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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Fine. But this isn’t over.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

“Michael—”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I don’t care about that—”

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

—

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

——

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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