Timeline: Picks up the day before Kate and Sonny’s wedding in September 2008. Michael was shot in April of that year, on the same day Jason and Elizabeth were engaged. Jason broke it off, and Elizabeth struggled the next six months to let go. She began to push Jason to renew things in private, but he resisted. Finally, he agreed, and offered to take her to Italy.

Lulu has been having mental health issues since accidentally killing Logan Hayes in self-defense, her condition worsening after Scott Baldwin badgered her on the stand with Johnny Zacchara standing accused of the murder. Lulu confessed and had a mental break, resulting in her staying at Shadybrooke.

Lucky and Sam have been together almost a year at this point. Nadine and Nikolas have been flirting for a few weeks, and she nearly died when the clinic Nikolas opened in Emily’s name was burned down the week before.

The Russians have been in Port Charles since July, but haven’t made any real moves other than general nuisances and Spinelli’s car accident. Andre Karpov met with Jason and promised peace.

For access to the full chapter as well as the other five stories getting sample chapters this week, consider purchasing the bundle for $2 total (six chapters for $20)

---

Chapter 1

I look ahead to all the plans that we made
And the dreams that we had
I’m in a world that tries to take ’em away
Oh, but I’m taking ’em back
All this time I’ve just been too blind to understand
What should matter to me
My friend, this life we live
Is not what we have, it’s what we believe
– It’s Not My Time, 3 Doors Down

---

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Studio

When your dream came true, you should probably feel a bit happier.

The thought slithered into Elizabeth Webber’s mind as she rifled through the papers Jason Morgan had given her, which included her renewed passport, first class tickets, and—

She wrinkled her nose, looked up at him. “Power of attorney?”

“Uh, yeah—” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “We’re going out of the country and neither of our legal next of kin will be there—”

“And we’re not exactly related to each other,” Elizabeth finished. Though they would have been, she thought wistfully, if he hadn’t backed out of their engagement six months earlier. As soon as that thought occurred to her, she shoved it right back out. It had taken a lot of hard work to get Jason even back to the point where he was considering renewing their relationship in private—

And she wasn’t going to think about any of that either. They’d bought tickets, she’d taken the vacation time, arranged for the boys to be looked after —

She and Jason were finally going to Italy, just like they’d always talked about. She should have gone seven years earlier when he’d held out his hand, when they’d both been younger and less jaded by life.

Because even as she scribbled her name at the bottom of a legal document stating she had the right to make medical decisions for Jason in the event he became incapacitated, part of her still expected something to go wrong.

It always did.

“The flight starts boarding at six,” Jason told her, “but I won’t be able to get to the airport until around five-thirty. As long as the ceremony goes as planned.”

Elizabeth nodded, tucking the papers in her purse. “Right. Did you add in extra time? Sonny’s weddings never go the way they’re supposed to. Especially church weddings.”

Jason winced at the reminder of Sonny Corinthos’s aborted wedding to Brenda Barrett over a decade earlier. “This one should,” he said. “Sonny’s out of the business, no one’s making threats.”

“It’ll be a shame to miss it. I had good seats for the last one,” Elizabeth said. “Even if I did have to steal them.” She folded her arms. “Sonny invited me you know, but I got the invitation when we were…” Broken up? How to describe the twists and turns of this last year. “Anyway, it’s fine. I’ll just wait in the first-class lounge until you get there.”

“Yeah, I’ll get through security pretty quick. I have to go to Puerto Rico once a month, so I have pre-clearance.” He hesitated. “I didn’t realize he’d invited you.”

No, of course he wouldn’t. The cream-colored envelope had arrived in July when rumors had still flying about Jason’s relationship with Claudia Zacchara, and he’d been avoiding Elizabeth like the plague. She had stared at the invitation far longer than necessary, tracing her fingers over the slightly raised lettering. Would their invitation have looked like this, she’d wondered, if not that phone call?

How many minutes of pure happiness had the world allowed her between the moment he’d asked her to marry him, and the world had shattered?

“He came by when I sent my regrets,” Elizabeth murmured. She turned away from Jason, heading to the sink to sort through old paintbrushes. “Said he hoped I’d change my mind.” She cleared her throat, looked back. “It’s not like it matters. We wouldn’t have sat together.” Jason would never have allowed the public demonstration of their relationship. She should be fortunate he was even allowing anything in private.

Jason opened his mouth, but then closed it. “I’m sorry,” he said finally, his voice a bit rougher.

“No, it’s fine. I understand why it has to be this way,” Elizabeth said briskly. “And I told you—” She leaned up on her toes, brushed her mouth against his, letting their eyes meet. “This is better than nothing, and this time tomorrow, we’ll be landing in Italy.”

“I can’t wait.” He caught her arm as she started to pull back, tugged her in for a deeper, lingering kiss, his thumb brushing her throat, shivers cascading down her spine. “I have to go,” he said, stepping back, his expression lined with regret. “If I’m going to be out of reach for a week, I need to make sure some things are in place.”

“I know. I have to get home to the boys before dinner. We’re transitioning Cameron from his sippy cup to a real glass, and Jake into a booster seat. It ends up being a mess—” She smiled, and this time it almost felt genuine. “I’ll see you at the gate tomorrow.”

Timeline: Picks up the day before Kate and Sonny’s wedding in September 2008. Michael was shot in April of that year, on the same day Jason and Elizabeth were engaged. Jason broke it off, and Elizabeth struggled the next six months to let go. She began to push Jason to renew things in private, but he resisted. Finally, he agreed, and offered to take her to Italy.

Lulu has been having mental health issues since accidentally killing Logan Hayes in self-defense, her condition worsening after Scott Baldwin badgered her on the stand with Johnny Zacchara standing accused of the murder. Lulu confessed and had a mental break, resulting in her staying at Shadybrooke.

Lucky and Sam have been together almost a year at this point. Nadine and Nikolas have been flirting for a few weeks, and she nearly died when the clinic Nikolas opened in Emily’s name was burned down the week before.

The Russians have been in Port Charles since July but haven’t made any real moves other than general nuisances and Spinelli’s car accident. Andre Karpov met with Jason and promised peace.

---

Chapter 1

I look ahead to all the plans that we made
And the dreams that we had
I’m in a world that tries to take ’em away
Oh, but I’m taking ’em back
All this time I’ve just been too blind to understand
What should matter to me
My friend, this life we live
Is not what we have, it’s what we believe
– It’s Not My Time, 3 Doors Down

---

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Studio

When your dream came true, you should probably feel a bit happier.

The thought slithered into Elizabeth Webber’s mind as she rifled through the papers Jason Morgan had given her, which included her renewed passport, first class tickets, and—

She wrinkled her nose, looked up at him. “Power of attorney?”

“Uh, yeah—” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “We’re going out of the country and neither of our legal next of kin will be there—”

“And we’re not exactly related to each other,” Elizabeth finished. Though they would have been, she thought wistfully, if he hadn’t backed out of their engagement six months earlier. As soon as that thought occurred to her, she shoved it right back out. It had taken a lot of hard work to get Jason even back to the point where he was considering renewing their relationship in private—

And she wasn’t going to think about any of that either. They’d bought tickets, she’d taken the vacation time, arranged for the boys to be looked after —

She and Jason were finally going to Italy, just like they’d always talked about. She should have gone seven years earlier when he’d held out his hand, when they’d both been younger and less jaded by life.

Because even as she scribbled her name at the bottom of a legal document stating she had the right to make medical decisions for Jason in the event he became incapacitated, part of her still expected something to go wrong.

It always did.

“The flight starts boarding at six,” Jason told her, “but I won’t be able to get to the airport until around five-thirty. As long as the ceremony goes as planned.”

Elizabeth nodded, tucking the papers in her purse. “Right. Did you add in extra time? Sonny’s weddings never go the way they’re supposed to. Especially church weddings.”

Jason winced at the reminder of Sonny Corinthos’s aborted wedding to Brenda Barrett over a decade earlier. “This one should,” he said. “Sonny’s out of the business, no one’s making threats.”

“It’ll be a shame to miss it. I had good seats for the last one,” Elizabeth said. “Even if I did have to steal them.” She folded her arms. “Sonny invited me you know, but I got the invitation when we were…” Broken up? How to describe the twists and turns of this last year. “Anyway, it’s fine. I’ll just wait in the first-class lounge until you get there.”

“Yeah, I’ll get through security pretty quick. I have to go to Puerto Rico once a month, so I have pre-clearance.” He hesitated. “I didn’t realize he’d invited you.”

No, of course he wouldn’t. The cream-colored envelope had arrived in July when rumors had still flying about Jason’s relationship with Claudia Zacchara, and he’d been avoiding Elizabeth like the plague. She had stared at the invitation far longer than necessary, tracing her fingers over the slightly raised lettering. Would their invitation have looked like this, she’d wondered, if not that phone call?

How many minutes of pure happiness had the world allowed her between the moment he’d asked her to marry him, and the world had shattered?

“He came by when I sent my regrets,” Elizabeth murmured. She turned away from Jason, heading to the sink to sort through old paintbrushes. “Said he hoped I’d change my mind.” She cleared her throat, looked back. “It’s not like it matters. We wouldn’t have sat together.” Jason would never have allowed the public demonstration of their relationship. She should be fortunate he was even allowing anything in private.

Jason opened his mouth, but then closed it. “I’m sorry,” he said finally, his voice a bit rougher.

“No, it’s fine. I understand why it has to be this way,” Elizabeth said briskly. “And I told you—” She leaned up on her toes, brushed her mouth against his, letting their eyes meet. “This is better than nothing, and this time tomorrow, we’ll be landing in Italy.”

“I can’t wait.” He caught her arm as she started to pull back, tugged her in for a deeper, lingering kiss, his thumb brushing her throat, shivers cascading down her spine. “I have to go,” he said, stepping back, his expression lined with regret. “If I’m going to be out of reach for a week, I need to make sure some things are in place.”

“I know. I have to get home to the boys before dinner. We’re transitioning Cameron from his sippy cup to a real glass, and Jake into a booster seat. It ends up being a mess—” She smiled, and this time it almost felt genuine. “I’ll see you at the gate tomorrow.”

Shadybrooke: Lulu’s Room

Johnny Zacchara leaned back, grinning as his girlfriend checked her image in the mirror over the dresser. It was good to see her smiling and taking some sort of interest in her appearance. Since her testimony in the trial only a few weeks previous had left her teetering on the edge of another breakdown, he’d worried.

But nothing kept Lesley Lu Spencer down long, and he’d been acquitted of those charges. A few more weeks of rest and therapy, Lulu would be officially discharged. There was still a legal battle of ahead of them—Scott Baldwin wouldn’t rest until someone paid for the murder of his son, Logan Hayes—but Johnny was confident that his lawyer would be able to take care of everything. Ric Lansing had managed to get him acquitted—surely he’d be able to convince a judge Lulu wasn’t responsible for her actions.

“I wish I’d been in the offices,” Lulu said, flopping back on the bed and reaching for one of the editions of Crimson he’d brought her. “I bet Kate tried on a dozen dresses—it would have been fun to be there for it.”

“You’ll get to see the final choice tomorrow,” Johnny reminded her, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “And we’ll have a great time at the reception.”

“Yeah,” Lulu said, smiling at him, then the corners of her mouth dipped, and her hazel eyes became unfocused, almost glassy. Johnny’s pulse picked up as he left the chair where he’d been sitting and perched next to her. He reached for her hand, squeezing it. Lulu blinked, then looked at him. “What?”

He swallowed. “Nothing,” he said. What good would it do for Lulu to know she was still drifting in and out? She was terrified that she’d end up like her mother, sitting in the same catatonic fugue state for the last six years. Laura Spencer sat just down the hall in another room as beautifully decorated as this one, but she might as well have been in a cell for all that she knew.

“It’ll be great for you to be around your friends again,” Johnny said. “Maxie said Kate is letting her have the pick of the closet for tomorrow. And you know Maxie will take care of you.”

“Yeah, Maxie never could stand to be around someone not dressed fashionably. Remember when I started working at Crimson?” Lulu said, her eyes sparkling. “She tried to force her way into my room at home and clean out my closet.” She laughed, and his chest eased. There she was. His bright, beautiful, sparkly Lulu.

“I like that sound.”

Johnny twisted on the bed to find Lulu’s brother, Lucky, and his girlfriend, Sam McCall, in the doorway. Lucky made a face when he saw who was already in the room—there was no love lost there.

“I was just remembering Maxie’s horror at my closet,” Lulu said. “Hey. I didn’t know you guys were coming by today.”

“Nikolas told me he was letting you sign out for a few hours tomorrow,” Lucky said, the humor sliding from his eyes. His jaw clenched. “I wish you were going anywhere but that wedding.”

“I think,” Sam said, squeezing past Lucky and through the doorway, “it’s nice. Maxie and Spinelli will be there, so you’ll be with friends. And Johnny will be there to look out,” she said. She touched Lucky’s arm. “Everything will be fine.”

“It’s a mob wedding,” Lucky muttered. He folded his arms. “If there aren’t bullets, there will be heartbreak.”

“You’re just jealous because you’re not invited to this one,” Lulu said, trying to tease but the spark had faded again. She stared down at the pages of Crimson, tracing her fingers over a perfume ad. “I remember arranging the meeting for this ad,” she murmured. “It was the first really big project Kate gave me. She only hired me because Sonny asked her to. I didn’t even think I’d like it. But I do. And Kate’s given me direction. When I get out of here—because I will get out of here,” she added, her expression fierce, “I have a career waiting. I want to go, Lucky. I want to see Kate be happy.”

“I won’t let her out of my sight,” Johnny pledged.

“You think that reassures me,” Lucky said dryly, “but it doesn’t.”  Sam pinched his arm, and Lucky sighed. “But fine. It might do you some good, Lu. I just worry.”

He worried because his mother already lived down the hall, so Johnny didn’t really take his concern personally. What kind of hell was it to wonder if your mother’s condition was genetic and that your little sister might disappear, too?

As someone who came a criminally insane psychopath, Johnny really couldn’t blame Lucky Spencer for being overprotective. He’d spent most of his life protecting himself from his own father while worrying he’d be just like him one day.

General Hospital: Locker Room

Patrick Drake frowned when he saw Elizabeth come around the row of lockers. “I thought your vacation started today. Do we have to discuss the meaning of the word again?”

“Ignore him,” Nadine Crowell said. She clipped her badge on her scrub top, then tied her sunny blonde hair into bouncy tail. “He wouldn’t know how to stop working if it bit him in the ass. I’m so jealous,” she told Elizabeth. “I can barely bring myself to eat alone in a restaurant, but you’re going to Italy all by yourself. It’s inspiring really.”

Elizabeth smiled weakly, then opened her locker. “I just wanted to grab my emergency clothes and wash them. I’m doing one more laundry before I head out tomorrow. I promise, I’m not even planning to look at the charts or check on my patients—”

“I’ll personally escort you to the elevator,” Patrick said.

“Have a great time,” Nadine said, then disappeared around the row of lockers. A moment later they heard the door close.

“Not that I’m against independence and sisters doing it for themselves as it were,” Patrick said, leaning against the lockers and watching her throw the two sets of emergency jeans and tanks into her tote bag. “But Italy’s a pretty big first solo trip. You don’t wanna start small, like New York City?”

“I’ve been dreaming of Italy for years.” Elizabeth paused. She closed the locker. “And I’m not going alone.”

Patrick furrowed his brow, straightening. “No? Look, Webber, I know I’ve been preoccupied with being put in charge of this place and you know, Robin refusing to marry me, and that pesky detail of my first child being born in like a month, but I feel like you dating someone seriously enough to go out of the country is a big deal. I have to meet him first—”

“You have.” Elizabeth met his eyes. “It’s Jason.”

“Jason,” Patrick repeated. His brows drew together. “Jason Morgan.”

“Yes.”

The neurosurgeon and newly minted Chief of Staff scowled and crossed his arms. “And why am I only learning about this today? I overheard Maxie and Spinelli talking about signing him up for a dating service—”

“Oh, God—” Elizabeth winced.

“And there was the lawyer, Sorcha—Sasha, whatever. And Claudia Zacchara—when exactly—”

“None of those were anything other than rumor. And Spinelli reading into things.” Elizabeth bit her lip. “You know Jason and I have been close for years.”

“I vaguely remember getting arrested because of him, yes. And it was your idea—”

“We both thought of it at the same time, stop distracting me.”

“And I know you guys were, uh, very close that same summer. You testified about it last year—” Patrick pressed his lips together. “You didn’t happen to commit any crimes, did you?”

“What? Perjury? Yes.” Elizabeth winced. “Jason and I have been kind of…quietly seeing each other since last year. Since—” Her throat tightened the reality hit her again, as it did from time to time. “Since we lost Emily.”

“You’ve been together for a year,” Patrick said slowly. “I repeat—why am I hearing about this now?”

“Because I wanted to tell someone who cares about my happiness, and Lucky doesn’t. He had to know where I was going and how to get in touch because of the boys.”

“Your happiness which includes being some dick’s secret booty call?”

Elizabeth’s fists tightened around the straps of her tote bag. “That’s not what it is—” Even though there were times last year when it felt like Jason had only made time for her long enough for one or two rounds in bed before he hurried away for something else— “It’s not like that. He’s taking me to Italy—”

“Is it your idea to keep it quiet?” Patrick wanted to know.

“At first, yes,” Elizabeth admitted. “The divorce had only been just made final, and I knew Jason was nervous about the danger—”

“So nervous that Spinelli lives with him and Maxie walks in and out of that place like it’s her home?” Patrick retorted. “So nervous that he lets Carly hang around? Yeah, okay.”

“Patrick—” She wanted to be angry with him, wanted to deny it. But it was the same thoughts that drifted into her mind, late at night, when she laid alone in her bed, and wondered. “I love him. And this is enough for me. Okay? I’ve spent half my adult life loving him, and I get to have this.”

“I want you to be happy, okay? I do. It’s just—” Patrick shook his head, drew on his white lab coat, adjusted the collar. “You should demand more from the people who love you, that’s all.”

She’d tried to demand more from Jason but after Michael, he’d never be able to offer it. So Elizabeth had told herself she’d settle for whatever Jason could give. That hadn’t changed. She’d fought so hard just to get to this moment, to this trip. “I promise you, Patrick, that this is enough for me. I’m happy.”

“Okay. You know where I stand, and that’s enough for me.” He kissed her forehead. “I love you, you know that, right?”

“I do know.” He’d been a better brother to her than her own biological one, or even the brother she’d acquired through marriage. “And thank you. For caring.”

“Have a great time. Just—” Patrick paused. “You matter, Elizabeth. And you deserve to have the world. So if you think this is good enough, I’m not going to argue. I just think he’s luckier than he deserves to be.”

“I had chances to be in the open with him, to have the family I want,” Elizabeth admitted, thinking of the proposal in the elevator. “I turned my back on those. Now I get to have at least one of my dreams come true. I’m going to Italy tomorrow with the man I love. That’s more than enough for me.”

Shadybrooke: Hallway

Lucky closed the door behind him as he followed Sam into the hallway. “I’m not happy,” he declared. Sam sighed, wound her arm through his as they started towards the elevators.

“I know.”

“I think she should stay here until she’s not losing time anymore. How many times did she just drift while we were having a normal conversation?” Lucky demanded.

“Twice that I saw.”

“Johnny saw it, too. I saw it in his eyes. But he just waited, and she came back. What happens if something goes wrong tomorrow?” Lucky said. He stopped in front of a room. He stared at the door so hard that his vision nearly blurred. “What if the next time something terrible happens, she drifts so far we can’t drag her back?”

“Is that what happened with your mother?” Sam asked softly.

“I wasn’t there for most of it,” Lucky admitted. “Dad took her on the run after her stepfather died. He wanted to protect her from the cops — but Dad said she was already confused. Didn’t know what year it was—thought they were getting married. She kept slipping in and out the whole time, and then Scott—” His mouth twisted. “Scott kept badgering her, forcing her to relive the moment she bashed Rick Webber’s head in—and Mom just disappeared.” He swallowed hard. “We got her back for a little while two years ago, but it wasn’t enough.”

He knocked on the door but opened it without waiting for anyone to answer. No one would. Inside, the room was decorated like a bedroom with a brass bed and a flowered comforter set between two oak nightstands, a matching dresser on the other side of the room.

Photos of the Spencer family dotted the dresser—of Luke and Laura before kids came along, of Lucky as a child, of Lulu. And the boys — Jake and Cameron — grandchildren Laura had never really met. She’d only seen Cameron briefly during the weeks she’d been awake.

They had filled this room like his mother was going to come back to them at any minute, as if she were a normal patient.

But Laura Webber Spencer wasn’t a normal patient. She sat in a rocking chair looking out the window, dressed in a pair of trousers and a gray sweater. Nikolas paid for someone to take care of her like this. To exercise her muscles, to wash and dress her each morning as if this was the day Laura Spencer would rise from that chair and go back to her life.

And every day, they put her to bed because she was still locked away inside her mind.

Lucky left Sam in the doorway and went over to crouch in front of his mother, to take her hand in his. “Hey, Mom,” he said softly. “It’s me. Just came by to make sure they’re taking good care of you.”

Her eyes, the beautiful blue eyes his father always waxed poetically about, were glassy, unfocused—

Empty.

Lucky swallowed hard. “I’m doing good,” he told his mother. “I’m thinking about taking the sergeant exam sometime next year. And the boys — they’re growing fast. We can’t keep Cameron in shoes. I remember when Lu was that age.”

He felt Sam cross the room, drop a hand on his shoulder. “Hi, Mrs. Spencer. We met a few years ago at Kelly’s. Just for a moment,” she added. “So it’s okay if you don’t remember.”

Lucky smiled, then got to his feet. He kissed his mother’s cheek, then went to the door. In the hallway, he leaned against the wall. “I can’t stand the idea of Lu ending up like that,” he said roughly. “I’d rather slit my wrists—”

“She won’t. She’s got the best care—”

“We’ve kept my mother here because we wanted her close, but Shadybrooke isn’t the answer.” Lucky straightened. “If Lulu doesn’t start getting better, we’ll need to think of something else. I’m not letting her slip away. I didn’t do enough for my mother. I never did enough for her. I’m not making the same mistakes again.”

“You won’t. And whatever happen, I’ll be right there,” Sam promised. She leaned up to kiss him. “We’re in this together, remember?”

“I remember.”

Coffee House: Office

Jason scribbled his own name at the bottom of the power of attorney agreement and made a note to drop it off with Diane on his way to the penthouse. There were a thousand things that needed to get done before he had to leave for the church the next day—

And they had to be done before the church because his window to make the flight was so small—

He looked up when there was a knock at the door, then it opened. Cody Paul, his second-in-command, and Francis Corelli, head of security stepped in. “Hey, you ready for us?”

“Uh, yeah.” Jason slid the paperwork back in the manila envelope. “Did you get a chance to check the security at the church?”

“Spoke with Father Coates,” Francis said. “Sonny wanted us to cut back on the guys at that door checking invitations — said it sent the wrong look to Kate’s people, so that’s out. Other than that—”

Jason grimaced — it had been hard enough to get Sonny to agree to let Jason’s guys handle security in the first place, but Jason had been determined. Sonny might be out of the business, but that had been true that terrible day in the warehouse—

His fist tightened as his side as he remembered the phone call. The day they’d sent Michael to live in a hospital hooked up to machines, knowing he’d never open his eyes again. He took a deep, bracing breath. Looked at Francis again. “Okay. And security at the Spencer house?”

“Have to be careful with that one,” Francis reminded him. “Spencer’s still a cop, so Dougie is going to take the day shift, Vinnie the night. They’ll try to stay on the kids, but—”

“But there’s not much they can do.” Another situation Jason couldn’t really control. Lucky had refused extra security — the whole point of Lucky raising Jake and Cameron, of staying in their lives, was to keep them out of Jason’s.

But there would always be the chance that someone would find out where Jason was—and who was flying with him. He’d wanted to fly private, but Sonny had the jet for the honeymoon, and Jason hadn’t been able to get a charter. Once Elizabeth had been granted the vacation days, they couldn’t change the trip.  He hated leaving the country knowing the boys weren’t as safe as they could be—

“You know,” Cody said, breaking into Jason’s thoughts. “If, uh, things were more public, you could probably talk Spencer into letting a guard hang out closer—”

Jason clenched his jaw, glared at him, and the younger man fell silent. “Do what you can,” he told Francis.

“Yeah, no problem.”

“I won’t contact you unless it’s an emergency,” Cody said. “I can handle pretty much anything that comes up,” he continued.

“I’ll keep my eye on the kid,” Francis said, and Cody shot him a dark look. The “kid” was maybe five years younger than Francis and Jason, but no one ever let him hear the end of it. It was the same attitude the guys had had when Jason had started—Reinaldo hadn’t even wanted to leave Jason alone in the penthouse without a guard on the door in the beginning.

“And anyway, he’s done this longer than you, and Sonny left you holding the bag for everything when you were here a year,” Francis reminded Jason. “We can handle a week.”

“Yeah. I know.” Still, the discomfort itched at him. Things were quiet, but they didn’t feel calm. There was a difference — quiet could just mean everyone was holding their breath before all hell broke loose—and Jason had nearly canceled this trip a dozen times since planning it—

But Elizabeth had already put up with enough, he reminded himself. He’d made her promises of forever, then took them back. He’d been cold and angry with her, demanding she’d give up on them. But she hadn’t, and she was still here, six months after another child had lost his life due to the world Jason lived in. He could never say Elizabeth didn’t know and accept the risks. She did, and she still wanted him.

She deserved this week. She deserved Italy. She deserved far more than any of that, but this was all he could give.

“All right.” Jason got to his feet. “I need to drop some paperwork off with Diane,” he told them. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Got it, Boss.”

When Jason had left, Cody looked at Francis with a bit of confusion. “Does he really think no one knows who’s going with him? Vinnie and Dougie are good guys, but people are going to notice they’re on the Spencer kids.”

“Hell, the little one already looks like him,” Francis muttered. He checked the messages on his phone. “You haven’t been around this long enough, but it’s easier to just smile and nod when Jason does dumb shit like this. The world has known about Elizabeth Webber since she was eighteen. He lives in denial. It’s our job to smile, nod and keep her and the kids safe. He wants to be a moron, that’s on him.”

From Chapter 76 (first chapter)

Lake House: Bedroom

Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed to kick off her shoes, then looked down at her hands. At the wedding ring nestled next to the ruby engagement ring Jason had given her after the hearing in Syracuse back in December. It was just a simple plain gold band, similar to the wider one she’d slid on his finger the day before.

“You all right?”

She glanced up to find her husband walking into the room, setting the burner phone on the dresser. “Yeah, I was just looking at my ring.”

Jason hesitated. “It’s all right, isn’t it? Emily said—”

“It’s perfect.” She rose to her feet and crossed the room to him, sliding her arms around his waist. “I love that my engagement ring is what I see first.”

“Why?” Jason asked, his hands gently trailing up and down her back.

“Because, other than the leather jacket you got me that first Christmas,” she said, “that glass was the first present you ever gave me. And I—” She sighed, rested her head against his chest. “I broke it.”

“I know. You told me.” They stood there, swaying, nearly dancing to nothing more than the sound of their own breathing. “It’s all right.”

“It’s not. I knew you were telling the truth even when I told you were lying. You picked that ruby because I told you how sorry I was for not believing you. For breaking it.”

“I didn’t even buy that glass for you,” Jason reminded her. His cheek rested on top of her head—she could feel his breath rustling her hair. “I gave it to you because I had it and I thought you’d like it. You don’t have to feel sorry about breaking it. I never blamed you back then.”

“I loved that shade of crimson,” Elizabeth murmured. She held out her hand, wiggling her fingers so that the ruby caught the dim light in the room. “The way it caught in the light and sparkled. I remember the day you gave it to me. When we stood at the window.”

“I remember that, too.” He closed his hand over hers and brought it to his mouth. “I wanted to kiss you that day. You looked at me.”

“I wanted you to kiss me, too. Which scared the hell out of me,” she admitted. She drew back so that their eyes met. “So many times I wish you would have just done it, but now—I know why you didn’t, and it makes me love you more.”

“Yeah?” With his free hand, he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, trailing his fingers down her jaw.

“It needed to be my decision, and I think you wanted it to be mine. You needed that from me, and I couldn’t do it. Not then. I wasn’t ready. You always found a way to put me first.”

“Not always.”

She shook her head. “We’re not going to do that, not tonight. I’m not even blaming myself for not being ready. I just wanted to tell you that I knew what you were doing, and that I love you for it.”

“I love you, too.” He dipped his head down to brush his mouth against hers. Her hand fisted in his shirt. “We should go to bed.”

“We should, but first—” Elizabeth kissed him again, nipping at his lips as she drew back, then smiled at him. “I want my wedding night.”

---

From Chapter 77

Tuesday, February 3, 2004

Lake House: Living Room

Elizabeth set down a pair of books on the sofa, then lowered herself down next to Jason. “Okay, if everything goes the way it’s supposed to, in about a month we’ll have a baby.”

Jason frowned at her, put aside his travel book. “Uh, yeah, that is the plan—”

“This baby will need a name.” She picked up a book, Names Through the Ages. “We can start here. I brought the books, you go find some paper and something to write with. I’ll tell you all the names I like, and then we can narrow it down there from there.”

Jason grinned, reached over to tug down the edge of the book so he could see her face. “We’re not seriously going to go through every page of this, are we?”

“Listen, it’s the middle of winter in upstate New York, we can’t go a lot of places, and I can only manage sex once a day,” Elizabeth told him with mock seriousness. “We can talk about baby names or you can have sex. But choose wisely.”

“Well—” He made a show of looking at the clock on the wall. “It’s only about nine in the morning. Seems a little early if I only get to have sex once.”

“That’s what I thought.” She opened the book again. “Now, the reason I made Emily get this book is because it had all kinds of old names—”

“Elizabeth—”

“This is the name our kid is going to have the rest of his life—” She pretended to glare at him. “If you tell me names don’t matter, we’re gonna have our first fight.”

“Well, I know how much you like your middle name,” Jason said, reaching for the other book. “We’re naming our first daughter after you. Imogen Morgan.”

“Don’t even joke about that—” Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “My parents just wanted to make sure Great-Grandma Imogen Martin wouldn’t leave them out of the will. They tried to suck up at the end.”

“Did it work?”

“Nope. Which does, in hindsight, make me happy. But don’t distract me. We’re not doing daughters yet.” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “Boys.”

“These are all fine—”

“Jason Morgan—”

“I mean, what’s the difference between Brian and Mark?” Jason asked.

“Brian was in a kid in my first grade class who tripped me. That’s why I have that scar on my knee.”

Jason nodded sagely. “Of course. That makes sense. Mark?”

“Sarah had a ridiculous crush on Marky Mark and I’d never be able to look our kid without thinking about it.” She snickered when Jason just stared at her with confusion. “Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch? Oh man, you know, you’re lucky to have that memory wiped. Anyway. Brian and Mark are out. So are…” She ran her fingers down a list. “Michael, Jeffrey, Alan, Edward—”

“Yeah, we only need one Edward,” Jason agreed.

“And it has to sound right with the rest of his name, okay? Because I have a middle name picked out.” She flipped a page. “Ooh, Scottish names.”

“What about…” He frowned. “Kevin—no. He was my doctor after the accident. And Carly’s.”

“See, that’s what I mean—”

“You did this to me,” he told her. “I never would have thought about it—”

“Right, until the day, we had baby Kevin in the park and ran into adult Kevin, and then he’d be like, whoa, weird, you named your kid after me—” Elizabeth shook her head. “Nope. I am not setting my son up for failure.”

“This seems more complicated than it needs to be.” Jason sighed, but now looked more closely at the book in front of him.

Elizabeth grinned at him, pleased. “This is why I love you.”

Jason looked at her, arching a brow. “Because I let you talk me into being ridiculous?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “Because you don’t mind when I talk circles around you, and drag you into my silliness—”

“I just like seeing you like this,” he said. He leaned forward and kissed her. “Happy.”

“Me, too.” She sighed against his lips and let the book fall to the ground. Jason wrapped his arm around her waist and lowered her onto her back. “You know, today is a good day,” she murmured. “Maybe we can manage it twice.”

“Well…” Jason raised his head to meet her eyes, still dancing with laughter. “You could just lay back and let me do all the work.”

“You have the best ideas.”

This is a story that will be exclusive to The Liason Haven when it’s released in December, but I’m working on the first draft now. Here are the unedited first two scenes. These are FIRST drafts! I might entirely rewrite them before publication.

Basic Setup: This takes place in December 1997. Jason’s story is mostly as it aired on the show. He and Robin broke up in August over his job (but she’d been in and out of the show for almost a year at that point). They attempted a reconciliation in October, but it failed. Sonny jilted Brenda at the altar in September, but Jason was the one who had to deal with it and Brenda has hated Jason since and really struggled with the humiliation. (FIND THESE WEDDING SCENES ON YOUTUBE THEY ARE EPIC).  Elizabeth is still Steve and Audrey’s granddaughter, but she grew up in PC, so she knows everyone. She went to Denver for college and returned for the nursing program where she had run ins with Carly.

Hopefully that helps!

Note:  This story is written in three parts. Each part is set to a different song as a song fiction. The soundtrack for Part 1 is the absolute BOP by Gabbie Hanna: Bad Karma. The other songs are also by Gabbie: Dandelion and Glass House. Check them out.

---

1
Skeletons in my closet
I got secrets that’ll shake you to your bonesWithin twenty four hours of agreeing not to blow up Carly Roberts’ lie about being the father of her child, Jason Morgan was regretting ever letting the toxic blonde back into his life.

She’d come to him, crying hysterically, terrified that Tony Jones would drag her into court over paternity of her son, forcing her to reveal that Jason’s half-brother, AJ Quartermaine, was actually the father.

And AJ, Carly had tearfully informed Jason, had threatened to take the baby and cut her out of his life entirely. He was a Quartermaine with more money and power. With the entire town against her, Carly would lose her baby. She’d done so many terrible things, but surely she didn’t deserve this, did she?

Carly had lied to them both, claiming Jason was the father of the baby due in a few weeks, and she’d begged Jason to keep the secret. Just for a little while. He could help her disappear after the baby was born safely, couldn’t he? He could help her escape the Quartermaines, just like he had. Didn’t he understand how dangerous they were?

And Jason, who loathed every single Quartermaine for the way they used their power and money to crush others, had agreed. After all — it was just a few weeks. What was the worst that would happen? Carly would leave, and he could eventually reveal the truth to anyone who gave a damn.

The evening after letting Carly into his penthouse at Harborview Towers, Jason had gone to Luke’s, the club that he co-owned (thanks to his boss and partner dumping everything on him a few months ago on his way out of town) to run the numbers and look over the books.

He’d left the office and went into the bar, thinking he might grab a beer before heading over to Jake’s to play a game of pool and see if the sexy brunette he’d had his eye on might be interested in giving him a reason to avoid Carly while she was staying there.

Instead, Jason found Brenda Barrett sitting at the bar, her long legs crossed elegantly, a martini grasped between her fingers. She met Jason’s eyes, sipped her drink, and raised a slim eyebrow. Then smirked.

The hair on the back of Jason’s neck stood up. The supermodel hadn’t offered him an ounce of kindness since that terrible September day when she’d been waiting at the end of the aisle in her wedding gown, and had turned to him expecting to see her beloved fiance, Sonny Corinthos.

Instead, Jason had been forced to humiliate her in front of nearly the entire town, informing her that Sonny had jilted her. He hadn’t wanted that, but she’d refused to talk quietly. He’d tried to take care of her, but all the hatred she now felt for Sonny had found him as target.

To see her smiling at him now—

“I heard the most interesting news at the hospital today,” Brenda said. She set the martini glass down, then leaned forward, her brown eyes sparkling with mischievous malice. Her words might be neutral, her mouth was smiling, but the tone of her voice could have frozen lava.

Warily, Jason folded his arms, keeping his own expression blank. He said nothing.

“Bobbie was commiserating with one of the other nurses,” Brenda continued, “about how Tony was humiliating her all over again. Apparently, he broke up with that bitch Carly Roberts right in the hospital and they had a huge scene.” Her smirk deepened. “Do you know what they fought about?”

He said nothing.

She leaned forward. “I guess congratulations are in order.” She paused. “Daddy.”

He narrowed his eyes. There was something else here. She had an angle she was going to play—

“Of course, I immediately asked Bobbie if she was sure. She had to be mistaken, you see.” She tilted her head. “Because Carly is due in a few weeks. How could you be the father, Jason, when Carly got pregnant in April?”

His stomach dropped and now it was harder to maintain his blank expression. Because now he knew why Brenda looked so gleeful. Now he understood why she was here.

Brenda leaned back, sipped her martini. “Naturally, Robin was devastated.”

Jason closed his eyes. Robin.

They’d dated off and on for more than a year, and he’d loved her with every ounce of his soul. She’d forgiven him for Carly when they’d first started dating. She’d understood that he hadn’t meant to hurt her—that Carly was a mistake. An urge that he hadn’t learned how to control.

He could do that now, and Carly didn’t tempt him anymore. She’d taunted Robin one too many times, had been too clingy, refusing to accept that their brief affair was over. He loved Robin.

“Why would you do that?” he asked, roughly. “She’s in Paris. This has nothing to do with her.”

“Nothing?” Brenda repeated. “Did I miss something, Jason? Did I confuse the timeline? When did you and Robin break up? When she did finally get sick and tired of waiting for you to die? Was it August?’

It had actually been October when Jason had finally given up on Robin changing her mind about the path he’d chosen for himself, the path that Robin had inadvertently set him on when she’d sent him to Sonny to return money he’d found on the docks. He’d let go of that dream and was trying to build another.

“August,” Brenda repeated. “Which, according to my calendar, comes after April.” She finished the last of her martini, the popped the olive between her lips. “Did you really think no one would do the math, Jason? Did you think that you could get away with this? No one cares about you, Jason,” she reminded him. “But people love Robin.” She shrugged. “If it wasn’t me, it would have been Mac or Felicia.”

Jason exhaled slowly. “You think you did Robin a favor,” he told her quietly. “You think you were doing the right thing. But you hurt her to get back at me. I never meant to hurt you, Brenda.”

Her eyes glittered. “Don’t you dare—”

“I didn’t tell you to walk down the aisle before Sonny showed up. I tried to get you to leave the church. But you wouldn’t let me. What happened wasn’t something I did on purpose, Brenda, but you wanted to hurt Robin because you knew it’d hurt me.” He exhaled slowly. “Congratulations. That makes you just as selfish as the man who left you at the altar and made me pick up the pieces.”

He stalked out of the bar, digging his keys out of his jacket. He needed to get his mind off of this. He needed to stop thinking about Brenda and Robin and Carly and all the damage he’d left in his wake during the two short years since emerging from his coma without memories.

He headed for Jake’s, that game of pool, and hoped that Elizabeth would be there. He needed someone who would listen to him.

2

It ain’t worth all the drama
Might be easier if I just die alone

 Elizabeth Webber smirked as she counted out the twenties that Zander Smith had just slapped down on the pool table. “I don’t know why we do this every week,” she said, folding the bills in half and sliding them into the back pockets of her jeans.

Zander glared at her, snagging his beer from the edge of the table. “You’re just a goddamn shark. Pretending you barely played in college–”

“Is that how I described it?” Elizabeth asked the man slouched against the wall. “I thought I was pretty clear—”

“Your college team won nationals and you were MVP,” Johnny Zacchara replied with a jerk of a shoulder. “His fault for not asking for more details.”

“Ah, fuck you.” Sour, the man slunk off towards the bar to order another drink.

Elizabeth snorted, then started to chalk up her cue. “You wanna take me on?” she asked Johnny.

“Not even a little bit,” he said pleasantly. “You kicked my ass the first time. Unlike Smith, I don’t make the same mistake twice.”

“Spoilsport,” she muttered. Most of Jake’s regulars had played and lost to her at least once, and very few came for a second round. She’d been able to almost pay off her car hanging at the bar over the last year—

And the only man who’d ever given her a run for her money wasn’t here tonight. Not that she was mad about it. He had his hands full right now, and she wasn’t going to take that ride. Not after what she’d heard.

It was a shame, she thought wistfully, as she lined up a shot to break the table. She’d wanted to know how good his ass looked out of those jeans—

“Good, Morgan’s here to stop your reign of terror,” Johnny said. Surprised, she jerked up and missed her shot, the cue ball slapping uselessly against the felt walls of the table. She turned to the darkened hall that led to the entrance, wincing when the familiar form of Jason Morgan entered the bar.

“You’re just in time,” Johnny said to Jason, tossing a cue at him. “She’s already murdered the new guy and Smith was dumb enough to play her again.” He picked up his whiskey. “I need a refill. You want something?” he asked Jason.

“I’ll get it,” Jason told him, and Johnny nodded, sauntering off to the bar. Elizabeth wrinkled her nose as her sort of friend left her mostly alone with the man she was trying to avoid.

“I didn’t think I’d see you here tonight,” Elizabeth said, meeting his eyes briefly, then glancing away, sliding around him so he could line up his own shot. She’d play him, keep it light, and then send him on his way.

“It’s Friday,” Jason said, narrowing his eyes. “We always—” His fingers curled tightly around the stick. “What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?” she asked. She hooked her thumbs in the belt loops of her jeans. “I just didn’t think you’d be here. You’ve got a lot on your mind.” When he took a step towards her, she stepped back and his eyes darkened. “Look—”

“You heard,” he said flatly and she flushed, her cheeks heating. “Who told you?”

“I work at the hospital, Jason,” Elizabeth said. She dragged a hand through her hair. “It’s everywhere.”

He stepped towards her again, but this time she held her ground, tilting her head up to meet his eyes, the light blue almost black in the shadows of the bar. Their bodies brushed against one another, and the shivers slid down her spine. They’d been doing the dance for a few weeks—since Thanksgiving—and if he was anyone other than Jason Morgan, newly minted leader of the Port Charles underground, she’d have jumped him the first time he gave her the green light.

But you didn’t hop into bed with the local godfather on a whim, even if it was just sex, so she’d bided her time, making sure he was worth the trouble.

And she was glad now she’d waited.

“Look, it’s nothing personal,” she managed, licking her lips. “It’s just I made a rule a long time ago that I was going to stay as far away from Carly Roberts as I could—”

“What does she have to do with this?” Jason demanded. “We’re not together—”

“She’s the mother of your child—”

He hissed, then looked up at the ceiling. “Goddamn it.”

“She’s a terrible person—”

“But I’m not her—”

“She’s living with you, isn’t she? That’s what Dr. Jones told Bobbie today,” she said. “Carly took her stuff and left. I mean, look, it’s great that you’re stepping up and all that, but you’re about to be connected to that viper for next eighteen years if not longer. There’s no way in hell I’m getting on that roller coaster—”

He gritted his teeth, tossed the pool cue on the table and wrapped his fingers around her wrist. “Come with me.”

“Hey, hands off—” She slapped at his chest and he released her immediately. “We flirted a few times, but you don’t get to drag me anywhere—”

“That’s not—” Jason took a deep breath, dipped his head. When he looked back up and met her gaze, he looked more his old self — like the sweet, sexy, frustrating guy she’d been flirting with all these nights, not the angry, irritated jackass who had clearly come to the bar to grab at her ass. “I need to talk to someone,” he said finally. “I was hoping you’d let me explain.”

She pursed her lips. “Okay,” Elizabeth finally said. Man, she hoped she didn’t regret this.

I opened all my Scrivener files to write something related to Mirrors or Fool Me Twice today and my brain was like, nah. We’re not interested. So I stared at the computer for a while, then I wrote this. I don’t even know what it is but I had fun.

---

On the outskirts of Wymoor, a woman crept through the night, clutching the folds of her cloak tightly around her face.

It would not do for anyone to see her wandering on her own so long after dusk had fallen, but Brenda Barrett had no other choice.

She’d waited long enough for her revenge.

The tavern was tucked between two dilapidated warehouses on the docks. Wymoor had once been a bustling port city, but it had fallen into ruin and neglect since the tragedy that had struck the royal family over a decade earlier.

There were men milling about outside, coarse and foul-mouthed men who looked as though they hadn’t seen the inside of a tub in a long time. Brenda bobbed and weaved around them, hoping to escape their notice.

Alas, that proved impossible as a meaty hand reached out and snatched her by the elbow. “Wot’s this? A lass? When did the boy bring back the whores?”

Brenda hissed and reached with her free hand into her cloak. With a flash and a yelp, her elbow was released as her captor clutched his bleeding forearm, rage flashing in his eyes. “You feckin’ bitch—”

“Touch me again,” Brenda snarled as she twirled the dagger in her hand and, with a flick of her wrist, aimed it at the group, “and you’ll not know the pleasure of a woman again.”

“We’ll see about that—” The man lunged for her, but Brenda didn’t make idle threats and had been trained since birth to have a care for herself.

She darted back and spun, the dagger slicing into his meaty shoulder. With a grunt, she yanked it back and jabbed it into the air. “You want to see if your luck will hold a third time?”

“I think Pete has learned his lesson.”  A cool, amused voice came from her side, but Brenda did not take her eyes off her attacker, nor did she so much as lower the dagger an inch. “Pete, apologize to the lady.”

“Lady? A lady at Sonny’s? Not bloody likely—”

“An apology,” the man at Brenda’s side repeated, the amusement gone now. “Or I’ll let her finish the job.”

“I won’t accept it. Just tell him to be about his business. I have my own to see to.” She could only sense the man—he was taller than her and quiet. She’d not heard him come up behind her.

“I see you again, bitch, we’re gonna have a dance,” Pete threatened, but his words lacked a bit of punch as the blood seeped down his already stained shirt from the wound to his shoulder. He sauntered off, followed by several of his friends—all of them grumbling.

“I can’t imagine what business a member of the royal family might have here.”

At that, Brenda turned to finally face the man who had forced Pete to back off. He was taller than her—but then many were—and broad-shouldered with chiseled cheekbones, hair that might be fair with more light and blue eyes —

“I need to speak with Michael Corinthos.”

“You do not deny your background?”

“No.” Brenda lifted her chin. “Though I would ask how you came by this knowledge. We’ve not been introduced.”

“No, we haven’t.” The amusement came back to those eyes, but his face never changed. It might as well have been chiseled from stone. “Come in. Sonny might enjoy this.”

—

Jason Morgan hadn’t seen a woman wield a dagger like that since he’d left the Quartermaine estate nearly five years earlier, but only the royal daughters were given the training to make daggers dance in the air the way hers had.

He led the stranger through the public rooms of the tavern and up a cramped set of stairs that led to the room where Michael Corinthos, better known as Sonny, ruled the waterfront.

Not that there was much left to rule. Not since the young king had taken his business to another port and left Wymoor to crumble around itself.

His best friend and partner frowned when Jason led the woman inside, rising to his feet from the desk where he’d been balancing the ledger. “What’s this?”

Jason opened his mouth, but the imperious woman swept past him, removed her cloak, and tossed it at Jason as if he were a servant. His mouth pinched, but he kept the garment in his hands. For all her air of privilege and grace —

She was dressed as a peasant, her face thin and her eyes too large. The material of the cloak was a rough cloth. Even if this were a disguise, it did not change the fact that this woman had not seen a good meal in many days. If not longer.

“My name is Brenda Barrett, but I was once Lady Brenda of Nevoie. They tell me you understand revenge. I’m here to ask for your help in getting mine.”

Nevoie. Jason tipped his head, trying to place the name. He looked at Sonny, hoping to find some clue, but his friend’s expression had not changed.

“Nevoie,” Sonny repeated slowly. “Many have claimed to be the Lady of Nevoie. I imagine you have the missing princess tucked in those skirts.”

Brenda exhaled slowly, then shook her head. “No.” Her voice had lost some of that hauteur, and Jason saw the shadows cloud her eyes. “No. There can be no hope. After all this time, my cousin is gone.”

“Missing princess,” Jason repeated. “What’s going on?”

“Before your fall,” Sonny said, now looking at Jason, “the youngest daughter of the previous king died when she was three, but there were always rumors that the family had covered something up. Five years later, the queen and her sister were murdered at Nevoie. There was evidence that two children had lived there. Neither were ever found. Brenda is the heir to a very ancient title, and many suspected the queen was there to visit her daughter, hidden away for some dangerous defect.”

Jason drew his brows together, then looked at Brenda. “I don’t know this story.”

“It is not a story,” Brenda said tightly. “It is the truth. My cousin came to live with us when she was a child, and we were raised as sisters. I was fifteen when the men came. They slaughtered my mother, my aunt—” Her voice broke. “Mama told us to run into the forest, but we were separated. I heard screaming—I heard her screaming—” Her fingers curled into a fist. “I have waited twelve years for my revenge. I know who killed my mother. Who killed my family.”

“And the queen,” Sonny drawled sarcastically. “I suppose you think to take this story to King Steven, tell him you can find his missing sister—”

“Steven never knew she was alive. No one did. And if you continue to mock me—”

“What? What are you going to do—”

“Sonny, she carries a royal dagger,” Jason said quietly. “And she knows how to use it.”

At that, Sonny fell silent. He stared at Brenda, then stalked towards her, his hand outstretched. “Give it here.”

“We do not surrender our daggers.” Her hand clutched the belt at her waist. “Not with breath in our bodies. You either believe me, or you don’t—”

“Are you sure of this?” Sonny asked.

“My sister married into the Cassadine family,” Jason said and then found Brenda offering him a measured glance.

“Legitimate sister?” Brenda inquired. Jason glared at her. “If you have connections to the family that has trained the women of the royal line for generations, then you are not some errand boy for a crime lord.”

“I used to be Jason Quartermaine,” Jason said slowly. “Until a fall destroyed my memory. I don’t know them, and I don’t claim them. Except for my sister. I saw her husband training the king’s betrothed when I last visited.”

“Our new queen,” Brenda sneered, “foisted on my cousin by his guardian. He is weak. But yes, she was trained in the art of the dagger. I doubt she possesses the grace.” She paused, then looked back to Sonny. “Will you help me?”

“Why did the royal family hide their daughter away?” Sonny demanded. “Why fake her death?”

Brenda exhaled slowly. “I tell you only because I am convinced that she no longer lives, but even then, this must not leave this room. I was told you could be trusted.”

“You have my word. And Jason’s.”

“My cousin was born with the curse.” Brenda pressed a fist against her heart. “She set the stables on fire when she was two, angry at some slight. She was a witch.”

A witch. Jason’s chest tightened at that for nothing else, explained the royal family abandoning one of their own. Men with power worked for the council and had respect. Women with power were burned at the stake for simply being suspected of it. “Is that why the queen was murdered?”

“No. I only wish it were,” Brenda murmured. “But my aunt’s fate was cast the moment the king died in battle, and the guardian for Steven was set.”

“Guardian,” Sonny repeated. “Cesar Faison. You’re saying Faison had your family killed.”

“Yes. I have the proof.” Brenda flipped back the leather pouch at her waist and drew out a piece of paper, folded several times and worn from age and handling. “One of the men dropped this. It’s signed by Faison and gives the location of our home.”

“This would not convince anyone who matters—”

“Does it convince you?” Brenda cut in swiftly as Sonny perused the document.

“I need no convincing that Faison would murder a child in cold blood,” he said. “But I don’t matter—”

“I have no interest in justice. Justice is not possible. I only need vengeance for the lives of my aunt and my mother. For my cousin. I came to you because I want him dead.”

Instead of responding to that claim, Sonny set the document on his desk and leaned back against it. “You’re very sure that your cousin is dead, are you?”

Brenda’s eyes flickered. “Of course. If she weren’t, she would have found me—why—”

“Or she may be in hiding as you are. You were both believed to be dead,” Sonny said. “Why would she think you had survived?”

“She was much younger—” But her voice faltered. “Why would you give me this hope?”

“Sonny—” Jason frowned, shaking his head slightly. “What’s going on?”

“Cesar Faison once came to me to perform a task,” Sonny said. “He explained the parameters—vaguely—and I declined. That was six years ago.”

“My cousin died twelve years ago—”

“Your cousin had something he wanted,” Sonny said softly. “And when she refused to give it to him, he wanted her dead. Faison asked me if I could rid him of an unwanted house guest. She had worn out her welcome, but there was nowhere for her to go.”

“She was alive six years ago? And you left her—”

“What do you take me for?” Sonny said, his lips curving in amusement. He flicked his eyes to Jason. “Before I decide whether or not to help the Lady of Nevoie, perhaps you should fetch my sister.”

“Your sister,” Jason repeated. The sister he had never met and that Sonny rarely mentioned. “Have you been hiding a royal princess—”

“You have my cousin?” Brenda demanded. “I wish to see her immediately—”

“Your cousin does not remember you,” Sonny told her. “She spent many years held hostage by Faison’s men. She does not know she is the princess. In fact, until tonight, I did not know she was either. I thought she was someone Faison wanted dead, and one day, I might be able to use her as leverage.”

“You—” Brenda’s eyes flared with rage. “You rescued her only to lock her up again—”

“She’s not my hostage,” he said easily. “You can ask her yourself when Jason brings her back.” He looked at his partner. “I’ll send a letter with you; otherwise, she won’t trust you.”

“Why don’t you go yourself?” Jason demanded, but Sonny shook his head.

“Faison has had me watched for a very long time—since he came to me for the job, and she vanished out from under his nose. He suspects I know where she is, but he’d never believe I’d tell you or anyone else. Bring her here the way we smuggle the brandy.”

“I want to go—”

“No,” Jason said before Sonny could answer. “It’s not safe. It will barely be safe for her—” He paused. “Sonny, you’ve never told me anything about her. I don’t even know her name—how am I going to get close enough to even give her the letter?”

“You’ll know her name. It’s not the one she was given at  birth— I never knew that, and she didn’t remember it—”

“Oh, God, what did he do to her?” Brenda cried. “How could she forget even her name—”

“Only she and I know the name she’s chosen for herself,” Sonny said, ignoring her. “Elizabeth will know I sent you when you use it.”

The first scene is the opening scene of Fool Me Twice, Chapter One and is set in 2010. The last three scenes are set in October 2017 and from Chapter Two. Enjoy!

---

August 2010 in Bern, Switzerland

Church of St. Peter and Paul

Victor Cassadine smiled as he walked towards the altar of the church, finding great amusement in the sight of the woman dressed from head to toe in unrelieved black with a lace veil covering her face.

“I’m always surprised that you can step foot in a place like this,” he drawled. The woman turned away from the altar where she had been lighting candles. “I thought it might be you asking for this meeting when I received the message.” He glanced around the empty chapel, then lifted a brow at her. “You always had a flair for the dramatic.”

She lit the last candle, then stepped down to meet Victor at the front row of the pews. “And you came anyway?”

“It’s never boring,” Victor told her. He sat in the front pew, stretching his arm across the back of the wooden bench. “Why a Catholic church, darling? We’re Orthodox.”

“We’re practical,” she murmured. “I’ve always believed in covering all my bases.” She sat next to him, then lifted the veil on her hat. “You’ve heard the good news?”

“Of course. You’re a great-grandmother again. A little boy born to Nikolas.” Victor narrowed his eyes as the woman’s lips curved. “For someone who has been cast out of his life more than once, I don’t see why you’re so happy.”

“I had a thought, my dear Victor,” she said, “that Mikkos would be disappointed in the children he sired. None of them have taken up the reins the way they ought to.” She tilted her head at him. “What about Liesl’s brats? Wasn’t one of them yours?”

“Possibly,” Victor said with a light shrug. “They might also be Cesar’s. With Liesl, one never knows. You shouldn’t look for the Cassadine line to continue through me. No, Nikolas and his boys — they’re your best bet.”

“Perhaps,” she purred. “If only there were two of them.”

Victor felt the corner of his mouth tug up. “Darling, what are you up to?”

“Reviving the Cassadine line,” she replied with a sigh. She straightened the cuffs of her long black sleeves. “It’s not always in the blood, but in the breeding. I have a plan, Victor, but I’m afraid I cannot do it alone.”

“And what can I do for you?”

“You have some old friends that I might want to speak with. And now that you’re at the WSB—” Her smile deepened. “You have so many resources. I thought we might find it amusing to revive some old experiments.”

“You’ll have to be more specific, dear.” Victor shifted. “What experiments?”

“Controlling the mind, manipulating memory—” she sighed, dreamily. “I came close with my beloved Lucky. So close to finally cracking it all and getting my revenge on Luke and Laura but I was stopped.”

“And you can’t abide while a Spencer lives?”

“Luke and Laura are on the list. So are their children, but no. I think it’s time that I take my revenge on the people who stopped me. My grandson who lied to me—” Her lips trembled before she pressed them together as the fury in her eyes grew. “He deceived me, led me to believe he had finally come to my side—and he might have. But she always stopped him.”

“She?”

“Elizabeth Webber. The mother of Nikolas’s new son.” She laughed then, a dark chilling laugh. “So many fathers for her children, what’s one more lie for her to live?”

“My dear—”

“If Nikolas had killed Elizabeth Webber when he was supposed to, I would have the power I deserve. She made him weak. And she keeps him tied to the good. With the death that insipid girl—” She took a deep breath. “When I have broken Elizabeth, I can take my grandson back.”

“And the experiments,” Victor said, slowly. “They’ll help you do that?”

“Oh, I couldn’t destroy her without them. This little lie about Aiden—” She examined her nails. “It’s just the first of the tortures I have planned. And when she’s gone, when Nikolas has fallen — then it will be time to finish Luke and Laura—”

“Then how are you going to revive the Cassadines?” Victor asked, as the woman rose to her feet and reset her veil. “Without Nikolas, there’s just the one boy—”

“The Cassadine line is weak. Nikolas proves that. His son will be as useless as him. Will you help?”

Victor mused on this for a long moment, then nodded. “I have been thinking about getting into that line of research,” he admitted. “And, interestingly enough, I have some research going on in the labs now that might be useful.” He stood as well. “Did Mikkos have another bastard son, or—”

“No, it’s time to look to a new branch.” Helena Cassadine lifted her face into the light for a brief moment and her smile would have sent chills down a lesser man’s spine. “Mine.”

October 2017

Greystone Manor: Living Room

Carly folded her arms and made a face. “Stop it with the silent treatment. I just said what we were all thinking.”

“I’m not—” Sonny broke off and shook his head. He sipped his water. “I’m not giving you the silent treatment, Carly. I just don’t know why everything with Jason has to be a fight—”

“Well, why am I the only one who sees that this is insane?” she demanded. She stalked over to the terrace doors and stared out gloomily over the grounds. “Jason. Going into the corporate life. He would have gnawed his arm off rather than go into business.”

“He always liked doing the paperwork at the warehouse,” Sonny mused, and she shot him a nasty look over her shoulder.

“He liked doing the books,” she corrected. “The numbers. They—” Carly closed her eyes, hating the way tears stung her eyes. “He said they were predictable. Comforting. They never changed. He used to do the books at Kelly’s for Mama when she was managing the place.”

“I know. He did them for Mike, too. Carly—” Sonny paused. “You’re not the only one who thinks this is strange. You heard Jason. Elizabeth agrees with you.”

“Yeah, well, she’s stalked him for decades,” Carly muttered. “She’d know—”

“Carly—don’t start—”

“Uh, am I interrupting something?”

They both turned at the new voice in the room as Michael came in, his brow arched. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Max said I should just come in—is everything okay?”

“It’s fine.” Carly swiped at her eyes and forced a smile. “I didn’t know you were coming back from Morocco today.” She looked around, then though clenched teeth asked, “Where’s Nelle?”

“Not that you care,” Michael said slowly, “but I dropped her home. We were both pretty jet legged and she needs to be back at work tomorrow. What’s wrong?”

“Your mother is a bit upset,” Sonny said. “Jason asked me to buy him out of the warehouse. He’s buying Julian Jerome’s media company.”

Michael laughed, a nervous burst of sound falling from his mouth as he looked skeptically from his mother to his father. “No, really. What’s going on?”

“See?” Carly said, gesturing at Michael. “The three people who know Jason best know this is bullshit—”

“Let’s mark this moment because I think you just said something nice about Elizabeth,” Sonny said dryly. “And hey, Carly, I never said this wasn’t weird, I just said—”

“Wait, this is really happening?” Michael said, puting up a hand, his brows deepening into a frown. “Jason is buying a media company. My uncle? With the leather jacket and refusal to wear a helmet?”

“He barely even uses the bike anymore,” Carly muttered. “Helena Cassadine must have fried his brains just like she did to Lucky and Jake, and it’s taken us years to figure it out—”

“He wants a safer life for his family,” Sonny said. “After Jason got shot in August—”

“Because Sam got involved like she always did—” Carly huffed and sat down. “You know, the one good thing I can say about Elizabeth is she let him do his damn job.”

“I was only gone for two weeks,” Michael said to Sonny, a bit helplessly. “Mom’s on Elizabeth’s side, Jason’s quitting the business—which I didn’t know was an option—and he’s buying a media company? Like—with offices? And suits?”

“I’m gonna call Uncle Luke,” Carly decided. “He’d be able to come to town and look at Jason and see if Helena put the whammy on him or something—”

Sonny rolled his eyes and pulled his vibrating phone from his pocket. “People are allowed to change their minds—” He frowned at the message. Breach at the Queen’s Point house.

 

“Dad?” Michael asked. “What’s going on?”

“There’s—” He paused, met his son’s eyes. “Back when Elizabeth moved out to Queen’s Point,” he began slowly, “Jason wanted a safe house in that neighborhood, close to theirs so they’d have a quick escape route where we could extract them if we needed. I knew he was worried about Jake. About all of them—” He ignored Carly’s snort. “So we bought the place, but only Jason and I ever knew about it. And Spinelli. He bought the house and buried the deed. No one ever knew it was connected to us.”

“Sonny?” Carly asked, focusing. “What is it?”

“We never used it,” Sonny continued. “I forgot—I forgot about it. But this—” He held up his phone. “Spinelli sent me a text from Portland. Someone just disengaged the security.”

“Someone knows about one of the safe houses?”  Carly rubbed a hand up her arm. “Why would anyone care? Elizabeth doesn’t even live in that neighborhood anymore—”

“I know,” Sonny murmured.  “I’m gonna go check it out—”

“Oh—” Carly winced as her husband walked past her. “Don’t go alone—”

“I’ll take Max. Don’t worry. It’s probably nothing.” He kissed her cheek. “Rant with Michael about Jason. If I run late, I’ll just meet you at the hotel.”

Carly scowled after him, then turned her attention to her son as Sonny left the house. “I don’t like the sound of this.”

“Well, then take your own advice,” Michael suggested, “and stay out of it. Just like Sam should have in August. If he had, then he wouldn’t—” He made a face. “Is he really buying am media company?”

“Apparently, and I’m supposed to just be happy about it,” Carly muttered, flopping on the sofa. “Jason and Sonny know better than to expect me to suck it up and hide how I feel.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why anyone expects civility and manners from you. Don’t they know who they’re talking to?”

Carly slid a glare at him out of the corner of her eye. “I used to wipe your ass, kid.”

Michael sat next to his mother and offered her a grin. “So did Robin. You guys have a lot in common. It’s a shame you’re not friends.”

“The whole world is against me,” she moaned.

Webber House: Living Room

Elizabeth slid her phone into her pocket and walked into the living room where Cameron was trying very hard not to beat Aiden at a video game, but judging from the growling of her youngest son, he wasn’t doing a good job.

“Hey, Franco said he’s spending the night at his studio, so Cam, you’re keeping the the boys alive. Trina should be able to help with that. Is she still coming?” she asked, leaning a hip against the sofa.

“Yeah.” Cameron frowned at the screen. “Her mom might call yours to double check on the creeper situation.”

Elizabeth furrowed her brow. “Excuse me?”

“Dr. Rob does not like your current mistake,” Cameron continued, not looking at her. “So Trina can’t come over if he’s here.”

“You—” Elizabeth bit her lip. “You didn’t tell me that.”

“Didn’t come up before now. Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll be in college in another year—”

“Two,” Elizabeth muttered, not liking how close her baby was to being eighteen and graduating. “Cameron—”

“Joey’s mom doesn’t let him over here either,” Aiden volunteered. “Ever since Joey told her that Franco moved in before the Nurse’s Ball.” He shrugged. “Joey doesn’t have any brothers, so we never gotta fight for the video games.”

Why hadn’t she known that Franco’s presencen in her life caused problems for her boys? And Cameron—he’d called him the creeper. How—when—

“I’m sorry, Mom—” Cameron said. “I didn’t mean—” He scowled when his car went off the track. “I wasn’t paying attention. I shouldn’t have called him that in front of you.” He shifted, turned towards her on the sofa. “It’s not a big deal—”

“It—is that something you say when I’m not around?” Elizabeth asked. “I mean—” She hesitated when Jake stepped off the stairs, his arms clutched around one of Elizabeth’s photo albums from her room. “Jake, are your friends allowed to come over?”

“Not when Franco’s the only adult,” Jake said easily. He set the album on the table and opened it. “Mom, I don’t care what you and Dr. Maddox said. I don’t think the guy just looked like Dad did. I think he looked exactly like him—”

“Jake—” She could only handle so many crises at a time. She exhaled on a low breath. She’d deal with Franco and the boys later. “I told you—”

“See—I knew it—” He handed her a photograph. “I knew we had a picture of Dad in a hat.”

“Really? Jason in a hat?” Cameron leaned over. “He does not look comfortable—hey, Aunt Em looks really young!”

Elizabeth sighed. Jake had grabbed an album from nearly two decades ago—she and Lucky had gone to the Canadian border looking for Emily when she’d been kidnapped by Zander. Jason had rescued her, and they’d returned to Port Charles. She remembered Emily and Jason saying goodbye at Kelly’s, and Emily finding a hat in Jason’s bag as he’d packed the bike up in the pakring lot. He’d bought it at a store at the border to blend in.

She’d insisted he put it on for her, and Elizabeth had snapped a picture of them. She’d given one copy to Emily—and kept the other for herself.

What a different man he’d been once.

“Jake—” Elizabeth looked at her middle, miracle boy. “I believe you. I just—I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with it. People can look alike.”

“But—”

“I told you I’d make some calls and see if Spinelli could look into this. But it’s not going to do any good to keep worrying about it.” She kissed Jake’s head and handed the photo back to him. “I’m going upstairs to get ready for the party. Try not to kill each other.”

Safe House: Porch

The house, six blocks away from the empty lot on Lexington Avenue where Elizabeth and the boys had lived until a year earlier, looked like it had the last time Sonny had seen it—almost a decade earlier when he’d visited it.

He’d understood Jason’s worries about Elizabeth and the boys living in what had been a new development—so far from the center of town, from Towers where Jason was. It would take Jason almost a half hour to get to her if anything went wrong—he’d wanted something closer if she needed to run.

Now, Sonny realized he didn’t know if Elizabeth had ever known about the house. They’d never spoken about it.

He punched in the security code, noting that it had been armed when he’d arrived. Maybe it was a vagrant—maybe the security code had failed after all these years—

And maybe it had been a technical glitch on Spinelli’s end.

But the hairs on the back of Sonny’s neck lifted as he slid the door open and he found the the light on by the sofa, a duffel bag next to the table.

Someone was here. Someone who knew about this house and how to get in.

Something that only three people should known.

Sonny closed the door behind him, then walked over to the kitchen. It was dark—empty. He turned back at the creak of steps on the stairs. He slid the gun from the holster in inside his jacket and held it low.

“Who’s there?” he demanded.

Then a man turned the corner of the stairwell and came down to the first landing where it wrapped around to meet the first floor. As he came into the light of the living room, Sonny stared into the eyes of a ghost.

This is an excerpt from Chapter 4 of Mad World, and it’s basically spoiler free. Enjoy some sweet fluff from Liason on their honeymoon. This is has not been checked for spelling or typos.

---

Elizabeth set down a pair of books on the sofa, then lowered herself down next to Jason. “Okay, if everything goes to plan, in about a month, we’ll have a baby.”

Jason frowned at her, put aside his travel book. “Uh, yeah, that is the plan—”

“This baby will need a name.” She picked up a book, Names Through the Ages. “We can start here. I brought the books, you go find some paper and something to write with. I’ll tell you all the names I like, and then we can narrow it down there from there.”

Jason grinned, reached over to tug down the edge of the book. “We’re not seriously going to go through every page of this, are we?”

“Listen, it’s the middle of winter in upstate New York, we can’t go a lot of places, and I can only manage sex once a day,” Elizabeth told him with mock seriousness. “We can talk about baby names or you can have sex. But choose wisely.”

“Well—” He made a show of looking at the clock on the wall. “It’s only about nine in the morning. Seems a little early if I only get to have sex once.”

“That’s what I thought.” Sheopened the book again. “Now, the reason I made Emily get this book is because it had all kinds old names—”

“Elizabeth—”

“This is the name our kid is going to have the rest of his life—” She pretended to glare at him. “If you tell me names don’t matter, we’re gonna have our first fight.”

“Well, I know how much you like your middle name,” Jason said, reaching for the other book. “We’re naming our first daughter after you. Imogen Morgan.”

“Don’t even joke about that—” Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “My parents just wanted to make sure Great-Grandma Imogen Martin wouldn’t leave them out of the will. They tried to suck up at the end.”

“Did it work?”

“Nope. Which does, in hindsight, make me happy. But don’t distract me. We’re not doing daughters yet.” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “Boys.”

“These are all fine—”

“Jason Morgan—”

“I mean, what’s the difference between Brian and Mark?” Jason asked. “Is there one?”

“Brian was in a kid in my first grade class who tripped me. That’s why I have that scar on my knee.”

Jason nodded sagely. “Of course. That makes sense. Mark?”

“Sarah had a ridiculous crush on Marky Mark and I’d never be able to look our kid without thinking about it.” She snickered when Jason just stared at her with confusion. “Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch? Oh man, you know, you’re lucky. Anyway. Brian and Mark are out. So are…” She ran her fingers down a list. “Michael, Jeffrey, Alan, Edward—”

“Yeah, we only need one Edward,” Jason agreed.

“And it has to sound right with the rest of his name, okay? Because I have a middle name picked out.” She flipped a page. “Ooh, Scottish names.”

“What about…” He frowned. “Kevin—no. He was my doctor after the accident. And Carly’s.”

“See, that’s what I mean—”

“You did this to me,” he told her. “I never would have thought about it—”

“Right, until the day, we had baby Kevin in the park and ran into Kevin or something, and then he’d be like, whoa, weird, you named your kid after me—” Elizabeth shook her head. “Nope. I am not setting my son up for failure.”

“This seems more complicated than it needs to be.” Jason sighed, but now looked more closely at the book in front of him.

Elizabeth grinned at him, pleased. “This is why I love you.”

Jason looked at her, arching a brow. “Because I let you talk me into being ridiculous?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “Because you don’t mind when I talk circles around you, and drag you into my silliness—”

“I just like seeing you like this,” he said. He leaned forward and kissed her. “Happy.”

“Me, too.” She sighed against his lips and let the book fall to the ground. Jason wrapped his arm around her waist and lowered her onto her back. “You know, today is a good day,” she murmured. “Maybe we can manage it twice.”

“Well…” Jason raised his head to meet her eyes, still dancing with laughter. “You could just lay back and let me do all the work.”

“You have the best ideas.”

So here is your sample first chapter of Fool Me Twice, a rewrite of Jason’s return in 2017. It picks up after that day in the police station where Andre returns from Cuba and Spinelli finds Drew’s military fingerprints. Some of the details may be off — it’s been a while since I watched those scenes, and I would probably rewatch more of his return stuff if I ended up writing this one next.

Everything on the show is pretty much as it happened on the show except the teen stuff. Oscar is not looking for his father, and Cam has already been aged to William Lipton’s version.

---

Chapter One

I walk this empty street
On the boulevard of broken dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I’m the only one, and I walk alone
My shadow’s the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart’s the only thing that’s beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
Till then I walk alone
– Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Green Day

---

Friday, December 2, 2017

Greystone: Living Room

This was not a visit Elizabeth Webber was looking forward to making, but—as the mirror and the lines around her eyes reminded her every morning—she was an adult and procrastinating wouldn’t change the fact that her life, as she knew it, had irrevocably changed over the last three weeks. Just the day before, Dr. Andre Maddox — the lying snake weasel — had confirmed the identities of Andrew Cain and Jason Morgan, and now Elizabeth wanted to do what was right.

It was important to her that she do what was right. For all the times she’d hadn’t been fair to Jason or done right by him when it came to the miraculous son they shared, Elizabeth wasn’t going to waste another minute.

But she didn’t know where Jason was staying and she certainly didn’t have his number anymore, so she squared her shoulders, drove out to Shoreline Road and asked the security guards for admittance to the sprawling estate where Sonny Corinthis lived with his wife, Carly.

Whoever had agreed to see her knew who she was, and man, she hoped it was Sonny. While Sonny and Carly had both been furious at her for keeping the secret about Jake Doe’s supposed identity, Sonny had been a bit quicker to let the ire fade. Carly, however, had never liked her, and this had only served to make their rivalry worse.

Of course it was Carly sitting in the living room, lounging in the arm chair with one brow raised and smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. Max Giambetti, Sonny’s loyal bodyguard offered Elizabeth a look of sympathy as he left the women in the living room alone and returned to his place in entry way.

“Well, it’s been about twelve hours since you found out Jason’s really home, so I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to see you sniffing after him.” Carly tilted her head. “He’s not here. Probably out reconciling with Sam.”

“You know, I used to wonder how you could be such a fan of Jason and Sam considering how they met and fell in love that first time. You know, when Jason was planning to raise Sam’s daughter with Sonny.” Elizabeth set her purse on the desk next to door and arched her own brow. “But then I realized how very smart it was for you to make sure your husband’s mistress was too busy to seduce him again.”

“Not pulling any punches, I see.” Carly rose to her feet, folded her arms. “Jason’s not here.”

“I know. I asked down at the guard house.” Elizabeth hesitated. “I’m here about Jake. Nothing else. I’ve tried to keep the boys from the news reports, but you’ve got a teenager. You know hard it is.” She shrugged. “I didn’t want to deal with telling Jake anything until we knew for sure. He’s been through a lot, and he’s so close to—to Drew,” she added, stumbling over the unfamilar name. “But Jason’s missed so much of his life—”

“And whose fault is that?” Carly demanded, planting her fists on her hips. “Who lied to him—”

“The first year of Jake’s life—that’s on me, Carly. The next two are on Jason. And none of that is your business,” Elizabeth cut in, flatly.       “Either way, the entire world knows that Jason is his biological father, including Jake. So whether you or Jason like it or not, that has to be dealt with. I’m not asking you for his number—”

“I wouldn’t give it to you even if you were,” Carly snapped. “Don’t get you tired of chasing after a man that doesn’t want you?”

“I’m not—” Elizabeth bit off her response, picked up her purse. “You know, I get why you’re not my biggest fan, but honestly, I would have thought you of all people would have understood what I did.”

“Lying to everyone about who Jake Doe really was?” Carly demanded. “You think that goes away because he’s not Jason? You didn’t know that—”

“Telling a desperate lie to be happy,” Elizabeth interrupted, softly. Carly pressed her lips together. “And then telling a new lie everyday to everyone, including yourself, because you’ve convinced yourself it’s worth the price. I knew when Jake found out he was Jason, he’d leave me. Because Jason always leaves. I told that lie to keep Jake, not Jason. Not that anyone cares. Or that it even matters anymore.”

She rubbed her temple. “I told a selfish lie on a bad night when I felt like my world was crumbling around me. I would have thought you, more than anyone else, could have understood how a desperate lie can turn so self-destructive and destroy everything.”

Carly stared at her for a long moment. “I won’t tell you where Jason is or how to reach him. He’s been through enough, Elizabeth. Tell me, if Jason wants a relationship with Jake, do you plan to stand in his way?”

“No.  Jason grieved Jake when we thought he was gone, and you’re right. He’s been through enough. Lost enough time.” Elizabeth’s eyes burned as she sucked in a deep breath. “How anyone can steal five more years from a man who already lost the first two decades is a cruelty I can’t understand. If Jason wants to be a father to Jake, if it will in any way, get him through this next part, that’s what I want. So if you could just tell him that.”

“What Jason’s been through since that night on the pier—his life stolen from him—yeah, the horror of that is something we can agree about.” Carly sniffed. “I’ll tell Jason. Do me a favor, keep Franco away from him? That’s something else he doesn’t need.”

“Yeah, I know.” Elizabeth pulled open the door to entry and stopped as she saw Sonny handing a dark coat to Max. “Sonny.”

“Elizabeth.” Sonny’s eyes flicked from her to the open doorway where Carly could still be seen. “Everything all right?”

“Elizabeth wanted us to pass a message to Jason,” Carly said coolly as she joined them. “To talk about Jake. And how they want to handle things.”

“I’m glad.” Sonny waited a long moment. “He was truly happy to find out Jake was alive. I’m glad you’re giving him a chance to be in Jake’s life.”

“He deserves it.” Elizabeth glanced back at Carly before smiling thinly at Sonny. “Thank you.” She hurried out the door, leaving Sonny to follow his oddly quiet wife into the living room.

“I’m glad to see she’s willing to—”

“Well, she’s just trying to get the drop on Sam,” Carly said with a roll of her eyes. She poured herself a glass of water. “Because now her precious Jake isn’t Jason’s only son. And Jason will have Danny—”

Sonny opened his mouth, then closed it with a shake of his head. “I don’t know. Sam—at the station yesterday—Sam came and left with Drew. And hasn’t really seemed interested in finding out anything about what Jason’s been through.”

“She’s just in denial. She’ll come around.” Carly folded her arms. “Besides, it’s not like Drew has any money. Not anymore.”

Sonny furrowed his brow. “I thought you and Sam had buried the hatchet a long time ago—”

“Yeah, well, accepting someone isn’t the same thing as pretending you don’t know them. Sam follows the money. She always has. You’ll see.” Carly sipped her water. “I guess that’s the one thing I could say about Elizabeth. She’s obsessed with the man, not the bank account.”

“I’m meeting Jason at the restaurant in a little while. You want to come, have some dinner?”

“No,” Carly sighed. “Joss is having her study group over and I want to keep my eye on the new boyfriend, Oscar.”

Penthouse: Living Room

Sam Morgan paused over some paperwork, the nib of her pen held just above the line where she was supposed to sign her name. She’d been Sam Morgan since 2011, a name she’d craved for six years. Sam Morgan was the wife of Jason Morgan, the man that had seen her for who she really was and loved her anyway. Who knew the darkness in her soul and depravity she was capable of—and loved her anyway.

She’d once lost all hope of having that name, of surrendering the name her worthless, criminal, and abusive parents had given her. She’d watched as someone stole Jason’s child from his mother, kept quiet as the world desperately searched for the newborn. She’d hired men to threaten that child and his mother with guns and violence.

But Jason had forgiven her. He’d seen past the cruelty and seen the pain. He’d loved her again, had married her, and proved it by giving her his names. Names didn’t matter to him, she knew that. For Jason, Morgan had just been a convenience. A strike of independence to the Quartermaines who wanted to control him.

For her, Morgan had been salvation. The proof that someone in this world loved her.

But now, six years after she’d married that day in the summer, nearly a year after she’d thought she’d married him again—

She paused as she started to sign her name.

Was it her name?

She set the pen down, leaving the form blank. She looked across the room where her husband was sitting with their children. Their daughter, Scout, cuddled in her father’s arms. Their son, Danny, tucked under his father’s arm.

The man who held them did not share blood with Danny, whose name was not Jason Morgan. It was not Jake Doe.

It was Andrew Cain. The man she had married was not the same man she’d believed him to be. Did she still have a right to Sam Morgan? Was she supposed to be Sam Cain?

She’d done this before—she’d thought she’d done this before. In love with one man when the love of her life returned to the plane of existence. She’d made her choices then, walked away from Patrick Drake, set him free to go back to his soulmate so she could have hers.

She’d sought out the man on her sofa, pushing him to reject the life he’d built as Jake Doe, relieved when they’d discovered the lie that tethered him to another woman. But if Elizabeth hadn’t lied, hadn’t betrayed this man—

Would he have come to Sam at all? Had Sam been a consolation prize, something to build a life around after the first one had crumbled? Had she lied to herself and to him that they’d fallen in love again?

Was she supposed to stay with Andrew Cain because of that? Because she’d stolen him away, was she now obligated to keep him? Did she want him?

Sam’s stomach swirled as she got to her feet, pasted a smile on her face, then went to her family on the sofa, taking a seat in the chair nearby. Listening the tenor of Drew’s voice as he read to their children. He was a good man who loved her. Who had stood by her—who had picked her instead of picking up the pieces and forgiving Elizabeth. She’d conceived a child with him, given him her son.

Danny didn’t know that the other man. The one that hadn’t wanted him. Jason had wanted her to kill Danny before he’d died, had abandoned her during her pregnancy. Strange how she could remember that now—she’d wanted Jason back so desperately in the months before he’d disappeared. Had thought they were going to be together again. Jason had seemed to accept Danny in those final days. Had risked his life to bring him home.

But Danny didn’t know him.

“She’s sleep,” Sam murmured as Drew closed the book and looked at her. “I’ll go put her down for a nap—”

“I’ve got it,” Drew said, his voice a bit dull, losing some its sweetness, its softness as he spoke to her. Since the moment Jason Morgan had crashed through the ceiling a month earlier, the man in front of her had shrunk. Had turned into himself, filled with anger, loss, and bitterness.

Today was the first day he knew the truth—that the memories inside his mind had been shoved in there, his own stolen from him. He didn’t know where he stood in the world. He’d lost two sons, lost his wealth, his place in the world.

He needed her. And oh, God, how lovely it was to be needed. No one, not even her children really, had ever needed her.

Sam squared her shoulders and smiled up at the man who was her husband. “I was signing some paperwork for Aurora,” she told him. “And it occurs to me that we should call my mother and make it legal. You’re Andrew Cain, and you own Aurora—”

Drew’s face grimaced as he got to his feet, Scout in his arms, Danny sitting on the sofa, looking at the pictures in the book they’d just finished. “I didn’t buy it—”

“But it’s my money, too,” Sam reminded him. “And it’s my dream, too. So we should make it legal. I can make Aurora my divorce settlement. This penthouse—it can still be ours, Drew. And then we’ll build Aurora just like you said. And we’ll give it all back to Jason so it’ll really be ours.”

Drew studied her for a long moment. “Sam—”

“So we should call my mother.” Sam lifted her chin. “And make sure that when people think of Aurora, they think of Andrew and Samantha Cain. We’ll get Scout’s name changed—and—” She hesitated. “And Danny’s.”

“That’s—” Drew shook his head. “Danny’s not—”

“He’s yours in every way that matters,” Sam told him fervently. “You’ve raised him. You loved him. Names don’t matter to Jason. But they matter to me. And I want Danny to be ours.”

“We’ll see,” Drew said, looking away. “We’ll see. But I appreciate what you’re saying.” He looked down at Scout, at her sleeping face resting against his shoulder. “But she’s mine. I believe that. For today, I can let that be enough.”

“I’m yours, too,” Sam insisted. But Drew just smiled at her, the emotion not reaching his eyes.

“I’ll put Scout down for a nap,” he told her, then climbed the stairs.

“Is Daddy okay?” Danny asked. “He looks sad.”

“We just have to give him lots of hugs,” Sam told her son, sitting down next to him and drawing her miracle baby into her arms. “And tell him how much we love him.”

Port Charles Police Department: Lockup

Detective Nathan West unlocked the door that lead to the holding cells but didn’t open it right away. He looked back at Elizabeth. “Are you sure? I don’t know if there are any answers you could really trust from him.”

“I know.” Elizabeth sighed, looked past him to the cell where her son’s psychiatrist was being held, at the man sitting on a bench, his head in his hands. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t ask the questions.”

“Fair enough. Jordan said you could have five minutes.” He pushed open the door. “I’ll be right here to let you out.”

“Thanks.” Elizabeth stepped into the hallway, the sound of her work sneakers quiet as she walked towards Andre Maddox. The man in question slowly sat at up as she approached the cell. Gone was smooth and urbane man who had so seamlessly won their trust and even their affection. He wore an orange jumpsuit, his eyes tired, his face lined with exhaustation and possibly regret.

She was counting on the regret she’d seen yesterday. The quiet desperate he must have felt to do something so reprehensible. She knew the story of his wife, understood his motives, but she could never bring herself to forgive him.

She’d brought her damaged child to him in hopes Andre could give Jake peace and secutrity. To give Jake back his mind and his sense of self after the damage Helena Cassadine had wrought. And Andre had used Jake, had been part of the scheme that stole his father away from them.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you again.” Andre rose to his feet. “I want to apologize—”

“You destroyed the lives of two men,” Elizabeth cut in. She folded her arms across her chest. “You may not have arranged their kidnappings, but you knew that the man who came home to us three years ago was not Jason Morgan. You stood by and let Drew build a life here. You used my son to hide your secret—” She shook her head. “But I’m not here to rage at you. Or to listen to your excuses.”

“Elizabeth—”

“You came to Port Charles around the time the so-called truth about Jake Doe was revealed, yes. And not long after you arrived, he started to remember his past. Was that you? Did you implant the memories then?”

“I—” Andre swallowed hard. “No. The man Robin Scorpio woke in that clinic—that was Andrew Cain. I never saw Jason Morgan again after I performed the procedure. Andrew Cain woke up from the cryo-freeze believing already he was Jason Morgan. The accident, the amnesia was real. Helena allowed it continue because it served her purposes for a time. Until it didn’t. And then I was sent here to—” He looked away. “To kickstart the experiment.”

“You also arrived here only months after Helena released my son from captivity.” Elizabeth lifted her chin. “Is that how you were able to treat Jake? Because you were the one that destroyed his mind in the first place? You were the one who brainwashed him—”

“No—” Andre pressed his lips together. “But I knew Jake. He—” He looked at Elizabeth. “The first lab, where I performed the procedure—it was on Spoon Island. And Jake was there. Elizabeth—”

Elizabeth let her arms drop to her side. “I had terrible hallucinations after I nearly drowned a few years ago. They found me on Spoon Island, and I’m told in the hospital, I was convinced my son was alive.”

Andre shook his head. “I—” He frowned. “When was that?”

“November 2011.” Her eyes burned. “They told me I was wrong. That it was the fever. But I knew my son was alive. I felt it, I knew I’d seen him.”

“I—” Andre looked away. “I can’t get into it, Elizabeth.”

Oh, God. She’d seen Jake. Se’hd seen him, and he’d been alive, and she’d let everyone talk her out of it. She’d thought she was crazy.

“How could you do this to us?” she whispered. “Before—okay, you didn’t know us. We weren’t real people. But you knew Jake. You knew Drew. And you knew that Dew and Jason were desperate to prove their identities—”

“I left—” Andre bit off an irritated response. Shook his head. “Elizabeth. I left those answers. I didn’t understand when Jordan and Curtis tracked me down why anyone was still—I left those answers with Franco. He was my last patient, and he already knew Drew existed. He—”

“Wait—” Elizabeth held up both her hands, gaped at him. “You’re telling me that when you fled town all those weeks ago, that Franco knew which brother was actually Jason—No. That’s not possible.” She shook her head. “No. If he’d known, he would have—”

Even as she said the words out loud, she heard the lie in them. Oh, God.

“I have to go—”

She turned and hurried away, back to the main hallway where Nathan West was waiting, his expression so sympathetic she knew he’d overheard the majority of the conversation.

“Did you get what you needed?” he asked as he led her back to the squad room.

“You were right,” she said, her head spinning as she opened the door for her. “He can’t be trusted.”

Pozzulo’s Restaurant: Back Office

“You sure you’re not hungry?” Sonny asked Jason as he mixed himself a drink. “Something to drink?”

Jason shook his head as he took a seat in front of Sonny’s desk and waited for his partner to return to his seat, the bourbon in his hand. “No. I’m good.” He grimaced. “Spinelli’s been working on the funding for the clinic, but he’s hit a lot of brick walls and Klein isn’t talking.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “He thinks he can crack it some more time.”

“I’m sure he will.” Sonny pursed his lips. “We’re gonna find out who did this to you, and to Drew. But it might take time. Until we have a solid lead, you might want to think about what your life looks like here. Now that the truth is out.”

“I—” Jason shook his head, looked away. “I don’t know.” He looked down at his hands. “I figured I’d come back to work with you, but—”

“There’s not a lot to do,” Sonny admitted, finishing Jason’s thought. “That shouldn’t surprise you. The game was already changing even before you went off that pier. We still get the occasional shipments, and there’s always going to be gambling income. But, honestly, I really am mostly a coffee importer these days. You’re welcome to take over any of the businesses—you’re still a minority owner—but that’s not what I meant.”

Jason finally met Sonny’s eyes. “Yeah. No, I know what you meant. You’re talking about the rest of my life.”

“Your family,” Sonny said with a nod. “You didn’t know it when you got kidnapped, but you have two sons. I—I can’t speak for what Sam might be thinking. Things have been complicated there for a while. But Elizabeth came by the house today. She wants to talk to you about Jake.”

“Jake.” The son he’d believed was dead. Lost to him forever. “I—he doesn’t know me.” He knew the man who’d taken over his life. The brother he’d never known existed. “What about—what about Drew?”

“Drew and Jake are close,” Sonny admitted. “The kid’s been through a lot since he came home. I’m not gonna get into that,” he added. “That’s not my story to tell. But Carly seemed to think Elizabeth was prepared to figure out something that works for everyone. Of course, Carly thinks that’s because Elizabeth wants to worm her way into you and Drew’s life, but I know better.”

Sonny waited a moment. “How much do you know about Drew’s time here in Port Charles?”

“I—I know some of it. Elizabeth came to see me when I was still in lock up for the assault.” Jason grimaced at the memory, at the thought of Elizabeth living with Franco, the psycho that had tortured them all. He knew there was supposed to be a brain tumor, but—

He couldn’t stomach the idea of her with him, of his son being in that house. He knew Elizabeth’s generosity and love had no limits, but to think that she’d managed to not only forgive Franco but fall in love with him…

“She said she’d lied about who he was. That she’d known he was supposed to be me, and lied.” Jason shook his head. “I didn’t really understand it. You said he lost his memory—”

“Elizabeth was his nurse at the hospital,” Sonny told Jason. “And I guess he had your memories, or at least some of them. Because he took the name Jake and he connected with Elizabeth right away. With Carly and Michael.” Sonny smirked. “He hated me, and he and Sam were like oil and vinegar. But Elizabeth fell in love with him. Before she ever knew the truth of who he was supposed to be. But at some point, she learned the truth and never told anyone.”

“Yeah.” Jason exhaled slowly. “She said as much—”

“That was two years ago, and I think there’s a lot of people in this town that never forgave her. It doesn’t surprise me that she’s trying to make it right for you now. To give you back Jake. To find a way to keep Drew in Jake’s life. I’d like to think Sam will try to find that balance as well, but right now, Elizabeth is reaching out. And I think it’ll be good for you to be with Jake. You’ve never been able to before.”

“He might—” Jason shook his head. “He might not want me. And…there’s…Franco.”

“Yeah, believe me. I know. I can’t understand why anyone in this town thinks he’s changed, but he’s poison. He’s a con man who knows how to suck women in when they’re at their lowest. Carly was going through a lot, and God knows, Elizabeth was, too.” Sonny shook his head. “You and Elizabeth can figure that out, but if you want my advice—I’d at least see what Elizabeth is offering.”

Jason leaned back in his chair. “I don’t know what comes next,” he said. “I knew—I knew when I got to Port Charles that five years had passed. But I don’t think I understood what that would mean. The life I had was gone, Sonny. And—” He shook his head. “After the accident, it was like this. Only this is worse. Because I didn’t have anything back then. Not even the memory of what it used to be like. I tried to go home, and the penthouse wasn’t home anymore. My job—something I thought I could always count on—that’s not here either.”

He exhaled slowly. “Sam and I were getting back together when I went off that pier, but she’s moved on. And I can’t ask her to step back. To come back to the life we planned. It’s not fair to her. I remember—I remember when Lucky Spencer came back. How hard it was for Elizabeth. I can’t put Sam through that.”

“I’d forgotten that,” Sonny murmured. “I don’t know how to make it better, Jason. But whatever you need to build the next part of your life, I’ll be here. Carly and me, Michael. We’ll all be here for you. I can’t say the same for Sam or Danny. But if you’ve got a chance with one of your boys, I think it’d be a good place to start.”

General Hospital: Art Therapy Room

Even as Elizabeth shoved open the door to the conference room that been converted into a studio for Franco’s art therapy, she knew what Andre had told her was the truth.

She’d tried to lie to herself on the drive to work, told herself Franco was a different man as she clocked in and stowed her things in her purse. Reminded herself that she loved him.

But if he’d done this, if he’d kept this truth—

How much had he really changed? The violence might have been controlled by the removal of the tumor, but maybe that’s all that had been fixed.  Maybe Franco was still the man obsessed with Jason Morgan, seeking to destroy his life.

And once that had occurred to her, everything else seemed to sink into place. Franco hadn’t given her an iota of attention until Jake had come home. Until Jason’s son had returned. And she’d been lonely, sinking into depression over the destructive lies she’d told and the certainty that she’d been right—he’d been there. And she’d been desperate to believe people could be change.

That she could change.

So somewhere between starting her shift and her first break, Elizabeth became convinced that the last year of her life had been a tragic mistake, that she’d been manipulated, and used—

And that Franco Baldwin was still a dangerous, pathological liar.

She shoved open the door to his studio to find him staring at that stupid painting again—the one he’d made of himself with Drew.

She hated that painting.

“Elizabeth!” Franco grinned, reached for a rag to wipe his hands. He started towards her as if to embrace her, kiss her, but then he stopped. And his face changed. His eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong?”

“You knew which twin was Jason Morgan,” Elizabeth said. She didn’t ask it. She didn’t hint. She said it as if it were a statement of fact.

And she saw now—as something in his eyes shuttered, as he looked away and carefully started to clean his brushes—she saw that it was a fact. It was a truth.

“Andre told you the day he left town, and you said nothing. For weeks—”

“Why am I not surprised that you’re here about Jason,” Franco said coolly. He glanced at her, his lips pressed into an unhappy thin line. “Because, hey, how there’s one for each of you. You planning to wait to see which one Sam picks, so you can have the leftovers? Just like always?”

She’d been shocked and numb leaving the jail, upset and almost in tears in her cars, livid as she’d stalked in here. But now, watching his face, listening to her words, a calm settled over her.

Because it was so clear now. Franco had been her ultimate act of punishment. Everyone hated her anyway, so what did it matter if she gave them all one more reason? He didn’t love her. He couldn’t love her and say those things to her.

Lucky had taught her that lesson long ago.

“Jason is Jake’s father,” Elizabeth said quietly. “And my little boy has been through enough without wondering who his father was. I have to explain to him that the man he’s loved for the last years isn’t his father, a fact I could have started to deal with weeks ago. If you’d have the decency to tell the truth. But you were telling me something about yourself yesterday when I made you drop the charges. You believed I would leave you for Jason.”

Franco snorted. “Oh, okay. So this is about Jake. Sure—” He scoffed, threw the brushes to the table. “You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart. Think about all the lies you’ve told to keep Jason. He doesn’t want you, Elizabeth. He never did.”

“You should stay with your father,” Elizabeth said. “I’ll have your things packed and sent to his house.”

“You’ll be back,” Franco taunted as Elizabeth turned to leave. “When Jason throws you away, when Drew doesn’t want you—you’ll be back. You’ll see that I’m the one that loves you—”

“If this is love,” Elizabeth told him, the tears burning in her throat now. “I don’t want it.”

She returned from her break, weary and exhausted from everything she’d done that day. She called a locksmith to change her locks, called the security company to assign a new passcode, and then sent Cameron a text with the new information so he could let himself and his brothers inside.

By the time her shift ended at almost eleven that night, Elizabeth was tired down to the marrow of her bones and gratefully accepted Felix DuBois’s escort to her car. Felix had never liked Franco much anyway and didn’t want her to walk in the parking garage alone.

“You’re better off,” Felix said as they stopped off the elevator on the level where Elizabeth kept her Miata. “You and me, girl. We should be alone together.”

“Yeah, I definitely think I’m doomed,” Elizabeth muttered as she rummaged in her purse for her keys. “But I’m changing the locks, the security code is already done, and I’m pretty sure Cameron was happier than I’d seen him in months when he called at dinner time.” She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think Cam liked him either.”

“I knew Cam was my favorite Webber boy,” Felix said. He raised his brows as they turned a corner and saw Jason Morgan leaning against the side of Elizabeth’s dark blue car. “Well, well, I’m sure that pretty man is not here for me.”

“No, I guess he’s not.” Elizabeth licked her lips. “Jason.”

“Elizabeth.” Jason nodded, then looked at Felix. He frowned. “I’ve met you.”

“Right before you tried to pound Franco’s head into the linoleum a few weeks ago,” Felix said. He offered a hand. “Which makes you my hero. Felix DuBois.”

“Nice to meet you.” Jason flicked his eyes to Elizabeth. “Sonny said you wanted to talk to me.”

“I—” She looked at Felix who just grinned at her. “Yeah. I wasn’t expecting to see you today though—”

“I’ll leave you all to your business.” He kissed Elizabeth’s cheek. “Let me know if you need anything, babe.”

“I will.” Elizabeth waited until Felix had sauntered out of earshot. “Have you been waiting long?”

“No, I called Epiphany. She told me when you were done.” Jason shifted. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah.” She cleared her throat. “Yeah. I just—it’s been a long day. I just—” She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting to see you tonight. I wanted to talk to you about Jake. Because I want you to be part of his life. We—” Her throat was thick. “I got a second chance with him two years ago, when he came home. And I want you to have one, too.”

Jason stared at her for a long moment, before taking a careful breath, his eyes dark with his own emotion. “I want that, too. But I know Drew—”

She swiped at her eyes. “I haven’t talked to Drew yet. He’s—We just kind of started being friends again after everything that happened. And I don’t know what he’s going to want to do. But I remember—” She hesitated. “I remember how generous you were with Michael. How important it was for you to do the right thing for him. I want you to be Jake’s father, Jason. But I also hope you can allow Drew to stay in his life as his uncle.”

“Of course.” Jason reached out, touched her elbow. “Are you okay? You looked upset when you came over—”

“It’s been a long day,” Elizabeth repeated. “And you won’t have to worry about Franco. He won’t be at the house. And he’s not in the picture. Not after today.”

“You—” Jason blinked. “You broke up with him?”

“Yeah. I guess that’s what I did. I—that’s another long story, and one you should probably hear. I went to the jail to talk to Andre—I just had a lot of questions about Jake, and I don’t how much of what he told me was the truth, but he told me Franco knew which one of you was—Franco knew. And he said nothing.” Elizabeth sighed, dug out her keys. “And when I confronted him, he was just—that’s not important. What matters is that he’s out of my life, so it’s not something you need to worry about.”

“But you said he lives with you. Did you—”

“I already changed the security code, I’m changing the locks, and he’s not there now.” Elizabeth sighed. “It’ll be fine for tonight. I think it’s best if I talk to Jake on my own, and then see if he’s open to seeing you. He might be resistant.”

“I’ll do whatever Jake needs,” Jason told her. He reached into his pocket and held out a scrap of paper. “I’m staying at the Metro Court right now and this is my new cell phone number. Call me.” He offered a half smile. “So you don’t have to run into Carly when you need me.”

“I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m glad you came by, Jason.” She smiled. “And I’m glad Jake is going to get to have you in his life. Drew—he had your memories. But it wasn’t the same.”

She extended her hand, as if to touch his arm, but then let it fall to her side. “I better get home to the boys. I’ll call you.”