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.”

+18

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.”

+24

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.

+31

Cause sometimes shit don’t go your way, sometimes
And sometimes you gon’ have those days, yeah
And sometimes you’ll feel out of place
You can’t promise me it’ll be the same
Cause sometimes change
Sometimes, sometimes change
Sometimes change
– Sometimes, H.E.R.

Saturday, March 6, 2004

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Cameron’s first night was a long one. Despite his family’s encouragement, Jason didn’t sleep. He preferred to spend long stretches in the NICU, then trade places with someone so that he could sit next to Elizabeth.

He wanted to be there when she woke up, wanted his face to be the first she saw so that he could tell her that their son was okay. That Cameron had responded to treatment — and that Jason had been allowed to hold him twice.

It was nearly seven the next morning when her eyes began to flutter. Jason didn’t even hesitate — he pressed the call button so that someone could take out her breathing tube, then grabbed her hand to squeeze it.

She coughed, her eyes flying open when she couldn’t quite take a breath, looking panicked. Then she found his face—their eyes met—and she squeezed his hand back.

“Hey,” he murmured, bringing her hand to his lips. “It’s okay. They’ll take out the tube in a minute. You’re okay.”

Her other hand flew up to touch her abdomen. She clenched her hand into a fist.

“Cameron’s okay. You delivered him yesterday, and he’s in the NICU. He’s doing well,” he promised her. “He’s never alone. Monica is with him now. He was strong enough—I got to hold him.”

She closed her eyes, a tear sliding her cheek as she nodded. Finally, a nurse came in.

“Good morning, Mrs. Morgan,” she said with a smile. “Dr. Drake will be here in just a moment, and we’ll be taking out your tube.” She looked to Jason. “How long has she been awake?”

“Just a few minutes.”

Patrick arrived shortly after with a relieved smile. “Hey there,” he said. He looked at the nurse. “Epiphany, you ready for removal?”

Elizabeth gagged as the tube was removed, and Jason was ready with water to soothe her throat. She drank greedily, her lips dry and cracked. “Cam—” She said hoarsely. “He’s…okay?”

“He had some issues with his lungs,” Jason admitted. “But it’s common, and Dr. Devlin said that his lungs were already showing improvement the last time I was upstairs. I got to hold him,” he repeated. “They never would have let me do that if he weren’t doing well.”

She nodded, closing her eyes again, squeezing his hand. “He’s okay.”

“You’re okay, too,” Patrick told her. “Do you remember what happened yesterday?”

“I—Waiting for you,” she told Jason hoarsely. “Then…Sonny…and blood. I coughed—there was blood—”

“We stopped the bleeding, and your lungs are also healing,” Patrick said. “Everything went as well as it could, Elizabeth. Good work.” He made a notation on his chart. “We’re going to keep the morphine drip steady,” he told Jason and Elizabeth. “Between the lung issues and the Cesarean, she’ll be in some pain for a few days. Dr. Lee will be by to check her stitches and make sure that’s going well. But we, ah, we dodged a bullet here.” He lifted a brow. “Now, I know you’re jealous because you were my first patient at General Hospital, but that doesn’t mean I need you coming to see me every few months.”

Elizabeth managed a surprised laugh as she nodded. “Won’t—won’t make it a habit.”

“Great.” He flashed them both a grin before leaving.

“You’ll be on liquids for the rest of the day,” the nurse—Epiphany—continued. “But maybe at dinner, we can talk about some solid foods. You know where the call button is.”

When they were alone again, Elizabeth squeezed Jason’s hand again. “Sonny?”

Jason hesitated, but then he nodded. “I left him with Carly and Justus. They handled it. Kevin Collins—he signed involuntary commitment papers to Ferncliffe.”

Her eyes widened. “Jason.”

“Don’t worry about any of that right now.”

She smiled faintly as her eyes drifted closed. “Tired,” she murmured, forcing them back open.

“Sleep,” he said, kissing the inside of her palm again. “It’s almost my turn to go back up to NICU and hold Cameron. I think—I think Nikolas is going to come down and sit with you.”

“Never alone. I remember.” With her free hand, she brushed his cheek with her fingertips. “Never alone.”

“Never,” he promised as her eyes closed again and she slid into a more natural sleep. He watched as her chest rose and fell evenly. He’d never get tired of watching her breathe.

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Kelsey craned her head to peer into the window that looked into the kitchen. “Do we comment on Dante working here or let it go?”

“We let it go,” Lucky decided, stirring cream into his coffee. “Lu gave me the heads up, and if we don’t annoy him—” He stopped as his phone vibrated. “Hold on, it’s Emily—I need—” He stood up and headed out to the courtyard.

Cruz’s eyes followed him, concerned. “He’s still wincing when he walks.”

“Yeah, I know. He got an all-clear from the doctor—” Kelsey picked up a sugar packet and twisted it in her fingers. “I’m trying not to be worried. He won’t like it if I hover.”

“He really won’t.” Cruz sipped his coffee. “You doing better? I heard your mom was in town for a few days. I bet that helped.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kelsey paused. “Sort of. We had another fight about her coming to Port Charles, and she only came because she felt guilty.” She sighed. “Maybe I should be nicer to her about all of this, but am I insane for feeling like she’s overreacting? Dad died in a car accident ten years ago, but Mom acts like it was yesterday, like this town is poison. It’s been comforting for me to be here with people who knew Dad and loved him. To drive by our old house.”

“People react to grief in all kinds of way, Kelse—”

“Yeah, but Mom didn’t even let me say goodbye. I couldn’t go to his funeral, and we moved like five minutes later. Dad died in June, and then we were gone by August.” She shook her head. “It’s not right.”

They looked up as Lucky took his seat again. “Hey, what did what Emily say?” Kelsey asked.

“Giving me an update on Elizabeth. She’s out of the woods,” he reported. “And the baby is doing okay in the NICU. Plus, she wanted me to hear it from her—” Lucky hesitated. “Sonny got sent to Ferncliffe last night. Carly got Dr. Collins to 5150 him.”

“Involuntary commitment.” Cruz’s brows shot up. “That’s a tough sell. He had to be a threat to himself or others—”

“Which makes me wonder exactly what happened in that penthouse before Elizabeth had to be rushed to the hospital.” Lucky shook his head. “But it’s not a criminal case. She just wanted Dante to get the heads up. I, uh, better go let him know.” He got to his feet and headed for the kitchen.

“Man, I hope this doesn’t mess with Dante’s head more,” Cruz muttered. “He’s got enough problems without the sperm donor making it worse.” He focused on Kelsey. “You said your dad died in a single car accident, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. Coming back from an appointment with a client or something. I don’t know. It’s all mostly a blur.” She frowned. “Why?”

“I don’t know. Ten years is a long time not to get over a car accident, and I met your mom the last time she was here. When you were hurt last fall,” he reminded her. “She only stayed a few days. You had a brain injury. You’d think she’d stick longer. She and Scott were all tense every time I came into a room with them together.”

Kelsey tipped her head. “She was really angry about me coming here to work. You think it has something to do with him? He wasn’t even in around when my dad died.”

“It either bothers you enough to find out,” Cruz said, “or you can let it go. That’s going to be up to you.”

Kelsey sighed, looked back down at her partially eaten meal and let Cruz’s words roll around. How much did it really matter that her mother had some sort of phobia about coming to Port Charles? In the end, she’d shown up. Wasn’t that what was important?

But would it always be like this? What if they got married? Had kids? Would her mother always refuse to be part of her life as long as Port Charles was Kelsey’s home?

She wasn’t going to be able to let this go.

Brownstone: Foyer

Carly peered through the window next to the door and grimaced. This was the absolute last thing she wanted to deal with today, but —

She pulled open the door and folded her arms. “I thought you weren’t coming to Port Charles until the hearing was scheduled.” Or that he wouldn’t show up here without warning.

“I never said I wouldn’t come earlier,” AJ said. “And I waited until I saw Michael leave the house with Lucas. We made a deal, Carly, but this is still where my family is from—”

“Then come to Port Charles and see them. Why are you on my doorstep?” she demanded.

“Carly—” Bobbie appeared over her daughter’s shoulder, her brows drawn together in surprise. “AJ.”

“Bobbie.” AJ flicked his eyes back to Carly. “I wanted to touch base on the recent developments. Can I come in? Or if Michael’s coming back soon, can we meet somewhere else?”

“No, he’s—” Carly stepped back. AJ had a right to know what was going on, and it was just her own defensiveness, her own exhaustion, putting her on the attack. “Lucas and his boyfriend took him to a movie, then they’re going to Kelly’s.”

“Okay.” AJ stepped inside the foyer, waited for Carly to lead him into the living room before speaking again. “I wasn’t planning on contacting you on this trip,” he told her. “I flew in for some paperwork at ELQ and was going back tomorrow. But when I landed, it was in all the papers—”

“I know.” Carly scowled at the dining table where the pieces of the Herald were scattered. The media didn’t have the whole story, thank God, but it hadn’t stopped them from speculating. The Herald, as always, had taken the more respectful route, merely stating that Sonny Corinthos had been admitted Ferncliffe while the Sun gleefully reported Elizabeth’s hospitalization being connected. They were, but that wasn’t anyone’s business.

“I was worried,” AJ said, “based on what we talked about a few weeks ago.” He tipped his head. “What’s going on? If you can or want to talk about it.”

“It doesn’t affect the petition.”

“Carly,” Bobbie murmured. “Maybe—”

“It doesn’t,” she insisted. “In fact—” She jerked a shoulder. “It just makes me more convinced than ever that I need Sonny away from the boys, and he’s left me without a choice with Michael. If he can do that to Elizabeth—” she told her mother. “We begged him to get help—”

“Elizabeth?” AJ echoed. “I thought the Sun was just full of shit—”

Carly winced, turned back to her ex-husband. “It wasn’t,” she muttered. “Sonny flipped out, and Elizabeth had a health crisis. It’s not his fault, I don’t think. I mean, he didn’t hurt her. She was already sick, but the guards were dealing with him, and time was lost.”

“Is she all right? She’s pregnant, isn’t she?”

“She had the baby yesterday,” Bobbie told him. “He’s in the NICU. It looks okay for now, but it was a close call. And we’re all still a bit on edge.” She touched Carly’s shoulder. “I’m actually going to the hospital now, all right? I’ll call you.”

“All right, Mama.” Carly hugged her mother, then returned her attention to AJ. “Lucas and I are keeping Michael from the papers and from other people the best we can. He doesn’t ask about Sonny much anymore, and I’m going to take that as a good sign—”

“I know you said it doesn’t affect the petition,” AJ cut in, “but if Sonny’s at Ferncliffe—” He swallowed hard. “Doesn’t that mean he’s getting the help you wanted him to?”

Carly stared at him for a long moment, then looked away out the front bay window. She wandered over to it, her back to him. “I don’t know anymore. I can’t think that far ahead, I guess. Not yet. When I asked him to get help, it was right after I left in December. He didn’t do it.”

“But it’s happening now—”

“It’s a temporary commitment,” Carly replied. She looked at him again. “It’s just a 5150. If he stabilizes and stops threatening to kill people—” She cleared her throat. “He could be out and back, and we’re in the middle of this all again. He didn’t get help, AJ. I signed the damn papers after he threatened to kill Jason.”

AJ blinked. “He did what?”

“It’s a long story, and I don’t want to get into it. All you need to know is that it hasn’t changed my mind.”

“Not yet,” AJ added, and she frowned. “He could end up staying, Carly. He could actually get help. Does it matter that he didn’t want it?”

“I—why are you arguing with me?” she demanded. “You’re getting what you wanted—”

“I’m asking you not to make promises you won’t keep,” he retorted. “If you find out tomorrow what the hell is wrong with Sonny and that it can be treated, can you stand there and tell me you won’t take it back? We haven’t filed the damn petition yet, Carly. And if you don’t—” His face twisted. “I don’t know if I can come back to Port Charles, run ELQ, and still not be part of Michael’s life. I’m not strong enough for that.”

She closed her eyes but said nothing. AJ was right. What difference did it make how Sonny had ended up in Ferncliffe? Wasn’t what happened next more important? If he could get help, if they could find a piece of the man he’d been once—

If that happened, would Carly want to undo all of this? Would she still want Sonny in Michael and Morgan’s lives? God, it hurt so much to think about that possibility. It nearly stole her breath.

“I don’t know what happens if Sonny gets treatment and we get a measure of sanity back,” she finally said, her voice softer. “You weren’t in the room last night. You didn’t see—” Her hands were shaking as she brought them to her face. “You didn’t see what happened between Sonny and Jason. I’m sorry. I can’t pretend I have the answers today.”

“Okay,” he said. “Okay. That’s honest, and I can accept that. I have to prepare myself, Carly, for you to take it back. You always do.”

“I know what I’ve done before,” Carly said, flinching. “But I also have to prepare myself for you to start drinking again. You always do,” she threw back at him. “We’re both asking for a measure of trust here, and if you can’t do that, then I don’t know why we’re even bothering—”

AJ put up a hand. “Why don’t we leave it there right now?” he suggested. “You don’t know what’s going to happen with this 5150 thing yet, and I can occupy myself at ELQ with other things.”

“Fine. I’ll be in touch.”

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Elizabeth opened her eyes again and smiled when she saw Jason sitting at her side. “Hey,” she murmured. She fumbled for the controls and raised herself up, wincing slightly. The morphine had been dialed back a few hours ago, and she was starting to feel the pain. “I was hoping you’d be here when I woke up.”

“Hey.” He leaned forward to kiss her lightly, lingering another moment. “I was in the NICU when you were having dinner. I got to hold him again.”

“I’m so jealous,” Elizabeth said with a sigh. “Kelly came by while you were gone, too. She said I can go up to see him tomorrow. And if I’m up to it, I can hold him.” She smiled. “I get to catch up, right?”

“You can take as many turns as you want,” Jason promised, sliding her hair off her forehead with a smile. “You did the work, you should get the rewards.”

“Well, you’ll still get to spend more time with him for a few days. Kelly wants me to take it easy.” Her smile deepened. “It’s crazy, you know? I was so afraid to think about this part. I was sure that something terrible would happen, but I’m not scared anymore. I made it through the delivery, and the doctor said the CTEPH surgery itself isn’t so bad. We—we get to plan.”

“Yeah, we do.” He kissed the inside of her palm. “I—I have to go, though.” Jason hesitated. “I’m sorry. It’s just—something came up, and we—I have to take care of it.”

“What?” Elizabeth asked. Her eyes searched his. “What’s wrong?” He wouldn’t be leaving her or Cameron right now if it weren’t serious.

Jason paused, then nodded. “We know the Zaccharas were behind the sightings,” he told her. “We were right. They were hoaxes planted by Anthony and Trevor to screw with us.”

She narrowed her eyes. “So Ric was never in the country.”

“No. But it needs to stop. We need to know where he is, and we need to make this over,” Jason told her. “If it could wait—”

“But it can’t.” She nodded. “It’s okay. You know I understand. And I’m never alone here. Emily said Cameron isn’t either. It’s not just you and me anymore. We have so many people who love us. I’ll be okay until you come back.”

“I love you,” he told her. He got to his feet, and dropped a kiss on her forehead, then turned to find Bobbie in the doorway. “Hey.”

“Hey, my turn,” Bobbie said. She kissed his cheek. “Now get out of here and let me have my girl all to myself.”

“I’ll be back tomorrow,” Jason told Elizabeth.

“I love you, too,” she called after him. “See you tomorrow.” She smiled at Bobbie. “Have you been with Cameron?”

“Just finished my turn,” Bobbie told her. “Alan’s reading him another book.” She squeezed Elizabeth’s hand. “You did it, sweetheart. He’s here, and he is so beautiful.”

“I get to see him tomorrow,” Elizabeth said. Her eyes drifted closed. “I get to hold him.” She sighed as she slid back into sleep. “I can’t wait.”

Port Charles Municipal Building: Scott’s Office

Kelsey knocked on Scott’s slightly ajar door. He gestured for her to come in. “I should have known you would be here today—” She paused. “Do you ever go home?”

“Needed to distract myself with work. Thought about going to the hospital, but Bobbie doesn’t need me right now.” He sighed, leaned back. “You heard about Corinthos, I guess.”

“Yeah. Lucky’s parents are keeping him in the loop so that he or Lu can warn Dante. The press were at Kelly’s again. Someone leaked the 5150 to them.”

“Vultures,” Scott muttered. He shook his head. “Bobbie’s probably a mess, and I don’t want to think about how Carly felt having to sign that paperwork, but maybe it’s for the best.”

“Maybe. Lucky said Elizabeth is going to be okay. And the baby seems good. Did Bobbie tell you?”

“No, no, not yet.” Scott reached for some paperwork. “That’s good, though. Kid needed a break.” He focused on her. “You didn’t come here to update me on that, did you?”

“No, I came to ask you about my dad.”

“Your dad?” Scott frowned. “Why? What’s going on?”

“Mom left Port Charles so fast after Dad died, and she didn’t really want to talk about him.” She met his eyes. “For ten years, she’s refused to come back, and I’ve had to be almost dead or going through a crisis to get her here.”

“Kelsey—”

“So I guess I’m asking what’s going on. And why my mom doesn’t really seem to like you anymore. I thought it was because you offered me the job, but—”

Scott hesitated. “I think your mom took your dad’s death harder than anyone thought. I don’t know what to tell you.”

“But—” Kelsey shook her head. “That’s not okay. That’s not good for her to still be like this. Dad died a long time ago. She always said it was a car accident, but was that really it? I mean, accidents happen. It’s almost like she’s scared to be here. And she said something really weird when Lucky got shot—how it brought back things with Dad.”

“Kelsey—” Scott closed his eyes. “I’m asking you to let this go.”

“And I’m asking you for the truth. He was my father, Scott. That should count for something.”

He sighed, dragging his hand back and forth across his head. “I know that he was found in his car, I know that it was ruled an accident, and by the time I got to Port Charles for the funeral, the papers weren’t covering it. I never looked into it further.”

Kelsey swallowed hard. “How could you never look into it? He was your best friend—”

“Because your mom didn’t want to get into it. And at the end of the day, that was what mattered to me.” Scott hesitated. “Do you want me to pull reports now? Make  few calls?”

“No.” Kelsey shook her head. “No. I just need—I need to sit with it, okay? Because if I start doing any of that, I can’t go back. It might just make things with Mom worse, and I don’t want that.”

“All right. If you change your mind—”

“I’ll let you know.” Kelsey left his office and started down the hallway towards her own.

She’d lied to Scott, of course. He knew something he wasn’t telling her, and she didn’t trust him not to keep sugar coating the truth. She needed to pull the files on her own.

She needed the truth about her father once and for all.

Ward House: Kitchen

Tamika frowned when Justus walked through the door that evening. She set down Kimi’s dinner, then tightened the strap on her booster seat. “You’re home early.”

“Missed my girls.” Justus leaned down to kiss Kimi, then brushed his lips across Tamika’s. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She squinted, then shook her head. “Nope. That’s not it. Kimi, eat your dinner. Mama and Daddy have to go in the other room.”

“Don’t like mac,” Kimi said with a pout. She poked the noodles suspiciously. “Want cookies.”

“You get cookies when your plate is clean—and if you dump it on the floor—” Tamika said as Kimi lifted her plate. “I’ll just give you more.”

Kimi stuck out her tongue but then picked up her fork and started to shovel the food into her mouth.

“What is with kids today?” Tamika complained as she and Justus went into the dining room. “If I tried to talk back to my mother at three, my butt would be up close and personal with the back of a brush. Mama said I was too soft.”

“She’s eating, isn’t she?” Justus pointed. “Mikki, I’m fine. It was just a long day, and I wanted to be home—”

“It’s five, and you said you’d be working long hours tonight with Jason at the hospital.” Tamika raised her brows. “You wanna try a third time—”

“I can’t talk about it,” Justus muttered. “Let’s just—there’s something I know that Jason thinks he should. I disagree. And I’ll be out of a job again tomorrow because I won’t tell him.”

“Uh huh. Why aren’t you telling Jason whatever he wants to know if it’s bothering you, and you know you’re right?”

“Because I don’t know if I’m right,” he admitted.

“Oh, I cannot—” She sat at the table and folded her arms. “Look, I got spousal whatever, right? So just tell me what is going on.”

Justus grimaced, then sat in the other chair, arranging himself so he could keep an eye on Kimi in the kitchen, still working on her dinner. “We figured someone was feeding someone information about Sonny so that they could use it to make things unstable. The Lansing sightings? All made up. South America, the ones traveling up the coast — all a lie.”

“Well, direct hit then.” Tamika propped her chin on her hand. “You know who these someones are? They got a good reason?”

“Lansing is dead. And has been since November. I don’t know anything else about it,” he added quickly when Tamika widened her eyes in surprise. “But that’s the story. And Anthony Zacchara and Trevor Lansing wanted to use it to drive Sonny crazy because they thought it would make it easier for them to move in.”

Tamika nodded. “Sounds right. But they didn’t figure on Jason?”

“I’m not sure anyone ever knew just how much Jason was running things these last few months,” Justus admitted. “Sonny’s been in charge for a decade, and the only time Jason was in charge, he was a lot younger and got out within the year.”

“So you know who was telling these guys about Sonny, and you won’t tell Jason?” Tamika shook her head. “I don’t get it. That seems like a thing a person should know—”

“I understand why this guy did it, and I know he never ever thought it would backfire like it did yesterday. This guy—he wouldn’t have put Elizabeth in danger.”

“But he did, which is why Jason wants to set him on fire. Well, he sure knew who to dump this on to protect himself.” Tamika sighed. “I don’t envy you. I guess—I guess you gotta do what you think is right and hope Jason will understand one day.”

“Yeah. But I wonder—I think that if you were the one in danger, if it had been you and Kimi’s life this guy played with—” Justus took her hand in his. “I think I might want blood, too.”

“You might want it, baby, but you wouldn’t do it. You already carry enough guilt,” she murmured. She smiled at him, sadly. “You already have Damian Smith on your head. Don’t you go adding no one else, even for me and Kimi. Jason will either get that, or he won’t. You always made your limits clear to him. Don’t back down now.”

“I won’t.” He smiled at her, a relieved expression. “I love you.”

“Love you, too. And hey, I think I can get your mind off of this.” She got to her feet. “Portia came to work today with her own surprise. Kimi’s going to get a cousin in about eight months.”

“A cousin? Portia—” Justus winced. “Oh, hell, does that mean my niece or nephew is gonna be related to Taggert—”

“But don’t say anything yet. She hasn’t told him.”

“Wait, I know, and he doesn’t? Damn it—”

Her laughter echoed from the kitchen as he scowled.

Quartermaine Mansion: Terrace

It was still a bit chilly for afternoon tea, but few things stopped the indomitable Lila Quartermaine. She was bundled up with her hands left free to clutch the delicate porcelain teacup Reginald handed her.

“I’m so pleased you’re coming home,” Lila told AJ. She looked to Edward. “Your grandfather was just telling me how well you’ve done in New Orleans.”

“And we need a dedicated CEO here,” Edward told him. “Ned’s too busy, and there’s conflicts of interest. I’ll be happy to hand over the last of it—”

“You’ll never hand over the last of anything,” AJ said dryly. “But that’s an argument for another day.” He skimmed his eyes over his grandmother once more, reflecting on what Ned had told him. His grandmother had always felt immortal to him before, but his cousin was right. Lila was fading. “I appreciate the vote of confidence.”

“Well, I’m pleased to hear that you and Carly are coming to terms finally on young Michael. It’s a goddamn shame what she’s been through this year,” Edward offered gruffly, “and that insane bastard she’s stuck with—”

“Edward,” Lila murmured.

“I’m sorry, Lila, but after yesterday, I won’t hold back. I spent a few hours at the hospital this morning,” he told AJ. “You wouldn’t believe how little Cameron is or how pale poor Elizabeth is. After all Jason did for that man—”

“You’ve seen Jason’s son?” AJ cut in. “I thought he was in the NICU—”

“He is, but board members get a little bit of privilege. And Jason’s been slowly warming up to us these last few months. Finally seeing Sonny for who he is,” Edward said with a nod. “We were invited to the wedding.”

“It was lovely,” Lila said. “It’s wonderful that you and Alan are finally reconnecting with Jason.” She hesitated, looked at AJ. “I hope that you will find the same peace with your brother.”

AJ wasn’t holding out much hope that Jason would ever let him back in, and AJ didn’t think he really wanted to. Not after Jason had helped break up his marriage— “I don’t know about that, but Jason will have to put up with me if Carly goes through with the custody petition.”

“And after last night, I doubt any family judge will let that man near those boys. He’s not fit to raise a cockroach,” Edward muttered.

“We still need to get in front of a family court,” AJ reminded him. “Carly could change her mind at any point, and as much as I want to be with my son, I don’t want him hurt anymore.”

“I know it’s hard to trust her,” Lila said, “but she really has come a long way this year.”

AJ had no doubt of that. He remembered the shaky woman that had come to New Orleans the month before asking for help. But the weeks had passed, and the Carly he’d seen that morning was as bristly and unfriendly as he remembered. “I’m going to take it one step at a time.”

“And you should,” Lila said. “Trusting someone who’s hurt you before can be quite terrifying, my darling, and I know how badly she’s hurt you. I know how it hurt to lose Michael and be shut out of his life.”

AJ’s throat tightened. He looked down at his own cup of tea, lukewarm and nearly unpalatable. “How can I be sure it’ll be different this time?”

“You can’t, dear, but that’s what makes trust such a fragile and dangerous exercise. Someone has to be the first to offer their hand and ask for help. Carly has done that. You reached back. Now comes that most difficult moment—” Lila paused. “You have to hold on.”

“I don’t know if I can, Grandmother,” AJ admitted.

“Of course you can. Your grandfather hasn’t always deserved my trust,” Lila said, flicking her eyes to Edward, who made a face. “But we’ve held on to each other. When one of us faltered, the other never let go.”

“Carly and I aren’t—”

“It’s not so different,” Edward said. “You may not be married any longer, but you share a son, and there were times when I know you only held on for Alan and Tracy,” he said to his wife, who smiled fondly but did not argue. “It can be enough.”

“For Michael, for the chance to be his father, I can try.” One more time, AJ finished silently. Just once more.

Zacchara Estate: Study

Claudia leaned back in her chair, enjoying the show.  She smirked and sipped her wine as Anthony and Trevor cast blame on each other for screwing up the plans.

“You should have done a better background check!” Anthony snarled. “You’re lazy! You’ve always been lazy! You should have demanded a meeting in person!”

Trevor hissed, throwing up his hands, whirling away from Claudia’s father. “Ah, you’re nuts! It’s not my fault he balked at the last minute! You’re the one that got us into the mess!”

“I’m the one? I’m the one?” Anthony repeated, his eyes bulging. His face was flushed red as he stabbed a finger at Trevor. “Whose fucking idea was it to send your idiot son to Port Charles?”

“It was a good idea—it should have worked,” Trevor retorted. “You’re the one—”

Claudia glanced over at her distracted brother, who had been ordered to sit in on the meeting since, as Anthony always said, this would all be his one day. She snorted. It’d be nice if they noticed that John didn’t give a shit about any of it and was only counting down the days until his mother’s trust fund was released to him. Then he was out of here.

“How much longer do you think they’ll do this?” she asked. John Zacchara glanced up at her from his book and made a face.

“I don’t know. I still don’t know why either of us are here.”

“So they have someone to blame at the next meeting.” Claudia wandered over to the bottle of wine left out to chill. She refilled her Merlot and resumed watching the spectacle. Eventually, Anthony and Trevor would calm down—one of them would figure out how to blame Claudia, tell John to go run an errand—and then they’d come up with a new plan.

Just another day in paradise.

Except tonight—it didn’t go that way. The third time Anthony stalked past the glass double doors that faced their back terrace, she saw his shirt flutter in the slight breeze.

One of the terrace doors was ajar—just slightly pushed open, letting in some of the chill of the March night.

She set the wine glass down, but before she could do or say anything,  a dark figure shoved the door open the rest of the way and grabbed Anthony from behind, jerking his head back.

Jason Morgan had materialized out of seemingly thin air like a goddamn magician, the barrel of his gun at Anthony’s temple, the click of the hammer ominous in the silent room.

+16

They didn’t have you where I come from
Never knew the best was yet to come
Life began when I saw your face
And I hear your laugh like a serenade
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I’m never, never giving you up
– Lullaby, The Chicks

Friday, March 5, 2004

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

“Are you sure about this?” Bobbie asked as a guard let Kevin into the penthouse.

“As sure as I can be about anything, Mama.” She smiled hesitantly at Kevin. “Thanks for coming so late. We had to wait until Sonny was—until he was awake.” They’d sedated him after the confrontation with Jason, and he hadn’t stirred until an hour ago. Max and Cody were both standing guard upstairs.

She’d been surprised when Elizabeth’s guard hadn’t returned to the hospital, but maybe he’d figured he could protect Elizabeth better by making sure Sonny stayed away.

“Not a problem,” Kevin said. “You said it was an emergency.”

Luke emerged from the kitchen, sliding his phone into his pocket. “Laura said that Lucas and Felix are taking over for her,” he told Carly. “Morgan’s asleep, and they’ve got Michael watching a movie. He said don’t worry—he’ll take care of them tonight.” He looked at Kevin. “Hey, Doc.”

“Luke,” Kevin said with a nod. He focused on Carly. “What’s the situation? You didn’t say much on the phone.”

“Um, last summer I told you Sonny was having problems.” Kevin nodded. “The hallucinations—they’re back. And what’s—what’s been going on with his violent episodes at the Brownstone—the breaking in, the assault on Lucas and Felix—and then today—he barged in on Elizabeth—” Carly pressed a fist against her stomach, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. “Her guard said she was dizzy and struggling to breathe, but Sonny didn’t seem to notice. He just kept screaming at her—he had to be physically removed.”

Kevin lifted a brow. “And you think this is an indication of a mental illness?”

“Sonny’s had issues for years. He gets into these moods where he’s angry, paranoid—sometimes he loses track of time. He was doing that last summer. The hallucination—um, that was new for me, but Courtney saw them last summer. So did Mama.”

“Jason told me that it wasn’t the first time,” Bobbie said. “Apparently, Sonny has hallucinated Lily off and on through the years, and a long time ago—he saw his mother.”

“Has he consented to talk to me?”

“I’m hoping you’ll sign a commitment paper. I want a 5150.” Carly folded her arms. “Mama said you can do that if you think he’s a danger to himself or others.”

“I can send him to Ferncliffe for up to 72 hours. After that, I’d need two doctors to sign off on a further commitment.” Kevin raised an eyebrow, looked at the trio of them. “Do you think that’s necessary?”

“I think—” Bobbie hesitated, looked at her daughter. “I think we should have called someone months ago when it happened the first time. But Carly was missing, and I left the decision up to Jason. If you don’t agree, Kevin, you can say so. I just—what happened today—what’s been happening—”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it,” Kevin said, holding up a hand. “Carly has mentioned enough during our sessions that I’m sure Sonny would benefit from speaking to someone. And yes, he has acted out violently based on the charges pending against him. In any case, I’ll need to assess him—”

There was a crash from upstairs and raised voices. “Mr. C!” Max shouted. “You gotta—”

“I don’t have to do anything! Where the hell is he? I’ll kill him!” There was more shouting, the sound of someone being thrown against a wall—

Luke shoved Bobbie and Carly behind him as Sonny barreled down the steps, Max and Cody on his heels. Cody dove, tackling Sonny as he reached the door. And still, Sonny fought like a madman.

“Let me go! He tried to—I’m going to kill him! He can’t take what’s mine!”

“Sorry, Mrs. C,” Max said, panting as he and Cody got Sonny on the ground. “We tried—”

“That bitch! She’s next—”

“I’ve heard enough,” Kevin said. He set his briefcase on the coffee table, took out some paperwork as well as a small medical kit. “I’ll give him a sedative, and we’ll get him transported to Ferncliffe tonight.”

Scorpio House: Front Porch

Mac hesitated when he saw Felicia waiting outside his door, swaying gently on the swing he’d installed when she and the girls had lived with him. He paused on the front walk. “Did we have plans?”

“No. But Anna called.” Felicia tipped her head and patted the area next to her. “She said Scott was going to find you about Capelli, and thought you might need some one to talk to.”

“Nothing to say.” But Mac sat down anyway. “Capelli was a thorn in our side and now he’s gone. They’re doing what I couldn’t—cleaning up the department.”

“I know this has been hard, Mac—”

“I heard on the scanner that a pregnant woman was being rushed into the hospital, coughing up blood.” Mac stared out over the street. “Based on the address called in from 911, it was Elizabeth.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“We did the best we could with the Lansing case,” Mac said slowly. “I think, with hindsight, you can look back and point out where we could have done better, but all in all, we found Carly within a week. Elizabeth had refused all offers to help and she’d chosen to stay. She knew she was being drugged more than just that one night. Taggert and the others can see that as being on them, but at the end of the day — she was an adult and she made her choices.”

Felicia said nothing, and Mac continued. “We had tunnel vision, sure. But after everything that had happened with Alcazar the year before, it just made sense to focus on what we knew.” The swing gently swayed again. “But the rapist case — there’s nothing I can do about that. I screwed it up. Things were going south for us already, I could feel it, you know—” He met her eyes. “The Outback was failing, we weren’t connecting, and the Quartermaines were breathing down our necks. Floyd wanted Baker to go away, and the only hold up was was the rape case. It was a weak case, and I didn’t think we’d get anything in a lab report. I believed her,” Mac murmured. “He’d confessed. So when Floyd wanted it to go away, I did it. I thought it was the right thing to do.”

“I know you did, Mac—”

“I was looking for a reason to make it go away. I should have thought about the crime. Baker had no history of sexual violence. He couldn’t even bring himself to hurt Emily or Elizabeth when he held them hostage. I knew that then, Felicia. I believed her,” he said painfully, “but in the back of my head, I wondered. I put it away, I made it disappear. Because it was easier.”

He closed his eyes. “For months, I’ve been trying to make peace with this. Since Brooke was attacked and I thought about the park. Since her statement came in and it matched Elizabeth’s. But I kept trying to hide it. I tried to keep her case from being reactivated. I should have been the one to leak it, not Scott. He knew it was time to get rid of Floyd, but I knew I’d go with him. And I needed to make it right.”

He scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “Vinnie was one of my guys. For years. We’ll never know how many women he hurt. How many he got away with, how many never reported.” His voice faltered. “Because I chose the easy way out and buried that dress in the archives. All those women were hurt because of me. Brooke is dead because of me.”

“Mac—”

“It all leads back to that decision,” Mac insisted. “And now, Elizabeth is fighting for her life. For her child’s life—how much extra stress did she put her on her body because of that case?” He exhaled roughly. “Scott and Taggert—they can dig themselves out of their bad choices. Out of the mistakes. But I can’t. There’s no redemption for me.”

General Hospital: ICU

Shortly after eight that evening, Elizabeth’s final procedure had been completed, and she’d been transferred from recovery to the ICU. Back behind the clear walls that Jason knew she hated.

“The embolization went well,” Monica told him in the hallway as Patrick completed the transfer and spoke quietly to a nurse. “Have you been up to see Cameron?”

“Yeah,” Jason said. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I couldn’t stay—they had to—” He exhaled slowly. “There’s a problem with his lungs.”

She inhaled sharply. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to Kelly after we completed delivery—” Monica turned to face him more directly. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a leak in his lungs,” Jason said. “I, uh, I haven’t been able to—look into it—the doctor said it was common. It’s some kind of emphysema. He’s on a ventilator and medication to help his lungs develop.” He stared into the hospital room, where Elizabeth lay on her own ventilator. “How much longer will she have to be on the ventilator?”

“Through the night. We stopped the bleeding, but the next few hours are critical—not for her life—” Monica added quickly as Jason whipped his head back to look at her. “But to see if the embolization holds without having another procedure. We want her lungs to begin healing, and they can’t if we have to go back in.”

“But—Patrick said she’d be okay?”

Monica gestured to the man in question who exited the room, leaving the sliding door partially ajar. “Patrick?”

“Elizabeth is out of danger,” Patrick told Jason. “We took a full history from the guard who brought her in—the worst of the bleeding didn’t start until just before they pulled up to the hospital, and Monica said she didn’t lose consciousness until she arrived. Those are good signs.”

“Should he have waited for EMTs?” Jason asked quietly.

“No,” Patrick said. “EMTs might have been able to intubate her faster, but she wouldn’t have needed it right away. She got to the hospital within ten minutes, and the massive hemoptysis didn’t cause any lasting oxygen deprivation to the brain.”

“We thought it might have, which is why we prioritized Cameron’s delivery,” Monica finished. “But all in all, Jason, we were very lucky. She wasn’t alone, and Cody acted quickly. She was at the hospital by the time the real crisis happened and was treated right away.”

Elizabeth looked so pale, her eyes sunken circles against her skin. A tube was taped to her face to keep the ventilator in place. Another echo of last year.

“Thank you. For taking care of her.” He hesitated. “Can I sit with her now?”

“Go for it,” Patrick said, marking something on the chart. “We’ll be in and out all night keeping our eye on her vitals. Tomorrow, we’ll do more imaging to make sure the bleeding is taken care of, but all in all, she can be discharged when Dr. Lee releases her from her service.”

“Really?” Jason blinked at him, surprised. “I—”

“It looks worse than it is,” Patrick said as Monica breathed her own sigh of relief. “Yeah, coughing up blood is bad, and she lost some blood she couldn’t afford to lose. But the embolization was non-invasive, and a lot of the time we’d do this kind of procedure with an overnight trip.” He set the chart back in the slot by the door. “I’ll come back in a bit.”

“The ventilator is just precautionary,” Monica reminded Jason after Patrick had left. “Why don’t you go sit with Cameron? I’m off, and I can stay with Elizabeth—”

“Edward is with him,” Jason murmured. He looked at Monica, a bit uncomfortable. “He said Grandmother was worried, so he came to the NICU. He’s up there now. And Emily and Nikolas said they’d stay tonight. ”

“I’m surprised you agreed,” Monica said. “I knew—I knew you were getting along better with Edward, but—”

“Elizabeth likes him,” Jason said. “And I wanted to be down here when Elizabeth came back to the room. I told him I’d relieve him when Emily got off her shift and Nikolas came back from getting them dinner.”

“Well, I’ll go check on my grandson anyway.” Monica hugged him. “This was scary,” she murmured as she drew back. “But we got through it, and they’re both going to be okay. We can start thinking about the next step.”

“I just—I’ll feel better in a few hours,” Jason replied. “When Elizabeth wakes up. Or when they tell me Cameron’s strong enough for me to hold.”

“We’ll get there, Jason.”

Monica patted his arm one more time, then walked towards the entrance of the ICU. Jason went into the room, and before he sat down, took the rings out of his pocket. He sat down, picked up Elizabeth’s left hand, and slid them back on her finger.

“Hey.”

He turned to find his sister at the door. “Em. I thought you were working a few more hours—”

“My resident took pity on me,” she said. She wandered into the room and stood at the foot of the bed, a heavy sigh. Emily brushed away her tears. “I’m glad it’s over, but I was really hoping I’d never see her in another ICU. Not like this.”

“Yeah.” He looked down at Elizabeth’s hand, at her fingernails. They were unpainted because she couldn’t wear polish in the hospital. It felt wrong to see them look like this—without bright reds or golds or any of her other favorite colors.

“I checked on Cameron before I came down,” Emily told him. “I saw Grandfather. He’s telling him stories about Grandmother and about you growing up.” She tipped her head to the side. “You know—his emphysema—it’s common—”

“Yeah, the doctor said that. But he also told me Cameron might need surgery if it doesn’t heal on its own.”

“He’s a strong little boy.” Emily stood behind him, wrapped her arms around his shoulders to hug him lightly, resting her cheek against his. “Think of everything he’s already lived through. Think about who his mother is. That kid could run the world if he wanted to.”

Jason exhaled slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I am.” Emily wandered over to the other side of the bed, took the other chair. “I remember coming home last year for your wedding—having breakfast at Kelly’s. Do you remember that day?”

Jason hesitated, then located the memory. “Yes. You were mad at me.”

“For lots of reasons,” Emily admitted. “But mostly, I was worried. She looked so unhappy, so unhealthy—all the signs were there. I still wish sometimes that I had dragged her with me to California, but I’m glad she stayed, and that she worked with you to find Carly.”

Jason nodded after a long moment. “I am, too. Not that she got sick, but—” He looked at his sister. “It changed everything.”

“Whenever I have that image of her—that day at Kelly’s—I also remember another day. The day Vinnie was sentenced.” Emily smiled at her brother. “I was so proud of her. I mean, she kicked ass at that press conference, don’t get me wrong. But to stand in front of the man who’d done so much evil—and to wipe the floor with him—she looked so strong. Thank you.”

“She did all the work to get there,” Jason said with a shake of his head. “I didn’t—”

“But you were behind her. She felt strong enough to do whatever needed to be done because she knew—she knew she wasn’t alone. Elizabeth hadn’t been able to trust that in so many years, but you gave her that back. She knew you’d be there. Just like you’re here now.” Emily hesitated. “Do you know what I mean?”

“Yeah.” Jason looked at Elizabeth’s face, wished her eyes were open so she could see their son. So that he’d know she was okay. “She did the same thing for me.”

Emily tilted her head. “Yeah?”

“That week. I wanted her to go. To be safe. But she stayed for me. For Carly. Sonny was—” He grimaced. “Sonny was useless, and Bobbie—she was there—but Elizabeth never stopped trusting me. And she made me believe we’d find Carly. I never gave up. Because she didn’t.”

“Speaking of Sonny…” Emily bit her lip. “I didn’t—what happened?”

“It’s done,” Jason said simply. “I can’t trust him. I can’t trust him with his own family, much less mine. I don’t trust him, and neither do any of the men who work for us.”

“Ah.” Emily sighed. “So…you’re in charge again.”

“Yeah. It’s the only way I can be sure my family is protected. Carly said she’ll deal with Sonny.” Jason kissed Elizabeth’s hand and looked at Emily. “Can you stay with her for a while? I have to meet with Justus and Bernie, and I want to stop in with Cameron first. It can’t wait,” he added when she wrinkled her nose.

“No, I guess not. Yeah, I’ll be here.”

Zacchara Estate: Study

Trevor paced the study, tossing occasional glares at the phone that wasn’t ringing, and swore under his breath. Across the room, sprawled at his desk, Anthony wasn’t any happier.

Their contact inside the Corinthos organization had been scheduled to make contact three hours ago. He’d never called and now wasn’t returning their phone calls—in fact, the last one had been blocked.

“This was your plan,” Anthony reminded him as he got to his feet and started to prowl the room. “You thought we should make the best of things.”

“And it worked,” Trevor said, his teeth clenched. “We rattled them—”

“Did we? Because if the fucking mole isn’t in contact with us now, then who knows what’s going on?”

“Maybe Morgan caught on to him,” Trevor suggested. “Maybe he’s lying low.”

“Or,” came another voice from the doorway, “he was never working for you.”

They both turned to look at the woman lounging in the doorway, dressed in a skintight dress the color of blood. She examined her nails, painted an identical shade of red. She looked at them and smirked, tossing back her raven-colored hair.

“Who the hell asked you, Claudia?” Anthony growled at his oldest child.

Claudia straightened and sauntered into the room. “No one. Which is why you’re in this mess. Your mole? Your guy on the inside? If you’d done the slightest bit of research—” She sighed. “You would have known why he’s not calling you now.”

“She’s just bluffing,” Trevor muttered, leveling a malevolent gaze. “She doesn’t know anything—”

Claudia shrugged, unbothered. “Fine. Then don’t believe me. But it’s not a coincidence that your mole decided to go dark when Jason Morgan cut ties with Sonny Corinthos.”

Anthony scowled at his daughter. “How the hell do you know what’s going on? Who’s talking to you?”

Claudia ignored the question. “That’s what he wanted all along. Now Jason’s in charge.” She grinned at her father and his lawyer. “And you’re all going to pay for being stupid.” She sauntered out of the room as slowly as she’d entered.

“You hate to see it,” she sighed as she pulled the door shut. “You really do.”

General Hospital: NICU

Jason hesitated when he arrived at Cameron’s room, surprised to find Alan sitting next to the incubator, reading a book out loud, his voice slightly muffled by the mask he wore.

Alan must have heard his footsteps. He looked up, his eyes crinkled with delight, which was quickly replaced wariness. “Jason. Father had to take care of something with the hospital board, so I took over. I hope that’s all right—”

“Uh, yeah, of course.” Jason tugged at the collar of the yellow gown he’d been asked to wear over his clothes. “How is he?” He stepped into the room, looked down at Cameron. At the tiny little boy on a ventilator.

Before yesterday, Jason had mostly thought of the NICU in abstract terms. He’d read all the available material, understood that Cameron would survive with few complications, and that had been enough for him. He hadn’t been able to picture what it would be like to see their son on a ventilator with a miniature tube that matched his mother’s.

Now Jason understood Elizabeth’s desire to delay this moment—to give Cameron a better chance. He might not have developed the emphysema if he’d been delivered at thirty-five weeks.

“Responding well to his treatment,” Alan reported. “And getting stronger by the hour. Have you seen his doctor?”

“No, not yet—”

“Mr. Morgan!” the bright, cheerful voice of Nadine Crowell, the nurse assigned to Cameron, was almost like a stab of an icepick in his brain. Jason turned to find the blonde behind him. “I’m so glad you came up. I was just coming to tell Dr. Quartermaine that Cameron’s latest test results came in, and we can start skin to skin.”

Jason blinked. “Already? I hadn’t—” His voice was tight. “Elizabeth—she should—”

“She won’t be able to come up for a day or two,” Alan murmured. He set the book aside and got to his feet. “And you know how important kangaroo care is.”

“Didn’t Marcie at the front desk tell you? That’s why we asked you to shower before you came in to visit,” Nadine told him as she directed him to take a seat. “Right now, Cameron can only be outside of the incubator for two, maybe three minutes.”

“What about the ventilator?”

“We’ll be very careful, Daddy,” Nadine promised him. “Now, uh…” Her cheeks flushed. “You need to take your shirt off. We, uh, take the skin part very seriously. I’ll just—” She moved over to Cameron to busy herself getting him ready.

Jason didn’t even think twice. He took off the yellow gown and his blue t-shirt, handing both to his father.

“Ready?” Nadine asked. “I want to be very quick so we can maximize his skin time.”

“Ready.”

With a quick, practiced hand, in less than ten seconds, Jason was holding his son for the first time, the tiny ventilator detached for the moment. Cameron barely weighed four pounds, but at eighteen inches, he stretched across most of Jason’s torso. Nadine covered the baby with a blanket, then stepped back, beaming. “I want to give you some time alone, but I’ll be back in two minutes.”

“I can go—” Alan started, but Jason looked at him, shook his head.

“No, you can—you can stay. If—” Jason hesitantly touched Cameron’s head, felt the flutter of his heart against his own. “This—Elizabeth didn’t want him to go through this.” He met his father’s eyes. “I was angry with her for risking her life.”

“You’re not anymore?”

“No. I—” He looked over at the incubator. “It’s hard to see him like this,” he admitted. “Everyone keeps telling me how strong he is and how much he’ll fight, but I—” Jason closed his eyes, took a deep breath. “I wish he didn’t have to.”

“We always want our children to struggle less than we did,” Alan murmured. “We try to arrange the world so it can’t hurt them. The Quartermaines have a terrible track record at this, mind you, but it’s why my father wanted me to go into business. He couldn’t help me with medicine. He didn’t know anything about that. And why I was so relieved you wanted to be a doctor. Because I could—I could smooth the way. Take care of you.”

Jason looked up at him. “But you couldn’t do that after the accident.”

“No. And every time I tried to take care of AJ, I only made it worse. My children apparently do better without me.” Alan’s expression was wry. “But that’s a good thing. No one pushes around a Quartermaine. Or a Morgan, for that matter,” he added.

Nadine stepped back in, her expression filled with regret. “I’m so sorry, but—”

“It’s okay. I know it can’t be long for now—” Jason touched Cameron’s head one more time, then Nadine lifted him and had him settled back in his bed, the ventilator reattached. “Thank you,” he said as he took the shirt his father handed him. “How often—”

“Right now, we can probably manage two minutes every few hours,” Nadine said. “As his lungs improve, within a week, maybe ten minutes. He’s doing well,” she assured him. “A tough kid.”

Jason put back on the gown and sat back in the chair, looking at Cameron as his tiny chest rose and fell. “Thank you for sitting with him. Emily—” He looked at Alan. “Emily was putting together a schedule. Because I don’t want him to be alone, and I can’t—”

“You can’t be here every second. She said something about it.”

“If you—” He thought of his father’s words and how terrible things had been after the accident. Would he have handled things any better if Cameron had come home one day and not known him? Had been an angry stranger? “If you or Edward want to be…let Emily know.”

Alan swallowed hard, his eyes a bit damp. “I’ll do that. Thank you.” Alan touched the incubator lightly. “He’s beautiful, Jason. And I’m so happy Elizabeth made it through. This—this is the start of something better. For all of you.”

“Thank you.”

Port Charles Municipal Building: Mayor’s Office

Lois peeked around the partially open door. “Hey. Did you hear from the hospital? How’s Elizabeth?”

Ned gestured for her to come in and she closed the door. “Yeah. Yeah. Uh, I just got off the phone with Monica. Elizabeth and Cameron are in the clear, at least for now. It’s the best they could have hoped for at this point.”

Lois shook her head, sitting down. “What day,” she murmured. “Capelli’s gone, Sonny’s in Ferncliffe, and poor Elizabeth is back in the hospital.” She met Ned’s eyes. “I don’t know how to feel about any of it. Sonny’s so far from the man I knew once.”

“He’s not even the man I knew,” Ned said. He leaned against his desk, folding his arms. “Alexis, I think, is a little relieved even though she doesn’t want to say anything. This just helps her future custody case against him. But I definitely feel for Carly, having to be the one to call for the commitment.” He scrubbed a hand down his cheek. “Capelli resigning was a relief, too. I was worried he’d fight it, but Anna said she never even had to bring up Elizabeth.”

“Thank  God for small miracles.” Lois stood. “I’m glad there’s some improvement at the department, and Capelli being gone, I’m sure that’ll help. But I guess I thought I’d feel more closure. It doesn’t fix anything, does it? Lucky still got shot.”

“And Dante still quit. I doubt he’ll change his mind this fast.” Ned went around to the other side of his desk. “You should check in on him,” he told her. “See how he’s doing.”

“Maybe. I’ll call Liv and see what she wants to do.” Lois went to the door, then turned back. “Do you want to grab some dinner or something?”

“No, there’s still some work to be done.”

“All right. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She closed the door, leaving the office dimly lit only by the light on his desk.

Ned picked up the photograph of Brooke that he always kept nearby, taking in the lines of her face, the sly smile and spark in her eyes. Nothing would bring back his little girl. All he could do was protect someone else’s children and hope it would be enough to help him sleep at night.

Corinthos Penthouse: Master Bedroom

“Are you ready to go?”

Carly turned back to look at her mother. “What?”

“We’re all cleaned up here.” Bobbie stepped inside the room, looked around. “And I grabbed Elizabeth’s bag so we can drop it at the hospital on the way home.”

“Oh. Sorry. I got distracted. I haven’t—” Carly looked back at the room. “I asked Sonny once why we used this room as the master. There are no windows—that didn’t use to bother me, but he hates small spaces. Feeling confined.”

“What did he say?”

“He moved into this room after Lily died,” Carly said. She folded her arms. “He told me it was because of the memories in the other room. Between Brenda and Lily—he wanted a new start. But I think he was punishing himself. He’s never forgiven himself for surviving when they didn’t.”

“I suppose that’s why he sees Lily when he hallucinates.”

“He sees his mother, too,” Carly murmured. She wandered over to the closet, sliding her hands over the silk shirts. “He blames himself for Deke beating her to death.”

“Carly—”

“We were happy, you know. I mean really happy. Last year, before the kidnapping. I think about that a lot. He was so kind after I told him what Ric had done to me that night at the club. I was scared he’d throw me out, but he believed me. Believed I hadn’t wanted it.”

“Sonny was capable of great empathy and kindness once,” Bobbie said after a long moment. “But—”

“But something broke in him when Ric kidnapped me. Another pregnant wife. We should have done more. Jason and I. Months ago. Years ago. We knew something wasn’t right, and we knew he’d gone over a line last year. We thought we could drag him back. We thought we were enough.” Carly closed her eyes. “How arrogant we were.”

“You’d always been enough before, Carly, and you did what you thought was best—”

“Maybe. Maybe. But I locked him up, too, Mama. Tonight, I signed the papers that put him in a room that he can’t leave.”

“You did it to protect him—”

“For the first time, I can really understand what he must have felt in some way, you know?” Carly shook her head. “To think that the best way to protect someone you love is to lock them up.”

“This is different—”

“You just—you see a thousand ways you could have changed things. Chosen a different path.” Carly looked around the room one more time. “Did we have to end up here? Did Jason have to nearly lose everything? Did I have to lose my husband? Was this inevitable?”

“I don’t know, baby.” Bobbie took her hand, squeezed it. “Maybe it wasn’t. I wanted him to get help last year, Carly. I wasn’t able to convince him. Maybe I didn’t try hard enough. This might not be enough, either. But all we can do is put one foot in front of the other and hope for the best.”

“I should have let him kill Ric when he wanted to. That might have solved it. I could live without testifying and seeing him rot.” She swiped at her eyes. “Elizabeth would have been fine. And Sonny would be here with us. The way he was.”

“Maybe. But maybe something would have happened next year. Or five years from now. Carly—”

“I did the best I could, Mama. I know that. But it wasn’t enough, and I don’t know if I’ll forgive myself for what happened here tonight. If Elizabeth or that baby doesn’t make it—God, I’ll never be able to look at Jason again—”

“You think he doesn’t feel the same? He did more to enable Sonny than anyone else. He kept hoping and praying that something would change. And look what happened, Carly. This isn’t just on you. It’s not on me. It’s not even all on Jason. It’s on all of us. We all made choices that brought us here. We can’t change them. We can only move forward.”

Portia’s Apartment: Kitchen

She heard the door open, then close so she turned the sauce on the stove down to simmer and stepped towards the arch that looked into her living room. Marcus stood there, his arms limply at his side, his face creased with exhaustion and frustration.

“Hey.” She slid her arms around his waist. “I won’t ask how your day was.”

Marcus dropped his head against hers, and she just closed her eyes, wishing she could absorb the tension that held his body so tight. “We barely got Capelli out of the building before we heard about Corinthos, Ferncliffe, and Elizabeth. I sent a few officers to make sure they could get him out—Christ.” He rubbed her shoulders. Stepped back. “I tried to call the hospital about Elizabeth, but they won’t say anything—”

“I called my sister,” Portia offered. “I knew Justus would keep Mikki in the loop, so—Elizabeth and the baby are okay.”

His shoulders slumped and he closed his eyes. “Okay?” Marcus echoed. “You sure?”

“Yes. She didn’t have all the details yet, but Elizabeth is in the ICU and is in stable condition. The baby’s—that’s different. I mean, he’s in the NICU but Mikki said they were expecting that. You don’t have to worry about them. You will anyway, I know that.”

“Thank you.” He kissed her, lingering. “For finding out. For being here when I needed you.”

“Always.” Portia framed his face. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Morgan & Corinthos Coffee House: Office

Jason closed the door behind him as Justus and Bernie got to their feet. “Hey. What’s so important?”

“I’m sorry to drag you away from the hospital. I just—I didn’t think we should do this there.” Justus cleared his throat, looked at Bernie. “First, I talked to Jordan. She said Sonny got a message on his phone at the PCPD and charged out. She went after him but lost him when she tried to follow. She was afraid she’d be fired if we found out she lost track of him that quickly, so she didn’t say anything.”

“And she didn’t think that would get her fired?” Jason demanded. “Damn it—”

“Sonny’s not an easy client.” Justus took out a phone. “Carly brought me this. Sonny got a voicemail the morning he was released. It was from Frankie Gambino in Manhattan.”

Realized dawned, and Jason closed his eyes. “A Ric sighting,” he said. “And no one called us?”

“Not this time. It seems like they decided not to bother with letting us in on it—this was designed to send Sonny over the edge.” Justus set the phone down. “Only Sonny.”

“It’s exactly what we thought. Someone is exploiting the problems we’re having,” Bernie said. “And the list can’t be that long,” he continued. “How many people even knew Sonny was getting out today?”

“We don’t have to wonder,” Justus said. Both men looked at him. “I had a visit last night.”

Jason clenched his fists at his side. “From who?”

“It’s not important,” Justus began. Bernie blinked at him as Jason scowled. “It’s not. He was approached by Trevor back around Christmas. They wanted to create some tension between you and Sonny. They were hoping it would make things unstable here—make the organization ripe for a takeover.”

“Who—”

“The plan was to push Sonny over the edge. Anthony and Trevor don’t know—or never realized how much you were already in control,” Justus continued. “Because you ran things the way Sonny would, for the most part, it was assumed that even though Sonny was unstable, he was still in charge.”

“We figured that. So tell me who the hell turned on my family—”

“He didn’t turn on you, Jason. He turned on Sonny,” Justus told him quietly. “You knew there was unrest. Men who were unhappy. Most of them signed up with Tommy, but this guy didn’t. He didn’t seek out the opportunity, it came to him. And he never knew how sick Elizabeth was. The important thing is that we were right. All the sightings of Ric—even those in South America—they were all planted.”

Jason narrowed his eyes. “All of them?”

“Anthony and Trevor never confirmed it, but according to my source, Ric is dead. And has been since November. Remember—it’s not like his ankle bracelet left the estate. It simply cut out.”

“Dead,” Jason repeated. He exhaled slowly. “We thought that might be the case, but—is he sure? How can you trust him? Who the hell is it, Justus?”

“I won’t tell you that. And I trust him because he’s loyal to you—”

“He can’t be loyal to me if he did this—” Jason scowled. “This isn’t your decision to make—I have a right to know—”

“Maybe. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you. Not now. We need to neutralize the Zaccharas first. Our guy stopped communicating with him as soon as you took over publicly. That’s all he wanted.”

“Fuck—” Jason swore. He dragged his hands through his hair. “That’s not how this works, Justus—”

“We agreed when I took this job, I wouldn’t be a pushover. You wanted me to be honest with you.” Justus lifted his chin. “I know what you’ll do. And it’s the wrong decision.”

Jason glared at him for a long moment, then stalked across the room, fighting back his frustration. “I need to get back to the hospital. But I’ll go to Crimson Pointe and settle this once and for all.”

He stabbed a finger at Justus. “When I come back, I want a name. Or this time, I’ll be the one firing you.”

“You’ll have my resignation first.”

Jason and Justus stared at each other for a long moment before Jason left, slamming the door behind him.

Bernie, who had remained silent throughout the exchange, looked at Justus with sad eyes. “Who is it?” he murmured.

“I won’t tell you either,” Justus told him. “But just know—he’ll never forgive himself for what happened yesterday. He never knew how sick she was.” He hesitated. “He would have walked through fire for her, Bernie. And for Jason. When I say this man is loyal to the right people—I mean it.”

“Ah.” Bernie nodded. “Cody or Marco?” he asked. When Justus just stared at him, saying nothing, Bernie sighed. “I thought so. If someone wanted to damage Jason and Sonny, there were easier and more direct ways. This person—they only wanted to break Sonny.” He shook his head. “I won’t tell him either, Justus.”

“You agree with me?”

“I think that we were never going to survive with Sonny in charge. Jason had to step up, and he was never going to do it. No matter what he said about putting him on a plane—” Bernie shrugged. “We’re better off. I’m sorry Elizabeth had to suffer, but that’s on Jason as well. He could have done more to protect her. He could have protected us all sooner. He chose not to.”

“That’s—” Justus shook his head. “That’s not what this is about.”

“We’ve all been warning him. Jason refused to listen. Now—” Bernie gestured towards the window as if pointing to the waterfront. “Look where we are.”

+11

I try to face the fight within
But it’s over
I’m ready for the riot to begin
And surrender
I walked the path that led me to the end
Remember
I’m caught beneath with nothing left to give, forever
– Angels Fall, Breaking Benjamin

Friday, March 6, 2004

Corinthos & Morgan Coffee House: Office

“No word from yet?” Justus asked when Jason checked his phone for what felt like the thousandth time.

“No. Jordan is supposed to call as soon as they leave the station.” Jason turned the phone over in his hands, unsure why he felt so on edge.

“I could give Taggert a call,” Justus offered, pulling out his own phone.

Before Jason could say one way or the other, the phone in his hand lit up with Max’s name on the identification screen. “Yeah, Max, what’s up—”

“Jason, you gotta get to the hospital right now—”

“What?” Jason lunged to his feet. “What’s wrong?”

“Cody—he’s bringing Elizabeth—She was coughing up blood—”

Jason slapped the phone shut and left the room without a word. Bernie stopped Justus from following. “Call Max back and find out what’s wrong,” Bernie told him. “We need to know what we’re dealing with.”

“Right.” Justus reached for his own phone. “Max? Jason just took off without a word—what the hell—”

“Oh, man, Justus—Elizabeth started coughing up blood, and Jesus, he’s gonna kill the boss when he finds out—”

“Why? What does Sonny have to do with this?” Justus demanded. He looked at Bernie. “Elizabeth, coughing up blood—”

Bernie swore. “What—”

“Sonny came over to yell at Jason and just went after Elizabeth—Christ, Justus. We’re in such deep shit. Elizabeth didn’t look so good, so we—we called other—wait, wait—No, Mr. C. You can’t go anywhere—”

Justus waited a long minute until Max came back on the line, sounding exhausted. “We—we’re keeping him in the penthouse. I was afraid he’d go to the hospital or somewhere else, he said something about the Brownstone—”

“Keep him there.” He hesitated. “Make sure he doesn’t leave that penthouse until we can figure this out. Whatever you have to do.” Justus closed the phone and looked at Bernie. “Sonny forced his way into the penthouse, was screaming at Elizabeth—and while they were getting him out of there, she started coughing up blood—”

Bernie sat heavily in his chair and mopped at his forehead. “What are we going to do?” he muttered.

“I don’t know,” Justus said. He gripped the phone more tightly. “You need to finish here. I’ll go to the penthouse. If—if anything happens to Elizabeth or that baby and Jason finds out Sonny was there—”

He didn’t have to finish that statement. If the worst happened, and Jason could place the blame at Sonny’s feet—Sonny was a dead man.

And right now, that didn’t sound like such a bad idea.

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

The recorder clicked off as Scott stared numbly at the the report in front of him, the black text swimming as Capelli’s voice echoed.

“Fuck that traitor.”

He’d known what Taggert and Anna had suspected, had read Dante’s statement, insisting he’d called for backup but it wasn’t until this moment that Scott realized he’d held out a glimmer of hope that it wasn’t true.

He thought about Laura’s quiet, desperate fear and Kelsey’s tear-ravaged face. And even damned Luke Spencer, with the kind of raw terror that only a parent might truly understand. They’d  buried their boy once, and the PCPD had nearly stolen him again—

And after the shit show of the Rick Webber investigation that had led to Laura’s breakdown–

“Where are we on the union?” Ned asked, drawing Scott out of his funk. He looked over at the mayor, squinting in confusion. “Are they going to back him? Because if they do—”

“Of course, I haven’t heard anything official,” Anna said. “But I put out some feelers. With Officer Murphy’s statement, we were able to pull Commander O’Rourke in.” She gestured at the report. “He stonewalled Taggert’s investigation on a request from Capelli, admitting to changing the Code 8 to a 10-97. He says he never listened to the audio, but wanted to cover for the unit who hadn’t responded. He didn’t know Capelli was in the car, and was worried we’d take it out on a pair of rookies.”

“Bullshit,” Scott muttered. “Bullshit. He knew Capelli was in the car. No way he didn’t—”

“Maybe. But I need him to tie Capelli in, so we’ll accept this statement, and he’s taking the thirty day suspension. With Dispatch on board, and Capelli’s record, the union isn’t inclined to do him any more favors. They took a lot of heat in the press for the Lansing case—”

“Not enough,” Ned retorted. “Capelli is why Elizabeth was assaulted—”

“I realize that—”

“With all due respect, Anna, you weren’t here,” Scott interrupted. “I told Mac and Capelli not to leak the damn story, but Mac thought something in the gossip section might shake it loose. A small item. In the Sun. But Capelli handed them everything, along with a source from the PCPD that Morgan was in the house every damn day. They dragged out those photos—”

“Scott—” Taggert shook his head. “There’s no point in going over this again—”

“There is,” Scott insisted. He shoved himself to his feet. “Capelli’s been a goddamn cancer on this department for most of the last year, and it starts with that case. He should have been fired—”

“But he wasn’t.” Ned looked at Anna. “You know that Elizabeth is having her baby today, don’t you?”

Anna raised her brows. “No, I don’t think I had heard that. I thought she wasn’t due for another month or more.”

“She’s not,” Taggert murmured. “She has to deliver early because of what Lansing did to her. He screwed up her lungs with those blood clots. Capelli and I both screwed up that case, Scott. It’s not all on him. The assault, yeah. But he was able to drug her her for another week because I only saw a chance to get Morgan and Corinthos.”

“That’s all any of us saw,” Scott admitted as some of the adrenaline surge drained and the familiar, hollow guilt sank in. “We all got blood on our hands.”

“The difference is you both realized it.” Ned stood, straightened his suit. “And decided to do better. Capelli just doubled down and nearly got a cop killed. I bring up Elizabeth,” he told Anna, “because you might want to use it to get Capelli to go quietly. Elizabeth could have sued the city and him personally for what he did. A few calls to the press, and that’s back in the news. And it won’t be regional this time. She got national press after the Esposito case.”

“She’s moved on,” Taggert began, “and I don’t like you using her—”

“Why not?” Ned demanded, snapping his head around to glare at Taggert. “No one had a damn problem doing it last summer. I want Capelli gone. He’s a stain on this department. He thinks Dante’s a traitor because of Vinnie. Do you get that? That kid risked everything to get justice for my little girl and this asshole—” Ned closed his eyes, took a deep breath.

“He needs to go,” Scott said. “And Elizabeth is used to her name in the press by now. Anna—”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” she told them. “As a last resort,” she added when Taggert scowled.

General Hospital: Emergency Room Entrance

Monica’s heart was pounding as she waited at the entrance to the emergency room. She’d paged Kelly, she’d called for Patrick and Emily to assist—

“Mom, where are they?” Emily demanded as she and Patrick rushed up. She pulled on her gloves. “What’s going on?”

“One of Sonny’s guards called ahead,” Monica said, keeping her eyes peeled on the light across the street from the hospital. Travel time from the Towers was ten minutes—less if traffic cooperated. “Elizabeth was coughing up blood—”

“I’ll get the embolization treatment ready in the trauma room,” Patrick said, darting backward.

“Mom—”

“Emily, can you handle this?” Monica turned to her daughter. “I can reassign you, you’re an intern and close to the family—no one will think less—”

“I can handle it. Jason and Elizabeth need me.” Emily forced herself to breathe. “First thing we do is get her on a ventilator and oxygen to prevent exsanguination. Then we do imaging to find the bleed and use the embolization to cauterize the site—”

“Good girl—” Monica patted her shoulder as the dark sedan pulled up. Cody flew out and around to the passenger side. Monica and Emily were already pulling the door open, an orderly with a stretcher behind them.

“Monica—” Elizabeth’s lips were stained with blood as her head listed to one side, and she lost consciousness. Monica’s blood iced as she took in the amount of blood on the towel in her hands, on the front of her shirt—

She shoved Emily out of the way so that Cody could lift Elizabeth onto the stretcher. “Get her to the trauma room, get her intubated!”

Emily and the orderly raced ahead as Monica turned to Cody. “Where’s Jason? Is he on his way?”

“Max was calling him. He wasn’t home—” Cody followed Monica in. “Um, she was feeling dizzy before it started—I was going to bring her early—but then Sonny—”

“Sonny?” Monica swore, then took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. I need you to stay out here. Get Jason here now. We might—” She saw Kelly Lee rush into the trauma room. “We might need him to sign some things.”

“I won’t move,” Cody promised. He stared down at his hands, stained with Elizabeth’s blood. “I won’t—I’ll wait right here.”

Monica nodded and then left him standing in the middle of the emergency room.

Brownstone: Front Steps

Luke waited at the top of the stairs for Laura to join him before reaching for the doorknob. He knew Sonny was getting out today, and he didn’t want his sister or Carly to be alone.

“I really hope we’re overreacting,” Laura said. “I hate to think of those boys going through another day like the last time Sonny was here. Morgan is too young, but Michael—” She sighed. “He reminds me of Lucky.”

“Seen too much, I know.” Luke’s phone vibrated in his pocket as he pushed open the door. “Bernie? What’s up?”

“Are you at the Brownstone?” the adviser demanded.

Luke raised his brows as he and Laura went into the living room. “Yeah, why? You lose sight of Corinthos again?”

“No. He’s at the Towers. He didn’t go there first, did he?”

Luke frowned, then looked at Bobbie. “Sonny wasn’t already here, was he?”

“No,” Carly answered. She got to her feet. “What’s wrong?”

“No sign of him today. What’s going on, Bernie? What’s the deal?”

“Sonny got released from the PCPD and apparently went straight to the Towers to scream at Elizabeth.” Bernie paused. “We were hoping to find out why he lost it between the station and the penthouse—”

“Is Elizabeth okay? What’s going on?”

“Luke?” Bobbie’s voice was sharp.

“Cody and Max had to physically remove Sonny from the penthouse, and when Cody came back, Elizabeth was coughing up blood. He rushed her to GH, and I don’t know anything else. Jason’s on his way to the hospital, and Justus is going to the Towers.”

“Hell,” Luke swore. “No, he never came here. Call me when you know something.” He closed his phone. “Sonny apparently lost it with Elizabeth again, and she was coughing up blood—”

“Oh my God!” Carly started for the foyer. “Mama—”

“She’s at the hospital?” Bobbie demanded. “Where’s Jason?”

“On his way. Angel—” he looked at Laura.

“I’ll stay here.”

Port Charles Grille: Bar

“You know,” Scott said as he slid onto a stool next to Mac Scorpio, “I miss the Outback.” The former commissioner eyed him with some suspicion, then picked up his beer.  “Anna said you were hanging around here these days.”

“Not that many places I’m welcome,” Mac muttered. “Or want to go.”

Scott ordered a whiskey, tossing some bills on the bar. “Yeah, I guess Luke’s would be out. Man never did respect the bounds of marriage.” He exhaled slowly. “You shouldn’t have been the only one to take a hit last year, Mac. None of us were doing the job all that well.”

“Yeah, but not all of us falsified records and screwed up a serial rapist case.” Mac leaned back. “Some of us just badgered a mentally ill woman into a catatonic state, then got elected into office anyway.” He paused. “You do something new, Baldwin? I thought you’d turned over a new leaf.”

“I did. I have,” Scott corrected. “It’s not me. This time,” he added. “It won’t hit the news until later, but I know you tried hard to get rid of Capelli last year with the leak to the press.”

“Goddamn union,” Mac muttered. “Blaming me—I told him—” He took long pull from the bottle. “What did he do this time?”

Scott stared into the tumbler of whiskey, still hearing the audio. “Refused a backup call, then tried to cover it up. He’s why Spencer is in the hospital. Why Falconieri quit.” He paused. “I think he’ll be gone this time, Mac. I think we finally have enough. I just thought you should know.”

“Yeah.” Mac was quiet for a long moment. “You were the leak in the rape case, weren’t you? You told Ned about Floyd and the lab reports. About the case being misfiled.”

“I didn’t—” Scott met the other man’s eyes. “Yeah. I was. Couldn’t stand the thought of Floyd winning. I didn’t think you’d go down with it. I didn’t know how bad it was. How much you were involved—” He stopped. “I suspected,” he corrected. “And I didn’t care. Maybe it’s not fair that I got away with what I did and you didn’t. I don’t know.”

“It’s not,” Mac said. He smiled thinly. “But that’s Port Charles for you. Don’t lose sleep over it, Scott. I made my choices, and I can live with them. You were right. This city didn’t deserve another term from Floyd. And the department will be better off once Capelli’s gone.”

“I just hope he’s the last hit. We can’t take another one.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Lulu scowled as she watched Dante fill out the application. “It’s not that I doubt your cooking skills,” she told him. “But I really don’t know if this is a good idea—”

“I need a job,” Dante said. “Bobbie needs a cook. I already live here.” He slid the finished application over to her. “Makes sense to me.”

He dismissed her grumbling as he reached for the nearby newspaper for the movie listings. He wasn’t going to sit upstairs and wallow anymore. He’d gone to see Lucky, and the press hadn’t followed him. Maybe they’d moved on to the next story.

And that meant it was time for Dante to figure out the next step. For him, it was getting a job, and just maybe, Lulu was right about them trying to pick up where they’d left off a few weeks ago.

“What are you in the mood to see?” he asked her.

“Oh, well, it depends on what you want to do afterward,” she said with a wiggle of her eyebrows. She reached for the phone behind the counter when it rang. “Kelly’s, Lulu speaking.”

Dante was considering a Drew Barrymore romantic comedy when he heard Lulu’s voice become strained. He slapped the newspaper back on the counter, startled at the pallor of her skin. “Lu—”

“Where’s Dad? Is he—okay, okay. No, okay. Call me when you know something. I’ll take care of things here. Tell Aunt Bobbie I got it.” With a shaking hand, Lulu gently put the phone back on the receiver, then looked at Dante. “Mom is at Carly’s with her boys. They had to go to the hospital.”

Dante’s brows drew together. “What’s wrong?”

“Sonny got released today, and he was arguing with Elizabeth. She started coughing up blood. Sonny had to be dragged from the room.”

He exhaled slowly. “Is she—”

“I don’t know. Mom doesn’t know, either. Um, I just—I don’t know. I thought it might end up in the papers like everything else does, you know? And I wanted—I wanted to make sure you knew what was up.” She tucked a piece of hair behind her ears. “I don’t think Sonny did anything, but—”

“But he wasn’t much of a help either.” Dante stared at the paper, then closed it. “I guess you’re not getting off in an hour.”

“No, I should probably stick close. Dante—”

“I’ll hang around in case you get busy and need a hand.” When she opened her mouth, he shook his head. “I don’t know what I’m thinking, I just—let’s wait for news, okay?”

General Hospital: Emergency Room

He never should have left her.

It didn’t matter if she wasn’t alone—she hadn’t been alone the last time, and she had still nearly died—

Jason didn’t remember the drive to the hospital and ran at least three red lights between the warehouse and the hospital, but if there had been any cops on his tail, he didn’t hear them. He didn’t even bother parking the SUV in the lot, just left it haphazardly outside the emergency room entrance.

He didn’t even know if he’d put it in park.

Jason had just one thought, one goal, one mission—get to the hospital. Get to his family.

He found Cody standing in the emergency room and drew up short when he saw the guard staring at his hands. Max had said Elizabeth was coughing up blood, but to see Cody with his hands stained red—

Cody turned, saw him, and swallowed. “Jason.”

“What happened?” he demanded roughly, striding forward. “She was fine—”

“Jason—”

His head snapped to the side as he saw Kelly striding out of a room—out of a trauma room. The same room as the summer. For one maddening moment, Jason thought he was back in that moment, the sound of her flatlining echoing in his ears.

“What’s going on?”

“Elizabeth has suffered massive hemoptysis,” Kelly told him. “Her airways were bleeding, and she was coughing up blood—”

Jason’s chest felt tight, and it was a struggle to force out the words. “Why? Is she okay now? What—”

“We had to put her on a ventilator when she arrived to stabilize her breathing. She was—” Kelly hesitated. “She lost consciousness just after arriving at the hospital—”

“Where is she? Is she—” Jason’s voice faltered. He couldn’t say it. Couldn’t even let the word into his brain.

“She’s—she’s alive, Jason, but we’re—it’s not—” Kelly pressed her lips together. “I need to deliver the baby now. Elizabeth wasn’t able to get oxygen until we intubated, which means the baby might already be compromised—”

“What do you need me to sign?” He took the paperwork she gave him and scrawled his name. “Kelly—is she—will she—”

“We’re still stabilizing her—but we have to—we have to make a choice. We can’t treat her and deliver the baby at the same time. If we wait, the baby might not survive or—”

“Cameron could have serious complications.” Complications a thirty-two-week preemie might not survive.

“But if we wait to treat the bleeding—”

“Cameron,” Jason said roughly. Almost without thinking. He knew what Elizabeth wanted. He had to believe it was the right choice. “Deliver Cameron. You know—that’s what Elizabeth—”

“Got it.” Kelly disappeared into the trauma room as Jason tried to collect himself.

This morning, Elizabeth had been tired, a little dizzy, but ready to face delivery. Ready to get on with her treatment and their lives together. She’d been happy, even excited.

And now—

Jason turned back to Cody, who had turned an ashen gray. “What happened?” he demanded. “She was fine when I left—where the hell is Nikolas?” He broke off as the man in question jogged up to them, out of breath and red-faced. “What the hell—”

“The launch was delayed—I got to the Towers just after you left,” he told Cody. “They told me what happened in the lobby—the extra guards are still upstairs—”

Cody closed his eyes. “Damn it,” he muttered, looking back at Jason. “She was starting to feel a little dizzy, and we were going to call you—but then—”

“Then what?” Jason demanded, his teeth clenched. Before Cody answered, he turned to see a nurse and another doctor wheeling in an incubator he recognized from the NICU. He strode forward and reached the doors just as Emily came out, tears in her eyes. “Jason—”

Oh, God. They were dead. They were both gone—

“Cameron—he’s being delivered now—come in—” She grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the sink to scrub at his hands, even as Jason twisted around, trying to find his wife.

Alarms were screeching, the room was insane—but then Jason saw something—someone being lifted toward the incubator—

Emily wiped down his hands and steered him towards Elizabeth. “Mom wanted you to—”

Elizabeth’s face was pale, turned towards him, blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth, the ventilator taped to her cheeks. Her eyes closed.

The world stopped.

“Is she—”

“No, no—they’re going to start the embolization in a minute—she’s on a ventilator, getting oxygen. But—”

“Just in case,” Monica murmured. “We have maybe a few minutes while they sew up from delivery—”

Jason knelt down in front of the head of the bed, smoothed her hair off her face. Her skin felt smooth and warm, and he concentrated on that. Warm meant alive. She was still with him.

This wasn’t like last year. It wasn’t going to be like last year when he’d sat on the floor of that house and watched her chest stop rising. When he’d had to crouch in that tiny ambulance, helpless as the paramedics fought to keep her alive on the way to the hospital. He could still remember the way her body had jerked as they’d shocked it over and over again, trying to bring her back.

Four times they’d used that paddle.

It had been the longest thirty seconds of his life as the alarms had screamed. She’d been dead for thirty seconds.

This wasn’t like last year. He wouldn’t let it be.

He leaned forward to gently press his lips against her forehead. “I love you. You’re going to come back to me.”

“Jason, we had to take—” Emily held out her rings as he stood up. “She can’t wear them—”

He took the ruby engagement ring and simple wedding band she’d only worn for only a few weeks. “Can I see—Can I see Cameron—”

“For a minute, then we need the room,” Monica told him as Emily took him over to the incubator where a neonatalogist and a nurse were arranging wires.

“How is he?” Jason asked, looking down at the tiny scrap of humanity. He was so small, barely visible through the tubes and wires, but Jason could hear soft little sounds that almost sounded like crying.

“Made it through delivery. Apgar score is a four—” The nurse glanced at Jason. “That’s normal for a baby this young,” she reassured him.

Jason nodded. “I know—” His voice was rusty as he tried to take it all in—it had happened so fast, and now—now his son was here. “His name is Cameron. Cameron Hardy Morgan.”

“Cameron,” the nurse said with a smile. “It’s a good name. I’ll make sure it’s on his paperwork. We should—we have to take him up to the NICU. You can see him in a little while—”

“It’s time to go, Jason,” Emily murmured. Jason looked at his wife and son—at his life—one last time before he let his sister push him back towards the emergency room.

“How long until we know—”

“Mom said the embolization should take about thirty minutes. Then they’ll do another imaging scan,” Emily said. “And we’ll—we’ll see.”

“I can’t believe this is happening again. We were—we were checking in today.”

“I know—”

“This wasn’t supposed to—” Abruptly cutting himself off, Jason strode over to Cody and Nikolas and took the guard by the shirt. “What the hell happened? Why did you need extra guards?”

“Where’s Elizabeth?” Nikolas demanded of Emily.

“She’s…being treated. Cameron’s on his way up to NICU. It’s, um, we don’t know enough yet,” Emily admitted.

“Sonny came over,” Cody admitted as Jason released him. “We tried to get him to leave, but Max couldn’t do it on his own, and Elizabeth was feeling dizzy. He was yelling at her—” He swallowed hard. “We called for extra guards, and we had to remove him. I thought—I thought it was more important to get him away from her—I didn’t know how bad it was until I came back—”

“Sonny,” Jason repeated. He felt his blood pounding in his ears as he took that in. “Sonny came in to scream at my pregnant wife. Again.”

“Yes. We tried to get him out—”

“Was she dizzy in front of him? Did you tell him she wasn’t well today?” Jason bit out, his fists clenched.

Cody stared at him for a long moment before reluctantly nodding. “Yeah. We told him.”

Jason exhaled slowly. “Okay.”

Then he turned and stalked out of the emergency room.

“Um—” Emily looked at Nikolas. “That’s—we should do something—”

“What? It’s not like Jason doesn’t know how to hide a body,” Nikolas retorted. “And good riddance. What’s going on with Elizabeth?”

Before Emily could fill Nikolas in, Bobbie and Carly came through the emergency room doors. “What the hell is going on?”

“Where’s Elizabeth? Where’s Jason?” Carly asked.

Emily took a deep breath. “Elizabeth was coughing up blood. It was—” She had to force herself to keep talking. To treat it like any other patient. “When she got here, her oxygen levels were dangerously low, and we had to decide whether to treat the bleeding first or deliver the baby. If we waited to deliver, there was a chance Cameron might have not survived.”

Carly pressed her fingers to her lips. “Oh, God, he had to choose—”

“Elizabeth—is she okay—”

“They’re treating her now. Monica and Patrick are doing that, and Cameron is in NICU. But yeah, Jason had to decide which treatment first—”

“And he chose Cameron,” Nikolas murmured. He scrubbed his hands over his face. “What does that mean for Elizabeth?”

“We think we were able to get her on the ventilator fast enough to minimize oxygen deprivation, but we don’t know how much time she lost.” Emily’s hands were trembling slightly as she folded her arms. “They’re stopping the bleeding. We won’t know until the first round of embolization is done—”

“Did Jason go up to NICU?” Carly asked.

“No, he went to choke the life out of Sonny,” Nikolas bit out. “Because apparently, Sonny decided to celebrate being released by screaming at Elizabeth, who was already dizzy and struggling to breathe—”

Carly reached out—gripped Nikolas’s shirt front. “Jason left—he went to the—” she turned wide eyes on her mother. “Mama, I have to go—he’ll kill him—”

“Who cares?” Nikolas muttered.

“Jason will if he ends up in jail instead of here with Elizabeth. Mama—”

“Nikolas, wait here for news about Elizabeth. I’ll go with you to the Towers,” Bobbie told Carly. “Cody, we might need your help,” she said to the guard, who nodded grimly.

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

Capelli had the look of a hunted man when he came into the office, and whatever color he had left drained when he saw Anna standing behind her desk, Taggert on one side and a union rep on the other. Still, he lifted his chin and sneered at them.

“What the hell is this?” he demanded.

“Andy,” the rep began with a heavy sigh, “you might want to sit down.”

“Fuck that—”

“I’m not sure why you thought we wouldn’t trace this back to you,” Anna said, “but perhaps it’s more evidence of your unfitness to wear that uniform—”

“How dare you—” Capelli roared.

“How very dare you,” Anna responded in her soft, cool British accent, and at that, Capelli fell silent, his eyes burning like hot coal, “betray the badge you swore to uphold. At the moment, I have negotiated that you will not face charges if you agree to resign quietly—”

“You want me gone?” Capelli demanded. “You’ll have to drag me out of here kicking and screaming—”

“Don’t tempt me,” Taggert muttered. Anna cut him a cool glance, and he fell quiet.

“This is a statement from Commander O’Rourke in Dispatch who admits to changing official records upon your request.” Anna set down another piece of paper. “This is Officer Byron Murphy, who took the original dispatch call and relayed the all-call for back-up.”

“Their word against mine—”

“These are statements from Unit 81. Your officers,” Anna added, “who back up the story. And the audio call that underpins it all. You see, Detective Capelli, you have gravely underestimated how well you are liked in this department—”

“Fucking British cunt—” Capelli swore.

“Andy—” the rep said, putting up his hand. “After last summer and the search warrant slap—the union isn’t going to do more than the bare minimum for you. If you offer to resign, this can go away—”

“Kiss my ass! You think you can run this place without me? With traitors like this asshole?” He jerked a thumb at  Taggert.

“I think you have dragged this department down long enough,” Anna said sharply. “You can either resign quietly, or Lieutenant Taggert will arrest you for tampering with official records, and we will begin the termination process.”

“Andy, I’ve been over this case—”

“You’re supposed to fucking defend me!” Capelli whirled on the union rep who threw up his hands in frustration.

“And I did that last summer! I got that suspension overturned,” the rep snapped. “This isn’t going to work! The union is under just as much pressure as the department after Esposito! We can’t be seen covering for a dirty cop—”

“There’s a dirty cop right there!”

Taggert just sneered at him. “You’re the only one who broke any damn laws—”

“Andy—”

“Fuck all of this!” Capelli tossed his badge across the desk. “I’ll go somewhere else and do the job! You can’t stop me—” He stormed out, followed by the union rep.

“He’s not wrong,” Anna said to Taggert. “Even if we tell the papers, it won’t change anything. He’ll get hired somewhere.”

“And that will be their problem. We can’t fix the world.” Taggert reached for Capelli’s badge. “But this is our corner of it, and I’m going to do whatever I can to keep it safe. But I’m calling Jessica Mitchell at the Herald and giving her a heads up. I don’t plan to make it easy for him.”

Harborview Towers: Hallway

The elevator doors slid open, and Jason stalked out, scowling when he found Justus, Luke, Max, and a few other guards lingering outside Sonny’s penthouse. “Where is he?” he demanded.

“Jason—how’s Elizabeth—” Justus held up his hands, but Jason was in no mood to be calmed down. He shoved Justus’s hands away, avoided Luke’s grasp, and pushed Max away from him as he kicked the door open.

Sonny had been sitting across the room, nursing a bourbon. His eyes and hair were wild as he lurched to his feet, slightly unsteady. “Jase. Jase. You gotta—you gotta tell me—is she okay—”

He broke off as Jason started across the room. Sonny backed up, but Jason kept coming, not stopping until the other man was against the wall. Then Jason reached out—wrapped his hands around Sonny’s neck—

And squeezed.

“Jason—” Sonny sputtered, clawing at Jason’s hands. “Jase—”

“Jason, man—” Justus tried to grab at Jason’s arms again, but Jason only had eyes for the man in front of him.

The man he had lied, cheated, and stolen for—he had killed for this man—and the only thing Jason had ever asked in return was a little fucking respect for his family—not even for Jason—for his family—

And Sonny had refused. Over and over again.

“This is how it felt,” Jason growled as he shoved Sonny against the wall harder. “When she was gasping for air while you screamed at her. You feel your lungs burning? No? Not yet? Maybe I should squeeze harder—”

“J-Jase—”

“In a minute, you’re going to feel dizzy—” He tightened his fists as Sonny’s face flushed. “Maybe I can make you bleed inside the way she did—”

“I’m—I’m sorry—didn’t—”

“She could die. My son could still die. Was it worth it?” Jason growled. Sonny’s hands fell to his side as his eyes started to glass over.

“Jason.”

Jason closed his eyes. “Go away, Carly.”

“No.” She came closer and then was next to them. “No. Not this way, Jason. Let him go.”

It took everything Jason had to release his partner and former best friend, but he did it. He let Sonny slump to the floor, gasping for breath.

He looked at Carly, at her own tear-stained cheeks. “Carly—”

“You need to be at the hospital with your family.” She touched his arms, gently turned him away from the man on the floor. “Because as angry as we both are with Sonny, it doesn’t change the fact that Elizabeth needs you with her.”

“Every time I leave her—” His voice broke as he looked at his best friend, the only friend he had left. “Every time—”

“I know. I know—” Carly framed his face with her hands. “I know,” she repeated. “But Sonny didn’t create her health problems. He made them worse, yeah, but he didn’t start them. So let me deal with Sonny. For once—let me be strong.”

Carly took a deep breath. “Go to the hospital. I have Mama and Uncle Luke, but Elizabeth needs her family. She needs you to be thinking about her, about that precious little angel who didn’t ask for any of this.”

“Okay.” Jason nodded. “Okay.” He turned back to Sonny, who was now on his knees, still gasping for air. “We’re done, Sonny. You and me? That’s over.”

“Jason—”

He slammed the door behind him, and Carly turned towards Sonny.

“I didn’t—I didn’t realize—” Sonny looked up at her, eyes bloodshot, his cheeks still flushed. “Didn’t mean to hurt her.”

“No, I’m sure you didn’t.” She looked back at Max. “Get the sedatives. He needs to rest.”

She turned back to her estranged husband and helped him to stand. “Let’s go upstairs, Sonny. You need to sleep.” Luke went to Sonny’s side to stabilize him better.

“I didn’t—I didn’t mean it, Lily—” He gestured towards something Carly couldn’t see. “Lily—tell her I didn’t mean it.”

“I know you didn’t—”

Outside the penthouse, Justus found Jason getting on the elevator. He went in with him. “What can I do? What can I do for you? How is Elizabeth?”

“She’s alive,” Jason said shortly. “So is Cameron. For now. I don’t care what Carly wants. If they don’t make it—”

The doors opened in the lobby, and Jason walked away without finishing his statement.

He didn’t need to.

+10

Do your memories haunt your dreams
Do they simply seem to have a mind of their own
Tell me what the emptiness brings
When everything you know is everything but gone
Tell me who will save you
– When It’s Over, 3 Doors Down

Friday, March 6, 2004

Morgan Penthouse: Nursery

Elizabeth adjusted the mobile over the crib one last time, squinting at it. Was it perfectly centered? Maybe a little more to the left—

“Hey.” Jason’s arm encircled her from behind, and she smiled again as he pulled her against his chest, kissing her cheek. “You should get more rest. Just because I have to go out early—”

“Can’t sleep. Nervous,” she said. “We’ll get to meet him today, and you’ll be able to hold him first,” she added. “Since I’ll be in recovery.”

“Just for a few days,” he reminded her. “I’ll bring pictures—”

“I know. I know it has to be this way, and I’m okay with it. He’ll have you, and that’s important. Plus, at the baby shower, Monica reminded me there are things I’ll be able to do once I’m not pregnant. New medications to manage my blood pressure until the surgery.” She sighed. “I wish I could sleep. I feel like I’m dragging already.”

Jason hesitated. “Maybe I should reschedule. I can talk to Tommy later, and Justus can come here—”

She opened her mouth to argue with him, but then her lungs tightened. She winced, pressing a hand to her chest. He ushered her into their room.

He helped her sit and fit the oxygen mask over her face. She sighed as he handed her the control, and she switched it on. After a few moments, the pressure eased and she could expand her lungs again.

“I should stay home,” Jason said again. “I’ll call Justus—”

She reached out to grab his hand as he turned. “No. No. You need—” Elizabeth shook her head, took a deeper breath, and felt the dizziness clear. “No,” she repeated, tugging him to sit. “We talked about this. I should have done my oxygen therapy when I got out of bed, but I felt fine, so I waited. I know better.”

“Elizabeth—”

“I can’t check in until three—they don’t have a room for me in the ICU until then. And you have a thousand things you need to make sure are done before you come to the hospital. If you don’t do them now, you might have to later.”

“Right.” He sighed, took her hand in his, tracing his fingers over her palm. “And I want to be with you at the hospital. With Cameron.”

“Exactly. He needs one of us in the room as much as possible.” Elizabeth touched his face.

“I’ll wait until Nikolas gets here,” Jason said.

“What if Sonny gets released before you can go, and then you don’t get it done? We don’t know what time he’s getting out. You’ll carry me downstairs,” Elizabeth said. Even though she could mostly handle stairs once a day, today of all days, she wasn’t taking any chances. “You’ll put my bags at the door, and then you’ll go to work. Nikolas said he’d be here by ten.”

“I’ll call someone else—”

“Everyone else is busy,” Elizabeth said patiently. She knew how much Jason hated leaving her alone—especially when she wasn’t feeling well. He’d never forgive himself for leaving that day last summer when she’d nearly died. “Emily is at work. So are Monica and Alan. Your grandmother can’t travel anymore, and your grandfather won’t leave her.”

“And Carly can’t come to the Towers—not today. Bobbie and Lucas are sticking close to home because of Sonny.” He looked deep in thought. “We could have the meeting here—” he said again.

“Not when Sonny is coming home and might run into Justus. Jason—”

“I just—”

“Nikolas is the only option, and with the launch and weather on the lake, he can’t come until ten.”

When he still looked hesitant, she said, ” Cody will come in and sit with me. It’s only for—” She looked at her watch. “Three hours. And if you don’t leave now, you’ll be late to meet Tommy. You know you wanted this meeting before Sonny gets released.” Neither of them wanted to discuss why Jason needed to talk to Tommy about.

“All right,” Jason said reluctantly. He got to his feet and pulled Elizabeth up. “I don’t want to take any chances.”

“We’re not,” Elizabeth told him. “We made it. Our son is going to be born today.”

“I love you,” he murmured as he kissed her.

“I love you, too.”

Joe’s Bar: Alley

Taggert ducked out of the back door of the dive bar a few blocks away from Courtland Street, and scanned the dim alley. The weak winter sunlight offered scant lighting, but he found his quarry near the rusted, green dumpster a few feet away.

“You left me a message.”

There was a scuffle of steps as the tall, dark-skinned officer who had been on duty that day at Dispatch came more into view. “Yeah.”

Taggert arched a brow, spread his hands out at the side. “I’m here. What do you want?”

“I want a transfer,” Murphy said. He lifted his chin. “I need to be better than I have been, and if I do this, there’s nowhere for me to go where I am now.”

“You get me what I need,” Tagger told him, “and I’ll see what I can do. That’ll have to be enough.”

The younger man exhaled slowly, closed his eyes, then nodded. “Okay. Yeah. The day after you came in, O’Rourke gave us a verbal warning. No cooperation with Major Crimes on this case, and that we were to say nothing about the audio.”

“I knew that—”

“I pulled everything,” Murphy interrupted. He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Before he gave the order. And I was on duty when the Code 8 came in.”

“You were on duty,” Taggert repeated, his heartbeat picking up. “Did you take the call from Unit 84?”

“Yes, sir.” Murphy’s eyes found him. “And I put out an all call to surrounding units. Unit 81 responded that they were unable to comply.”

Unit 81 had been two blocks away. Capelli’s guys, on the stakeout. “The electronic record says it was a 10-97.”

“When I came back on duty the next night, before you came in, I pulled the call records  because I figured you’d be there. I wanted to be ready. The record wasn’t what I’d heard or written down. I told O’Rourke and he said he’d gone back to prep the records for you. He said I’d gotten it wrong.” Murphy’s eyes burned into Taggert’s. “Told me that it was his fault for letting a boy like me on the radio.”

A boy. Taggert bristled, knowing the word had not been meant due to Murphy’s age. “You would be willing to make a statement to this?”

“I can do better. I have the calls. The original recordings. I nodded and apologized to O’Rourke, said maybe I needed more training. He seemed satisfied and went on break. And I started to make copies. I can get them to you,” Murphy continued, “but he’ll know it was me.”

“Yeah, he will.”

“I can live with that,” Murphy said. “But I won’t be any better off than Falconieri or Spencer if you leave me in Dispatch. I want back on the street—”

“I will talk to the commissioner.” Taggert stepped forward. “It’s Byron, isn’t? That’s your first name?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Men like O’Rourke, like Capelli—they make this job harder for you and me. For my team,” Taggert added. “We need to stop them. Capelli isn’t going to be the only head that rolls. You get me what I need, and I promise you, I will take care of you.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Olivia stirred sugar into her coffee, keeping her eyes on the doorway to the upstairs. “Maybe I should just camp here.”

“He’ll just go out the window.” Lois reached across the table and put a hand over Olivia’s. “I know you’re still worried, but maybe you shouldn’t be. Dante’s always had a good head on his shoulders.”

“I know.” Olivia bit her lip. “But I still—he’s hurting so bad and not coming out—I know he says it’s about the press—but whenever he starts going around again, they’ll still be there—” She sighed. “And he’s a grown man who doesn’t need his mother nipping at his feet, trying to take care of him forever. Maybe I should have found a way to stay in Bensonhurst.”

“Where you’ll just be reminded that the only reason this is happening is that your mother told Dante about his father?” Lois challenged. “You stayed in Port Charles to stick close to Dante. You were worried this might happen—”

“I should have told him when he decided to take the job at the PCPD,” Olivia fretted. “I should have known. But I thought—well, it was just me and Frankie and Ma who knew. And we’d never tell no one. Sonny stopped thinking about me even before I left to have the baby.” She growled. “I’m glad Connie stomped all over his heart. Asshole.”

“And I suspected who his daddy was his whole life and never said a thing, Liv. I should have, but I wanted to protect him, too.” Lois exhaled slowly. “You have all that mama bear energy, and it needs to go somewhere. I know. I—” She stared down at her barely touched breakfast. “When we were working on the hearing and Elizabeth was preparing to testify, I got—I got involved. Too involved, maybe.”

“Lois—”

“She’s just a little older than my baby, you know? And she put herself through so much to make sure Brooke got justice. She put herself on the line, made Vinnie go after her again.” She sighed. “Ned had to pull me back, had to remind me that Elizabeth isn’t my daughter. It’s hard, Liv, knowing that I’ll never be a mother again. I messed up my chance to protect my baby. I’m just glad Elizabeth didn’t realize how attached I was—”

“She probably didn’t mind,” Olivia told her. “Her own ma’s not around, is she? Why not you?”

“Because she doesn’t know me. And I don’t really know her. All we share is this terrible trauma. I will never look at her and not think of my daughter, and she’ll never look at me and never not think of Vinnie and Brooke. But I’m glad I could be there in whatever way I was, and she was kind to me. I’m just saying — you’re like me. We’re overprotective and smothering. Don’t try to run from that part of you, Liv. I did—last summer, when I sent Brooke away, I did it because I knew if I kept trying to control her, I’d lose her.”

Her eyes burned. “But I lost her anyway. If I’d let her stay—she’d still be here.”

Olivia opened her mouth, then scowled when the bell jangled over the door, and Anna Devane came in. “How dare she—” She jerked out of her seat.

“Liv—”

“You gotta lot of nerve showing up here,” she spat at Anna, who blinked at her. “What, you coming to make Dante feel guilty about leaving? You should be crawling on your knees—you’ve had months to clean up that department, and you’ve done nothing! It instead, you put my boy in danger and—”

“I came,” Anna said, in her quiet, unbothered voice, “for some tea and breakfast. Just like you.” She paused. “I’m very sorry—”

“You should be. This whole town should be. You got Brooke killed, and you’ve ruined my baby—”

“Liv, Anna wasn’t even here,” Lois reminded her, coming up and putting a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Last summer, that wasn’t her.”

“It was the people she works for. It was her department. Her detectives that butchered the case and didn’t—”

“And it was your nephew who attacked her,” Anna reminded her, “but I don’t hold you responsible for that either.”

Olivia’s eyes lit with incandescent rage. “How dare you—”

Lois stepped between the two women before Olivia could do anything that might get her arrested. “Liv, Liv, come on. She’s just pointing out that we can’t blame each other for things that aren’t our fault.”

“I apologize,” Anna said, regret flashing in her eyes. “I do feel responsible for Dante’s resignation. I’m limited by the system, and it moves slowly, if at all. I never wanted Dante or Lucky to get hurt. I promise you, we are working as hard as we can to hold someone accountable for what happened.”

Olivia swallowed hard, fighting for control. “No, I’m sorry. Lois is right. This didn’t happen because of you. It’s just—” Her voice faltered. “My boy wanted to be a cop his whole life, and he’s a damn good one. It hurts to see his dream torn away from him.”

“And it hurts that it was my officers who did it. I will find a way to prove it,” Anna replied. “We need more officers like him in the department. We are much poorer for his loss. You raised a fine son, Ms. Falconieri. I’m only sorry the PCPD wasn’t worthy of him.”

Blue Moon: Tommy’s Office

Tommy scowled, lunging to his feet. “What the hell are you accusing me of?” he demanded. He rounded the desk, but before he could reach Jason, Justus stepped between them.

“You heard me,” Jason said flatly. “Vinnie Esposito was a source for years. What did you cover up to keep him feeding you information?”

“You think I knew about your woman’s attack and let him get away with it—”

“She wasn’t connected to me at the time,” Jason said, his blood already boiling. “You don’t get to hide behind that, Tommy. This was years before Elizabeth and I met—”

“And she was a kid! A baby! You think I’d cover up for an animal going after a girl that way?” Tommy demanded. “Only sixteen—if I’d known it was him, I’d have killed him myself—”

“Sonny told us back in October,” Bernie said, “that you’d cleaned up some messes for Vinnie back before he left town in 2000. And there were one or two under Moreno and Sorel. Sonny said he didn’t press you on it. He was afraid you’d tell him that you’d known about the rapes.”

“Then Sonny is a fucking moron. That’s not how this works. You don’t cover for a man like that, for a crime like that—” Tommy cleared his throat, then sat down. “But Sonny wouldn’t know that. He did worse in his day.”

“Tommy—”

“Everyone knows the shit he pulled when he was running the Paradise. Even Frank knew, and he was in prison.” Tommy snorted. “Sonny was gonna be a liability, and that’s why he went after Frank. Had to take power before someone took it from him.” He focused on Jason. “You know how he is about that. If he thinks he’s under attack, he lashes out. And sometimes he don’t clean up well after himself.”

“We’re not talking about Sonny—”

“No, we’re not.” Tommy paused. “If you know about Vinnie, then you know about the girls. I don’t want to hear any bullshit about it.” He growled. “I took over Sonny’s girls when he moved up and turned over the clubs to me.  It wasn’t part of his image anymore. He wanted people to respect him. Can’t be respected if you run drugs and girls. But he never told me to shut it down, and he’s always known where some of the profits come from.”

“Sonny—” Jason paused. He hadn’t been around when Sonny seized power, and Tommy wasn’t wrong. Sonny was obsessed with self-image and had worked hard to become a certain type of man. He’d known about the Paradise but hadn’t thought much about the man Sonny had been before they met.

Maybe he should have.

“What about drugs—”

“That’s never been my business, and they cause too many problems. That’s where the violence comes from. The drug war,” Tommy added. “But I don’t screw with the Escobars. They’re your source in this town. Sonny told me to let them take Courtland Street. They stay in their area and run their business. They stay out of the schools and away from the waterfront and my clubs. That’s the deal.”

How could Jason have missed all of this? How had he not known about all of this underneath the surface? Sonny had known and deliberately left him in the dark when he’d split town all those years ago.

“Then what did you clean up?” Jason demanded. “Did Vinnie rough up the women working for you?”

“Yeah. Twice.” Tommy scrubbed a hand over his face. “And Vinnie’s the reason we don’t tolerate that bullshit anymore. It kills me, Jason, knowing that I let him get away with pushing some of our whores around and he was out there hurting innocents—”

“How bad did he hurt them?”

“I don’t know,” Tommy admitted. “The first girl just said he slapped her around when she didn’t act fast enough, and the other said he punched her. But maybe they weren’t comfortable telling me the rest. I listened to your girl at the press conference, Jason. I know it’s hard to report, and I doubt they’d tell me all the details.”

“Tommy—”

“We put a new policy in place after Vinnie got arrested. No one touches the girls. You lay a hand on them, and you’re done. Even whores deserve that much—”

Jason tensed. “Why—”

“Fine, fine. The women,” Tommy said, with nearly a sneer. “How you gonna be in this business if you can’t even admit the truth—”

“How are you going to stand there and pretend you give a shit about me or my family, Tommy, when you and I both know you’re working against me.” Jason fisted his hands at his side. “Acting concerned when you found out Elizabeth was sick—you just needed more time to work against me—”

“I wouldn’t have needed to if you’d do what you should have months ago,” Tommy shot back. “Sonny’s been useless since Lansing disappeared. Everyone knows it. The only reason you’re still in power is because I didn’t pick up that phone and call Zacchara or Tagliatti—”

“And the only reason you’re still alive,” Jason interrupted, “is because I don’t have time to get rid of the body. Are you behind the Lansing sightings?”

“The—” Tommy frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“The sightings,” Jason repeated. “In South America. Puerto Rico. Miami, Baltimore—”

“Why the fuck—no! Every time Sonny thinks he sees that little fucker, he goes wild, and he’s had the PCPD after at us—why the hell do you think I’d want that? I was just gonna take Sonny on a long drive and dump his ass in a hole in the Pine Barrens. Why am I gonna fake months of sightings when I can just shoot him and be done with it?”

Lucky & Kelsey’s Apartment: Living Room

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Lulu demanded, planting her hands on her hips. “If Mom were here—”

“But she’s not. She went to work and back to her life,” Lucky said. “The doctors have cleared me. I’ll be back on duty next week.” He eyed Dante. “I’ll be the only one.”

Dante shoved his hands into his pockets. “I guess you heard.”

“Not from you.” Lucky shifted, wincing at the tightness in his chest. “What the hell is this bullshit about quitting?”

“You know what happened because of me—”

“Because of Capelli—”

“Because of me—”

“And Dad,” Lulu interjected. “You both have shady ass fathers—sperm donors,” she corrected when Dante glared at her. “Hard to say which one of them was the reason Capelli screwed you over.”

“Lu, go get me some water. Please,” he added when Lulu just raised a brow.

“Fine, but I’ll just be over there. Either of you start being dumb, I’ll come over here and kick your asses.”

“She’s not kidding,” Lucky muttered. “Sit down, man. I’m not mad at you, so if you try to apologize, I’ll let her kick your ass.”

“She’s been doing that for two weeks.” But Dante sat next to him. “It’s not just that you got shot, Lucky. I know that’s not really my fault. It felt like it in the minute, and maybe I do feel some guilt. But I know that I’m not the one that refused to back up a fellow officer.”

“Okay—then—”

“He’s still there. I know Taggert says they’re close, but I just—” Dante shook his head. “Maybe he’s right. Maybe they can get rid of him. I’m not saying I can’t ever come back, but right now, I’d be a liability to all of you. My head’s not in it. It hasn’t been since Vinnie. I’ve been working through it, but now with this Sonny stuff—”

“Have you even talked to him?” Lucky asked. “I realize now that’s why you were so weird when we went to see him, and we got called to the Brownstone. Don’t you think you’ll feel better if you talk to him—”

“I have zero interest,” Dante said. “He’s nothing to me. I’ve always known my father left my mother. She never named him, but it felt like the neighborhood always knew something. He’s not someone I want in my life, Lucky.  There’s nothing he has that I want.”

“Okay.”

“But he’s the reason people are looking at me sideways. They don’t trust that I just ended up in Port Charles and didn’t know he was my father. We already had issues at the department after last summer. I just—I can’t go to work and pretend it’s the same.”

Lucky nodded. “Fair enough. But you belong here with me. All three of us. We came here to do the job. So get yourself together, and then come back. We can’t do this alone.”

Port Charles Municipal Building: Mayor’s Office

Ned ushered for Alexis and Lois to enter the office with one hand while the other was wrapped around the plastic receiver. “All right, Anna. I want to see a copy of the report as soon as possible. And the calls. When you’ve heard them. Thank you.”

He set the phone down. “Taggert is putting together his final report on Lucky’s shooting, and Anna wanted to warn us in case it leaks before she makes a move.”

Lois braced herself and traded a trouble glance with Alexis. “What is it? How bad?”

“Taggert got his hands on the original calls from that night,” Ned said. “Dispatch was running circles around them on the paperwork for the audio and the records of the other units.”

“Idiots,” Alexis muttered, sitting down. “They had to do know we’d be able to get the calls—”

“Arrogance,” Lois murmured, her eyes locked on her ex-husband’s. “They thought they’d get away with it. They’ve been doing it for years, haven’t they?”

“Yeah.” Ned shoved himself to his feet. “Taggert’s got the calls and he’s got the officer who took the backup call. A witness who says Dante called for backup and that a responding officer refused.”

Lois closed her eyes, exhaled in a rush. “Christ Almighty. How do they live with themselves? How can they—” She dragged her hands over her face. “Is that all she knows?”

“She hasn’t listened to the audio yet, but Taggert gave her the heads up. We need to get ahead of this—”

“But we need to be careful,” Alexis added.

“Right. Right.” Lois nodded. “We don’t want to be seen spinning the PCPD’s mess into hiding a scandal of our own, but there’s a way—there’s always a way. Capelli worked with the press before,” she reminded Ned. “I wasn’t here for any of that, but you were. So when this hits, we remind them.” She nodded. “That’s our spin. It’s just more evidence of the corruption and disregard for the people of Port Charles.”

“Will this be enough?” Alexis wanted to know. “I mean, will it finally be enough to get rid of Capelli?”

“Anna won’t know for sure until the audio is authenticated, but it if it’s as bad as she says—” Ned’s smile held no humor, only malice. “He won’t be the only one to go. This is the break we needed. We’re finally digging into the rot in the department—”

“I wish I could be as optimistic, but I worry we’ve only scratched the surface,” Alexis murmured, but rose. “I’ll start putting together some legal notes. Lois?”

“I’ll get to work on the statement.” Lois turned to Ned. “It won’t ever be enough.”

“No, but we have to start somewhere.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Sonny stopped by the front desk, snapping his fingers. “Where’s my phone?” he demanded.

The officer on duty looked behind Sonny and his new lawyer, Jordan, to look at Cruz, who sighed and nodded. “Yeah, give him back his personal stuff.”

“You don’t need permission,” Jordan said. “He’s been fitted with the ankle bracelet, and he’s been officially released. Return his things.”

The officer shrugged, then set down the manila envelope. Sonny tore it open and dumped it out. He slid his wedding ring on his finger, then shoved his wallet in the back pocket of the rumpled suit he’d been wearing the night he’d been arrested.

He flipped open his phone to turn it on.  He started to click through—it looked like he was sorting through voicemails. He pressed a button, then raised it to his ear to listen. He growled, and stalked out of the PCPD, slapping a hand against the double doors so hard that they bounced back against the walls.

Jordan blanched, hurrying after her client.

Cruz watched Sonny storm out, then went over to Taggert who’d been watching the scene quietly from his desk, hoping to stay out of it. He had enough going on. “You want me to follow him?”

“No.” Taggert looked at the younger man. “But make sure that ankle monitor is activated. I have a guy sitting on the Brownstone. If Sonny shows up there, we’ll be ready. I want to know if he heads anywhere else.”

“He must have gotten something on his phone,” Cruz said. “He looked angry—”

“I’ll give Bobbie and Carly the heads up. We can’t mess this case up, Cruz. Sonny’s on bail. We let him dig his own grave. He’s good at that.” Taggert saw Anna motioning towards him. “I have to go deal with something else.”

Corinthos & Morgan Coffee House: Office

“With Tommy off the board,” Bernie said, “I don’t know what to say any more about these sightings. It doesn’t add up.”

“Are we sure that Tommy’s on the level?” Francis Corelli, their head of security, asked doubtfully. “I know he’s got a point, but—”

“He could be throwing us off,” Jason admitted, “but it didn’t feel that way.”

“I agree,” Justus offered. “Tommy’s been fed up with Sonny for months. He doesn’t really seem like the type to try psychological torture—”

“Maybe he didn’t think it’d take this long,” Bernie suggested. “Maybe he thought Sonny would fly off to South America himself, and Tommy could arrange for an assassination that way—”

Jason scrubbed his hands over his face, then checked his messages. Sonny could be to be released any minute, and he wanted to be at the Towers before Sonny got there. He did not want Elizabeth alone in the building with him.

“We’re running in circles,” he began.

“Are you sure that it’s not Lansing screwing with us?” Francis asked. “I know the reasons we said it couldn’t be, but—”

“But Lansing couldn’t be working alone. He wouldn’t have the connections in Baltimore or Atlanta. Or Philly,” Jason said.

“He could have pulled off Miami and South America,” Justus continued. “He worked for Alcazar after all, and Alcazar was close to the Ruiz family. He could have called in favors, but yeah, I don’t see anyone in Philly helping him out. And I don’t know how to explain the Babe getting involved in this kind of nonsense. He’s never had an issue with Sonny. We don’t deal with Baltimore.”

“Not since the Jerome days,” Bernie said. “Baltimore’s barely in the game since the shipping died out down at the docks. ” He shook his head. “Nah, the only guy they would help out is Zacchara.”

“Are we thinking about this too hard? Maybe you’re right, Francis. Lansing is in all these places, but it’s Zacchara pulling the strings.” Which Jason did not need right now. “It’s the only way to explain all of it.”

“Then we need to bring Sonny in on this,” Justus said reluctantly. “If we can tell him what we know—that we know something is wrong—he might get back under control.” He met Jason’s eyes. “Which we need while he’s on house arrest. The island isn’t going to happen. Not right now. He can’t leave the country. ”

“I know—”

“And you don’t have time for any of this,” Justus cut in. “Johnny will be here in the morning to take point on this, but he and Sonny are like oil and water. Maybe we hold off on that—”

“No, I need someone here that can handle Sonny. Johnny’s the best bet. He’s been here as long as I have, and he knows Sonny almost as well.”  Jason paused. “After today, I can’t be dealing with any of this for at least a week.”

“You won’t be,” Bernie promised. “Until Elizabeth is up and moving around, and the baby’s in the clear. We promise. I’ll talk to Sonny. Me and Francis. We haven’t pissed him off yet,” he added when Francis looked doubtful. “And if we make him think it’s new information you haven’t dealt with, then that’s good. We leave Tommy out of it, though. He doesn’t need to know Tommy was planning to get rid of him.”

“All right.” Jason checked his messages. Nothing yet. “Okay. Let’s get everything else done. I want to be home before Sonny is.”

PCPD: Anna’s Office

Anna pressed play on the tape recorder, then looked up at Taggert as the call from dispatch rolled in.

“Unit 84, Code 8 at Courtland and Van Ess. Repeat, Code 8, Courtland and Van Ess.”

“There’s Dante,” Anna murmured. “Clear as day.”

“And then—” Taggert nodded as a new voice came on.

“Copy that, 84. Code 8, Code 8. Unit 84 requesting back up at the corner of Van Ess and Courtland. Code 8. Officers requesting backup.”

“The all-call—” Anna dropped her head in her hands. “You have the officer who made this call?”

“It’s worse, Anna.”

“Unit 81?” Murphy’s voice crackled out over the tape, and Anna blinked at it, confused. “Unit 81, are you stationed at 308 Holloway?”

“Unit 81 responding, yes.”

“You’re closest to the Code 84—”

“Fuck that shit.”

Anna’s eyes widened as a new voice came in. Faint. Dim. As if who ever was speaking wasn’t near the radio, but sitting nearby. Perhaps in the backseat.

“Fuck that traitor.”

There was a pause, then the original Unit 81 voice came back over the radio. “Cannot comply at this time.”

The tape stopped and Anna looked back at Taggert, grimly. “We might not be able to prove that was his voice—”

“That’s him on that tape, and you damn well know it.”

“Yes, I know it,” Anna said, leaning back, her face pale but her eyes steady. “But if we’re going to nail him this time, we need to be careful. We’re only going to get one chance at this. If the union doesn’t back it—”

“Damn it—”

“Taggert.” Anna got to her feet and he closed his mouth. “We will get him this time. I promise you.”

“I had to sit back last summer and watch this piece of shit waltz back into work after he nearly got Elizabeth Webber killed—” Taggert fisted his hands. “And now I know I got him dead to rights, refusing to back up a fellow officer. Capelli is going to pay for this, even if it’s the last thing I ever do.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Elizabeth tossed her magazine aside and sighed. “I’m sorry, Cody. Nikolas should be here any minute—” It was nearly one, and Nikolas still hadn’t shown up. He’d sent a message about the launch being late, but at this rate, Jason would get home first.

And she was so tired. She should try to take a nap. Maybe when she woke, Jason would be home, and she could go to the hospital.

“It’s okay, Mrs. Morgan,” her guard told her as he brought out another glass of water. “It’s windy out. I know how the lake can be on days like these.”

“Nikolas should live in town and not on a goddamn island,” she muttered. “I’m tired—” Her fingers fumbled with the plastic tubing. “And sick of this thing.” She reached for the oxygen mask at her side.

“What’s that?” her guard wanted to know. “What’s wrong?”  Then he frowned, turning back towards the door as he heard voices.

“Oh, no—” Elizabeth got to her feet, then gasped—her arm shot out to brace herself on the air chair, her head spinning. She’d moved too quickly.

“Mrs. Morgan—” Cody turned back to grab her arm. “Sit back down. I’ll call Jason—”

The door shoved open, and Sonny pushed Max out of his way. “Where the hell is Jason?” He glared at Elizabeth.

Elizabeth closed her eyes, tried to take a full breath. “Not here,” she said. Cody held her arm as she moved backward, away from Sonny. Behind him, she saw Max with his phone out.

She had to get Sonny out of the penthouse. If Jason walked through the door right now, everything would be so much worse. Sonny would just get angrier, and Jason would be furious. There’d be arguments and screaming—and she didn’t want it. Any of it.

“Did you—” Her chest ached. “Cody, I need—”

“Sit down,” he told her gently, helping her back to the sofa. “Let me help, okay?” He fit the mask over her face, and she managed a deeper breath, though not quite a full one. “Let me call Jason.”

“What the hell is wrong with you now?” Sonny demanded.

“Mr. C,” Max said, grabbing Sonny’s arm. “Let’s go—let’s go home, and we’ll figure out what’s going on—”

“No, she needs to know—Ric is back in New York,” he snarled. “You happy? I got out of jail, no thanks to your husband, and the first thing I hear is that Lansing is in New York—”

“What?” Elizabeth gasped, then her lungs seized. She clutched at Cody’s arms. Then—finally, the oxygen did what it was supposed to, and she could take a deeper breath. Her lungs relaxed. Her head was still buzzing, but she could breathe. Mostly.

“What do you mean Ric is in New York?” She asked. She stood again, but Cody braced her as she did. “How do you know? How long ago?”

Taken aback, Sonny blinked at her. “I got a message in lock up.”

Why had—why was someone giving Sonny messages in lock-up about Ric Lansing? How could they have known he’d get his phone back today? “Sonny, did you—Oh, God, did you go to Carly’s?”

Sonny ignored the question and narrowed his eyes. “This is your fault,” he said, his teeth clenched. “If you’d just let me kill that piece of shit months ago, none of this would be happening—my wife left me because of you!”

“Mr. C,” Max said firmly. “Let’s go—”

“Get your hands off me—”

“My family is in danger because of you!”

“Cody,” Elizabeth said with a grimace. “He—I can’t—”

“Yeah, okay, Mrs. Morgan. Sit down—”

“Can’t—hurts—” She pressed a hand to her chest. “Hurts too much.”

“Christ. Don’t—don’t move—” Cody released her and traded a look with Max. “Mr. C, you gotta go. She’s not feeling well, and we need to get her to the hospital—”

“No one tells me what to do! You work for me! I’ll fire you! I’ll end you!” Sonny thundered. He threw a punch when Cody reached for him, but then two more guards came in, and between the four of them, they managed to get Sonny out of the penthouse and across the hall, screaming.

Back in her living room. Elizabeth’s lungs seized again, and her throat tightened, felt so thick she could barely breathe. She coughed, trying to force air out. Then she couldn’t stop coughing—couldn’t take in a breath at all—her throat was on fire—

She looked down at her hands—still coughing—Her vision dimmed at the edges.

“Mrs. Morgan, we need—” Cody came back to the doorway, with a new guard behind him, his eyes bulging. “Elizabeth—” He ran across the room, hurling himself at her feet, taking her hands in hers, examining the streaks of red. “Where did the blood come from? Where are you hurt?”

She continued to cough, her knees buckling. “Can’t stop—”

“She’s coughing up blood,” Cody told the other guard. He lifted her in his arms. “Get the elevator, call Jason—we’re going to GH now!”

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