December 1, 2003

Morgan Penthouse

Jason stared at her for a long minute as if trying to gauge if she was really serious or not. Finally, he shrugged. “Okay. Will you move in with me?”

“Not here,” she said immediately.

He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“And not full-time.” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I still want time to sort things out and the last thing I want to do is rush into something I’m not ready for. So…maybe we could compromise. I like being with you, Jason, I’m just not ready to do it all the time.”

“So what are you suggesting?” he asked curiously.

“I don’t want to live here. I mean–it’s a nice place and I did like staying here but there are more bad memories than good and if we’re going to start something, I want to start fresh.”

“Okay,” Jason agreed. “That’s more than reasonable. I only live here because Sonny’s across the hall and he…” he hesitated. “He won’t be there much longer.”

“I really am sorry about–about what’s been going on. I know it’s got to be hard for you to watch him go through this.”

He exhaled slowly and pushed away from the pool table. He moved towards the window and stared out of it. “He was the strongest man I’d ever met, you know? I didn’t think there was anything he couldn’t do.”

Elizabeth nodded. “He was your mentor, Jason. He taught you so much…”

“Yeah, yeah, he did.” Jason crossed his arms and put his chin into his chest. “Sonny showed me a lot of concrete things that Robin couldn’t. He–he’s the one who told me that you never lay a hand on a woman in anger. That you never commit violence against them for any reason and now…after what he’s done to Carly…I have to wonder…how much did he really teach me?”

Elizabeth frowned and crossed the room, standing against the edge of the window, across from him. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean…he taught me how to treat a woman. And despite all of his problems, he has never violated that. You know how some people have this line that they just don’t cross? For Sonny, that line is abusing a woman. His–his stepfather used to hit his mother.”

Elizabeth’s throat tightened. “Oh, that must have been so horrible for him,” she said softly.

“He used to lock Sonny in a closet and you–you know he’s still claustrophobic. He was this monster and the thing that always terrified Sonny was becoming just like him.”

“Doing it once does not make him a monster,” Elizabeth protested. “Yes, it’s a horrible thing and I do not think he deserves to be forgiven right now but he knows it was wrong. I mean–Jason, I saw his face. I don’t think he knew what he was doing and that’s got to be more terrifying than hitting someone.”

“I’ve been so busy taking care of other things that I haven’t been paying attention to him. Last week, he came over and wanted to talk–and I just brushed him off.” He looked at her and she wanted to cry at the anguish in his eyes. “What if he coming to tell me he was close to the edge?”

“You cannot blame yourself for this,” Elizabeth said firmly, closing the distance between them. “You have the right to your own life and after everything you’ve done for Sonny, there is nothing wrong with wanting a night to yourself, okay?”

He shook his head. “Sonny depends on me to be there for him–to pull him back–”

“I don’t think anyone could have this time,” Elizabeth interrupted. “Everyone has had way too much going on in their lives and maybe that made Sonny feel a little out of control himself. When were you supposed to find time in between dealing with the business, with Courtney, with me, with Carly and God knows what else you have to do that I don’t know about?”

“I should have found the time,” Jason protested.

“You are only one man,” Elizabeth told him softly. “You cannot do everything on your own and you cannot be strong all the time.”

“Everyone expects me to be. They come to me because they I know I’ll listen and they know I’ll help them,” he said. He shook his head. “I just have to find a better way to handle it all–”

“Jason, when you’re off taking care of everyone else, who’s supposed to take care of you?” Elizabeth asked pointedly.

“I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” he told her firmly.

She threw up her hands in frustration. “Sometimes I just want to throttle you,” she seethed, stalking away from him. At the foot of the stairs, she whirled around. “Some day, Jason, you’re finally going to be done taking care of everyone else and then what are you going to come home too?Nothing! Because you were too busy to have your own life and no woman in her right mind is going to wait for you to get around to being with her.”

“Are we doing this again?” he asked, sounding just as aggravated as she was. “Elizabeth, I’m already doing everything I can to prove that you’re a priority in my life. What else do you expect me to do?”

“I want to be able to talk to you,” Elizabeth exploded. “I don’t want to just be priority–I want to be with you. I want to be the person that you turn to when you need someone to talk to. Why is it so hard for you to just…just be with me?” she demanded.

“Because you want things I can’t give,” Jason argued. “You want honesty and for me to sit and pour out my feelings and I just can’t do those things–”

“I never said I wanted you to pour your feelings out to me. That’s not who you are,” Elizabeth sounded vaguely insulted. “All I want is for you to be with me. I don’t want to be another person you take care of, Jason, and the second I feel like that, I’m walking out that door.”

“Elizabeth, I don’t know what you want from me. First you say you need time and then you give me this cryptic answer when I ask you to move in with me and now–you’ve got to be the most confusing woman I’ve ever met.”

“I was being selfish this morning,” Elizabeth remarked. “I was thinking of myself and I have to stop doing this. If this is ever going to work between us, I have to start thinking of you when I make my decisions and I’m sorry–but you actually sounded like you wanted to be with me when you asked earlier and suddenly, now I’m too confusing.”

“I do want to be with you,” Jason protested. “But I don’t want to disappoint you again. You said that while we were apart, I turned into someone else and maybe that’s true. But what I need to know is if you can still love the person I am now.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course I still love you. Would I be standing here arguing with you if I didn’t?”

“Well, it’d be nice to hear it once in a while,” Jason retorted. “Instead, all I get is what I’m doing wrong.”

“Good lord,” she muttered. “Okay–maybe we should get back to the original topic. The moving in thing. When I said not full-time, I meant that a few nights a week, we’d try it out. No physical stuff, you know? I don’t feel ready to go back there just yet but we could share the bedroom, I guess. I know you want to be around during the pregnancy and this is a way for you to be around more. Is that what you want?”

“That sounds fine,” Jason said warily. “What about the rest of the stuff?”

“The rest of the stuff we could figure out along the way. No one says we have to have all the answers right now.” Elizabeth sat on the couch and rubbed her eyes. “Man, arguing really sucks the energy out of you.”

Jason moved away from the window and sat next to her. “It’s getting kind of late, you know,” he began. “And since the launch doesn’t work past dark…maybe you should just stay here,” he said hesitantly. “I mean–I know you don’t want to stay here permanently or anything but what about just for tonight?”

“Yeah, actually, that would really be a good thing because then I could just go from here to the apartment tomorrow and not have to face that horrible launch again.”

“Okay, then. I’ll go to Kelly’s and get some food. I’ve got something to do so I’ll do that while I’m out, okay?”

“That works for me,” Elizabeth agreed, already planning to nap while he was gone. She wasn’t kidding–the entire conversation had seemingly sucked any energy gained from the previous nap.

Scott Baldwin’s Office

Scott had barely exited his private bathroom before his eyes focused on an impatient Jason Morgan standing in his office.

Scott narrowed his eyes. “I know you’re not here to confess,” he remarked dryly moving behind the large mahogany desk.

“Tomorrow when Dara Jensen informs you that Sonny’s changed his plea back to guilty due to a mental defect, you will offer her a deal,” Jason said firmly. “He’ll serve a minimum of six years in Ferncliffe, a maximum of twelve. Do you understand me?”

Scott smirked. “If you think you can intimidate me, Morgan–”

In a flash Jason reached across the desk and yanked Scott towards him by grabbing the lapels of his electric green shirt. “If you think you’ve got a choice, you’re sorely mistaken. You’ll do it Scott, or you’ll regret it. I will take Sonny out of this country and you will never find him. Would you rather have a conviction or let Sonny get away again?” Jason released him and Scott jerked back, straightening his collar.

“That’s assault right there,” Scott huffed. “Why shouldn’t I have you arrested?”

“Because Sonny in Ferncliffe for six years is almost as good as two years in Sing Sing,” Jason said coldly. “Like I said, you can have a conviction or a fugitive. What looks better in the papers?”

Scott hesitated. Putting Sonny Corinthos behind bars had been his goal for the past two years. Putting him away someplace for the criminally insane was almost as good. He cleared his throat. “When Dara calls, I’ll offer her the deal.”

“Good.”

Jason left the office and headed for Kelly’s.

The Docks

“Here,” Lucas said, handing Sage a Styrofoam cup of hot chocolate. “This should warm you up.”

“I’ve never been ice skating before, thanks for teaching me,” Sage remarked, her teeth chattering a little. “But you didn’t have to push me into that snow bank. I am freezing now!”

“Sorry, I slipped.” Lucas hid his smirk behind his own cup but she didn’t miss. She smacked him in the shoulder.

“I’ll get you back,” she promised.

“Oh…hey, it’s Lucas and Sage.”

Sage sighed. She knew this night was going too well. She turned and saw the Jones sisters coming down the steps followed by a reluctant Dillon. “Hello,” she said politely.

Maxie, having been the one who’d spoken, stepped forward. “Hey, I’m Maxie Jones. I don’t know that we ever got a chance to really meet but you know Lucas can’t shut up about you,” she tossed a teasing glance at her now glaring cousin.

Sage flushed. “It’s nice to meet you. I take it you already know my name.”

“Well duh,” Georgie said dryly. Maxie elbowed her sharply. “Ow. Oh…God…look, did you really mean that apology last week?”

“Georgie,” Lucas sighed, “don’t start.”

“Hey, butt out for a second,” Georgie remarked. “Well?” she asked expectantly.

“I don’t tend to dole out insincere apologies,” Sage replied. “Why?”

“Because I think that it’s obvious you and Lucas hit it off and he’s not really stupid enough to hang around with someone unless they’re worth knowing, you know? So maybe we all really did get off to a bad start.” Georgie shifted uncomfortably.

“We did,” Sage assured her. “I really–it was really just a matter of seeing a cute boy and going after him. I didn’t think I was going to be living here and–things are just really different than they were even a month ago, okay?”

“Okay.” Georgie shrugged. “Clean slate?”

“Clean slate.”

“Great,” Maxie said. She saw the ice skates dangling over Lucas’s shoulder. “So you guys were down at the lake?”

“Yeah, Lucas was showing me how to skate. I’ve never really been in places where it snowed so I never got the chance to learn,” Sage informed her. “It’s a lot harder than it looks on television.”

“Yeah, the first time I was on the ice, I must have fell about eight thousand times,” Georgie said, making an obvious attempt to be friendly. While Sage still felt the girl was being slightly insincere, she appreciated the effort.

“Well, I wouldn’t have fallen more than ten times myself but Lucas tripped and knocked me into a snow bank,” she threw a nasty glance at the boy in question. “I’ve never been so cold in my life.”

“Just wait until winter really sets in,” Maxie said. “It’s only early December now. January is absolutely horrid and February’s not much better.”

Sage wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. I thought I’d like living with all this snow but I know now I’d much rather look at it than sludge through it all the time.”

“Well, I’d better finish walking you guys home,” Dillon said, speaking for the first time. “If you’re not back by eight, Mac will skin me alive. Nice to see you again, Sage. Hey, Lucas, we still on for that hockey game?”

“Yeah, we’re going to kill you guys,” Lucas boasted.

“Oh, right, that’s next Saturday,” Maxie said, clearly pleased that Dillon had brought it up. “The night after the dance. Are you guys going?”

“I hadn’t decided yet,” Sage said hesitantly, glancing at Lucas. He hadn’t kissed her since Thanksgiving which made her wonder if he was interested in her romantically at all.

“We should all go,” Georgie suggested. “Kyle will be home for Christmas break by that time. We have to do a group date or Mac won’t let Maxie near Kyle, so why don’t you two come with us?”

“Sure,” Lucas agreed. “That okay with you Sage?” he asked.

“It’s great. Hey, my uncle has a stretch limo. Maybe he’d let us use it,” Sage suggested, hoping she didn’t come off as haughty and arrogant.

Instead Maxie’s eyes lit up. “Ooh…that would be awesome. It’d be like prom all over again. Except, you know…better than last year.”

“Speaking of Prom, I think we should start planning for it soon,” Georgie said. “Because we want to get the right dresses, the right shoes and we need to coordinate seating arrangements–”

“My sister’s an organizational freak,” Maxie said, shaking her head. “But she’s right. The best dress prices are in February. Maybe we could go together.”

Sage’s grin widened. “I’d love to. I love dances and I really like shopping for them.”

“Great,” Georgie agreed. “Okay, you can walk us home now,” she told her boyfriend.

“Well, thank you,” Dillon replied shortly. He walked past Lucas and Sage and the two sisters followed him.

“He hates me,” Sage sighed.

“Nah, he hates everyone except Georgie and Maxie,” Lucas tried to assure her. “After all, you apologized.”

“Yeah…but apologies don’t solve everything,” Sage said softly. “I just have to try harder, you know? I mean…Georgie doesn’t hate me anymore or maybe she’s just being nice to me because of you but Maxie seemed to like me.”

“Are you okay with the dance thing?” he asked hesitantly. “I wanted to ask you but I didn’t…I didn’t exactly have the courage.”

“The courage?” Sage repeated, slightly bemused. “Why would you need courage to ask me to a dance? You asked me to go ice skating today. Why is one thing different than the other?”

“Because this was between friends and the dance…I would have been asking you on a date,” Lucas admitted. “I mean–I know we’re just friends and all but…I–” he shrugged and ducked his head. “I like you, Sage.”

“Just for the record, if you’d asked me one on one, I would have said yes,” she informed him. “And I like you, too, Lucas.”

He raised his eyes back to her. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” There were those damned butterflies again, Sage mused as Lucas stepped a little closer to her. This was going to be the second time a boy had ever kissed her. Usually she’d done the initiating but Lucas was proving to be a different sort of boy altogether.

He lowered his lips to hers and though both were chilled from the cold, it still felt like heaven to her.

Harborview Towers: Parking Garage

“Are you sure you don’t want to come back tonight?” Brian remarked, pulling his keys out of his pocket.

Courtney rested her hand on the hood of his car. “Yeah. I need to stay with Sonny. But you–you have to go back. I mean, you only got the one day off.”

“Yeah, but I could arrange for another if you need me,” Brian told her. “Do you?”

“Yes…but I need to handle this on my own. Besides, I’m going to be with Sonny all the time and now is not a good time to be springing you on him especially with how you feel about his line of work and how he feels about yours…you know?”

“Yeah, I can understand that. Well, you know my number. Call me any time.” He leaned to kiss her forehead. She closed her eyes at the soft contact and when he pulled away, she opened them to look up at him.

Brian hesitated only a moment before lowering his head to kiss her. Unfortunately, their lips had barely met before the roar of a motorcycle echoed through the garage. Courtney pulled away abruptly and put some distance between them. “I’ll call you, okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you when I see you then.” He opened his car door and got inside. He glanced in his rearview mirror but Courtney was already walking back towards the elevators.

December 1, 2004

Carly’s House

Lorenzo stalked towards her and took her face in his hands. Despite the anger on his face, his touch was gentle as he turned to get a better look at her bruised and swollen cheek. “Jesus, Carly…”

“I’m fine. I need you to know that and remember it when I tell you what happened, okay?” She took his hands from her face and squeezed them. “Please…I know you’re angry.”

“Okay.” Lorenzo nodded. “How much angrier will I be when you finish?”

“Oh…I don’t even want to estimate how angry you’ll be.” She pulled away from him and sat down, touching the tender skin with a wince.

He remained standing. “I came over when I heard that Sonny had changed his plea. I knew you’d be upset. But it’s been almost three hours. What’s happened, Carly?”

“Dara quit after Sonny changed his plea–she didn’t know that he was planning on that. Um…” Carly touched her forehead, trying to gather her thoughts. “Sonny, he was…he was…I don’t know how to describe it. He was close to the edge, I guess. Looking for a reason to fight. He was saying things to people he never would have normally. He berated Courtney for befriending Brian–who happens to be a sheriff where they’re at and then he called Elizabeth a home wrecking slut…I wanted to get him out of there before he could do anything else.”

“You knew he was close to snapping and you left with him?” Lorenzo asked incredulously, his ire growing as he realized that Sonny Corinthos had left that mark on her beautiful skin.

Carly’s voice broke. “I know. It was stupid.”

Lorenzo shook his head and kneeled in front of her. “No, no. Hey, how many times has he been like this and never laid a hand on you? How could you know?”

“I should have. I goaded him. I didn’t mean to do it but he was talking about how he needed to fix his family and how we all needed him and I couldn’t–” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I told him that even though I had brought him home and was going to help him find another lawyer, I wasn’t going to come home.”

“And what did he say to that?”

“He told me he wanted to bring my boys home–that he didn’t want them exposed to you and Sage only he called her a brat and you a criminal and I don’t care what you do for a living–he has no right to judge and no one’s going to talk about Sage like that in front of me so I told him that no judge in his right mind was going to give him custody.”

She took a deep breath. “It just went from bad to worse and I could see–I could see that he getting more and more agitated but I just–I told him I didn’t need him anymore and that just–I think that was the end of it. He threw the glass from the mini bar like he always does and then he overturned the whole thing. He told me to walk away but I–I didn’t and I should have. Why didn’t I walk away?”

“Because it never occurred to you that he would hurt you,” Lorenzo repeated. He pushed her hair out of her eyes and cupped her uninjured cheek. “And he hit you.”

Carly nodded miserably. “Yeah.” She tried to go on but her voice faltered and she had to pause for a minute. “Jason had to have been right outside because almost immediately, he came in and he was on the floor, checking on me. Sonny–he seemed kind of out of it. I don’t really think he knew what he was doing. I’m not trying to make excuses,” she explained in a hurry when she saw Lorenzo grimace.

“Okay.” Lorenzo would let her get this out; he’d sit with her and make sure she was okay.

And then he’d kill him.

“He must have been doing something with Elizabeth because she was there, too. It’s all kind of hazy. Elizabeth helped me to my feet and got me across to Jason’s place.”

“What happened to Sonny?” Lorenzo asked, trying to keep his voice soft and gentle.

“Jason took care of him–I didn’t ask for a lot of details. He got Sonny to agree to take the plea and he seemed pretty convinced Scott Baldwin would make a deal for time in Ferncliffe. I waited until I felt more calm, and then Jason walked me to my car.” Carly took his hands in hers. “I know that you’re mad.”

“I’m not going to lie to you. I think that if Sonny was in this room right now, I’d probably do him a lot of bodily harm,” Lorenzo admitted.

“I don’t want you to get involved in this, okay?” Carly asked. She searched his eyes. “I know what you want to do and believe me, I do not blame you and it makes…it makes me feel good that you want to protect me. But I am okay. This situation has been handled and I don’t–I don’t have to see Sonny again if I don’t want to. If this deal goes through, he just needs to have a sentencing hearing. That’s it, okay?”

“Carly, he hit you,” Lorenzo said sharply. “I’m just supposed to let that go unpunished?”

“It’s not your job to punish him,” Carly retorted. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her self. “I need you to listen to me. You are important to me, more important than just about anyone else in my life and I don’t want that to change. But you have got to understand that just because I am not with Sonny anymore…it does not mean I do not care about him. I know that there is nothing you can do to him that he wouldn’t gladly let you. When he gets back into a place where he is in control of himself…he will remember this day and that will be punishment enough for me. He will remember that because he had too much pride to do the right thing, he did the one thing he swore never to do–that he committed an act of violence against a woman.”

“And that’s enough for you.”

“That’s enough for me.”

Lorenzo rose to his feet. “Well, it’s not enough for me. Somebody hurt you–somebody laid a hand on you and left a bruise and that just…” he shook his head. “Carly, I know that you’re not ready for a relationship and that’s okay. I understand that and I’m giving you all the time and space you need. But that doesn’t change the fact that I love you and I don’t know how I’m supposed to sleep at night knowing that Sonny hit you and I did nothing about it.”

Carly stood up and put her hands on his shirt. “I know. Believe me, I know how you feel. But I want you to promise me that…at least right now…you won’t do something crazy and go after him. Right now, Sonny is no position to defend himself and you are not the kind of man to attack someone like that.”

Lorenzo exhaled slowly and covered her hands with his. “I won’t–I won’t do anything. I’d rather keep a promise to you than seek revenge on Sonny.”

“And that is why I love you,” Carly said softly.

Lorenzo blinked. “Could you–could you repeat that?”

“I love you,” Carly said again with a smile. “That doesn’t change the fact that it’s too soon for me to start anything but I thought–you deserve to know how I feel.”

“Well…” Lorenzo smiled then. “I think it’s safe to say I’m not angry anymore.”

“Good…” Carly leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “Because I need to go experiment with my makeup to cover this. I don’t want Michael to know until I can think of a way to explain it to him. Could you call my mother and ask her to keep Morgan a few more hours?”

“Sure,” Lorenzo agreed easily, watching her pull away from him and move towards the stairs.

Waiting for her to be ready suddenly didn’t feel as difficult.

Harborview Towers

Courtney stepped off the elevator and turned to Brian. “Maybe you should wait out here. I don’t–I don’t know what kind mood he’s in.”

Brian nodded. “I can do that.”

She left him at the elevator and frowned when she saw the lack of a guard in front of the door. “That’s weird,” she murmured.

She turned the knob and pushed it open, her face paling as it took in the trashed downstairs of her brother’s home. “Jesus Christ.”

She stepped inside and swept her eyes across the living room. The mini bar was overturned and broken glass was  everywhere. “Sonny?” she called raising her voice. “Sonny?”

When she received no answer she ran towards the stairs, glass crackling under her feet. She dashed up the flight and pushed open her brother’s door. He was sitting on his bed, his head in his hands. “Sonny,” she said softly.

He raised his eyes to hers and blinked. “I–I hit her.”

Dread settled in her stomach like a pound of lead and Courtney crossed to him and kneeled in front of him. “Oh…Sonny…”

“You shouldn’t be here right now,” Sonny said in a hoarse voice. His eyes were red and swollen. “I don’t–I don’t think I’m angry enough to do anything but…I don’t really know what I’m capable of anymore.”

Courtney pushed some of his dark hair out of his face. “Hey, I’m not going anywhere. I know you must hate yourself pretty bad right now but it’s going to be okay.”

“No, it’s never going to be okay again.” Sonny dragged his hands through his hair and bowed his head. “I hit her, Courtney. I swore to myself I would never lay a hand on a woman and I hit her. Somehow that feels worse than shooting her in the god damn head.”

“You need help,” Courtney whispered thickly. “Carly and I thought we could do it before and Carly and Jason have always been enough but it’s not anymore, Sonny. You need to talk to someone. Please. It hurts so much to watch you in pain.”

“I know.” Sonny cleared his throat. “I already told Jason I would do anything he wanted me to do. I called Dara and I’m changing the plea back. I just…I thought if I could just fix what’s been going wrong around here…it would help. It always has before.”

“But there’s nothing you can fix, Sonny,” Courtney told him gently. She moved to sit next to him on the bed. “What’s going wrong right now–it’s been happening for months. Except no one wanted to say so. And if you don’t say it, it’s not real.” She bit her lip and looked away. “You were right last year. Jason and I–we weren’t a good idea. A-and I’m sorry that I didn’t listen to you. I was too hurt by AJ and too addicted to how safe Jason made me feel and I just–I was too proud to say that you knew better.”

“It fit though,” Sonny told her. “You and Jason, me and Carly. It all fit.” He chuckled bitterly and forced himself to stand and cross to the window. “But it really didn’t. I–I made a lot of mistakes. I keep myself in check by controlling everything around me and that used to work. But–but it doesn’t anymore. You guys–you moved on. You made changes–big ones–and I’m playing catch up.”

“Carly loves you,” Courtney said softly. “That hasn’t changed. But she’s moved on, too. It feels like it happened while you were in jail but it’s been happening for a while. Jason–I love him, Sonny. But we do not work as couple. Mainly because I like the little quiet life I’m building in Haye’s Landing…and because I’m not Elizabeth.”

Sonny nodded. “I knew that you were just trying to prove it to yourself that you could do this. I could see it in your eyes every time you had to leave the room or sacrifice something else because of this life. You were fighting yourself, Courtney a-and I’m glad you’ve stopped.”

“I feel…I feel better now that I’ve admitted it out loud,” Courtney confessed. “I can’t handle it. I’m sorry that I’ve made myself miserable in the process and I’m sorry that I had to hurt Jason to realize it but we’re better off, Sonny. I need you to please understand that it wasn’t his fault and it wasn’t mine.”

“He still cheated on you.”

“Yeah, but…but it helps that he didn’t just pick some random girl on the street. He did it during a time when we were fighting a lot and when things were rocky…and he slept with a woman I knew he’d never get over.” She sighed and twisted her hands. “I don’t like that he did it, came back to me and still married me but it’s easier for me to understand what he did because it was with her.”

Sonny exhaled slowly. “Yeah…well, that’s between the two of you and it was–it was wrong of me to get in the middle.” He closed his eyes. “I’ve been close to the edge for a while now–maybe since Alcazar sprung that Lily look-a-like on me or maybe since last spring with that stuff with Jason originally. I don’t really know.” He sighed. “But it’s never been as bad as it has these last few days. I said things that I shouldn’t have. To you, to Carly, to Elizabeth, to Jason…”

“That’s why you’re going to get help,” Courtney said firmly. “So that you can apologize and say that you’re sorry and that you’re getting help.”

Sonny nodded. “But that doesn’t take it back. It doesn’t make it okay.”

“Not to you but it will to them. At least–I think it will.”

Sonny sighed. “So, this Brian guy…” he managed a weak smile. “Do I need to grill him on his intentions?”

Courtney laughed a little and stood up to kiss his cheek. “Yeah, but between you and me, he’d wipe the floor with you.”

Morgan Penthouse

Elizabeth stirred and opened her eyes. When she realized her surroundings, she sat up abruptly. “Oh, hell, I did it again.”

Jason glanced at her from his desk with an amused smile. “You’ve been out for almost two hours.”

“Christ.” She dragged a hand through hair and shook her head, trying to clear the haze. “I’ve never been so tired in my life. Over the weekend, I was sitting with Emily out in the gardens at Wyndemere. We were on this bench and she went inside to ask Nikolas something. She came back out and I had curled up on the bench and fallen asleep.”

“Carly was like that too a lot for the first few months. I found her curled up in the booths at The Cellar more than once.”

“Oh, well, at least it’s not just me. I just close my eyes for a minute and I zone out. No warning. It’s insane.” She stood. “Sorry but you could have just woken me up.”

Jason shrugged and pushed away from the desk. “I didn’t really mind. I did move you so you’d be more comfortable.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Are you hungry or something? I don’t have anything here but I can get something from Kelly’s.”

“No, I’m okay. I’m sure you’ve got more important things to do so if you could just walk me to the docks for the launch…?”

“Elizabeth, there is nothing more important in my life right now,” Jason corrected. “I wanted to thank you…for being here today. For helping with Carly.”

“I’m just sorry any of you are going through this,” Elizabeth remarked. “I’m glad you let me help.” She sighed. “Jason…I don’t want to be an obligation.”

“You’re not.”

“But it feels like it,” Elizabeth admitted. She stared at her hands. “It feels like you’re just…doing what you think you’re supposed to be doing. Giving me money, getting me this apartment, getting a divorce…you don’t need to take care of me, Jason and I don’t want you to.”

Jason opened his mouth to deny it but closed as he thought over his words. He stood and crossed to his pool table. “I tried to tell you that last night…that things weren’t going to be the same between us.”

Elizabeth blinked and twisted on the couch to look at him oddly. “What night?”

“That night before we faked Sonny’s death. When you asked me if I would call and take you out…and I told you that I didn’t know what was going to happen or how we’d deal with it.” He ran his fingers over the soft green felt. “I knew you were going to be upset when you found out. It just…it never crossed my mind that you leave and cut me out of your life.”

Elizabeth stood and rounded the couch, leaning against it. “I–my original intention wasn’t cut you out permanently.” She stared at the floor. “I was so angry and I knew I’d keep saying things I didn’t mean just so I could hurt you as much as you hurt me. I didn’t want to be that person, Jason, so I just–I stayed away. I thought…I’d calm down and then I’d go to you…”

“Why didn’t you?” Jason asked. “Why did you dismiss me that night at Luke’s?”

“Because you weren’t you anymore,” Elizabeth said, with a little shrug. “I came home from helping Luke and Lucky and the first thing out of Courtney’s mouth was that you got married.”

“That wasn’t real,” Jason protested. “You had to know that.”

“No, I didn’t know that,” Elizabeth replied shortly. “Because you didn’t tell me. What was I supposed to think? You’d lied to me and then told me it had nothing to do with me.”

“I’m sorry. I–I’ve apologized for that and I’ve told you that I should have told you.”

“I know and I accept that but you wanted to me to explain why I cut you out of my life and that’s part of it. You married another woman and then you came to me like…like I was just supposed to forget it all. Yes, you’ve apologized…but you didn’t then.” She sighed. “You just…you weren’t the same. You were different and I wasn’t really fond of who you were. Then the whole Courtney thing happened and I just…things got out of control.”

“You’re not an obligation,” Jason said quietly, “but you’re right. I–I’ve been just doing the things I think I’m supposed to do. And it’s because I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where I stand with you and how much to push you for more and I don’t know if I deserve to considering that I got married less than two months ago and it’s just…I feel like I don’t know what’s going on inside my head anymore.” He dragged his hand through his hair. “But I know that I like having you around. That sitting here with you today…with you sleeping on the couch and me sitting there doing paperwork…it’s the best I’ve felt in a long time. And part of me just wants to ask you to move in here with me so I can feel like that all the time.”

Elizabeth blinked. “So why don’t you?” she asked softly.

December 1, 2003

Corinthos Penthouse

It only took a moment for Elizabeth to realize that Carly was not unconscious or seriously hurt—merely stunned. She propped herself up on one elbow and clutched the other hand to her face.

Sonny blinked and his glazed expression slowly moved from his hand to his wife and for a moment he felt like he was floating. He was above it all and he wondered why she was crying.

For a moment, he was eight years old again and watching his stepfather hit his mother. Adela had had that same look in her eye that first time. That stunned and terrified look–as though she couldn’t believe this was happening to her

Bile rose in Sonny’s throat and he fell to his knees. “Oh, God,” he choked out. “Oh, God, Carly.”

But when he moved towards her, Carly instinctively sought to protect herself and crawled backwards helplessly. Jason stood and put himself between his best friend and his boss, his eyes catching sight of a horrified Elizabeth in the doorway.

“Elizabeth, help Carly to her feet and get her out of here,” he told her softly. There was no room for argument and Elizabeth wouldn’t have known what to protest. She crouched and held out her arms for Carly to grip in her path to standing.

Every limb in the other woman’s body was trembling violently and silent tears were streaming down her face. She’d never dreamed Sonny would turn his rage on her.

Elizabeth wrapped an arm around Carly’s waist and led her from the penthouse. She leaned down and found the keys for Jason’s place on the floor and shakily inserted the key into the lock.

She opened the door, shut it behind her and then helped Carly sit on the couch.

Across the hall, Sonny was shaking his head—almost sobbing. “What did I do?” he kept repeating to himself.

Jason shut the door and went into the kitchen. A few moments later, he emerged with a towel and some ice. He knelt in front of Sonny and took the bleeding hand in his. The blood wasn’t from Carly, Jason noticed with relief—but from overturning the mini bar. He wrapped Sonny’s hand in the towel and set the ice over it. “If you don’t agree to get help, I will force you to do it,” he finally told his former mentor. “Because I know you know what you just did was unacceptable.”

“I didn’t even realize I’d done it until I saw her lying there,” Sonny choked out. “Oh, Jesus, Jason…I hit her. One moment she was standing there–so angry with me and I just—Oh, fuck, I just snapped. I threw some glass and usually—usually that kind of relieves some of the anger in me, you know? I do it to blow off the steam.”

“I know,” Jason agreed. “But it didn’t work this time, did it?”

“No—so I-I overturned the whole bar and this—this rage was still boiling inside. I told her to walk away from me—I swear I did, Jason. I told her to walk away.”

“But Carly doesn’t know how to walk away from anything,” Jason remarked, closing his eyes. And why should she have? Sonny had never hit her before—had never given any indication he’d turn his rage on her.

But he’d been walking a tightrope for some time and he’d begun to stumble that night in October. Jason thought Sonny understood he needed help but then he’d lost it this morning. Completely–attacking anyone in his path. From innocent bystander Brian who was just there to support Courtney to Elizabeth, a girl Sonny had cared about as a friend almost before Jason could remember.

The tightrope had snapped and Sonny had taken a tumble into the darkness he knew so well.

“She was still standing there—still angry, still not afraid of me. She repeated what’d she said. Nobody needed me to fix them. I didn’t want to hear it—I told her to shut up and she just yelled right back at me. I wanted her to just—to just be quiet.” Sonny squeezed his eyes shut. “I hit her. Oh, God, I hit her just like Deke hit my mother. Right across the face–a backhanded slap. How could I have done that? To Carly, Jason. I hit Carly!”

“Yeah, yeah, you did.” Jason stood and had to haul Sonny to his feet. “We’re going to call Dara and you’re going to tell her that you’ve changed your mind. You’re taking a plea and then tomorrow when Scott offers you a deal, you’re taking it.”

“He won’t,” Sonny said hoarsely. “We’ve already gone this route, Jason. He’ll see me rot in hell before he cooperates.”

“He will,” Jason repeated. “Trust me, Sonny. He will offer you a deal to serve the time at a hospital. And you will take it and you go into therapy and you will get better, do you understand me?” he demanded sharply, desperation coloring his tone. This was the man he’d learned so much from–he’d learned how to treat women from Sonny. Respect, Sonny had told him. Always respect them. And never…ever lay a hand on them.

If this could happen to Sonny–the man Jason had always admired–it could happen to anyone.

Sonny nodded miserably. “Anything. Anything so I never have to see that look on Carly’s face again. She and my mother don’t look anything alike–except my mother wore that look for the rest of her life and I would rather slit my wrists before I see it on Carly’s again.”

“Carly will be fine, I will take care of her,” Jason swore. “Go upstairs. Get a shower. Go lie down. I’ll take care of everything.”

Morgan Penthouse

Elizabeth handed her a glass of orange juice. “It’s the only thing Jason has in his refrigerator,” she apologized.

“It’s fine,” Carly said hoarsely, greedily drinking it. She set the half empty glass on the coffee table and wrapped her arms around herself. “I never—I never thought he’d actually hit me.”

A red splotch covered half of Carly’s face and Elizabeth knew without a doubt that it would turn into a rather large and ugly bruise. The two women had never gotten along and suddenly Elizabeth didn’t feel that she could offer the comfort the other women needed so desperately.

“Do you want me to call Courtney?” Elizabeth suggested. “Bobbie?”

“No!” Carly said sharply. She raked her hands through her hair and shook her head. “No one can know. They’ll look at him differently—they’ll look at me differently.”

“This isn’t your fault,” Elizabeth said softly. “I don’t care what he’s going through—none of it makes it your fault.”

“He told me to walk away.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “He told me to walk away and I didn’t. Why can’t I ever learn?”

“You should put some ice on that–it might help it not to bruise as badly,” Elizabeth said softly. “Carly…I wish I knew what to say to help you.”

“There’s nothing you can say.” Carly managed a weak smile. “Point for you for not arguing with Jason back there, though. You’re not really—if it had been Courtney, she would have. She’s his sister and she loves him. She would have tried to help him. But she wouldn’t have understood that the last thing he needed to see was another woman right now.”

“It seems to me that Jason knows Sonny better than anyone. He wanted me to get you out of there. Who am I argue?” Elizabeth stood. “I’ll get some ice—”

“I’ll get it,” Carly said. She stood and started for the kitchen. “And then I just…I need to be alone. It’s not you—”

“It’s fine, Carly.” Elizabeth watched in concern as the other woman retrieved an ice pack and disappeared upstairs.

It was another twenty minutes before Jason finally walked into the room and she immediately jumped up from the sofa. “Are you okay?” she asked immediately.

Jason nodded and rubbed a hand over his face. “I made him call Dara and agree to take a deal from Scott tomorrow. Is…is Carly okay?”

“She’s blaming herself but I guess that’s natural. She’s gonna have one nasty bruise on her face.” Elizabeth gestured towards the stairs. “She said she just wanted to be alone for a bit.”

“How long?”

“About twenty minutes. Jason–”

“I can’t walk you to the docks right now,” he interrupted. “I can’t… I can’t leave them alone up here.”

“I can walk myself. It’s broad daylight, it’ll be fine,” Elizabeth remarked. She hesitated. “Unless…I can stay, if you want.”

“Stay,” Jason said immediately. “Please.”

She nodded. “Sure.” She crossed to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, splaying her hands on his shoulder blades. “I’m so sorry,” Elizabeth said softly. His arms came around her and held her more tightly than he ever had before. He pressed his face into her hair and just stood there—for once accepting the comfort she’d always sought to give him.

Port Charles Grille

Brian glanced around the luxurious dining room. “I still like Webster’s better,” he decided.

Courtney managed a weak smile. “Their coffee is better,” she agreed. She used her fork to push her scrambled eggs around her plate. “So, now that you’ve met the other woman, what do you think of her?”

Brian frowned in confusion at the motive for the question but he answered it anyway. “She seems nice. A little intimidated by your brother but I bet she spends most of her time worrying about everyone else but herself.”

“Why do you say that?” she asked, surprised at his dead on impression.

“The way she stood when we were in the hallway–the way she acted the whole morning. She keeps darting her eyes around to the people near her. Not out of suspicion or guilt but concern. The edges of her nails are bitten down but they’re still polished so she’s definitely got anxiety problems but tries to hide them.”

“This is a bit of your FBI training showing through, huh?” Courtney asked with obvious respect.

Brian shrugged. “They just teach you to look for certain things–like the way someone playing a poker game learns the other person’s tells.” He shifted in his seat and sipped his coffee. “But I think you knew those things about Elizabeth. You were asking my opinion as a man, weren’t you?”

“Maybe,” Courtney admitted reluctantly. “My relationship with Jason was based on–it was more honest than my marriage. Not completely honest, but more honest and it’s hard for me to get the past fact that subconsciously, he wished he was with her the entire time.”

“She’s pretty,” Brian admitted. “Very pretty in that elfin sort of way. The kinds of guys who are attracted to her probably see something in her that they want to fix or protect. She kind of screams that vibe but I don’t think she’s weak at all. And I think that’s probably why she’s still alone–despite being pretty and being a good person who looks out for the people she loves.”

“Jason thinks she walks on water,” Courtney remarked bitterly. “Thinks she can do no wrong.”

“And that’s probably his mistake right there. It doesn’t work between them because he puts her on a pedestal. He probably has this firm idea of who she is in his head and refuses to change it. He thinks she needs his protection. The way he subconsciously came to her defense all morning says that. But I bet she resents that like hell.” He took a bite out of his toast and chewed it slowly. It’d been a while since he’d put his profiling skills to any kind of use and he found the exercise mildly amusing. He’d been curious about the woman Courtney’s husband had slept with and now that his curiosity was satisfied, he still didn’t understand why Jason Morgan would leave a woman who obviously loved him to chase a relationship with another woman who wouldn’t be with him while he treated her like a child

“But you don’t want to sleep with her right?” Courtney asked, injecting false humor into her statement and hating the way her voice shook slightly.

“No, I don’t,” Brian remarked off-handedly. “But I bet you could find a hundred men who don’t and then another hundred who would. This isn’t about her being better than you, Courtney. He didn’t love her better or more, okay?”

“No, he’s just in love with her. And he only loved me. I know enough to see the difference.” She stared at her plate. “Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.”

Letting the subject go, Brian finished his toast and cleared his throat. “Your brother is going to snap soon, Courtney. And I’d tell your sister-in-law to make sure she’s not in the room when he does.”

Courtney blinked and stared at him. “How can–why would you say something like that?”

“He’s got this tension in his body and the longer he was around her, the tighter the muscles got. I wasn’t sure at first if it was the idea of being in court, you being hurt by your marriage or Carly herself. The only people Sonny didn’t verbally attack were you and his wife. He holds the two of you very highly. You’re beyond reproach right now because he sees you as the wronged party. He’ll be angry at Jason until he snaps and then he’ll realize Jason’s probably the best friend he has.”

“So why do you think Carly would be in danger?” Courtney asked softly.

“Because she doesn’t live with him and you can see in the way she carries herself that she’s proud of her independence. She’s got a backbone I bet wasn’t there before. The next time you see her, take a look at her shoulders. They’re straight. She holds her head high and you can see it in her face that she’s not used to it. She wears expensive clothes and jewelry that she could never afford on her own–even if her nightclub were the most profitable in town. She’s had a year or more of complete dependence on your brother and this independence is new to her but she’s proud of it. And she’ll fight to keep it. Your sister-in-law reminds me of a tiger almost in that way. And once your brother recognizes that–it’ll be the thread that makes him snap. The only thing keeping him in line is the idea that his family needs him to fix them. And you and Jason have proved already that you don’t.”

“It’s almost creepy how well you know them,” Courtney murmured, “considering it’s the first time you met them. It’s not just the profiling stuff you know, is it?”

“Once you know what to look for, everything falls into place. It’s a matter of being observant and using what you see to connect it to what you already know. You’ve told me a lot about your family so I used that and connected it to body language and dialogue patterns.”

Courtney pushed her plate away. “I know you have to get back to Haye’s Landing–”

“I have the day off, you know that.”

“–but I want to check on my brother and Carly before we drive back,” Courtney finished. She started to search through her pocket book for her wallet. By the time she found it, Brian had already signaled the waiter and given him a credit card.

Port Charles High School: Library

Lucas shifted in his seat and studied his history notes. He had a test next period and though he knew the material inside and out, he still wanted it fresh in his mind.

A stack of books fell on the table across from him and his blonde cousin sat down with a sigh. “Okay, we gotta talk.”

“Maxie, I don’t really have time for this–”

“Hey…make time, okay? We’ve barely have ten seconds to talk since you’ve been avoiding Georgie for the last week.”

“Sometimes Georgie shows her age a little more than I’m comfortable with.” Lucas shoved his notes aside. “What’s on your mind? Something wrong with Kyle? He still not calling?”

“No, he called last night. He couldn’t get home for Thanksgiving. New Jersey had some bad rain and his flight got canceled. He’ll be home for Christmas but that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh?”

“Sage.”

Lucas sighed and shook his head. “I don’t really want to deal with this, Maxie. I know you don’t like her–”

“I don’t know her,” Maxie argued. “And you do. I need you to talk to me about it because it worries me a bit. She’s a pretty girl—is that what this is about?”

“If you’re insinuating that I just want to sleep with her, you can save your breath. I’ve barely worked up the courage to ask her to the dance next Friday.”

“Fair enough. I’m sorry. So, you really like her?”

“I really like her. She’s not the girl you guys think she is. She’s not a slut, she’s not a bad person–she’s just…she just haven’t had a good life. Her father shipped her off to boarding school, never called, never wrote. It’s kind of you like and your dad except she didn’t have Mac and her mother left her for good years ago.”

“I didn’t know all that,” Maxie said softly.

“Well…now you do. Just because her father and her uncle are criminals, it doesn’t mean she is, too. So tell Georgie that I won’t avoid her anymore if she’ll just act a little more mature. Sage kissed Dillon twice. She hasn’t gone near him since and if I have anything to say about it, she won’t even remember his name.”

Maxie suppressed a smile. “You really like her, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Lucas admitted. “Is this going to be a problem?”

“No. I’m glad you’ve got someone, Lucas. Do I wish it wasn’t the niece of a crime lord? Sure. But hey, beggars can’t be choosers.” She checked her watch. “Okay, I’m late for chemistry.”

“You ditched chemistry to ask me that?” Lucas asked amused.

Maxie shrugged. “Not like I missed anything I’m gonna understand. Chemistry is like being in the middle of an advanced Spanish class when you can barely speak English.”

Morgan Penthouse

“Are you hungry?” Jason asked Carly as she descended the stairs.

“I don’t think I could eat,” Carly sighed. She glanced around. “Where’d Elizabeth go? She was here when I went upstairs.”

“She’s still here. She’s upstairs—morning sickness. She refused to let me in and help her so I’ve been sitting down here for the past twenty minutes.” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “I talked to Sonny and he agreed with what I suggested.”

Carly closed her eyes. “I could say I don’t care and almost believe it,” she said softly.

“I called Dara and without giving her details–I convinced her take his case again. He’s going to reenter his guilty plea and Scott Baldwin is going to offer him a deal of six years in Ferncliffe.”

Carly frowned. “I thought Scott refused to deal this out.” She pulled the ice pack away and rubbed the sore skin. “What am I going to tell Michael?”

“The truth–as gently as you can,” Jason advised. “And Scott will deal. I’ll make sure of that.” He looked away. “But I think it’s for the best if you don’t tell Alcazar.”

“I can’t lie to Lorenzo, Jason,” Carly protested. “If he asks, I’m going to tell him what happened. He won’t come near Sonny, I promise.”

“Carly–”

“I won’t lie,” she refused. “If Ric hit Elizabeth, do you think you’d want to know?”

“It’s hardly the same thing,” Jason protested. “I’m not an idiot who would run around trying to get revenge.”

“Yeah, okay.” Carly rolled her eyes. “If you saw a bruise on her face even half the size of the one I’ve got, you’d shoot first and ask questions later. You’d want Emily to tell you, too. I’m not going to lie to him, Jason. Get used to it.”

Because he knew she had a point, he let the subject drop. A few moments later, Elizabeth slowly came down the steps, a hand braced over her abdomen and her face pale.

Carly managed a weak smile. “Yeah, that look feels familiar. You should eat some crackers. It’ll help settle your stomach.”

“To get crackers, I’ll need to get back to Wyndemere and making that trip on the launch is so not an appealing idea,” Elizabeth grumbled. She sat down gingerly on the arm chair to the left of the couch. “I’ll be glad when I don’t have to cross a body of water all the time.”

“You don’t have any crackers in your kitchen?” Carly demanded accusingly. “An expecting father should always have some.”

“I’ll put it on my grocery list.” Jason sighed. “Carly…is there anything you need…anything I can do?”

“No. I just… I want to get out of this building,” Carly said. “I have to pick up Michael from school in about an hour and I want some time to get the majority of this covered by makeup.”

“I’ll walk you down to your car,” Jason said. He looked at Elizabeth who’d leaned back against the chair, her eyes closed. “Will you be okay here for a few minutes? I sent Marco home for the day.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

Jason walked Carly down to the parking garage, waited until she was in her car and once she’d left the garage, he sent one of the guards after her and instructed him to stay on her until Jason told him otherwise.

By the time he returned to his penthouse, Elizabeth had fallen asleep. Her breathing was deep. He considered waking her but remembered that Carly had been tired early in her pregnancy with Morgan and had fallen asleep everywhere and anywhere.

He lifted her into his arms and moved her to the couch, where she stretched out but did not stir. He pulled a small blanket from the back of the couch and spread it over her.

He sat at his desk and started working on paperwork that he’d fallen behind with.

Carly’s House

Carly stepped inside and turned to lock the deadbolt. When she turned back towards the rest of the living room, she saw Lorenzo standing there, with a slight scowl on his face. “I heard what happened in court–” he broke off when he caught sight of the rapidly darkening bruise on her face.

He stepped forward, his dark eyes narrowing, his lips tightening in anger. “Who did this to you?” he demanded roughly.

 

November 27, 2003

Wyndemere: Living Room

“God damn Rams,” Luke grumbled, reaching for his bourbon glass.

“I told you I was gonna win, Uncle Luke,” Lucas said, grinning. “It’s the Patriots year. Brady’s gonna take them all the way.”

“He’s a young little arrogant hotshot,” Luke argued. “He’ll choke.”

“His team won the Super Bowl before thanks to him,” Lucky reminded his father.

Luke glared at his son. “Luck don’t strike twice.”

“God-given talent,” Lucas argued. “Brady’s the best quarterback the Patriots have had.”

“Ah…” Luke waved it off and sat back.

Sage frowned. “I have no idea what’s going on right now,” she told Michael, who nodded.

“I root for the blue team because that’s my favorite color,” he told her with complete seriousness. “Who do you like, Mommy?”

“He’s cute, who does he play for?” Carly asked, gesturing to the screen where a picture of a player and his stats were profiled.

“That’s Tom Brady for the Patriots,” Lucky said, absently.

“Okay, then I’m a Patriots fan.”

“Hey, Spencers are Rams fans,” Luke told her with a glare.

“This Spencer ain’t,” Lucky said with a grin.

“This one either,” Lucas agreed.

“You both take after your mothers,” Luke muttered. “Hey, Barbara Jean, you got any more of this pigs in a blanket crap?” he called to the kitchen.

“Make it yourself!” Bobbie called back.

“Where did Uncle Jason go?” Michael asked disappointed. “He was supposed to watch the parade with me.”

“He went to talk to Elizabeth,” Carly told him. “Besides, I’m here. Aren’t I good enough?” she teased.

“Yeah,” Michael agreed. “But he promised.”

“He and Elizabeth had a fight and he went to make it better,” Carly explained.

“Oh, that’s okay then.”

Lucky frowned. “What kind of fight?” he asked, concerned. “What did he do?”

“Oh, you know men. Said something he didn’t think was particularly bad and her hormones,” Carly waved it off. “He just went to apologize.”

“I remember when Laura was pregnant with the squirt,” Luke said, gesturing towards the floor where Lulu was studiously brushing and braiding about a dozen different Barbie dolls. “I said cow referring to something on the television and she thought I was calling her a cow–” he whistled. “To this day, I don’t say the word around a pregnant woman.”

Sage rolled her eyes. “I am so not going to be that way when I get pregnant.” She grinned. “I’m going to do my pregnancy in style.”

Lucas laughed. “What? With designer maternity clothes?”

“Of course. Just because you’re having a kid, it doesn’t mean you have to lose all sense of style,” Sage said with a teasing glint in her eyes.

“I feel bad for the schmuck you marry,” Lucas said shaking his head.

She frowned. “Schmuck? Why’s he gotta be schmuck?”

“I dunno, just seemed like the thing to say,” he shrugged. Sage whacked him in the arm with a magazine. “Ow! Geez, sorry.”

“Hey, it’s snowing!” Michael announced gleefully. He ran across the room to stand by the huge window. “I wanna go play!”

Sage grinned. “How much snow is on the ground?” she asked.

“Lots now!”

“Someone promised me snow angels,” she told Lucas. “Come on.” She stood and yanked him off the couch.

“What about the game?” Lucas protested.

“Please–the cute guy will win, I totally predict it.” She turned to Carly. “Is it okay if I take Michael?”

“Sure. Michael, just listen to Sage and don’t wander off,” Carly directed.

“Okay, let’s go,” Sage yanked on Lucas’s hand and drug him into the hallway, Michael running behind them.

“He seems happier away from…everything,” Luke observed. “Michael, I mean.”

“I was sorry to let Leticia go, but…” Carly shrugged. “I think it’s better for them. It’s not like I have this rigorous schedule that I can’t take care of the boys. I’m not going to the club full-time until after the holidays and even then I can take Morgan during the day.”

“Sage seems nice,” Lucky told her. “Hard to believe she’s the same girl that tried to shoot–” he grimaced. “Alexis. She doesn’t know Sage is here.”

“And Sage doesn’t know about Alexis…” Carly trailed off. “I like to think she’s come away from that person she was just a few weeks ago. Maybe…maybe this will be okay,” she said hesitantly.

Luke snorted. “I guess this is going to be a crazy Quartermaine-esque holiday anyway. Good, I thought it’d be boring.”

Elizabeth’s Bedroom

He knocked lightly on her door and Elizabeth–thinking it was Nikolas–told him to come in. “Elizabeth,” Jason began.

“Jason, I don’t have the energy to argue anymore,” she sighed.

“I don’t want to argue,” Jason assured. He sat hesitantly on the edge of her bed. “I’m sorry for what I said downstairs. I just–there are things going on inside my head that you–you don’t know about and–”

“Then tell me,” she said softly. She turned on the bed, tucking a leg underneath her body.

“I just–” he exhaled slowly. “What Michael said downstairs–about things not being black and white, that after we stopped—after you left,” he hesitated, “I didn’t wake up and not feel the same way anymore. That was true and I wasn’t prepared for him of all people to say it.”

“He was just repeating what Sage told him,” Elizabeth said softly. “I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm–he probably just had questions–”

“But she was right and it kind of–it just…it surprises me that people can even guess the reasons…what happened…happened,” Jason tried to explain.

“I don’t–I don’t understand.”

“I used to be able to do it–switch emotions off and on. It made my life more simple. For the job–for survival,” he told her. “When Robin left–when I lost Michael, I had to find a way to shut out the pain. It didn’t always work–but I could do everything possible not to see Michael and Robin was out of the country–” he shook his head. “When you left, I couldn’t do that.”

“I–” she broke off when she realized she didn’t know what to say. “I don’t–”

“There was this–this emptiness inside,” he told her. “Like someone was squeezing me and it was hard to breathe. I tried–I tried to keep my mind off it. I threw myself into work–and Courtney.”

“I don’t want to talk about that,” Elizabeth said immediately. She stood and crossed the room, folding her arms tightly.

“I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I didn’t–I don’t feel like I’m doing this right.”

“Why’d you kiss me?” she demanded suddenly, turning to face him.

He blinked. “What?”

“That night. In the hallway, why did you kiss me?” Elizabeth asked. “Why did you come inside? Why didn’t you leave?”

“Why’d you kiss me back?” he asked instead of answering. “Why didn’t you stop it? Why didn’t you tell me to leave?”

“I asked you first.”

He sighed, drove his fingers through his hair. “I don’t–” he stopped and shook his head. “No, I do know why I did it. When you looked up at me–when I helped you unlock the door–there was just…you were looking at me the way you used to. Before I lied to you–before I hurt you. And I just…I wanted to hold on to that look for as long as I could.”

Elizabeth wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Isn’t that a nice coincidence? Because you were looking at me the way you did before I walked out–and I missed it. You know? And I really didn’t want to lose that again.”

Fountain

“Wow, this has got to be the coolest place ever,” Sage marveled as they found the large out of service stone fountain outside Wyndemere’s main entrance. “I bet this was like the courtyard when the Cassadines had money. And all the really awesome balls and parties they must have thrown.”

She twirled in a little circle and c aught some of the falling snow on her tongue. Lucas laughed. “You think you’d never seen snow before.”

“Did I mention most of my schools were in South America?” Sage asked. “I lived in Brazil and Spain. My father hated snow so I never spent the winter anywhere where there was snow.”

“Wow, so you’ve never seen snow?” Michael asked. He found a bigger pile of it and jumped feet first, sending little puffs of snow everywhere.

“Just dusting the other day,” Sage reported. She tugged on Lucas’s arm. “Come on, you promised.”

“It’s like baby-sitting two kids,” Lucas laughed and he started to search for a place so Sage could do her snow angels.

Elizabeth’s Bedroom

Elizabeth cleared her throat. “We should–should go downstairs.” But she didn’t move.

“Elizabeth–I kissed you that night because I wanted to,” Jason told her. “I don’t know if that’s enough for you but everything that happened that night–it meant something to me.”

“It meant something to me too,” Elizabeth said quietly. She clasped her hands nervously in front of her and stared at the floor.

“I do…I do love Courtney–but it’s not the way I should,” Jason attempted to continue. “It’s not the way she deserves.”

“What’s between you and your wife is none of my business,” Elizabeth said stiffly. She smoothed her hands over the skirt of her dress and licked her lips nervously. “I–”

“She’s filing for divorce,” Jason interrupted her. “Because she knows that–that–” he swallowed hard. “That I could never love her the way I love you,” he finally managed to say.

Elizabeth raised her eyes to his slowly. “What?” she asked–almost scared of the answer. Maybe she’d heard wrong–maybe he meant it in another way.

“I tried–I tried to forget it,” he said, “I tried to bury it, you know? And for a while, I thought I had but–but no matter what–I keep coming back to that.”

“To what?” Elizabeth asked, desperate to hear the words spill from his lips again. “What do you keep coming back to?” There was a note of desperation in her voice and she hated herself for it.

“I never stopped loving you,” Jason admitted. “And the reason I came inside that night–the reason I didn’t leave is because I wanted–for the first time in a long time, I didn’t care what you wanted or what I should do or shouldn’t be doing. I just–I did what I wanted to do.”

Say the words! Elizabeth’s mind screamed. Say them, damn it! “Jason–if–if that’s true then why did you tell me–why did you say it was a mistake?”

“Because it was in a way,” Jason sighed. He took a deep breath. “You deserve better than that night–better than some cold hard floor or an old threadbare couch–”

“That’s my studio,” Elizabeth said, shaking her head. “It was my home and none of those things ever mattered to me–you know that. That night was perfect to me in every way. Even if shouldn’t have happened–it was perfect.”

When he said nothing in return, she sighed and started past him. “We should go down stairs,” she mumbled.

He caught her elbow as she passed and spun her back to him. “Jason–” he cut off her protest with his lips. She resisted at first but he kept his grip on her elbow and shifted his other hand to her cheek. After a moment, Elizabeth melted into him, letting the familiar sensations roll over her.

He changed the angle of the kiss, slanting his mouth against hers harder, thrusting his tongue inside her mouth.

A loud crash sounded from the kitchen below them and Elizabeth broke away from him, breathing hard. “What are you doing?” she demanded.

“I–” Jason frowned. “I thought it was kind of obvious.”

“You…you’re married and I can’t–” she shook her head. “I can’t keep doing this, Jason! This whole situation–everything we have been about for the past four years–I can’t do it anymore!”

“What do you want me to do about it?” he retorted.

“I can’t be your second choice,” Elizabeth told him. “And that’s what I am right now. You left my studio that morning and you went home to her. You married her. You stayed with her.”

“I–”

“And I do deserve better than that. You cannot stand there and tell me that you love me in a way you don’t love Courtney when the only person you’ve gone out of your way to be with is her.”

“Elizabeth, I thought–”

She jerked open her bedroom door and disappeared down the hallway. After a moment, he followed her.

Fountain

“Okay, how do I get up without ruining it?” Sage asked, looking up at Lucas.

“Here.” He took her hands in his and helped her stand step away from her finished snow angel. “What do you think?”

“I want to make another,” Sage announced. She looked around. “Where did Michael go?”

“I’m building a snowman!” Michael called from around the corner of the house.

“You have snow all over you,” Lucas told her, brushing it from the top of her hair. “You’re like a kid.”

“Just because I’m spoiled little rich girl, it doesn’t mean I don’t get happy over little things,” Sage remarked airily. She giggled and crouched down, rolling together some snow.

“Don’t tell me you’re trying to make a snowball.” Lucas shook his head and crouched down in front of her. “You’re doing it all wrong–this is way too loose. You can’t use any of the powder.”

“Well excuse me, Frosty,” Sage replied, rolling her eyes. She abandoned her snowball and pushed him playfully. “You know–I could take you,” she boasted.

He stood and pulled her to her feet. “Yeah, okay.”

“I could. I know five ways to cut off a man’s airway,” Sage remarked seriously. “I saw it on the Discovery Channel once.”

“Oh, really?” Lucas said, amused. He pushed her lightly.

“Yeah, I’m totally stronger than I look,” Sage reported. “Bet you can’t catch me!” Her eyes sparkled and she faked a lunge to the left before darting to the right.

Lucas caught her easily. “Please, you’re trying to out run a track star.”

“Ha! You haven’t seen my best move!” Sage hooked her foot around his ankle and yanked, sending him crashing backwards. He still had a grip on her and she went down hard on top. “Okay, that wasn’t what I had in mind,” she grumbled.

“Serves you right,” he replied. She shifted and sat up so he could as well. “How much longer until dinner do you think?”

“I don’t know, it’s like only noon,” she replied. Sage reached forward and brushed the snow from his hair.

“Hey, I’m a growing boy–I need to eat,” he said defensively. She laughed and Lucas suddenly leaned forward and kissed her quickly.

Her eyes widened and she stared at him. “What was that for?”

Lucas shrugged. “Felt like it.”

“Well, okay then.”

“Sage, Lucas! I need help putting the head on!” Michael yelled.

Kitchen

Elizabeth stalked into the kitchen, making a beeline for the counter where she’d been making the fruit salad. She furiously started to slice apples.

“You should never use a sharp instrument when you’re angry,” Alexis said from her perch across the room, sipping a glass of apple cider.

“Honey?” Bobbie asked, setting down a finished bowl of mashed potatoes. “Are you feeling better?”

“I’m feeling much better and yet worse all at the same time,” Elizabeth muttered.

Emily set a finished pumpkin pie on the counter. “Did my brother say something asinine?” she asked, understandingly.

“Oh, you bet.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “He told me he loved me.”

All work ceased in the kitchen–the sounds of the knife cutting into fruit were all that were left.

Emily exchanged sympathetic looks with the other women. “That’s not a good thing?” she asked hesitantly.

Elizabeth whirled around, a knife in her hand and her eyes flashing with anger. “Not when he’s married to Courtney. Not when he chose her over me time and time again. Not when he left me to be with her. Not when I wasn’t enough to be with after that night,” she seethed.

“Well…” Bobbie trailed off and sighed.

“Elizabeth, my brother has got himself into a very deep amount of shit this year,” Emily began with good intentions.

“And he still went from my bed to hers and he married her,” Elizabeth reminded her. “Apparently he loved me enough to tell me that the night we conceived our child was mistake and he loved me enough to marry another woman. Yay for me.”

November 27, 2003

Wyndemere: Elizabeth’s Bedroom

Nikolas knocked on the open door and peered in as Elizabeth sat silently on the bed, brushing her hair out. “I have to tell you something.”

“What?” Elizabeth asked. She set the brush on her nightstand and stood, slipping her feet into the one inch pair of heels.

“When Bobbie and I were setting up dinner last night–she told me she wanted to eat dinner with Carly. You know–she told her mother she’s filing for divorce and Bobbie just wants to be with her.”

“Oh. Well, then I guess dinner won’t be as edible since you’ve been cooking for yourself,” Elizabeth said with a smile. “Maybe we should take a tip from the Quartermaines and do pizza.”

“Well…I suggested we all eat here–in the big dining room,” Nikolas said. “Bobbie’s already here actually–Emily’s downstairs helping her with the turkey and I think Alexis volunteered to help too.”

Elizabeth hesitated. “That means Carly’s eating here.”

“Yeah…she’s bringing the boys–and Sage Alcazar,” Nikolas reported. He managed a weak smile. “She’s leaving Lorenzo at home. Thanksgiving isn’t really his thing or something.”

“Right,” Elizabeth said slowly. “And I get the feeling that’s not the end of the story–although having me, Carly and Alexis all in the same room should be interesting enough.”

“Well, apparently Michael had made Jason promise he’d come for dinner since he’s been so busy lately–”

Elizabeth hesitated. “Why would you think that would bother me?”

“Well…I just thought…” Nikolas shrugged. “Have you seen Carly since she found out the baby? Or do you know if Jason’s told Michael? And let’s not forget who else is on the guest list. Emily, Luke, Lucky, Lulu–” he shook his head. “It just seems like there’s a lot of people that aren’t in on the happy news.”

“Well, eventually everyone will know. And like I said–not a big deal.” She walked past him and headed down stairs.

Kitchen

“Hey, Liz,” Emily greeted with a smile as she struggled with the electric mixer and a bowl of potatoes.

“Hey.” She reached for an apron and tied it over her dress. “Bobbie–what do you need me to do?”

Bobbie checked the timer on the oven. “Fruit salad–can you cut up that pile over there?” she asked, pointing to a section of the counter piled with assorted fruit. Elizabeth washed her hands and got started.

“So, Elizabeth, Nikolas told me the, ah, happy news,” Alexis began conversationally as she regarded the can opener warily.

“Well it’s news–but I don’t know about happy.” She peeled a banana and tossed the peel.

“Well, Elizabeth, I hope you’re prepared for the backlash,” Bobbie sighed. “I really wish you girls would learn to think before you act.”

“I did think,” Elizabeth said defensively. Her cheeks flushed. “I just didn’t care what happened.”

“Besides, Bobbie,” Emily said, finally getting the mixer to switch on. She raised her voice over the loud noise. “My brother’s a good man.”

“A good married man,” Bobbie sighed.

“If you could call it a marriage,” Alexis muttered. She jumped as the can opener whirled to life and started to cut open the can of yams.

Elizabeth popped a piece of banana in her mouth. “What do you mean by that?” she asked.

“Well, they got married in early October and a week later, she was in that little town with the boys. I don’t think they’ve even had a chance to live together since then. And anyway–Liz is due.”

“Due what?” Elizabeth asked.

“Well, he was yours first,” Alexis reminded her.

“He doesn’t belong to anyone,” Emily cut in crossly. She shrieked a huge glob of mashed potatoes flew up from the bowl and landed in her hair.

Elizabeth laughed and abandoned the fruit salad to help her clean it off. After just a few moments, the smell of the potatoes turned her stomach and she felt ill. “I’ll be right back,” she managed to blurt out before running out the kitchen.

“Morning sickness is a bitch,” Alexis said decisively. She wrenched the yams from the can opener.

Nikolas was just leading Carly, Jason and the boys in when Elizabeth pushed past them and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind them.

Alarmed, Jason went to go after her but Carly stopped him. “No, she’s probably just getting sick. It’s normal.”

“I still want to make sure,” Jason said.

Michael nodded. “That’s why you make a good daddy,” he said firmly. Jason frowned, unaware that Michael knew about the pregnancy and Sage clasped her hands behind her back, letting an innocent whistle out of her mouth.

“Sage?” Carly prompted.

“Okay, so I kind of let it slip,” Sage admitted. Bristling under Jason’s annoyed glare, she glared right back. “Hey, if someone had told me it was supposed to be this huge secret maybe I would have been more careful.”

Emily emerged from the kitchen, still cleaning the potatoes out of her hair. “Did Elizabeth run past you guys?” she asked.

“Yeah. What happened to you?” Nikolas asked, fighting a smile.

“Minor disagreement with a mixer,” Emily replied. She tousled Michael’s hair, kissed her brother on the cheek, smiled politely at Carly, pinched Morgan’s cheek and went towards the bathroom. “Liz, you finished puking yet?” she called through the door.

“No matter how old she gets, she’s still as weird as the day I met her,” Lucky said with a grin. “Hey, guys. There’s snacks in the living room. I got the game on in there but you can change it to the parade. I gotta go call in real quick.” He was taking his cell phone out as he headed into the study.

“The living room is through there,” Nikolas said with a sigh. “Just a warning–Luke’s there too and he’s in a mood.”

“Ooh…Uncle Luke,” Michael said cheerfully. He looked up at Sage. “C’mon, you gotta meet him, he’s the coolest.” He took her hand and yanked in that direction.

“Okay, okay, deep breaths!”

“Is there some place quiet I could put Morgan?” Carly asked Nikolas. “He’s due for a nap.”

“Yeah, sure, I’ll show you the nursery. Kristina’s taking her nap, too.” He took Carly’s elbow and led her to the stairs.

Left to his own devices, Jason joined Emily at the bathroom door. “Is she okay?”

She crooked her finger at him and drew him away from the door and out of Elizabeth’s earshot. “She’s been a little sad but Nikolas talked to her the night before last and I don’t know–she was better the next morning. Even made fun of Lucky.” Emily’s eyes softened. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine,” Jason said. He slid his hands into his jeans pockets. “Really. I–everything’s fine.”

“Emily!” Alexis called from the kitchen. “I’m admitting defeat. Come open this corn!”

Emily shook her head and laughed. “I guess the can opener kicked her ass. Coming, Alexis!” She touched her brother’s arm. “Don’t let Liz back into the kitchen. She’ll just get sick again.”

She moved into the kitchen and Jason went back to the bathroom door. A few moments later, a pale Elizabeth pulled open the door and stepped out. She stopped short at the sight of Jason. “Hey.”

“Hey. You…you okay?”

“Mmmm hmm. Just the smell of the potatoes, I think.” Elizabeth cleared her throat and looked away.

Maybe it’s time you asked him.

Forcing Lucky’s words from her mind, she took a deep breath. “I should get back to the kitchen.”

“Emily said not to let you,” Jason called after her as she started back. “Says you’ll just get sick again.”

“Oh…really?” Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “She just hates the thought of someone getting sick. She’s such a weakling How she thinks she’s going to make a credible doctor…”

Michael came running out of the living room. “Uncle Jason, Uncle Jason!” he called. Jason picked him up–even though he was way too old for such measures and the redhead giggled. “They’ve got a Charlie Brown float!” he told him, excitedly.

Not having a clue who Charlie Brown was, Jason just nodded. “That’s great, buddy.”

Michael seemed to notice Elizabeth’s presence then. “Oh, hey, Elizabeth.”

“Hey, Michael.”

Michael scrutinized her carefully. “You don’t look pregnant.”

Jason immediately lowered the boy to the floor and took a deep breath. “Michael, I think we need to have a talk.”

“I’m sorry–I thought it would be rude to ask her why she wasn’t fat,” Michael said dejectedly. He looked back at Elizabeth. “Right?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think that’s what Jason wants to talk to you about,” Elizabeth replied with a smile. “I’ll just–”

“It’s okay, though ’cause Sage told me all about it,” Michael said. “I was confused because Mommy told me that only married people make babies and I thought that meant you had to be married to each other but I guess not.”

Elizabeth flushed and really wished she could die on the spot. “I–um.”

“What exactly did Sage tell you?” Jason cut in.

“That you and Elizabeth dated before you liked Aunt Courtney,” Michael began with great relish, eager to show off his memorizing skills. “And that even though you wasn’t together no more, you still loved her ’cause it’s not black and white.”

“What’s–what’s not black and white?” Jason asked, wishing he had Sage Alcazar in front of him to throttle.

“Adult stuff,” Michael said seriously. “See, when I found you was gonna be a daddy, I thought that meant Aunt Courtney was pregnant but Sage said that wasn’t it at all and I figured that because I thought she would have told me if she was pregnant, you know?”

“Yeah.” Jason crouched down. “Michael–”

“So, I asked Sage how come you made a baby with someone that’s not Aunt Courtney and she told me that breaking up isn’t black and white. I don’t know what that really meant–but like…you didn’t wake up and decide you didn’t love Elizabeth, anymore.” He frowned. “Right?”

Jason took a deep breath. “Well–essentially–”

“Okay and then Sage said that you love Aunt Courtney, too and that making a baby with someone else doesn’t make anyone a bad person…” he hesitated. “I think–what did she say?”

“Sage is right,” Elizabeth said unexpectedly. She kneeled down. “None of this makes anyone a bad person. And it’s really important that you always remember that.”

Michael nodded. “But I know Aunt Courtney is sad, but I talked to Brian yesterday and he taught to her ice skate and that she’d fallen and laughed so I think she’s going to be okay.”

Elizabeth frowned slightly but nodded. “Well, that’s good news because we don’t want anyone to be sad.”

“Yeah, ’cause a baby is good news. I remember that my mommy and daddy were really excited about Morgan but you don’t smile like they did,” Michael told his uncle seriously. He looked at Elizabeth. “And you’re not smiling either. So if you don’t want to be sad, why don’t you want to be happy?”

“It’s really complicated, Michael,” Elizabeth said softly. “My grandmother isn’t exactly as happy as you are and it makes me sad.”

“Well, that’s not fair. Because your baby is going to be my cousin since Uncle Jason is my uncle, right?”

“If–if that’s okay with your mother and with Jason and everyone,” Elizabeth replied.

“It’s fine with me,” Jason confirmed. “And I am happy about it,” he told the boy who’d once been his son. “I’ve just been worried about Aunt Courtney, your mom and everything else. But I’m real glad you’re okay with this.”

“Okay, then come watch the parade with me,” Michael said, ending the conversation. “Sage is making googly-eyes at Lucas and that’s no fun.”

“We’ll be right in,” Jason promised. As Michael went back into the living room, they both straightened.

“Well, that was only mildly mortifying,” Elizabeth muttered, folding her arms tightly. “But I guess Sage couldn’t tell a seven-year-old boy the truth.”

“Especially if Sage doesn’t know the truth.”

“Well, what is the truth?” Elizabeth demanded. “What do you want people to say?”

“I don’t care what people say,” Jason said, irritated. “Why do you?”

“Because those people are people who know my grandmother–work with her–and I’m sorry if I don’t want my grandmother to think I’m some kind of whore,” Elizabeth retorted.

“If she knew anything about you, she’d know that’s not true,” Jason protested. “And no one is saying that–”

“You’re not the one who has to listen to it–no one’s going to say it to your face or when you’re in earshot–” Elizabeth broke off suddenly and shook her head. “I don’t want to argue anymore. Not with you, not with anyone. Nothing we say to each other is going to make a difference. It happened, it’s over–now we just have to deal with the consequences.”

Maybe it’s time you ask her why.

Forcing Carly’s words out of his mind and focusing on Elizabeth’s, he narrowed his eyes. “Is that all this baby is to you? A consequence?” he demanded.

The scorn in his voice made her take a step back. Her eyes filled with tears as they searched his own. “I–I just meant…the things around us,” she said softly. “The…people that–of course I don’t –excuse me.” She pushed past him and ran towards the steps, passing a descending Nikolas and Carly.

It took Jason less than five seconds to start after her but Nikolas blocked his path, alongside a distressed Carly. “Oh, no you don’t,” he said darkly.

Living Room

“Sage, I don’t think my uncle is too happy with you,” Michael announced gleefully, flopping in between Sage and Lucas on the couch.

“You didn’t tell him what I told you on Tuesday, did you?” Sage asked apprehensively.

Amused, Lucas sat up. “What did you say on Tuesday?”

“I made some assumptions about his relationship with Elizabeth Webber,” Sage admitted, sheepishly. “Well, I couldn’t just tell him–” she pressed her hands against Michael’s ears. “You know–that guys get horny and any woman will do in that mood.”

“You know…secrets are impolite,” Michael said crossly.

“Well, that’s true,” Lucas agreed. “So, Michael, what did he tell you?”

“Well, not much more than I already knew but did you know that Elizabeth’s grandmother isn’t happy about it? She almost looked ready to cry when she told me that,” Michael said sadly.

“Go watch the parade,” Sage directed, shoving Michael towards the big-screen television and a napping Luke.

“Must be nice to be a kid when every thing is as simple as people being happy or sad,” Lucas observed.

“Yeah. I should probably apologize to Jason but really–Michael had questions and no one else was going to give him a straight answer,” Sage sighed.

“He trusts you though. Looks up to you,” Lucas told her. “He listens when you tell him to do something.”

“Well…I guess it’s because I don’t bullshit with him. I treat him like he’s seven and not three and I don’t ignore him. He respects that and he’s a great kid. Makes me wish I had a little brother,” Sage sighed wistfully.

“Looks like you do now.”

Hallway

“Look–I said something that upset her and I want–”

“I don’t give a damn what you want,” Nikolas interrupted. “You don’t get to hurt her.”

“Hey, we don’t even know what was said,” Carly protested. “Maybe it was accidental–her hormones–”

“No–I know exactly what I said,” Jason interrupted. “I need to apologize–”

“She’s already going through enough hell without you making it worse,” Nikolas cut in.

“I know–”

“He deserves the chance to apologize,” Carly argued. “I’ll ream him out,” she promised Nikolas. “Can you go check on Michael and Sage for me?”

Nikolas hesitated but went down the stairs and disappeared into the living room. When she was sure he was gone, Carly took a deep breath. “Jason, you need to talk to her.”

“I know, so let me–”

“No, I mean you really need to talk to her.” She pressed a hand against his chest. “Jason–you two have enough to deal without fighting each other.”

“I know–”

“Did you ask her?” Carly pushed. “I think you need to. For yourself and for her.”

“Carly, don’t–don’t do this. I don’t–I can’t do this right now.”

“Then what are you going to say up there?” Carly demanded. “Apologize for saying whatever you said, she’ll forgive you…then what? Where does that get you? How does that make anything better?”

“Nothing is going to make this better,” Jason argued. “Nothing I do or say is going to erase what happened–what I’ve done to the people I’m supposed to love–”

“Supposed to love,” Carly interrupted softly. “Since when did you care about things like that? You used to be all about what was–not what wasn’t or should be. C’mon, Jase.”

He took an angry harsh breath. “Carly–”

“Jason, I am way more stubborn than you are. I will win this fight and you know it.”

He exhaled slowly and dropped his chin to his chest. “Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

“So, you’ll talk to her?”

“Yeah…I’ll talk to her.”