Written in 75 minutes. I highly doubt you’ll argue with me when you get to the end.

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Thursday, September 5, 2024

Webber House: Living Room

Jake thumbed through the battered pages of a travel guide to Barcelona. “How many of these places did you get to see?” he asked his father. “Did you have a lot of time there?”

Jason shifted in the chair,  leaning back to let Elizabeth pass in front of him with a few of the remaining dishes from dinner, then focused back on Jake. “I think I ended up spending about a week there before going to Madrid. My Spanish wasn’t that great back then, but it wasn’t so bad to get around if you at least tried a few phrases.”

“Yeah, that’s what my Spanish teacher always says.” Jake flipped to another page. “It’s gonna be awesome being in Europe. Everyone always says it’s super cheap to travel there once you’re in the EU.” He looked up when Elizabeth sat next to him. “I keep telling Mom if I get into this school she should come over next summer and we’ll, like, totally backpack through Europe.”

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “That means hostels and shared bathrooms. No thanks.” She twisted the cap off a bottle of water. “And I can’t leave your brother—”

“Ship him off to his dad or something. Or grandma Laura.” Jake closed the travel guide, looked at his dad. “You know she’s never been to Europe. I mean, other than a trip to Greece that was five minutes long. I bet you didn’t even sight-see.”

Elizabeth sighed, tucked her hair behind her ears. “No, since we were going to track down Helena and you’d just come home,” she told him, “sight-seeing didn’t seem like a good use of my time.” She picked up the travel guide. “Are these still the same ones you had before?” she asked, sliding her fingers over the worn corners. “You always had a shelf of these at the penthouse, and crammed onto the dresser when you had the room at—” She bit her lip, looked at their son — who didn’t know yet that he was named after a dive bar. She focused on Jason who had a teasing glint in his eye because, of course, he knew what she was thinking.

“Yeah. They were in storage. I stopped by Carly’s to see what, if anything, was saved when…” He grimaced, then continued, “when I guess Sam cleaned out the penthouse.”

“Yeah, that was a fun time,” Jake muttered. “Danny went ballistic because she didn’t even tell him she was doing it. But I guess she didn’t throw everything away.” He took the guide from his mother. “I’m glad you brought it. I didn’t want to get one until I got accepted, and I’m still finishing my portfolio. I don’t even know if I’ll get in—”

“You will. Your art teacher wouldn’t have recommended you if she didn’t think you could do it,” Elizabeth reminded him.

“Yeah.” Jake looked at his dad. “You…I don’t think I showed you anything before. I can go get it—” He jerked a thumb towards the stairs. “If you want to see it.”

Elizabeth opened her mouth to change the subject, but Jason spoke first, “I would but there’s something I should tell you. You know about my accident, when I was a little older than you.”

“Yeah, you lost all your memories.” Jake furrowed his brow. “What about it?”

“It wasn’t just the memories,” Jason said. “I…have trouble with two dimensional images. It’s better than it used to be, but I might not see what you want me to see. I’m—I’m sorry—”

Jake looked at his mother, furrowing his brow. “I thought you said you and Dad used to talk about your art all the time.”

“We did—”

“Your mother would explain the pictures to me,” Jason interrupted. “What the colors were supposed to do, what I was supposed to see. And then I could make it out. I just—I didn’t want you to be disappointed.”

“Well, if Mom can explain stuff, so can I. She always said I got her habit of talking too much.” Jake got to his feet. “I wanted to get Mom’s opinion on my portfolio before I take it to my teacher tomorrow.”

When he disappeared up the stairs, Jason exhaled slowly. “I don’t want to mess this up. Or insult him—”

Elizabeth slid down the sofa so that they were closer. “You couldn’t. You wouldn’t. He’s so talented, Jason. It’s incredible to see what he can do. And he just lights up when he talks about it. And it’s his favorite subject. I never have enough time to listen to him as much as I want to, and Aiden’s not interested. You’ll listen to him the way you listened to me, and it’ll be fine.”

“You painted landscapes mostly. Places I’d seen. What—” Jason swallowed hard. “It’s important. What does he paint?”

“He’s more abstract than I was, but I promise—” She covered his hand, squeezed it. “You’re not going to disappoint him. He loves you. He was so nervous about tonight.” She smiled, though it was a bit sad. “You don’t even really need me around now to keep things moving—in fact, maybe I should—” she started to slide away, but he snagged her hand. She looked back.

“Don’t go,” he said, and she smiled hesitantly. “I like—I like being around you, too. I’m not just here to spend time with Jake. I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” He held her gaze for a longer beat, and her heart began to beat just a little faster. Then they heard Jake on the steps, and she slid back to her original seat.

Penthouse: Danny’s Bedroom

“Oh, come on, Mom! Not the Switch—” Danny dove for the handheld game, but Sam scooped it into box she was carrying. “What the hell!”

“Watch the language,” Sam said, heading for the doorway, with the box of Danny’s treasured Switch, Playstation 5 console, and iPad tucked inside. “And if you hadn’t been caught with a phone I didn’t give you in school today, we wouldn’t be having this problem—”

“If you weren’t a nutjob—”

“You wanna make it two months?” Sam demanded. “We had an agreement, Danny. I take away the phone, and you get to keep the rest of this — you broke it!”

“Oh my God. I did not break anything! Do I have the phone? No! You never said I couldn’t get another one—”

In the hallway, leaning against the wall, Dante’s mouth twitched and she threw him a dirty look. He held up his hands, then walked towards the stairs. Sam huffed, turned back to her son.

“This is for your own good—”

“Because you think keeping me from my father is a good thing. It’s not fair, and I—I’m gonna get Grandma to represent me and sue you for—” He scowled. “I don’t know, but I’ll find something.”

“You’ll find that your grandmother isn’t a fan of your father, either. I don’t get it, Danny. Because of him, you got dragged into the police station—”

“Who cares! I didn’t even get questioned! Jake was giving them hell, so they never got to me,  then his mom got him out. And Dad got me. Nothing happened!”

“A man was murdered!”

“I didn’t see jackshit, Mom. I heard gunshots, big deal. I hear them on the news all the time.” Danny flopped back on his bed. “I wish I had Jake’s mom. She lets him see Dad all the stupid time. I wanna go live with them.”

“Well Jake’s mother can set all the low standards she wants for her son,” Sam retorted. “She’s always settled for his crumbs, this isn’t any different.”

Danny jerked up, his brows furrowed. “You’re such a bitch.”

“And that’s two months.” Sam left the room, slamming the door with one hand, and awkwardly carrying the box with the other.

She made her way down the stairs, irritated beyond measure with her son for pushing her to the edge and making her lash out that way. Where had her sweet little boy gone?

“Don’t you think you’re making this a little more difficult than it has to be?” Dante asked. Sam dropped the box on the coffee table, planted her hands on her hips.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You and Elizabeth were getting along fine before all of this,” Dante said, and she sighed, looked away. “It was your idea for her to supervise Danny’s visits with his dad so that you’d stay out of it. It’s not wrong for Danny to be jealous that his brother doesn’t have any limitations. And you knew that before you came up with this idea.”

“I told you—” Sam huffed. “Monday changed everything. Violence will always find Jason. I don’t want Danny around it. Yes, Elizabeth and I have been friendly. Yes, we’ve found common ground to bring our boys up as brothers, and I don’t regret that. But this always happens when she gets anywhere near Jason. She makes it into a competition. She knew from the getgo I was being strict about Danny, so she lets Jake do whatever he wants—she’s never forgiven Jason for choosing me and our family—”

Dante lifted his brows, and her cheeks flushed. “Before. When the choice needed to be made. I walked away from all that. She’s still chasing him, and she’s making things more difficult with Danny because of it—”

“Look, I wasn’t around for all of that, and I’m not weighing in.” Dante lifted his hands. “I’m just saying that the more you try to keep Danny from Jason, the more Danny’s gonna want that contact. You’re gonna have to fight him every step of the way.”

Sam pressed her lips together, looked away for a moment, then focused on Dante. “Then that’s what I’ll do. My son is not going to make his father’s mistakes. One day, he’ll thank me.”

Webber House: Kitchen

“Funny how Jake always seems busy when it’s time to do the dishes,” Elizabeth said with a smile, rinsing the plate and handing it to Jason who stowed it in the dishwasher. “I told you that you didn’t need to help—”

“You cooked. That’s enough.” He closed the dishwasher when she’d handed him the last utensil, then leaned against the back counter. “Thanks for inviting me tonight.”

“Thanks for coming on such short notice.” She dried her hands, then tossed the towel aside, leaning against the opposite counter. “I can’t believe we’re talking about where Jake is going to college.” She tipped her head back, closed her eyes, arching her neck, stretching. “Aiden’s in high school, Cameron’s going to be a senior this year. Oh, it all went so fast.”

“I know. It seems like yesterday—” Jason raised his hands, trying to picture exactly how they’d been arranged. “He was so small. So light.”

Elizabeth opened her eyes, smiled at him, tipping her head to the side. “I’m so glad you were there that day. I mean, I could have done with that life-threatening complication, but that you got to hold him first. That we got to have that moment.” The corners of her mouth dipped slightly. “For all the moments we didn’t get to have.”

He didn’t like it when her eyes dimmed like that — when he knew she was castigating herself for the way she’d handled her pregnancy and Jake’s early years. “It’s okay—”

“It’s not. And it’s not just the moments you lost with him, though—God, it’s awful.” She folded her arms. “It’s the ones we lost to Helena Cassadine. When he came home, he didn’t believe in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. I didn’t—” She shook her head. “I know it sounds stupid.”

“It doesn’t—” Jason reached for her elbow, tugged her towards him, and she came easily, lifting her chin to meet his eyes. “I look at him, and I can’t believe he came from us. What he’s been through already in his life—and you’d never know it.” He cupped her jaw, catching a tear as it slid down her cheek. “You didn’t get to have those moments with him, but look at the magic you made anyway. What an incredible kid he is. The dreams you’ve given him.”

“You were part of that, too. Don’t—I’m not saying that to make you feel better,” she added when he let his hand drop. She caught it. “I mean it. I see you in him all the time. The way he teases his brothers, he gets that—” She touched the corner of his eye. “That glint you get sometimes when you’re laughing at me with just your eyes. A-and your intensity. The way you can focus on something or-or someone—he’s disciplined in a way I could never be. Jake’s all the best pieces of both of us, Jason.”

He nodded, his throat tight at just the thought he’d given anything good or worthwhile to his oldest son. “I just wish I’d made better choices. You said it. He’s…he’s grown up. He’s going to college—”

“And we still have a lifetime of memories to make with him.” She waited for him to look at her again. “Ask Carly — was her love for Bobbie any less because they found each other when Carly was older? Or Dante and Sonny. Emily came to your family  half-grown, and that didn’t stop you from squeezing a lifetime in only a few years. He’s going to graduate high school, and then college, and we’ll get to be there for all of that. I’m so excited for him and this school in Spain—”

“We’ll go see him,” Jason told her, and she laughed, shook her head, but he caught her chin, turned it back to him. “We’ll go to see him. When he moves in. Holidays. I’ll take you. You should get to see Europe. And we’ll take Jake wherever he wants during the summer break. Aiden can come, too. Like you said, it’s not too late.”

Elizabeth’s lips parted, and she swallowed hard. “It’s not?”

“No.” His thumb stroked the soft skin along her jawline, then swept across her lower lip. Something pulsed between them, something that was always there, simmering beneath the surface, but that they had ignored for years. But there was no reason to pretend anymore, and if it wasn’t too late for him to have a life as Jake’s father—

Well, then it wasn’t too late for anything else. His other hand rested at Elizabeth’s waist, tugging her just a little closer, waiting for her to protest, to put the brakes on, to tell him he’d mixed up the signals—

But he hadn’t because she came into his arms easily, as if she’d been waiting for him to make the move—they both leaned in at the same time, their lips meeting in a kiss that should have felt more hesitant, more soft for two people who hadn’t crossed this line for more than a decade—

It was like coming home all over again, sinking into her mouth, his hands sliding through her hair, the silky tresses that had always obsessed him, curly, straight, short, long, he’d always ached to touch her hair—the soft skin just underneath her jaw, one of his favorite places to touch, to kiss, the sounds she made when his teeth nipped at the spot. She stumbled backwards, and he automatically caught her, his fingers sliding over her denim jeans, down to her thigh, to coax it up.

She broke off, her eyes wide, breathing heavy, looking at him a bit dazed. When she licked her lips, he kissed her again, unable to stop himself. He’d had to hold himself back too many times, had to crawl inside and be anyone else for years, and he didn’t want her to tell him it was a mistake, that they shouldn’t do this—

She kissed him again, and he felt her fumbling at his belt buckle—then her hands stilled, and she broke away again, nipping at his earlobe. “I don’t want to stop. But we can’t. Not here.”

Because not here wasn’t the same as not at all, Jason drew back, cupping her jaw with his fingers, everything inside him clenching when she drew his thumb into his mouth, and she grinned. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist—” She slid her hands down her chest. “This is—” Elizabeth took a deep breath, and a short laugh escaped her lips. She dropped her forehead to chest, and he ran his hands down her shoulders, wanting to touch as much as he could before he’d have to stop. “This is so not what I was planning tonight.”

“Me, either,” he admitted, and she looked up at him. “But I’m not sorry.”

“I’m only sorry that we have to put this on pause, but Jake’s home. And he’s got excellent hearing.” Her lips quirked. “Something he inherited from you.”

“Too much to hope he’s already asleep and sleeps the way you do? Like the dead?” he asked, and she grinned again. “You’re right. This isn’t the time.”

“No, but I’m not working tomorrow.” Elizabeth lifted her brows, when he just looked her, a bit surprised. “You think you can make time to come over tomorrow, and we can—” She tilted her head to the side, that wicked glint in her eyes that he hadn’t seen in so long. “We can pick up where we left off.”

“There’s no where else I’d rather be.” He drew her towards him, kissed her again, then broke away. “But I’d better go before I forget why I have to.”

“And before I forget why I can’t let you stay.” She stroked her cheek. “I’m so glad you came home.”

He leaned his forehead against hers. “I won’t ever leave again.”

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