his keys. “I’ll send you over to Tommy. He runs the clubs and can find a place for you there. You’re not a warehouse guy, and you wouldn’t want that kind of work.”

“That’s it? I’m just supposed to set up shop here and stay out of your hair?” Johnny asked skeptically. “That seems too easy.”

“That’s your problem. Not mine. I have things to do.”

Luke’s: Bar

Luke raised his brows as he came out from his office and saw his niece at the bar. “Caroline. Haven’t seen you in here for a while.”

“I have my own place to get a drink,” Carly said with a wistful smile. She sipped the gin and tonic that Claude had poured for her. “But I wanted one tonight, and I didn’t feel like checking on the management.”

“Ah. You’re a better business owner than me.” Luke wagged a finger at her, then went to pour his own drink. “I ignore whatever I want when I want.”

“Part of your charm.” Carly swirled the liquid in her glass. “Did Mama talk to you? Have you heard about Sonny?”

“I have. Barbara keeps me in the loop. Bipolar disorder.” Luke let the words roll around in his head. “Makes sense, I guess. The extremes, the mood swings, the dark moments, the high moments—fills in a lot of the holes.”

“It does. I went to see him,” Carly murmured. “And he wanted to see the boys.”

“And you said no.”

“And I said no,” she repeated. “Mama says it was the right decision, and so does Jason. But you know, they’ve got a bias. Mama hates Sonny. Always has, even though she’s tried to hide it,” Carly added. “And Jason’s still working through his anger over what happened.”

“And he may never get there,” Luke told her. “He might have some regrets about not pushing Sonny harder to get help when Sonny might have listened, but the man nearly lost his family. Don’t expect Jason to ever feel that bad.”

“I know.” Carly smiled faintly, just a slight curve of her lips. “I can’t decide if it’s a good thing or not that I do feel this bad. A few years ago—” Her voice was tight. “I was part of the reason Tony went over the edge. I mean, I know it can’t really be on me how bad it got, but it’s wrong if I don’t at least…acknowledge my part.”

“You didn’t load the gun, but you pulled the trigger,” Luke confirmed as Carly blanched. “Tony never got over BJ—”

“Which I knew. And used.” Carly looked away. “That’s what happened to Sonny. I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you. Elizabeth’s guard—the main one who’s been with her since the beginning—he made sure Sonny got the messages about Ric.”

“I did know that. He wanted Sonny gone and Jason in charge. He figured driving Sonny over the edge would do it.”

“He wanted Elizabeth to be safe. And me, too, I think. He was probably there the night I was locked in that room.” Carly shuddered. “Mama said some of the guards helped break down the doors. Probably Max and Cody, I guess. Maybe he saw that and thought…”

“When your job is to protect the family, and the threats are coming from within—” Luke shook his head. “Not sure how anyone would have been able to thread that needle. Sonny was already teetering on the edge, Caroline. This guy just shoved him over.”

“I feel terrible about what Sonny’s going through. About what he’s been through. How terrified he must have been to see Lily—and his mother. I can’t imagine it. And part of me—part of me thinks that it might be worth putting everything else on hold. What if he gets therapy and medication, and he’s that man again? I keep going around in circles. What if he’s the man I loved? Jason’s best friend? What if we can have Sonny back?”

Luke said nothing, and Carly sighed. “Every time I ask myself that question, I have this voice in my head that answers. I don’t want him back. Because he wasn’t always hallucinating or going through psychosis. When he fired Leticia, when he refused to give access to security to let me out of the penthouse last fall—that wasn’t the disease.”

“Probably not.”

Carly picked up her drink. “I used to be different. I used to do what was right for me and screw everyone else. It was easier,” she murmured. “Simpler.” She flicked her eyes to his. “Lonelier.”

“True. I’ve lived that way myself. Then I met Laura and had years of being happy thinking of someone else. I got lazy,” he continued. “I thought I was getting too soft. That family had made me soft. I did what Sonny did. When Laura told us about Nikolas, I didn’t let myself think about her and what she’d gone through. I never did,” Luke added. “Even when we fell apart, I blamed her. It was always her fault. She should have been honest with me.”

“And then she got sick. Like Sonny—”

“And then she got sick, and I lost my mind. My sanity. I lost any part of me that was worth knowing. I wanted to disappear. I nearly did.” Luke paused. “Laura isn’t Sonny in this equation, Caroline. She’s you. Something terrible happened to her. She buried it so far inside of her that she was terrified to let it out. Instead of seeing her pain, I made it about me. About how she was betraying me.” He arched his brows. “Sound familiar?”

“A little,” Carly said softly.

“I came back to myself last spring. I looked around and realized I was right back to where I’d been all those years ago before Laura. A low-down hustler without a person who gave a damn. I had a choice. Just like Sonny. I could keep going down that road, or I could make a u-turn. I went to London, forced them to let me be part of Laura’s recovery. Because I realized that it didn’t make me less to put her first. It didn’t make me weak or soft. Laura and my kids have always made me stronger. I just didn’t see it until it was almost too late.”

“Sonny won’t ever get there, will he?” Carly said with a wistful smile. “He’ll always see me and the boys as a weakness. I tried to put him first, Luke. But he just kept taking and taking until I couldn’t give anymore.”

“One day, Sonny might be the man he was again,” Luke said. “Or even a better version of that man. And maybe there’s a chance one day. But it doesn’t make you selfish or wrong to not to be there for that journey.”

“Still a lesson I’m learning.” Carly finished her drink. “Sometimes, I think of everything I’ve lost since Ric kidnapped me.” She tossed a twenty down next to the empty glass. “But I think I should start thinking about everything I’ve gained.”

“Yeah?”

“I have a better relationship with my mother and the beginnings of one with Lucas. I have my club. I think Jason and I are better friends than we would have been. AJ and I are finding common ground.” Carly paused. “And I’ve liked having you around. I lost Sonny, but I like who I’m becoming. That’s not such a terrible tragedy, is it?”

“No, it’s not.” Luke pushed the twenty back at her. “You don’t pay here, niece. Family drinks free.”

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Elizabeth sighed with happiness as she snuggled against the pillows, then grinned at Jason. “Look at him! I know he’s not smiling yet, but he looks like he might—” She showed him the pictures again. “And you said he’s gained five more ounces? Already?”

“Yeah.” Jason nodded at the stack. “Emily had everyone take a photo every ten minutes for you until around six, and then I picked them up on the way home.”

“I have the best friends.” Elizabeth stared at her baby with bright eyes. A tear slid down her cheek. “He’s being held in so many of these—I hate that I’m not there, and I know Kelly’s right, I know that I need to rest and get my strength back so I can have the surgery—”

“Hey.” Jason slid next to her on the bed, kissed the top of her head. “He knows you love him. You did the hard part. You carried him for seven months and took care of him. It’s our turn to do some of the work.”

“I know…” Elizabeth touched the photos. “And I know he won’t remember this. Gail—” She looked at him. “I called her just like I promised. She’s going to stop by, but she said it was normal for me to be…well, she didn’t say freaking out but to be all over the place. You know, being okay with it in one minute, and then being ashamed the next—” She exhaled slowly. “And you’re right. The most important thing is that Cameron is healthy, that I’m going to be able to take care of him when he comes home until the surgery. He has someone with him all the time.”

“Yeah. I think—” Jason looked at the clock on the nightstand. “It’s Alan’s turn, and then Emily will be with him until the morning.” He looked at her with a half smile. “I talked to Kelly. She said that maybe she was a bit too strict by keeping you at home for a week.”

Elizabeth sat up, then winced— “Oh, man, no sudden movements. I can go sooner?”

“Yeah. She said she’d be okay with you going in tomorrow—just one shift,” he warned her as Elizabeth practically bounced off the bed. “And then, after your appointment with her on Monday, maybe you can go more.”

“Oh, that’s great. Thank you.” She kissed his cheek then looked back at the photos. “This is the best news.”

Then she sighed, her smile fading slightly. “But we have other things to talk about, you know? Um. Cody came today.”

“Yeah, uh, Marco said something about it.” He looked at her. “How was it?”

“Terrible,” Elizabeth admitted. “He seems really sorry, and I get it.” She told him about Cody’s sister, which just made him sigh. “I guess, maybe with hindsight, we should have said something to him after that night. I mean, he and Max helped me with Carly—they saw her up front and personal. I’m surprised that neither of them said anything.”

“What…what did you end up deciding?”

“I trust him to protect me, but I don’t trust him to protect you, so I told him you and Francis were going to reassign him.” She put a hand against his chest. “Is…is that okay?”

Jason cleared his throat, then nodded. “Uh, yeah. I guess—” He couldn’t seem to form a full sentence. “I guess I wasn’t expecting that. I thought…”

Elizabeth squinted. “You thought I’d keep him as a guard? After what happened? You would have been okay with it?”

“I would have tried to be,” Jason admitted. “If it’s what you wanted. But it would have been hard. Still, after today, I can almost understand why Cody would think something drastic had to happen.”

“Today?”

“I went to see Sonny.” Elizabeth didn’t say anything. Just reached over to squeeze his hand. “Carly told me he has bipolar disorder. You know what that is?” Jason asked, and she nodded. “He wanted to see me. I went in, thinking he’d say he was sorry or something.”

“He didn’t?”

“No. He was waiting for me to apologize.” Jason shook his head in disbelief. “He still—he thinks everything can be explained by the disorder, and it’s just—no. It still happened. And he was in control sometimes. The things he said to you, the way he treated Carly—I can understand how some of it was made worse—but no, I’ve known Sonny long enough. Some of it—he meant.”

“Jason—”

“The day you went to the hospital—when you almost died—” Jason grimaced, looked away. She waited for him to gather his thoughts. “I left the hospital and went to the penthouse. When Cody told me that Sonny had been in there, screaming at you while you were struggling to breathe. When Nikolas said they’d needed guards to get him out of there—”

“He didn’t make that happen—Jason—what happened was bad timing—”

“If Sonny hadn’t been there,” Jason said tightly, “then Cody would have been in the room when you started coughing up blood. Not three minutes later. You could have been at the hospital three minutes earlier. You might not have been put on the ventilator. I might not have—”

He dipped his head. Elizabeth slid her fingers through his hair, lightly dancing the tips down the back of his neck.

“I had to sign papers to deliver Cameron first. Even though it meant you couldn’t be treated until it was over. You could have died. Because the guards were distracted by Sonny.”

She wasn’t sure that the extra time would have really made that much of a difference, but she could see how Jason thought so. “So you went to the penthouse.”

“I went to the penthouse,” he repeated. He met her eyes. “I shoved him against the wall, put my hands around his neck, and choked him so that he could feel the way you did.”

Her heart simply broke for him—to be pushed to that kind of violence against a man she knew he loved like a brother. “Jason,” she murmured. Elizabeth touched his cheek again—knew it was important that he didn’t think she was disgusted or repelled by the revelation. “But you stopped.”

“Carly stopped me and reminded me I needed to be with you and Cameron. So I left, and she…took care of things.” He exhaled slowly, closed his eyes. “I might have killed him.”

“But you didn’t.”

“I thought I should feel guilty about it. Learning later about Lily—that he was seeing her—I thought I should feel bad. I didn’t. And then today—when he sat down, and he wanted an apology from me—” Jason shook his head. “No. I almost lost everything because of him. I’m not sorry.”

This he said to her with an air of defiance, as if he expected her to argue. “Do you think I’m going to tell you that you’re wrong?” Elizabeth asked. “Because you’re not. How many times did we tell Sonny to stay out of the penthouse? How many times did you and Carly beg him to get help? You’re right. He wasn’t out of control all of the time. And those times—he chose to think he was invincible. He never understood the damage he did to Carly—the damage he continues to do—I’m just sorry it ever had to come to this.”

“Carly—Carly thinks he’s not planning to take any medication.”

“Probably because he’s afraid it’ll make him look weak,” Elizabeth muttered. Jason sighed, then nodded.

“Yeah, probably.”

“And he doesn’t know you’re staying in charge.”

Jason nodded. “I wasn’t able to tell him. He’s going to get out—”

“And think things should get back to the way they were.”

“Probably.”

“Well,” Elizabeth said with a deep breath. She looked at him, her eyes determined. “He’s wrong.” She leaned closer to him and kissed him. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For now—” She picked up her stack of photos again. “I want to look at Cameron again.”

Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything’s okay and everything’s going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out
When you think everything’s gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face
– Ironic, Alanis Morissette

---

Monday, March 15, 2004

Ferncliffe: Conference Room

By the time the doctor came in, Carly had nearly convinced herself that this entire meeting was a terrible mistake and that she should leave before Sonny arrived. In fact, she was actually standing up to make a hasty exit when Lainey Winters walked in.

“Mrs. Corinthos?” Lainey said. She extended a hand. “Dr. Lainey Winters. We spoke on the phone last week.”

“Uh, hi.” Carly winced but shook her hand and sat back down. “Listen, I’m not—I’m not comfortable with this. I called Dr. Collins for the commitment, and I’m the contact, I guess, but I’m actually in the middle of a divorce—”

“I did suggest we contact his sister or father in Buffalo.” Lainey took a seat, set a file on the table. “Sonny insisted it was you or it was his business partner—”

“No—” Carly said before Lainey could offer to contact him. “No,” she repeated, a bit more calmly. “No. If you’ve read the file, you know that’s a terrible idea—”

“Yes. The business partner and friend that Sonny threatened to kill—the threat that caused Kevin Collins to sign the papers.” Lainey tapped a pen against the manila folder, leaned forward. “Do you think Sonny would have carried out that threat?”

“I…” Carly hesitated. “I think that after the last few months, it’s difficult to predict what Sonny might do. You know that he locked me in our bedroom—it’s the reason I left in December. That’s in the file, isn’t it?”

“It is.” Lainey pressed her lips together. “Do you know how the commitment process works?” she asked.

“Yeah, you signed the paperwork to keep him up to sixty more days.” Carly studied the other woman. “Wait, is that why I’m here? Are you not keeping him the whole time or something?”

“That hasn’t been decided yet, but an early release is always possible.” Lainey waited a moment. “You seem surprised.”

“Are you kidding?” Carly’s tone became sharper. “He’s broken into my home on two separate occasions, assaulted my brother and his boyfriend—pushed me. He’s also stormed in on a pregnant woman, screamed at her, and a few months ago, he locked me in our bedroom and pushed Elizabeth when she tried to help. It’s not safe to be around him—”

“These are all aspects of his illness that we will be controlling through therapy and possibly medication.” Lainey shook her head. “But I don’t think his threat was serious. The way I understand it — Sonny was seeing his first wife—his deceased wife — which tells me he was in the middle of a delusion—”

Carly clenched her jaw and fought back the urge to scream. “A delusion? A hallucination? Sure. He’s had them before. How is that not something to worry about?”

“Because other than throwing a punch or one push four months ago,” Lainey said slowly, “Sonny hasn’t shown a propensity for violence. Anger, yes. But not violence.” She straightened. “With therapy and medication—”

“Great. He can have all of that, but why not keep him until you’re sure he’s under control?” Carly snapped. “I have a restraining order against him, and he still came to my home! Jason told him not to come into his home—Sonny knew Elizabeth was ill—and he still went over to scream at her—I don’t—” She shoved away from the table. “I don’t understand why I’m here.”

“You’re here because you signed the paperwork and because Sonny has indicated he’d like to keep you informed as to his diagnosis. Based on the major depressive episodes described by you, your mother, and Sonny himself, along with the episodes of heightened, out of control behavior, I am comfortable with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.”

“Bipolar—” Carly frowned, shook her head. “But the hallucinations—”

“Are characteristic of bipolar psychosis. With the anxiety and fear over your kidnapping and the escape of the man responsible, Sonny was particularly susceptible to this. He sees his first wife—who was pregnant when she died, killed in place of Sonny — and his mother, a woman whom he couldn’t protect from an abusive stepfather.”

Carly cleared her throat. “Okay. That…that sounds fine. I just—”

“I’m sure that the last few months have been incredibly stressful,” Lainey said, more gently. “I understand you’ve struggled with your own mental health. I apologize if I sounded as if I wasn’t taking your concerns seriously, but my priority is Sonny, and based on his history, I can see no reason why I should heighten his anxiety by keeping him locked up.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Carly murmured, even if it was  terrifying. “You said…you said Sonny wanted to see me.”

“Yes. Are you ready?” Lainey got to her feet. When Carly reluctantly nodded, Lainey opened a door and gestured to someone.

A few minutes later, Sonny walked in. His hair was disheveled, and he looked tired, but his eyes were alert. “You came.”

Carly kept the table between them and got to her feet. “I—Dr. Winters told me about the bipolar diagnosis. I’m glad you know what’s wrong. That you can work on controlling it.”

Sonny nodded and looked at Lainey for a minute before focusing again on Carly. “So you understand now—what happened—and I did what you wanted me to. I got help.”

Carly frowned. “What I wanted—you didn’t—Sonny, I asked you months ago to do this. And I still had to force you into it after you threatened to kill Jason and screamed at Elizabeth while she was struggling to breathe—”

“I’m sorry for all of that. Dr. Winters told me she had the baby. Are they okay?” Sonny asked.

She felt like she was in a Twilight Zone—Sonny was acting like nothing was wrong—as if simply being diagnosed made things better and nothing else would matter.  “Yeah. She’s fine. Listen, I need to get going—”

“Wait,” Sonny said as Carly turned to leave. “I wanted to know when I could see the boys.”

Carly scowled, turning back to face Sonny and his doctor. “I don’t know, Sonny, I’m not convinced anything is different. Have you started medication yet?”

“We’re working on therapy first,” Sonny said as Lainey pursed her lips behind him—and Carly understood. Sonny hadn’t agreed to medication.

“You can see the boys when I’m satisfied that you’re no longer a danger to them, yourself, or anyone else. I think I need to understand this diagnosis more before I can make any other decisions.”

“Carly—”

“If you’ll excuse me,” Carly said to Lainey. Then she left, not entirely sure what the hell had just happened. Or what she was going to do about it.

Harborview Towers: Hallway

Elizabeth blinked as she stepped out of the elevator and saw the space outside the penthouse door empty. She didn’t realize how much she’d expected Cody to be standing outside the door until he wasn’t there.

“He’s in Puerto Rico with Johnny.”

Elizabeth looked at Jason, cleared her throat. “Does—does he know that you know—that we know?” she asked as Jason unlocked the door and pushed it open. He set down her bag and waited for her to walk in.

“Yeah. Don’t worry about that right now.” Jason eyed her carefully. “Shouldn’t you sit?”

“Yeah.” Elizabeth winced as he took her hand and helped her over to the sofa. “It was interesting being on my feet again, but I’m done with that experiment now.”

She sucked in a sharp breath as she sat down, her abdomen protesting the movement. She frowned as he sat down next to her and pulled her feet into his lap, helping to slip off the sandals she’d worn home from the hospital. “You’re not going back to the hospital?”

“I talked to Emily,” Jason told her. “I’m going to be with you today, to make sure you’re okay here.”

“But Cameron—”

“Is not alone for a second,” Jason reminded her. “Emily made sure of it. She, Alan, and Monica are taking over for both of us today. I’ll go back tomorrow. I don’t want you to be alone here without a guard you trust outside. Marco is a good backup, but it’s not the same.”

“I don’t want you to worry about me,” she told him. She leaned forward, reached for his hand. “How are you doing? I know you’re worried about Carly going to see Sonny.”

Jason exhaled slowly, stared at her hand, then looked up to meet her eyes, then looked away. “I’m not really thinking about that right now,” he admitted. “After what happened to you, after dealing with the Zaccharas—I just—I didn’t have the room.”

Elizabeth nodded. “All right.” She paused. “Cameron and I—we’re both okay. I mean, everyone was right. Delivering Cameron early was better for my health. Even with recovering from the C-section and what happened—I feel better.” When Jason said nothing, she continued, “And Cameron is okay. He’s gaining weight, he’s developing—his doctor said we might be able to bring him home next month.”

“I know all of that—” Jason stopped. Seemed to take her point. “I know that I can think about Sonny now. I just—” He pressed his lips together. “I don’t know what to think.”

“I’m sorry that it had to happen the way it did—for him to keep losing control like that, but I am glad that Carly finally did something about it.” Elizabeth hesitated. “Did you guys not talk about an involuntary commitment before?”

“It never seemed like a choice,” Jason admitted. “And we didn’t—” He paused. “We didn’t know about Lily. Carly said that it sounded like he’s seen her off and on for months. Between that and what happened with you and at the Brownstone—she was just afraid of what might happen next.”

“With me? Sonny never—” Elizabeth squinted. “Jason, Sonny never put his hands on me. Not like back in December. He came in to complain, but I was already having issues—Cody and Max got him out pretty quick—” She made a face. “Did Cody make it sound worse—”

“No, he pretty much said the same thing, but—” Jason stopped talking abruptly and cleared his throat. “Listen, do you want to be upstairs? Laying down? We have the television up there—”

Any other day, Elizabeth might have pushed him, but she was still tired, and resting in their comfortable bed sounded much nicer than laying on the sofa. So she let the subject drop. “Yeah, but you’re gonna have to carry me.”

Relieved, Jason got to his feet and lifted her into his arms. When they passed the half open door to Cameron’s nursery across from theirs, she put her hand on the door frame to stop him from crossing into the bedroom.

“What’s wrong?” Jason asked.

“Nothing—I just—” Elizabeth looked at him. “I just wish he were home with us now. This is—” Her throat felt tight. “I just—he’s not with me anymore, and in the hospital, I knew we were in the same building. It’s just…It’s just hitting me now.”

Jason lowered her down on her side of the bed then sat next to her. “I’m sorry. I know—I know part of the reason you didn’t want to deliver early was having to leave him behind in the NICU when you were released.”

“I just didn’t want him to have to fight so hard.” Elizabeth traced Jason’s palm with her fingertips. “Not having him here now just reminds me that he’s not strong enough yet. I know—God, I know we were lucky. That I was able to have him at all, you know? I just—” A tear slid down her cheek. “I just want to be his mom, and I don’t feel like I can yet. I can’t even see him—I couldn’t keep him healthy before, and I’m useless now—” Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m sorry. I keep doing this—”

“A few minutes ago, downstairs, you reminded me that Cameron is healthy,” Jason told her, smoothing her hair off her forehead. “That he’s gaining weight, and he’s already doing better than the doctors expected.”

“I know, but—”

“It is not your fault that you had to deliver early,” Jason reminded her. “In fact, you did everything you could to give him more time. You were ready to sacrifice your own health to give him that time.” He paused, brushed some tears from her cheek. “You fought for him every day since the moment you found out you were pregnant.” He paused. “Have you…have you thought about talking to Gail?”

“I really—I thought I was managing it okay, but—”

“Being away from Cameron for the first time like this—this is going to be hard,” Jason said. “It’s hard for me,” he admitted. “I want to be with him, too. But I can go back tomorrow. Kelly wants you to rest for a few days. Let me call Gail. Have her come over tomorrow.”

“I’ll make a deal with you,” Elizabeth said. She squeezed his hand. “I’ll call Gail, but you have to go to the hospital for at least one turn with Cameron tonight—”

“Elizabeth—”

“I’ll call Nikolas. He’ll come over and hang out. You know he feels guilty for being late that day,” Elizabeth said. “I won’t be alone. It will make me feel better if I know you’re with Cameron, at least for a little while.”

Jason sighed, then smiled at her. “All right. I’ll get your phone, and you can make the calls.” He leaned down to kiss her forehead. “And then you’re going to rest.”

“Pinky swear.”

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Taggert frowned when he saw Portia waiting for him in the courtyard, her hands in her coat pockets. “Hey—it’s chilly out. Why didn’t you wait inside for me?” he asked when he stepped up to her. He kissed her lightly.

“Because I can’t stay.” Portia grimaced. “I have to be at the store, but I couldn’t—I know you’re working the second shift, and I didn’t want—”

“Portia.” Taggert lifted her chin, so their eyes met. “What’s going on?”

“Remember Valentine’s Day?” she asked.

He furrowed his brow. “Of course.”

“Nothing, except um…” She drew her hand out of her pocket, and he automatically looked down—and his brain froze.

He saw the white stick in her hand and couldn’t process any more than that.

“I know we’ve only been dating a few months, and this—well, this is crazy, but—” Portia licked her lips, her eyes searching his. “Say something.”

“Can’t,” he admitted, still staring at the pregnancy test. “I, uh, think my brain exploded.”

She huffed. “It’s not like I planned this either, but—” Portia hesitated, putting the test back into her pocket as if to force him to look at her again. “I don’t think I’m mad.”

“I’m not—” Taggert exhaled sharply, still trying to clear his dazed thoughts. “I’m not either. I just—” He cleared his throat. “I don’t know what I am. I’m not mad. Or even—just—I don’t know. I wasn’t—I’m surprised,” he decided finally. “That’s about all I got.”

“Same.” She let her head drop against his chest. “I didn’t plan on babies this soon. But I also didn’t plan on you.”

“Same.” He kissed the top of her head. “But plans change.”

“Yeah.” She smiled at him, some of the anxiety fading from her eyes. “Plans change. I—I wanna let this settle, you know? Talk to my sister. I want the baby. I just—I don’t know what happens after that.”

“Yeah, I should—I should sit with this, too,” he said.” He kissed her again. “But you need to go to work. And I should—I should do something. I don’t know what.” Taggert laughed, nerves dancing beneath his humor. “I’m sure there’s something. But—we’ll talk.”

“Yes. Tomorrow? Dinner?”

“Yes.” Taggert caught her arm as Portia started to leave. “Hey—I meant what I said on Valentine’s Day. I love you.”

She grinned. “I love you, too.”

General Hospital: Waiting Area

Jason frowned when he stepped off the elevator and found Carly waiting for him in front of the NICU entrance. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

“I stopped by the penthouse, and Elizabeth said you were on your way here. I was hoping to catch you before you went in.” Carly folded her arms. “How’s Cameron? I thought you were going to stay home with Elizabeth today—”

“She wanted one of us to be with Cameron every day, so she convinced me to come back—he’s fine,” Jason added. “What happened at Ferncliffe?”

“The doctor has given him a diagnosis,” she told him.  “Um, she says it’s bipolar disorder. I—I think I remember reading about that once, and I’m going to see Kevin about it, but basically—it’s like—his brain chemistry messes with his moods or something. When they’re low, they’re really low, or when they’re high—they’re really high.”

Jason squinted. “It sounds familiar. It used to be called manic-depressive disorder, I think.” Sometimes strange pieces of medical knowledge filtered through his brain—he didn’t always understand it. “But the hallucinations—”

“Bipolar psychosis. Happens during the depressive episodes, she said.” Carly picked at the edge of the chair. “But with medication and therapy, I think she said things would be okay again.”

“Okay.” Jason didn’t really know what to do with any of that—with the idea that there could be a fix of any kind for what was wrong with Sonny.

“I don’t think they’re going to keep him the entire time, but they don’t have a release date yet. She doesn’t think he’s a danger to anyone else.” Carly wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think he’s agreeing to medication, but I also—Jason, I thought if he got help—if we knew what was wrong, I don’t know, I think I thought I’d feel better.”

“But you don’t.”

“No. Do you?” Carly asked, lifting her brows. “I mean, they have to let him out at some point. He’ll be home and across the hall again. Am I supposed to drop the charges? Are Taggert or Ned? Are you supposed to let him come back to work?”

“I—” Jason exhaled slowly. “I don’t think—I don’t know about any of that.” He’d tried to choke Sonny less than a week ago. How could they ever go back to what had worked before? It was impossible.

“He asked me to see the boys. Already,” Carly said when Jason frowned at her. “He thinks that this is a game changer. Like knowing what it is makes everything that happened not his fault.”

“Carly—”

“He thinks none of it matters because he’s sick. Is he right?” Carly pressed her hands to her eyes. “I don’t know,” she repeated. “All those things still happened. He still locked me in my room. He still broke into the house, screaming at me—he went after Ned and Alexis because of Kristina—and everything with Elizabeth, God, Jason, how do we just forget it all?”

“I don’t know if we can,” Jason said slowly. “I can’t—if I’d known he was sick—” But Jason had known. He’d known Sonny had problems—he’d always compensated for them. Had always sacrificed for them.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to dump all of this on you, but—”

“But you’re right. If he’s not going to take medication—nothing is going to change when he comes home. He’ll just have something new to blame.”

“Yeah. I just—you have so much to worry about right now with taking over, and then, of course, Cameron and Elizabeth. I—I don’t know what I thought was going to happen,” she admitted. “I told you I would take care of it—”

“You did,” Jason assured her. He looked away. “I needed to be at the hospital with my family. And with Sonny gone these last few days, I could take care of everything else. But it was never a permanent solution.”

“I’m just scared that you’re right. Nothing is going to change, and it’ll just be worse,” Carly said hesitantly. “I mean—Ric’s dead. Sonny was managing okay before Ric went missing. That’s—maybe we’ll get a break.”

“I’m still staying in charge,” Jason said painfully. “Because too many people know about Sonny’s problems. And—” He looked at her. “You still want a divorce, don’t you?”

Carly pressed her lips together, looked at him, then nodded. “Yeah. I do.”

“Then I guess we’ll see where we are when it’s time for him to come home.” He took her hand in his, squeezed it. “Take care of you and the boys first. That’s what matters.”

“I will. As long as you promise you’ll take care of yourself and your family first. We can’t fix Sonny, Jason. Let’s just make sure we don’t lose anyone else.”

Kelly’s: Kitchen

Dante set the order on the shelf and hit the bell. “Chili’s up,” he called to Penny.

Behind him perched on a stool, Lulu frowned at her algebra quiz. “I really thought I understood this.”

Dante sighed and started cleaning the stove. They were slow now, but he wanted to be ready for the early dinner rush when the shift changed on the waterfront. “You know, some people might call you a stalker.”

“And other people will just remember that I work here, too,” Lulu replied with a smirk. “Plus — you helped me study for this, so this—” She pointed at the large red 53 scrawled across her paper. “This is your fault.”

“I can’t work miracles,” he grunted. He tossed the rag in the sink, then washed his hands. “You worked this morning?”

“Yeah, I opened before I had to go to math class.” Lulu huffed. “Should have stayed home.” She tucked the quiz back in the bag, then hopped off the counter. “Why?”

“Bobbie or Carly usually stop in.” He hesitated. “I was wondering if you’d heard anything about Sonny. It’s not that I want to know—”

“They haven’t said anything, but Lucas did say Sonny’s been hallucinating his dead wife for months but hid that fact from literally everyone until he couldn’t anymore. Which he couldn’t after what happened with Elizabeth. Makes sense. Another pregnant woman who almost died because of him.”

Lulu wrinkled her nose when Dante looked away. “Don’t tell me you’re getting all worked up about blood again. Sonny had a shitty childhood. My dad told me once. He had a super abusive stepfather who killed his mother. The guy used to lock him in the closet. Sonny’s problems are earned. Not bred.”

“Maybe. You don’t know that. Mental illness can be genetic,” Dante muttered as he dried his hands.

Lulu stared at him for a long moment. “Then I guess you’re better off not taking me to that movie, huh?”

Dante frowned at her, turning back to face her. “What?”

“Don’t be stupid. I know you’re avoiding being free at night because I’ll bug you about the date—”

Dante scowled, but Lulu continued. “But if you’re all hung up on shit like genetics, you probably think I’ll end up like my mother—”

“Lu—no—” Dante winced. “That’s not what I meant—”

“Why not?” Lulu offered with a shrug that looked more forced than casual. “She had a breakdown. Was catatonic for months. She’ll be in therapy for the rest of her life. And you know, my brother has had his own issues with the brainwashing. Maybe there’s something in our blood—”

“Don’t be stupid,” Dante said. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“No, you’re right. Mental illness can be genetic. I mean, I’ve read the studies. I know how it works.” She folded her arms, lifted a brow to glare at him. “So if you’re going to hook up with someone, probably shouldn’t be someone else with damaged blood—”

Dante grabbed her arm, jerked her forward, and cut off her words with a kiss that was more aggressive and angry than he meant it to be, but he just wanted her to stop saying stupid shit.

The sound of a bell broke them apart as they both sprang back, panting slightly. They turned to look at Penny standing in the window, a bored expression on her face.

“I need a BLT,” she said. “If you’re not busy.”

“Coming right up,” Dante managed. Penny smirked, then left. He looked back at Lulu. “There is nothing with you,” he repeated. “Nothing.”

“You sound sure.”

“I am.”

“Well, then let me say the same to you.” She jabbed a finger in his chest. “There is nothing wrong with you, either, Dante. In fact…” Lulu lifted a brow and smirked. “From where I’m standing, there’s a hell of a lot right. Which I’d like to confirm if you’re done being dumb.”

He couldn’t help it—he grinned and kissed her again, drawing it out just long enough until she almost stumbled when he drew back.

“Tonight. Movies.”

Lulu licked her lips, then grinned. “All right. Sounds good. Now—get back to work before Penny tells on us.”

Quartermaine Mansion: Foyer

Carly didn’t go home after her visit with Jason at the hospital. Instead, she drove out to Harborview Road and turned up the winding drive of the Quartermaine estate. She knew from her mother that AJ was still in Port Charles, but he’d done as she’d asked and given her space.

They’d talked briefly the week before when Carly had learned Ferncliffe was keeping Sonny, but she hadn’t gone into details, and AJ hadn’t asked for any. Now, she thought he’d earned the right to be part of the next step, whatever it was.

It was always nerve-wracking to return to the mansion, and she’d rarely done so since that last terrible day. Since she’d fallen down the stairs and lost her second son. He’d be nearly four, Carly mused as she waited for AJ to meet her. What would he have been like? What would they have named him?

Would everything be different if that precious baby had lived?

“I’m sorry, I should have asked Alice to have you wait somewhere else.”

Carly turned. AJ stepped out of the back hallway that led to the study. She realized she’d been standing in front of the stairs, just staring at them.

“It’s all right.” She took another deep breath. “It’s all right,” she repeated. “It’s just a house. They’re just stairs.” She folded her arms. “But maybe we could—”

“Yeah, the front room is open—” AJ gestured towards the open double doors, and Carly followed him. “I was going to leave you a message. I’m going back to New Orleans tomorrow, but I have to come back in a month for a meeting—”

“I went to Ferncliffe today,” she blurted out, and he stopped. Just stared at her. “To meet with Sonny and his doctor. He wanted me to come. It was me or Jason, and it can’t be Jason.”

AJ swallowed hard. “Are you here because you’re not going to file the petition—”

“No. I’m here to tell you that we’re moving forward like we planned.” That much, at least, was true. “The timeline has changed, though.”

“You—” AJ’s hands fell to his side. “I don’t understand. You met with Sonny’s doctor—”

“He has bipolar disorder,” Carly told him. “And he won’t take medication. He thinks—” Her eyes burned, and she struggled to force out the words. “He’s acting like labeling what’s wrong with him fixes things. He asked to see the boys, and I can’t—” She broke off, shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m still filing for divorce. I’m still going for custody. He’ll never get it. Even if he starts medication and changes his mind, I know that he doesn’t get it.”

“Carly—”

“Don’t try to reason with me. You can’t. And neither can Jason or anyone else—” Carly threw up her hands when AJ took a step towards her. “I know who Sonny is, and he’s still the man who refused to let me leave the penthouse and fired the nanny and hated that I worked and loved my job and none of that had anything to do with his mental illness—” All of the pent up emotion she’d bottled up and forced away because Jason didn’t need her to fall apart was bubbling up, and she didn’t know how to get rid of it anymore. “I’m never going back, and neither are my boys. I’m getting them out.”

“You need to take a breath,” AJ said. He took her arm and propelled her towards the sofa. “Sit down. I’ll get you some water or something—”

“I’m fine, okay? Don’t—” Carly scowled when he walked away. He returned a few moments later, a glass in his hand. “Don’t tell me what I need, okay? I can handle myself.”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t.” He set the glass down, shoved his hands in his pocket. “I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on. Bipolar disorder can be treated and controlled, Carly. He could be the guy you married again—”

“But I’m not the woman who married him, and that should matter, damn it—” She lunged to her feet. “Stop this! You’re getting what you want, aren’t you? I’m going to sign on the dotted line, and I’m giving you—”

“That’s the problem—” AJ said quietly, and she closed her mouth. “You still think of Michael as something you can give and take. I’m an alcoholic, Carly. It’s not that different from bipolar disorder. I can control it by going to meetings and staying on top of my triggers, but I will always be an alcoholic.” He held her eyes. “What stops you in two or three years from deciding I’m not good enough for Michael again just like you did before? Like you’re doing with Sonny now?”

Carly sank back onto the sofa. Tears slid down her cheek, and her hands trembled in her lap. “Oh, God. Oh, God. What am I doing?” Her shoulders started to shake, and she buried her face in her hands.

She felt the sofa dip next to her as AJ sat down. “I’m sure as hell not on Sonny’s side here. I’m just—I can’t do this dance again in a few years, Carly. And you can’t want this for the boys either.”

“I don’t.” He handed her a tissue, and she blew her nose. “I don’t,” she repeated. “And you’re right. I still see Michael as mine. It’s not like it was before, with Jason and Sonny. I used him to get myself where I wanted to be. Even before he was born, I used him.”

“I used him, too,” AJ offered when Carly didn’t continue. “I used him to get you into this house and demand respect and responsibilities from my family. I used him to get ELQ.”

“Don’t be nice to me. I can’t stand it right now.” Carly rose to her feet. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Morgan’s just a baby. He doesn’t even know Sonny. He’s barely six months old. And Michael—I meant what I said before. He’s scared of Sonny. But you’re not wrong. It can be controlled.”

“You found out today,” AJ said, also standing. “You should give yourself some more time to figure things out—”

“No.” Carly faced him. “Whatever Sonny’s relationship with Michael is going to look like one day, that’s not something I can solve tonight. But I was wrong to take him from you. And you didn’t give him up fairly.”

“Carly—”

“I’m asking Alexis to wait on filing my divorce papers until Sonny is out of Ferncliffe and we can see where we are,” Carly told him. “He deserves the chance to get better without that hanging over him. But I never should have let Sonny adopt Michael. I’ll file that petition, AJ. Because it’s the right thing to do.”

“I—”

“Thank you. For giving me this chance to make it right. For forcing me to take this step. You’re right. This isn’t something I should do to take Michael away from Sonny. This isn’t revenge.” Something unfurled in her abdomen, and she felt lighter now. “I’m not the woman who married him anymore, and I’m not the version of myself who used Michael like a meal ticket. I don’t want to be.”

“No, you’re really not,” AJ said, offering her a half smile. “I’m not who I used to be either. It’ll be interesting to find out who we are now.”

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Jason spent almost a half hour holding Cameron that night, deciding Elizabeth had been right. Their son deserved to have one of them as often as they could manage it, and if she wasn’t able to be here for a while, it would have to be him. He wanted it to be him.

When he came home that night, it was just after eight, and Nikolas was throwing away takeout containers in the kitchen. Jason walked him out, then went upstairs, hoping Elizabeth was asleep.

She was not.

She was propped up against the pillows, wrinkling her nose at the television. “Hey. You’re back.”

“Yeah.” Jason crossed over to kiss her briefly. “Did you get some sleep?”

“Mmm, yeah, Nikolas brought me Eli’s for dinner. I’m glad my appetite is back. I was definitely in the mood for some ribs and a milkshake.” Elizabeth’s eyes followed him as he walked over to his dresser, stripping off his t-shirt. “I miss that, too,” she said with a sigh.

Jason looked over his shoulder and found himself grinning when he saw her smile. “I should get you ribs more often if it puts you in such a good mood,” he teased. He removed a pair of sweat pants and finished changing.

“How was Cam?” Elizabeth asked when Jason stretched out next to her, his back against the headboard. “How long did you get to hold him?”

“Thirty minutes,” Jason reported with another smile. “And I got to bathe him again.”

“Ugh. I always seem to miss his baths,” Elizabeth sighed, rolling onto her back again. She muted the television. “Did Carly find you?”

“Uh, yeah.” Jason exhaled slowly. “Can we talk about it tomorrow?” he found himself asking. He looked over at her. “I just…I just want to sit here with you, watch whatever you’re watching, and not worry about any of it.”

“Well, I was watching Fear Factor,” Elizabeth admitted. “But then the guy started to eat live snails, so I noped right out of there.”

“Live snails?” Jason repeated. “Why?”

“I can’t even make myself try the dead fancy ones.” Elizabeth shuddered and picked up the remote, flicking through the channels. “You sure you don’t want to be in charge of the remote?”

“No.” Jason shook his head. “Whatever you want to watch is fine.” She found some reality show with crazy brides threatening their relatives over appetizers, and Jason relaxed, enjoying the sound of her giggling like a maniac.

Everything else could wait.

Manhattan, New York

Hôtel Plaza Athénée: Luxury Suite

Ric emerged from the bathroom, a towel slung around his hips. “When is your brother heading to Port Charles?”

“Should already be there. I know Daddy wanted to wait until the last possible minute.” Claudia smirked. “He’s scared shitless of Morgan but doesn’t want to show it. He does not like knowing that someone got that close without being detected.”

“Yeah, Morgan’s good for something.” Ric disappeared into the dressing room. “Better if he had just killed Anthony on the spot like he was supposed to.”

“Yeah, I guess that was a little surprising, but maybe he didn’t wanna bring attention to himself with wifey in the hospital.” Claudia examined her nails. “This makes it more fun.”

“For you,” Ric muttered. He buttoned his silk shirt. “I’ve been waiting for months—who knew it would take those idiots so long to figure out your father was behind everything?”

“Who thought they’d believe you were dead so easily?” Claudia shrugged. “It was just like you said. They’re reactive, even with Sonny locked up in the loony bin. Everyone knows Jason’s only taking control because someone has to. When your heart’s not in the business, you’re not as ruthless as you need to be. It’s his Achilles heel. He has to be forced into things.”

That was certainly true. Ric considered the situation as he ran a comb through his hair. He’d enjoyed the high life, living in five-star hotels for the last six months, but he was nearly ready for the final stage of his revenge.

He just needed one last piece.

“Do we know how long the baby will be in the hospital?”

“Hard to say. My contact is kaput. I’ve got the feelers out for someone else, and Daddy’s definitely looking for guys on the inside again with John being in the line of fire. The kid was born too early. Bound to have lots of problems. Morgan will be distracted, especially since I think the wife isn’t healthy yet.”

Ric grimaced. He hadn’t realized that the birth control pills would have such long-lasting consequences. He never should have bothered with them. He hadn’t wanted to kill Elizabeth. Not then. He’d still believed in her. In their future.

He might even let her live if she was properly apologetic for betraying him, but she was going to give him the family she’d promised him whether she wanted to or not.

“Ric?”

“I want some more eyes and ears, too. Get someone else inside,” Ric told her. “Sonny hasn’t paid nearly enough, and I still want your father blamed. Jason thinks I’m dead now. Let’s have some fun with that.”

It seems no one can help me now
I’m in too deep
There’s no way out
This time I have really led myself astray
Runaway train never going back
Wrong way on a one way track
Seems like I should be getting somewhere
Somehow I’m neither here nor there
– Runaway Train, Soul Asylum

---

Monday, March 8, 2004

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Cruz shoved a piece of bacon into his mouth. “I’m glad Dante’s working here,” he told Lulu. “Ever since he moved out, I’ve had to cook for myself.”

Lulu rolled her eyes and grumbled something unflattering about men before heading over to refill coffee cups.

Kelsey sat down next to Cruz and set down a case folder. He frowned at her, then wiped his hands on a napkin. “What’s this?”

“I took your advice. I went to see Scott, and he was so weird about it that I dug up my dad’s file.”

Cruz lifted his brows but then flipped through the folder. His eyes widened. “Holy shit, Kelsey—”

“My dad was murdered.” Kelsey’s voice wavered slightly, and she swallowed hard. “And the PCPD wrote it off as an accidental death.”

“What’s going on?” Lu wanted to know as she returned to toss some new orders in for Dante. “You okay, Kelse? Where’s Lucky?”

“At the doctor,” she said absently. “You know how I said my dad died in a car accident?”

“Yeah. My parents knew him, right? Mom back in the day, and Dad later, I think they said.” Lu tipped her head. “Is that the file? Was it a drunk driver or something?”

“Or something,” Cruz muttered. He skimmed the investigative report. “This doesn’t make any sense. How the hell did they get away with this?”

“What’s going on?” Lu asked again. “Cruz?”

Cruz pushed his breakfast plate aside and flattened the file out. Lu’s eyes bulged at the sight of the crime scene photos. “He was found at the Port Charles exit on Highway 41,” he said. “Passenger side open — the door was dusted for prints—” he showed the notation to Kelsey. “But there’s no follow up. What happened to those prints? Were they able to lift any? Did they run them?”

Lu’s face was green as she picked up the crime scene photo. “Someone shot him from the passenger side,” she murmured. “And look at how the car was left— that’s not an accident.”

“No, no front end damage,” Cruz confirmed. “The emergency brake was on, and the car was in neutral. I’ve been on the job for less than a year, and I can tell you what happened. Your dad was driving,” he told Kelsey, “and someone was with him. They pulled over just by the exit ramp, then the person shot your dad. Bullet wound like this? He’s dead in seconds—” he winced. “Sorry, Kelse—”

“It’s okay.” Her face was pale, but Kelsey took a deep breath. “It’s okay. I know. I’ve seen cases like this.”

“Someone put the car in neutral, and the car drifted down towards the sign, but not at a high speed.” Cruz squinted at the report. “That highway is busy — even at 3 am—”

“Not when I was a kid,” Lu murmured. “Mom used to say how much the city grew after they moved back. The Qs redeveloped the hotel, and a bunch of new businesses moved in. Downtown built up, and traffic got worse, she said. I mean, you’d have to ask someone who was old enough to remember, but I bet that exit was almost deserted at that time of night, especially on a—” She tapped the date. “Wednesday night. Middle of the week. We didn’t have a nightlife. We still barely have one. We mostly head into Rochester for that kind of thing.”

“That’s kind of how I remember Port Charles as a kid, but—” Kelsey cleared her throat. “The PCPD deciding that my dad’s murder was an accident explains why my mom got out and stayed out. She was scared because they covered it up.”

“But how?” Lu demanded. “People had to know—”

“Who, though? Crime scene techs don’t follow up on cases. They file their reports and move on. The investigating officer gets the autopsy report, sure, but the medical examiner doesn’t follow up. It’s not their job.” After a year of watching the PCPD work, Kelsey knew what had happened. “No, it’s not that hard. The guy on the case said it was an accident and filed it that way. And my mom didn’t fight.”

“And the commissioner doesn’t always follow up, either. They’re juggling too many balls—” Cruz looked over the report again. “This guy — David Case. He doesn’t work at the PCPD anymore—”

“I looked him up. He was on year eighteen in 1994 and retired in 1997.” Kelsey took something from her bag. “He mostly worked Major Crimes before the 90s and was here with Anna and Robert during their first run. Then under Sean Donely and Mac. In 1994, Mac formed the Organized Crimes unit after Sonny Corinthos went after Frank Smith.”

“Yeah, things were really bad,” Lulu said. “Guys broke into our house looking for my dad, and my mom fought them off with a rifle. Lucky got shot, too.”

“Case transferred to that unit and finished his career. He died last year. Lung cancer.”

“You know, the PCPD did a lot of bad things, but I don’t think I’ve come across an actual cover-up like this,” Cruz said. “Even what happened with Elizabeth’s case back in the day—”

“No, this was more deliberate,” she said to Lu.  “And I gotta wonder—your dad said that my dad worked for Frank Smith.”

“Really?” Cruz asked as Lu’s eyes widened. “When? Where?”

“He swears Dad was on the legit side of the business, but Dad died June 1994. Wasn’t that the same time all this stuff was blowing up with Frank Smith?”

“Yeah. Uh—” Lu cleared her throat. “Lucky would know better. Have you told him yet?”

“I—” Kelsey pressed her lips together. “Not yet. He’s just back on his feet, and after everything that happened with Dante and Capelli, I guess…” She sighed, met Cruz’s eyes. “It’s another PCPD scandal. Another cover up. How many more of these hits can we take? How many more can he absorb? His mother, Elizabeth, the shooting, and now this—”

“It’s your dad, Kelse,” Lulu pointed out. “And you told us.”

“I know I have to tell him. I just hoped if I showed it to you,” Kelsey told Cruz, “that you’d see something that I missed. Something that explains it.”

“There’s nothing that explains this.”

“Yeah.” She stared at the folder. “What if my mom is right be worried? What if I drag all of this up, and it’s actually dangerous?”

“The PCPD has mostly turned over,” Cruz pointed out. “And the only mob guys still around are Sonny’s guys — who are Jason’s guys now. Do you really think they’re going to go after your mom? When she’s stayed quiet all this time?”

“I’m not sure if it’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Kelsey said.

“Talk it over with Lucky,” Lulu suggested. “He knows a lot of those players better than either of us. He grew up in it.”

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

“Good morning,” Jason said. He leaned over to brush his mouth against hers. “You finally got some rest last night. Every time I checked, you were sleeping.”

“I did. I’m still sore—” She lightly touched her chest— “but the embolization wasn’t invasive, so I only have the c-section to recover from.” She frowned at him. “You’re sleeping, aren’t you? Have you gone home?”

“A few hours here and there.” Jason hesitated, dipped his head. “There’s something else we need to talk about. I didn’t want to bring it up around Carly yesterday.”

“What?”

When Jason didn’t answer her, Elizabeth’s heartbeat picked up. “Jason. What’s wrong?”

“The reason Sonny was so angry on Friday—he got a message that Ric was in New York.” He paused. “This time, though, they didn’t bother giving us the same message. They only sent it to Sonny. It came from the Zaccharas.”

“Which means you were right. They know he’s unstable.” She tried to catch his eye, but his gaze was still averted, looking down at the bed. “How did they find out?”

“Someone told them,” Jason said after a long moment. He finally raised his eyes to hers. “Someone told Anthony and Trevor that they could screw everything up here by making Sonny go over the edge.” When she said nothing, Jason continued, “Elizabeth—Cody fed them the information.”

“Cody—” Her breath seized. “Not—not my Cody—no—” She jerked her hands out of his. “No. You’re wrong. You have to be wrong.”

“He confessed to Justus, but I already—I already had my suspicions. There weren’t many people who knew Sonny was getting out of jail that day,” Jason told her as a tear slid down her cheek. “You, me. Carly, Bobbie, Lucas. Some of my guys—including Bernie and Justus. But Cody knew. You and I talked about it in front of him the night before.”

“He wouldn’t—”

“He would.” Jason picked up her hands again. “He did it to force Sonny out. He thought—he thought if Sonny flipped out—I would take over. Anthony and Trevor didn’t know I was already running things, and Cody took advantage of that.”

“I don’t understand—”

“He did it for you,” Jason admitted. “Because he was afraid that eventually Sonny’s anger would turn violent again and that you’d be in the middle of it, like that night in December. I told him to protect you, and that’s what he thought he was doing.”

“I—” Elizabeth couldn’t quite process that. “I don’t—you sound like—I mean, he betrayed you.”

“When Justus told me he knew who it was—why they did it, it felt like a betrayal. It was a betrayal,” he corrected. “He didn’t think I’d step up to fix things without being forced.” He paused. “He was right.”

She swallowed hard. “You were planning to fix things—you had a plan—”

“That no one else knew,” he reminded her. “And that I postponed after we got word about the house arrest.”

“Jason—”

“I could have done more. I should have done more.” Jason paused. “Cody did what he did to protect you and even Carly. He went against Sonny to do it. There were consequences he didn’t see—”

He closed his eyes. “It was the same thing I did months ago.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “What—when? What are you talking about?”

“I promised you—and Carly—that Ric would go to trial. Even when he jumped bail,” Jason said slowly, “I wanted to keep that promise. I told Ned that I would keep him informed about what we knew.”

“Jason…”

“I worked with the PCPD—not directly,” Jason added, “—but I knew who Ned was passing my information to. It wasn’t a lot—but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have done more, including undermining anything Sonny did once Ric was found. I would have turned him over. You and Carly made it clear that going to trial—testifying—that was how you were going to put this behind you.”

He met her eyes. “And I promised you I would make it happen.”

“Jason.” To know he’d worked with the cops, that he’d done something like that behind Sonny’s back at the same time Sonny had been going over the edge about all of this—she didn’t have the words— “You did that for us.”

“At the end of the day, what happened last summer—it happened to you. It happened to Carly. I don’t care if the rest of the world thinks it makes me weak,” he told her, “I needed you to be okay. Killing him quickly—it isn’t doing that. Carly’s not okay. I can see you’re not either. You wanted justice. Closure. And I want you both to be able to sleep at night.”

He waited a moment before continuing. “When I assigned Cody to look after you—” He met her eyes. “I told him that nothing came before you. That you were the most important person in my life. And I was putting your safety in his hands.”

“You told him that?”

Jason exhaled slowly. “He kept his promise. He didn’t do it the right way, and he broke the rules to do it. But I’m not sure he was wrong.”

“I—” Her throat was thick, and she couldn’t form any words. “Jason.”

He brought her hands to his lips, kissed them gently. “I’ll talk to him. And if you’re not comfortable anymore, I’ll reassign him. But it’s up to you.”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Thank you. For—for even giving him the benefit of the doubt.”

“I’m just—I’m sorry it came to this. To any of this. I’m sorry you’re not going to get your day in court,” he said. “Or that—with everything else going on—I can’t go back to the way it was. With the business.”

“No. You can’t.” She smiled at him. “But we’ll deal with whatever happens. That’s the promise I made you. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Sunday, March 7, 2004

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Dante hesitated as he emerged from the kitchen, a towel over his shoulder, looked first at Lois sitting at the counter, then at Lulu, his eyebrows raised. “My aunt better not be the emergency.”

“Did I use the word emergency?” Lulu’s smile was dazzling. “My mistake. I have tables!”

“One of these days,” he muttered as she flitted away. He sighed, then went over to Lois. “If you’re here to talk about the job or my mother—”

“Neither.” Lois flipped over her cup. “I’m here to support you.”

Dante squinted. “What’s the catch?”

“Your mother is worried about you, and I’m not going to pretend I’m not either,” she told him. “But at the end of the day, you’re an adult. You’re not doing anything crazy, and you’re working. I just wanted to let you know that I’m working on Liv giving you some space, and I hope that you get what you need by doing this.”

Dante rubbed the back of his neck. “I wasn’t expecting that from you.”

“I know. But this is what me and your mom have always done, you know. I mediated for you and your ma, and she stepped with me and Brooke.” Pain flashed in his aunt’s eyes. “I can’t—she can’t help me anymore, but that doesn’t mean I stop doing my part. I’ve loved you since you were a little boy. Brooke was always a little bit Liv’s, and you were always a little bit mine.”

“I know. I never got away with anything with you around—”

“I know that finding out about Sonny, then the world finding out—it’s rocked things. And right after everything that went down with Vinnie—and all the trouble Sonny’s in, you got betrayed by another officer. It’s got you doubting yourself and what you’re meant to do.” She paused. “I hope you don’t believe what Capelli called you. You’re no a traitor. You’re nothing like Vinnie or Sonny.”

“I know—I know that I’m not either of them. That it’s not like that with blood and genes, but—” Dante sighed. “I keep thinking I never saw it coming with Vinnie. Did you with Sonny?”

“The way it’s been in the papers? The things we’ve heard? No. Sonny always had a brood to him, and he grew up real rough, Dante. He was a good guy once. Even though I flayed him for throwing over your ma for Connie.” Lois paused. “But his problems aren’t like Vinnie’s. There’s darkness in Sonny, but there was also kindness. Always good in there. He wasn’t always given the opportunity to show it. He was Brooke’s godfather, you know.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know that.”

“I never would’ve asked him to stand over my baby in front of God if I’d thought there was something wrong with him. Maybe we didn’t know Vinnie was a monster, Dante, but we always knew he wasn’t a shining example, you know?”

Dante pressed his lips together. “Yeah, I used to say he was the least favorite son of my ma’s least favorite sister. And that was putting it mildly. Grandma said I was jealous of him, that’s why I did it, but I never was. Nothing to be jealous of. Even before we knew.”

“Vinnie was always a good-for-nothing, lazy piece of shit. You saw the way he did the job. You saw how he was growing up. It cut me deep to know a boy whose diapers I changed did that to my baby, but maybe the reason we all feel so bad about it is—” Lois sighed, “is because it wasn’t that much of a surprise.”

“Maybe. I just—how do I live with all of this?” he wanted to know. “Vinnie on one side, Sonny on the other. How can I feel anything but cursed?”

“I know, baby. And I don’t know if I can talk you out of feeling that way. Maybe you just gotta live with yourself for a while with all of this.” Lois paused. “But the day is gonna come, Dante, when you can breathe again. Just make sure you don’t burn any bridges you can’t rebuild.”

Dante opened his mouth, but then Lulu came back behind the counter. “Hey, sorry, but we’re gonna get backed up in a minute, and—”

“It’s fine. I’ll see you around, Aunt Lo. Thanks for coming by.”

ELQ: Conference Room

Ned scribbled his name at the bottom of a contract, then slid it over to AJ. “It’ll be a relief to be out of this,” he admitted. “After you take control in June, I won’t have anything to do with ELQ for the rest of my term.”

“Says something about how bad Floyd was if the town still voted in someone from ELQ,” AJ said dryly as he handed the completed contract to the legal team. The lawyers filed out of the room. “I thought they hated us—”

“With everything the PCPD and the mayor got dragged for last year, there was a time Jason was more popular than the cops,” Ned said. He got to his feet. “During the election, Alexis dropped a poll just to see what would happen, and Sonny got more votes than Floyd.” He snorted. “When she gave us those results, I knew I was going to win.”

“I sure as hell hope that’s changed now,” AJ said darkly.

“This is the first time Sonny’s been back in the news in a while,” Ned assured him. “And most of what’s happened wasn’t even known.” He saw AJ glancing at his phone. “They find out today about the 5150, don’t they?”

“Yeah.” AJ exhaled. “I’m trying not to let that be something I worry about, but if they release him, Carly will definitely go forward. If they hold him—” He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“You think she’ll change her mind because Sonny will be getting treatment?”

“Maybe.” AJ jerked a shoulder. “I told Bobbie I’d let Carly deal with it and wait to hear, but it’s hard. I’m so close to everything I wanted, and thinking it rests on Sonny Corinthos—” He looked at Ned. “I’m sorry. For not coming home last summer.”

Ned frowned. “We talked about this, AJ. It’s all right—”

“I wanted to. I talked to my sponsor, and we both thought I could handle it, but I just—” AJ crossed the room to the windows overlooking downtown Port Charles. “What if I was wrong? What if I came here to give you support, ran into Courtney, and lost my damn mind? I was still so angry—” His mouth thinned. “Part of me was happy when I heard Jason broke up with her. He left her for someone else, just like she did to me.”

“AJ—”

“I could have dealt with her leaving me for anyone else, but Jason—” AJ turned. “I stayed away because the last thing you or anyone else in this family needed was the dark sheep getting drunk while you were grieving. I’m sorry for that. That I wasn’t strong enough.”

“I didn’t need you to be here,” Ned said gently, and AJ nodded, staring at the floor. “I learned a long time ago that you weren’t someone I could rely on. I didn’t miss your support, AJ. I’m sorry if that hurts—”

“It does, but I need to hear it. I need to hear how much my family doesn’t need me. Not because it’s their fault,” AJ replied roughly, “but because it’s how I trained them. No one expects better of me. Not anymore.”

“That’s not true,” Ned told him. “I read the reports from New Orleans, didn’t I? I didn’t just bring Carly to you. I came with my own proposal. I didn’t need you last summer, AJ, but I do now. ELQ’s part of my legacy. And yours. It’s part of this family. We need to protect it for everyone who comes after us. Brooke’s gone, but I still have Kristina. You have Michael. Emily will have children, and there’s Jason’s son now. I need to know it’s in good hands so I can do something bigger. You can do this, AJ.”

Brownstone: Kitchen

“If they let him out,” Lucas said, “what do we do? I mean, does Jason have a plan?” he asked Carly.

“I don’t know. I haven’t really talked to him about Sonny.” Carly sipped her coffee. “He’s been with Elizabeth and the baby, and I don’t want this to be his problem right now.”

“That’s all well and good,” Luke said, dropping into the seat next to his nephew. “But it’s not practical.”

“Jason’s got a lot on his mind,” Bobbie said defensively. “His son is in the NICU, and Elizabeth almost died. Not to mention —” She looked at Carly. “I know it’s not what you wanted, but maybe it’s for the best Ric is dead.”

“I know. I know,” she repeated. “I wish we’d known months ago.” God, how different would life be right now if Ric’s body had turned up in November? Would Sonny still be Sonny? Would she have stayed with him?

“Does Sonny know yet?” Luke asked.

“No. Unless Jason told him, and I highly doubt that.” She rubbed the side of her head. Ric was dead. It was over. The nightmare, the terror—it could never happen again.

She was free.

Whatever that meant.

“Who cares what he knows?” Lucas demanded. “It doesn’t change what happened. What Sonny did. He’s crazy, and he’s violent. I don’t want him anywhere near Michael and Morgan.” He paused. “Or you,” he added to Carly, almost as an afterthought.

“It matters because it might go a long way to calming the situation. Sonny went nuclear after Lansing disappeared. Not saying Caroline has to stop the divorce or the adoption situation. I don’t think she should,” Luke said. “But we do want the bullshit to be done and over with. My boy got shot, and I wanna be worried about him. You want be thinking about classes,” he said to Lucas, “and I’m sure Carly would be happy to just go to work and be with her kids.”

“And I want to stop having all this damn security and guards everywhere,” Bobbie muttered. “I feel like we’ve been living in the nightmare that was created last summer, and the fact that Ric being dead doesn’t mean anything is frustrating.”

“But Luke’s right,” Carly said. “Sonny might feel less paranoid about things. I mean, there are other problems that might come up—” Who knows how Sonny would feel when he learned Jason didn’t intend to return power? “—but Ric was the immediate threat that sent him over the edge time and time again.”

The phone on the counter rang, and Bobbie went to answer it. “Hello? One moment—” She pressed the receiver against her chest. “Carly, it’s a doctor from Ferncliffe.”

It was the call Carly had been dreading. Was Sonny being released or—

“Hello? This is Carly Corinthos.”

“Mrs. Corinthos, this is Dr. Lainey Winters—”

Carly listened to the woman for a long moment as the people around her sat in silence. “Okay. Okay, yes, I understand. Yes. Please—contact me when you’re ready to schedule. Thank you.”

She hung up the phone and turned to her family. She gripped the back of her empty chair. “They sedated Sonny the first night, but he continued making threats against Jason and—” She took a deep breath. “Me. And Elizabeth. And he was having hallucinations. Still. Lily, and, um—” Her throat tightened. “He’s still seeing Lily and his mother.”

“Nothing’s changed,” Bobbie murmured. “Same behavior as Friday.”

“Yeah. Um, under the law, the hold can be extended if two doctors sign a certificate stating that Sonny can’t be released because he’s a substantial threat to others. Maybe himself, though she said they don’t think he’s suicidal but that he’s likely to get himself hurt anyway.”

“Sit down, baby—” Bobbie got to her feet and guided Carly into the chair. “Are they keeping him?”

“Yeah. Dr. Collins and Dr. Winters—they signed the paperwork. They’re going to keep him up to sixty days.” She pressed her hands to her face. “Oh, God, Mama. He’s really sick. He’s seeing his mother and Lily, and he has been seeing them for months. That’s what he said that night, do you remember?”

“I do.”

“I didn’t see it. I didn’t know. He was suffering, seeing them, and then not being able to protect us—”

“Carly—” Lucas began, but Luke put a hand up.

“You couldn’t see it, baby, because you were hurting, too,” Bobbie reminded her gently. “And that’s why you had to leave. Because you couldn’t be enough to fix him. And Jason couldn’t see it because he has a family of his own who were hurting. No one, and I mean, no one wanted Sonny so tormented that he was haunted by Lily and his mother. This is not your fault.”

“If he’d gotten help years ago when these dark moods started to take over,” Luke said, “he’d have nipped it in the bud. But Lily’s death snapped something inside of him, and he’s been sliding towards the edge the years.”

“Without diagnosis and treatment, this was always going to happen,” Bobbie told Carly. “This is not on you or Jason. He was never sick enough before to force this. He is now. And he’s going to get help.”

“I need to call Jason. He, uh, he needs to know.”

General Hospital: NICU

Emily’s eyes were wide. “I’m sorry, what did Cody do?”

Elizabeth sighed and winced, readjusting the bottle against Cameron’s mouth. He was having trouble latching this morning, but she was determined to keep trying. “He was the source feeding information to the Zaccharas to set up false Ric sightings.”

Emily sat hard in one of the seats. “But—but he protected you. He seemed so good—”

“Apparently, his excuse was that he was protecting me. From Sonny.” Elizabeth pressed her lips against Cameron’s head. “He wanted to force Sonny out and thought he’d make Jason take action. He didn’t know I was so sick.”

“I guess…there’s a logic to it,” Emily said dubiously. “Jason must be pissed, though. I mean, to have a guy turn that’s so close—”

“That’s the strange thing. He’s not—I mean—he’s upset because of how things unfolded, but he told me I could do what I wanted with Cody. He’s going to talk to him, but it’s up to me if Cody stays as my guard or if he gets fired or whatever.”

“Wait, what? Why?” Emily furrowed her brow. “How can he leave that up to you? I mean, this is the business stuff. The guy betrayed you. Who cares about his motives?”

Elizabeth didn’t answer right away as Nadine came into return Cameron to the incubator. They chatted for a moment about his progress, and then when they were alone again, Elizabeth said, “I think Jason feels guilty. He didn’t do enough about Sonny, and it got to this point. When I think about everything Cody has seen—he heard all the fights Carly and Sonny were having. He knew how Sonny was treating me. And he was there that night in December.”

“The night Carly got locked in her room.”

“He helped break down the door.” Elizabeth bit her lip. “And part of me feels guilty, too. Carly and I set some of this in motion when we wanted a trial—”

“That is not on you! None of this—”

“I’m not saying—” Elizabeth paused, trying to collect her thoughts. “Of course, Carly and I didn’t know what would happen when we turned down that deal. When I asked Jason to let Ric rot in jail. But Jason made us both a promise, and he kept it. Even when it was causing issues with Sonny. That put us on this road. Jason standing by me and Carly against Sonny. And leaving Ric alive made it possible for Anthony Zacchara to kill him and start all of this.”

“But—”

“It’s not my fault, but I also—” She pursed her lips. “I know what Jason’s job is, Em. I’ve always known, and part of me knew that Ric should have had a different ending. It would have been the right way to handle it. And I know Carly only asked for the same thing because Jason had already agreed.”

“You needed it—”

“I did. But I never got it, and I’m okay. Carly—we’re going to get past this. It’ll take longer, and it’s worse now. I’m just trying—I’m trying to do the right thing for Jason this time. Part of me is glad Sonny is out of power. That all of this forced him to get help. And that part of me wants to let Cody stay.”

“But—”

“This kind of thing always gets out. I didn’t think of what leaving Ric alive would do to Jason and Sonny. This is my chance to get it right and to make sure Jason knows that I accept his life. All of it.”

Lucky & Kelsey’s Apartment: Kitchen

Kelsey passed Lucky the bag from Kelly’s and went to get some utensils. “I’m with Cruz — the silver lining of Dante losing his mind is we can buy his cooking.”

Lucky grinned as he removed the top from the bowl of chili, taking in the scent. “Almost smells as good as my Aunt Ruby’s. Maybe he’s found his calling.”

“Maybe. Cruz pointed out it’s better that he’s not wallowing upstairs at Kelly’s anymore. We just need to be patient, I guess.” She unwrapped her own burger and licked the ketchup off her thumb. “How was the doctor?”

“Good, good.” He blew on a spoonful of chili. “I’ll be back on the job next Monday, but I’ll be on desk duty another few weeks. They want me to wait until my ribs aren’t sore. They got cracked during the surgery,” he reminded her. “You okay with that?”

“Not wild about letting you back out there now that you’re one more good cop down,” she admitted, “but that’s just me being antsy. I’m sure you weren’t happy when I went back to work a month after brain surgery—”

“Not sure we can call twenty-three days a month—”

She rolled her eyes. “Semantics.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the file poking out of the bag she had dragged home from work. “Hey, do you remember a cop named David Case?”

Lucky furrowed his brows. “Sounds sort of familiar, but not really. Why?”

“He was around when you were a kid. Retired in 1997. He, um, he worked my dad’s accident.”

Lucky set down his spoon and looked at her. “You looked up your dad’s file? Why?”

She closed her eyes. This was never going to get any easier, no matter how many times she said it. “My dad was murdered, Lucky, and the PCPD covered it up.”

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Jason’s Office

He could have given this task to Justus. Could have asked Johnny or Francis or Bernie — or anyone else.

But Jason knew it had to be him. He needed to look Cody in the eye before Elizabeth decided what was going to happen to him. Maybe it hadn’t been fair to leave it up to her, but Cody had betrayed Jason to save her. She’d earned the right to be part of the decision.

He’d stood in the doorway of the NICU room, watching Elizabeth as she fed Cameron, giving up his turn so that she could have more time. Cody was the reason Sonny had lost his damn mind on Friday, but he hadn’t caused Elizabeth to cough up blood. In fact, Cody had saved her life by getting her to the hospital as quickly as he had.

Because Elizabeth had trusted him enough to let him stay inside the penthouse. Just like she had the summer before when she’d nearly died from the embolism.

What the hell was Jason going to do if Elizabeth decided to let him stay on as a guard?

“You wanted to see me?”

Jason got to his feet as Cody stepped into the doorway, his face hesitant. “Yeah. Close the door.”

Cody swallowed hard but did as he was asked, then turned back to face Jason. “You know.”

“Yeah. Justus didn’t tell me,” Jason added, “but the only person who could have set up what happened on Friday knew Sonny was being released.”

His face ashen, Cody nodded. He remained silent.

“I’m sending you to Puerto Rico,” Jason said. The guard blinked. “Not permanently. You’ll work under one of Johnny’s guys at the casino for a while. Elizabeth will decide what happens when she’s ready.”

“I—” Cody swallowed hard. “Can I—can I say one thing?”

“If you’re going to defend yourself,” Jason began, his blood heating up. He might understand why Cody had done it, but it didn’t change how angry Jason was or how much he wanted to smash in the guard’s face.

“No. There is no defense. I just—I never knew Mrs. Morgan was so sick. I never—I would have—” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“No, it doesn’t. Get out.”

To escape a world so great
Close your eyes now we float away
Close to the brink- oh it’s so colorful
Don’t be scared, just take my hand
As I walk to tomorrow land
Touch the light before
We all fall down
– Tomorrow Land, Leon Else

---

Saturday, March 6, 2004

Zacchara Estate: Study

“I wouldn’t move if I were you,” Jason said casually.

“Morgan—what—what the fuck—” Anthony sputtered.

“You won’t get out of here alive,” Trevor threatened, but then Claudia laughed—she couldn’t help herself.

“What the fuck are you laughing at, Jezebel?” Anthony demanded, his eyes wide with a blend of fear and fury that never boded well.

But Claudia was just too amused by Trevor’s boast to take in the threat. She waved her hand as the giggles continued. John rolled his eyes, tossed his book aside.

“She’s laughing at the idea that he can’t kill us all and get out alive,” John explained as if he were talking to five-year-olds. “He got in here once, he can get back out the same way.” He put up a finger. “If it matters, I don’t care about the two of them. Go for it—”

“You worthless excuse—” Anthony’s words choked off as Jason tightened the arm around his neck. Just a simple flex of his forearm. Claudia’s giggles finally subsided as she licked her lips. She did enjoy watching a handsome man at work.

“Where’s Ric?” Jason demanded. When no one said anything, he cocked the gun once more. “I’m not asking again.”

“Dead,” John said idly. He sat back down, picked up the book, and put his feet up on the desk. “Dad killed him a few months ago—”

“I should have drowned you at birth,” Anthony sputtered.

“Isn’t that how Mama died?” Claudia asked with an arch of her brow. “You goin’ after John? Let’s not pretend you’re father of the damn year.” She looked at Jason. “Dad got into one of his moods—you might be familiar with them with your crazy ass boss—and choked Ric. We dumped his body and deactivated the ankle thing.”

She picked up her wine and sauntered back to her seat. “Next question.”

“Claudia—”

“Then it is you making up the sightings,” Jason said. “Just like my guy said.”

Trevor scowled. “Your guy?”

“The man you thought you turned.” Jason’s lips curved into what some people might call a smile. Claudia thought it was scarier than the blank expression. “Didn’t do your homework on him.”

“Funny, they were just arguing about that.” Bored again, John got to his feet. “Look, can I go? They drag me in here every few months and pretend I’m inheriting this—but, ah, I’d just as soon blow it up.”

“Morgan, we can make a deal,” Trevor said. “Just—just let Anthony go. We—we tried something, but you know, it didn’t work. No harm done.”

Jason’s eyes flashed, and Claudia raised her brows. No harm done?  Morons.

“You want to make a deal?” Jason demanded. “You want me to walk out of here and let the two of you live?”

“What do you want?” Anthony demanded, his teeth clenched. “What can I give you?”

“My wife and son are in the hospital.” Jason clicked the trigger, and Anthony started panting, his face florid. “I should take something from you.”

Claudia licked her lips. She’d let him take her anywhere.

“What do you want?” Trevor demanded.

“Your son.”

John blinked. “Uh, what? Wait. I told you—” He got to his feet, the bored tone gone from his voice, replaced by threads of panic. Claudia hissed. “I don’t want any of this—”

“Which makes you perfect.”

“Morgan—” Anthony panted. “He’s my only boy—take the girl, I don’t need her—”

Claudia scowled. Asshole. She’d known it was true, but damn it—

“I want leverage,” Jason growled. “He comes to Port Charles for six months. Anything—and I mean anything—happens to my family—I’ll make sure you never see yours again.”

John frowned. “Wait—what the hell—”

“I can’t do that,” Anthony began.

“That sounds like a good plan,” Claudia said. John swung his gaze to her, betrayed. “No, John. You hate it here. Go to Port Charles. Daddy won’t do anything if you’re under Morgan’s thumb. And Morgan probably won’t keep you under lock and key.”

Anthony glared at her, but Claudia was unbothered. She needed eyes and ears in Port Charles, and John would be a great excuse for her to drop in from time to time.

She was so close to everything she wanted. Tonight was just a minor setback. She could make this work.

“Fine,” Anthony spat. “I’ll send the boy. Six months. I won’t lift a finger.”

“Doesn’t anyone care that I don’t agree?” John demanded.

“I’ll expect him within a week. Otherwise, I’ll be back, and this time,” Jason said coldly, “I won’t give you a warning.”

Jason shoved Anthony into Trevor, and the two of them went sprawling. By the time they got up and ran to the terrace, he was gone.

Anthony started barking demands to the guards to search the grounds, while Trevor called down to the entrance gate to run a security check.

But he was gone

Jason Morgan had managed to slip in and out of the estate without triggering even one of their alarms.

Kelly’s: Dante’s Room

Lulu leaned against the closed door and arched a brow at Dante as he stripped off his t-shirt he’d worn during his shift. “Should I put on some music?” she quipped. “You could do a little dance.”

Dante’s smile was thin, but it seemed genuine. “You don’t have to check in on me every day, Lu.”

“No, not every day. But definitely at least today.” She sat on the edge of the bed, watching with some disappointment when he replaced his jeans and t-shirt with a pair of sweats. “You haven’t said anything about Capelli resigning.”

“What’s the point?” Dante turned, then leaned against the dresser. “He’s gone, but that doesn’t change how the PCPD feels about me—”

“Yeah, but—”

“I’m glad for Lucky and Cruz. It’s one less piece of shit making their jobs harder.” He exhaled slowly. “I don’t know. Maybe I’d feel differently if we hadn’t found out about Sonny and Ferncliffe right after.”

“I guess.” Lulu waited a long moment. “I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do or say that would make any of this better.”

“There’s nothing.” He sat next to her, drew her hand into his lap. “But thanks for trying.” He brushed his lips against her forehead. “We’ll try the movies another day. You should get going.”

“I could stay—”

“Not tonight.” Dante softened the rejection with a squeeze of her hand. “I just kind of want to be alone.”

“All right. But I’ll be back to bother you tomorrow,” Lulu said.

“I’m counting on it.”

Sunday, March 7, 2004

Corinthos & Morgan Coffee House: Office

Jason cleared his throat, and Justus looked up at him, blinked. He tossed aside the pen and stood up from the desk. “Jason—I thought you’d go right to the hospital—”

“I’m on my way there,” Jason said. He stepped in and closed the door behind him. “But I wanted you to know what happened in Crimson Pointe.”

“Okay.” Justus hesitated. “I…drew up my resignation.” He slid it across the desk. Jason didn’t pick it up.

“The Zaccharas claim Ric has been dead all along, and I made it clear I could get to Anthony at any point if I wanted to. They’re sending the son up here for leverage. If they come at me again, I’ll take it out on him.”

They both knew Jason was bluffing, but Anthony and Trevor wouldn’t.

“Okay, then—”

“I know who it was.”

Justus watched him for a long moment. “Are you sure?”

“I am. As soon as you refused to tell me who it was and why he’d done it.” Jason pressed his lips together, waited a minute. “You and Bernie knew how sick Elizabeth was and wouldn’t have taken that risk. Cody probably thought he’d be there to protect her from Sonny. I don’t think we ever made him aware of how sick she was.”

At the mention of Cody’s name, Justus’s shoulders slumped. “What are you going to do?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” Jason sat, dragged his hands through his hair. “It would have been easier if it had been anyone else. Even Max. Anyone but Cody.”

“He did it for the right reasons, Jase—”

“Does that matter?” Jason demanded. He lifted angry eyes to look at Justus. “Anything could have happened—” He shook his head. “I should dump him in the lake,” he muttered.

Justus took a seat, picked up his pencil again. “He’s loyal to your wife. You told him that his first priority should always be Elizabeth. Maybe he didn’t know how sick she was—but he did know that Sonny was a threat to her.”

Jason cleared his throat. “Yeah.”

“He did what he thought was right, Jase.”

He leaned back, studied Justus. “What if Cody decides Elizabeth is threatened by me? You okay with him getting rid of me next?” He shook his head. “I can’t have it—”

“Don’t say it like Cody didn’t have a goddamn point, Jason,” Justus snapped. “He was on the door. He was with Elizabeth every damned day since Carly was kidnapped. He saw Sonny getting more and more violent—he saw that night in December when Sonny locked Carly up and shoved Elizabeth— Everyone knew this was out of control—you think Elizabeth wasn’t next? You think if Sonny had a few more chances—”

“Don’t—” Jason got to his feet. “I don’t need someone who doesn’t follow orders—”

“He did follow orders. You didn’t act. You didn’t protect your family. What was Cody gonna do?” Justus demanded. “No one was standing up to Sonny. You were letting him get away with all of it. No one believes you were actually going to put him on a damn plane! Cody took the chance to get rid of him. Be glad it didn’t end with Sonny in the ground.”

Jason picked up the resignation, stared down at it. Then looked at Justus. “I should have forced Sonny to get help last year. Or years ago—the first time he had a breakdown. But that doesn’t make what Cody did right—”

“No, it doesn’t.” Justus lifted his chin. “But it doesn’t make it wrong, either. So I’ll ask you again. What are you gonna do?”

Jason looked out the window, out towards the waterfront. “There are worse things in the world than a guard willing to go against me to protect my family,” he admitted. “And—he was there when she nearly died last year.”

“He never forgave himself for going downstairs the day Vinnie Esposito came to the Towers—for thinking they were right behind her—he let Vinnie send him away. He blamed himself, Jason. The same way you did. He took the chance to make it up to her. Don’t throw that loyalty away.”

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” Jason said finally. “But Cody isn’t ending up at the bottom of the lake. At worst, I’ll fire him.”

“And at best?” Justus asked.

“He and I will come to an arrangement I can live with.” Jason shook his head. “Not to mention, I’m not sure Elizabeth wouldn’t agree with you about waiting too long for Sonny to be dealt with,” he admitted.

“She might surprise you.” Justus nodded at the resignation letter in his hand. “You still want that?”

“Not unless you want to give it to me.”

Justus stared down at the letter, then slowly ripped it in half. Jason exhaled slowly, then nodded.

“I have to get to the hospital. I—Carly is meeting me there. She and Elizabeth deserve to know the truth about Ric.”

General Hospital: ICU

Not only was Elizabeth going up to meet her son for the first time, but Epiphany informed her that she was being moved from the ICU to her own room. She couldn’t contain her excitement.

“Your visits will be short at first,” Epiphany warned her as she and Patrick helped Elizabeth into the wheelchair. “But you’ll get to hold him for a few minutes.”

“That’s—even ten seconds will be something.” Elizabeth winced as she arranged herself in the chair. “Oh, man—”

“Yeah, you just had a baby, and your lungs were on fire for a while. Things are gonna hurt,” Patrick told her. “But I’m officially discharging you from my service.” He wagged a finger at her. “I don’t want to see you back here, got it? I mean it this time.”

“Got it.”

It was strange to think how much had changed—and humbling to remember just how far she still had to go before she could honestly put all of this behind her.

But today—today, she was going to hold her son for the first time.

“Hey,” she said to Emily as her best friend wheeled her into the NICU to get washed up and ready to hold Cameron. “How is he today?”

“Actually, his nurse has some good news for you,” Emily said. “But first—” She set the chair at the entrance to the room, and Elizabeth saw her son for the first time.

Cameron was lying on his side in the incubator, his eyes closed and covered with a protective shield, his mouth slightly open. His tiny chest was rising and falling—

“He looks…” Elizabeth pressed her fingers to her lips. “He looks good.” Her voice broke.

“He looks great, Mama,” Nadine told them. She helped Elizabeth sit in the chair that reclined back and arranged a screen in front of the door so that Elizabeth would be able to remove the top part of her gown so that Cameron was against her skin.

“He lost a little weight,” Nadine told them. “He was four pounds, two ounces at birth, and he dipped just below four—but that’s normal.”

“Right, I remember,” Elizabeth murmured as she watched Nadine gently open the incubator. Within thirty seconds, the nurse had laid Cameron against Elizabeth’s chest, then covered them both with a blanket. “What about breathing? Jason said there was a problem with his lungs—”

“We were able to take him off the ventilator today,” Nadine reported. “We replaced it with the nasal prongs—” She smiled at Emily. “He’s a tough guy. The latest imaging shows the leaks in his lungs are healing nicely.”

“I was so scared,” Elizabeth murmured. She touched the top of his fuzzy head, the hair thin and blond. “You know? I just kept thinking about all the bad that could happen. But he’s here.”

“He is. And he’s stronger today than he was yesterday. That’s a great sign. We’ll keep monitoring him, and of course, the family care he’s been receiving—he’s got a lot going for him, Mrs. Morgan.” Nadine smiled at her again. “Now, he’s up to five minutes out of the incubator, so I’ll give you some time.”

“It’s crazy,” Elizabeth said. She looked at Emily. “I loved him from the moment Monica told me I was pregnant. I knew that I would love him. Every day he grew inside of me, kicking and rolling—I couldn’t imagine loving him more—”

His heart fluttered against her skin, and Elizabeth closed her eyes. “And somehow I do. He’s beautiful, isn’t he?”

“He really is,” Emily said. “I’m just—” She pressed two fingers to her lips, then took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how scared I was that you’d never get to see him until right now.”

“Em—” Elizabeth looked at her. “If you hadn’t smacked some sense into me—I don’t know what I would have done.”

“That’s what I’m there for.” Emily smiled down at them. “And just imagine how much fun we’re going to have when you’re recovered from your surgery, and this little guy is running around.”

“I can’t wait. We’re going to have the best life, baby.” Elizabeth gently kissed the top of his head and then sighed when she saw Nadine returning through the glass windows. “It’s hard to give him up.”

“I know,” Emily said. “But Nadine said the time will increase—

“As soon as he can regulate his own temperature,” Nadine promised as she gently lifted Cameron from Elizabeth and returned him to his bed. Emily came forward to help Elizabeth put her gown to rights. “You’ll see, Mama. Time will fly, and he’ll be home before you know it.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

AJ set down a twenty, picked up his to-go cup of coffee, and turned only to nearly run straight into Bobbie. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you—”

“That’s all right.” Bobbie smiled and gestured at the waitress behind the counter. “Picking up an order, Penny.”

“Be right out, Ms. Spencer.”

Bobbie turned to AJ. “Picking up some food to take over to the hospital. I thought you were only in town overnight.”

“I was, but Grandfather wanted me to stay a few more days.” AJ rocked back and forth on his heels. “I’ll be heading back next week, I think. There’s a lot to do before I can come back permanently.”

Bobbie nodded, opened her mouth, then closed it. He sighed.  “Bobbie, is there something you want to ask me?” She pursed her lips and didn’t answer, so he continued. “Because you can. You’re Michael’s grandmother, and any hope I ever have of being in his life has a lot to do with you. I’m an open book.”

“I—” She sighed. “When I saw you just now, and you said you were staying a few more days, I was worried that you’re only staying in Port Charles to find out if Sonny will be held at Ferncliffe longer. We find out tomorrow if they’re holding him.”

“It’s in the back of my head, but it wasn’t the reason, Bobbie. I promise. I want to spend some time with my family.” He paused. “And I wanted to be sure I could be at the mansion again. It’s a lot of pressure. The old expectations. I didn’t manage to hold up before, and there’s more at stake now. If I screw up, I don’t just lose Michael. It’s the last chance I’ll get at ELQ, too.”

“That’s a fair point.” Bobbie put her hands in her coat pockets. “I’m rooting for you, AJ. I am. Even if it’s a bit selfish because I want my family away from Sonny for good. Not just Carly and the boys,” she added. “But Jason and Elizabeth. I don’t want Cameron to grow up like Michael has.”

“Bobbie—”

“So I know that my daughter may not deserve your patience, trust, or even your grace,” Bobbie continued, “but I’m hoping you’ll extend it anyway. For me. For Jason—”

“Jason—” AJ repeated tightly

“Who might not deserve it either after what happened with Courtney,” Bobbe cut in quickly. “But Elizabeth does. Her son does.”

“I—” AJ frowned. “Were things that bad here? With Sonny, I mean? Carly told me some things, and Grandfather’s added on to it, but everyone makes it seem like what happened to Elizabeth is Sonny’s fault.”

“I—” Bobbie hesitated. “It wasn’t,” she admitted, “but he made it worse. No matter what happens at Ferncliffe, I want him out of our lives.”

“I’ll do what I can, Bobbie, but it’s on Carly to keep pushing forward.”

Bobbie squeezed his hand. “I know. But thank you for hearing me out.”

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Carly stepped into the doorway, knocking on the open door. “Hey.”

Elizabeth smiled as she raised up the bed, her eyes tired but more alert than she’d been the day before when Carly had stopped by. “Hey.”

“Glad to be out of the ICU?” Carly asked. She sat next to the bed.

“And in real clothes,” Elizabeth continued, touching the loose shirt she wore. “I’m doing a lot better—I’m off Patrick’s service, and Kelly is releasing me on Wednesday, maybe. They just want a few more days of oxygen therapy and rest for my stitches, and then I’ll have the surgery in a few months. The final one, I mean.” She moved slightly on the bed, then winced from the pain. “Jason called. He told me he was asking you to meet him here.”

“Yeah. I figure—I mean, he told me the Zaccharas were behind the sightings, so I guess…” Carly rubbed her hands against her thighs, restless. “I guess maybe he has good news?”

“I’m not even sure what good news would look like at this point,” Elizabeth admitted. “But—I’m sorry to hear about Sonny. Jason said he’s in Ferncliffe.”

“Only for seventy-two hours. We find out tomorrow what happens next.” Carly smiled tensely. “I’m trying not to think about that.”

“I’m sorry, Carly.”

Carly sighed. “He needed the help. We all knew it. We just ignored it when it would have made a difference.” She was quiet for a moment. “I haven’t been able to go to the NICU, so how’s Cameron?”

She and Elizabeth were still talking about Cameron and his progress when Jason finally arrived. He offered a sheepish smile as he closed the door behind him. “I’m sorry I’m late,” he said. “I stopped upstairs, and—well—they let me bathe Cameron.”

“Really?” Elizabeth’s eyes lit up. She pressed her hands together with a beaming smile. “That’s great! I didn’t think we’d be allowed to do that so soon. I got to hold him for five minutes this morning. It was amazing.”

Jason brushed his lips over her forehead, lingering an extra minute, the expression on his face so intense and full of love for his wife and son that Carly had to look away.

“Nadine said you could have another five minutes in an hour,” he told her as he took a seat on the other side of her bed. “But Edward’s up there, now reading a book to him.”

“I think Cameron’s been read to more in his first two days than I was my entire life,” Elizabeth said with a laugh. “But I’m so glad he’s not alone.”

“He’s a lucky kid,” Carly said. She looked at Jason. “What happened in Crimson Pointe?”

Jason sighed and nodded. He took Elizabeth’s hand. “He’s dead,” he said simply. He looked at Carly. “Ric’s dead. Anthony killed him in a fit of rage back in November. They admitted it.”

Carly exhaled slowly, closed her eyes,  and let it sink in. Then she nodded. “Okay.”

“You’ve wondered that a few times,” Elizabeth said. She squeezed his hand. “The sightings felt wrong.”

“We were never able to verify any of them, but I don’t think—I’m not sure I let myself believe he was gone. I really thought he’d disappeared into South America,” Jason admitted.

Elizabeth held out her other hand until Carly took it. “Hey. What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t seem—” Carly’s voice faltered. “It doesn’t seem like it could be true. It doesn’t—but you believe them?” she asked Jason.

“Yes.” Jason looked at her, and she saw it in his eyes. “Ric went underground in November. I don’t believe he has the patience to wait this long. The sightings were a hoax to drive a wedge between me and Sonny. The Zaccharas thought it would weaken us. They didn’t realize—”

“They don’t know you very well,” Carly murmured with a tearful smile. “They underestimated you.”

“Jason—” Elizabeth waited until Jason looked at her. “Is it over? I mean, they went to all this trouble—”

“It’s over. We made a deal, and we can talk about that later, but they know I can get to them any time. If they’re stupid, then—we’ll see. But, yeah, it’s over. There’s not—Ric’s not coming back. Whatever happens next—you never have to see him again.”

“No trial,” Carly murmured. She closed her eyes. “God. After all that, Sonny gets exactly what he wanted. He wanted Ric to die quickly. Everything we went through, and this could have been over months ago.”

“No trial,” Elizabeth repeated. She bit her lip. “That’s okay,” she told Carly. “We—we’re okay. It’s over.”

“Yeah.” Carly forced a smile, nodding at her. “It’s over.” She squeezed Elizabeth’s hand again. “I’m glad to see you up and moving,” she said. “Let me know when I can see Cameron, okay? But—I need to go. I have to go.”

“All right.”

Jason followed Carly to the door. “Hey—you okay?” he asked as she went into the hallway. Carly turned back.

“I’m not sure,” Carly admitted. “I think—I just—I feel like there should be more. I never got—” She sighed. “It’s just one more thing Ric took from me. My marriage. He stole it from me, and he didn’t even have do it himself. His memory was enough. I’ll never be able to make him pay. Never look him in the eye and get justice.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason told her. “I know you and Elizabeth wanted to be part of that—to take him apart yourselves. I tried to make that happen.”

“I know. And your love and support—that’s what matters. I know how much I matter to you. And so does Elizabeth. That’s—I can let that be enough.” She hugged him fiercely. “We’re going to be okay. Whatever happens next. We’ll be okay.”

PCPD: Archives

Kelsey pulled a box off the shelf, coughing at the dislodged cloud of dust. She set it on the nearby table and reached for her bottle of water. Her father’s file wasn’t in the box listed on the inventory sheet. She’d spent hours combing through almost every single box that had been marked for 1994, thinking it had been misfiled.

She knew now, for sure, that something was wrong. Her father’s case wasn’t even in the electronic database that Mac had started after the serial rapist case blew up. The fact that files weren’t where they should be—

Just like last summer. Misplaced files just triggered all the alarm bells. If it wasn’t in this box—

Kelsey started to shift through the files — then breathed a sigh of relief when she found the file marked Joyce, Oliver. It was thin, which made sense. A single car accident wouldn’t need much. A report from the crime scene investigator, an autopsy report — that wouldn’t take up much space.

She picked up the report from the crime scene, then simply stared in confusion. Victim was declared dead on the scene. “This—this isn’t right,” she muttered. Her father had died at the hospital. Her mother had said so. She tossed it aside then looked for the investigation report from the primary.

David Case. She didn’t know who that was. He’d marked her father’s death as accidental. She could see it right there — the box marked on the form.

But how—

Underneath the report, she found the crime scene photos. Her stomach lurched.

Her mother had told her some of the truth. Her father had been found in his car, alone on Highway 41. The car had crashed into a sign for the Port Charles exit. It had been a single car accident.

But no one had ever told her that her father had been found with a gaping bullet wound in his head.

Execution style.

He’d been found slumped over the steering wheel, the passenger door still hanging open, indicating that someone else had been in the car and abandoned it.

His killer.