Written in 58 minutes.

Jason gestured towards the archway leading into another part of the house — a large open floor living room and kitchen space that was as empty as the foyer. “Uh, I didn’t really—there’s no where to sit—” He gestured at the stools by the counter that separated the kitchen from the rest of the space. “I guess that’s…”

Elizabeth set her purse on the counter, then looked at him, and it was almost a relief to see his own uncertainty reflected back at him. He knew Michael was right. He knew that the only way forward was a conversation, open and honest, about her suggestion, and what he wanted to do with it. And that usually wasn’t an issue for them—

Except when the topic of the conversation was their own feelings or their possible future. They did not have a great track record where that was concerned, and Jason was unsure how to stop them from repeating old mistakes.

No way to go but straight ahead, he thought. “I, uh, went to Alexis’s office. To talk to her alone.”

“Without Molly?” Elizabeth frowned. “Was…was that a good idea?”

“I know Alexis is representing herself, but I thought—” Jason paused, trying to think of the best to articulate his intentions. “I thought after this weekend, after what happened, Alexis might be willing to agree that I’m not the enemy. That she and I—we both love Danny and we can work together to figure out what’s best for him. She…was not willing to compromise.”

“Nothing except full custody?” Elizabeth asked. When he nodded, she folded her arms, looked at the floor. “Well, that’s not surprising. Alexis doesn’t back down easily. Not when she thinks she’s right.”

“No. And she’s not willing to consider anything that isn’t full custody of Danny and Scout. So we’re right back where we started.”

“Ah—” Elizabeth looked up, her arms still tightly crossed, but there was tension in the thin smile she offered. “So the visit to Alexis was trying to get out of what I suggested. And now I’m the last resort—”

He winced, held up one hand. “I know it might seem that way, but can you let—let me explain, okay? Before you—” When Elizabeth dropped her eyes, he clenched his jaw. “Please don’t do that.”

Startled, she lifted her gaze to his. “What? What did I do—”

“You decided what my intentions were before giving me a chance to explain, and now you’re already off and running. I can see you thinking, Elizabeth, and we’ve done this before. You’re jumping to conclusions, and if this—if this has a chance, we can’t do that. Okay? We have to—” He gripped the edge of the counter. “We have to be able to trust each other. We used to do be able to do that.”

“I—” The tightness eased from her expression, replaced by a flush of red rising in her cheeks. She bit hard on her bottom lip. “You’re right. You’re right. I do that. I—I think the worst, and I start preparing myself for it, and it’s not fair. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He stepped just a little closer, though they were still separated by almost a foot, and she lifted her chin higher so that she was still meeting his gaze. “Yes, I made an attempt to resolve this with Alexis because it would be better for Danny and Scout. But I also—” He looked down at his hand, focused on the edge of the counter that he still held because it was important that he find a way to explain this. Everything hinged on Elizabeth understanding why he’d done this.

“Also what?” she asked when he didn’t say anything.

He looked at her. “Because I didn’t want you to feel obligated.”

“Obligated—” she echoed, bewildered. “What?”

“Because I know—” He scratched the edge of his brow, shifted the weight of his body from one foot to the other. “I know we’ve been talking about what happened when Jake was born, and the regrets, and I know you carry a lot of guilt for how it got started, and I know that doesn’t change because I don’t blame you. You don’t think you deserve my forgiveness for that, and I haven’t been able to convince you otherwise. So, yeah, I guess I don’t want you to make a sacrifice because of you think you owe me something.”

Elizabeth exhaled slowly, looking away, her gaze focused on the bay window overlooking the street, the fading sunlight. “You think I’d be making a sacrifice,” she murmured finally. She brought her eyes back to his, and he was surprised by the slightly amusement he found there. “That marrying you would be a sacrifice. Something I should dread.”

“I—” Jason cleared his throat. “No, that’s not—I mean, yes. But—it would be. We’d—it’s not as simple as signing a certificate to make Alexis back down. A judge would expect us to—”

“To be married?” she finished, and he nodded. “Yeah, that was kind of the point of my suggestion. We’d have…figure out where to live, and how to tell the boys, and a lot of other things, but—I don’t know.” She chewed on her bottom. “I don’t see any of that as…a sacrifice. But…you do. And I don’t want that—”

“Wait—that’s not—”

“It’s the same, isn’t it? You’d have to give up something. I mean, you wanted to live with Jake and Danny—I don’t want you to feel obligated to me because you feel like I’m making a sacrifice. So I don’t know where—”

“I didn’t want you to marry me because you feel obligated,” Jason interrupted, and she closed her mouth, confused. “That’s not…that’s not why we should do this.”

Her lips parted and she crossed her arms again. “I don’t know if I’m hearing things, but…um, that almost sounds like…that sounds like you think we should.”

Relieved that for once, they seemed to be on the same page. He stepped closer again, leaving the distance between them only a matter of inches. “Yeah. I do.” Standing this close to her, he could see the pulse in her neck fluttering, her breathing was just a little faster.

“Oh.” Elizabeth licked her lips. “W-Why?”

He couldn’t stop himself, not this time. He just wanted to touch her, see if her skin was still as soft as he remembered. He cupped her neck, his thumb brushing over that racing pulse point, and her arms fell to her side.

“Because I haven’t been able to think about any thing else since you walked out yesterday,” he murmured, pulling her towards him, just close enough to feel her breath on his lips. How many times had he done that over the years, torturing himself just enough to see if she’d give in or pull away—

But this time was different. Her hands slid up his chest until they rested at his collarbone, and then she leaned in, brushing her mouth against his lightly, as if unsure of her welcome—

It was all the encouragement he’d needed, using his other arm to slide around her waist, pulling her against him hard, briefly trapping her hands against his chest, but she freed them, slid up, into his hair, the scrape of her nails sending sparks down his spine. He’d missed the way she’d touched him, the silky weight of her hair tumbling over his fingers, the soft curves of her body, and how they always fit against him perfectly—

She broke away from him, panting, clinging to him, then kissing him again, the nip of her teeth on his bottom lip. He pinched her butt lightly, and she laughed against his mouth, the curve of her smile intoxicating. He’d always been able to lose himself in the way she looked, smelled, the way she’d felt, and he’d had to put it away, to lock it up, and forget, the only way to survive losing her.

Jason lifted her slightly onto the nearby stool just so that he could part her denim clad legs. She wrapped her arms and legs around him like a vine, bringing the center of their heated bodies into contact—

He broke away—cupping her flushed cheeks in his hands, the glazed look in her beautiful eyes. “Is that a yes?” he murmured, before trailing lines of light kisses along her jaw, down to her neck, pressing his lips to her pulse, still racing.

Her fingers tightened in the fabric of his shirt, then slid down to his shoulders to push him away slightly, forcing him to lift his gaze to hers. “I thought I was the one asking this time. It’s my turn, isn’t it?”

“Well, if you want to get on your knees, I’m not complaining,” he said, and she threw her head back and laughed, long and full, her cheeks still flushed when she looked at him again.

“No, you never did.” Elizabeth stroked his cheek, her eyes soft. “Are we crazy? This feels crazy.”

“Maybe.” Reluctantly releasing her, he reached into his back pocket, and pulled out a black box. His fingers were almost trembling as he tried to flip it open. “It’s not—it’s not traditional—”

“Neither are we—” But her voice died when he turned the box around and she saw the ring with the emerald at the center, the gold twisted around it little emeralds laced through like leaves. “Emerald and Ruby. That’s…”

“Their birthstones—”

“You—” Her voice faltered and she lifted her shimmering eyes to him. “You included Aiden. Not just…Jake.”

“Yeah—I thought—I mean, it’s all of us, isn’t it?” he asked her, taking the ring from the box, setting that aside. “If we really want to make this work…I want you to be in Danny’s life. What you said yesterday—about what Alexis sees in you—she’s not wrong. You’re an amazing mother, and you’ve raised three incredible sons. I mean, it’s not just—I don’t just want you for Danny. I—” He forced himself to finish. “I want you for me, too, it’s just—”

“You’re a package deal.” Elizabeth’s smile was so brilliant he was almost blinded. “That’s—that’s—that’s what I want. All of us.” She held out her hand. “I didn’t even know how much until you….until right now.”

He slid the ring on her finger, and she wiggled them, the gems catching the light from above them. “It’s perfect.” She slid her arms around his neck, pulling him back against her. “I love it, and—”

She was cut short when a familiar, but unwelcome sound interrupted her.

His cell phone rang.

Jason shook his head. “I’m not answering—”

“You have to.” She took a deep breath, and when he didn’t reach for it, she slid her hand into his front pocket to retrieve it. She furrowed her brow. “It’s…I know that number. That’s Chase.”

“Chase?” he echoed. He took the phone from her, stepped back and answered. “Yeah?” His face tightened and he looked at her. “I’ll be right there. Tell him not to say a word.”

“What is it?” Elizabeth slid off the stool, already reaching for her purse. “Is it Michael or—”

“Danny.” Jason clenched his jaw. “He was arrested for assaulting Drew.”

You’ll never know how close I came to just ending this part with “And then the phone rang.” But I decided I did not want to be chased down with pitchforks. Toodles 😛

+38

Written in 59 minutes

At the knock on her office door, Alexis slowly rose to her feet. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to be here without your lawyer.”

“Maybe not.” Jason stepped across the threshold and closed the door, leaving it open a few inches. “But I’m here on my lawyer’s advice. In a way.” He paused. “I’ve been legally advised to take Danny home from your house, and move him into my full-time custody immediately. That leaving him with you and Scout may be used against me.” He lifted his brows. “Again.”

“Are you here to tell me that I shouldn’t expect my grandson to come home after school today?” Alexis asked coolly. “You could have left that message with my secretary—”

“I wanted to ask you about Scout.”

Alexis stopped, squinted. “What about her?”

“The reason Danny is with you is because what happened on Saturday. He wanted—needed—to be with his sister, and I didn’t want her anywhere near her father after what happened.”

Alexis sat back down, reached for her glasses, toyed with the ends. “I’m aware it was not a happy exchange—”

“Drew made it worse, and I don’t if he did it to be malicious or if he’s just that stupid. Maybe it’s both.” Jason rested his hands on the back of a chair. “He’d only sent over the proposal to sell the penthouse. Molly was preparing an injunction, and he had to know it was months away from happening. But he said it anyway. In front of his seven-year-old daughter. And when she was upstairs, in her room, sobbing into her mother’s sweater, he tried to forcibly remove her from the room. He ended up putting hands on Elizabeth instead when she tried to stop him.”

“And you put him against the wall. In front of your sons and my granddaughter—”

“Danny took Scout out of the room before that happened. Alexis—” He pressed his lips together, searching for patience, for the words to make this right. “I was never Drew’s biggest fan, I think that’s clear. I don’t know what happened to him while he was in captivity, and I know he did some time in prison—”

“I hardly think you’re one to talk about a criminal record—”

“You may not like me, and you may disapprove of the way I’ve lived my life, Alexis, but you have no record that I have ever put my hands on a child. Or a woman. Do you?”

She looked down at her desk, then met his gaze again. “No. You emotionally abused my daughter, and we both know you threatened to kill her. But you didn’t actually do it—”

“Your daughter stood by and watched my son get kidnapped, then hired men with guns to threaten Elizabeth and the boys in the park.”

“You forgave her—”

“We moved past it. If you want to hold that against me, that’s fine. That’s not why I’m here—”

“Then why are you here? We both know if you wanted to take your son away from me, you’d have done it—” Alexis leaned back, crossed her legs. “Tell me what you want.”

“If I thought—” Jason hesitated. “If I thought there was a chance that we could convince Drew to leave Scout in Port Charles while he goes to DC, if he’d leave her with you, then I’d be open to a compromise. Sharing custody of Danny—”

“The same terms as you had with Sam?” Alexis asked, leaning forward. “Because that’s the only agreement I’ll make—”

“Sam and I never had an opportunity to come to a new agreement, but if you mean what we had before I left, if you want weekends, we can—”

“No, I want you to have weekends. Maybe some holidays. If it was good enough for you then, and it’s clearly good enough for you with Jake, then I don’t see why this is any different.”

Jason clenched his jaw, biting back the words he really wanted to say. “I’ve already signed the papers for a property in town, Alexis. You know this. Jake is moving in at the end of next week, and Danny will be with me as soon as Drew takes Scout to DC. What Danny needs — what he deserves — is to be with his sister for as long as possible.”

“Because you don’t care enough to have them with you. We both know you and Elizabeth cooked up this custody of Jake scheme just to make yourself look better in the court. But it’s a lie, Jason.” She clasped her hands, looked at him coolly. “You’ve been coasting on being a full-time father for exactly one year, and that was decades ago. The only child you’ve ever shown any real interest in is the one you took from your brother. You let Sam do as she liked with Danny, and Elizabeth had free reign with Jake. It’s too late to pretend you’re anything than a part-time father. You want to do what’s best for Danny and Scout? You’ll leave them with me. Just the way things are now. That’s the only deal on the table.”

“I had a feeling you’d say that, but I had to try.” Jason went to the door, then looked back at her. “When Drew comes for Scout, and you and I both know he will, I’ll pick up Danny after that.”

“We’ll see.”

“I guess we will.”

—

Aiden swiped through a few recipes, hoping that some sort of inspiration or spark of interest would take a hold. He was used to shoving his frustrations into the work, kneading dough or hand mixing something until he was too tired to remember why he was angry in the first place.

But he just wasn’t interested in trying another sourdough starter or experimenting with macrons — he didn’t have the space for those anyway, he thought darkly, switching to Instagram.

There was a light, hesitant knock on the door, and Aiden barely looked up from his sprawling position on the sofa. “It’s open,” he said.

“Uh, hey.”

At the sound of his father’s voice, Aiden sat up warily. Lucky stood just inside the doorway, his hands in his the pockets of his coat. Remembering his mother’s words from the day before, he set his phone on the coffee table. “Hey.”

Lucky came in further, closed the door. “I…meant to call after Thanksgiving. It was good to have you there. Your grandmother likes when you visit.”

“Okay.” Aiden waited, because he knew what was coming. Had almost accepted it, he thought. And yet, he was bracing himself all the same.

“I, uh, had a chance to pick up a job. Escorting doctors into the Sudan. So—”

“So you’re going back to Africa.” Aiden nodded. “Okay. Good luck.” He reached for his phone, unlocked it, and made a show of scrolling through the apps, but his heart was pounding and his face felt hot.

“I really did think about staying this time, you know? I looked around for a job—”

“You don’t have to explain. I know you like your job. What you do. You like saving people.” Aiden shrugged, opened his email, stared at it blindly, not even seeing what was in the inbox. “No one here to save, right?”

Lucky didn’t say anything right away, but then he sighed. “I just…I don’t know what you really need me to do. Your mom—she’s got it all handed. You know? And there are so many people—”

“I used to wonder if it was me,” Aiden said, surprising himself. He still didn’t look at his father. But Lucky fell silent anyway. “I used to think maybe you knew that I was gay, and that’s why you stayed away. I mean, everyone knew, right? But you being back—” He finally looked at Lucky, met the older man’s gaze. “I was able to let  that go. You didn’t care that I was gay—”

“I don’t—”

“Because you don’t really care at all. About me. You never have. I get that now, and I forgive myself for ever wishing you would.” He got to his feet. “Thanks for at least have the decency to say goodbye, but there’s no point. You and I don’t have anything except DNA.”

“Aiden, let’s just—” Lucky took a step forward, stopping when Aiden held up a hand.

“Charlotte used to bully me, did you know that? Charlotte, your niece? She’s okay now, but when we were kids, she was a real brat, and she used to tease me that my dad didn’t love me the way hers did. Because her dad gave her a name. He was proud enough to claim her. Charlotte Cassadine. Like that was something special.”

“Your mother—”

“We all have Mom’s name, and I like it that way. Even Jake who has a dad who gives a damn. We have Mom’s name because she’s here. Not because she has to be. But she wants to be. You don’t. And you never did. I forgive you for that.” He leaned down, scooped up his phone. “You can go now, and worry about the people who need you. No one here does.”

And then he went upstairs.

His father didn’t try to follow.

—

Twenty four hours. Twenty four hours since her hasty run out of Jason’s office at the warehouse, and it had been radio silence.

Elizabeth stared blindly at the computer screen, updating the nursing schedule yet again, trying to figure out how to cover shifts without taking on more herself.

Jason hadn’t called. Hadn’t contacted her in anyway.

Maybe he was really thinking about it, she thought. Or maybe he was so appalled at the suggestion—

Stop it, now you’re just being an idiot.

She made a face, then sent the document to the printer that sat on a shelf beneath the screen, jerking the paper free as soon as she could.

“Bad day?”

Elizabeth looked over, saw Willow stepping up into the nurse’s station. “Trying to deal with this schedule. We’re still short two nurses, and I can’t work the doubles I used to. Not as the head nurse—”

“I can pull some extra shifts if you tell me when you’re needed.” Willow smiled, but it felt slightly forced. “I’m so grateful to be back, so just let me know and I can make sure to be available.”

Trying to stay out of the Quartermaine house and away from Drew? Elizabeth forced the thought away, hoping her reaction didn’t show in her face. She turned away, reaching for a pen. “Great. Thanks. I’ll get you the times, and you let me know what you can take.”

“No problem. Um…you had your deposition, right? For…Jason?” Willow asked, and Elizabeth looked up. “How did it go?”

Elizabeth furrowed her brow. “Fine, I guess. They’re not fun. Why?”

“Oh. I—I agreed to do one for Drew. You know, since we worked together for a while and we, um, got to know each other.” Her cheeks turned red and she dropped her eyes. “I was just wondering how they were.”

“Not a walk in the park, but you’ll survive.” Elizabeth paused. “You’re still willing to do that, even after Saturday?”

“Saturday—” Willow looked at her with wide eyes. “What do you mean?”

“What do—you live in the same house, how can you not know? Danny and Scout are with Alexis because Scout was so upset at the way Drew acted when they went to pack some things. He told her they were selling the place. He tried to drag her out of the room—”

“That’s—” Willow bit her lip. “That’s…I’m sure there’s some misunderstanding—”

“I was there, Willow. There’s no misunderstanding. Look, if you want to take a chance on Drew—” She waited for the younger woman to look at her. “If you want to tie your name to his…through this deposition, I can’t stop you. But I’d think about how much I really know that man. I’ve know him a decade, and I was scared what he might have done if Jason weren’t there.”

“Jason probably made everything worse. He wasn’t supposed to be there—”

“He—” Elizabeth closed her mouth. “You do what you want, Willow. Just think about what you’re risking.” Her phone buzzed, and she plucked it out of her pocket, sucking in a breath when she saw Jason’s name on the notification screen.

Can we talk?

—

Alexis set her briefcase on the floor, smiling when she saw her grandchildren on the sofa, Scout’s head bent over her homework and Danny explaining a math problem to her. This was exactly how it should be, she told herself. And it would be, just as soon as she won her battle in court.

Jason had already blinked, even if he didn’t realize it, and Alexis knew the key to getting him on her side was focusing on the bond between Scout and Danny, and their need to be together. And he’d given her ammunition against Drew—

No, as soon as she could get Jason to fall in line, they could focus on the real obstacle.

“Hey,” she said, approaching the duo. She stroked Scout’s hair. “How do you feel about some take out for dinner? I can order from the Grille.”

“Yeah, okay,” Danny said. He got to his feet. “Can I help you find the menu?”

She furrowed her brow, then gestured towards the kitchen where she kept the menus. Once inside, she turned to her grandson. “I imagine that you’re not really looking to help pick out dinner.”

“No, whatever you want is fine.” Danny slid his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “Um, I was wondering when we were going home. I mean, back to the Qs.”

Alexis froze, her hand partially in the takeout menu drawer. She looked at him. “Well, what if you didn’t go back?”

Danny hesitated. “Grandma, I know you and Dad are fighting about me where me and Scout should end up, but Dad only let me come here because of Scout.”

“Because he knows you belong with your sister. He said so today. That’s all I want, honey. To keep you together.”

“But Drew isn’t gonna let that happen. He said so, and Dad doesn’t think he’ll back down. He says he wants me to live with him. He got us place, Grandma. For Jake, too. I can’t stay here.”

“But—” The doorbell interrupted her, and she sighed. “Hold on to that thought. We’ll talk once I get rid of whoever is out there.”

But when she pulled open the door, she found Drew on her doorstep. Along with a uniformed police officer.

“Alexis. I’m done playing nice.” He waited for a beat. “Either you get Scout here right now or this officer will arrest you for kidnapping.”

—

Her stomach was swirling and knotting all at the same time as she climbed the short set of stairs of the house Jason had recently purchased. She hadn’t really thought about that when she’d made her crazy proposal, but when he’d texted her the address as a place to meet —

Jason had obviously been waiting for her, and had the door open before she could even knock. His expression, as always, didn’t leave her much to room to guess, but she was hoping it was nerves she saw in his eyes — or maybe it was just the reflection of her own feelings.

“Um, hey…” she followed him into the entry hall, her voice and steps echoing into the empty space. “I…I guess since you’re asking me to meet here, I have my answer. It’s okay, it was a crazy idea anyway—”

“I don’t have an answer yet,” he said, and she closed her mouth on a gulp. He took a deep breath. “I just didn’t want us to be interrupted.”

“Oh.” She nodded, swallowed hard. “Okay. So…let’s talk.”

I actually feel really bad for leaving it there, so I’ll try to update tomorrow or this weeked 🙂

+37

Written in 63 minutes.

She had obviously not planned to blurt it out that way. Will you marry me? Everything inside of her was cringing, the heat crawling up her neck, into her cheeks.

Jason actually took a step back, his brows lifting almost meeting his hairline, his hands raised slightly in front of him. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

“I said we should get married, but don’t say no—” she said, the words falling out in a rush, jumbled and almost breathless. “Just let me explain—”

“I wasn’t going to—” he said at the same time, and they both stopped at the same time. Had all the air been sucked out of the room, she wondered? Why was it so hard to draw a full breath?

“I know it’s insane and completely out of nowhere, okay, but it’s a good plan.” Elizabeth snatched her purse up from where it had dropped next to the chair. “It makes it impossible for Alexis to use me against you, and it might give us more time to figure out the other problem. So don’t say no just yet, just—” She reached for the door. “Think about it, okay?”

“Wait, let’s talk—”

“I have a shift, sorry. I’ll call you or you call me or—whatever works.” She smiled brightly, sure her cheeks were flaming red, then jerked the door open and rushed out of the office,  closing the door behind her because he could follow.

—

Not far away from the warehouse, Molly stood in line at Kelly’s, still going over the deposition in her head. She’d thought it went all right, all things considered, but she could mostly understand why Elizabeth had been rattled.

At some point, probably around the child support question, Elizabeth had realized what Alexis planned to do — Molly hoped her mother hadn’t noticed that Elizabeth had started evading questions more after that point, but it was unlikely. Not only had Elizabeth’s direct answers shifted, but her entire body had tightened, her shoulders stiff, her hands fisted in her lap. But she hadn’t lost control and had finished the deposition, so whatever Elizabeth had been afraid of, it hadn’t happened.

Had it?

The person in front of her moved, and it was her turn to order. “Molly. Hey.” Joss Jacks flashed a friendly smile, with her order pad out. “To go?”

“Yeah, just a coffee.” Molly folded her arms. “Um, how are you?”

“I’m good, but—” Joss poured the hot liquid into the to-go cup. “I heard you took a leave from the DA’s office. Dex,” she added when Molly looked quizzical. “And Mom said you were on Jason’s case. I just—if you need anything. Like a character witness, you know? Jason’s been an honorary uncle—” Her mouth tightened. “More like a father figure, I guess. He’s been around more than my actual father. But seriously. Just say the word.” She set the coffee on the counter.

“I appreciate that.” Molly hesitated, didn’t pick up her order. “You used to be really close to Cameron, right? You were dating for a while.”

“Yeah, a little over a year.” Joss tipped her head. “Why? You think he could help? He totally would. Jason rescued him when Cyrus kidnapped him and Trina that one time—”

“Oh. I think I knew that at some point, but—no, I guess I was wondering if you were close to his family. His mother and brothers.”

“Oh for sure, Cam and I go way back. Our moms pretty much always hated each other, but that comes and goes. But Cam’s mom is the best. She’d be a great person to testify for Jason.”

“No, I know that—” Molly made a face. “Never mind—”

“Wait.”

Molly turned back, raised a brow. “Yeah?”

Joss glanced around, then leaned in, lowering her voice. “Obviously, I’m not saying anything or whatever, but I overheard my mom and Sonny arguing about this, and Mom’s worried Alexis is going to talk about Jason working for Sonny. And, like, that being the reason he wasn’t around Jake much. I mean, you know about Jason—” She winced. “I mean, you don’t know. But you know the rumors.”

“I do. That was a factor in why Jason wasn’t around Jake when he was younger?” Molly asked.

“Oh, yeah. I mean, I can’t tell you how much of one it was, because Cam never knew. But we used to talk about it sometimes, especially after Jason came back and we found out about Drew.” Joss shrugged. “The way Cam heard it, any chance of Jason stepping in and kicking Lucky Spencer out was over after Michael got shot. And he sort of remembers Jason being around a lot until he was five or six, and then completely gone until after the accident.” She paused. “None of that should matter when it comes to Danny, though. Should it?”

“Probably not. But it never hurts to think of all the angles. Thanks, Joss.”

Molly stepped away from the counter, her coffee in hand. That might explain Elizabeth’s nerves, she thought. If they’d agreed to keep Jason’s paternity quiet because of his work with Sonny, that would certainly be an area Elizabeth might want to avoid in deposition. But why would they be so nervous about it? Kristina was Sonny’s daughter — surely, her mother wasn’t going to bring that up in court.

But she also wouldn’t have believed her mother would draw up custody papers against TJ. Molly bit her lip, then headed for the parking lot. She had a lot of thinking to do — and maybe Elizabeth had been right to look rattled today.

She couldn’t let her mother win. Just couldn’t.

—

“This is a late shift for you,” Lucas said, stepping up behind Elizabeth into the nurse’s station. When Elizabeth jolted at the sound of his voice, he held up his hands. “Sorry, I thought you heard me come up.”

“I was distracted.” And staring at the same work schedule for the better part of ten minutes. Elizabeth blew out a breath, then looked at him. “I’m sorry, did you say something?”

“You had the deposition today, didn’t you?” Lucas asked, digging through a pile of charts. “I still can’t believe Alexis is doing this, even knowing what Sam’s will said.”

Elizabeth sighed, returned her attention to the schedule. “Alexis has always thought she knew best. If Sam wanted the kids to stay together, she’d have said so, right? I mean, it’s not easy when you have kids with different fathers, I know that.”

“I won’t claim to know what my sister was thinking, but I’m almost sure she’d hate to see what’s happened. Molly going against her mother, the kids in the middle.” Lucas grimaced, made a note in a chart. “Can I ask a ridiculous question? One that’s none of my business?”

“You can ask. I might not answer.”

“Fair enough.” He popped the pen back into his lab coat. “How did you have it? In your will. I know Cam’s an adult now, and Jake nearly is. But you must have worried.”

“Um, for a long time, it was my grandmother. I wanted the boys to stay together, and there wasn’t a lot of arguments. Cam doesn’t have any one else, and Lucky wasn’t going to argue with me. Maybe Laura might have wanted Aiden, but it was Gram who’s been their number one. But…when Jason came home all those years ago, back when we found out about Drew?” she asked. “I changed it. Jason had missed so much time with Jake, that I couldn’t stand thinking of him missing more, and I knew Gram might not make it easy on him.”

“So you were willing to separate them, then?”

“Yeah. I was. It wasn’t easy, but I also knew Jason would make sure Jake was around his brothers.” Elizabeth shrugged, tapped a few keys. “And if anything happened to Gram, he would have taken Aiden and Cam. There really wasn’t any question for me.” She looked at him. “Why?”

“Just thinking, I guess. The way kids get treated like objects sometimes.” Lucas leaned against the counter. “My parents got divorced when I was a kid, and it was bitter for a couple of years. Then…with Wiley, it was…I know it was the right choice. To give him back to Michael. Not to fight it, especially knowing Brad and I were done. But man, sometimes—” He exhaled slowly. “Anyway. It sucks for Danny and Scout. Being separated, and now being dragged into court. I wish Alexis weren’t doing this.”

“Well, she might be the best place for Scout, but Danny belongs with Jason.” Elizabeth logged out of the workstation, turned to him. “Alexis will see that. I won’t give up until she does.”

—

Michael slid into the booth across from Jason, a bottle of beer already in his hand. “Hey. I’m glad you called.”

“I didn’t interrupt anything, did I? It’s late—”

Michael waved it away, then took a swig form the bottle. “One of the good things about having young kids — they’re both in bed at nine, and I—” He grimaced. “For obvious reasons, I don’t really want to be alone with my wife right now. Better to go back when she’s asleep.”

“Michael—”

“Don’t want to talk about it tonight,” he interrupted. “Like I said, I’m glad you called. I didn’t think Jake would say anything to you—”

“Jake?” Jason frowned, shook his head. “Uh, no. Why? What’s wrong? Michael,” he said when the younger man made a face, looked away. “What’s going on?”

“Drew cornered Jake in the parking garage the other day,” Michael said, and Jason tensed. “He doesn’t know that I know, or that Jake’s already told us about Scout. Wanted to make a deal — Jake shuts up about what he knows, and Drew doesn’t help Alexis in the case—”

“Tell him to go to hell, I don’t care who he testifies for. Why didn’t Jake—”

“He thought you might rearrange Drew’s facial features again.” Michael lifted his brows. “Was he wrong?”

Jason grimaced, looked away. “No,” he muttered. “But one day—”

“Yeah, well, we’ll leave that plan in the drafts for now. If it’s not about Jake, what’s up? You said it was important.”

Jason hesitated. Now that he was in front of Michael, he wasn’t sure how to have this conversation. How to even describe the conversation with Elizabeth in his office — or why he couldn’t simply tell her yes or no. Why he didn’t know the answer.

“Was it the deposition? I know Elizabeth was scheduled to go today. She was worried, but I know she’d never do anything to hurt your case—”

“It wouldn’t be her fault.” Jason shifted slightly. “For one thing, Elizabeth is worried Alexis is going to dig into why I didn’t claim Jake those first four years. Sam left me over the job, and kept Danny from me as much as she could, even when I got home, so Alexis already knows that much. With Elizabeth…”

“You made that decision after I got shot,” Michael said, and Jason nodded, a bit reluctantly. “Well, Alexis can dig into it if she wants, but at the end of the day, she’s a Cassadine. Whose family kidnapped Jake. And you. And Drew. Throw that in her face.”

“Yeah, that could work. Except there are no Cassadines left. Helena is dead, and so is that Victor guy. Valentin’s on the run, I guess, but no one’s said he’s dangerous.”

“While my dad is probably still under investigation for what happened last summer.” Michael stared down at the table, took a deep breath, then looked up again. “That’s a problem, I guess. But it would be a lot of rumors and unsubstantiated cases. Is that what worries you?”

“Enough to know it’s not a small problem. The thing is—Elizabeth’s deposition—she got the idea that Alexis is gonna try to make it seem like she’s the reason Jake is who he is. And that I did nothing to contribute.”

“And Elizabeth shut her down, right? I know she did,” Michael said immediately. “She can try it, but it’s bullshit.” When Jason didn’t respond, Michael scowled. “It’s bullshit, Jase,” he repeated. “And you need to get in your head before you testify and make that face like she’s right.”

“That’s—we can deal with that some other time—”

“Damn it—”

“Elizabeth thinks — and Molly agreed — Alexis plans to use her as evidence I can’t be a full-time father, that I’ve barely been a part-time father. She has…she has a plan to make Alexis drop that entire line of questioning. And maybe even drop the whole case.”

Michael tipped his head. “Does she have a plan the way my mom has plans, or is it an actual plan?”

Jason closed his mouth, considered the question. “I think there’s a strong possibility it’s both. It has elements of a plan, but it’s—that’s not—it’s not something I think I can do.”

“What? We get rid of Alexis? No, Elizabeth wouldn’t say that. Mom would, but not—” Michael squinted. “Short of murder, Jason, I can’t think of anything you can’t do.”

“She said—” Oh, man he couldn’t even say it. He picked up his beer, took a long pull, then looked at Michael. “We should get married.”

Michael didn’t respond right away, then frowned. “That’s it? That’s the plan?”

“That’s it.”

“Oh.” He leaned back, rubbed his chin. “You made me think it was—I mean, it’s not a perfect solution, but I kind of see the point. Alexis thinks Elizabeth is so amazing, that everything about Jake is all about her, well then she should be happy Danny will have such a great stepmom there to support you. You get the right sexist judge who still thinks moms do most of the work—” Michael stopped, leaned forward. “But you told her no?”

“She wouldn’t let me—no, I haven’t yet.”

“Yet. So you’re going to say no.”

“I don’t—” Jason picked up the beer again, shook his head.

Michael was quiet for a long beat, then folded his arms on the table. “I know first hand that getting married for a custody battle doesn’t always work long-term. Willow and I had…there was good in there, and Amelia—I wouldn’t change her for the world. But all things considered, it probably wasn’t the best choice. That being said, Willow and I barely knew each other back then. You and Liz? You guys have known each other my whole life. You know her. You can trust her to do this, and to be amazing with Danny—”

“That’s—” Jason looked away, struggling to put his order his thoughts. “Of course she would. That’s not the problem. I’d trust Elizabeth with my life. And my son.”

“Just not your name,” Michael said, and Jason winced. “I mean, I guess you’ve got the problem of an exit strategy. Danny’s, what, like fourteen? Four years he’s off to college, but there’s no chance Alexis comes back if she loses on this round. So how do you do that? You guys set a end date? Like we divorce in year two, year three?”

“That’s…” Jason shifted again. “That’s part of it.”

“Or,” Michael said, drawing out the word until Jason looked at him. “You don’t divorce at all. Is that the problem? It’s not that you don’t want to marry her. You don’t want to marry her like this.”

“I—” Hearing it put so starkly startled him, and he didn’t have a response right away. “Yeah. I guess—we’ve been talking a lot about when Jake was younger. That we…I know we both regret the way we handled things. Letting fear get in the way.” They’d had that conversation on Thanksgiving in the car, and he hadn’t quite been able to forget it.

“We would have had more kids.”

“Oh, probably. How many?”

“How many did you want?”

“Oh, dozens. To start with. You?”

“Whatever made you happy.”

“I’m not going to tell you that this the universe kicking at you, putting another chance in front of you. That’s not how the world works,” Michael said, and Jason looked at him. “And I know I don’t know everything about you and Liz, beyond the fact that you’ve always been close. I obviously knew you guys were a thing because Jake exists, but I never really asked you beyond that. Elizabeth is opening a door to a future you wanted once. Maybe she’s really only doing it because of the custody. But maybe she’s doing it because she’s having those regrets, right? Maybe there’s a reason it’s something she offers.”

“Maybe.”

“Because if you knew the answer no, Jase, you’d have told her that already. So talk to her. What does she want? Is she thinking one year and out, or maybe—” Michael shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe she’s not. But you won’t know until you talk to her.”

+40

Written in 60 minutes. See you tomorrow. *cackles*

Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “Is there a reason to be worried?” he asked, closing the office door and reaching for the blinds on the window that looked out onto the warehouse floor.

“Worried?” Molly echoed. “I don’t know. Let me review the deposition before I tell you we have a problem. I’d rather think about the positives. I wondered why Mom wanted to start with Elizabeth, and now we know. I’m sure there’s a way to organize our case to turn the tables back in our favor. I’m going to go through the tape, review the answers and the questions, then I think you and I should sit down and talk—and I’m gonna need to talk to Elizabeth, too.”

There was a knock on the office door, and Jason opened it to find Elizabeth on the other side. “She’s here now.” He backed up, allowing Elizabeth room to answer. “I’m talking to Molly now.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth took a deep breath, closed the door behind her. “Good. That’s good. Right?”

“We’ll find out.” He returned his attention to the call. “Let me know when you want to set up that meeting, okay? I’ll tell Elizabeth to call you.”

“Okay. Jason, it’s my job to worry, not yours. The one thing I would do, though—I’d get Danny from my mother’s house as soon as possible. If you’re planning to live with him full-time, start now. I know why you wanted to keep him with the Qs and why you let him stay at my mom’s, but that’s one thing we can do right now.”

“I’ll talk to Danny and see what he wants to do. I don’t care what happens to my case. If he wants to stay with his sister, that’s what he’ll do.”

Jason ended the call, tossed the phone on the desk, and looked at Elizabeth. She stood near the warehouse window, staring at the dingy blinds, one arm slung across the middle, the other hand at her lips, biting her nails. “Hey.”

She let her arm drop to the other, so that she was nearly hugging herself as she turned to face him. “Molly told you. The deposition — it was bad.”

“She didn’t use those words, and I’m sure it wasn’t—” Jason came to her, nearly reached up to rub her shoulders, but at the last moment, let his hands drop back to his sides. “She didn’t sound worried—”

“Well, then she’s covering it up. Or maybe she doesn’t know enough to be worried.” Elizabeth sighed. She raised both hands to her hair, combed through roughly, then cupped her cheeks. “What did Molly tell you?”

Jason did touch her now, attempting to guide her to a car, but she shook her head. “I can’t. I can’t sit still. Just tell me. What does Molly think happened?”

He furrowed his brow. “She thinks Alexis plans to emphasize how much you’ve done for Jake, to make it seem as if you did it alone without my input, and maybe even argue my lack of interest. Is—did she misunderstand?”

“No. But I think Molly suffers from not knowing—” Elizabeth looked at him finally, her gaze meeting his. “Jason. I didn’t lie today, I didn’t. But I came pretty close. And the only reason I could do it is because Alexis doesn’t know enough to press in certain areas. But there are other people who do.”

He tilted his head, squinting. “I don’t understand—”

Now Elizabeth did move, cross the short length of the office, then pacing back towards him. “What happened before Jake, I can mostly take the blame. Because it’s true. I lied to you, there was miscommunication, and we were just trying so hard not to hurt each other, we didn’t really talk—I think we get away with that, right?”

“Probably. You were married, I was engaged—but—”

She sank down onto the rickety wooden chair in front of his desk, sitting sideways, one hand braced along the back. “Alexis doesn’t know we were together for the better part of a year. That we were engaged for—well, I guess it was for a few days, but we both know it was maybe minutes because the second you got that call about Michael—” She looked away. “She doesn’t know that we nearly changed our minds. But other people do. Other people on that list.”

Jason closed his eyes. “Carly knows. And now so does Jake.”

“Lucky knows. I don’t know if Alexis would depose him, and God help me, I’m almost grateful because apparently he’s ready to take off any day now, so maybe we get away with that. And Carly, God, she might tell Alexis thinking it’ll help your case—but—” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “Jason, what does it look like in family court if we tell that judge the reason you stepped aside, the reason you weren’t in Jake’s life until after he was kidnapped—how do we tell him we did it because of your job?”

Seeing the trap now, Jason grimaced, looked away. “Alexis has to know it was a factor.”

“I’m sure she does. She raised Sonny’s daughter, she made similar choices. She has to know. It’s why she started asking me why I lied. The thing is—your job was never the reason this started. It wasn’t. I’ve always known who you are. I’ve accepted. And if things had gone differently when the tests came back, I was ready to tell you. It’s just…” Tears shimmered in her eyes and she had to look away. “What happened to Michael, God, it was so awful, and I know how scared we both were. I thought we were scared before, but the terror of thinking Jake might end up like that just for standing next to you…” Her breath hitched. “I didn’t fight you on leaving me. Not right away. I wanted to because I loved you so much—”

“Hey…” Jason crouched down, took her hand in his, and with his other hand, he cupped her cheek so that she’d look at him. “You never, ever have to defend that choice to me. We both made those choices. We both chose to put Jake first. He was always more important than how we felt about each other.”

She nodded, even as the tears slid down slowly. She drew in a deep breath. “She didn’t know how to ask it today, but I just—she could start asking questions. And if you tell the judge you were afraid Jake would end up hurt, it gives him a reason not to give you Danny now. The warehouse shooting last summer would probably come up, and those two years you were gone—he could really push on that, couldn’t he?”

“I guess.”

“It opens all these doors—and I didn’t think about it. I didn’t think Alexis would ever—” Elizabeth closed her eyes, took another deep breath. “I want to say it would be so unfair for her to use that against you when she knew how you felt, when she felt the same way.” She pulled her hand out of his grasp, started to swipe at her face. “I don’t know how we stop that from happening. Because if we don’t come clean about the why, Alexis gets to argue that it’s because you didn’t want to be his father.”

Jason grimaced, then rose to his feet. “And she gets to add it to all the other reasons she thinks that’s true. When Sam was…when she went to prison for what happened to Shiloh, she gave custody of Scout to Monica, and I decided to let Danny stay at the mansion because I knew she wanted them together. Just…”

“Just like now.” Elizabeth also stood. “And I know…” She rubbed her shoulder, uncomfortably. “The explosion at the Floating Rib. The one that hurt Lulu, and—”

“Killed a few other people, including Dev.” The nail in the coffin to any future with Sam. “Yeah. Danny lived with Sam after that, but we’d been there. He could have ended up hurt, or—Alexis knows about that.”

“I just…” Elizabeth took a deep breath, folded her arms tightly. “That’s probably the worst part of today — realizing how Alexis could rewrite the narrative of what we went through back then, to fit it with everything that happened later. And I don’t really know how we fix that. The part about your job. If this goes to court, if Alexis puts people on the stand, if she gets me up there, and I have to start talking about any of this—” She looked away. “I got in my car after the deposition, and I just started to drive. I drove in circles, just going over and over everything in my head, trying to find a way out of this—”

“Hey, this isn’t your fight—” Jason took her by the shoulders, his thumbs stroking in small circles. “Molly and I—”

“She wants to use me to hurt you, Jason. She wants to use this horrible thing we went through—She wants to use our son to say something about who you are—” Elizabeth pressed her lips together, creating a thin white line, as she tried to regain control of her rising voice. “Don’t tell me this isn’t my fight. She’s making it about me, and I’m not going to let her do that.”

“We don’t know if she’s going to talk about any of that,” Jason reminded her. “You’re right. It’s something we need to think about, and probably something we should talk about when we meet with Molly, but—”

“It’s just where she could start. But there’s all these other things she has proof of. Things I couldn’t skirt around. She asked about child support. Like regular payments—” Elizabeth shook her head. “I tried to tell her it was never necessary. You put together Jake’s trust fund when he was kid, and you even gave one to Cameron, even though that was never your responsibility, but I—I let Steven invest them in the stock market and he lost everything—”

“You didn’t tell me that,” Jason interrupted, furrowing his brow. “Why didn’t you—I would have—”

“Because it was my fault—” Elizabeth pressed a hand against her chest. “I let my brother talk me into trying to create something for Aiden, and I was so wrong. But even if that hadn’t happened, I always knew if Jake needed anything, I could go to you. I tried to tell her that, and I told her about Spain, how you were doing so much for Jake, and didn’t even blink an eye when Jake basically threw away entire semester of tuition and probably whatever rent you paid for his flat, and she started asking questions like doesn’t it bother you Jason didn’t seem to care? Like you just throw money at Jake’s problems, and I got tongue-tied because I thought these were all good things—”

“Take a breath. Hey—” Jason cut in, reaching for her hands as she gestured wildly. He squeezed them. “It’s okay—”

“It’s not. She’s going to try and paint me like I’m this amazing, perfect mother because all three of my boys are these incredible successes, and okay, sure, some of that of is me—don’t make that face at me, okay? Don’t.” Elizabeth stabbed a finger at him. “Whatever mistakes we made, whatever our regrets, we did one thing right. Okay? Everything we did, everything you did, Jake is because of that. We have this wonderful, brilliant, perfect son who is all of these things because of our choices, good and bad, and Alexis Davis doesn’t get to walk in like a Monday morning quarterback saying we were wrong. We are his parents. Not her.”

“Okay, first—” Jason leaned against the desk, fighting the urge to smile because she wouldn’t understand where the amusement came from, not in the middle of a conversation like this. But he hated when she was down on herself, when she cried, he couldn’t stand it. But now she was glaring at him, her eyes sparkling with a mixture of anger and defiance—

“First. I appreciate that you want to give me credit for anything about the way Jake turned out. And if you honestly think any of that is because of me, then I won’t argue with you.”

“Good. You won’t win.”

He reached for her hand against, holding it between both of his. “Second, you’re right. You and I made our choices. We made our mistakes. And I know we’ve been talking about them a lot with Jake lately. But it’s not fair for someone else to come in and judge us. To judge you for anything you did. But she’s not wrong if her plan is to talk about what an amazing mother you are. Cameron and Aiden are great kids. Look at where Cameron is—on a scholarship to an Ivy League school. You did that, Elizabeth, and you did that without anyone. Look at the career you built for yourself, the dreams you gave up so you could put the boys first. Don’t tell me it wasn’t a little bittersweet knowing Jake is going to live the life you wanted for yourself. So if you want me to disagree with Alexis about what kind of mother you are, you’re in for a fight.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “I didn’t give up anything that mattered. What? To be a starving artist in New York City? I had a chance to do that, and I threw it away. Long before Cameron came along. And it was a privilege to go into nursing, and I love it. I’m so proud of Jake. So proud that you and I could make that happen for him, because just getting into the school isn’t enough. Alexis wants to try and use any of this against you, she’ll have to go through me.” She took a deep breath. “And that’s why I came here. Because I have a plan for some of it.”

Jason straightened, keeping Elizabeth’s hand still in his grasp. “A plan?”

“Yes. I don’t know if Alexis is going to find out about…about what happened after Jake was born, but I think we need to do whatever we can to make her back down, to make her understand that no judge is ever going to say you can’t raise Danny, that you’re an unfit father. Because her entire argument is that you haven’t been a hands-on full-time father, so Danny will suffer being in your custody. That you can’t handle it.”

“You think you have a way to make Alexis back down?” Jason asked, lifting his brows. “It’s hard to believe that, but I’m listening.”

She licked her lips, then bit down, remaining quiet just long enough for his pulse to pick up. “Elizabeth—”

“She thinks she can use me against you, but what if we—what if I take her entire argument about me and shove it down her throat? If I’m such an amazing mother, that if I can do all that of that as a single mother one basically one income, well—” She took a deep breath. “Then, okay. Let’s make me part of the deal.”

Jason opened his mouth, then closed it, furrowing his brow. “I don’t—I don’t understand.”

“Jake and Danny are both going to talk about how much they love you and Danny will say he wants to be with you, so the most important thing we have to do is make sure the judge feels comfortable with Danny in your custody. And Alexis thinks I’m amazing? I want her to eat those words. So make me part of the deal. Part of the package.”

Her meaning started to sink in, and his heart started to beat just a little faster. “Part of the deal,” he repeated. “You mean Danny in our joint custody, is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes.” She lifted her chin. “We can’t lose.”

Wanting to be absolutely sure she meant what he thought she meant, he pressed. “And in order for there to be a joint custody, that means we’d have to…” He trailed off, wanting her to finish, not even able to put it into words himself. It seemed too fantastical, too impossible to think she might be suggesting what he was thinking.”

“We’d have to get married. Yeah. That’s the plan.” She licked her lips again. “So, what do you think? Will you marry me?”

+42

Took about 60 minutes but my computer keyboard died in the middle, and I had to switch computers — it’s a whole thing. ANYWAY.

Elizabeth fought the urge to pace the small lobby of Davis & Miller, forcing herself instead to remain standing in one place, pretending the print on the wall was the most fascinating piece of art she’d ever seen.

“I’ve seen better in a doctor’s office.”

She jolted at the words, then turned pressing a hand against her chest in relief. “Martin. I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m not late, am I?” Martin Gray asked, checking his phone.

“No, no.” She shook her head. “No,” she said again. “I’m just nervous. I know I have nothing to worry about it, but it’s just—” She looked past him towards the conference room’s double doors. “It’s so important that I don’t do anything to hurt Jason’s case. Not that there’s—” She made a face. “That came out wrong—”

“It is extremely easy for a skilled attorney to twist even an innocuous statement into an admission of wrongdoing,” Martin told her. “You could try to tell a charming story about Jason and Alexis will pick at a thread that serves her narrative. There are three rules to a deposition. One, tell the truth,” he began, using his fingers to count. “Two, if possible, limit all answers to yes or no. And three, if you must provide detail, offer nothing more than you’re asked. It’s better to be asked a follow-up question looking for specifics than giving too much.”

“I know—”

“And I’ll be right there next to you. I can object to questions which can help strike answers later when a judge rules on it. Elizabeth—” Martin waited for her to look at him. “You’ll do fine. You’re an excellent mother, and Alexis has a long uphill battle if she wants to take custody away from the child’s biological father. This will all be over before you know it.”

—

Laura reached the guest room, stopping at the threshold, inhaling sharply at the sight of her son shoving things into a duffel bag. “So Kevin wasn’t wrong. You are packing.”

Lucky paused for a moment, long enough to look at his mother, before returning to the dresser. “We talked about this, Mom—”

“And we’re going to talk again. How can you possibly think this is the best time for you to leave again?” she demanded. “Aiden has barely gotten used to being home—”

“Then this won’t be a difficult adjustment. He won’t even notice I’m gone—”

“What a perfectly horrible thing to say about your own son. Of course he’ll notice.” Laura gritted her teeth. “Is this because of what happened at Elizabeth’s? What Jake told Aiden—”

“You know, Mom—” Lucky stopped with a beleaguered sigh. “I would think you of all people would understand. I made some mistakes and now my kid is using it as a reason not to be around me.”

Laura lifted her brows. “You’re not actually comparing this fiasco to what you put me through, are you? Your son found out you were a drug addict, Lucky, and that you had an affair that led to the end of your marriage. He came to you, looking for answers. He isn’t avoiding you, Lucky. He was just here at the holidays. You wouldn’t even be in the same room with me—” Her voice faltered, and she turned away, surprised by the shudder that rippled through her.

“Mom—”

“No. No—” Laura shook her head, turned back to face him. “You refused to listen to me, to live with me, to be in my life in any way for almost a year. You forgave your father faster than you forgave me, and I never held that against you. I tried to understand how you could treat me that way when I watched how careful and kind you were to Elizabeth, but it baffles me, Lucky. Then and now.”

Lucky dipped his head low, stared at the carpet. Finally, he lifted his gaze back to his mother’s. “Elizabeth never married her rapist and had a family with him. It’s not difficult, Mom. I watched Elizabeth with her nightmares and anxiety, painstakingly learning how to trust being around strangers again, and I looked at you, knowing you’d married the man who did it to you. Knowing I came from him, and it made me sick. You want to have this conversation right now, Mom? We can keep going.”

Laura’s stomach rolled, and she forced down the bile that rose. “It’s so easy for you to step in my head, to assume that it was that simple for me. So black and white. That’s always been your problem, Lucky. You can’t see all the reasons, all the trauma in my choices. You never could. You never see the shades of gray.”

“If it helps you sleep at night, Mom.” Lucky jerked the zipper on the bag. “There’s nothing for me here. Aiden’s better off without me. Everyone is better off with me—”

“I didn’t raise you to run from your problems like this, to treat family this way—” Laura said, stepping out of the way as Lucky came towards the door, the bag strap over his shoulder. “Lucky—”

“You didn’t raise me at all, Mom,” Lucky snapped, whirling back to face her. “I’m my father’s son, everyone always said. Well, I’m doing what he did. Getting away from Port Charles and all of you.”

“If you walk out that door, if you walk out on this chance with your son to know you—” Laura lifted her chin. “Then you aren’t welcome to return. This is the last time, Lucky. I won’t chase you down again.”

“Music to my ears,” he sneered, then headed down the hallway. She heard the thud of his footsteps on the stairs, then the slam of the door.

She pressed her hands to her face, and wept bitterly.

—

Jake hesitantly crossed into Michael’s office, waiting as his cousin closed the door behind him. “I hope it’s okay I just dropped by like this.”

“You can show up any time you want, Jake.” Michael gestured toward the beverage bar across the room. “You want anything? Coffee?”

“Nah.” Jake fisted his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “I, uh, ran into Drew the other day. After the hearing. He actually followed me.”

Michael made a face, then leaned against the desk, folding his arms. “I’m sure that was a pleasant experience.”

“Opposite actually.” Jake dragged a hand through his hair. “He’s gonna help Alexis Davis with her case against Dad. Testifying that Danny should be with his grandmother.”

Michael stared at him for a long moment, then tilted his face towards the ceiling. “Let me guess. If you keep your mouth shut about what you know, he’ll back off.”

“Yeah. I told him I’d think about it, figuring I’d tell my dad and make it his problem, but—” Jake hesitated. “I think if my dad found out Drew was cornering me in dark garages, that we’d have bigger problems on our hands.”

“That’s putting it mildly.” Michael looked away, remaining silent for a long moment. “The simplest thing to do is to call his bluff. Tell Willow what I know. What I already knew before  you even spoke to Scout.”

“I don’t really get why you’re staying quiet about it, but like, it’s your business, so I’m not judging,” Jake replied. “It’s just…it’s bigger than that now. Drew’s taking it out on my dad, and he’s putting Danny and Scout in the middle. I get it, you’ve got your kids in there with them. I just…it doesn’t feel right that he gets what he wants if I agree.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Michael tilted his head. “You ever testify in court before? Ever have to sit with a judge and tell him who you want to live with?”

“No.” Jake shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Lots of my friends did. Some of them liked it that way, you know. Two parents, two houses. They’d play them against each other to get stuff. But I never had to do that. I know I’m lucky.”

“Lost count how many times my mother moved out, or my dad kicked her out.” Michael’s eyes were  troubled. “Sometimes he let her take Morgan and me with her, sometimes no. Cutting off visitation, telling us how bad the other was—it was exhausting, and it only stopped after my coma, and I was old enough to make it stop.” He rubbed his face. “Probably crazy, but that coma was the most peace I ever got.”

“You don’t want your kids to go through it.” Jake nodded. “I get that. But, like, you’re the one who gets decide how that goes down. It’s choice, right? To use your kids like weapons. Dad, for all his faults, never did that. Not to my mom or to Danny’s. He could have. Danny’s mom didn’t want him around when he first got home. And Dad could have gone to court. Could have forced me into visiting him or getting Danny visitation.”

“He could have. Does it bother you he didn’t?”

Jake considered the question, weighed his answer. “Drew took some shots at him, about my dad leaving me, not being around a lot, or giving me his name, but you know—” He looked at Michael. “Maybe if he’d gone nuclear in trying to see us, it’d be like proof to someone who doesn’t matter that he cares. But it would have upset everyone. Mom was already kind of sad I didn’t wanna see him, and Danny would have hated disappointing his mom or having to talk about any of it in court.” Jake shook his head. “No, it doesn’t bother me. We can fight about him being gone for so long being a shitty thing, but he never said it wasn’t. But he came home and it was like — he cared about what was right for me. For Danny. That’s got to matter.” He furrowed his brow. “I can’t tell you what to, Michael. I just can’t really be okay with Drew getting away with what he did to Scout. What he wants to do to Danny—“

“You’re right. This—“ Michael straightened. “This is the last straw. We need to end this.”

—

Jason heard Carly’s loud, bombastic voice, and winced as he stood before a pallet of coffee beans. “What is it?” he asked, turning to face her.

She stopped short, scowled. “Why do you always have that look on your face when I come to see you? What kind of friend are you?”

“Is that why you came to see me?” he asked. He turned, headed for his office, and she hurried to follow.

“Well, you just ran out of the courthouse after not even letting Sonny finish—“

“If you’re here to talk about Sonny—“ Jason held the door to his office open, stopping her from crossing the threshold. “You can go. I’ve made it clear where I stand.”

She pressed lips together in mutinous line. “No, I came to ask about this—“ She waved the paper in her hand. “Alexis wants to depose me. Diane says I can’t get out of it, and also she can’t help me, so what am I supposed to do?”

“Go. Tell the truth. Get a lawyer and listen to him.”

Carly pursed her lips. “I bet when Elizabeth got this notice, you didn’t talk to her like that. You’re probably talking to her all the time—“

Jason looked to the ceiling, prayed for patience, then looked at Carly again. “I’m not interested in debating the presence of Elizabeth in my life. She’s the mother of my son. And even if that weren’t true, she’s my friend. I’m done arguing with you about this.”

“I’m not trying to argue. But—“ Carly took a deep breath, gathered herself. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m just—it’s all gone so terrible since Sam died. Okay? Drew and you had a fight, you still won’t tell me why. And you’re dealing with all of this stuff from Alexis, you’re mad at Sonny, and I just want to help. Please let me help.”

“You can help by doing what I said. Find a lawyer who can go with you to the deposition. Listen to him. Tell the truth. Other than that, Carly, there’s not much else.”

“Fine. Whatever. You’ve made it very clear you don’t need me.” Carly stepped back. “But don’t be surprised if you keep pushing me and Sonny away, we won’t be there when you need us—“

Jason closed the door in her face.

—

Elizabeth stepped outside of the building where Alexis’s law practice was located, blinking at the bright sun. She turned on the sidewalk to face Martin. “That went as badly as I think it did, didn’t it?”

Martin hesitated. “I suppose it depends on your definition of badly. You followed all of my advice, so you’re not in any trouble.”

“Martin. Please tell me I was imagining things. That the questions Alexis asked, that—“ Elizabeth pressed two fingers to her lips. “She’s trying to turn me into her witness, isn’t she?”

“There, ah, does seem to be an element of that, yes.” Martin tipped his head. “Elizabeth, there’s nothing you can do to but tell the truth. Trust Jason’s lawyer to handle his case—“

“But—but Alexis can’t do that, can she? She can’t use me to hurt Jason’s chances at custody can she?”

“Elizabeth.”

“Martin. Just tell it to me straight.” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “Is there a chance, if Alexis asks me questions like that on the stand, if she—if she argues what I think she’s arguing, can that hurt Jason?”

“Yes,” Martin admitted. “I think there’s more than a better chance that you might just be Alexis’s star witness, and there’s not much you can do to stop her.”

+33

Went a little over because my keyboard is still having issues, and the final scene needed to end just right 😛

Written in 67 minutes.

At the sound of the elevator bell, Elizabeth glanced up and immediately dropped her pen, smiling. “Hey! You got my message!” She stepped out of the nurse’s station just as Aiden reached her side. He kissed her cheek. “I hope you didn’t have anything else planned—”

“Nothing that couldn’t be moved.” Aiden reshifted the strap of his bookbag so it rested more comfortably on his back. “You said it was important.”

“Mostly because I knew I’d late tonight, and I definitely wanted to touch base with you today.” She led him towards the conference room, closing the door once they were both inside. “Um, we haven’t really talked a lot about…your dad. I mean, you haven’t brought him up, and I guess—” She winced. “Selfishly, I was avoiding the conversation.”

“I don’t know what there is to say.” Aiden dropped his bag on the floor. “I tried to talk to him, he avoided my phone calls, but couldn’t wait to track down Jake to give his side.” He paused, somewhat uncertainly. “I felt like maybe he was trying to say I didn’t really matter, but Tobias said something that sounded better. Dad wanted to tell Jake his side, but mostly he was just trash talking Jake’s dad, and he was starting to go after you.”

Elizabeth pressed her lips together. “Yeah, I definitely got the feeling he feels like this entire situation has been a little lop-sided—or that he was getting hit by bullets not meant for him. He’s not wrong, I guess. Sonny never said anything about him, and I think if Jason and I had had a moment to really sit and talk about this, maybe we could have found a way out of this—”

“Mom.” Aiden looked at her with such patience that her throat felt tight. “Jason didn’t say anything about Dad that wasn’t true, right? He had an affair and was addicted to drugs. These were facts. He just doesn’t like that I know them. Or that maybe I know who he had the affair with. I don’t care about that part. Well not anymore,” he added when she lifted her brows. “I did. But I got over it, I guess. Tobias said it happened to you. Before I was born. Jake’s dad is right. None of this has anything to do with me or Jake.”

“Well, I don’t know about that—”

Aiden held up his hand. “I’m not talking about what happened after Jake was born. I’m talking about what Mr. Corinthos said. About you lying to Jason. He knew when Jake was born, right? So whatever happens after that, it’s not just you. Mr. C wanted to hurt you, just like Dad wants to hurt you by telling me more crap that isn’t about me.” He jerked a shoulder. “He tried again on Thanksgiving, to talk about when you guys almost got back together before I was born. I told him I’m not interested.”

Elizabeth exhaled on a rush of breath. “You—you know if you have questions—”

“Maybe if you wanna tell me one day. When I’m older. When you want me to know,” he said. “I don’t care about what happened before I was born, and I think Jake is starting to remember what matters. I remember who was there when I had trouble in school, when I got sick. Who eats everything I bake even when it isn’t good. I care about who shows up. That’s you. Jake—it’s more complicated for him. Because his dad made other choices sometimes, but you know what his dad is doing now? Trying. Listening. Not trying to make someone else the bad guy.”

“Aiden, I’m—I’m sorry. It’s—it’s never what I planned. I never wanted you not to have a strong relationship with your father—”

“You can’t miss what you never had, Mom. I came out to him, and he’s met Tobias, so that’s enough for me.” Aiden tipped his head. “We could have talked about this at home, you know. What was the rush?”

“Oh. Well, Lucas told me that Lucky is…he’s waiting on an assignment. He’s going back to Doctors Without Borders,” Elizabeth said, watching carefully to see how her youngest absorbed that information.

A muscle in his cheek twitch, and his shoulders seemed to tense, but otherwise — “Good. He likes his work, and it’s important. He should be where he’s happy, and it doesn’t seem like that’s here. If you’re asking me if I knew, no. But he’s been here for a few weeks, didn’t seem like he was planning to get a place or a job, so I kind of figured.”

“Well, I just—I want you to know that I love you. And I’m so proud of you.” She stepped forward, embraced him tightly, then drew back to cup his face in her hands. “My handsome sweet boy. You deserve the whole world. I’m sorry I can’t give it you.”

“You do okay, Mom. Don’t worry about me.” He kissed her forehead. “If it’s okay, I’m gonna head out. I’ll see you at home.”

“See you at home.”

—

Molly tapped her foot restlessly outside the court room, snapping to attention when Ric finally exited. He said something to Drew, who headed for the elevator, then came over to Molly. “Hello sweetheart—”

“Don’t do this.”

Ric sighed, switched his briefcase to other hand. “Honey, don’t make this personal. This is just business—you know that. You took Jason’s case—”

“I went to him,” Molly snapped, and Ric closed his mouth. “This is personal, Dad, and the fact that you don’t get it is why I don’t want you on this case. I love you, you know I do. But we both know you can be spiteful and vindictive. And petty. You’ve hated Jason my entire life—”

“Longer, but go on.”

At her father’s casual turn, Molly stopped, pressed her lips together mutinously. “This is just a joke to you, isn’t it? Just another way to dig at Mom, to dig at Jason, that’s all you care about—”

“Really? You think I don’t sympathize with Drew? Alexis is planning to drag him through the mud to get custody of his daughter? I know what her game plan is, Molly. I watched her do it to Sonny—hell, I helped her. And then she used the same playbook on me. Do you think I wanted to spend so little time with you?” Ric snapped.

Molly took a shaky breath. “Okay, okay. So you do get it. I’m doing the same for Jason. Because Mom wanted to do that to TJ. I told you that. She was going to file for custody on Kristina’s behalf. She wanted to take my baby—” She pressed two fingers to her lips, turned away, forcing herself to take a deep breath. “I know Drew and Jason hate each other, but we have a common enemy—”

“No, we have a common goal,” Ric interrupted. “Drew wants what’s best for the kids. So don’t think of asking to join the cases or try a joint defense.”

“Are you going to try to force a deal?” Molly asked. “In return for his support, Mom drops the case against Drew?”

“Well, we both knew Jason is the real wild card. The man has barely parented any child that  genetically belongs to him. Too worried about Carly and Sonny’s kids. Where do you think he was for two years while he played dead? While his boys mourned him? Something for one of them or Michael no doubt. No—” Ric shook his head. “Drew wants his daughter, make no mistake, Molly. But on the subject of Danny? We all agree. Jason is the worst possible choice, and we intend to do whatever we can to prove it.”

—

Jason had hoped to catch Jake before he left the courtroom, but as soon as the judge had completed the hearing, the teen had been on his feet and out the door. Jason started to follow, only for Sonny to step in front of him, Carly hovering somewhat behind, Michael at Jason’s side, a little wary.

“I was hoping you might take a minute—Jase—” Sonny said when Jason tried to walk past him. “Please. Just give me a chance to make this right. For all our sake’s, okay?”

Jason grimaced. “Yeah, fine. Five minutes.”

—

Jake had already loosened the top few buttons on his shirt, looking forward to shedding the entire getup. He’d gone as moral support, but it had been a supremely uncomfortable scene especially standing with Sonny Corinthos as if the man hadn’t come into Jake’s house and attacked his mother and upended everything Jake understood about his life.

He fished his keys from his pocket, jingling them in his palm as he approached his mother’s car, hoping that there’d be some time to talk to his parents about a car. He’d had one before he left for Spain, but he’d decided to sell it for extra cash to spend at school. Regretting that, he thought somewhat darkly.

There were footsteps behind him, scratching at the concrete texture of the parking garage floor. Figuring it was his father or maybe Michael, Jake turned, grimacing when he realized it was neither.

“Drew,” Jake said flatly, and the older man stopped a few feet away. “Are you parked nearby or following me?” When Drew didn’t immediately answer, Jake’s stomach rolled slightly. “What do you want?”

“To make a deal.” Drew slid his hands into the pockets of his suit pants.  “Right now, my lawyer is informing Molly that I intend to testify for Alexis. Against your father.”

“Wow, the endorsement of a scumbag politician. Can’t wait to see that story on the news,” Jake said with a sneer. “Is that before or after you screw your nephew’s wife?”

“Cut the crap, kid. If you’d planned to use that, you already would have. But you probably promised Scout you’d keep your mouth shut.” Drew tipped his head. “Right? You got her to trust you, and now look at you, using her against me. What would she think?”

“Believe it or not, the opinion of a seven-year-old isn’t really my top priority,” Jake retorted. “If Scout finds out I told, well, at least she’ll know she wasn’t imagining things. That’s what you told her, isn’t it? That if she wasn’t sure, she’d hurt so many people. And she might not be allowed to live at the Qs anymore. That her mother would be disappointed in her.”

Drew lifted his chin. “I don’t know what you’re talking about—”

“Yeah, you do. And I’m not going to waste my breath asking what happened to you, to the guy I knew, to the one who said I’d always be like a son to him. There’s no point in trying to find any shame in you.” Jake’s hands were nearly trembling from nerves, from rage, so she shoved them in his pockets. “I just wish you’d stayed dead.”

“Like your dad did? At least I was kidnapped. What’s his excuse?” Drew demanded. “You don’t get to sit and judge me, Jake. You’re supporting the deadbeat who refused to claim you, refused to even give you his name—even now. And who left you for two years—” He shook his head. “You’ll understand one day, Jake. After you spend years bending over backwards to take care of everyone else. I looked out for everyone but me my entire life. My country, my family, but no one was ever looking out for me. So I’m going to take what I want, and everyone else is going to get out of my way.”

“Well, that’s a really shitty way to go through life, but whatever, dude. Just stop being a dick to your kid and sleeping with your relatives. It’s kind of creepy.”

Jake turned away, reaching for the handle to the car, but Drew’s voice stopped him. “I said I wanted to make a deal.”

He turned back to face the other man. “You have nothing I want.”

“Don’t be so sure.” Drew stepped closer. “You keep your mouth shut, and I’ll tell Ric that we’ll cooperate with your dad. Hell, I’ll even testify for him. And then Danny will get what he wants – to stay with his dad. Everyone is happy.”

“You mean you’ll be happy, since you just said no one else matters.”

“In this rare case, what I want is what you supposedly want. Or did I mistake you sitting behind your deadbeat dad in court?” Drew lifted his brows. “What’s it going to be?”

—

“That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” Kristina said, following her mother out of the courthouse doors. “And they didn’t even tell us we had to give the kids back.”

“I’m sure that will come soon enough,” Alexis muttered, reaching her car. “Kristina—that was the easiest part of all of this. You know that, don’t you? What comes next—” She shook her head.

“What comes next is proving that you and I are the best people to raise those kids. Sam would want them to stay together. She only wrote what she did in her will because it wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Kristina insisted. “She wasn’t living the same reckless life! She thought she’d live forever. She should have. So whatever we have to do, Mom, I’m ready for it.”

Alexis hesitated, then remembered the joy of the last few days, waking up to find Danny and Scout in her home. These sweet reminders of her precious daughter, all she’d ever have of her now. “And so am I. Drew might be a difficult case to win, but Jason? That won’t be difficult at all.”

“Exactly. Where do we start?”

“With our strongest witness.” Alexis slid into the driver’s seat. “Elizabeth.”

—

Carly poked Sonny in the back. “Go ahead. We practiced this,” she told Jason, and Michael shook his head.

“Mom—why don’t you and I go in the hall—” He took his mother’s elbow. “Dad’s a big boy and he can clean up his own messes.”

“Right, but—” Carly was still protesting when Michael half-dragged her away, leaving Jason and Sonny alone in the court room.

“Talk,” Jason said flatly. “I have things to do.”

“I’m trying to apologize, but you’re not making it easy—that’s not—” Sonny winced, rubbed his temple. “That’s not your job, I know. But if you could just try to understand that I wanted to help. You know I would never hurt you or your kids. Not intentionally—”

“You think because you weren’t aiming at Jake that it matters? You knew what you were doing. You had time to think when they came through the door. You could have backed down. But you didn’t.” The familiar rage bubbled again. “I deserve to know why.”

“I just—I lost my temper. More than two decades of watching you fall on the sword for that woman—” Sonny winced when Jason walked past him. “I didn’t mean it that way—come on—”

“You don’t run my life, Sonny. You don’t make my choices—”

Sonny snorted. “That’s for damn sure—”

Jason stepped closer to him, and the smirk disappeared from Sonny’s face. “And I don’t make yours. You want me to start listing all the mistakes you’ve made this year? In the last few weeks? All the ways you’ve hurt people? You want me to start talking about your worst choices in front of your kids? Let me go find Donna and Avery. We can have a conversation about Agent Cates.”

“Shut up—”

“You made a choice, Sonny. You wanted to hurt Elizabeth, and you didn’t give a damn that my son was in the crossfire—”

“You’re not pissed about what I said in front of him, you’re pissed I said it to her—because you can’t do anything but defend her—”

“Yeah, it’s called loyalty, Sonny. To the woman who raised my son without a whole lot from me because I was usually saving your life or taking care of your kids. You’re damn right I’m angry you said it to Elizabeth, and if Jake hadn’t been there, we’d still be having this conversation. But he was there, and you don’t get how that changes things. You don’t get it because you don’t feel a damn sense of anything towards my sons. Either of them. You don’t care that Elizabeth has put herself on the line for me over and over again. You’re not loyal to anyone but yourself, Sonny. And we’re done here.”

+40

Written in 63 minutes.

Jason tugged at his tie, fighting the urge to yank it from his neck and shove it into his suit pocket. There was nothing he hated more than wearing one of these, but he knew that he was already fighting an uphill battle in family court with a judge who would, no doubt, be familiar with the name Jason Morgan from a lengthy police record. This was the one place where a judge probably wouldn’t be very impressed that he had many arrests, but only conviction — and that one had been a guilty plea.

Molly was waiting for him outside the court room, talking animatedly with Jake, clad in his own court room attire — sans the uncomfortable tie. Jason quickened his pace until he reached their side, unsure why his eldest son was there at all.

“Hey. Uh, I wasn’t—” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “I wasn’t expecting you today. I thought there wouldn’t be testimony—” he said, looking at Molly.

“I’m not here for that,” Jake said. “Mom got called into cover a shift, and I knew…” He let out a little huff. “I knew she’d wanted to be here. Not that you need moral support—” He looked past Jason who turned to see Carly, Sonny, and Michael stepping off the elevator. Jason grimaced, but it wasn’t really the time for it.

“I’m always glad to see you,” he told Jake as the trio reached them.

“Hey.” Carly went to Jake, embraced him lightly, patting his shoulder. “I feel like you’ve grown another inch every time I see you, and you look more like your dad every day. Don’t you think, Sonny?” she asked, forcing a cheerful smile and looking at her ex.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah. Jason, do you, uh, have a minute—”

“No, I don’t.” Jason turned slightly, angling Sonny out of the conversation, focusing on Molly. “This is just a formality, right?”

Molly looked between Sonny and Jason with some concern, but then nodded. “I was just telling Jake, it’s really just to start the ball rolling. And honestly, we’ve already started behind the scenes. My mother—” She stopped, as if registering for the first time that she was arguing a case against Alexis, her own family. “She’s already filed for depositions this week.”

“I got served this morning,” Jake said, shifting slightly, edging away from Sonny.

“I got mine last week,” Michael told Jason. “Alexis isn’t wasting any time.”

“But it’s not going to matter,” Carly said, again with that bright smile that fooled no one. “Jason’s an excellent father. Michael will be able to testify to that, and you, too, of course, Jake.” She touched Jake’s shoulder. “And you know, I guess, your mother will do that, too.”

“The least she can do,” Sonny muttered, and Jason looked at him sharply. His friend’s cheeks colored slightly, but he didn’t retract his statement or say anything else.

“Anyway,” Molly said, forcing Jason to look at her. “The judge appoint lawyers for Danny and Scout, and get that started. I’m hoping Mom drops her case before they have to be interviewed.”

“She will. Alexis will see reason,” Carly insisted. She pursed her lips. “Though it would a first for her.”

Molly opened her mouth, maybe to defend her mother, then closed it, her eyes widening as she took in something behind them. Jason turned, his jaw clenching.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” Carly breathed.

Ric’s smile was wide as he approached, Drew in his wake. “Well, hello. Molly, it’s so good to see you.” He kissed his daughter’s cheek. “Looks like this will be a family affair.”

—

“Alexis, will you just—” Diane caught up to her law partner and friend just before Alexis could reach the elevators in the courthouse lobby. “Can we have a conversation?”

“Why?” Alexis jabbed the button. “You’ve made it painfully clear where you stand. Against me.”

“Not against—” Diane pursed her lips, then tried again. “I am not against you, Alexis. I simply don’t agree that this is the best way forward—”

The elevators opened, and Diane followed Alexis and Kristina onto the car. “There’s still time to stop this.”

“Jason and Drew can stop this,” Kristina said, lifting her chin. “All they have to do is what’s best for Scout and Danny. Which is Mom.”

Diane fought the urge to shoot Kristina a malevolent look, choosing instead to step between mother and daughter so that she and Alexis were facing one another. “This is a bell you cannot unring. If you go in there and tell the judge you want full custody, he will order depositions and an investigation. Danny and Scout will be interviewed by family court representatives. They will be given guardian ad litems—”

“I’m familiar with the process—” Alexis interrupted impatiently.

“Alexis, I am trying to help you—”

“You’re trying to help Jason,” Kristina insisted. Diane whirled on her.

“And so what if I am? The man has done nothing but help you. He’s dug you out of every mess you’ve created, hasn’t he? Where’s your loyalty? Your gratitude?” Diane bit out.

“Where’s yours? My mother—”

“Stop it. Both of you.”

The elevators opened, and Alexis stepped out, then turned to face them. “No one is arguing, Diane, that Jason hasn’t played a pivotal role in helping my daughters. Kristina and Sam. But that does not make him fit to be a father to a son he scarcely knows—”

“You are going to regret this, Alexis. Mark my words. The day will come when you’ll wish you’d listened to me.” Diane touched her lips, then sighed. “But you won’t listen to me, that much is evident.” She stepped back onto the elevator. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t wish you luck.”

—

Elizabeth checked the time on her phone, then slid it back into her pocket. The hearing was due to start any minute, and she wished she there. But maybe it was for the best Jake had agreed readily to go in her stead.

“You’ve checked the time almost a dozen times,” Willow said, stepping up into the nurse’s station with a friendly smile. “Eager to be done?”

Elizabeth shook her head, then reached for another chart. “No, no, just…” She tipped her head to Willow. “I’m sure you know that Alexis is filing for custody of the kids. Their hearing is today.”

Willow bobbled the file in her hands, but caught it before it hit the counter. “Oh. Oh. Yes, I mean, of course. Michael, um, he mentioned it. Before he left. I think he was planning to go. You know, to show moral support for Jason and Drew.”

Elizabeth stepped next to the younger nurse, making a show of sorting through a stack of charts. “We talked about it on Thanksgiving, Michael and I. We’ve both been asked to sit for a deposition.”

“Right. He told me that, too. I know Michael hates this is happening, but I think he’s grateful to have an opportunity to stand up for his uncle.” Willow’s fingers tapped at the keyboard, her focus on the screen in front of her.

“Jason’s loved Michael like his own for his entire life. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for him.” Elizabeth folded her arms across her chest. “I’m glad he’s got Michael in his corner. I was surprised not to get anything from Drew. A deposition notice, I mean. I would have assumed he’d want someone to testify who’d co-parented with him. Even for a short-time.”

“Oh. He didn’t—” Willow looked at her. “He didn’t ask you?”

“Not yet. Maybe he hasn’t sent them yet. I know Jason hadn’t even made his list, but Alexis isn’t wasting any time. Did you get one from her?”

“No. I—” Willow bit her lip. “Drew’s been thinking about it though. He…asked me.”

“Did he?” Elizabeth nodded. “I suppose that makes sense. You live in the house with him, you see him with Scout. And you guys worked on the foundation together for a while. I guess you know more about Drew today than I would.”

Willow looked at her, eyes a little too wide. “What? What does that mean?”

“It means that you see him more regularly than I do.” Elizabeth tilted her head. “What did you think I meant?”

“N-Nothing.” Willow scooped up her files, hurried out of the station, almost crashing into Lucas in her haste to leave.

“Whoa—” Lucas lifted his arms, stepping out of her path. “Where’s she going in such a hurry?” he asked, coming over to the computer Willow had just left to begin his own notes.

“No idea, but I sure hope she does,” Elizabeth murmured, thinking of poor Michael and the audacity of Drew to ask Willow to testify for him. What would Willow think if she knew about Saturday? About the conversation Scout had related to Jake? Would she believe it?

“You look a thousand miles away,” Lucas said, pulling Elizabeth’s attention back to him. “Anything wrong?”

“No.” Elizabeth frowned. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, no reason. I guess—” Lucas hesitated. “I went to Aunt Laura’s for dessert on Thanksgiving, and Lucky mentioned he was heading back to Africa. Cairo, I think he said.”

Elizabeth pressed her lips together, unhappily. “Laura said he was thinking about it. I didn’t know that he’d made a specific plan.”

“I think he’s waiting to hear back from Doctors Without Borders—” Lucas paused. “You really didn’t know? He didn’t talk to you about it?”

“What, did you think that because we share a son, he would have kept me in the loop?” Elizabeth smirked. “He hasn’t made me a part of his decisions in the last fifteen years, so why start now?”

“Elizabeth—”

“Did he talk about it with Aiden in the room? Does he know?” He hadn’t said a word to her about his father in days, and maybe Elizabeth should have seen that as a sign.

“No, it was while Aiden and Rocco were in another room with Kevin—” Lucas put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have brought it up if I’d realized you didn’t know.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s not. I just—” Elizabeth sighed. “I knew a long time ago Lucky and I weren’t going to have a happy ending, and Aiden is the only reason I can’t call the entire thing a mistake. I just wish I’d chosen a better father for my son.”

—

The judge leaned forward, her half-moon shaped glasses sliding down her nose to peer at those gathered in her court. “Let me see if I understand this petition correctly. Alexis Davis is filing for sole custody of her grandchildren, Daniel Edward Morgan and Emily Scout Quartermaine.” She glanced up. “And their fathers are objecting?”

“Vehemently objecting, your honor. Richard Lansing for Congressman-elect Andrew Quartermaine,” Ric said, rising to his feet. “My client has no intention of allowing his daughter to be raised by anyone other than himself.”

“Molly Lansing-Davis for Jason Morgan,” Molly said, hastily getting to her feet. “My client is also objecting. The children’s mother left custody to their respective fathers in her will.”

“Ah, yes, Samantha McCall. Passed away after a heart attack on October 31.” The judge shifted some papers. “My condolences for your loss.” She looked at Alexis. “The will is clear?”

“Yes, Your Honor.” Alexis rose. “My daughter did leave custody to Mr. Morgan and Mr. Quartermaine. But that does not mean she was right to do so. In fact, I currently have my grandchildren with me at my home where they have been for two days—”

“With my permission,” Drew snapped. “I allowed it—”

“My client was more than happy to allow his son to see his grandmother,” Molly interrupted Drew. “The children returned to the penthouse they’d shared with their mother prior to her passing, and it was…” She pressed a hand to her middle. “It was upsetting. Terribly so. Scout became inconsolable, and we all agreed that the best thing for them on that day was to spend some time with my mother—with their grandmother,” Molly corrected. “It was not, in any way, my client agreeing that it should be a permanent solution.”

The judge leaned back. “Richard Lansing, Alexis Davis, Molly Lansing-Davis. I take it that you’re all related?”

“My parents, Your Honor. Sam McCall is—was—my sister.” Molly lifted her chin. “I believe that the best choice for my niece and nephew is what my sister wanted. And we know, after you see all the evidence, you’ll agree.”

“I can see suggesting mediation would be futile as I see notice that Ms. Davis has already sent out notices of deposition.” The judge sighed. “All right then. I’m appointing guardian ad litems for the minor children and directing Family Services to begin their investigation. Let’s talk scheduling.”

+31

Hey, in an earlier part, I made some mentions of Liz and Michael going in for depositions in a few days. Please ignore. I didn’t research family court before writing that part and it was really a throwaway line. Since then, I’ve researched to make it more realistic.

Written in  58 minutes. My head is really stuffy from my cold, so sorry if there’s extra typos or mistakes. It was difficult to concentrate.

There was an unfamiliar car in front of Elizabeth’s house when she pulled her car into the driveway, Jason’s SUV pulling in behind her — but the man waiting at her door wasn’t a stranger.

Michael approached them as Elizabeth and Jake climbed out of their car and Jason joined them. “Hey. Hi. I was hoping you would all come back here eventually.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, I’m the one that called Molly, but Kristina called Alexis as soon as you left the pub—”

“That’s how they got there so fast,” Jason said. He looked at Elizabeth. “I didn’t leave Molly a lot of time to explain. I just told her to get there, and she said she and her mom were on their way. I’m glad you did,” he said, returning his attention to Michael. “They got there in time.”

“If that’s in time, I’d hate to see what too late looks like,” Jake muttered, brushing past the trio and heading for the house. With a sigh, Elizabeth followed, fishing in her purse for her house key but Jake already has his out. He shoved the door open. “I shouldn’t have gone. This is my fault—”

“It’s Drew’s fault,” Elizabeth corrected, closing the door after Michael and Jason followed her in. “He’s the one that escalated and told the kids he wanted to sell.”

“But I’m the one that antagonized him, and—” Jake grimaced, looked at Michael. “I’m sorry. I wanted him to leave. I wanted him to leave Scout alone and leave without her. He knows I talked to her.”

Elizabeth furrowed her brow, looked at Jason, then at Michael before looking at Jake again. “What’s going on? What was that about?”

“Nothing—” Jake started, but Michael shook his head.

“They already know,” Michael said shortly. He rubbed his head. “Everyone seems to know. Except Willow.”

Elizabeth exhaled in a short breath as the implication hit her. “Wait, is that you meant by Scout saw—oh, my God—” she touched her lips.

“Yeah, and Drew convinced her that she’d be lying if she told anyone,” Jake said with some bitterness. “Real father of year shit. I’m sorry, Michael. But he doesn’t know I told you. Or that you guys know—” He stopped, looked at his dad. “Whoa, wait. Is that why you kicked the crap out of him? I figured it was over something stupid, but you know what? Good choice.”

“This is getting ridiculous,” Michael muttered. He dragged a hand through his hair. “I have to go. I have to be at home for dinner.” He headed for the door and Elizabeth took a step, but Jason was already going after him.

—

They’d called a truce at the penthouse — Danny and Scout were all that mattered, and Molly just wanted her sister’s kids to be okay, and she was grateful Danny wanted to stick around and be there for Scout. But she really should have realized that her mother would already be planning six or seven steps ahead.

Kristina was at the house when Alexis opened the door, ushering Scout and Danny in with their things. She’d been pacing in front of the fireplace, then stopped when she saw them. “I’ve been so worried!” She hugged Danny, then knelt to gather Scout into a crushing hug.

Deciding to bite her tongue, Molly set her purse and Scout’s bag on the floor by the door. “How did you already know?”

“I was at Charlie’s when Danny called Jason.” Kristina stroked Scout’s hair, then climbed to her feet, focusing on her sister. “He sounded pretty mad, so I thought Mom should be there.” She tipped her head. “And of course, as soon as I did, Michael called you.”

“I’m glad,” Danny said, and they both looked at him. His eyes were rimmed with red. “Dad was handling things, but Drew wasn’t listening. He didn’t agree to leave Scout until Molly was there.”

“I’m sure Jason handling things with his usual…patience,” Kristina said, almost sneering, but Danny was barely listening to her.

Sensing the tension rising in the room, Alexis put a hand on Danny’s shoulder. “Why don’t you take your sister upstairs, get settled for the night. We’ll talk about dinner later.”

Danny pressed his lips together. “If you’re going to talk about my dad, you need to do it with me here—”

“But not with Scout here,” Molly said and her nephew fell silent, looking down at his little sister. “Please, Danny.”

“Fine. But this isn’t over.”

When Molly was sure that they were out of earshot, she looked at her mother. “You’re not selling the penthouse—”

“Of course not. Not right away,” Alexis said, with some exasperation. “Drew sent over the proposal, and I was going to tell him we needed to wait. Which I’m sure you were going to do on Jason’s behalf. The kids aren’t nearly ready for that kind of decision.” She lifted a brow. “But I notice Jason didn’t fight very hard to keep Danny with him tonight.”

Molly scowled. “You’re really going to use this against him? Scout was so upset! Drew would never agree to let her go home with Jason. You were just a compromise—”

“But it proves that they need to be together,” Kristina said, coming to her mother’s side. “And you’re right. Drew and Jason would never agree to let the other have custody. So Mom is the only compromise. Mols, you have to see this is the best place for them—”

“The best place for them is with Sam,” Molly snapped, “but that’s not an option. I can’t believe you’re going to—” She fisted her hand at her side. “I convinced Jason to go home, to leave Danny with us because Scout needed him. And you’re just going to use it as evidence he doesn’t have what it takes, aren’t you?”

“He outsources the difficult conversations, clearly. Molly—”

“You can’t even see that today proves Jason is the right choice! He put what Danny needed first!”

“And what Danny needs is his sister,” Alexis cut in sharply. “I will keep them together, Molly. No matter who stands in my way.”

“No, that’s right. You and Kristina always know best.” Molly snatched up her purse. “You’ve made that very clear. I’ll see you in court.”

—

Jason reached Michael just as the younger man opened his car door. He looked at his uncle with unhappy eyes. “Don’t ask me what I’m going to do. I don’t know.”

“Michael—”

“I want to go home and push Drew off the nearest balcony,” Michael muttered. “But that wouldn’t help me or you.”

“I’m not worried about me.” Jason laid a hand on the top of the car, blocking Michael from getting in and leaving. “You can talk to me.”

“I know. I know.” Michael exhaled slowly. “The thing is I know what to do. Go home, confront Willow. To tell her that this isn’t a secret anymore, that it’s hurting people. That Drew is using it to hurt Scout. God, that disgusts me. Jake found her crying a few nights ago, and I’m such a coward, I haven’t done anything stop it.”

“Once you open that door, you can’t close it again. No one blames you for not rushing this—”

“I blame me.” Michael looked at him. “But if I confront Willow, and she asks for a divorce, I could find myself in your position. Fighting for custody of my kids. I don’t want that. I can’t stand putting my kids through even a moment of what I went through as a kid.” He stared blindly at the ground. “I could ignore it. Maybe Willow get over whatever this is, and we could go back to how things were.”

Jason remained silent, knowing it was something Michael needed to say outloud, even if it was just to hear how unrealistic that was.

Michael lifted his gaze to his uncle. “I won’t do anything without talking to you. Now that Drew knows what Scout said to Jake, we both need to be smart about this. He’s already threatened to help Alexis—”

“I don’t care about that—”

“I care,” Michael cut in sharply, then he stopped, took another breath. “He’s already hurt my family. I can’t fix that. But I can try to stop it from spreading. I will. I promise. I’ll find away to stop Drew from hurting anyone else.”

—

Molly slammed the apartment door, the sound reverberating through the small space. She jumped when TJ stepped out of the hallway that led to the kitchen, lifting his brow. “Everything okay?”

“You scared me.” She leaned against the door. “I thought you were working later.”

“Switched with Lucas—” TJ tipped his head, tossed the dishtowel in his hands aside. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Molly lifted her eyes to the ceiling. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Try at the beginning.” He gestured for her to join him on the sofa, and after a moment, she did. “What happened?” he asked again. He listed as Molly recounted the day — from the terrible scene at the penthouse with Jason, Elizabeth, and Drew to the fight at her mothers.

When she finished, and TJ said nothing, she furrowed her brow. “Don’t tell me you agree with my mother. Or my sister. You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“I’m always on your side,” he reminded her, stroking her shoulder. “But that means telling you what I think. Your mom’s not wrong, Mols. Danny and Scout should be together.”

Molly felt tears stinging her cheeks, looked away, trying to speak over the lump in her throat. “Maybe. But Drew isn’t going to agree without a fight, so if the kids can’t be together anyway, why shouldn’t Danny be with his dad?”

“Maybe Drew’s fighting because Jason is.” TJ caught her chin, lightly tugging until their eyes met. “The kids are who matter, Mols. You know that.”

“I can’t stop Drew from fighting. I can’t—” Molly sucked in a breath. “I can’t make any of it stop. I know I’m doing the right thing, I know what Mom wants to do to Jason is wrong, but God—” She pressed her hands to her face. “Danny and Scout need each other. Why did Sam have to die?”

TJ pulled her into his arms, rocking her as she started to cry.

——

Jason returned to the living room to see Elizabeth handing Jake a set of keys. “Going back out?” he asked, closing the door.

“Yeah, a couple of friends are getting together to see a movie.” Jake slid the keys in his pocket. “Michael okay?”

“Yeah. He’ll be fine. Listen, about today—what you said to Drew—”

Jake stopped at the door, a slight grimace on his face. “I shouldn’t have said anything to him about Scout—”

“You did what you had to do to keep the situation from getting worse,” Jason told him. “But if Drew comes near you, if he tries to talk to you, avoid him.”

“I can’t make a promise I won’t keep.” Jake paused. “But yeah, I’ll do what I can.”

When he’d left, Elizabeth sighed, rubbed her arms. “I can’t decide if going to the penthouse was a good idea. Maybe we should have waited for Molly and Alexis.”

“Maybe.” Jason looked at her. “I’m sorry you’re getting dragged into this.” He hesitated. “Or that it won’t be ending any time soon. I know Alexis is already planning depositions, and Molly said the hearing tomorrow is going to order Danny and Scout be questioned.”

“I got my notice last week.” Elizabeth lifted her chin. “I’m ready to testify. I already called Laura’s brother, Martin, and he’ll represent me at the deposition whenever it is. We’re going to find a way to make this okay, Jason. I promise.

+34

Written in 56 minutes.

Already having second thoughts about driving over to Harborview Towers, Elizabeth entered the lobby with a slight hesitation in her step. She had no idea how security had changed since Jason had last lived there. She was vaguely aware that Sonny had moved back into his own penthouse. Would he have updated the security list for the top floor?

She headed for the security desk, then noticed the elevators down to the parking garage sliding open and Jason stepping out. He spied her almost immediately, furrowing his brow. They met in the middle of the lobby.

“What are you doing here?” he wanted to know.

“Jake sent me a text,” Elizabeth said, following him over to the residential elevators. “It was vague, just a 911 text and said to come as soon as possible—did he call you?”

“No, Danny did.” Jason’s mouth was pinched as he jabbed at the elevator button. “Drew said he’s selling the penthouse. Scout apparently ran upstairs, locked herself in her room, and Danny called me.”

They stepped on to the elevator and Jason punched in the access code for the top floor. She watched the numbers climb as the elevator rose. “I imagine that’s why Jake called me. Maybe he was worried what you might do.” She flicked a glance at him. “It’s not really a mystery where Drew’s bruises came from.”

“I’m not going to punch him again,” Jason muttered. “Not in front of the kids.”

“No, of course not, but Jason—” She touched his arm. “Let me be the one to fly off the handle if we have to, okay? You be all calm, cool, and logical. The you used to be with Taggert.”

“Yeah, Taggert was a cop. Can’t punch a cop every time they piss you off.”

“And Drew’s an elected member of Congress. Can’t punch him whenever you want either. No matter how much he deserves it,” Elizabeth added.

The doors opened, and Jason headed around the corner, leaving Elizabeth barely enough time to catch up with his longer strides. He shoved the door open to find a red-faced Danny glaring at Drew, his hands fisted at his side.  Jake was standing at the base of the stairs, Drew just a step below him.

“Dad, good. You’re here.” Danny scowled, jabbed a finger at Drew. “Tell him he can’t sell the penthouse.”

“He can’t, not on his own,” Jason said, stepping between Drew and Danny. “Which is what Molly told you when we filed an injunction.”

“And Alexis and I are handling that.” Drew looked to Elizabeth and lifted his brow. “Why am I not surprised to see you trotting after him?”

Elizabeth ignored the obvious bait, looked to Jake. “Where’s Scout? Is she okay?”

“My daughter is just fine, and if your son would let me go upstairs—” Drew shot Jake a dirty look, and to Elizabeth’s relief, Jake just rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, now that you’re pissed at me, I’m her son, but five minutes ago, you were all, we used to be a family—” Jake shook his head, pulled out his phone, made a show of scrolling through it as if he were bored. “You got that politician bullshit down.” He lifted his gaze to his mother. “She’s upstairs, locked in her room. You know, the one she hasn’t been in since her mother died,” he said to Drew with a sneer. “In case you forgot why we were here.”

Drew scowled. “You have no right to bar me from my own daughter, and the only reason I haven’t pushed you out of the way is because of our past relationship—”

“Emphasis on past, right? And don’t try to lie. You know if you put a hand on me, my mother will kill you, and my dad will hide the body.”

“Is that a threat?” Drew demanded. Before Jake could say something else, Jason stepped quickly between them, climbing two steps to do so.

“Back up. Now,” Jason said, and Drew must have recognized the tone or the murderous glint in his brother’s eyes because he obeyed. Jason pushed Jake gently to one side, looked at Elizabeth. “Take the boys, go upstairs and check on Scout.”

“Gladly,” Elizabeth said, ushering Danny in front of her to use the small pathway Jason had created.

Jake looked like he wanted to argue, but then made a face and followed after his mother, tossing another glare at Drew just before he went around the corner of the landing.

When they were gone, Jason climbed another step to put a bit of space between them. “You know you can’t legally sell this place without my signature on the papers. Why would you tell the kids anything else?”

“Because Alexis and I will outvote you. We may not agree on custody of my daughter,” Drew said backing down a few steps of his own until he was back on the floor. He folded his arms. “But we both agree that there’s no point in leaving this penthouse empty. Scout’s moving to DC with me, and Danny will have all the room he needs at her place—”

“And I can tie you up in court until Danny is eighteen and old enough to make his own decisions,” Jason interrupted. “What the hell is wrong with you? They just lost their mother. They haven’t even been back here, and you’re talking about selling the place?”

“It’s called being a realist. Sam is dead. This place is gathering dust. Alexis agrees with me—” Drew broke off. “I don’t know why the hell I’m explaining myself to you. I’ll deal with you in court. I’m getting my daughter, and we’re leaving.” He waited, but Jason didn’t move. “Get out of my way or I’m calling the police.”

Jason didn’t want let him past, but knew he didn’t have a reason to hold him anymore. He reluctantly stepped aside, but as soon as Drew was out of sight, he pulled out his phone to call his lawyer.

—

Once they’d gone upstairs, Danny directed them to the room at the end of the hall. Elizabeth reached it first, lightly tapping. “Scout? It’s Jake’s mom, Elizabeth. I’m out here with Danny. Can we come in?”

There wasn’t a sound at first, and Elizabeth looked at Danny. “Can you—”

Danny knocked a bit more roughly. “Scout? Let me in, okay? Or I’ll tell Elizabeth where to find the key—”

They heard the click of the tumblers, then a little sliver of light when the door cracked open. “D-Danny?”

“Hey, kiddo.” Danny pushed it all the way open, and Scout moved backwards, crawling back on her bed, clutching a large teddy bear and a black sweater tightly in her arms, her big brown eyes looking miserable, her cheeks tear-stained.

“Hey, honey.” Elizabeth sat next to her on the bed. “I’m sorry this is so hard.” She touched the sweater. “Is this something special you left here?”

“It was Mommy’s.” Scout held it more tightly. “It smells like her.” Her face crumpled and she started to cry again. Elizabeth slid closer, and Scout didn’t make a protest when Elizabeth gathered her in her arms, the little girl’s sobs only growing louder.

“I should have punched him,” Danny muttered pacing the room angrily. “Dad can’t let him take Scout!”

“He won’t have a choice,” Jake told him. When Danny just shook his head, Jake grabbed his arm to keep him one place. “Hey. I don’t like it, but Dad can’t do anything. Scout’s his niece, not his daughter. And Drew hasn’t done anything but be a massive asshole. It’s not illegal.”

“But—” Danny started. “He—” He looked at at his sister. “He doesn’t even care that Mom is gone.”

“I don’t—” Jake grimaced. “I don’t know if that’s true, but—” They heard the thudding footsteps too late. By the time Jake got to the door to close it, Drew was already coming through it.

“Scout, we’re leaving. Now. We’ll come back for your things later.”

Scout burrowed into Elizabeth’s side, hiding her face, crying harder. Elizabeth stroked her hair, then glared at Drew. “Can’t you just give her some time to calm down? What is wrong with you?”

“I don’t think you have any right to ask me that question.” Drew came forward, and for a horrible minute, Elizabeth thought he was going to rip Scout of her arms, but he seemed to stop short. “Let her go.”

“I’m not letting her go like this. Just give me a minute to calm her down, okay? She’s devastated—”

“She’s not your daughter, damn it, and you don’t have a right to keep her from me.” Drew reached for Scout’s arm, started to pull. Reacting without thought, Elizabeth slapped at his hand.

“Don’t touch her!”

“Let her go—” Drew switched to Elizabeth’s arm, yanked her arm and she fell off the bed.

“Hey, don’t touch her!” Jake came forward, but Elizabeth was already on her feet, shoving at Drew to force him away from her. And maybe in another minute, the situation would have calmed down—Drew might have taken a breath and thought before he moved again.

But Jason was in the doorway just as Elizabeth was pushing Drew away, trying to get him to let her of her arm, and then Drew was gone, shoved up against the wall, with Jason’s first wrapped around his throat.

Elizabeth gestured frantically at Danny who moved like lightning to scoop up his sister and get her out of the room before Scout could really understand what was going on. Drew’s eyes bulged when he saw Scout being moved from the room, still crying.

“Let him go, Jason. Please. It was—” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “It was all just a mistake, okay? Drew, right?” She looked at him, the man she’d known so well once. The man she’d thought she knew. “We’re okay. The kids are okay.”

“He was threatening Jake, putting his hands on you, trying to drag his own kid out of the room-” Jason forced himself to lower his hand, let Drew’s feet hit the floor, his brother shoved him hard. Not expecting it, Jason fell back a few feet and might gone for the other man again if Elizabeth hadn’t flew between.

“Stop it. Stop it,” she hissed at Drew, who finally seemed to realize the situation was out of control. “Jason didn’t put a hand on you until you were threatening a woman and your own daughter, so don’t you dare think you can use this against him.”

Drew rubbed his throat, glaring malevolently at them. “Still defending him, huh? A violent thug who only knows how to hurt people—when I tell the cops about this—”

“It’ll be your word against everyone else’s,” Jake said, and all three of them looked over, almost as if they hadn’t realized he’d remained behind. “And the only person who might take your side, Drew, is Scout.” He tipped his head. “And you know, a little kid like that? She gets confused about what she sees right? Isn’t that you told her?”

Drew’s hands went to his side, and his face changed. Seemed to lose its colors. Elizabeth looked back to her son before looking at Jason, who seemed mystified.

“What are you talking about?” Drew said carefully.

“I’m talking about how little girls don’t always know what the truth is, right? And they need to be really careful what they say and to who. Because people will be mad if she lies.” Jake’s tone was almost careless, but his eyes were cold, his entire body taught with tension. “It’s a really shitty thing to do to your own kid, make them think no matter what they say, they won’t be believed.”

“Jake—”

“You’re going to walk out of here right now. You’re going to leave Scout here. My parents will calm her down, and we’ll take her home or to her grandmother’s. But you’re going. Right now. Or I’ll keep talking.”

Drew fisted his hand, then released it slowly. “You don’t know what you’re doing right now—”

“You heard him,” Jason said, stepping in front of Jake. “I’ve already called Molly. I told her to contact Alexis. They’ll be here any minute—” He paused, and they all heard it at the same time — the rush of voices, the sound of Scout crying, Alexis’s panicked voice. Then footsteps on the stairs.

“This isn’t over,” Drew said. “This—” He stopped when Molly appeared in the doorway, slightly flushed.

“We came as soon as we could. Is—” Molly looked from Drew and his flushed face to Jason and Elizabeth standing by the closet, her gaze honing in on the red mark left on Elizabeth’s arm from her brief tussle with Drew. “Is everything okay?”

“Where’s my daughter?” Drew asked, looking from Jake to Molly. “I’m taking her home now—”

“She’s upset, Drew. Let her stay here with Alexis a little longer,” Elizabeth said, and Drew looked at her. “With her mother’s things. There’s no harm in that. Jason and I—we’ll take the boys and leave. Or maybe Danny will want to stay here. The kids are what matters. Okay?” She touched Jason’s arm. “Right? We’ll all leave if Drew will give Scout and Danny the time they need here.”

“Yeah.” Jason cleared his throat. “We’ll go.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Molly told Drew. “You know Scout will be in great hands with my mom, and we—” Her eyes swept over the room, and it seemed to change the air a little. “It’s hard, Drew. Being here. For me, and I’m an adult. Sam and I painted this room when we found out she was pregnant again. She wanted a little girl so much, and now—” Molly picked up a picture from the night stand, of Sam and Molly at the beginning of the school year. “Let her have some time here. We’ll take bring her home tomorrow.”

Drew closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. I’m not a monster,” he muttered. He dragged a hand through his hair, then left the room. When he was gone, Molly looked at the trio, then carefully set the picture back on the night stand.

“I think you’d better tell me what happened. And don’t leave anything out.”

+36

Written in 68 minutes. Sorry, me and my keyboard are having a fight right now, lol. Took longer than I wanted.

Jake swirled the spoon in his bowl of cerea, watching with some interest as Aiden packed up some baking materials in his bag. “Just what do you and Tobias do all day? Make cookies?”

Aiden smirked, and started to answer just as his mother swept into the kitchen, which made him close his mouth. “Hey, Mom.”

“Hey, honey.” Elizabeth kissed his cheek, then looked at Jake. “I know what Aiden’s doing today, but, ah, are you…” She touched her neck, always a clear sign she was a little uncomfortable. “Are you packing? Or maybe, um, you never unpacked?”

Jake made a face, shifted his seat. “I didn’t, no, but I have to go find my winter stuff. Winter in Barcelona isn’t the same as winter here, you know?” He tipped his head. “You know, Dad found a place like a block away, Mom. I’m not going far.”

“I know.” Elizabeth wiggled her shoulders a little, as if shaking off whatever she was feeling. “I know. And I’m in favor of this, you know that. I think this will be good for you and your dad. And for Danny. But it will be strange to have you in Port Charles and not at home. Not at my house,” she corrected.

“Yeah, but I’ll get the run of the house back,” Aiden said with a grin, and Jake flicked a Cheerio from his spoon at his brother.

“Well, I’m having lunch with your grandmother—Laura—” Elizabeth added, stirring sugar into her coffee. “You’re welcome to tag along.”

Jake shook his head. It was a relief to have an actual reason to continue to avoiding his grandmother. “Danny told me that Drew’s taking Scout over to Harborview today to get a few things. He decided to tag along, and I invited myself.” He dumped the remains of his bowl in the sink, switched on the faucet. “He’s worried about her, and I’m worried about him. It’s first time since…”

“Ah.” Elizabeth rubbed his back, between the shoulders for a minute. “Well, that’s good. Call me if you’re out too late, and we’ll think of something for dinner. Maybe Eli’s.”

“I never turn down ribs.”

—

Jason swept his gaze across the other side of Charlie’s Pub, scanning the bar for any sign of Kristina. Judging from the way Molly spoke about her sister, Jason knew she was on Alexis’s side in the custody fight, and the last thing he wanted to deal with today was someone else weighing in on his fitness as a parent.

Satisfied that Kristina was nowhere to be found, he sat across from Michael and picked up the menu, skimming it.

“You all set to move into your place this week?” Michael asked, idly flipping through the bar menu.

“Yeah, signing the lease on Monday. Jake’s coming later this week, and Danny not until after the holidays.” He didn’t mention why Danny was delaying the move — Michael already knew, and Jason had no interest in bringing Drew up as a topic of conversation.

But then Michael made a face, and set the menu down. “Yeah. I know. Drew’s big move to Washington. Can’t happen fast enough.” He rubbed his face. “I guess he feels pretty confident about the custody situation if he’s already making plans to take Scout there. Willow—” He took a deep breath. “She told me he’s been asking her about private schools in the area.”

Jason wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that comment. Drew’s custody situation was different, and he wasn’t really interested in it beyond how it affected Danny and Jake. But he didn’t like the idea that Drew was still interacting with Michael’s wife.

“I can practically see the thought bubble above your head,” Michael muttered, picking up his water glass and taking a long drink. “Why are you letting your wife anywhere near him? Why aren’t you handling this?”

“That’s not what I was thinking—”

“Well, I was.” Michael set his glass down with a thud on the wooden table. “It’s not like it’s a secret. My entire family knows they fooled around over the summer. You know about Halloween. Elizabeth saw them together at the hospital, and—” he dipped his head. “Scout. She saw them somewhere. Jake told me on Thanksgiving.”

Jason hesitated. “Jake?”

“Don’t—” Michael shook his head. “Don’t say anything to him. Scout made him promise not to tell anyone, but Jake did enough hinting that I figured it out. He told her to not to tell anyone, Jase. That she didn’t see what she saw, and that even if she did—she was just confused. What kind of man does that? Lies to his own kid? Messes her up so bad that Jake finds her crying? And he’s just gonna drag her away from everything and everyone he knows—” Michael broke off, shook his head. “I know what I should do. I know what I should have already done, but I just…”

“It’s not easy,” Jason said, and Michael scoffed. “It’s not. It’s not just you and Willow. It’s a family.”

“I just keep—” Michael picked up a napkin, began to rip it into small pieces. “I keep thinking about the first time I really remember going to court. When they broke up after Morgan was born, remember? They were arguing all the time, and they kept threatening to take me away. Dad would stop Mom from coming into the penthouse, and she’d get us back, and keep him away—I hated it. I guess I’m glad Morgan was too young to remember—”  He looked at his uncle. “I remember telling the judge I wanted to live with you. And Aunt Courtney. You guys were getting a divorce, too, but it was better at your place. Then they got back together for a while, but it was even worse then. I don’t want that for my kids.”

“I know. You don’t have to explain it to me—”

“I have to explain it to myself,” Michael muttered. “I wake up every morning in a bed with the woman I promised to love, the one who promised to love me, and man, I know I’m not perfect. I know I slept with Sasha after I found out about the kisses—” He sat back. “I have to end it. Before it’s Wiley or Amelia who sees them together next.” Michael looked at Jason. “I’m calling Diane after Christmas. I just…I want more holiday. One more for them. Do you think that’s stupid?”

Jason shook his head. “No. I’m not really into the holidays, but I know they’re important to kids. Especially at Wiley’s age. There’s nothing wrong with waiting, Michael.”

“Yeah, I guess—” Michael looked past Jason, through the window behind his uncle, and winced. “Listen, I promise I made sure that she wasn’t supposed to be here today, but—”

“What?” Jason began, but the door opened behind them, and he saw Kristina in the entrance. Sonny’s daughter saw the two of them, narrowed her eyes, and headed straight for them.

——

Jake had once been a regular visitor at Harborview Towers, considering it a second home. First when Drew had been living Jason’s life, before the twisted memory experiments had been revealed, and then later, after his dad had moved back into the penthouse. Before his breakup with Danny’s mother. And Jake always been there to visit Danny in the years since.

It was strange now, to wait for his brother in the lobby, flicking through his social media, and realize that he’d probably never come back here. His dad hadn’t even considered coming back here — Sam had continued living in the penthouse after all, and it wasn’t really Jason’s home anymore. But with Danny’s mom gone — the penthouse remained empty. No one lived there now, and Jake couldn’t imagine Danny or his sister ever wanting to come back permanently.

The circular glass doors in the lobby began to move, and Jake spied Danny and Scout followed by Drew making their way in. Drew hesitated, his mouth pinching when he saw Jake waiting for them.

“Jake. I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Sorry to intrude,” Jake said, shoving his phone in his pocket. “I just wanted to be here if Danny or Scout needed anything. Or help them.”

“I asked him,” Danny told his uncle. “I didn’t think you’d care.”

“I don’t,” Drew said with an obvious forced smile. “Let’s get this over with.”

Scout looked around the lobby, her brown eyes already glimmering with tears. What was it like for her, Jake wondered, to return for the first time in almost a month — to know this wasn’t home anymore?

“Scout?” Drew said, turning back when he realized his daughter hadn’t begun to move towards he elevators. “I told you. I can get someone to do this for you—”

“No, I wanna—I wanna go.” She slid her hand in her brother’s. “I want to get my dolls.”

Drew gestured for them to go in front. “After you princess.”  He shot Jake an irritated look, then followed them.

Jake plucked his phone out of his pocket, his fingers hovering over his dad’s contact info, then sighed, and put it back. What was the worst that could happen?

—

Almost from the moment Elizabeth sat across from Laura at the Metrocourt Hotel Restaurant, she wished she’d turn down this invitation.

“I’ve tried everything,” her former mother-in-law said with a sigh. “But he’s determined to go.” Laura leaned forward. “I was hoping that you could do something. Say something—”

Elizabeth reached for her iced tea, wishing it was something much stronger. “Laura, I’m not  getting into this with him again. He decided a decade ago that he wanted to spend his time running around other countries helping anyone he wasn’t related to. Lucky came home to help Lulu. He’s done that now. Or at least he’s waited long enough for her recover. What he does now is up to him.”

“How can you say that? You have a son together—”

“One that Lucky hasn’t been around to raise, Laura. At least Luke can say he was sort of involved with Lulu at the beginning and end of her childhood. Lucky hasn’t been a father to Aiden in any way that matters since he was almost five, and you know that.” Elizabeth sighed. “I’m sympathetic, I am. And I know it’s been a hard year, with losing Spencer and seeing Nikolas…” She winced when Laura fell silent. “I’m sorry, I am. But the benefit of not being Lucky’s wife anymore means this isn’t my problem. I’ve raised Aiden without him, and I don’t need him to finish the job.”

“I just don’t understand. I know Luke and I raised him like crazy nomads, but we tried to instill the importance of family.” Laura just shook her head again. “He was such a good father.”

How would you know, you were unconscious for most of it— But Elizabeth swallowed the petty retort. “Another benefit of divorce, Laura, is that he’s not my mystery to solve. I wish you luck, I do, but if he wants to leave Port Charles, I can’t—I won’t stop him. My son deserves a father who’s here. Who wants to be here, and doesn’t need to be shamed into staying.”

—

The last time he’d left the penthouse where he’d lived all his life, his mother had been alive. If he walked in there now, if he went inside, and saw all the pieces of his mother he’d been protected from seeing—

Danny stopped at the doorway, swallowing hard, his throat burning. “Maybe I could come back later. I—I’m not leaving the Quartermaines for weeks.” He looked at Drew. “We don’t have to do this now, do we?”

Drew turned the key in the lock and shoved the door open. “You and Jake can wait in the lobby. And Scout, if you don’t want to do this, that’s fine. I’ll pack things for you. But we’re already here—”

Scout’s small sob stopped him, and suddenly the little girl ran past them both into the living room. Draped over the arm of the sofa was a black cardigan sweater. Scout scooped it up and buried her face in it. “Mommy.” She raised her eyes, looked at her brother. “It’s Mommy’s. I can smell her perfume.”

Danny went to his sister, kneeling down and reaching for the sweater. How many times had his mother pulled this on last year? It was old and worn in some places, the threads at the cuff fraying. The kind of thing you only wore at home where no one but people you loved would see you.

His vision blurred as tears slid down his cheeks. He pulled his sister close to him, kissed her cheek. It was like all of this hadn’t happened, like she might come down the steps any minute and pluck the sweater from their arms, smiling at them. Asking them what movie they wanted to watch, or if they had homework—

Danny looked up, almost expecting to see her in the landing of the stairwell. But there was nothing. No sound, no life. Nothing in the entire penthouse.

The coffee table beside them had been untouched — a thin layer of dust over the wood. He swallowed hard. Because no one had been living here since Halloween. Since his mother had died.

At the door, Drew made another face. “I knew this was a bad idea,” he muttered. He snagged his phone from his pocket, began to scroll through his contacts. “Should have just left the whole thing for the professionals.”

“What’s your damage, dude? You leave your heart in Pentonville?” Jake demanded, and Drew snapped his head up.

“What did you say to me?” Drew straightened.

“I said you could cut them some slack. They lost their mom and this was their home their entire life. You used to love Sam, too, you know. Or maybe they beat it out of you when you got kidnapped. Whatever happened to you,” Jake muttered, looking ahead to his brother and Scout. “I don’t even recognize you anymore.”

“I’m sorry that I didn’t run my plans past a teenager who’s opinion doesn’t matter,”‘ Drew said coolly. He turned his attention to Danny and Scout. “Look, if you don’t want to do this, I told you. We can wait. They’ll be packing this place up in a few weeks anyway.”

Danny climbed to his feet, scowling. “What does that mean?” he demanded. “Who is they?”

“The movers. We have to clear out the personal effects,” Drew said. “Look, I’ll make sure all your things get boxed up. We won’t throw anything away. Or your mother’s—”

“No, you won’t because you’re not touching anything,” Danny shot back.

Scout shook her head. “I don’t understand. Danny?” She tugged on his shirt. “What’s going on?”

“What’s the rush?” Jake started but Drew walked past him, cutting him out of the conversation. He grimaced, pulled out his phone.

“I thought your grandmother would have said something. Or your father. He got the same papers I did. You can’t just let this place sit here,” Drew said. “It’s worth millions of dollars. That money will do much better in your trust fund than going to waste—”

“You’re not touching anything!” Danny shot back. “This is my mother’s penthouse! You can’t—”

“Your mother isn’t here anymore,” Drew cut in and Danny closed his mouth, stunned. “I’m sorry for that, God knows I wouldn’t want it this way. No one did. But your mother is gone. She’s not coming back, and there’s no point in all of us living like this—”

Scout shoved him hard, then took off running towards the stairs. Drew hissed, then headed after her— but a few seconds later, they heard a door slam shut, then angry knocking. “Emily Scout! Open this door right now!”

Danny scowled. “I’m calling Dad. He’ll stop this.”

Or get arrested kicking the shit out of Drew again, Jake thought, but he had his own phone out. Because if Danny was calling in reinforcements, they were going to need a mediator.

He flipped open a new text message.

hey mom 911…

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