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

---

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I know—”

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

—

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Mom—”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jason closed the door in her face.

—

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

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

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

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

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

“Elizabeth.”

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

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

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