Written in 60 minutes. I feel like I’m writing slowly for some reason, lol. Or the scenes are longer than they were meant to be in my outline. Anyway.

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Sunday, September 14, 2024

Webber House: Kitchen

 “Feeling a little better?” Elizabeth asked, taking the empty cereal bowl from Danny and rinsing it in the sink.

“Yeah, I guess.” Danny, seated on the stool on the other side of the counter, fidgeted. “When is my dad getting back?”

“Soon, I would think.” Elizabeth put the bowl and spoon in the dishwasher, then reached for a dish towel, leaning against the sink. She tipped her head. “Any plans for what you want to say to him when he does?”

“I dunno.” Danny jerked one shoulder. “I already tried I’m sorry. Didn’t seem to make a difference.” He lifted his sullen gaze to hers. “Any suggestions?”

“I don’t know. I’m still trying to think of what to say to Aiden. Usually when I don’t know what to do, I think about my parents.” She tossed the towel on the counter. “And then do the opposite.”

Danny frowned, sitting up slightly. “Your parents? Aiden’s never mentioned them.”

“Because they’ve never met.” Elizabeth came around the counter, and headed into the living room, making a show of folding blankets, tidying up some books and magazines, counting on Danny to follow her.

“Never?” Danny came to the threshold of the kitchen, his brow still furrowed. “Are they, like, dead?”

“Might as well be.” Elizabeth shook her head slightly. “That’s—that’s an awful thing to say, but you know, you can’t help how you feel. My parents haven’t really played a role in my life since I was about your age. I came to Port Charles to live with my grandmother, and well—” She sat in the arm chair, one leg folded beneath her. “That was pretty much it.”

Danny sat on the sofa. “So you don’t like them.”

“Can you say that you don’t like someone you don’t really know?” Elizabeth wondered. “I never got the chance to see them as anyone other than my parents. Jeff and Carolyn Webber? Never met them. Mom and Dad, the parents who never understood me or bothered to try? No, I didn’t like them very much. And I don’t know if they liked me. I used to be angry about that,” she added. “But then I had kids of my own, and I just…I felt sorry for them.”

“Why? If they don’t like you, that makes them assholes. You’re supposed to like your kids.”

“You’re supposed to love your children,” Elizabeth corrected. “Like? That’s different. I loved my grandmother, and I know she loved me. But she absolutely had phases of not really liking me very much. Usually when I was hanging around your dad.”

“Dad has that effect, I guess.” Danny pressed his lips together. “So maybe my parents don’t like me very much right now.”

“Maybe not. But they love you. Very much.” When he just scoffed, she smiled faintly. “You don’t think they do?”

“I don’t know. They hate each other. I know my mom—” Danny paused, then looked at her. “I don’t know if I should talk about my mom with you. She doesn’t like you very much. And I guess you don’t like her either.”

“That’s true. Sam and I have disliked each other for a very long time. And you don’t have to talk to me, Danny.” She propped her elbow on the arm chair, then rested her forehead against her fist. “I think it’s hard to be a child of divorced parents. I was around Michael and Morgan when Sonny and Carly were going in their circles — Morgan was too young, I think, to remember, but I know it was hard on Michael. They argued over everything, including custody of him.”

“You and my dad are pretty good,” Danny muttered. “Maybe it’s because Jake’s so much easier. He doesn’t cause any trouble.”

“That’s not why,” Elizabeth said. “Jason and I were friends long before we had a child together. We were friends first, and I think that helps, you know? We respected each other before, during, and after our relationship. And our son always came first for us.” She paused. “That’s not to say you don’t come first for your parents—”

“Yeah, Jake comes first for Dad, you don’t have to tell me that—” Danny started to rise, and Elizabeth got up with him, holding out a hand.

“I have three boys, Danny. And I can put each of them first. Even when they’re arguing. Your dad isn’t playing favorites. He knows he’s made mistakes. Especially the two years he was gone. I won’t defend him on that. But he’s trying to make up for that now.”

Danny’s lip trembled, and he looked away. “I guess. But he didn’t really fight Mom when she was keeping us apart. He didn’t care—”

“He cared. He just also respected your mom’s boundaries. She was worried that your father’s choices would come back to haunt you. I don’t have to agree with her to understand. Please remember, Danny, what your mother and I have seen being in Jason’s life. Michael was shot in the head. Jake was kidnapped. Morgan died in an explosion. None of these were your dad’s fault, and Morgan was a terrible tragedy — but we’ve seen a lot of violence. Your mother and I? Kidnapped. Both of us,” she added when Danny stared at her, eyes wide. “I’ve got a scar—” She drew up her sleeve on her right shoulder. “It’s faint now—but I was grazed by a bullet. Your mother was actually shot and nearly died.”

“I—” Danny swallowed hard. “I didn’t know all of that.”

“I’m not telling you that to scare you or upset you. I always knew who your father was, and so did Sam. We made our choices, and we’ve lived with the consequences. We just…we took different lessons from it, that’s all. I believe him when he says he’s left that life behind. I don’t think your mother does. And that made her scared for you. Jason has always respected that. When it was me—” Elizabeth paused. “When Jake was younger, I wasn’t sure I wanted everyone to know he was Jason’s son. Not because he isn’t an amazing father who loved our child. But because there were people who would take advantage of that. Jason respected my choice then, and he was respecting your mother’s now.”

Danny sank back onto the sofa, cleared his throat. “Does—does Jake know? I mean, what you just told me?”

Elizabeth took her seat again, leaning forward, her forearms resting on her thighs. “No. It’s a conversation we’ll probably have to have at some point, I’m sure. But there are people who will tell you that Jason doesn’t love his sons. That he loves Carly’s kids more. I’ve heard it for years,” Elizabeth said, and Danny nodded. “You, too?”

“Mom. She’s…” He made a face. “It’s been mentioned. I guess I didn’t ever see that—”

“Sonny made different choices.” Elizabeth hesitated. “He thought he could protect his children better by being in their lives, providing security. And most of the time, he was right. But Michael and Morgan, and to a lesser extent, Kristina and Joss, they grew up with armed  guards, bulletproof cars, private schools, and the constant fear that this would be the day things changed. Jason was involved in their lives because of Sonny’s choice. Not his own. The choice he made for his kids was different. And while it frustrated me sometimes, too, and I didn’t always like or accept it, I understood it.”

She scooted to the edge of the chair, waiting for Danny to look at her. When he did, she continued, “I’ve known your dad for almost my whole life, and almost from the beginning, if your dad thought I was safer without him, he chose that option. Waiting, hoping that Sam would see things were different, your dad waited. He played by her rules. You don’t have to like or agree with his choice, that’s okay. I usually disagreed with him, too. But I used to make the mistake of thinking that his ability to walk away from me, from Jake, meant he loved us less.” She reached out, touched Danny’s forearm. “I hope you don’t make that same mistake.”

Danny drew in a shaky breath, then swiped at his eyes. “Why are you being n-nice to me?” he asked.

Elizabeth sat back. “Because I like you, Danny. Not just because you’re Jason’s son or Jake’s brother. But you remind me of who I was when I came to Port Charles.”

“I do?” Danny frowned. “How?”

“I was angry all the time. At the world, at my family, strangers on the street — I was miserable. I felt like I was a square peg being jammed into a round hole, you know? And I just wanted to do some damage. Maybe I wanted to make my parents stop trying to fix me. Or see me. I smoked. Cigarettes,” she added when he stared at her. “I drank a little. Not a lot. It wasn’t easy to get alcohol. Or weed. But I’d have done pretty much anything. Maybe I wanted a reaction from my family. Trying to get their love hadn’t worked—”

She leaned back. “I look back now, and I don’t know what I was so angry about. Or why I was so willing to trash my own life to feel better. I don’t know where I would have ended up if I hadn’t come here. If I hadn’t met people who seemed to like me just the way I was. My grandmother — some of the time. Your aunt Emily. Your dad. Aiden’s dad, sometimes,” she added. “I don’t know what’s making you so angry,” she continued. “I can make some guesses, but only you can really answer that. I just hope when your dad gets back, the two of you can really talk. He’s a great listener, Danny. I promise you that. Whenever my life seemed like it was falling apart, I went to him, and he always made me feel better.”

Danny hesitated. “But I got Aiden in trouble—”

“Aiden got himself in trouble. He could have, and should have said no. But he felt loyal to you, to his cousin. He told me—well, he told your dad—that there’s been trouble at school.” When Danny looked away, Elizabeth sighed. “And you won’t tell me either, that’s fine. But he said you stood up for him. Shoved a kid into a locker?”

“Deserved it,” Danny muttered.

“Yeah, he probably did. But I’ll tell you something — my best friend? Emily? I would have—and did—commit a few crimes for her. And she did the same for me. We got into trouble together and we were there to get each other out. Though sometimes, we needed an assist from your dad. You’re going to make mistakes, Danny. This? This was a big one. You’re the only one who can decide what happens next.”

Bobbie’s: Courtyard

“You’re so lucky Mom wanted to talk to Danny one-on-one,” Cameron said, dropping into a chair, and reaching for the menu tucked between the napkin canisters. “Because if it were up to me, you’d still be jail.”

“Ha,” Aiden muttered, snagging a menu of his own though it hadn’t changed much in his entire life. “I didn’t actually get arrested.”

“Perfect sons. What part of that didn’t you get?” Jake wanted to know. He leaned across the table. “Believe me, I’ll be kicking Danny’s ass the second Mom and Dad turn their backs, and then you’re next—”

“Hey. I said I was sorry, okay? I was stupid. I messed up—neither of you were perfect,” Aiden retorted.

“Neither of us were trying to be.”

Cameron grimaced. “Look, I have to go back tonight because I promised Mom, and unlike other people at this table, I keep my promises. But I swear to God, if either of you dicks fuck Mom’s bail up while I’m gone, I’ll make you both sorry you were ever born.” He jabbed a finger at Jake. “And you, give Danny a break.”

“What? Are you freaking kidding? He’s the problem—”

“I’m sorry, what part of Sam’s his mother is hard for you to understand?” Cameron wanted to know. “Aiden’s not old enough to remember, but you and me? We damn sure are. Danny’s lucky he’s made it this far with half a personality. If you ask me, his mom dumping him in a police station because it got too hard, best thing that could have happened to him.”

Aiden scowled. “How is getting abandoned by your parent a good thing? I have to look at a picture of my dad to remember what he looks like—”

“Well, now that Jason and Mom are back together, she can fix whatever damage Sam did to him, and we’ll get a new little brother to torture.” Cameron lifted his eyes to see his brothers staring at him. “What?”

“What do you mean, Mom and Jason are together?” Aiden asked.

“Dad’s just helping out because of the jail thing,” Jake said.

Cameron looked at the sky. “What did I ever do to you?” He rolled his eyes. “How can you dorks live in town with them and not see it? Please. Don’t vote. You scare the hell out of me.”

Jake flicked a straw wrapper at him. “What proof do you have they’re together?”

“Fine. Doubt me. And why are you fighting me so hard? Don’t you want them back together?

Jake closed his mouth. “I—I never thought about it. I guess—I mean, I guess it would be good. Aiden?”

“Jason made Mom less mad at me this morning. I am on board for that.”

“Glad we could straighten that out. Back to the rules—” Cameron jabbed a finger at both of them. “Either of you screw up, I’m catching the red eye back to kill you. No more crimes. One Webber out on bail is more than enough.”

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