Written in 60 minutes.

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The interior of the SUV was deathly quiet as the vehicle traversed the distance between the PCPD and waterfront neighborhood where the house Jason had bought was located. Elizabeth had left her car there, and she had an inkling that Jason planned to drop the trio of them there, then spend the night alone, brooding over the scene at the PCPD.

He didn’t know it yet, but she wasn’t going to let that happen.

They’d left a pale and terrified Danny in Mac’s care, with his reassurances he’d look after him, and then had gone out to the lobby where Aiden was waiting alone. He’d related the stunning developments between Michael and Willow — and had been disappointed that it was old news to the three of them.

Jason parked behind Elizabeth’s car, then shifted slightly to look at her. “Tomorrow—” he began, but she was already fishing in her purse for her keys.

“Jake, I want you to take my car and go home with your brother. He has school in the morning—”

“I don’t really have to go to that, do I? I mean, come on, Mom!”

“—and then Jason and I will be there in a little bit to answer whatever questions you have.” She turned, holding out the key ring to her middle son. “Does that work for you?”

“Yeah, I guess. You should have let me get arrested,” Jake muttered. “Then I could be with Danny, and make sure he’s okay—”

Elizabeth turned shifted again so that she could face Jake more directly, waited for her son to look at her. “Mac is putting him in the women’s section tonight where they don’t have anyone in lock-up and Chase is taking the cell next to him so he’s not alone. Everyone except Drew knows what a mistake this is.”

“Yeah, but—” Jake closed his mouth, looked out the window. “It doesn’t matter. If I got tagged now, you’d just be mad and I guess we don’t have time for me to get charges, too. Probably wouldn’t help get Danny out tomorrow.”

“No, it wouldn’t. We’ll be just behind you, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” Jake reached for the door handle.

—

Jason watched the red taillights on Elizabeth’s car turn on the next block, then looked down at the quiet woman next to him, only to find her already studying him. “I thought maybe if I asked Mac again, he’d let me—”

“He’s already gone above and beyond, Jason, you know he’ll say no.” She tipped her head. “Come home with us tonight. You can have the sofa or Cam’s room for the night. But I don’t want you to sit alone and brood about this.”

“I don’t—” Jason closed his mouth when she just arched a brow. “I don’t brood,” he finished on a mutter. He exhaled slowly. “What if it doesn’t work? What if a judge says Danny has to stay, and Mac can’t stop family court from forcing a transfer—” He swallowed hard, looked out towards the end of the block. The street ended at the water front, and the sounds of the harbor could be heard faintly. Water lapping against wooden piers, horns of ships navigating the lake’s shipping lanes.

“You didn’t used to think about what ifs.” She touched his face, and he reluctantly looked back at her. “You taught me that. Looking forward to all the things you can’t control or looking back at what you can’t change — you said you wanted to find the pieces of your old self, right? Then let’s do that.”

“It was easier then. I didn’t—” His chest felt too tight, and it was a struggle to force the words through. “I didn’t know that much. It’s different when you can look back at decades of mistakes, and — what Michael went through at Pentonville—Elizabeth—” His voice faltered.

“It won’t happen to Danny. Not tonight. We can know that much, and I hope you find comfort in that. Chase is right there with him, and Danny knows him, doesn’t he? They live in the same house. And tomorrow, we’re going to tell that judge what Danny’s been through. I know it’s hard to trust the system. It’s not easy for me, either. I’ve seen it fail too many people, including Michael. But tonight? Tonight Danny is safe. Tomorrow—” She pressed her lips together. “If they don’t let us take him home, well, then we’ll talk about a country without an extradition order or something.”

The laugh that slipped out surprised them both, and he had to smile. He reached for her hand, touched the ring he’d given her only hours earlier. “I’m sorry. That’s not—that’s not how I wanted the kids to find out.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t want it that way either, but if it helps us bring Danny home sooner, then we can live with it. But that’s why I want you to come with me. Jake has questions, and we can practice some of our answers on him before Danny gets his turn.” She tugged on his hand, leading him towards the car. “We’ll stop at Bobbie’s, pick up a few things. And then face the music with Jake.”

He let her guide him to the driver’s side, but then stopped her before she went around to her side. “Hey.”

Elizabeth looked at him, her brows drawn together quizzically. “What? Did you leave something inside—”

He kissed her, cutting off the question. He could do that now, he thought. Any time the thought popped in his head, and for the first time in a long time, he wasn’t shoving his hands in his pockets to stop himself from touching her, sliding his hands through her silky hair, cupping the back of her head, tipping it back so he could deepen the kiss for just a brief moment, before drawing back.

“Thank you.”

She opened her eyes, then licked her lips. “For what?” Elizabeth asked.

“For reminding me why I never should have walked away from you in the first place.” He stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles. “You keep me grounded. When I look at you, when you say it’ll be okay, I believe you.”

“We take turns at that.” She rested her forehead against his chest, and they stood there for another long moment, just listening to each other breathe, and he wondered at how easy it was to fall back into each other, into this moment, and why it didn’t feel awkward.

“The boys are waiting for us,” Jason said, pressing his lips to the top of her head. He rubbed her shoulders. “And it’s getting cold. We should get home.”

Elizabeth squeezed his hand, then headed around the SUV to the passenger side. “Let’s go.”

—

Michael stepped into the quiet foyer, all the primary lights dimmed indicating the family had gone to their rooms for the night. He looked around, wondering what to do. Though Willow had only left the PCPD moments before he had, she’d been gone when he reached the sidewalk, and she wasn’t at the car.

He’d driven home, almost trance-like, making turns and following traffic guidelines automatically.  How many times had he traveled between the Quartermaine estate and the PCPD? Too many. And he’d gone back to the main house, assuming the kids were up there since he and Willow had left them there.

But now he stood in the middle of this room, uncertain what to do. It wasn’t that late, but for Amelia and Wiley, they’d be long asleep by now. And if he went down to the gatehouse, he would just see Willow everywhere.

How had it gone so wrong? Where had it gone crazy? When had he lost his wife? Shouldn’t you know when your marriage shattered? How could that happen when you weren’t looking?

“Michael?”

He blinked, looked up and saw his cousin, saw Brooklyn standing in the entry to the sitting room. He cleared his throat. “Is—everyone—are they—”

“They went to bed. Not without a fight,” she added with a wry smile. “Granny had to nearly twist Aunt Monica’s arm, but it worked. And Scout—well, it helped to have Wiley and Amelia here. They’re upstairs, asleep. I figured you’d be okay with that.”

“Yeah.” He dragged a hand down his face, then went past her, heading for the mini bar. “Yeah. I, uh, I didn’t wait to see Jason at the PCPD after he saw Danny. How did that—are  they keeping him tonight?”

“They are, but Mac found a loophole to keep Danny at the station tonight, and Chase is taking the cell next to him. They also put Danny in the women’s section. He’s safe there.”

Michael’s hand bobbled a little as he poured the vodka. “Chase is….Chase is a great guy.”

“Don’t I know it.” Brook came up to him, but kept her distance. “Hey. Not that I care all that much, but…did Willow go to the gatehouse, or—”

“I don’t know where she is.” Michael tossed back the vodka, the burn of the liquor scorching a trail down his throat. “I don’t care.”

“Do I—do I get to ask why? You can say no—”

Michael looked at her, then poured another shot. “She wanted me to try and understand that Drew is a good man. That we could find a way to fix all of this. My little cousin—our little cousin—” he corrected, “— is in jail, and she’s defending the man who—” He closed his mouth. “I couldn’t stop myself. Couldn’t keep it in anymore.”

“Michael—”

“It wasn’t just one kiss.” Michael looked at Brook again. “They slept together. The night Sam died. In the nursery.”

“In the—” Brook stopped. “You better pour me one of those. And then start at the beginning.”

—

Willow hadn’t gone far after dashing out of the PCPD — had stumbled and sobbed the five b locks to her mother’s building, shakily begging over the intercom to be let into the building, then practically fell into Nina’s arms.

“Oh, God, oh, God, he knows, he knows—” Her breathing hitched and she hiccuped, dragging in a deep breath, trying to find control again, but she couldn’t. It was all breaking apart, jagged pieces raining down and pricking her skin — she was burning all over—

“Sit down, sweetheart—” Nina guided Willow to the nearest sofa. “Whatever it is, we can fix it—”

“N-No—” She looked at her mother, little more than a blurry mess. “No, we can’t. I slept with Drew. And Michael knows. Oh, God, he’s known all along—” Her stomach lurched, remembering the video, then she jumped up, and ran to the nearest bathroom, making it just in time to vomit.

—

TJ found Molly waiting on the roof of General Hospital, staring out over the city skyline, hugging herself. He was already dragging off his lab coat, intending to drape it over the thin long-sleeved she wore when Molly turned and he saw her swollen eyes, the tears staining her cheeks. “Mols. What happened—”

“My family—it’s—it’s so destroyed. So broken. Danny—oh, God, he’s in jail.” She reached for him, gripping the fabric of his scrubs, twisting it in her fingers. “Is this my fault? Did I start this? Did I make this happen? What do I do? What do I do?” And then she crumbled, falling against him, sobbing so hard that her body trembled from the force of it, sobbing harder than she had in weeks, months, maybe even years.

And all TJ could do was hold her tightly, and hope the storm would pass.

—

The lights were visible in the living room as Jason and Elizabeth approached the front door. She wrinkled her nose. “So much for hoping they’d fall sleep before we got here.”

Jason seemed steadier after their conversation, and she was rewarded with a slight smile. “I haven’t been around teenage boys as much as you have, and even I knew that wasn’t going to happen.”

“Time to face the music, I guess.” She pushed the door open, unsurprised when she found her sons on the sofa, a half-eaten pizza in a box on the coffee table. “Hey. Sorry, that took longer than we thought it would.”

“No problem.” Jake tossed his crust into the box, then got to his feet. “Aiden and I had time to think.”

“And make a list,” his brother added, a piece of paper in his hand. “You wanna start?”

“Yeah.” Jake lifted his chin, folded his arms. “Now that we’re not at the PCPD, are you pretending to be engaged to get Danny out, or is this, like, real?”

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