Written in 61 minutes. Ending is a little awkward, but I was out of time 😛

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Drew snorted, tossed the newspaper on the desk. “You’re really desperate if you think you something like that is going to tank my career or if you think I’d give up my daughter for that.” He folded his arms. “You can’t just publish something like without proof, and we both know Willow would never have anything to do with this. Unlike the rest of this family, she still believes in the truth.”

“Gee, Curtis, he seems very confident.” Michael leaned back against the desk, with a smirk of his own.

“Worst kind of politician,” Curtis replied. “He actually believes his own bullshit.”

“Do it, Curtis, and I’ll have my lawyers sue this paper for defamation and fire you so fast—”

“Oh—well, that’ll be a little difficult considering—” Michael lifted his brows. “You no longer own the majority share. Curtis?”

“There’s a new majority stakeholder in Aurora Media,” Curtis reported. “You know, the shares you put on the market to finance your run for office?”

“That wouldn’t be enough to tip the balance—”

“They would be if the shareholder in question already owned a substantial portion.”

Drew’s smug expression faded just a little at Michael’s interruption. “What?”

“I bought them,” Michael said. “As an independent shareholder. Because you were family, and you’d helped save Willow’s life. I wanted to support you. Over the last few days, I’ve made calls to a number of shareholders of Aurora Media, who were all happy to sell me their shares for market price. But the final piece I needed? That was easy. All I had to do was talk to the trustee of your daughter’s inheritance from her mother.”

Drew exhaled a slow breath. “Sam had stock—”

“Stock you gifted her when you purchased the company. Stock she gave to her children in her will. Stock controlled by the trustee of their trust fund.” Michael held out the contract. “After you brutalized her grandchildren, Alexis was only to happy to help fund your downfall.” He straightened. “So. You’re out, Drew. Of Aurora, of this family, and time.”

“This—this can’t—” Drew ignored the contract in Michael’s hands, whipped out his cell phone, and began furiously swiping to get to the stock app. “You can’t do this—”

“I can, and I have. Oh, and Aunt Tracy filed an injunction against your name change. It wasn’t permanent yet,” Michael added when Drew whipped his head up. “Did you think you could bulldoze your way through my family and walk away with everything you wanted?” he asked coolly.

“I know you’re angry about what happened with Willow, Michael. But I promise you—it just happened. It was one of those things—you understand. You’ve been in my place before,” Drew said, stepping towards Michael. “You had an affair with Willow, too. Monogamy—after what she went through in that cult—it’s just not the same to her—she has the morals of an alley cat—”

Drew’s words were cut off abruptly when Michael backhanded him, sending him flying, hitting a chair on the way down. “You dumb son of a bitch—” Drew hurtled to his feet, and his first clipped Michael in the jaw, but Michael had moved just at the right minute, so most of the force was wasted, and Drew went back to the ground.

Willow rushed in, drawing up short when she saw Drew on the floor, Michael standing over him, chest heaving. “I’m sorry, I know I’m supposed to wait, but—” Her voice was shaky. “I thought he was killing you—”

“Stay down,” Curtis advised, planting a foot on Drew’s chest.

Michael looked at Willow. “You don’t have to do this anymore—he doesn’t deserve the break we’re giving him—”

“Stealing my company and destroying my life is a break—” Drew grunted, shoving Curtis in the leg. He rolled to his hands and knees. “Willow, you know it wasn’t like that between us—”

“I don’t know why you’re appealing to me with my lack of morality,” Willow bit out, and Drew winced. “Is that the story you’re going with? Really? I seduced you? You son of a bitch. You gave me a job, booked trip after trip where we were alone! You kissed me! And when I told you to leave me alone, you kept showing  up everywhere I went. When I was out with Michael, at work—”

Drew climbed to his feet. “Oh, and you’re blameless—”

“No, I’m not—” Tears glimmered in Willow’s eyes now. “I thought I saw something in you, something that mattered enough to blow up my entire world, but you’re nothing but a selfish, greedy, evil bastard. What you did to your daughter, to Danny, to Michael—you’re right,” she said to Michael. “He doesn’t deserve this break, but Danny and Scout do. And this makes it over faster.”

Michael made a face, looked at his uncle. “Sign guardianship over to Jason. Keep Scout and Danny together. You can tell whatever political story you want. You can keep the goddamn name. But you go to DC, and after you’re done there, you take some lobbyist job that keeps you far away from this family.”

“You think I’m giving up Aurora and my daughter so your wife can save face?” Drew demanded. “Go to hell—”

“You’re going to lose your daughter anyway. Witness after witness will talk about how little you’ve given a damn about her since you came back from prison. Trying to send her to a boarding school against her wishes? Leaving bruises? Barely talking to her day after day?” Michael shook his head. “Once family services gets involved Drew, there’s no turning back. Sign that, and an investigation ends—”

“It’s in the papers—” Drew growled. “It’s already out there—”

“It’s the Port Charles Sun. You’re not even a Congressman yet,” Curtis said coolly. “Maybe it’s a scandal for a few days, but then something in DC will happen and it’ll go away. Or I can keep printing stories. Willow can give her side. Maybe a bigger media market picks it up—”

Drew scrubbed his hands over his face. “This is some bullshit,”  he bit out. “I didn’t do anything wrong—”

“Sign this, and the shares I bought in Aurora — they get turned over to Scout when she’s of age. That’s the deal, Drew. And it’s good for five more minutes.” Michael held out the agreement. “Take it or leave it.”

—

Sonny stirred some sugar into his coffee, glancing up only briefly when Jason appeared in the doorway of the restaurant. “Wondered if you’d come by today.” He held up the Sun. “Hell of a story, isn’t it? Drew’s going down in flames.”

Jason hadn’t seen a print copy of the paper yet, and pulled it from Sonny’s grasp. Scout’s face had been blurred, but Danny’s face, the bruises from the first night, stared back at him. “We just heard from Molly. The charges got dropped.”

“Is that so?” Sonny shrugged, went over to a booth, sat down with his coffee. “Not surprised. It was a bad case.”

“Yeah. We knew it would happen. Just—” Jason tipped his head. “We figured after the story hit the papers this morning. But Turner dropped the charges first.” He pressed his lips together. “Did you do something?”

Sonny hesitated, then looked at his old friend. “I made it worth Turner’s while to make the charges go away. And don’t worry, I got Spinelli to cook it up so that it’s above board. None of her financial obligations are gone. She just won’t be the one paying them. And the only deal is for Danny. She still gets to go after me — or you, though, uh, I’m guessing you’re pretty much done with that part of your life.”

“As done as I get to be with what it’s in my past.” Jason laid the paper table. “We were handling it—”

“And it would have worked out. Turner’s heart wasn’t in it — she barely even threatened to call the PCPD. But—” Sonny took a moment. “I didn’t like it. When you came down on me for the way I’ve handled my kids. I took it personally because if you think you shouldn’t be a father because your life, well, what does that say about me?” When Jason just looked away, Sonny nodded. “Yeah, well. I’ve got my regrets, like anyone else. And I don’t like to apologize. I double down. Which is what I did in court last week. I’m—” He made a face. “I’m sorry.”

“Do you really think that fixes everything?” Jason wanted to know.

“No.” Sonny sipped his coffee. “Because I did what I did. You were right, you know. About me not seeing your boys as part of my circle. As being on the same level as maybe Dante or Kristina or Michael. They didn’t matter to me the way they should have. I could blame you for making them part of your life—but that’s still not an excuse. Jake and Danny are your sons. And I should have been better.”

He stared down at the white tablecloth. “Danny’s about the age I was when I got rung up on my first charges. I was scared as hell, thought it was all over. I watched Michael go through that, Kristina nearly got pulled into it. And Christ, Morgan—my blood gave him nothing but darkness—” Sonny rubbed the side of his face. “I don’t want your boys to have the life I’ve had. The one you’ve had. We came out okay on the other side, I guess. But that doesn’t mean I don’t get wanting more. Wanting better.”

Jason shoved his hands in his pockets. “I wish I could tell you that we’re good now, but—”

“But I said what I said, and I did what I did. And I can’t imagine I’m Elizabeth’s favorite person right now. I, uh, heard about the engagement. Carly said it came up in court.”

Jason winced. “I didn’t think about her finding out that way. She hasn’t said anything—”

“We both got a wake-up call, Jase. Whether you care that we learned our lesson or not, we did. I can’t promise she won’t say something eventually, but —” Sonny got to his feet. “It’s a good thing you didn’t listen to me. Because you obviously know what you want and need better than I do. And from now on, I’m gonna respect that. You tell Elizabeth that if and when she’s ready for an apology, I’ll offer it, but until then, I’ll take my cue from you.”

“Thank you.” Jason paused. “For making sure Danny doesn’t have to have that hanging over his head. We were handling it, but it’s…it’s a relief knowing he doesn’t have to think about it again.” He started for the door, but he looked back when Sonny called his name. “Yeah?”

“You’re good now, right? Happy, I mean? With Elizabeth and the boys? This is what you want?”

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

—

Elizabeth flicked through a few screens on the computer screen, wincing at the schedule, wondering how to stretch the nursing schedule even further — then heard a familar voice clear their throat. She didn’t take her eyes off the screen. “Can I help you, Carly?”

“I went by the house, but the kids said you were at work. You…you must be happy Cam’s home.”

Now Elizabeth looked at her, saw that Carly’s expression was almost friendly. Suspicious, but almost intrigued, she turned to fully face her. “I am. I don’t get to have all three of them together much these days, so it’s always nice.”

“And Danny—he seemed to be—he seems to be okay. With…being there.” Carly made a face, and the first twitch of her lips that suggested she was trying very hard to be civil. “I’m…glad you were there. At court. To give the judge a place for Danny to go. I mean, I would have been happy to stand up—”

“But we wanted Danny to be with his brother and father,” Elizabeth finished, and Carly’s lips twitched again.

“Right. There’s that. Michael said you and Jason are….still getting married. Even with Alexis settling the custody case.” She pursed her lips. “And you’re after custody of Scout now, too.”

“Michael’s accurate.” Elizabeth picked up some charts. “Is there anything else—”

“All I ever wanted was for Jason to have his boys. He has them now,” Carly said. “And it has to be you, I guess I can live with that.”

“Gee, thanks, Carly—”  When Carly snagged her arm as Elizabeth tried to pass, she sighed, looked back at the blonde. “Carly—”

“We’re never going to be friends. Which is fine by me. But your kids are pretty great. Which means you can’t be that bad. I’m glad Danny has you. And I hope Scout gets to have you and Jason, too.”

Elizabeth tipped her head to the side. “Thank you. That means a lot, coming from you.”

Carly squinted, trying to find the insult, then her expression eased when she didn’t detect one. “Okay. So—how are we getting rid of Drew and is there anything I can do to help?”

—

Jason stepped inside Alexis’s living room, relieved when only Michael and Molly were in the room. He didn’t feel like going another round with Kristina. “Hey. How did it go this morning?”

“Well, Michael almost got arrested for assault,” Molly said, throwing her cousin a dirty look.

Michael shrugged. “Worth it.”

“But otherwise—” Molly extended a sheaf of legal papers. “He signed it. Guardianship of Emily Scout Cain, awarded to you and to Elizabeth. The papers say he’s supposed to have one visit a month, but unofficially—”

“He’s agreed that no visitation starts until Scout gives the okay.” Michael put a hand at his waist, his suit jacket falling back. “In return, a majority stake in Aurora Media  gets put in her name, all proceeds to go to a trust fund controlled by Alexis.  And no investigation with family services.”

“Which I hate,” Alexis muttered, folding her arms. “He should be raked across the coals and run from town by pitchfork for what he did to those kids—”

“I agree,” Jason said, and she smiled faintly. “But we all agreed that we needed to make this painless for Danny and Scout. They’ve dealt with enough since Sam died. At least now, we can finally get some normalcy for them. Thank you. Both. For everything you’ve done,” he said to Molly and Michael. He looked at Alexis. “I’m going to depend on you, Molly—and Kristina—to be a huge part of their lives. To keep Sam alive for them. I know you’d do it without asking, but I want you know that I understand how important it is for them to have their mother’s family part of their lives.”

“Considering the hell I’ve put you through—” Alexis’s voice broke for a moment, and she looked away. “Thank you. For keeping them together. It’s all I wanted.” Molly reached out, squeezed her mother’s hand.

“Do you want to come with me?” Jason asked. “To tell them it’s over and Scout’s coming with us?”

“No. No.” Alexis took a deep breath. “You and Elizabeth should do that together. They’re going to be so happy.”

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There are only two updates left, and then Dear Reader moves into the editing phase. But since it’s part of the Taylor Swift Midnights collection, I’ll be editing it this fall, so please let me know anything you’d like to see flesh out, maybe scenes or characters you wanted more from, etc.

The next few flash fiction series will be from the Midnights collection because, A, I need to actually get some work done on the Swift project, and B, the theme of that album is Taylor writing about what she’s thought during sleepless nights, and ha, I tend to mostly only think about Flash these days 😛

See you in the next update!

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