Written in 48 minutes. I knew if I started another scene, I wouldn’t finish it, so this was a good spot to leave it. Plus it was all the scenes I’d hoped to get to in this part, so —

See you sometime this week — maybe Tues/Wed for another update.

Carly stood there with that smirk on her face, a smirk she’d directed in his direction for more than two decades — the smirk that said she already knew how this conversation would end — that the choice she’d presented was nothing more than a lie. She’d given him no choice, and he’d have to tell her something if only to make her go away.

It was a routine they had repeated so often that he nearly fell into it again without thinking, a habit he wore like a second skin, and he’d already opened his mouth to reluctantly give her a morsel of truth when he caught himself.

What he just told Elizabeth that day? That he was going to stop reacting, stop sitting back, stop doing and saying enough not to make waves—

Jason shook his head, then walked away from her, heading for the stairs to the second floor. She must have been more surprised than he’d expected, because he didn’t hear the clatter of footsteps following him until he was nearly at his room.

“Jason Morgan! We were in the middle of a conversation—oof—” The door nearly hit her in the face when she tried to follow him into his room. She slapped a hand against the door. “Hey! Watch it!”

“You were in the middle of the conversation,” Jason said, still gripping the door knob. “I wasn’t.”

“What has gotten into you?” she demanded. She folded her arms, huffed. “First, you go after Drew for whatever insane reason, and now you’re stomping around, yelling at Sonny, walking away from me—I don’t understand what’s going on!”

“None of it concerns you,” Jason said. “So if you really want to know, go find Sonny. I don’t have time to talk to you.” He wanted to call Molly, check on her since he knew her notice of representation had been filed this morning, he wanted to think about how to present all of this to Jake and Danny —

He did not want to explain any of it to Carly.

“See! See, that’s how I know something is wrong!” She jabbed a finger in his direction. “You always make time for me—”

“No, you always take time,” Jason interrupted, and her lips parted in surprise. “There’s a difference, Carly. I don’t—”

“Okay, let’s try this another way. You’re supposed to be my best friend. I’m supposed to be yours. You just had a horrible argument with your other best friend—the man you love like family, and I’m not supposed to be worried?”

He grimaced, exhaled in a huff. And this is why she’d always won every confrontation between them. She just talked him into circles until he felt vaguely guilty for having not said anything in the first place. Until he was too tired to keep fighting.

“You really want to know why I’m angry at Sonny?” Jason said. “Fine. He told Jake that Elizabeth lied to me about his paternity.”

“He—” Carly actually fell back a step. “He what? Why? That is absolutely insane! Why would he do that? Why would he bring that—” She furrowed her brow. “No. There has to be more. It’s not even a secret that the whole world thought Lucky was his father—”

“This is why I didn’t want to have this conversation in the first place. I told you what the problem is—”

“I have no doubt that Sonny did this. And I can even imagine he wasn’t that delicate about it. But for you to cut him off—” Carly pursed her lips. “I don’t understand why he did it. Where? When? Why?”

“None of that matters—”

“Oh, I am sure that the delivery of the information has to have something to do with it.” Carly lifted her brows. “Like I said, I’ll go ask Sonny, and you know I’ll drag it out of him. You really want me to hear his side?”

“You don’t care what I want. You never have,” Jason snapped and she blinked. “I told you I don’t want to talk about this, but you don’t care about that, do you? You think you know what’s best for me. That’s what Sonny thought, too. That’s why he went over to start a fight with Elizabeth, and instead of shutting his mouth when the boys came in, he deliberately told Jake half-truths about what happened so he’d hurt Elizabeth. He didn’t care about my son, didn’t care what that information might to do with him. As long as he got the last word.”

Carly pressed her lips together, some of the righteous indignation fading from her eyes. “That…that is disappointing,” she said finally. “Especially given that he knows what Michael went through when AJ came home. How hard it was for Michael to know things about…before. I…it’s hard for me to believe that he’d do that to Jake—I believe you, I mean,” she added hastily. “I just—”

“I never would have done that to him. No matter how angry he ever made me. Or you. The kids were off limits.”

“No, you loved our kids like your own.” Carly exhaled a slow breath. “And he and I haven’t been as loyal to you. You don’t have to tell me that, Jason. I’m sorry. I’m sorry he did that. How’s Jake?”

“Angry. Hurt. Confused.” Jason dragged a hand through his hair, a bit rattled that she’d so easily capitulated. That she’d seen his point of view—or agreed with him. “He’s been struggling with what I did, the last thing he needed was to have doubts and anger towards his mother.”

Her lips twisted. “I’m sure Elizabeth is properly devastated.”

Just when he thought Carly had turned a corner— “And what does that mean?” he asked, his shoulders tensing.

She wrinkled her nose. “Nothing. Just that Elizabeth plays the martyr better than anyone I know.”

“And that’s where this conversation ends—” Jason stepped back, reaching for the door. “You never let me down, Carly—”

“Oh, don’t take it that way. Elizabeth and I are at peace, okay? I’m sorry Jake got hurt, but maybe it’s time he remembers that people are human. If he can forgive Elizabeth, he’ll forgive you, too. And Elizabeth is hurt, well, good. She should have thought of that before she lied to you.”

—

Jake heard the words leaving his mouth, but it was like they belonged to someone else. Like this entire conversation was happening between two other people —

“Maybe everyone should just take a deep breath,” Aiden said, stepping between the two of them. “We’re all upset. I don’t even know why anymore. Okay? Nothing—” he swallowed, looked at his mother. “Whatever happened back then, maybe I’m curious. Maybe I wanna know, and I won’t apologize for it. And you shouldn’t either,” he said to his brother.

“I—” Jake started.

“But you gotta knock this off, man,” Aiden continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “Mom’s still Mom. She’s been here every single day I can remember. When I was sick or upset, or whatever, she was there. My dad never wanted to be.”

“Aiden—”

“Mom—” Aiden shook his head lightly. “Don’t defend him. Just don’t. He doesn’t love me the way you love me. He chose not to be here. Chose it. Over and over again. He didn’t come home when you needed him. When I needed him. Ever. I guess maybe I wanted to know why. Why he doesn’t love us.” He was quiet for a minute, his throat working hard as he swallowed, then looked back at Jake. “Your dad loves you. He came here the second he could, remember? Got released from jail, and came right here.  Dad was in town for days before I saw him. But whatever, you get to be pissed at him. But not at Mom. Not like this. You’re better than this, dude.”

“That doesn’t make—” Jake exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry,” he said in a dull voice. He stared down at the carpet, the shame roiling through him like red hot lava. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “I can’t make it stop.”

“There are no magic words to make what happened right,” his mother said. Her voice sounded thick, like she was on the verge of tears and Jake just knew he couldn’t look at her, couldn’t see that he’d made her cry.

Just like everyone else.

“I made a terrible, awful mistake and what’s worse, I made it over and over again. For a long time. I had reasons, and they felt right at the time, but they never were. None of it was right, Jake. I can’t understand why your father forgave me, I’m only grateful that he did. But I understand if you need time to get there. Or to get somewhere close to it.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’m going—I need—” His voice crackled, and Jake turned, walked quickly to the stairs, charging up them before he’d found the words to fix what he’d broken.

When his door slammed upstairs, Elizabeth pressed the heel of her hands to her face. “Aiden—”

“You don’t have to tell me anything about when I was born. You don’t. Not if it makes you upset. Or makes you cry. It’s not important—”

The tears did spill then. Her sweet baby, made of sugar and light. He’d always tried to make everyone happy. “I just—it’s too big to talk about. Not like this. Your father and I need to talk. I will—” She lowered her hands, took a deep breath. “I will fix this. I will. But for right now, can we let it go?”

“Sure.” He smiled at her, shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m gonna go upstairs and play some video games. Call me when we’re talking dinner, okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

When his door had closed as well, Elizabeth reached for the phone.

—

“Elizabeth didn’t start the lie, did she, Carly?” Jason retorted, and his irritation only escalated when she rolled her eyes. “Who told me Jake wasn’t my son first?”

“Oh my God, are you still blaming me? Man, you say I don’t clean up my own messes, but you’re not much better, are you?” Carly planted her hands on hips. “You need to blame me for the mess she started and you let happened, whatever, Jase. But it doesn’t matter what I said. She still kept her mouth shut for months, and then when you did know the truth, you let her guilt you into keeping it. Or you didn’t want her enough to make a life with her, I don’t know. Pick whatever truth keeps you warm at night. But I didn’t give your son to another man, did I?”

Jason opened his mouth to snap back, then closed it when he had nothing to say. He knew she was wrong, knew that she was doing what she always did — turning him in circles until he agreed with her. But she’d stumped him for the moment.

Because maybe Sonny and Carly had guilted Elizabeth into thinking the baby would make Jason’s life difficult — but Carly wasn’t wrong. Elizabeth had been the one who’d crumpled under that weight, and he hadn’t been paying enough attention to see she was drowning until it was too late to do anything about it.

Fortunately, the vibrating of his phone saved him from having to say anything. He jerked it from his pockets, not even checking the notification. “Yeah?”

“Hey. It’s me. Can you come?”

—

Maxie opened the door, scowled and immediately slammed it.

Lucky sighed, then knocked again. “Maxie, come on—I know Aiden was here earlier—”

She jerked the door open three inches, with only her face visible. “What the hell is going on? Why was he here? Why is he asking questions?”

“Because Jason Morgan has a big mouth,” he muttered, and her eyes widened. “We need to talk—”

“No! No! I made a mistake, okay? Like three times, I made that mistake, and I was nineteen years old, Lucky! I grew up! I have a right for all of that to be in the past! I did nothing wrong! You were the one who was married!”

“We made that mistake more than three times, Maxie. And let’s not pretend I seduced a virgin,” he retorted. Her face was red. “You and I can come up with a story, or you can shove your head in the sand. Make your choice—”

“No! You tell your nosy kid to stop asking me questions and come up with your own story! This has nothing to do with me!” She slammed the door.

—

Elizabeth was waiting outside in the driveway when Jason pulled the SUV to a stop, her arms wrapped around herself, the fading twilight casting her expression into shadows.

“What happened? What’s wrong?” he asked, hurrying up to her. “I meant to call you, to tell you what happened at the diner—”

“Oh. Something—” Elizabeth nodded. “Well, whatever it is, it explains the mood Jake came home in. You can catch me up on that, but I—I think if you want to talk to Jake about living with you, about Danny too, now is your best chance. He’s upset at me, but also mad at himself for…it’s not important.”

It was, but Jason would come back to that. “Are you sure?”

“I don’t think there will be a better time.”

+30

Written in 67 minutes, sorry, I got hung up on the ending.

This was a terrible idea.

And she knew it, even as Willow let herself sink into Drew’s embrace for just a moment, losing herself in the thrill that rippled beneath her skin, at the memory of their night together—

But then her hand snagged on something as her fingers slid towards the buttons on his shirt—her ring.

Her wedding ring.

Willow flattened that same hand against Drew’s chest and shoved. Hard. “What are you thinking?” she hissed, wiping the her mouth with the back of her hand as if that would erase what she’d done —  “Don’t touch me—”

“Willow—” Drew raised his hands but Willow didn’t stop to see what he might try to do with them next. She fumbled behind her for the door knob, found it, and fled, almost tripping in her haste to rush towards the stairs, towards home, towards freedom.

Drew watched Willow go with a grimace, then dragged a hand through his hair. It was probably for the best, he thought. The last thing he needed was a scandal as he began his political career — though an extramarital affair was hardly the killer it had been even a decade ago. It probably wouldn’t even make the headlines in Washington.

But the effects would ripple out in other, closer ways, and Drew was just going to have to live with the terrible timing of it all.

He turned away from the door, then froze when he realized — for the first time — he and Willow hadn’t been alone in the nursery.

His daughter was curled up on the window seat, her dark eyes wide, her little mouth pinched, looking strikingly like her mother right before Sam would go in for a kill shot.

Shit.

—

Jason watched Lucky’s car peel out of the lot, wondering if he’d talked some sense into the other man or if the Lucky would continue to fall into terrible habits. When he’d first found Lucky in Africa, Jason had thought Elizabeth’s ex-husband had grown up — or that they’d finally turned the corner on their complicated history. They’d been almost friends once, Jason thought, before Lucky’s return from Cassadine captivity and Jason’s relationship with Elizabeth had made that impossible.

He should have bit his tongue and been more careful when talking to Jake the other day, should have found a way to keep Lucky out of it. But if Lucky thought that Jason’s screw up meant it was open season to bring up everything, Jason wouldn’t hesitate to throw him to the wolves.

He’d tiptoed around Lucky Spencer one too many times, but he’d be damned if he’d do it again.

Jason shoved the diner door open, then winced when he saw a familiar face emerging from the kitchen and talking to someone behind the counter. Maybe he could back out before she saw him—

“Jason! Oh, I’ve been looking for you! And calling you!” Carly’s voice drew interested stares as she sailed across the diner, her eyes lit with a trouble mixture of concern and glee. “Why aren’t you returning my calls?”

Jason sighed. It was too late to run now. “What did you need?” If she’d gotten herself into more trouble—

Carly whacked his chest lightly. “Why do you always sound like that?” she complained. “I’m worried because Sonny said you’d gone postal on him, and I didn’t know if it was real or like last summer—”

“I don’t want you involved—”

“Too late buddy, I’m in it. So you can talk to me, or I can bug Sonny until he caves.” She arched a brow. “Your choice.”

—

Alexis folded her arms and leveled a glare at Diane. “This is your fault.”

“I’m sure it is,” Diane said, removing her coat and setting it on top of her briefcase. She nodded at Kristina by the dining table, then focused on Alexis standing in front of the fireplace, a legal brief in her hands. “I warned you that this would be a bad idea, Alexis. It’s hardly my fault if your foe found a worthy ally—”

“He  hired my daughter, Diane. How would he even know she’d take his case?” Alexis demanded. “What did you tell him? Did you tell him there were issues with Molly—”

“Oh, hardly—”

“Jason didn’t go to Molly, Mom.” Kristina rolled her eyes, approaching the back of the sofa. “You saw her that day when we were talking about the case. You know she was angry, and she wasn’t all that supportive—”

“I know you and your sister are having issues, but she wouldn’t—” Alexis exhaled on a huff. “I filed a petition to keep her from taking the case. Conflict of interest—”

“Am I here for any other reason other than blame? Because I had other plans,” Diane said with a sniff. “You’ll lose that petition, Alexis, and you know it. It’s family court. Molly isn’t a legal partner. Family members are on opposing sides all the time. If I were you, I’d think about settling or withdrawing—”

“I will do no such thing. We can do this. I can do this,” Alexis repeated, almost to herself. “Jason might have been a good father once upon a time, but he’s lost his way. He’s nothing but a tool for Sonny and Carly to point in whatever direction suits them. He’s was in Danny’s life a handful of years, and Jake?” she snorted, then shook her head. “Diane, you’re his friend, not just his lawyer—”

“Alexis, I’ve tried to be kind. I’ve tried to be hands off—” Diane tipped her head. “But you’re fighting a battle that can’t be won. Danny is old enough to say where he wants to live. He’ll choose his father. He doesn’t hold Jason’s absence against him—”

“He’s a child. I never knew what was right for me at that age either,” Kristina argued. “I’ll talk to him. I can—”

“Alexis. You can’t win—”

“Yes, I can. Molly is young, inexperienced. She’s never worked in family court.” Alexis headed for the table where legal documents had spread across the table. “I’ve been putting together my case, and I’m going to make it clear — Jake and Danny are wonderful children despite their paternity. Jake might be a bright, well-adjusted artist in a world renowned art program — but that’s entirely his mother. Look at Elizabeth’s children!”

“Cameron’s on a scholarship at Stanford,” Kristina reminded Diane. “And I saw that Aiden is in all Honors classes—”

“Yes, well, be that as it may—” Diane rubbed her temple. “Alexis, this is madness—”

“Madness would be letting my grandchildren be split up and separated hundreds of miles apart by selfish, absent fathers who left their children, who abandoned them — Sam would want them together. She would want me to do whatever she can to keep them together—” Her voice broke and she turned away.

Diane pressed her lips together, then looked at Kristina. “I know you’ve both been through a lot these last few months. What you’ve lost cannot be measured. And perhaps you’re right. Perhaps Sam would want them together. But she was a realist, Alexis. Like it or not, Danny and Scout have different fathers. Who loathe each other at the moment. Sam had a chance to write her wishes down, didn’t she—”

“She never thought she’d have to use that will. Damn it, Diane, who’s side are you on?” Alexis demanded.

“There are no winners here, Alexis. You go through with this — if you force Danny and Scout into court after they’ve lost their mother, everyone will lose.” Diane picked up her briefcase and coat. “And you might be remember this, the both of you. You don’t have the market cornered on grief.”

Kristina bristled. “What does that mean?”

Diane tilted her head. “You’ve been walking around since August as if you are the only one who was injured that day. As if your sister and her partner didn’t lose their child, their hope, their futures. And Molly also lost her sister. But she doesn’t matter to you, does she?”

Kristina’s cheeks went white. “How dare you—”

“I’ve never lied to you, Alexis,” Diane said, dismissing the middle Davis girl and focusing on her old friend. “Not even to make you feel better. You will regret what you’ve started here.”

“I think we’re done here,” Alexis said, tightly. “You can go.”

“With pleasure.”

—

Drew cleared his throat, and took a step towards his daughter. “Hey, princess. How—” He paused. “How long have you been there?”

Scout’s lower lip trembled. “You were kissing Aunt Willow.”

“I—” He pressed a hand to his chest, then looked behind him as if searching for someone else, then looked back at Scout. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You did. You were kissing Aunt Willow like—” Tears glittered at the corners of her eyes. “Like Mommy and Dante.”

Damn it. “Friends kiss sometimes, honey.” He fastened a smile on his face, then crouched down in front of her. “It’s okay to kiss your friends.”

Scout pressed her lips together, then shook her head. “But I watched on TV and that’s not—you kiss on cheeks—”

“I did kiss her cheek,” Drew said. “You were all the way back here, weren’t you?” He patted her knee. “And I’m so much taller than Aunt Willow. I think you just got confused.”

Her lips parted, but no sound came out. All right, progress had been made. “It’s important that you don’t make mistakes about what you see and hear, isn’t it? We always have to tell the truth.”

“We—yes. But—”

“Because lies hurt,” Drew took both her hands, wrapped his much larger ones around them. “Lies can make a lot of trouble, can’t they? And we don’t want to hurt Aunt Willow. Or Uncle Michael. You love him, don’t you? And your cousins. You love little Amelia like one of your  baby dolls.”

“Aunt Willow lets me brush her hair,” Scout said in a tiny voice. “And braid it.”

“Aunt Willow loves you, honey. And I love you. I know your mother taught you to be kind. She’d be so sad if you said you thought you saw something and hurt everyone who loves you.”

Her lower lip quivered and a tear slid down her cheek. “Mommy’s in heaven. Watching over me. Danny said.”

“He did. He’s such a good older brother. You’re so lucky to have so many people who love you here at the Quartermaines. We’re lucky to live here,” Drew continued. “I hope we get to stay here. But we can only do that if you’re a good girl. Can you be a good girl for me?”

“Okay, Daddy.” Scout wrapped her little arms around his neck and he sighed in relief, accepting her hug. Crisis averted.

Kids were so gullible.

—

Elizabeth heard the slamming of car doors in the driveway and went to the window to look, her heart pounding when she saw Jake and Aiden coming up the walkway.  She stepped away from the door when they came in.

They all stared at each other for a long moment. And then —

“Did Dad have an affair with Maxie Jones?” Aiden blurted out. Behind him, Jake winced and closed the door.

“What?” Elizabeth demanded. “Where on Earth—” She pressed her lips together. “Have you been talking to your father?”

“I don’t think you can count what happened as talking to him,” Aiden muttered. He flopped onto the sofa. “He was too busy trying to talk to Jake.”

“I—” Elizabeth turned to her middle son. “Jake? What’s going on?” When he said nothing, pretended to be very busy hanging up his jacket, her nostrils flared. “Jacob Martin Webber—”

“You gave me his initials.”

She stumbled to a stop. “What?”

Jake looked at her now. “You lied about my father to everyone, but you gave me his initials. That’s so weird. Why even bother?”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. “Oh, don’t even try to distract me. You get to be angry at me, that’s fine. But now your brother is involved—”

“Any lies about his paternity he should know about, or—” Jake looked at her expectantly, and her heart caught. “I can see you thinking how to answer that so the answer is yes, isn’t it?”

“Mom? Is he right?”

Elizabeth’s head to started to spin and she pressed two fingers to each of her temples. How had it all spun out of control so fast and was she ever going to be able to slow it down, to bring it back?

“Is this what you want?” she asked, letting her hands fall to her sides. “Tell me, Jake. Is this what you wanted? You must have told your brother what your father said—”

“Did you want me to lie to him, too? I guess you’re the only one who gets lie in this house, huh?” Jake said with a snort. “Rules for thee and not for me—”

“No, Jake, you’ve told your own share of lies, haven’t you? I suppose it might be genetic,” Elizabeth said, and Jake stared at her, startled. “Do you remember all the times you covered for Charlotte so that she could torment Anna? Trash her hotel room? Spray paint her home?”

Jake’s face was gray. “That’s not fair—”

“Oh, so you can dish it out, but you can’t take it?” Elizabeth folded her arms. “You want to wade into the big pool, Jake, you’re going to have to learn to swim in the deep end.”

“Mom—”

“I’ll deal with you in a minute,” Elizabeth snapped at her youngest son before looking back at Jake. “It doesn’t feel very good, does it? To have your entire life boiled down into your worst moments? I made a terrible, terrible choice a long time ago, before you were born. I hurt your father, I hurt Lucky, I hurt myself, and yes, some of it ended up hurting you. And it’s not the only mistake I’ve ever made. I’ve lived a long, complicated life and made choices that I am ashamed of. But you will not stand here, in this house that I have paid for, wearing the clothes I bought you, and treat me like this. I am your mother, and you don’t have to like me, Jacob Weber, but I have done my best by you. It wasn’t always good enough, but damn it, I did my best. So if you have nothing but smart ass remarks to throw at me, you can go to your room and stay there.”

Jake lifted his head. “And I don’t?” he demanded.  “What if I don’t want to be anywhere near you—”

“Then you’ll have to find somewhere else to live. But it won’t be under my roof.”

+31

Written in 48 minutes. Absolutely exhausted, so glad I managed as much as I did.

Elizabeth pulled her car into the driveway along side a sleek BMW she didn’t quite recognize — but she did know the man striding away from her front door. She honked the horn to get his attention, then switched off the ignition.

“Hey.” Michael met her at the hood of her car with a relieved expression. “I’m glad I caught you. I was gonna leave a voicemail, but I really wanted to talk to you in person.”

“I actually was going to call you, too,” Elizabeth said. She let herself into the house, ushered Michael in, and wondered how to broach the conversation. “What brought you over?”

“Well, first, I really was serious about getting together for dinner one night.” Michael followed her into the kitchen, watched her start a pot of coffee. “I’ve been kind of wrapped up with my own thing for a while, and I feel like I haven’t spent enough time with Jake—”

“Michael.” Elizabeth faced him, tipped her head, then smiled. “Sometimes you remind me so much of your uncle. You have your own family, and Jake’s been doing really well—” She bit her lip, made a face. “Well, until the last few days. But you’ve got your own family, and ELQ—and Willow was so sick—” She saw the shadow cross his face, and paused. “That’s part of the reason I was going to call you. I don’t feel right knowing what I do and not telling you.”

Michael tensed, met her eyes, and must have seen something that hinted at what she meant to say. “You’ve talked to my uncle, haven’t you? Did he say something—”

“Not until I asked him. I saw Willow at the hospital with Drew. Just talking—” Elizabeth added quickly when Michael grimaced. “But it connected a few dots for me. I know Jason and Drew are at odds, and you seemed so sad the other day—not—” she winced. “Not that it wasn’t a sad occasion, but—”

“Yeah, I know.” Michael let out a slow exhale. “Just talking, and you guessed?” he muttered. He dragged a hand down his cheek. “There’s no way to stop this. It’s just going to explode, isn’t it?”

“Well, I’m not saying anything,” Elizabeth told him. “And Jason didn’t even want to confirm what I’d already  guessed, but I know he’s angry about the whole thing, and, well, he told me…about the video. About the location. And suddenly I think maybe he didn’t do enough damage.”

“Nanny cam,” Michael muttered. “Motion sensor so we can see if the kids are up from their nap or out of their crib, and it catches—” He cleared his throat. “I don’t know what to do with any of it, and if it’s all the same—”

“I’m saying nothing. This is your life, Michael. But I just wanted you to know…well, to know  that if you need anything, even just someone to vent to, I’m here. I’m so sorry.”

“I know ignoring it and pretending it’s not real isn’t really the best way to handle it, but it’s all I have right now.” With a quick shake of his head, Michael sighed. “I actually came over here to apologize to you about my dad. I got some of it from Jason ripping into my dad, and then Jake filled me in on the rest—”

Elizabeth straightened. “You’ve spoken to Jake?”

“Yeah. I’m glad I ran into him. I have a little experience learning the hard way your parents existed as people who make mistakes before you’re born. And sometimes you feature in their mistakes. Not that anything you did is like Mom or Sonny—”

“I don’t know, I’m not that far off sometimes when you make the full list. But I’m glad Jake ran into you. I hope—I don’t want you to tell me anything. And you wouldn’t. But I hope it helped.”

“So do I. I hate that it came out that way — I hate that it—” Michael hesitated. “When AJ told me about  the way my parents screwed around with custody of me, when I think of the way they villanized him, made him into a monster — it’s nothing like what happened with you and my uncle. I don’t even have to know the details—”

“I wasn’t the one doing the drugging if that’s what you mean,” Elizabeth said. She poured Michael a cup of coffee, slid across the counter. “But I lied. And I pushed Jason out of Jake’s life—”

“But you didn’t raise Jake to think Jason was a monster. When Jason came home after the coma, he and Jake were able to build their own thing. I’m not saying you did the right thing or a good thing. But perspective, you know, it helps. I know you, Elizabeth. The way you’ve always stood by my uncle, by my dad—AJ—when he didn’t always deserve it—Jake’s gonna remember all of that. That’s why I wanted to come over.” Michael waited for their eyes to meet. “Before, you were his mom and even if he knew you weren’t perfect, there was still this idea of being untouchable. You’re his mom. You didn’t really exist outside of that bubble. Now you’re a person, who made mistakes. It’s going to color how he looks at you — but he’ll adjust. He’ll fit this piece into the lifetime of love you’ve given him, and he’ll be okay. You just—you just have to let him get through this part. You know? Don’t push. Don’t try to influence how he sees things.”

“It’s hard,” Elizabeth admitted. She sighed, stirred sugar into her own cup. “Jake is still reeling from everything with Jason, and now this has been dumped on him. All I want to do is explain myself, to make him understand—but you’re right. I have to let him to handle this. However he chooses.”

—

Jason might have enjoyed the look of horror spreading across Lucky’s face if his son and Aiden weren’t standing between the two of them — Aiden still looking perplexed and Jake’s mixture of disgust and irritation.

“What do you mean?” Aiden asked, furrowing his brow. “No, Jake, you’ve got it wrong. I only asked Maxie because she’s Aunt Lu’s best friend. They were, like, my age—”

Jake raised his brows at his former father with a smile on his face that made Jason think of Elizabeth in the middle of a fight. She’d smirk and he knew that nothing civil was coming next. She’d always had a way of setting off Carly — and Courtney. And Sam—

“No, not your age,” Jake said, and then the smirk deepened. “More like somewhere between Cam and me.”

Aiden wrinkled his nose. “Ew, Dad, tell me you didn’t cheat on my mother with a teenager. That’s, like, so nasty—”

“I did not cheat on her with a teenager,” Lucky shot back, his face flushed. “Just like Jason to get it all twisted—”

“My father is the only one keeping his mouth shut. He’s good at that,” Jake said, throwing Jason a dark look that reminded him he wasn’t entirely off the hook, though he’d apparently moved a few notches down on Jake’s shit list. “You’re the idiot who practically forced me to listen to your side, chased me and Aiden out of the diner, and gave up your own dirty secrets.”

“Dirty secrets? You want to talk to about dirty secrets? You think your mother is so goddamned perfect—let’s talk about what she did to me—her and my—”

“Time to go home,” Jason said, cutting Lucky off and stepping between the boys and the furious man. He sent Jake a look. “Now. Go.”

“No, it’s just getting good,” Jake said. “And you’re not in charge of me—”

“I still don’t understand what’s going on—”

“Go home now, and I’ll talk to you later. Now. This isn’t a conversation you or your brother need to hear.”

“More secrets?” Jake demanded. “What the hell—”

“Don’t you ever stop protecting her?” Lucky wanted to know. “She lied to you, to me—”

Jason’s fist itched to plant itself in Lucky’s jaw, but it was the thing this situation needed. “Yeah, okay, eighteen years ago, she did a terrible thing. You want to drag up things that happened back then, Lucky? Things you did? Or maybe we talk about last week when you came to see me.”

Lucky pressed his lips together, looked past him to the boys. “Go home—”

“Oh, not a chance—” Jake said, folding his arms, then hesitated when Jason looked at him again. He swallowed hard. “Aiden, we’ll have to find out the rest later.”

“Okay, but you’re explaining this when we get in the car,” Aiden muttered. “And Dad, you better stop avoiding my calls.”

Jason waited until the duo had disappeared into the parking lot before turning his attention back on Lucky. “Unless you want Aiden to know you took money from me to split town again, I suggest you shut your mouth about what happened with Elizabeth and Nikolas—”

“She’s not even here to enjoy your white knight routine—”

“You see what Jake’s dealing with finding out what happened when he was a baby?” Jason retorted. “You want Aiden to go through that? To find out his mother had a paternity test, that Helena faked the results? Is that what he needs right now? Jake and Cam don’t remember any of that.”

“I would have been fine with leaving all of that in the past,” Lucky hissed. “But you dragged up my life—”

“Do you think I wanted any of this, Lucky? We’d put it away, you and me. You and Elizabeth. All of us. It was dead, and it was buried, and neither of those boys needed to know anything.” Jason scrubbed his hands down his face. “Look, I’m sorry I told Jake anything about you. He was furious, ready to take off in the car, and Elizabeth was a mess — Sonny threw a grenade into her life, into Jake’s life when he’s still angry at me. All I wanted to do was—”

“Protect her,” Lucky said sourly. “You didn’t give a shit about me—”

“No.” Jason grimaced. “No. And I guess I should have expected Jake to tell Aiden, even though I told him not to. I told him that it was something you should get to share, but I guess Jake wasn’t in the mood to do me favors. I just—I didn’t want Jake to be angry with the only parent who’s never left him. Elizabeth made mistakes, Lucky. But we all did. She didn’t deserve to have it thrown in her face by someone who wasn’t even part of it.”

“You think I’m proud of anything that happened back then?”

“Do you think any of us are? But you’re the only one threatening to make it worse. You say one word to either of them about Nikolas, about Aiden’s paternity mess—” Jason stopped, not entirely sure if he wanted to finish the threat.

But Lucky never did know when to back down. He lifted his chin. “What are you going to do?”

“I won’t use your kid to get back at you, that’s for damn sure.” And he really didn’t have much else — Elizabeth would never let Jason drop this idiot into the harbor. “But you keep your mouth shut and I won’t tell Elizabeth you came begging me for money to pay for your ticket out of town.”

Lucky scowled. “Go to hell—”

“I mean it, Lucky,” Jason said as the other man strode towards the diner entrance. “You dig up ancient history just to hurt Elizabeth, I’ll make you regret it.”

+41

Written in 65 minutes.

You need to hear the truth—

Jake made a face, then attempted to walk around Lucky and ignore the interested looks from other patrons. “I really don’t think this is any of my business—”

“That’s not the way your mother made it sound,” Lucky said, and Jake sighed, pausing at the counter, his hand resting along the edge. He didn’t turn around. “You’re angry with her, and you should be—”

“Okay, so what we’re not going to do—” Now he faced Lucky again, but kept his voice pitched low. “What you’re not going to do is act like I’m a child of divorce and you’re fighting over me. You walked out on me and my mom a decade ago. You don’t get to walk back in and start trashing my mother.”

Lucky pressed his lips together. “I just meant—”

“You’re not my father. You brought me home from the Cassadines, and that’s great. But it’s your fault and your alcoholic trash of a dad who put me in Helena’s cross hairs in the first place. My dad is Jason Morgan, for better or for worse, so take whatever this is—” Jake gestured with both hands. “And go talk to Aiden. He actually gives a damn about you.”

“I was your father for the first four years—”

“Yeah, I’ve seen the pictures.” Jake pointed at his temple. “But up here? Where it matters? I got nothing for you, dude. Dads show up. And you haven’t shown up for me, Aiden, or Cam. Maybe you can still snow Aiden into thinking you’re worth knowing, but he believed in Santa Clause until he was like twelve, so—”

“I just want a chance to tell you my side—”

“You don’t get it,” Jake snapped, his tone rising. “You don’t have a side that matters to me. I don’t care if you were high on crack cocaine screwing everything that walked — you don’t matter to me, Lucky. I don’t give a damn about why she lied about you—you know what—” He held up both hands. “That’s not it. I do care why. Because she couldn’t have picked a more useless piece of a shit as my father—”

“You’ve got a real smart mouth,” Lucky bit out. “You think Jason Morgan’s a better dad? He’s so perfect, huh? Where has he been for two years?”

“I don’t know, asshole. Where were you?” Jake demanded. “When Mom had a breakdown and we had to live with your mother? You were nowhere. You’ve been nothing to me my whole life. Let’s keep it that way.”

He shoved past Lucky, his appetite suddenly gone, then stopped when he saw his brother standing in the entrance, when he looked around the rest of the diner and realized that he’d forgotten about anyone else in the room. Shit.

—

…Jake should live with me.

Jason stood there, his feet slightly set apart, his shoulders tight, hands fisted at his sides.  Elizabeth tipped her head to the side, squinted. “You look like you’re ready for an argument.”

His lips parted slightly. “What?”

“Was that supposed to be my cue to refuse? To fight you?” She lifted her brows, relieved when his expressed eased and he seemed to relax. “First, even if I wanted to, which I don’t, Jake’s not an infant. He’s not a kid anymore. He’s six months away from turning eighteen, and we already put him on a plane to live in a foreign country to live on his own.”

“I—” He nodded. “Okay, but—”

“Will it be weird for him to be in Port Charles and not living with me? Of course. And I do hate the idea of him living somewhere else the way things are — he’s so angry with me.” She folded her arms. “But maybe some distance is what he and I need.”

“I don’t want—I don’t want to do anything that makes that worse. I didn’t—” Jason shook his head. “I didn’t think about that when I came up with this—I should have—”

“No, you just thought about what you wanted. And what might be best for Jake. For the both of you. For Danny, too, if it comes to that. Which is how you should phrase it to him if you want to agree without a fight.”

Jason rubbed his forehead. “Yeah. That’s what I thought. He came home to be there for Danny. I don’t think we’ll be able to get him to change his mind about Barcelona. And I don’t think Drew’s going to agree to leave Scout in Port Charles when he goes to DC, so—”

“Having Jake with him might make the transition either. And Rocco will still be around. I know you and Dante will do whatever you have to keep them close.” Elizabeth tried to smile, but dropped her gaze when she couldn’t quite manage it. “I think it’s a good idea. I’m glad you brought it up.”

“Are you sure?” Jason stepped towards her and she lifted her gaze to his. “I meant what I said. I know it’s hard after what happened with Sonny, and I don’t want to do anything to make it worse—”

“Why? You think it’s strange he needs more than thirty seconds to forgive me for lying to him?” Now she did smile. “I guess he didn’t inherit your inability to actually be angry with me for longer than an hour.”

“You didn’t lie to him—”

“I did, though. Every time I called Lucky his father in front of him.” Her throat was tight, and she had to look away. “Just because he doesn’t remember, it doesn’t mean I don’t. It matters, Jason. Don’t defend me to him. He hates when I do that for you. Don’t make that mistake.”

“I’m going to tell him the truth, and if he feels like that’s a defense, that’s not my fault.” Jason paused. “You’re not angry that I want him to live with me? At least for a little while—”

“Even if I were—it shouldn’t matter. You’re his father, Jason. I lost four precious years to the Cassadines but I’ve had all the rest. You deserve this time, and I want you to have it.”

—

TJ dropped his duffel bag on the ground by the front door and closed the door with some hesitation. Across the room, Molly refused to look up from the table where paperwork was spread out. “Hey. Can—can we talk?”

“I’m busy. My mother petitioned to have me removed as Jason’s lawyer—” Molly lifted her eyes to him briefly before returning to her work. “So I need to finish the response to that.”

“Why does she want you removed?” TJ tugged out the chair across from hers. “Because you’re her daughter?”

“She thinks it’s a conflict of interest.” Molly was grim when she looked up again, laid down her pen. “That I can’t represent someone in a case against my mother. I’m not worried. It’s waivable, and Jason and I have discussed it. He understands—”

“Then try to explain it to me. Please,” TJ added. “I don’t like how we ended things yesterday—”

Molly hesitated, then sat back. “I’m sorry,” she said lamely. “I shouldn’t have dumped that on you in the middle of your shift. Or pushed you into that corner. It wasn’t fair.”

“You might have pushed me, but I didn’t have to go where I did. And I need you to know that I don’t feel that way. Of course you were Irene’s mother—”

Molly closed her eyes, turned her head away. “But not biologically—”

“So what? So what? Curtis isn’t my biological uncle, is he? He’s known that for years. But it’s never stopped him or Aunt Stella. I felt so awful if I made you think for a second that I would ever think that. I just—” He gestured at the papers. “You took a leave of absence to defend a man you were prosecuting for murder six months ago—”

“He was innocent. And he’s not just any man. He’s Jason. You didn’t know him as well as I did, okay? He was gone most of the time we were together. But he’s the reason my sister lived as long as she did. He saved her life over and over and over again. When Danny was kidnapped as an infant he brought him home—Jason’s—”

“I didn’t realize how much he meant to you,” TJ said, and she sighed. “Or how hurt you were about your mother. Kristina, yeah. But not Alexis.” He dipped his head, trying to catch her gaze. “Talk to me, Molly. We could always do that, right?”

She was quiet for a beat, then picked up her pen. “I have to remember every morning Sam isn’t here. I open my eyes, and for little while, I forget. Maybe I get all the way through my shower, to that first cup of coffee if I’m lucky, but I always remember. And it hits the same every time. It’s like losing her over and over again. My sister—my sister is dead.” The words felt wrong on her tongue, as if they belonged to someone else. “All that’s left of her in this world are those kids. She loved them more her own life.”

“I know that—”

“She thought for so long she’d never have kids. But Danny and Scout, they’re her miracles. And they never get to have another second with her. Scout’s so young — one day, her mother is going to be a fuzzy memory. A warm thought and a picture. Sam’s not here to protect them.” Molly’s voice faltered slightly. “I can’t protect Irene. I can’t go back in time and choose someone else to carry her, to protect her. I don’t know if Ava pushed Kristina, TJ, we might never know that for sure. But Kristina went to that room and picked a fight with a woman who has already murdered someone else for just getting in her way. I didn’t protect our baby, TJ.”

“Mols—” His eyes were damp. “You did everything you could—”

“Not everything—not enough. Irene…she’s with Sam, and I know my sister will look after our little girl until we can join her. So it’s my job to do the same. Danny and Scout lost their mother, and they’re probably going to lose each other. I can’t stop Drew from taking her to DC, but Danny needs to be here. With his family. And Jason is his father. Mom and Kristina wanted to make you disappear, TJ. Mom lied for years about who Kristina’s father is, and she’s done everything she can to make it harder for my dad to be with me. She’s not taking one more father from their child. Sam wanted Danny and Scout to be with their fathers. She knew her kids better than anyone. I’m doing what’s right, TJ. For me, for the kids, for my sister. I just hope you can understand.”

—

Scout curled up in the window of the nursery at the Quartermaine’s, watching the front drive three flights below her. The cars driving in and out of the long gravel road. She pressed her cheek against the window, the coolness of the glass somehow a comfort. Maybe it would break, and maybe she’d fall out. What would that feel like? Would it hurt? Had it hurt when her mother died?

She heard voices in the hallway, muffled at first — she couldn’t quite make them out. But then they came closer, and she realized it was her father. And her aunt Willow. A hesitant smile curved her lips. Aunt Willow was a girl. She might play dolls. Rocco and Danny just laughed and went to play video games.

Mommy had always played dolls with her.

The door opened, and Scout sat up ready to greet her daddy and aunt — but Daddy came in and turned back to face her aunt so fast that he didn’t have time to notice her. And there was a giant teddy bear in front of the window seat. That was why, Scout thought. Daddy would have seen her for sure—

“Drew, this isn’t a good idea,” her aunt hissed, shutting the door and looking at Daddy. “We can’t talk about this here—what if Scout—”

“She’s still at school,” Daddy said, and Scout furrowed her brow. It was long past school time, didn’t he know that? She would just set him straight—

But then her daddy did something strange, and Scout closed her mouth, stunned into silence when her daddy pulled Aunt Willow close, and…kissed her???

 —

 Jason fished in the pockets of his jeans for the keys to his room above Bobbie’s, already mentally planning the call to Diane. He needed an apartment with three rooms — or a house. Near Elizabeth would be better, he thought. For Jake. And for Elizabeth. Jason was relieved that she was on his side, though still a bit wary. He didn’t quite know where he stood with her these days — not since that terrible day at Sonny’s or even the night before after the funeral —

He had just reached the entrance to the courtyard when the door to Bobbie’s flew open, and Aiden strode out, his face florid. Jason opened his mouth to ask what was wrong—but Jake was hot on Aiden’s heels, followed by—Jason grimaced. Lucky.

“I don’t want to hear it—I don’t want to hear anything from you,” Aiden retorted, whirling back to face his father. “I’ve been calling you and leaving you messages and texting you and for what? For what? To walk in on you begging Jake to listen to you?”

Lucky took a step forward, but Jake stepped between father and son. “He told you to fuck off—”

“That’s not what he said—”

“I said I don’t want to talk to you, so same thing,” Aiden shot back, and then turned, startled when he saw Jason. “Oh. Oh. Good. You can tell me what’s going on since my own father would rather talk to his fake son.”

“Damn it—” Lucky winced. “I told you—”

“You had your chance,” Aiden cut in. “You didn’t want to talk to me. You never want to talk to me. I bet you even call Cam more than you call me.”

“That is not true—”

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this right here,” Jason said, uncomfortably. He slid his hand in his back pocket for his phone. And Elizabeth should definitely be here for this.

“No, I want to know. And since Dad won’t tell me, and neither will Maxie Jones—”

“Maxie? You told him about Maxie?” Lucky demanded, his cheeks flushing. “You son of a bitch, what gives you the right to talk to my son about anything? None of that is his business or yours—”

“Told me what about Maxie—” Aiden closed his mouth, bewildered. “I just—”

Jake’s hand shot out, covered his brothers. “He didn’t tell us anything about Maxie Jones,” he told Lucky. He tipped his head. “But you just did. Aiden, I think we found out who the other woman was.”

+36

Written in 61 minutes.

Aiden figured he had hit pay dirt when his aunt’s best friend’s face paled and she stared at him for what felt like a comically long time, her mouth gaping.

“You know something, right? I mean you have to know something. You and Aunt Lu were practically attached at the hip,” Aiden said, hurrying over to scoop the shards of the lamp into a pile. “She told you everything.”

“Right, right, um—” Maxie pressed two fingers to her forehead. “She did—does—did—but that’s a wild question to just—” Her other hand flew in the air, made a swooping gesture. “And, like, you’re a child—”

Aiden bristled. “I’m fifteen, okay? My dad was basically living on his own at my age—”

“And look where that got him,” she retorted, almost snottily. “Also it was all before you were even born, so it’s not even your business—”

“So that’s a yes,” Aiden said flatly. He rose to his feet, dumped the remains of the lamp on the table behind the sofa.

“You—I never said that!” Maxie jabbed a finger at him, her eyes wide. “I never said anything like that, so don’t you tell anyone I told you anything, and how would you even know to ask about it? And—”

Aiden fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Okay, fine. So you’re not going to give me details, but you—”

“You should go. Go ask your parents questions, that’s their job to answer, not mine.” Maxie ushered him towards the front door. “Because I didn’t tell you anything, and I’m not going to tell you anything—”

“If it had been no, you’d have said that. If you didn’t know anything, you’ve have said that, too.” Aiden turned to face the older woman. “But you didn’t. You freaked out and you’re throwing me. That’s fine. You don’t have to say anything else.”

“Look, kid, we don’t even know each other—” Maxie closed her eyes, took a deep breath. If your aunt was here, you’d be asking her these things, and I get it, but you should be asking your dad—”

“He’s not returning my calls.”

“Your mother—”

“Says it’s not her story to tell.”

Maxie lifted her brows. “You’re telling me Elizabeth isn’t jumping to make herself look good? I didn’t know hell had frozen—never mind, never mind. If they don’t want to talk about it, maybe you should take a hint—”

“Would you?” Aiden challenged. “What if it were your kids? Would you want Georgie finding out stuff about you from someone else?”

Maxie opened her mouth, then closed it with a scowl. “No, but I’m not your parents. So go annoy them. So ask them and leave me out of it.”

Then slammed the door in his face.

—

Unaware that her youngest son was reigniting an old rivalry, a few miles away, and a few hundred feet in the air at Vista Point, Elizabeth tugged off the helmet and handed it to Jason. “You know,  the last few times you’ve taken me out on this—” She touched the handle. “It really does feel like some of the years have melted away. But then you turn off the engine—”

“And it’s still today.” Jason stowed the helmet on the back seat. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

She smiled faintly, folding her arms, and headed towards the observation deck. Twilight was descending, the gray clouds mixing with the streaks of pink and purple and the muddy blue waters of the lake—

She’d always meant to bring her watercolors up here and try to paint what Spoon Island looked like from this view, but there had never been a good moment. Time had marched on, and she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d owned a set of watercolors.

“You said you had to talk to me?” Jason asked, coming up behind her at the guard rail. “Everything okay at the hospital?”

“The building, yes. The staff?” she looked at him, tipped her head. “I know you said you didn’t want to get into it, but if I guess the reason you and Drew fought the night before the funeral, would you confirm it?”

Jason’s mouth tightened, and she was sorry to see some of the lightness fade from his gaze. He looked out over the harbor, towards the hulking mass of Spoon Island, rising up from the  water. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Willow.”

When he just looked at her, she exhaled slowly and turned around, leaning her back against the rail. “Yeah, okay, I had a feeling. Michael looked sad at the house the other day, and not just because of why we were there. And he’s angry at Drew, too. Then today—” she made a face. “I saw them together at the hospital. Just talking,” she added when he tensed, looked at her sharply. “But I have a little experience being inside that bubble. Having an affair with someone I shouldn’t.” Troubled again, she looked down at the ground, digging her toe into the mixture of dirt and gravel. “Just the way they looked, the tension—anyway.” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for Michael. I know how important his family is to him, and how much he loves Willow.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m surprised,” Elizabeth said, and he frowned at her, “that you’d find out this kind of information and do what you did. Starting a fight in the middle of the Quartermaine foyer? With the kids upstairs. I thought when I found out why, I’d understand better. I don’t. It’s not like you.”

“How would you know?” he bit out, then winced when she flinched, looked away. “That’s—”

“An honest answer,” she said, and he sighed, not arguing with her. “You’re right. I don’t know. I’d like to,” she added. “Three years ago, you wouldn’t have done that in your mother’s house with the kids upstairs. You were always so careful about who saw that side of you. Who you lost control around—”

“If I’d lost control, he’d be dead,” Jason cut in, and she pressed her lips together. “I left him in one piece, didn’t I?”

“Fair enough. I’m criticizing, Jason. I’m not,” she insisted when he shook his head. “I’m just asking. You don’t have to answer. And anyway, you came to see me. So we can change the subject and—”

“No, I—Drew’s part of it, I guess, we might as well finish this.” Jason looked grim when he shifted to face her, leaning his side against the railing. “It was in the nursery.”

“The fight? I thought—”

“No. He and Willow. That’s how Michael found out. A nanny cam activated by motion.”

Elizabeth tensed, her fingers curling around the iron railing. “Oh, God. That’s awful—”

“The night Sam died. The night Danny and Scout lost their mother and were just a room away—” Jason looked back out over the water. “I don’t know.  There just seemed to be something wrong—”

“Obscene, almost,” she murmured, and he met her eyes again. “While his daughter was grieving such an immense loss, Drew was sleeping with his nephew’s wife. I can understand that, I can,” she repeated. “And I’m so sorry Michael’s dealing with it. I know how hard it is for you when he’s hurting.”

“Yeah, well.” Jason made a face, then shook his head. “But you’re right. Three years ago, I wouldn’t have done that. Ten years ago. Even twenty. But there was a time when I wouldn’t have given a damn who was watching or what they thought.”

“After the accident.”

“Yeah. And while I was gone.” He was quiet for a long moment. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. What I said to you at your place the other day. About it being easier.”

“Jason, you don’t have to—”

“I meant it,” Jason cut in, and she closed her mouth. “I know it sounds awful, and I guess I’m sorry if it hurts to hear it, but it was easier not being here. Not being Jason Morgan.”

—

Jake wasn’t really sure how to keep avoiding his mother, but he had a feeling his little brother wasn’t going to keep their conversation that morning to himself, and Jake was going to be a dead man when she found out what he’d done. Or worse, she’d be upset but she’d swallow it, and pretend she wasn’t mad because Jake was still angry with her. And then he’d really feel like an ass.

But she was supposed to be at the hospital at work, and if he found a way to stay out until after dinner, maybe he’d be able to sneak in late.

So he found himself at Bobbie’s, planning to grab some food and then go hang out with some friends the rest of the night —

Which had seemed like a great idea until he was halfway across the diner and didn’t realize that one of the customers at the counter was, in fact, his former…

Father? Step father? Adopted pretend father? Other deadbeat dad?

Lucky Spencer had too many labels for someone who had mattered so little in Jake’s everyday life, he thought bitterly, and nearly turned around—

But Lucky spotted him first, and from his face — he’d spoken to Jake’s mother.

Great. How much had Mom told him and how did he get out of this conversation?

“Jake.” Lucky met him in the middle of the diner. “I’m glad I ran into you.”

“You are?” That couldn’t be right. “Why?”

Lucky’s mouth tightened. “Because I want you to hear what really happened. And not just from Jason or your mother. They probably made me sound like a loser junkie. You need to know the truth.”

—

Jason wasn’t really sure what reaction he’d expected from Elizabeth — she was rarely predictable. But if he’d thought she’d be angry, he was dead wrong. In fact, if he had to describe the tilt to her head, the expression in her eyes —

Curiosity?

“I know it sounds awful,” he repeated, a bit warily now. “But—”

“There’s a freedom in not being who you are,” she said softly, and he stopped. “Do you really think that’s so impossible to understand?”

Jason hesitated. If he’d told Carly he was relieved to be gone and away from her, she’d have made his life a miserable hell. “Yes?”

“We talked about this. I told you that I wasn’t surprised or even angry. That I don’t think it means you love Jake or Danny or any one else in your family less.” She seemed a little impatient now, and he didn’t know what to do with that. “I’m not interested in making you feel guilty. It’s not like you planned to fake your death, and you always planned to come back, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” If he hadn’t died in the process. “But—”

“But nothing. Do you think I wanted you to be miserable for every day that you were gone?” Elizabeth asked.

“I—” Jason cleared his throat. “Okay, so you’re not mad.”

“Jason. I need you to give me a little bit of credit. After all these years, after all the ways you’ve forgiven me and taken me for who I am, mistakes and terrible choices, did you really think this was going to be the deal breaker?” she asked. “I’m not Sonny.”

“No. No, you’re not.” And now that they were having this conversation, now that it was in the open, some of the tension in his chest eased. “I know that. It’s just—”

“You didn’t really come all the way to the hospital to have another conversation about this, did you?” she asked, folding her arms. “Because, you know, it’s not necessary.”

“No. No, it’s not—” Jason took a deep breath, reordered his thoughts. “No, but it’s part of it. Admitting that, putting a name on the way I felt, it…changed something. Because I’m angry with myself for letting this happen. For…sitting back,” he decided. “Reacting. I was too impulsive after the accident. If I felt something, if I wanted something or someone, I took it, and I put myself at the center. No one else mattered. I had to—I had to stop living that way. I hurt people. Robin, mostly. And Emily, and my grandmother. So I learned to think first, to let things happen. I just…”

“Went too far in that direction,” she said.

“Yeah, I guess. I let people matter too much. What they wanted, what they needed. I made that more important than what I wanted. And it’s stopping. I’m stopping it.”

“Okay.” Elizabeth lifted her brows expectantly. “And how are you starting that?”

“With Alexis, and what she wants to do. I’m fighting. Molly asked to take my case, for her own reasons, and I agreed. I want Danny to live with me, and—” he paused. “I want Jake to live with me, too. I want them both. That’s what I came to tell you. That Jake should live with me.”

+36

Written in 55 minutes.

So I wander through these nights

 Diane paused at the threshold of their shared office, tipped her head, then sighed. “I don’t know why I thought you’d still be at home.”

Alexis continued tapping at the keyboard, not raising her eyes from the screen. “Not when there’s work to be done.”

“Work that I can handle or that could be delegated to an associate or one of the paras.” Diane set her legal portfolio on their partner desk, and fisted a hand on her hip. “Isn’t there something you could be doing? Why aren’t you with your grandchildren or Kristina?”

“I am here because of my grandchildren,” Alexis said, the corners of her mouth tightening. “I am here to consider their best interests. No doubt Jason has already called you about what I’m planning.”

“Oh, I very much don’t like the sound of that. Should I be worried that I haven’t heard from him? Did you have him arrested, or—?” Diane lifted her brows. “What are you planning?”

“Only what is in Danny and Scout’s best interests. They should remain together, and the only way to do that is take them in myself.” Alexis tapped another key, and a few seconds later a printer across the room began to hum.

“Please don’t tell me that’s a custody petition.” Diane strode across the room, snatching it off the tray before Alexis could stop her. She skimmed it, then raised worried eyes to her best friend. “No, no, no. Alexis, this is a terrible idea. The opening paragraphs alone are so incredibly incendiary —“

“Not a single word is a lie.” Alexis lifted her chin. “Jason is a convicted, brain damaged felon who only just returned from pretending to be dead for two years, allowing his boys to mourn him. Allowing his elderly mother to bury yet another child. He has never been a presence in his children’s life, even when he was living in the same city—“

“One, you are also a convicted felon.” Diane held up a finger.  “Two, Michael will testify that his uncle confessed to a crime to be in prison to protect him. Three, his custody arrangements with the mothers of his children were always agreed to by them which makes them immaterial—“

Alexis reached for the petition, but Diane held it away from her. “Sam isn’t here to say so, and—“

“And there’s no way you’ll get Elizabeth to say a bad word about Jason. Worse people than you have tried and failed.”

“I’ll destroy her credibility—“

“Alexis,” Diane interrupted, exasperated. “That is a terrible idea. For one thing, Elizabeth has never done anything to you. For another, you’re not exactly boasting a perfect record either. It’s family court, and Elizabeth’s raised three, bright, well-mannered children who are attending world-renowned universities. What credibility are you planning to torch?”

“You don’t have to preview your case for me—“ Alexis’s voice faltered. She took a deep breath.

“Well, it won’t be my case, my friend.” Diane held out the petition. “Because you and I are now partners, remember? Jason is your client, too. The moment you file this petition, I will be conflicted out. And it’s not waivable.”

Alexis hesitated, then took the petition, held it in her hands. “That’s good. Jason will need legal representation, and he won’t have the best. And the only other person I know who is capable of handling Jason’s shadier past is Ric, and Jason would rather shoot himself out of a cannon than ask him for help.”

“Alexis. This is Jason we’re talking about. Jason who saved your daughter’s life more times than I can count. Kept her out of prison on more than one occasion—“ Diane stopped at the knock on the door. “Whatever it is, Sandy, it can wait.”

“It’s not for you, it’s for Ms. Davis.” The secretary held out a familiar legal size paper. “Notice of representation.”

“Jason’s already found another lawyer. Good. I can’t wait to destroy whatever—“ Alexis retrieved the paper, then fell silent. “That son of a bitch.”

“Did hell freeze over? Did he hire Ric?” Diane wanted to know.

Alexis lifted her blazing eyes to the redhead. “No. He hired Ric’s daughter. My daughter.”

“Oh.” Diane’s eyes gleamed. “That is diabolical—“ she coughed when Alexis sent her a fulminating glare. “Oh, um, how dare he. What can he be thinking?”

—

Michael opened the door to Bobbie’s, then scanned the inside of the diner, relieved when he found his uncle sitting at the counter, squinting at a menu.

“Oh, good. I’m glad I found you.” Michael slid onto the next stool. “You have a minute?”

“Yeah, I don’t have anywhere to be—“ Jason glanced at the clock on the wall by the kitchen. “For another hour. What’s up? Everything okay?”

“That’s what I wanted to ask you.” Michael flipped over his coffee cup, smiling at a waitress who poured the coffee. “You were steamed when you left Dad’s yesterday.”

Jason grimaced, stared down at his own coffee, sipped it. Said nothing.

“I already knew Dad had, uh, gone to Elizabeth’s and dropped some sort of grenade around the boys.  I ran into Jake yesterday,” Michael added when Jason looked up. “He was really upset.”

His uncle exhaled slowly. “Angry, you mean.”

“Yeah. It sucks that Jake heard a garbled version of whatever went down when he was a kid. I don’t know most of it either, only some pieces Elizabeth’s told me over the years. We used to be, um, a little closer, I guess.” Michael scratched his jaw. “Back when AJ was around. Anyway, I think I talked him down a little, but I just wanted to touch base with you. See if I can do anything.”

“Nothing you can do.” Jason shook his head. “Jake’s been pissed at me since I got back, and I can handle that, you know? I deserve it. I screwed up, and I haven’t done enough to fix it. But he’s angry with his mom now, and that—“ He scowled. “That’s not how it should be. She doesn’t deserve it.”

“Yeah, at least I can say when I found out the story behind my whole, you know, creation, I can say Mom and Dad deserved my anger in equal doses.” Michael wrinkled his nose. “And it’s not like Lucky kept raising Jake or that Elizabeth ever told him you were a monster who couldn’t be trusted, you know? Jake doesn’t even remember a time when you weren’t his dad.”

“I don’t know why Sonny dragged any of this up,” Jason muttered. “It wasn’t his business then, and it’s not now.”

“All those years with Mom rubbed off on him, you know, because that kind of thing never stopped her.” Michael was relieved when the corner of Jason’s mouth curved up in a smile. “Look, you’ve always stepped up for me. Always. Let me do the same for you. Whatever you need. Whatever Jake and Danny need. You just tell me, and I’ll make it happen.”

“You have your own family to worry about—“

“You are my family, Jase.” Michael held up a hand. “And they’re my cousins. I need the distraction. Tell me what I can do. Can I talk to Jake? Can I play mediator with Alexis?”

“Neither. I hired a lawyer. We have the beginning of a plan,” Jason told him.  “There’s just someone I have to talk to first. But if I can think of something you can do, I’ll tell you.”

“You and I both know that’s not true, but lucky for you, I inherited my mother’s inability to mind my own business.” Michael grinned at him. “Or not lucky for you, I guess. I promise I won’t get you arrested.”

“Yeah, your mother used to promise that, too.” Jason sighed. “Never seemed to stop her.”

—

Laura Collins crossed her office to take Jake in her arms, beaming when she pulled back. “Oh, it’s so lovely to see you! I feel like it’s been ages since we put you on that plane to Barcelona.”

Jake patted his grandmother’s shoulder awkwardly, remembering now why Laura had always stood in as his grandmother — because once upon a time, Lucky Spencer had been his father. He’d never thought much about it before. She’d just always been in his life, and he never thought about the details.

“Hey. Um, I mean, it’s good to see you. I just—not that I didn’t come to see you,” he offered. “But I wouldn’t have bothered you at work without a good reason.”

“Oh, you can bother me any day you like.” Laura ushered him towards the sofa. “I’m so sorry that you’ve come home for an awful reason, but I’m sure it’s a comfort to Danny that you’re here.”

“Yeah, yeah, I hope so.” Jake cleared his throat. “Have you, uh, heard from Charlotte? Like, at all?”

“Oh.” Laura’s smile dimmed. “No, darling, no. Not since Valentin went on the run. The WSB tells me they’re looking for him, and I know that Jason and Anna were trying to find her as well when we thought Lulu was…” She patted his arm. “And I have every hope that she’ll choose to come home on her own when she graduates this spring.”

Jake made a face. “I figured, but I had to ask.”

“You’re more likely to run into her than I am,” Laura told him. “Since you’re in Europe, and we know they must be as well.”

“Oh. Well, I won’t be there for the rest of this year. I, um, took a leave. From this upcoming term.” When his grandmother made a face, Jake added, “Just because I wanted to be with Danny. You know, losing a mom, it’s, um, it’s hard. I guess. I don’t know. But I’ve lost my dad—“ He took another deep breath. “I mean, I didn’t lose him, but I did. And Mom was the one who was there. Just like Danny’s mom. So I guess I just wanted to be here. If he needed me.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, dear. And I suppose you’re getting enough grief about this choice from your mother,” Laura said with a sigh, “but I won’t complain about having one of my grandbabies here.”

Jake bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from asking her about that, about why she’d bothered to claim him since Lucky hadn’t bothered with him since the day he’d brought Jake home from the Cassadines. Dumped on his mother’s lap, and disappeared. But he bit it back. Laura had done nothing wrong. That Jake knew about anyway.

So he pasted a smile on his face. “So, Ace doing anything interesting?”

—

The trouble with investigating your own parents, Aiden decided, was finding someone who knew them and might tell their teenage son something worth knowing. Lucky Spencer had been gone so long from Port Charles that barely anyone knew him at all.

Dante had worked with him for five minutes at the PCPD, but he hadn’t been around during the Jake’s birth. He’d been crossed off the list almost immediately. Grandma Laura had been sick, Grandpa Luke was dead. So was Aunt Emily. Uncle Nikolas was in prison, and there was zero chance he’d get to see him. But Aiden left him on the list — maybe he could write to him or something.

And of course, Aunt Lu was in a coma. But there were people around that Lulu might have talked to, and that was how Aiden found himself standing on the doorstep of Maxie Jones.

The door opened a few minutes after he’d knocked with the woman in question looking at him oddly. Fair enough, he thought. They barely knew each other.

“Uh, Aiden, right? Are you selling something?” Maxie wanted to know. “Because—“

“No, no, um, I came to ask you about my aunt Lulu.” Aiden shoved his hands into his pockets. “Since you knew her best.”

“Oh.” Maxie stepped back, gestured for him to come in. “Well, other than Dante, I guess I did. Do. Do,” she repeated. “Because she’ll wake up one day, you’ll see.”

“Yeah, I hope so for Rocco’s sake.” Aiden moved his hands again, folded his arms. “Um, well, you knew my aunt for years and years—“

“Never remind a woman how old she is,” Maxie said with a roll of her eyes, but a good-natured smile. “You want something to drink or something?” she asked, heading towards the kitchen.

“No, thanks. The thing is, I was wondering if my aunt ever talked to you about my dad. You were around back then. Aunt Lu probably told you about the problems my parents had, right? I just want the truth,” Aiden said as Maxie continued to stare at him. “Was my dad addicted to drugs? Did he really have an affair? Is that why my mom left him and got pregnant with Jake?”

Maxie whirled around, stumbling into the end table and knocking a lamp to the ground. It shattered at her feet in ceramic shards. But she seemed not to notice. “I’m sorry, can you say that again?”

—

Elizabeth stopped by the elevators, her fingers toying with the strap of her purse. She’d finished for the day, but she couldn’t make up her mind if she should go home and not say anything, or if she should at least hint to Willow that whatever was going on with Drew wasn’t being hid very well.

The woman in question was working behind a terminal at the nurse’s station, her face screwed up in concentration. Was Willow really having an affair, Elizabeth wondered? Or were her own guilty feelings clouding her judgment?

But it would explain so much, Elizabeth thought. The whiplash decision Willow had made to return to her job at the hospital — leaving the foundation Drew had started. Michael’s sadness — and Jason kicking the shit out of Drew the night before the funeral.

And as if on cue, the elevators slid open and Jason was there. “Oh.” Elizabeth blinked in surprise. “How did you know I was thinking about you?”

“I didn’t—“ Jason held a hand on the doors to stop them from closing. “But I was coming to see you. Your shift is over, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Elizabeth took another look at Willow, then turned back to Jason. “Great timing. Because I have to talk you.” She stepped onto the car, then slid a glance at him. “Any chance you brought the bike?”

Jason released his hold on the door, the smile on his lips making him look years younger. “Do I look stupid?”

+38

Written in 54 minutes. Last scene took a turn, lol, and I went with it.

Jake strode past his brother crunching on his morning cereal, heading right for the coffeemaker on the counter.

“Since when do you drink coffee?” Aiden wanted to know, swirling his spoon around in his bowl.

Jake ignored him, more focused on his goal of obtaining caffeine. When he’d switched on the pot, he turned back to find Aiden still watching him. “What?”

“I didn’t hear you come in last night.” Aiden tipped his head. “I know Mom was waiting up for you.”

Jake shrugged, ignoring the itch between his shoulders. “Yeah, I saw her when I got home.” And walked past her to bed which was probably part of the reason he hadn’t slept well. He was so angry with her — with both his parents — but it didn’t feel right to treat his mother with anything less than respect. He leaned against the counter, folded his arms. “Did Mom tell you anything while Dad and I were outside?”

Aiden wrinkled his nose, but concentrated on his cereal. “Just that it was all part of a story that wasn’t just about her or your dad. My dad’s part of it, too. She made it seem like she and Dad were separated or almost divorced when, uh—“ He lifted his head, gestured at his brother with a spoon. “You know.”

“I can follow the dots.” Jake waited a moment, thinking of what his dad had told him about Lucky Spencer’s drug addiction. The affairs. “But they got back together.”

“Yeah, I mean I guess I always knew they were, like, off and on since high school.” Aiden straightened on the stool. “I just never let myself think about it, too much. Especially since Dad’s been, like, completely absent for as long as I remember.” His mouth tightened briefly. “I know you’re mad at yours because the last two years, and I get that, but you got to have for him a while. That’s something.”

“I guess if I think about it, I remember Lucky being the wrong who brought me home from Cassadine Island,” Jake admitted. “I just always figured it was because he and mom were together, and there was you. So, like, he was around and a father figure. Finding out that he was…I don’t know…that he thought he was…” He jerked a shoulder. “It’s weird. I don’t know how to feel about any of it.”

“Your dad was ticked off at Mr. C, though. Like, I thought maybe we’d finally get to find out why everyone’s so scared of him.”

“He wouldn’t do that in front of us,” Jake said, almost without thinking, then released a slow exhale. “He wouldn’t,” he repeated, more to himself, almost as if confused by the certainty that statement brought up. “But yeah, Dad’s always pretty ticked off when Mom cries. You know when he came after me, he got in my face about me being angry at her. Can you believe that? She lies to him, lies to me, and he’s just like, hey, be nice to her.” Jake rolled his eyes. The coffee pot beeped and he turned away to make his cup.

“Well, yeah, he said he forgave her. Like, I get you, dude. You just found out, you get to be mad. But this is old news to your dad, I guess. And maybe he understands better than we could why she’d do it.”

Jake looked at him, squinting his eyes slightly. “You remember back when Drew was still Jake Doe?”

“Before the whole you’re Jason Morgan adventure?” Aiden asked. “A little, but not really. Why?”

“Mom…knew who Drew was supposed to be,” Jake said a bit slowly, and Aiden frowned. “She found out months before everyone else. And she never told him. Or anyone else. It’s why everyone was so mad at her for so long. But she lied to him, to us, too. To me. I guess I never thought about it much after it happened. I wasn’t really around Jake Doe that much—“ He winced. “Around Drew. After the truth came out, he was my dad, but he was still so mad at Mom. Everyone was.” He pressed his lips together. “What else has she lied about?”

Aiden opened his mouth, then closed it, mystified by the question. “I don’t know. Probably nothing—“

“Well, what about everything that happened with Esme? She and Uncle Nikolas holding her hostage at Wyndemere—“

“Oh, well that was different,” Aiden said, confidently. “They thought Esme was a killer. And she sort of turned out to be, so I guess Mom was right to do it. And hey, you wanna start thinking about stuff Mom does when she’s not being our mom, you have to start thinking about your dad. Seems risky.”

“I just don’t get it. I don’t. I don’t know how you can lie to someone about something so important or why Dad thinks it’s okay. I mean, he told me a little, but it still doesn’t work for me. Like, your dad was so shitty, and somehow he’s the one that gets to be my dad?” Jake sipped his coffee. “The story doesn’t make sense.”

“Jason blames my dad?” Aiden wanted to know, his brows winging up in surprise. “Why?”

“I—“ Jake closed his mouth. “Dad didn’t give me many details.”

“But he gave you some.” His brother slid off the stool,  held onto the counter with both hands. “Come on. You’re mad that you didn’t know stuff about your parents, and you’re not going to tell me?”

“You should talk to your dad, Aiden.” Jake started for the dining room, and Aiden stepped in front of him. “Dude, come on—“

“No. You know something, and my dad isn’t returning any of my calls so it must be bad.” Aiden’s mouth trembled. “Did he hurt Mom? Is that why he never comes around and doesn’t seem to give a shit about me?”

“I don’t—“ Jake grimaced. “Okay. Okay. Look.” He reached back, set the coffee on the counter, and looked at Aiden. “But I’m telling you, I don’t have the full story. I don’t know anything for sure. And my dad has to be pretty biased.”

“Just tell me, dude. We’re brothers! You always said we were supposed to stick together! Cam said we were a team—“ Aiden’s cheeks flushed.

“All right, all right.” Jake held up both hands. “Look, I guess your dad got hurt on the job, and he got addicted to pills. And Dad said Mom caught Lucky in bed with another woman.” He winced when the blood drained from Aiden’s cheeks. “Okay, look, Lucky’s obviously clean, right? You’ve seen him.”

“He was a drug addict? And he had affairs? That’s why Mom left him?”

“I guess. I don’t really know anything else.” Jake folded his arms. “Look, don’t go asking anyone about it, okay? Dad didn’t want you to know.  Not like this, and he’s got a point. People get addicted to stuff. Good people. And they make mistakes. It doesn’t mean anything now. That was ancient history. All that matters is—“

“That my dad never comes around and barely wants to be my life?” Aiden fisted his hands at his side. “And if it’s all such ancient history, why do you get to be mad and I gotta calm down?”

Jake opened his mouth, then closed it, drawing a complete blank. “I don’t know.” When Aiden rolled his eyes and made a move towards the door, Jake reached for his arm. “Seriously, man, don’t go bugging anyone. You’re not supposed to know.”

Aiden shoved Jake’s hands away from him. “Well, too late for that now.” He darted out of the room, and towards the stairs. A few minutes later, Jake heard the door slam above him and winced.

“Shit. Mom’s gonna kill me.”

—

Elizabeth’s mind — and physical being — was miles away at work, struggling to focus on the insurance paperwork and schedule. She’d hated everything about the day before, from start to finish. Sonny’s tirade, the awful scene with Jake, the exhausting conversation with Jason that hadn’t seemed to solve anything, and going another round with Lucky who seemed incapable of taking accountability for anything.

And if Lucky was going to refuse to tell Aiden anything about what happened all those years ago, did that mean it was on Elizabeth? She knew her youngest son better than Lucky did — Aiden’s questions had been quieted for now, but he’d only keep asking them.

And Jake knew some of the answers, thanks to Jason, though Elizabeth could hardly hold any anger against him for it. She’d put Jason through enough because of Lucky Spencer. She wasn’t about to fall into bad habits. That was how she’d gotten herself into this mess in the first place.

So should she tell Aiden about the pills? Elizabeth pondered the question as she scooped up the finished roster and headed for the breakroom. Maybe she could just be matter of fact — it was an awful thing that happened, but it was over and they’d put it behind them.

It felt so wrong to say anything without Lucky’s approval, but hadn’t it happened to her, too? She’d lived through the withdrawal, the lies, the abuse, the deterioration of their relationship— if she sat both boys down and tried to explain herself—

She turned a corner, then stopped short when she saw a familiar face at the end of the hallway. Elizabeth opened her mouth to call to Willow, but the younger woman kept walking with her head down until someone came from up from behind her, grabbed her arm and spun her around—

Not just someone. Drew.

Elizabeth’s stomach sank as she took in the encounter — too far away to hear the words — but close enough to see the energy between them. The body language, the expressions on her face.

The way it brought back terrible memories of yet more mistakes she’d made.

Oh, she suddenly had a very good idea why Jason had kicked the crap out of Drew — and why Michael had looked so sad.

Drew and Willow were having an affair.

—

Molly breezed into the hospital cafeteria, and smiled when she found TJ at a table eating, though most of his attention was on the medical journal in his hand. She dropped into the chair across from him, rested a hand on her elbow. “If you’d told me in freshman year that you’d constantly have your head in a book, I’d have thought you were nuts.”

TJ grinned, laid the journal down, and kicked her lightly beneath the table, a light affection tap against her ankle. “Very funny. Light day in court?”

“Yes.” She took a deep breath. “And it’ll be even lighter after today. Um, I sort of went a little crazy yesterday.”

TJ frowned, folded his elbows. “A little crazy? You’re half Cassadine, Mol. Are we talking wipe out half the world or weather machine?”

Molly brightened. “Oh, well, if you put it that way, it seems reasonable.”

“Mols.”

“I sort of took a leave of absence.” She bit her bottom lip. “To take on a private custody case.”

TJ sighed, rubbed his face. “Oh, man. You’re not going to represent your mom, right? Look, I know you’re trying to make peace with everything that’s going on, but—“

“I’m going to represent Jason.”

TJ stared at her for a long beat, then shook his head. “Am I hallucinating?” he wondered. “Did someone slip something into my drink—“ He lifted his water bottle.

“I know it seems insane, and out of the blue—“

“Those are good words to start with. Doesn’t Jason have a lawyer? What about Diane?”

“She can’t represent him when Mom is representing herself. Technically, that makes Mom her client, too, since they share a practice.” Molly leaned forward. “Jason needs good representation—“

“Alternate dimension. The Upside Down. That’s where I woke up—“

“Stop—“ Molly laid a hand over TJ’s, and he sighed. “Sam left a will. It was specific. Jason and Drew are the kids’ guardians. She could have changed it at any time, but she didn’t. This is what Sam wanted.”

“And a judge is not going to overturn that. Your mom is grieving—“

“And that makes it okay?” Molly demanded, and TJ made a face. “To drag Jason into court and call him a bad father? To put Danny through this? And what about Scout? I tried to call Drew, but he said he has a lawyer, and—“

“Oh man, your mother is going to hit the roof when she finds out.”

“She didn’t care about what I’d think when she prepared custody papers for Kristina.”

TJ fell silent, and Molly looked down, her throat tight. “Kristina was going to go after you for custody. She wanted to take Irene from us. And my mom was going to help her. I went to the house last night, and I overheard them plotting to do the same thing to Jason. Jason who’s never done anything but save Kristina’s life repeatedly. Jason’s looked out for her, and she’s just like, whatever.”

“Mols, you knew your mom was going for custody. You even helped her tell them—“

“I thought—“ It was difficult to push the words through. “I thought she’d see them, and she’d come to her senses. But she hasn’t. She’s going to do this, TJ. I’m protecting my niece and nephew. Just the way I would have protected my little girl. Sam isn’t here to do anymore, and Kristina’s too selfish to see the right thing to do. So it’s up to me. I need you on my side—“

“What about my side?” TJ asked quietly, and she blinked. “Ava goes on trial for the fall at the beginning of December. Or did you forget about that?”

“Of course not. Of course not!” Molly’s eyes stung. “How could you even say that? This is separate. It’s separate—“

“You’re waging a whole war with your mother and your sister when we should be focused on what really matters. Making sure Ava Jerome goes to prison for what she took from us.”  TJ scowled. “Or don’t you care? I’ve had to push you at every turn just to take a breath, to focus on our daughter—“

“I can’t focus on her,” Molly snapped, and TJ closed his mouth. “Because she’s not here. She’s in a box, sit feet below the ground, and my sister is running around grieving like a wild woman, calling my baby Adela to anyone who will listen and no one wants to stop her — to tell her to think about me. No one ever wants to think about me. Not even you. It’s always you’re doing this wrong, you’re working too much, you’re not grieving the way I want you to—“

“Molly.”

“Or maybe you’re no different than Kristina.” Molly shoved her chair back. “You think I should be doing everything the way you want instead of just trying to breath and get through the day anyway I can — why, TJ? Why is it so easy for you to direct my grief? Should I get the same privilege, huh? Or maybe not. Maybe you don’t care that Kristina’s calling her Adela, because at least she’s showing emotion right? You’re Irene’s real parents, right?”

“That is not what I said, damn it—“

“But it’s what that means. I lost my daughter, TJ. I lost the dream I wanted so badly. And then I lost my sister because the universe wasn’t done being cruel. And now what’s left of my family is waging a war that is going to harm my sister’s kids. But okay, let me stop and hold your hand instead. I can do that, right? I can look away and worry only about you since I wasn’t really Irene’s mother anyway. Go ahead and say it. It’s what you’re thinking. I’m not grieving the way I should be because I was never her mother.”

TJ dragged a hand down his face. Then stared at her. “Are you done?”

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “If it’s not true, then just say so. Say I’m crazy.”

TJ pressed his lips together, then sighed. “Maybe there’s an element—damn it, Molly—“ He made a grab for her as she leapt up, but she was already halfway across the cafeteria before he could even get to his feet, and gone.

+32

Written in 65 minutes.

Never take advice from someone who’s falling apart

Michael leaned against the doorframe of his father’s office, then cleared his throat when Sonny didn’t look up from whatever he was writing.

“Michael.” Sonny dropped the pen, pushed his chair back slightly, then squinted. “Was I expecting you?”

“No.” Michael folded his arms. “I was at Bobbie’s having lunch with Amelia and I ran into a familiar face.”

Sonny’s mouth tightened and he looked away. “Your uncle.”

“No. My cousin.”

Sonny focused on him again, the corner of his eyes crinkling with confusion. “Cousin?”

“Jake. He told me a pretty interesting story.” Michael waited, hoping his father would launch into a defense or say something that would make Jake’s story less horrible. When Sonny just sighed, looked away, Michael knew it had likely been worse than Jake had described. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Dad. What in the hell were you thinking going to Elizabeth’s house like that? Spewing all of that crap where Jake could hear you?”

He came forward into the office, let his arms fall to his side. “Dad, tell me you have a good reason—“

“I had one when I went there,” Sonny muttered. He stroked his jaw. “Jason and I had a conversation this morning. I wasn’t happy with how it went, and I know who to blame for making him think he doesn’t have a right to his own kid. So I went to talk to Elizabeth to make her see sense, to find a way to get Jason to do the right thing—“

“Ah. You decided Jason didn’t know what what was best for him and tried to control his choices—“

“No! You’re not—“ Sonny scowled, threw up his hand. “Sure, you’ll take Jake’s side—“

“Jake’s side? Dad. You’ve lost the plot on this one. You really have. You’re just lucky Jason didn’t kick  your ass—“

“The day’s not over yet.”

Michael and Sonny both looked at the new voice, and Michael winced when he saw his uncle standing in the doorway, that familiar stone-faced expression and icy glint in his eyes. “Jase—“

“Not right now,” Jason said to Michael who closed his mouth because he wasn’t an idiot. He walked past Michael to the desk where Sonny slowly rose to his feet, his hands fisted at his side. “You and me? We’re done.”

“Don’t overreact—“ Sonny started from behind the desk. “I was trying to help—“

“I didn’t ask for your help and I don’t need it.” Jason didn’t move, and had never resembled a glacier more, Michael thought. Just a brittle pillar of rock hard, immovable ice. “Attacking Elizabeth is bad enough—“

“Is that what she said?” Sonny scoffed. “She never could handle the truth—“

“Dad, I’m gonna advise you to shut up,” Michael interrupted. “Jason—“

“Attacking Elizabeth is bad enough,” Jason repeated as if neither of them had spoken. “She’s an adult and can defend herself. But you should have shut your mouth the second those kids walked into the room and you know it.”

Sonny let out a slow exhale, then rubbed his temple. “Yeah, okay. Yeah, you’re right. I should have—“

“For decades I’ve put your family first. I’ve taken care of your kids. I would have given my life for them. I’ve sacrificed time with my sons for yours.” Jason looked at Michael. “I don’t regret it,” he told his nephew who only nodded. Because this wasn’t about any of that, and Michael knew it. Jason refocused on. “I did that because I thought we were family. But you never saw my children as part of yours. You did what you did today to hurt Elizabeth, and you didn’t give a damn about my son. You hurt Jake, and you hurt his brother. So we’re done now. That’s it.”

“Jason, come on—“ Sonny started after Jason but the younger man had already turned and left the office. His scowl deepened. “He doesn’t see that I was trying to help—“

“That’s what Mom always says, too, right after she’s destroyed something,” Michael offered and Sonny threw him a dirty look. “What do you want me to say, Dad? You’ve sunk to a new low this year. You and I both know what secrets I’m keeping—what you nearly let happen to Alexis—“ He looked away, troubled. “What I nearly let happen.”

“That has nothing to do with it—“

“Jason stepped up after it was done, didn’t he? Made sure it could never come back to you. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t second guess. He’s right. He’s always done everything you needed him. Everything I needed. Morgan, Kristina, Joss, hell, even Dante — he saved Dante’s life on that pier even though it blew his cover and he ended up with a bullet for his trouble. What have you done for Jake or Danny that’s even near any of that?”

“It’s not the same thing—“

Michael just looked at his father for a long moment, then shook his head. “You wouldn’t listen even if I tried to explain, so why bother? I learned a long time you only care about yourself. Good luck, Dad. You’ll need it.”

—

Elizabeth paced the length of her living room, back and forth, clutching her cell phone in her hand, willing it to ring. Wiling Jake to call her. Or to walk through the door. If she could just get him in the room, just explain—

There was a light knock at the door, and then Lucky was pushing the door open, stepping inside. “Hey. You, uh, you said it was an emergency. Everything okay?”

She made a face, then sighed. It wasn’t Lucky’s fault he wasn’t the person she wanted to see walking through her door. “I mean, we’re alive. But there was…a scene earlier. Sonny came over, and he just—I don’t know. He started this awful fight with me, and I can’t even begin to tell you how it unraveled. But Jake and Aiden walked in on it—“

“Oh man, do you want me to talk to Sonny? Smooth things over?” Lucky shoved his hands in his pocket. “We’re on good terms—“

“No.” Elizabeth blinked, bewildered by the offer. “No, I can handle Sonny. It’s what Jake and Aiden overheard. Sonny was telling Jake about…things that happened before he was born. The…” She hesitated. “What happened—“

“The lies,” Lucky said, and Elizabeth stopped again, pressing her lips together. “So Jake knows you lied to Jason and me about who his father was. What’s the big deal?”

Elizabeth opened her mouth, then closed it. “Jake—he was upset. Angry with me.”

“Yeah, well, I’m sure you never thought about it coming out, but I guess it was a matter of time.” Lucky slid his hand in his pocket, retrieved his phone. “So if you don’t want me to mediate with Sonny, what is it? Do you want me to talk to Jake or something?”

“No, I’m trying to explain to you that Aiden and Jake had so many questions. That they were trying to figure out the timeline, and of course, they know you and I were married, so that complicated things, and Jake got so upset, he stormed out and Jason went after him.” Elizabeth rubbed her chest. “Jason was trying to explain things to him, and he told Jake the reason I lied. About you—“

Lucky’s expression shifted from unconcerned to dread. He tensed. “About me? Shit. He told Jake about  the pills?”

“He didn’t get into the details, no. But I think he was just concerned with making sure Jake wasn’t blaming me—“ She broke off when Lucky snorted. “What?”

“No, why would Jason blame you? You only started the lie,” he bit out. “And made it everyone else’s fault. And Jason’s still carrying water for you. You guys like making it all my fault, don’t you—“

Elizabeth bit back the nasty words that nearly spilled out of her throat, forced herself to take a deep breath. “That’s not what I meant. I think Jason just wanted Jake to understand where my head was at back then, just to get Jake to calm down. We didn’t tell Aiden anything—“

“Good. Keep it that way. None of that is any of your business, and it’s ancient history. Aiden doesn’t need to have any of it dragged up. So great, consider me warned.” Lucky reached for the door.

“You know better, Lucky. The truth always come out.”

Lucky turned back to her, those blue eyes filled with familiar disdain. “The truth? What truth are we  talking about, Elizabeth? You lied to me for more than a year about the paternity of my son. You made me fall in love with him, and I mourned him when we thought he was dead. I brought him home to you—“

“I lied to you. I lied to Jason, and I hurt you both. That’s not news, Lucky. And you get to hold a grudge about it. But let’s not forget what you were doing that same year,” Elizabeth retorted. “Sleeping with a barely legal teenager, having her procure drugs for you, refusing to go to rehab until you thought you were having a biological son—I’m not an angel, Lucky, but you were hardly a blameless victim. So cut the crap. I don’t like the situation we’re in, but we’re in it. And you know better than anyone what happens when a boy has questions about his father.”

Lucky went still, his face losing color. “Are you comparing my drug addiction to what my father did to my mother? Have you lost your mind—“

“Oh, why do you always do this?” Elizabeth exploded. “You always make me out to be the absolute villain, when you know damn well I just meant that Aiden has questions now, and there are plenty of people in this town who don’t like you and remember what those days. He just has to tug at a string or two, and it unravels. Your affair with Sam was in our divorce papers, Lucky.”

“So was yours with Jason,” Lucky muttered, but he looked away. He dragged a hand down his face. “I hate this. You had no right—“

“I didn’t do anything, and you don’t get to be angry at Jason about how he handled this. You tried to set him up with a drug bust to make yourself feel better. He was trying to help his son understand a horrible, awful thing that his mother did, and I won’t apologize for Jason telling Jake the truth. You were a worthless, abusive drug addict who made me feel responsible for your sobriety and terrified what you would do if the truth came out. So if you want to blame anyone, look in the damned mirror, Lucky. You chose to take the drugs and sleep with Maxie in our bed. Now you have to lie in the mess you made.”

—

Molly trudged up the front walk of her mother’s house, tugging at the cuffs of her blazer, her eyes gritty from too many hours of reading paperwork that barely registered. Every day since Sam’s death, every day since the loss of Irene felt like a battle that refused to end.

A battle that Molly never quite manage to win.

She pushed open the door to her mother’s house, frowning when the living room was empty. She’d promised to come over tonight for dinner, so that she was sitting alone in her apartment while TJ put in another overnight shift.

Molly set her briefcase down by the door, hung up her jacket and nearly called out for her mother—but then she heard the stirring of voices. The kitchen, she realized, and started across the living room.

The voices were blurred, indistinct but became easier to understand as she grew closer. But she slowed her steps as the words themselves sank in.

“I know you’re making the right choice, Mom. Drew and Jason haven’t been the kind of fathers that Danny and Scout deserve,” Kristina said, that smug tone that made Molly see red every time she heard it. “And they’ll back down. They’ll have to.”

Molly crept closer to the kitchen door, hesitating to make herself known. She knew her mother was going for custody. She didn’t like it, but it was grief speaking. A desperate way to hold on to Sam, and Molly could understand that. It wouldn’t go anywhere, she thought. Danny was old enough to what he wanted, and the court would listen. And Drew was a Congressman! No court would ever take the kids away.

But there was something in Kristina’s voice that twisted at her, that dug deep in her belly. That brought that terrible rush of anger and grief of the day Molly had found those custody papers in her mother’s things. The realization that Kristina had planned to take Irene away from her, that she’d wanted to take Irene from TJ, too—

Molly touched her fingertips to the door, her breathing coming just a little faster. Alexis was talking now, responding to Kristina.

“I just hate the idea of dragging the kids into court. They’ve been through so much.”

“That’s the leverage, Mom. Drew and Jason won’t want to do that, and this is how we keep them together! It’s what Sam would have wanted—“

Molly pushed the door open and her mother and sister jolted, turning away from the counter with wide eyes. “Why am I not surprised?” she asked softly.

“Molly, I—“

“Forgot I was coming,” Molly said, and Alexis flushed, looked away. “That’s clear. You were too busy plotting to steal another man’s child. Again.” She looked at her sister, at Kristina’s arrogant lifted chin and cold eyes. “You’re making this a habit, aren’t you? Stealing your sister’s children?”

“You can’t steal what already belongs to you,” Kristina said. “Adela was my daughter—“

Alexis winced. “Kristina—“

“No.” Molly held up a hand. “No,” she repeated quietly. She fisted the hand, then let it fall to her side. “No. You won’t do this. I won’t let it happen.”

“Molly, wait—“ Alexis started forward.

But Molly was already gone.

—

Jason pushed open the door to his room above Bobbie’s feeling impossibly tired and worn, though it was barely four in the afternoon. He’d spent the majority of the day clashing with his son, with Sonny, and then that horrible conversation with Elizabeth where he’d admitted something he’d only suspected somewhere deep down.

For two long years, separated from his family who believed him dead, there had been a kind of peace. A terrible relief that he could just focus on the here and now and not think about anything else. Not about who he was hurting or the mistakes or the regrets. He’d hated those years, had missed his family and his home with an ache—

And yet—there had been those days. Those moments when he’d breathed with a sense of ease because it was clear to him. He had a mission, and he would achieve it. A certainty of purpose that he’d lost a long time ago. He’d had it after the accident, but lost it somewhere a long the way, in the guilt and obligations—

Jason looked at himself in the mirror over the sink, noting the changes in his appearance. His hair was grayer, lines in his skin from too much time in the sun and too little care for sunscreen. A permanent pinched expression around his mouth. He wasn’t the impulsive, angry kid he’d been after the accident that had reset his entire world. He wasn’t the sorrowful, weary victim who’d been lockedi inside a coma for a five years—

He didn’t know who he was anymore, and maybe that was what Elizabeth had seen that first day they’d seen each other again.

You look different.

He was different. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t take something away from those two years, something valuable.

A certainty of purpose. A conviction that he was doing what was right for him. So what did he want for himself? What did he want the rest of his life to look like?

A knock at his door drew his attention, and Jason left the bathroom, went to the door. He frowned when he pulled it open and found Molly Lansing-Davis on the other side. “Molly—“

“My mother wants to take your son away from you.” Molly took a deep breath. “You can’t use Diane for your custody. She’s in practice with my mother, and she’ll conflict out. So let me represent you.” Her bravado faded for just a moment. “I mean, if you’re planning to fight. I don’t know what you want. But you should get to do what you want. My mother and Kristina shouldn’t get to say what happens.”

He was a little confused by the inclusion of Kristina in that statement, but the rest of it was more important. What did he want?

“Come on in,” Jason said, stepping back. “Let’s talk about a retainer. Because, yeah, I’m planning to fight.”

+36

Shorter than I wanted it to be, but I really wanted to get the dialogue of this scene right.

Dear reader
When you aim at the devil, make sure you don’t miss

She didn’t turn around right away. One hand remained on the door knob, and the other resting against the door itself, her head dipped so that her gaze was on the carpet beneath their feet.

She didn’t turn around, Jason thought, but she didn’t open the door. She didn’t say a word. Deciding to take that as a positive, he stepped towards her. “I didn’t mean for you to be the last to know.” Had never even made that connection until right this minute — that one by one, he’d told every other important person in his life, and that somehow, she’d ended up at the end of the list —

“It’s because I didn’t ask.” Elizabeth took a deep breath, then slowly turned. Her eyes were still red, the skin slightly swollen from the tears caused by Sonny’s insanity and Jake’s anger. But her expression was unreadable to him now — that careful guarded look that she only rarely reached for. “I didn’t think you’d tell me. You never do.”

“I—” Jason stopped, stumped slightly by that response. “Yes.”

“I should know better after all these years, I guess.” Elizabeth folded her arms. “You typically respond to direct questions if you can. Or you tell me flat out you can’t say. I didn’t ask. So I guess I can’t complain that you didn’t tell me.”

He squinted, opened his mouth, then closed it again. Bewildered by the turn in the conversation. “I—”

“Let me guess. You told Sonny because you were accused of shooting Dante, and that you’d tried to kill him and he needed to believe that you hadn’t betrayed at him. And if I know Carly, she was probably in the room so that’s why she knows.”

“Yes—”

“And Sam—Sam didn’t want you to see Danny. So you told her so that maybe she’d change her mind.” Elizabeth folded her arms, tipped her head. “But I didn’t keep you from Jake. And I didn’t accuse you of anything horrible, so I didn’t ask and you didn’t have a reason to tell me.”

“That—I can’t tell you’re if you’re still mad at me,” Jason said finally. “Just tell me—”

Elizabeth exhaled, looked away, her brow furrowed as if she were internally debating the question. “No,” she said after a beat. Then she met his gaze. “Because I don’t need to be told you wouldn’t betray Sonny. And I wouldn’t use your job to keep you from your son. Not ever again. You didn’t have a reason to tell me. I wasn’t demanding answers from you. And the few times I tried to bring it up, you changed the subject. I let you do that,” she told him, “because I don’t want anything from you that I have to beg you for.”

He dragged a hand down his face, grimaced. “It sounds like you’re mad about something else now,” he muttered.

She smiled now, just a slight twitch of her lips. “Not mad. Just disappointed. After all these years, you still don’t trust me or anyone else very much. That’s not the right word—because I know it’s not about trust—”

“Then what is it about? Tell me and I’ll fix it—”

“It’s not something you fix, Jason. Because you were wrong not to tell me, but not because I’m Jake’s mother, or because we’ve been friends for so long. Because you need to tell someone. You went away for more than two years, and this time you knew. You were awake, and it was a conscious choice. You woke up every day and didn’t pick up a phone. You let everyone who loves you think you were dead. You made that choice not once, Jason, but more than six hundred times.”

Elizabeth tipped her head to the side. “And the one thing I do know about you is that you would never do that unless you thought you had to. So, no, I’m not angry that you were working for John Cates. Or that you were an informant. All of that — if you want to tell me more, I’ll listen. But I’m more interested in those choices you made.”

“There’s nothing interesting about that—”

“You’re wrong,” Elizabeth said gently, and so firmly that Jason just stared at her. “I thought you looked different when you came home. You agreed. Now I know why. The weight of all those days you lived without us, knowing that we grieved you, knowing that you would have to come home someday and face it — that weight doesn’t just go away because it’s over.”

His throat tightened, and he looked away, slid his hands back in his pockets. “I can’t change what I did.”

“No, you can’t.” She folded her arms again, and sighed. “It’s funny. I’m so angry at Sonny for the way he handled all of this, and I don’t intend to let him off the hook. But he’s got one thing right—”

“No, he doesn’t—”

“Yes, he does. You think you don’t have the right to fight for Danny in court. To stand up and demand your rights as a father. And you can blame me for it, and I could point fingers at Sonny or Carly, but at the end of the day, Jason, you’re the one who believes it.”

“Maybe all of that’s true,” Jason said slowly. “But it doesn’t change the fact that I don’t have the answers. Just because Danny is my son, that doesn’t mean living with me is the best choice—”

“Why not? He thought you were dead, Jason! He had both his parents back for a handful of months, and just like that—” Elizabeth snapped her fingers, and Jason flinched. “His mother is dead, and his whole world is upside down again. You’re his father. You love him, I know you do. He needs you and he needs to remember he’s only fourteen years old! He’s not an adult. Jake is putting off school because he doesn’t trust you to put Danny first.”

“I’m trying to—” Jason dragged his hands through his hair. “I’m trying to—”

“No, you’re sitting back like you always do. Reacting. Waiting for someone else to make the first move. You always did that to me, Jason, and it drove me insane because it meant I had to do what I thought was right for you and I sucked at it. You’re the only one who knows what’s right for you.”

“It seems like you’re still doing it. Still trying to tell me what’s best for me—” He clenched his jaw, and could feel the vein at his temple throb.

“Yeah, and you used to hate that. So get mad and tell me to go to hell—” Elizabeth held up a hand, lifted her brows. “Oh, sorry, I wouldn’t want to tell you what to do. Old habits die hard, you know. Sonny was out of line, Jason, but he did it because he thinks you won’t. Carly stomps around in your life because she knows you won’t stop her. Sam and I make—” She closed her eyes. “We made decisions for the boys because we knew you wouldn’t.” She opened her eyes, met his gaze directly. “Stop worrying about everyone else, Jason. Stop trying to do the right thing. To please everyone. To be everything to everyone. Put yourself first.”

“How do you I know that’s not what I was doing for two years?” Jason demanded, irritated beyond measure that every word she said was the absolute, devastating truth. “Maybe I was doing what I wanted, and that’s why I feel guilty. Maybe it was a relief to be away from all of this, from the demands and expectations, and the regrets and the hurt, and the mistakes—maybe I have nothing to feel sorry for at all. Maybe I liked it because it was simple. I had a job, I did the job, and I went on to the next thing. Maybe—” He broke off, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “Maybe I’m not the person I used to be, and everyone looking for me to be someone I’m not is what pisses me off.”

He stopped again, this time closing his mouth, mortified that any of those words had come from him, unsure how he could drag them back, shove them deep down where they belonged, in the dark. Just like him.

There was a long, terrifying moment of silence as they stared at each other, and then, for some reason, Elizabeth smiled. A true smile this time, one that reached her eyes. “Do you feel better?”

“I—” Jason paused. “What?”

“Do you feel better?” Elizabeth repeated.

“I—” He considered the question, because of course he didn’t feel better. How could he? He’d just spewed a bunch of a bullshit that wasn’t anything like what he really felt, except—

It was.

“I didn’t mean it—”

“Don’t walk it back.” Elizabeth came forward, closing the distance between. She reached for the edges of his jacket, tugging the sides straight. “Look at me.” She said nothing until he did as she asked, meeting her eyes again. “There’s no judgment here. Do you feel better?”

“Y-yes,” Jason finally admitted. “I’m sorry—”

“No, no. Don’t. Jason.” Her eyes softened. “Do you think I believe for a second you didn’t miss our son? That you didn’t worry about him or Danny or Michael or anyone here? Do you think for a second that I believe you were off living a happy life free of all the demands here?”

“No. No. I wasn’t—”

“I know.” She smoothed his jacket again, then let her hands fall back to her sides, took a step back. “But a piece of you was. And it’s okay. Your secret is safe with me.”

+35

Written in 55 minutes. I meant to have a second scene but this first one just took time to get right, but I’m happy with how it came out.

Dear reader
The greatest of luxuries is your secrets

The moment Jake learned that his father was still alive was burned in his brain, doomed to repeat itself on a loop, to be etched forever as a symbol of the fucked up relationship he’d had with his father since the day he’d returned from Greece.

He’d been lounging on his bed, switching back and forth between Snapchat and Tiktok, plotting how to sneak out with friends that weekend, endlessly scrolling instead of rolling over and going to sleep. Then he’d gotten an alert, a 911 text from a friend whose father worked at the PCPD.

yo dude they put out a apb on ur dad thats hella weird aint he dead

Jake had jerked straight up, his blood running cold, reading the words over and over again. He’d wanted it to be a lie. He’d tried everything.

hes dead dickwad april fools is for kids im gonna kick ur ass when i see u

There was no such thing as silence, not truly. He’d sat in that room, not speaking, not moving, but he was suddenly aware of every single sound. The creak of the steps when his brother sprinted down them, the wind from his open window, the cars pulling to a stop at the traffic light a block away, the squeal of brakes from those who waited too long—

no cap dude look its all over news turn on tv

His friend had attached the screenshot of an article from the Port Charles Sun website — COP SHOT BY MOBSTER BACK FROM THE DEAD!

Below the headline he found his father. They’d used one of his many mugshots and Jake had stared at that image — it was from his arrest the year he’d died. When the PCPD thought he’d murdered Franco. Everyone thought it — Cameron, Aiden, everyone at school — even his mother, who was careful not to say and had always defended Jason, harbored doubts.

But Jake never had. His dad was a complicated guy who’d done some crimes, sure. But cold-blooded murder? Of Jake’s stepfather?  No fucking way. And Jake had been right. Jason had been exonerated, and the world had gone back to normal for a while.

Until the tunnels in Greece had stolen his father away for good this time. He’d died trying to help someone, his mother had said, fighting back tears. It was a devastating loss for them all, Jake knew. Jason was more than just his dad, he was Mom’s best friend, and always had been.

Jake stared at the image for a long moment, then went back to the messages.

its a mistake my dad is dead theyre wrong

idk theres a vid ill try to find out more maybe its good news its cool if he came back right don’t u want ur dad to be alive?

Desperately.

He’d never answered his friend, had tossed the phone aside, and gone for the television downstairs, only to find Aiden already glued to the screen, and by the time his mother had called from the hospital, Jake knew it was true.

His dad was alive. He was wanted for trying to kill Dante. But this time Jake couldn’t believe in his dad. How could he?

His dad had pretended to be dead for over two years. If he could do that — if he could fake his death and run away from all of them, then maybe Jake had never known him at all.

It didn’t matter that his father was exonerated of that, too. Or that he’d showed up looking older and more worn — more tired — but still looking like his dad. It didn’t matter that he said all the right things or that his mother very carefully tried to support Jake while defending Jason —

None of that mattered.

Because there’d been that moment, that awful moment, and Jake couldn’t turn it off. Couldn’t ignore it. He tried for his mother, he tried for his brother, he tried for himself, and he thought he’d managed it. His dad paid for school, went with him to the airport, and they’d talked a few times on the phone — but never for long. And nothing more than a check in.

Because Jake couldn’t stop remembering that night, sitting in his room, the horrible, awful feeling that his father had left them. Left him.

And it was that anger that had exploded today, that anger that fueled Jake as he drove away from his mother’s house, driving aimlessly after dropping Aiden off at his boyfriend’s.

When he found himself near Kelly’s, his stomach rumbled, reminding him that he’d skipped breakfast and lunch. Jake pulled into the parking lot, hoping he could duck in and out without running into anyone.

He scanned the inside of the diner from the courtyard, but he’d missed Michael sitting in the back corner with his daughter. His cousin lifted a hand in greeting, and Jake sighed, knowing he couldn’t walk away. He scanned his memory for the kid’s name — Amy or something — and headed back.

“This is a nice surprise.” Michael rose and hugged Jake lightly. His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, but it was in a sad way, Jake thought, not a lying way. “We haven’t ordered yet, so you can join us.” He tilted his head. “Unless you’re in a hurry.”

To go back home? Not a chance. “Nah. This is a good. It’s, uh, nice to see you. I guess. Not—” He winced, dropped into the chair across from his cousin. “That’s not what I meant. I mean—”

“I get it. You’re home for a sad reason, so yeah, I’m glad we can catch up but I wish we couldn’t, you know?”

“Yeah.” Jake released his first easy breath. “Yeah, that’s it.” He picked up the menu, pretended to read it. “Um, how are you? The kids—” He peered over the menu to the toddler who beamed at him.

“Growing up way too fast,” Michael said, dumping a few more puffs on the kid’s little tray. “Amelia will be two in a few months. I don’t really know where the time’s gone, you know? Wiley just turned six.”

“Six,” Jake repeated. He rubbed his temple. “That did happen fast.”

Michael opened his mouth, but the waitress came over before he could say anything. When she’d left, taking their orders with her, he folded his arms on the table, leaned forward. “Are you okay? I mean, I know you’re probably worried about your brother, but I don’t know, you just look—” He wrinkled his nose. “Not that it’s any of my business.”

“Seems to be the theme today,” Jake muttered, then sighed when Michael lifted his brows. “I dunno. I’m still mad at my dad,” he admitted. “And…um, well, your dad came by my house today. I guess you should know that.”

“My dad? Why?” Michael asked suspiciously. “Not that he can’t, but he and your mom aren’t, like, super close.”

“No, clearly. They were arguing — or he was yelling at her—and it all just kind of—” Jake pressed his lips together. “Did you know that my mom lied to my dad about me? I mean, that he was my father?”

Michael’s mouth parted and his eyes widened. “Whoa—oh, man, is that what my dad said? That’s like ancient history. Why would he bring it up?”

Jake reached for a napkin, began to shred it into tiny pieces. “I dunno. Something about my mom being the reason my dad thinks he’s not a good father or some shit like that. I didn’t overhear a lot, because Dad showed up and he was really.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Michael dragged a hand down his cheek. “Oh, man,” he repeated. “I can’t even begin to think why Dad thought that was a good idea, but well, it’s not like he’s had a lot of common sense this year, and I wish like hell I could blame the way Ava screwed with his meds, but I can’t. Parents are exhausting, you know that?”

Jake snorted, feeling the first stirrings of amusement. “Yeah, they definitely are. But you probably win that contest.”

“Oh, definitely. Listen, we could get into the wildness that was that era because I do know some of it,” Michael admitted, “but I gotta tell you, as someone who once learned a whole lot of awful things about my childhood and what went down before I was born, it’s a slippery slope. Because your parents are humans who make giant mistakes, and it’s hard to go back to when they were just…you know, your parents.”

The waitress returned with their drinks, and Jake reached for his soda, considering Michael’s words. He swirled the straw in his glass. “I always knew Dad was complicated. I mean, even before he came home after the Cassadines took him and that coma thing — I had Drew—” He hesitated when he saw Michael’s mouth tighten, but it was gone so quickly he thought he imagined it. “But Drew was supposed to be Jason Morgan, right? So, like, you can’t grow up and not know. And he was always in and out of trouble. It’s just, like, that always seemed separate. Like that guy was—” Jake gestured. “Out there. And my dad was this other guy.”

“You separate them,” Michael said nodding in agreement. “Because you can’t really make it work in your head how they’re the same guy. I definitely get that, Jake.”

“But I always thought my dad—” Jake paused, took a deep breath. “I always knew he loved me. He was so careful, you know, when he came home. So super cool if I wanted to be around Drew. Just really let me get through how weird it was. But we did get through it.” His throat tightened. “We really got through it, and then he was just my dad, and I could, like, always call him. And my mom, she’s always been the best. I basically thought she was perfect. Even when I knew she wasn’t, she was my mom.”

“And now they both feel like strangers,” Michael said gently.

Jake couldn’t look up, his vision slightly blurred. “Yeah.”

“I’ve been where you are, Jake. It’s not easy. It’s the hardest thing I ever did—confronting who my parents were — and some of the things they did that affected me. It was impossible for a while, actually. I walked away from them both because I couldn’t find a way through my anger. I couldn’t stop being angry.”

“Yeah?” Jake lifted his head. “How’d you fix it?”

“I didn’t. It can’t be fixed. You can’t go back to who you were before. There’s no magic trick. But I can love my mother, I can be in a room with my father. I can be around my parents, and have them in my life. It took time, Jake. But the day is gonna come when you’ll wake up and realize that your parents still love you. That you still love them. And you’re not as angry anymore. At least not at them.”

Jake sighed. “Okay, but what if I just punch someone? Do you think that would help?”

Michael’s lips twitched and he leaned back. “Oh, yeah, that’s your dad talking. You’d feel better for a little while, but you’re an artist, Jake. It’s not worth it.”

“I hate that you’re right. It’s annoying.”

Michael grinned now, the humor reaching his eyes and lighting up his whole face. “Yeah, yeah, that’s what Joss says, too. Being the oldest is a heavy cross to bear, but somehow I manage it gracefully.

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