Written in 55 minutes. Last scene inspired by Hope Floats. If you know, you know.

Kelly’s: Dining Room

“Georgie? Hey, Georgie—”

Georgie snapped back to attention when something pinched her. She looked away from her phone and the missed call from an unknown number to her irritated sister who had been the source of the pinch — and to her former stepfather with his concerned expression. “Sorry.” She slid the cell phone back into her purse. “Just a missed call.”

“Sorry if we’re interrupting your busy schedule,” Maxie said coolly. “Mac is trying to force back into school—”

“I’m not trying to force you—” Mac set the fork down and scowled at her. “I’m not trying to force you into anything. All I did was gently suggest that you might want to rethink not registering this fall—”

“I’m doing just fine at the hotel.” Maxie sat back in her chair. “I was just wasting time and money. Not everyone needs college. Coop didn’t—”

“You planning to enlist?”

Maxie pursed her lips. “Couldn’t if I even wanted to. Heart transplants can’t—”

Georgie rolled her eyes as Mac immediately started to back track. Never failed, she thought. As soon as Max scored any points, Maxie did something to bring the pity back to herself.

She felt her purse vibrate, but didn’t reach for the phone. It would just  be another missed call. Another hangup. Now wasn’t the time to tell Mac about the flowers or the calls. Not when Maxie had his full irritation and attention.

She’d do it tomorrow. Probably.

Wyndemere: Study

Nikolas sifted through a stack of contracts on his desk, hesitating when he realized that some of the files belonged to Lucky. There were folders with the names of witnesses and some medical reports—

And one name that troubled him.

Manny Ruiz.

Nikolas picked it up, glanced at the partially ajar door, then down at the file. He opened it—but the mystery wasn’t resolved. It was filled with newspaper clippings from the previous summer, detailing the psycho’s death and the medal of honor Lucky had received — along with the copy of the official police report.

Why would Lucky being looking into Manny as part of his divorce case?

He was still musing over when he heard the footsteps in the hallway. He nearly put the file down, hid it beneath the others but he couldn’t. He’d given Lucky a blank check for his divorce lawyer, and maybe that didn’t give him a right to know what was  going on, but it certainly entitled Nikolas to ask.

Lucky stepped inside. “Sorry — I forgot to grab some of this after I met with the lawyer today.” He stopped halfway across the study when he realized what Nikolas was holding. “What are you doing?”

“Looking at what my money is funding,” Nikolas said dryly. “Why do you have a file about Manny Ruiz? Is that supposed to make you look better in court? Is it a reputation thing?”

“Could be.” Lucky shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m trying to keep this from going to court, okay? So don’t worry about the money—”

“The only way this stays out of a court is if you drop the demands for Jake.” Nikolas set the file down. “Is that what you’re doing?”

“No.” Lucky stalked over to the desk, gathered them into a pile. “It’s none of your business—”

“If it’s just about reputation, then you wouldn’t be so secretive. Lucky, I don’t want to get any nasty surprises—you know if you don’t put me on a witness stand, Elizabeth will. When it comes to the drugs—”

“I told you—” Lucky’s gaze was nearly malevolent. “Fine. I’m making sure that Jason drops the paternity suit. Otherwise, the whole world is going to find out that Jason murdered Manny Ruiz and used me to cover it up. He’ll be back on trial for murder—”

“What the hell—” Nikolas’s eyes were wide. “What are you talking about?”

“I didn’t—I didn’t kill him. Jason shoved him over the roof. And Elizabeth had to know about it. So unless he drops the suit, I’m going to make sure everyone knows what he did, and that she was part of it.”

Nikolas simply stared at him until Lucky’s face flushed. “You’re attempting to frame her as his accomplice because you think he won’t take the chance Elizabeth might end up in real trouble—”

“He won’t let her lose the boys. You know that—”

“I don’t—” Nikolas dragged his hands over his face, then sat down in the seat. “I don’t know what you’re thinking,” he said, nearly dazed. “I’ve known from the start this was a disaster. That you were making a mistake, but I wanted you to feel like you’d tried everything. I didn’t want you to feel like a failure—”

“You didn’t want me to end up back on the pills,” Lucky bit out nastily. “Yeah, I know what you think I’m capable of—”

“You’re going to lose. Because no, Jason probably isn’t going to let Elizabeth risk losing the boys. But this won’t be won in a court of law. If he thinks there’s a chance they’ll lose, he’ll pick up a phone and he’ll get whatever judge he needs to rule the way he wants.”

“No—”

“And I’m not going to make the same call.” Nikolas met his brother’s angry eyes. “I won’t. You’ve got a right to be angry. To be furious what what she did and how she lied. But I’ve told you from the beginning that going after custody of Jake—tying it to Cameron—it’s a mistake—”

“This is going to work,” Lucky told Nikolas flatly. “Elizabeth doesn’t think I’m serious about walking away from Cameron. She will when we file. And then she’ll have to decide what kind of mother she’ll be.”

Lake House: Living Room

“I’m not particularly proud,” Alexis said as she skimmed a copy of the paperwork that Lucky’s lawyer had given Diane. “But I wouldn’t do it any differently.”

“So there’s truth to what Lucky is saying.” Diane paced the small living room, her jaw clenched. “You and Jason—”

“Jason was never part of any of this.” Alexis rose. “It happened so fast, Diane. And I wasn’t on that roof. I know that Manny went over the edge and he died from the fall. And I know that Jason nearly bled out from a ruptured artery in his heart. He was still in surgery when the preliminary report came back.” She set the paperwork down. “Lucky was running around telling everyone he’d killed Manny, that he’d shot him. And Manny was covered in blood. If Lucky is trying to make it sound like he had to be convinced he was the real hero—” She snorted, folded her arms. “I know a decent amount of hospital staff who’d say differently.”

“Why did you bury this?” Diane tipped her head. “It seems like a case of self-defense—”

“There were members of the PCPD who would have done anything to get to Jason. He’d just saved my daughter’s life. He had nearly died to do it. And—” Alexis paused. “I felt guilty, I suppose. He’d broken up with Sam because I’d convinced him to do it. He only did what had to be done, Diane.”

“But the official autopsy report?”

“The official autopsy and the police report support Lucky Spencer’s version of events.” Alexis gestured at the paperwork on her coffee table. “And before you ask, Elizabeth had nothing to do with any of it. She was Jason’s nurse. She rushed after him and found him bleeding to death out front of the hospital. She got him into surgery. She was still scrubbed in when I made the decision. The only cover up was mine.”  She lifted her chin. “I’ll testify to that if I have to.”

“You could lose your license—”

“Maybe. I have prosecutorial discretion—or I did. I made the decision it was a self-defense case and said nothing to correct the final versions of events. You said Lucky’s trying to use this against Elizabeth in the custody battle?”

“He’s trying to scare Jason away from filing the paternity suit.” Diane sneered. “I’m going to wipe the floor with this little twerp.”

Port Charles Park

“I wanna swing, Mommy!” Cameron dashed towards the swingset, trying to haul himself up into the seat. Elizabeth followed and lifted him to sit properly, glancing back at the picnic table where Jason was sitting, Jake in his lap.

“Mommy! Mommy! Go zoom in the sky!” Cameron kicked his legs and she turned her attention back to him, quickly going behind the little boy so that Jake was in her sight. She knew Jason would take care of him—that there was no where safer for their son than in Jason’s arms—

But they were back in the park, and Elizabeth would never shake the feeling that nothing good would ever happen here. A hundred yards away stood a fountain where her world had been shattered a life time ago.

And just beyond those trees was the area she’d been sitting when her child had vanished.

“Mommy!”

“Sorry.” Elizabeth forced a smile on her face and began to push Cameron, her shoulders easing a bit as the little boy squealed and giggled, demanding that she push him higher and higher—

When her arms had grown sore, Cameron eagerly agreed to head over to the sandbox and was happily digging holes. Elizabeth sat next to Jason, sliding her fingers over the soft, silky blond hair of the infant who kicked and giggled, his arms waving.

“We don’t have to stay much longer,” Jason told her. “I know you don’t like having them both in the park—”

“It’s okay. It will be okay,” she corrected. “I’m not alone today. If Cameron needs me, you’re here. Jake’s not alone.” She nodded at the sandbox. “He’s always loved the park. He likes getting dirty and playing on the swings.”

Jason opened his mouth to say something—what, she’d never know. Because the bushes rustled and a pair came around the corner, stopping dead when they reached the little park.

Lucky and Lulu.

Elizabeth felt Jason tense next to her, Lucky’s eyes hot and irritated as he took in the scene at the picnic table, with Jake in Jason’s arms. Lulu touched his sleeve and looked at them both with worry.

Cameron was singing to himself when he must have felt something in the air change. He looked up, then his eyes lit up. “Daddy!” He leapt to his feet and climbed out of the sandbox.

All of this was worth it, Elizabeth reminded herself. Cameron loved Lucky. The only father he knew—

And then Lucky stepped back, putting his hands up, palms facing out. “Not today, Cameron.”

“Lucky?” Lulu asked, her brows drawn together. “What—”

“Daddy—” Cameron took another step, but Lucky moved back. “Daddy, what are you doing—”

Elizabeth’s breath caught as her little boy stood only few feet from Lucky, frozen. She rose. Beside her, Jason also got to his feet and put Jake into the stroller.  “Lucky—”

“Daddy, I miss you—” Cameron must have decided he didn’t understand or to ignore Lucky because he made a quick dash and wrapped his arms around Lucky’s leg, burying his face in the jeans. “Daddy—”

“I’m sorry—” Lucky pried the little boy off his leg and picked him up—but didn’t hold him close, didn’t cuddle him. Hug him. He might have been carrying a sack of potatoes—it wasn’t the way he’d held Cameron any day of his life—

Elizabeth took a step forward, helpless as Cameron started to cry, his little arms just dangling at his side as Lucky set him on his feet. “Daddy!” he sobbed and threw himself at Lucky’s legs again. “I’ll be good, I’ll be good!

And again, Lucky pried him off but this time he strode over to the picnic table and dumped Cameron into Elizabeth’s arms. “I can’t. Ask your mother why,” he said shortly and turned around and left.

Jason took a few steps forward, his eyes flashing with fury as Elizabeth’s brain absolutely flicked off.

Lulu stared after him with shocked eyes, then rushed to follow. “Lucky!”

“Daddy!” Cameron sobbed. He started to kick and scream, trying to climb down from his mother’s arms. “Daddy, wait!”

Elizabeth just held him more tightly, his tiny body shaking as he continued to sob for the only father he’d ever known. She finally looked at Jason as tears slid down her cheek, burning her skin.

“Daddy! Daddy, don’t go! I’ll be good!”

+39

Written in 62 minutes. We’re back baby 😛

Lewis Hall: Georgie & Chelsea’s Room

“If Bryce isn’t there, I’ll just die.” Chelsea flopped onto the bed with a dramatic sigh. “I don’t know how many more signals I can send—”

“You could try just asking him out.” Georgie leaned towards the mirror to check her mascara. “I know it’s a wild concept—”

“Please. You would never.” Chelsea folded her legs. “Did you tell your stepdad about the calls and the roses?”

“I—” Georgie glanced down at the phone — she’d had three more hangups since lunch. “No. I started to, but Mac and Maxie were arguing about school again. I need to get him on his own. Tomorrow.” She turned to her roommate. “I promise.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Cameron was still sniffling when they got back to the penthouse, his wild sobs subsiding somewhere between the park and the Towers. Jason didn’t know what to do, how to fix this — the only solution he could envision would be getting back into the SUV, hunting Lucky Spencer down and breaking him into pieces so tiny even the vultures couldn’t pick at them —

Elizabeth went into the penthouse ahead of Jason who had Jake still tucked into the stroller. Cameron was tucked against her chest, his face burrowed in her neck, little hiccups escaping his small mouth. Elizabeth just continued to walk with him, rubbing his back, making circles around the room.

Jason decided to concentrate on Jake because it was all there was to do. He unhooked him from the stroller and went upstairs to change him and put him down for a nap, hoping the day would come when he could slug Lucky Spencer. Just once.

Downstairs, Elizabeth continued to rock her son, trying to make sense of what had happened, of Lucky not only walking away from their son, but dumping him in Elizabeth’s arms like he was a sack of potatoes—

Like he wasn’t a person, a little boy who had loved Lucky for all the days Cameron could remember.

“I w-want D-daddy,” Cameron said, his words punctuated by heaving sobs. “W-Where’s D-Daddy?”

“I’m so sorry, baby.” She pressed her lips to his forehead. “Daddy isn’t here.”

“Was I b-bad? Mommy—”

“No. No. You are perfect.” She tightened her arms around him, but everything inside of her was on fire. Cameron, at the age of three, was asking all the questions Elizabeth had since she’d been dumped on her neighbor’s steps. How could she have made so many wrong turns? How could she have done this to her little boy? She’d wanted Cameron and Jake to grow up safe and secure, with two parents who loved them.

And now Cameron was doubting his own worth. His ability to be loved.

“T-Then why—”

“I don’t know, Cam. I just—I don’t know.”

She continued to pace the living room until her arms felt like spaghetti, but she couldn’t put him down. Couldn’t let him out of her sight.

His sniffles faded and then his breathing changed — the way he slumped against her, Elizabeth knew he’d finally fallen asleep.

She turned towards the sofa and found at the bottom of the stairs. “He finally passed out,” she said to him softly as Jason came to her. He gently lifted Cameron out of her arms and laid him out on the sofa. He reached into his own pocket and took out a little metal motorcycle from upstairs and wrapped Cameron’s hand around it.

Elizabeth exhaled slowly, watching the toddler like a hawk but Cameron continued to sleep. “Okay. Okay.” She went over to the desk where she’d tossed her purse and snatched it up on her way to the kitchen.

She fished inside for her phone and pressed a speed dial. “Diane? Hey. I’m sorry to call you so late—” She dragged a hand through her hair. “Um, you didn’t file that petition yet, right? Good. Good. I need to make a change. No custody. Lucky’s out. I don’t want him near either of the boys. Lack of support, interest, no visitation, whatever you have to do. I’ll—okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

When she hung up, she pressed the phone against her lips, staring hard at the stainless steel fridge, knowing that Jason had followed her. “I can take whatever he throws at me,” she said finally. “I deserve it. I lied to him. And God knows, I wasn’t fair to anyone this year—”

“Elizabeth—”

“I can take it,” she repeated. She looked at Jason now. “You know why he did it, don’t you? Why he refused to give Cameron an ounce of affection—” Her voice faltered but she took a deep breath. “To hurt me. To force me. He thinks I’ll give up — that I’ll do anything for Cameron to keep his father—but—”

She tightened her hand around the phone, squeezing until she thought she might snap it in half. “He thinks I’m weak. Because I did it before. I hurt you and lied about Jake and he thinks I’ll do it again.” She met Jason’s eyes. “A father doesn’t do what he did today. He just…walked away. Like Cam didn’t matter. My parents did that to me.”

“Elizabeth—” Jason came forward, a hand outstretched but she stepped away, put up her own hands to keep him back. “I’m sorry.”

“No. No. Don’t you apologize.” She angrily swiped at her eyes. “I won’t let Cameron grow up this way. Because if Lucky uses him as a weapon now, he’ll do it again. And Cam doesn’t—better not to have any father at all,” she muttered. “My whole life, I wondered what I did wrong, why I wasn’t good enough to be loved, and it wasn’t until they put him in my hands—” She held her arms as if she were cradling a newborn. “The nurse gave him to me, and he looked at me, and oh—” Elizabeth looked at him, tears spilling down her cheek. “I’ve never felt like love like that in my whole life. It just filled every piece of me, all the spaces I didn’t even know were empty—I looked at him, and he was the answer to everything I’d ever wondered — it wasn’t me. It was never my fault. Because I love that little boy with every breath in my body, and I would fight for him. I’d kill for him. And I am never going to let him think for one minute he has to do anything to earn my love. My parents didn’t love me. Lucky doesn’t love him.”

She set her phone down, then dragged the heels of her hands under her eyes. “Thank you. For not killing him on the spot. I know you wanted to.”

“Still do,” Jason muttered, and Elizabeth laughed at that—then started to cry. This time, when Jason reached for her, she let him hold her. “You’ll get him through this. He knows how much you love him, and he’s going to remember who held him while he cried, dried his tears, patched up his cuts—he won’t be missing anything. You’ll love him enough for ten parents.” He was quiet for a moment. “And if you’ll let me, I’ll be there, too.”

“What?” Elizabeth drew back, furrowing her brows. “What do you mean?”

“We don’t have to do this now,” Jason told her. “But I don’t want Cameron to think he matters less to me. I won’t treat him differently than Jake. And I hope one day you’ll share him with me.”

“Oh.” Her eyes were wide as she absorbed that. “I didn’t—I—”

“We don’t have to do this now,” Jason repeated. “I just wanted you to know that losing Lucky—it’s not a great loss. It doesn’t have to be.”

“Okay. Um. Okay. I—” She really hadn’t expected him to say that, but now that he had—she found that she wasn’t surprised. “Thank you. I—I actually—” She took a deep breath. “I need a favor. I don’t want to take him home like this. Gram will want to know what’s going on, and I’m just—I don’t know if I could do this with her right now. Can—can we stay? The night, I mean.”

“You never have to ask,” Jason told her. “Yeah, you can stay.”

Wyndemere: Study

“You’re going to have to explain yourself at some point,” Lulu said flatly, following Lucky into the room. “You’ve refused to say a word since we left the park—”

“Just shut up—”

“What’s going on?” Nikolas wanted to know, rising from his desk. “Lu—”

“I don’t want to do this right now—”

“That’s too bad, because I’m not going home until you explain what the hell just happened,” Lulu snapped. She looked at their brother. “We ran into Elizabeth the park with the boys—”

“And Jason,” Lucky muttered. “Lu, you don’t understand—”

“What’s to understand? Cameron tried to run to his father and you shoved him away from you! You dumped him on Elizabeth like garbage and ran while he was crying for you—” Lulu’s voice was thick as she forced the words out. “What the hell—”

“You did what?” Nikolas demanded. “Damn it, Lucky—”

“Everyone shut the hell up!” Lucky exploded, putting his hands on his head. “You don’t understand. Elizabeth has to see what she’s doing to Cameron—”

“What she’s doing?” Lulu threw up her hands. “Are you insane? Are you actually have a psychotic break? You ran from your own kid—”

“He’s not—” Lucky stopped and Lulu just stared at him. “Look, Elizabeth has to decide who she wants. Me or Jason. She’s not going to drag us both into this. If she wants to give him Jake, then—”

“He’s not your kid,” Lulu said, quietly finishing the statement, and Lucky’s cheeks flushed. “You like him and everything, but you haven’t been thinking about him these last few weeks. You listened to him cry and scream for his daddy — and it wasn’t Jason he wanted, Lucky.”

“Lucky, this is—this isn’t a good plan. We need—”

“We don’t need to do anything—” Lucky left the room abruptly, leaving Lulu to look at Nikolas with sorrow.

“He thinks he’s pushing Elizabeth into a choice to save Cameron from another day like today, but he doesn’t even see it, does he?”

“No.” Nikolas took a deep breath. “No. All Elizabeth has to do is tell that story — Jason will corroborate it—and Lucky will be dead in the water. Jake isn’t his biological son. He had no hope of getting visitation. And he just threw away any chance to have Cameron. He might not regret that right now, but he will. One day.”

“That’ll be his problem. I’m calling Elizabeth. If she needs another witness—”

“Lulu—”

“I don’t care if he’s my brother. Elizabeth stood by me last year after the abortion. She’s made some mistakes, but you weren’t there—” Lulu shook her head. “I don’t want Cameron anywhere near my brother right now.”

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Cameron woke up and choked down some dinner, though his usually bubbly personality was in retreat for the night, and he wasn’t even excited to learn they were having a sleep over. Spinelli left after dinner for a party, and they watched Cameron’s favorite cartoons on the living room sofa until he fell asleep.

Elizabeth laid Cameron down on the bed, then looked at Jason again. “You really don’t mind if he’s in here?”

“No,” Jason said with a sharp shake of his head. He’d changed into sweatpants and loaned her a shirt to wear.  “He might wake up and look for you—” He started to pull back the comforter, then paused. “I can—” He’d just assumed they’d share the bed, but — “I can go the guest room—”

Elizabeth paused, one knee on the bed to peer at him curiously. “Do you want to go to the guest room?”

“No—”

“It’s a king size bed, Jason,” she said. “And…” Her cheeks flushed. “We’ve talked about what…what we want. I don’t see the point in pretending that things aren’t..I mean, I’m not ready to do—” Elizabeth huffed. “This is insane,” she muttered.  “I love you,” she said, and his brows lifted in surprise. “Do you love me?”

“Yes,” Jason said, a bit warily. He cleared his throat. “Yes,” he repeated. “I just don’t want you to feel like I’m rushing you—”

“The last thing you ever make me feel is rushed.” Elizabeth crawled into the bed and laid down next to her son, gently brushing his hair from his forehead. “I just want to make all the bad things go away for him, to make it so they never happen in the first place. I know it’s not possible.”

Jason switched off the light, plunging the room into shadows. “No, but you can be there at the end of the day so the bad things don’t seem as scary.”

Elizabeth smiled. “You’re right. We’ll get him through this, and I promise I’ll smother him with so much love he won’t even remember Lucky.”

Port Charles University: Campus

“I knew he’d break my heart,” Chelsea muttered as she stumbled down the path. She tripped and Georgie hauled her back to her feet. “He has such pretty eyes,” Chelsea continued. “Why do the pretty ones have to be evil?”

“I don’t know,” Georgie said, wishing she hadn’t said it was okay for Spinelli to go home early — she could have used some help getting Chelsea back to the dorm room. After seeing the object of her affections making out with another girl, Chelsea had dived into the liquor and beer options.

Men. A complete waste of time.

There was a crack — like a breaking of a branch and Georgie stopped, startled by it. She heard some footsteps, and turned, losing her grip on Chelsea who fell to the ground with a grunt. Georgie turned back — but then a hand wrapped around her upper arm and yanked hard —

Before Georgie could get out a scream, something hard thumped against her head, and the world went black.

Chelsea sat on the path, her vision blurred even as she heard some struggle and grunting. “Georgie?” she tried to stand, but fell again. “Georgie—”

“Your turn.” The voice was raspy and broken sounding — Chelsea peered up, blearily trying to focus on the dark figure in front of her.

“What—”

A hand clamped over her mouth, and Chelsea felt herself being dragged back. She started to kick and scream wildly—but a pain exploded in her head and there was nothing left to fight.

They were found the next morning, dumped like broken dolls in the bushes just a dozen yards from the entrance from their dorm room, strangled by the same piece of thin cord still wrapped around Chelsea’s neck.

+35

Written in 61 minutes.

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Jason came awake abruptly as he heard sounds from the baby monitor from the side table. Jake was stirring at—he glanced at the clock next to it—just past five in the morning. He rolled over gently to see Elizabeth still sleeping deeply. Cameron had burrowed into her side during the night, his head tucked into her chest, her arms wrapped around him securely.

Quietly, Jason slid out of bed and went down the hall to the boys’ bedroom to find Jake laying on his back, his tiny fists waving in the air. “Hey,” he said softly, switching the monitor to mute so he didn’t wake Elizabeth. He lifted Jake in his arms. “You’re up early.”

Jake just looked at him and shoved his fist into his mouth. Was he hungry? He didn’t think Elizabeth would feed him this early, but maybe he was on this schedule for her return to work. Or maybe he just wanted to be held — he wasn’t fussing, Jason thought, and sat in the rocking chair by the crib. He put Jake against his shoulder and stroked the infant’s back. Michael used to wake himself up without warning, and if Jason was careful, he could get another hour or two of sleep from him.

“It’s our first morning together,” he said to his son, relieved when Jake didn’t continue to fuss. He settled down, his eyes drifting shut. “I don’t know your schedule. I’m a quick learner.”

“He likes a cuddle in the morning.”

Jason glanced up to see Elizabeth leaning against the door frame, her eyes sleepy and her hair tangled from sleep. “Did you want—”

“No. You don’t get enough time with him.” She smiled, stayed where she was as Jake’s breathing slowed and the baby slid back into sleep. “Besides I like to watch you with him.”

Jason settled Jake back in his crib and switched the monitor back on. “I tried not to wake you up—” he told her as they went back in the hall and he closed the door.

“Internal clock,” Elizabeth said, stifling a yawn. “Can’t help it.” She caught his hand before he went back to the master bedroom. “Thank you for letting us stay last night—Cameron always has such a great time with you.”

Jason drew her closer and she smiled as their bodies brushed. “If I thought you were ready,” he said, “I’d let you stay forever. I like waking up next to you.”

“I like waking up in your bed.” She pressed her lips against his briefly. “We could get another hour before Cam gets up.”

Jason was wide awake now, but wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity. “Let’s go.”

PCU: Campus

Lucky crouched down, the bile in his stomach rising as he glanced up at his partner. “Who found them?”

“Kid coming from a party—” Cruz Rodriguez swallowed hard, looked away. “How we gonna tell him, Spence? Christ.”

“No good way,” Lucky murmured. He’d known Georgie Jones since she was a girl. Smart, quick, friendly—all of it was gone in an instant. Her pretty brown eyes were open, lifeless, looking up into the sky, the garish, angry purple bruise around her neck stark against her pale skin.

Beside her, another girl Lucky had seen in passing, was laying — her curly brown hair spread around her like a halo, her eyes open to the sky. They were sprawled out — killed where they were found, Lucky thought. He got to his feet, took a step back. “The second vic has a cord around her neck —”

“You think it’s the same cord he used on Geor—” Cruz stopped, took a breath. “The first vic.”

“Maybe. We’ll see if the bruises match.” Lucky dragged a hand down his face, looked around the campus. He didn’t know PCU that well — he’d never really hung out here when Emily and Elizabeth had taken classes. They were close to Lewis Hall and a few other dorm buildings — about half a mile from fraternity row and the heart of the campus with the student center and academic buildings.

“CSU is on their way,” Lucky said. “But this—” He crouched back down, gestured at the strap of a purse still slung across Georgie’s body. “It doesn’t look like a robbery.”

“No—” Cruz broke off with a swear as he looked out. “Shit, shit, shit—he must have heard—”

Lucky sprang to his feet and leapt over the bushes to stop Mac as the commissioner rushed towards them, his eyes bulging, his face red — “Mac—don’t do this to yourself—”

“I have to see—” Mac shoved Lucky aside and then he crumpled in on himself. “Georgie. Georgie. Oh, God. It’s Georgie—” His hand was trembling as he raised it in the air, and he seemed to struggle for air. “Oh, God. Georgie. My baby. Georgie.”

Lucky put an arm around the grieving father’s shoulders. “We’ll take care of her, Mac, okay? We’ll look after her. You can’t be here—”

“Don’t you—” Mac sank to his knees, a few feet from Georgie’s body, his eyes locked on her lifeless form. “She was going to Oxford. Did you know that? She was going to transfer after this year—Oxford. In England.” His shattered eyes met Lucky. “What happened? What do we know?”

“Not much yet,” Lucky said, trying to get him to stand, to get away from Georgie’s body. “Partygoer found them about a half hour ago. Called it in. CSU is on their way. Can’t be sure,  but it looks like strangulation. Both girls have their purses so it doesn’t look like a robbery.” He paused. “Do you know the other?”

“Chelsea Rae,” Mac murmured. “They were roommates.” He closed his eyes, fought for breath. “I have to get it together. I have to take care of—Maxie. And Felicia. I have to call them.”

“Sure. Sure. Cruz, go with Mac, okay? And call Robin,” he told his partner. “And Kevin Collins. Mac needs them.”

“My baby,” Mac said. He curled his hand into a fist. “My baby.” He looked at Lucky. “Not a robbery.”

“It doesn’t hit me that way, no,” Lucky said. “I could be wrong — maybe he emptied the purses, but—”

“Not a robbery. Start with the friends.” Mac’s face hardened. “Start with that little freak Spinelli.”

Morgan Penthouse: Kitchen

“Cameron, try to get some of that syrup on your pancakes and not just in your hair,” Elizabeth said with a sigh, reaching for another napkin to wet as Cameron’s sticky fingers became stuck in his curls. He flashed his baby teeth at her.

“Yummy,” he said.

“How would you know?” she asked, but smiled anyway. It was so good to see her baby back to himself, with his sunny smiles and zero to a hundred personality. He’d only slept another half hour after Jason and Elizabeth had gone back to bed, and he’d tried to zoom down the stairs in the little motorcycle tricycle from his room.

They’d only slowed him down with promise of waffles and bacon, his favorite breakfast — and Elizabeth was only mildly surprised to see Jason digging a box of frozen Waffles from the fridge. “The last time I had breakfast here, you had like six eggs and half a loaf of bread,” she teased him.

“Spinelli is eating more than his weight in food,” Jason said, setting down a plate in front of Spinelli.

“The Jackal needs his sustenance, Stone Cold.” Spinelli slid a few slices of bacon onto Cameron’s plate. “Here you go, Little Dude.”

“Yummy—” Cameron broke it in half and shoved it in his mouth. He grinned. “Best day ever.”

“Easy for you to say,” Elizabeth muttered at the sink as she dabbed at a glob of syrup on her shirt. Jason grinned at her and she smacked him lightly in the arm. “Don’t enjoy my misery. I hope he gets you next.”

“We should have sleepovers all the time if it means the Jackal will get a hot breakfast,” Spinelli said cheerfully.

Jake started crying on the monitor, and Jason set down the spatula he’d been using for bacon.

“I’ll get him,” Elizabeth said. “I need to soak this stain before it sets — can I borrow a shirt?” she wanted to know. “I didn’t replace the emergency one in the diaper bag after last week’s mustard affair.” Cameron had smacked a mustard packet hard and it had spurted all over her at Kelly’s.

Jason nodded, and she snagged the bottle he handed her, already lightly warmed. It was lovely, she thought, almost like a normal family morning with all the chaos and mess that came with it.

She knew it was too soon to be thinking about staying more than a one night every once in a while, and she still had to find a good way to explain staying last night to her grandmother — though maybe Audrey would understand that she’d needed to focus just on Cameron last night, so it had been helpful to have Jason there to pick up the slack with Jake.

And she hadn’t forgotten Jason’s words the day before — that losing Lucky didn’t mean Cameron couldn’t have a father. She just didn’t quite know what to do with it — everything seemed to be going exactly the way she dreamed — she and Jason were in love, he adored the boys, and she was happy.

Every time Elizabeth came close to happiness, the world caved in.

She tossed the shirt on the bed, intending to soak it after Jake had his bottle, and found a t-shirt of Jason’s that wouldn’t completely swallow her whole, though it came close. She tugged the blue cotton over her head, and brought the collar to her nose for just a moment, letting the fresh scent sink in.

This moment of perfection wouldn’t last forever, so she was going to remember every second.

She scooped Jake up, settled him in her arms, and began to feed him. When Jake had latched onto the bottle, Elizabeth carefully made her way downstairs, taking the stairs slowly.

She was halfway across the living room when the phone on the desk rang. Jason came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on his a dishtowel, surprised at the sound. It was too early, Elizabeth thought, her heart rate picking up. What if something had happened—

“Morgan—what? Why?” Jason exhaled slowly. “No. No. Wait—” He pressed a hand to his forehead and looked at her. “He needs to give a reason or  he’s not getting past the desk—” Some of the color slipped from his face. “Yeah. I’ll meet him in the hallway. Thanks, Wally.”

“Jason, what’s wrong—”

Jason slowly set the receiver down. “The front desk. Lucky’s downstairs on official police business.” He looked at Elizabeth. “He needs Spinelli.”

“Lucky—why—” She tightened her arms around Spinelli. “Why does he need Spinelli?”

“He wants to talk to Spinelli about a party he went to last night on campus—” Jason went past her into the kitchen. A moment later, Spinelli  followed him out.

“What’s up, Stone Cold?” he said cheerfully. “Hey, it’s Little Stone Cold, having breakfast just like us—”

“Spinelli, the PCPD are coming upstairs to ask you about a party last night,” Jason told him, and Spinelli’s smile slipped.

“The party? I dipped early on that. Not my scene—” He stopped. “Georgie. Chels. Are—are they okay? Was there an accident—”

“I don’t know anything,” Jason said. “Just that Lucky wants to talk to you about that. We’ll go out in the hallway,” he told Elizabeth. “So Cameron doesn’t see or hear him.”

Elizabeth hesitated, concerned. Jason might not know exactly why Lucky was coming up, but whatever Lucky had said to the front desk guard had worried Jason. Or upset him. “All right. I’ll go make sure he stays in the kitchen.”

Jason steered Spinelli out into the hallway, closing the door. “Listen, you’ll answer questions only with me present,” he told the younger man. “If it goes south, I’ll stop it, and we’ll call Diane. I think this is just an information thing, but if I change my mind—”

“I gotta help Chels and Georgie.” Spinelli rubbed his chest. “Maybe they didn’t get home. Maybe they’re missing. Or someone got hurt—I gotta do the right thing—”

The elevator doors slid open and Lucky stepped out. Twenty-four hours earlier, Lucky had been the piece of shit walking from a son crying out for him, and there was a piece of Jason that still wanted to pound him into the ground.

But the man who stepped out was a cop — and his face was somber, his jaw clenched, and his eyes grief-stricken. Jason clenched his hands at his side. Christ. What the hell had happened—

“Hey, Spinelli.” Lucky flicked his eyes to Jason, and his cheek twitched, but then he nodded. “I’m glad you’re not alone. Uh—” He cleared his throat. “Can we—you might want to sit down—”

“This is as far as you go,” Jason said flatly. “Cameron is inside.” He saw Lucky jolt at that, but then nod.

“Fair enough. Uh—” He paused and looked back at Spinelli. “You were at a party on the PCU campus last night. You went with Georgie and her roommate didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” Spinelli’s eyes were wide, dark. “I went home early. It’s not really my thing, so Georgie said it was cool if I split. I only went to keep them company. Are—you gotta tell me they’re okay.”

“What time did you get home?” Lucky wanted to know.

“I don’t know. Ten? Eleven?” He looked at Jason helplessly. “Stone Cold? The Jackal—he can’t seem to think right now.”

“A little after ten-thirty,”  Jason said. “We can pull security if you want to confirm—”

“Yeah, yeah, I want to be able to confirm it. I believe you,” Lucky added. “It’s just—I need—” He dipped his head. “Okay. Gotta do this fast then. I’m sorry, Spinelli—”

“No, no—”

“Georgie and  Chelsea were—they were murdered last night.”

“No, it’s wrong—” Spinelli shook his head, backed up into the door. “No, no, no! No, they’re fine! You’re wrong! This is wrong!”

He sank to the ground, hugging his knees. “No. No.”

“We’re sure,” Lucky told Jason. “I made—I made the identification on Georgie myself—” He fisted his hand at his side. “I’m sorry, kid. I know you were close,” he told Spinelli.

Jason crouched next to the shattered boy. “Spinelli,” he said quietly. “Lucky might have more questions for you. We need to help Georgie now. Like she helped you. Right? Can we try—”

“Yeah.” Spinelli looked up, his cheeks tear-stained. “Yeah. Faithful friend. That’s who Georgie was. Always there. Did—she told her dad, didn’t she? About the calls and the dead flowers. She was supposed to tell someone—”

Lucky’s expression stilled. “What calls? What dead flowers?”

+40

Written in 56 minutes.

Morgan Penthouse: Kitchen

Elizabeth set Jake’s empty bottle into the sink and perched him on one hip, keeping a close eye on Cameron who was still only halfway through the waffles and bacon on his plate. She looked towards the living room, worried.

What did Lucky want with Spinelli? And what had Jason learned on the phone call that convinced him it was okay to talk to the cops without Diane?

She heard a door open. “Cam, try not to drown yourself in the syrup, okay? I’ll be right back.”

“K, Mommy—” Cameron shoved another piece of the waffle into his mouth.

Jason and Spinelli were alone in the living room, which was good, Elizabeth thought, setting Jake into his playpen. But then she got a better look at their expressions—Jason’s mouth was pinched and Spinelli’s eyes were dazed, staring at the floor.

She waited wordlessly, afraid to say anything. Afraid to know what was happening. There were only a few people in the world that Spinelli cared about enough for this creation—

Jake made a protest from the playpen, then launched his rabbit out. Spinelli blinked, then smiled faintly at the infant. “The Wee One protests his imprisonment. I feel ya, kid.”

Then he sat down—dropping straight onto the floor—nearly collapsing. “Faithful Friend and the Fair Chelsea.” He looked at Elizabeth. “They’re gone.”

Elizabeth sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes flying to Jason who nodded grimly. “What happened?”

“Mommy?” Cameron came to the door. “I finish—” He stopped. “Snelli. You fall down?”

“Cam—” Elizabeth went to stop her son, but Cameron was on a mission and he slid under his mother’s legs and went to sit next to his new friend.

“Boo boo?” Cam wanted to know. He crouched down next to Spinelli, his brow furrowed. “Mommy a nurse. She can fix you.”

“No fixing to be done, Little Dude, but the Jackal thanks you for your kindness and consideration.” Spinelli drew his knees to his chest. “Didn’t do enough, Stone Cold. Couldn’t stop it.” He put his head against his knees and his whole body started to shake as the tears began. Bereft, Cameron patted his shoulder.

“S’okay, Snelli.”

Jason got to one knee next to him, a hand on his other shoulder.  “We’re going to help them now, Spinelli. Diane will meet us at the station, and we’ll tell them everything we know.”

“Spinelli, why don’t you go upstairs and take a shower,” Elizabeth said softly. She knelt in front of him. “You need to get your head clear and think of everything Georgie and her friend said to you these last few weeks. You were their best friend, and they need you to look after them now.”

“Not just friends. Family.” Spinelli drew in a heaving breath but nodded. “Yes. Yes. The Jackal must do what is right.” He smiled at Cameron. “Thanks, Little Dude.”

“Mommy makes me get a bath when I sticky, and it sucks but then I clean. That’s okay,” Cameron said, nodding sagely. “Snelli be okay.”

Jason looped one of Spinelli’s arms over his shoulder and lifted him to his feet. “Go ahead. I’ll call Diane.”

“I’ll take Cam up to wash him up.” Elizabeth scooped the toddler into her arms, then put a hand on Spinelli’s shoulders. “Come on. We’ll go together.”

Jason watched Elizabeth walking slowly after Spinelli up the stairs, and when they disappeared, he went over to the phone. Christ. How the hell was Spinelli going to come forward about hacking into the college security to give them the footage?

He couldn’t think about it yet, couldn’t really fathom that friendly young woman who had been in and out of the penthouse since Spinelli had moved in. She’d come forward about the conversation she’d heard between Lucky and Sam — she’d helped decorate the place for Jason’s return from jail—

And she’d helped Spinelli set up a bedroom here at the penthouse for the boys. All the small little ways Georgie Jones had been in his life, and now she was gone. He’d known her since she was small girl—

His hand tightened around the phone as it slammed into him and he remembered Robin. She’d always considered Maxie and Georgie her cousins, but they’d been more like her sisters. Did she know? Was someone with her?

“Diane? Hey. Yeah, we need you as soon as possible. I need to take Spinelli to the PCPD for questioning.”

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

“Is it wrong of me to be glad Elizabeth couldn’t get back on the schedule until next month?” Emily asked. She set a chart down next to Robin. “I feel like a bad friend because I know she wanted to get back to work, but—”

“She asked for six months, she got it. The hospital hired a nurse to take care of it.” Robin checked her notes. She blinked, then focused on Emily. “Why is it bothering you today?”

Emily leaned against the counter and handed Robin a letter. “I’m scheduled for a deposition in the custody case, and it made me think of everything since the trial. And I also ran into the temp nurse on the surgery floor—Patrick was chewing her out—”

At the mention of her ex-boyfriend, Robin’s lips thinned. “He needs to have more patience—” Or maybe he was in the same bad mood she’d been in since they’d broken up. After everything they’d been through this last year— “You know, it should be socially acceptable to ask someone if they want kids on the first day. Two years of my life down the drain—” She rolled her shoulders. “Look, siting for the depo is going to suck. Especially since you’re friends with both of them—”

“Not anymore. Not after the crap Lucky’s pulling—” Emily turned at the sound of the elevator, and Robin glanced up. The pen in her hands fell to the counter with a click of plastic.

Mac was standing there, his eyes red—Kevin just behind him, a hand on Mac’s shoulder, gripping it. “Uncle Mac.”

“Robin.” Mac closed his eyes, swallowed hard. “I can’t—” He looked at Kevin. “I can’t—”

“What’s wrong?” Robin rushed around the counter. “Uncle Mac—”

“Robin—” Kevin caught her before she reached her uncle. “It’s Georgie. They found her in the park—”

“Found.” Robin simply stared as the horror of the single word sunk in. “Found,” she repeated. She looked at Mac, at the tears sliding down his cheek. “Found. Georgie was found.”

Emily picked up the phone and dialed a number. “Patrick Drake to the Sixth Floor Nurse’s Station. Immediately. If he’s not in surgery.”

“This morning,” Kevin continued. He led her over to the sofa in the waiting area, helped her to sit. Mac perched on the edge of the sofa. His hands were shaking, Robin thought, and nothing terrified her more than seeing her strong uncle’s hands trembling.

“She and her roommate were attacked after leaving a party,” Mac managed. “I’m—I’m—We’ll call everyone—”

“Lucy’s already taking care of it,” Kevin said.

“Attacked.” It was another terrible word that matched found. It couldn’t be just a car accident, no. Robin’s baby cousin had been ripped away from her through violence. Someone had stolen her.

“She’s gone,” Robin said. She thought if she said it outloud it would make it real, but it sounded obscene. Like a walking nightmare that had to be keep being lived over. Every second, her brain erased the knowledge and it had to come again. Georgie dead. She was dead. Found. She was gone. Dead. Murdered. Attacked. She looked at Mac. “Do we—I mean, is there anything—”

“We’re working the case. But—”

“I should help Lucy with the calls.” Robin stood suddenly. “That’s what I’ll do. I’ll—I’ll make calls. There are so many people. Everyone loved her—” She looked at Emily. “Georgie. Everyone loved her.”

“They did,” Emily said. She came out of the nurse’s station. “I’ll talk to my mother and get you off the schedule—”

The elevators opened again and Patrick stepped out, his face twisted in a scowl that disappeared instantly when he saw Robin standing in front him, swaying slightly, her eyes stricken. “What’s wrong?” he said, coming forward and taking her into his arms. “What’s happened?”

“Oh, God.” Robin choked back a sob and her knees crumbled, but Patrick kept her upright. “She’s gone. Georgie. They stole her and hurt her, and she’s gone—”

He hauled her against him as she finally broke into sobs, heartbroken, loud, shattered sobs that shook her frame. He looked at Mac’s eyes, and Kevin’s quiet grief, then pressed his lips to Robin’s dark hair. “Okay. Okay. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

“I don’t care if I go to jail,” Spinelli said defiantly. He lifted his chin and glowered at Jason. “Georgie is what matters.”

The shower had indeed cleared his head, and now the grief was being fed by a searing anger—at himself, the killer, and the world. “They can throw away the key, but there must be justice. Fair Elizabeth, you understand—” He turned pleading eyes on Elizabeth who folded her arms.

“Spinelli, why don’t you listen to Diane? There might be a way to tell them everything without putting yourself at risk. Justice matters,” Elizabeth added when Spinelli’s nostrils flared. “But Georgie would never, ever put you at risk. You know that.”

“I’m sure we can talk our way around it. And perhaps the campus security will still have the footage on hand.” Diane touched Spinelli’s elbow. “I ask you to trust me to look after you. Do you?”

“You must agree that Georgie comes first. My faithful friend deserves nothing less-”

“Georgie comes first for you, and I understand that. But my loyalties are to the living,” Diane said not unkindly, and Spinelli seemed to shrink at this reminder of why they were here. She looked at Jason and Elizabeth. “Will you give me a minute with my client?”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’ll go clean up the kitchen,” Jason muttered, stalking from the room. Elizabeth peeked at Jake who had been moved to the bassinet for his morning nap, then followed.

“Diane will take care of him, Jason,” Elizabeth said, flinching when Jason dropped several plates into the sink with a crash and clink of cutlery and ceramics.

“Lucky was kind to him,” Jason said shortly. He looked at Elizabeth. “As soon as he stepped off that elevator, I knew—God, I knew it was bad, but—” He leaned back against the counter, dragged his hands through his hair. “He wanted to let Spinelli know easily. Wanted him to sit down, and I couldn’t let him in. Couldn’t let Cam see him—”

“It wouldn’t have made the news any easier if Spinelli had been sitting or standing,” Elizabeth said.

“In a million years, I never thought it was murder. Those girls—Georgie was just a kid. And I’m thinking about Robin. She loved her so much.”

“We’ll check on her,” Elizabeth said. She’d thought of Robin, too, once she’d made it upstairs and Spinelli was in the shower. Of all the people Georgie had touched in her short life. “Jason—”

“I knew something was wrong,” Jason said. “Or at least that there was some creep sending her flowers. That’s why Spinelli got that footage. But I didn’t know it kept happening. Why didn’t he tell me? Why didn’t she—”

“Because they didn’t, Jason. And there’s no guarantee if they had, it would have helped.” Elizabeth stepped up to him, put her arms around him, relieved when he hugged her back. Spinelli was like a brother to Jason — the younger, screw-up brother who needed constant looking after to keep on track, and right now, Jason thought he’d failed him. “He’s such a good kid, Jason. It’s hitting this so hard because he feels the way you do. But you’ll just make yourself sick thinking of everything you didn’t do. We have to focus on Spinelli and look after him the way he’s looked after us. The way he’s taken care of the boys.”

“Yeah,” Jason said roughly. He cleared his throat. “I’ll make sure he gets out of this without getting into trouble. Uh—” He exhaled sharply. “Look, I know we said we’d take this slow and maybe it’s not a good idea, but Spinelli—he seemed to do better when he was talking to Jake and Cam.  Maybe—can you—”

“I already called my grandmother,” Elizabeth said, and his expression eased. “I needed to talk to her about yesterday anyway. We’ll be here when you get back.”

“Okay. Okay.” He rested his forehead against hers, then their mouths found each other in a comforting, soft kiss. “I love you,” he murmured and she smiled.

“I love you, too.”

+41

Written in 61 minutes.

PCPD: Interrogation Room

Lucky dragged his hands through his hair, squeezed his eyes shut, and took a deep breath. “Let’s take this from the top, okay? Make sure you’re not missing any details—”

“I have left nothing out,” Spinelli said, his eyes flashing with irritation. He scowled. “You’re not listening—”

“I didn’t—” Lucky grimaced, leaned back and avoided the malevolent gaze of the man behind the irritated computer geek. It was so goddamn surreal, he thought abruptly, to be questioning a kid represented by his wife’s divorce attorney in the presence of the son of a bitch who’d destroyed his family—

He tamped down on his own impatience and tried again. “I didn’t mean that you left anything out on purpose,” he said. “Only that sometimes if we go over the story a few times, I can ask new questions and it can trigger your memory.”

Spinelli glanced at Diane Miller who nodded, then he focused on Lucky again. “Georgie said that she found roses outside her dorm room last month. There was no note on it. No tag from a florist. She didn’t even know if they were for her or her roommate.”

“Okay. When exactly did she tell you this?” Lucky picked up his pencil. “Can you remember the date?”

“It was—” Spinelli furrowed his brow, twisted in his chair to look at Jason. The older man was leaning against the bookcase against the wall, his arms folded. “Stone Cold, the day you came home—she told me when we were setting up the banner.”

Jason exhaled, flicked his eyes at Lucky. “Yeah, okay. So the day I was acquitted.”

Lucky nearly flinched at that. While Spinelli had been preparing a welcome home party for Jason after he’d been found not guilty of murder, Lucky had walked into the home where he’d expected to raise his boys and found Elizabeth packing. “August 16,” he said. “Fine. Why did she think it was suspicious?”

“She didn’t.” Spinelli scratched his temple. “She thought it was a prank maybe. Or that Conflicted Film Major—” he grimaced —”maybe that Dillon had sent them and the card got lost. But later that day, I think, that night, she was more worried. She had called Dillon in California and he didn’t know anything.”

“Still, she’s a pretty—” Lucky stopped. “She was,” he corrected himself, thinking of the fresh, sweet little girl he’d known all her life. Who had grown up with his little sister. “She was a beautiful woman. Maybe it was just an admirer.”

“We thought so,” Spinelli muttered. “So we put it away. Until the dead flowers came.”

“Dead flowers,” Lucky repeated, the news no less chilling then they’d been the first time he’d heard the story. “When?”

“A few weeks later.” Spinelli shifted uncomfortably.

“Do you know exactly when?” Lucky pressed.

“Yes, but—” Spinelli glanced at Jason again before focusing his attention on Lucky again. “Uh, I don’t really remember the date. I just—I know it happened the day I had a conversation.”

“What conversation? With who?”

“Spinelli,” Jason said, and the teen looked at him again. “Was it the day yo told me about Kelly’s?”

Spinelli flushed. “Yes.” He swallowed hard and looked at Lucky again, who frowned at the exchange. “It was a personal conversation that—”

“It was after Georgie overheard you and Sam talking about the divorce,” Jason said flatly, and Lucky stared at the enforcer dumbfounded. “She told Spinelli the same day he got the flowers and he told us. August 30. That’s the day the flowers were delivered.”

“Georgie…” Lucky leaned back, looked at his notepad, his cheeks warm, something rolling in the pit of his stomach. Georgie had been there that day, he remembered now. And absorbed the likelihood that when Jason said “us” he was including Elizabeth.

“Detective Spencer?” Diane said coolly. “Do you want to continue or shall we find another officer who has fewer ties to the parties involved?”

“My divorce has nothing to do with any of this,” Lucky snapped, curling his fist around the pen in his hand. “Fine. The dead flowers were delivered on August 30—” He stopped, then got up and crossed to the wall, yanking down a plain calendar that hung near the door. He flipped back to August. “Those were both Thursdays.” He focused on Spinelli again. “When did the calls begin?”

“I don’t know for sure. I—” Spinelli stopped, drawing his brows together. “I don’t know when they started, only when she told me about them. We were at Kelly’s. After the dead flowers got delivered. She mentioned she was getting blocked calls, and it was like it’d been a few days by then.”

“Was she working that day? I can check the schedule.”

“Yeah. I was there for dinner,” Spinelli said. “I had a burger. But it was early. I was still hungry when I got home—that was the night we ordered pepperoni pizza. The first time,” he added. He looked at Jason. “You know? Little Dude and I fought about who would finish the orange soda.”

“I remember,” Jason said, with a slight smile as if the memory was a good one. Little Dude, Lucky thought. Christ, Cameron had a Spinelli nickname already.

“Do you remember how long after the flowers?” Lucky said, irritated by all the tangents into the Morgan family home life. Why did all of it seem tied to this? Damn it—

“Yeah. September 10.”

The day of his damned divorce mediation when he’d told Elizabeth about Manny Ruiz. Lucky grimaced, avoided Jason’s cool gaze, knowing the other man knew exactly what he was thinking.

“Which means he was escalating after a few weeks, whoever this guy was.” Lucky gritted his teeth. “She was being stalked. Didn’t you tell anyone?”

“Not about the calls. She promised she’d tell her stepdad. I thought she had.” Spinelli huffed. “And the flowers—I told Stone Cold, but there was nothing to it. It could have been a frat prank—”

“Great, you told Jason. Why didn’t you go to the police?”

Diane held up a hand as Spinelli scowled and opened his mouth. “You’re not answering that. My client handled things as his friend asked him to. Until this morning, no one thought Georgie Jones or her roommate was in danger, including her own stepfather, the commissioner of the damn police department.”

“We could have pulled security footage—” Lucky saw Spinelli’s eyes drop to the table. “You did, didn’t you? You got into the system—”

“My client isn’t answering that question—”

“Yes,” Spinelli said, and Diane glared at him. “For Georgie. For my faithful and loyal friend, I must do what is necessary. Yes.” He looked at Lucky, lifting his chin in defiance. “I logged the footage on both days. I also marked it in the system so it would not be deleted. You can go find it yourself. But it shows nothing. There’s no face—”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Lucky muttered. “Look, no one is going after you for this. I’ll…I’ll just make it clear you’re a confidential informant.” At Diane’s surprise and Jason’s suspicion, he added, “I know what it’s like to have a friend who’s in trouble and not going to the authorities. Sometimes you have to do what you can to protect them.” He got to his feet. “If you think of anything else, Spinelli, let me know.”

Spinelli and Diane left first, but Jason lingered. Lucky tensed as the mobster closed the interrogation room door, leaving them  both inside.

“Whatever happens with custody and the divorce stays on that side of the door,” Jason said coldly. “It has nothing to do with Georgie or her roommate. So you’ll get my cooperation for whatever you need.”

Lucky scowled. “You don’t get to make demands—”

“You didn’t have to take Cameron home yesterday,” Jason cut in and Lucky closed his mouth. “You heard him, didn’t you? When you walked away—”

Daddy, Daddy, I’ll be good—

Lucky swallowed hard, closing it out of his mind. Have to keep his eye on the goal. “One day, when he’s older, he’ll understand—I love my sons. Both of them,” Lucky added with heat, “and I’m doing what I have to do to keep my family together. Blood doesn’t mean a damn thing—”

“When he’s older, he won’t even remember you. Neither of them will. Diane is filing my paternity petition this week. You can throw whatever you want at me about my past. You won’t get my son, and you won’t get another chance to hurt Cameron.”

Jason jerked the door open and left, slamming it behind him. Lucky exhaled slowly, then followed him into the squad room.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

“Hey, Gram—thanks—” Elizabeth set the suitcase on the floor next to the desk. “The boys are all set up here, but I didn’t have anything—”

“I assumed as much,” Audrey said dryly as she considered the shirt sliding off Elizabeth’s shoulder. “I, uh, hadn’t realized things were moving this quickly—”

“They weren’t. I wasn’t planning anything yesterday.” Elizabeth readjusted the collar of the shirt, then went to scoop Jake up from the playpen. “I told you over the phone that Cameron saw Lucky at the park and was upset. I didn’t really get into the details.”

“I had a bad feeling it was worse than you described,” Audrey said. She glanced around the room. “Where is he?”

“Playing upstairs.” Elizabeth gestured at the side table where the grainy image of Cameron could be seen on the monitor. The toddler was singing to himself as he played with the action figures. “Cameron tried to go to Lucky, but Lucky—he rejected him, Gram. Didn’t hug him, kiss him—nothing.” Her eyes burned at the memory and she took a deep breath. “He cried all afternoon. I needed to focus on him, so it just made sense for us to stay over—”

“Because Jason could take care of Jake.” Audrey rubbed her chest. “I’m so sorry, darling—”

“I’m revising the custody petition, Gram. I wanted Cam to keep Lucky in his life, but not like this. Lucky had no problem hurting an innocent child to punish me. I know you think it’s too soon or that I’m rushing that decision—”

“I remember how often Lucky visited when you lived with me,” Audrey said softly, and Elizabeth stopped. “Which was approximately never. Cameron stayed with me for the better part of six months. Lucky never came once. And he certainly never came after you separated this summer. He’s had a chance to prove himself as Cameron’s father and clearly he’s failed.”

“Right. Well—” A bit discomforted by how easily Audrey had accepted the decision, Elizabeth had to gather herself. “I was going to  take the boys back to your place today, but then—God—” She sat on the arm of the sofa. “We found out about Georgie.”

“An absolute heart breaking tragedy. I loved those girls. There was a time, you know, when Felicia was dating your uncle, and I spent a great deal of time with them. She was such a lovely girl. So much promise. And the young man who lives with Jason—they were friends?”

“Yes. Close friends. Spinelli is devastated, and Jason’s worried for him. But Spinelli does so well with the boys. I thought maybe they’d help distract him. And—” Elizabeth adjusted Jake in her arms, looking at her bright, beautiful son. “Life is too short to waste any of it. I could wait a few more months. Maybe a whole year. Maybe then no one would think anything of Jason and I being together. But why should I care what other people think?”

“You shouldn’t, dear.” Audrey stroked Jake’s soft hair and then smiled at Elizabeth. “It’s not the choice I would have made for you. But I know he cares for you, and he’s a good father. If this is the future you want, you can count on my support.”

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

“We have a lead,” Lucky told Mac, setting down a preliminary report. “I still have a few things to iron out, but so far-”

“What? Tell me.” Mac flipped open the report, tearing through it. “What do we know? What—what is this order for phone records?”

“We have her physical phone,” Lucky said. “And we found records of blocked calls. Mac, I don’t know if it means anything, but someone sent her flowers in August, then two weeks later, sent her dead ones. And then started hangups from a blocked number. So far I’ve got pictures on her phone and the call history. We’re trying to get more info from—”

“My baby was being stalked? Why the hell didn’t she tell me?”

“She meant to, or she told Spinelli she was going to,” Lucky said gently. “She told him a few of the things, and he wanted her to tell you. To do more.  But she thought it was a prank, Mac—”

“Christ.” Mac shoved away from the desk. “She seemed…distracted yesterday,” he remembered. He scrubbed his hands down his face. “I thought maybe something was wrong, but then Maxie and I started to argue, and Georgie had to leave for a class—I let it go. I told myself I’d figure it out later.” He met Lucky’s eyes, the devastation gut-wrenching. “I thought there would be more time. Why wasn’t there more time?”

+41

Written in 60 minutes.

Robin’s Apartment: Living Room

“Oh—” Emily’s thoughts scattered for a moment when Patrick pulled open the door to Robin’s apartment. “I wasn’t—I was looking for Robin—”

“I’m just—” Distracted, Patrick raked a hand through his dark, messy hair and disappeared behind the door. Emily followed him. “Robin’s at her uncle’s. I’m just here to get some things together for her.”

“Oh. I was coming to check on her.” Emily closed the door. “But it’s good that she’s with her uncle—”

“Mac was at the police station when I left, but Robin’s with Maxie—” Patrick exhaled on a sharp breath. “Look, can you help me put her bag together? I started to and it was my idea, but now—I don’t know. It doesn’t feel right to go through her drawers when we’re not dating. Hell, even if we were—”

“Yeah, sure.” Emily followed him into the bedroom where a duffel bag was open on the bed. “I’d ask how she’s doing but it’s a stupid question.”

“Holding together,” Patrick said, shoving a pair of jeans into the bag. “She was trying to track down her mother—and Georgie’s parents, I think. She said it could be a few days—”

“Yeah, Frisco Jones works for the WSB, and I guess Felicia does now, too.” Emily tugged open a drawer and drew out the first few bra and panty sets she found. “Robin is at her best when she’s got a list to complete or people to take care of. Maxie and Mac won’t have to worry about anything.” She carefully arranged the intimates in the bag, reorganizing the mess Patrick had made of the clothes inside. “That’s why I paged you. I could see the news wasn’t really hitting, but when it did—”

Patrick fisted his hands at his waist. “I hate when she cries,” he muttered. “She doesn’t do it much, so I never have any experience with it, but, Christ, Emily—Georgie was just a kid and she’s gone. Just like that.”

“Just like that. Life is fragile,” Emily murmured. “I went to dinner at the hotel, and my father was there for another reason. And then he was gone. We never get all the time we should. There’s no promise in any of this. Robin’s going to boss people around, take control, and that’s how she copes. But she needs someone who didn’t lose Georgie the same way. You know? I mean, you liked Georgie, but you’re not her sister or stepfather. She needs someone to make sure she eats. And rests. And doesn’t take on the weight of the world—”

“Emily, we’re not dating anymore—”

“No, I know that. And that’s between you and Robin.” Emily took the sweater he was holding and put into the duffel bag. “But you didn’t break up because you argued. Because someone cheated. You just want different things.”

“Yeah.” Patrick went back to the closet and found two more shirts which he dumped into the bag. “Well—”

“The love isn’t gone, is it?”

“No.” Patrick sighed. “It’d be easier if it were,” he bit out. “Because then I could just get over it. But she wants a family, and I—” He pressed his lips together. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get there. And even if I did, what kind of father would I be?”

“Fathers…” Emily zipped the bag. “That’s a funny thing. You mostly learn on the job if you’re willing to make mistakes and try better. The most important part is showing up. And you know how to do that.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You and Robin aren’t dating anymore. You could have called anyone to take care of Robin. She’s got lots of people who love her. But you’re here. And I don’t think it’s just because I paged you.” She looped the straps of the bag over her palm and held it out to him. “You’re showing up, Patrick, because you love her. Because she needs you.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

The tension in Jason’s shoulders vanished the moment he pushed open the door to the penthouse and found Elizabeth on the sofa with Jake in her lap and Cameron playing with a handful of toys in the space between the coffee table and entertainment center against the wall.

He was so used to coming home to an empty silent home that he almost stopped in  his tracks, only jarred back to reality by Spinelli bumping into his back.

“Everything good, Stone Cold?” the tech wanted to know, sliding around Jason, his tired eyes lighting up at Cameron on the floor. “Hey, Little Dude, you’re still here.”

“Grammy bought me stuff,” Cameron said. He smiled as Spinelli sat on the floor next to Cameron and picked up one of the fire trucks. “That makes sounds! Press this—” Cam touched the button, and Spinelli’s face lit up when the sounds of the siren echoed in the penthouse.

Elizabeth winced and got to her feet, cradling Jake against her shoulder. “I’m going to need ear plugs,” she said with a good-natured wince, approaching Jason, brushing her mouth against his. Jason caught her at the waist, held her close for a long moment. “How did it go?”

“Okay, I guess.” Jake reached for him, so Jason lifted his son into his arms, pressing his cheek against the baby’s soft forehead. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”

“Yeah. One second—” Elizabeth turned back to Cameron and Spinelli. “Hey, Spinelli, we got sanwiches for lunch and there’s orange soda. Would you entertain Cameron for a bit so Jason and I can put Jake down for a nap?”

“Sure thing, Fair Elizabeth.” Spinelli climbed to his feet. “Wanna find some cartoons? The Scoobs is a personal favorite.”

“Scooby is the best.”

“Guess there’s a side benefit to having someone in the house with the same tastes and hobbies as my three year old,” Elizabeth said wryly as she followed Jason up the stairs and down the hall into the master bedroom. “Before you go in—”

He paused when he saw a suitcase by the door and stared at for a long moment before turning back to her, quizzical. “What’s going on?”

“I realize I’m rushing things a bit,” Elizabeth said, her cheeks flushing. She picked up the handle of the suitcase and moved it closer to the bed. “And you really just asked for me to hang around today because Cam keeps Spinelli happy—”

“That’s not why—”

“But I guess I decided to take you literally this morning.” She bit her lip. “When you said you’d ask for forever if I was ready. When you left, when I had time to sit with everything that’s happened—God—” Elizabeth sank slowly onto the edge of the bed. “She was just a baby. Her whole life ahead of her and it’s gone. There are no more tomorrows for her. No more one days. It’s over. Georgie really was the sweetest girl, you know? I mean, of course, you know. But—” she sighed. “I asked myself what if I was staying at my grandmother’s because I didn’t feel ready or if I thought the rest of the world wasn’t ready. I didn’t want to rush into anything, but—” She made a face. “I’m not explaining this well.”

“It’s okay.” Jason sat next to her, looping one arm around Jake’s waist to secure the infant. “You’re doing fine.”

“It’s not like you and I haven’t known each other for years, you know? We’ve seen each other at our worst, and we’ve been through so much. And I don’t know…it just seemed so silly to pretend that every minute I’m back at my grandmother’s, I’m not thinking about being here with you.”

With his free hand, Jason laced their fingers together, their eyes meeting. “We can always re-evaluate in a few months,” he told her. “If you want more time.”

“Five years ago,” Elizabeth said, searching his gaze, “I walked out of this penthouse. I threw away the dream I had of what we could be. I’ve had all the time I need, Jason. But if you want it—”

“I meant what I said this morning. Waking up with you laying next to me, with Cam and Jake at the breakfast table, it’s all I want.” He kissed her, then Jake batted his fists, bumping in between them. “Hey, you want some attention?”

Elizabeth smiled, stroking Jake’s back. “How did Spinelli do at the station?”

“Held his own. I, uh,” Jason grimaced, “I had words with Lucky after the questioning was over. Just—when it comes to this investigation with Georgie—I’ll cooperate. But it’s not changing anything. We’re going through with the paternity filing this week. I…I told him he wouldn’t get the chance to hurt Cameron again.” He grimaced. “I know that’s not my place—”

“I’ll call Diane in a bit to finalize the addendum to my petition to the family court. I’m not backing down. No matter what Lucky thought he was doing yesterday, he walked away while my son was screaming for his father. He doesn’t get to pick and choose when to show Cameron love. That’s not how it works.” Elizabeth laid her head on Jason’s shoulder. “And what you said about sharing Cameron, I’m thinking about that, too. He’s not ready for that kind of shift, but I know you already love him. And that means the world to me.”

Spencer House: Porch

“I thought you’d come back to the island tonight,” Nikolas called from the driveway. He closed the door to the Jaguar and sat next to Lucky on the top step. “But Mrs. Lansbury said you hadn’t caught the launch.”

“Wanted to stick close to town with this investigation.” Lucky stretched out his legs. “Bit of a holding pattern right now. Waiting on some tests, some records to come back.”

In the horizon, the sun was sinking low, and daylight was crawling away, overtaken by the creeping shadows. “Hell of a thing,” Nikolas murmured. “Murdered right on campus like that.”

“Thinking about what Mac is going through. And Maxie,” Lucky added almost absently, “but Mac—you know I forget a lot of the time that Mac isn’t Georgie’s father. That he’s barely anything to them. Mac and Felicia have been divorced a long time. But Mac’s raised them since they were babies. Losing Georgie this way—” Lucky shook his head. “Thinking about this summer. Long stretches when I worried about Jake. Thought he might be dead. Christ, the best case scenario was hoping someone had taken him to raise him. And now…”

He looked across the street, his gaze distant. “And now it’s another kind of death,” Lucky murmured. “Jake is alive, thank God. But he’s never going to know me. He won’t have any memory of being mine. Of the months I’ve spent with him. The sleepless nights, hoping he’d just give me and Elizabeth an hour of a rest…” He looked at Nikolas. “I’m right, aren’t I? You don’t have any memory of Mom being in Greece.”

“No. I don’t. Lucky—”

“I know everyone thinks I should throw in the towel. Especially after yesterday. Christ. What the hell was I thinking?” Lucky muttered. He put his head in his hands. “Walking away from Cameron—I should have snatched him up, held him tight, told Elizabeth I was taking him for a while—why didn’t I just hold him, Nikolas? Tell him I loved him?”

“You’re the only one who knows that.”

Lucky exhaled. “He was there. Holding my son, sitting with my family. And he’s always been there, you know that, don’t you? Always lurking in the background so I’d never forget Elizabeth settled for me.” He gritted his teeth. “And in that moment, I hated him more than I loved my son. I just saw red. I wanted to hurt her. To hurt him. To hurt them all.” He squeezed his hand into a fist. “And the anger won. I couldn’t put Cameron first. Just like Dad couldn’t do put any of us first. He couldn’t put you first, either, you know. He never saw you. Only how you got to be.”

“You made a mistake—”

“A mistake I’m going to have to pay for, I guess, but—” Lucky got to his feet. “I’m not going to stop fighting for my sons. I don’t care what anyone says. Even if I lose. One day, one day, I want someone to be able to say that I made mistakes, but I never stopped fighting. Until there’s nothing left—”

“It’s a mistake, Lucky—”

“I’m good at those,” Lucky murmured. He looked out over the lawn, at the memories of a happier childhood, at the brief happiness he’d had here with this summer with his boys. “It’s a mistake I have to make, Nikolas.”

+34

Written in 60 minutes.

Scorpio House: Living Room

Robin emerged from the kitchen, a dish towel in her hands, watching as Maxie rocked back and forth on the sofa, her boyfriend Cooper holding as sobs continued. She’d been crying since Robin had arrived, though she’d calm considerably from the wailing—

That was uncharitable, Robin thought grimly as she went to the coffee table, picked up some empty glasses and returned to the kitchen. She dumped them in the sink, switched on the water. Maxie’s sister was dead—

Her chest tickled, tightened, and something crawled up her throat. Robin gripped the edge of the counter, took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes closed. Forced it back down. She’d fallen apart once already. Couldn’t do it again.

Outside the kitchen window, she heard a car engine switch off. Maybe it was Mac, returning from the station with an update. Or Bobbie, who had dropped off food. Or—

Robin went back into the living room just as the door opened, and her brain skittered to a stop. Felicia stood there, her eyes rimmed with red. Just behind her stood Mac and—

Maxie sniffled, focused on the door, and like lightning, her grief and fury had a target. “What are you doing here?” she demanded, lurching to her feet. Beside her, Cooper got to his feet warily.

“Maxie—”

“No. No. Neither of you—” Maxie’s voice trembled.

“Maxie,” Felicia said softly, turning to the quiet man beside her. “Your father and I—”

“That man is no father of mine,” Maxie spat, and Frisco Jones exhaled on a shaky breath.

“Maxie, don’t—” Robin came forward, a hand outstretched.

“No, no, no! You don’t get to come here when it’s over!” Maxie shook off Cooper’s arm. “No! Because if you could come today, where were you yesterday?”

“I—” Frisco opened his mouth, then closed it.

Maxie whirled on Robin. “You know what it’s like! You know! Your father showed up like this—but at least he had the decency to pretend to be dead!”

Robin flinched, and Cooper put a hand on Maxie’s arm. “Babe—”

“No!” Maxie cried. “No! My sister is dead! Her body is barely cold, and they’re here like they have a damn right to be—I can’t—” Her sobs choked off and she whirled away, dashing past Robin. A moment later, the back door banged shut. Cooper flicked an uncomfortable look around, then followed his girlfriend.

Robin briefly considered going after her, but then turned her attention to the trio at the door. “Felicia.” She went to the woman who had partially raised her, and embraced her. Felicia hugged her back, the older woman’s thin body trembling. “And—” Robin looked over at Frisco. She had only a handful of memories of this man. He’d been around during her childhood, a friend to both her parents.

But Maxie wasn’t wrong in her anger, in her fury. Because if her parents could show up the same day her sister’s body was found—

“Robin. You’ve—” Frisco cleared his throat. “You’ve grown up.”

“Yes.” Robin took a deep breath. “I made coffee. Come in. Let’s—you must be tired. From the traveling.”  She looked at her uncle who slowly shook his head. No leads then. No progress that could be reported.

She absorbed that hit, then turned to make Georgie’s parents feel welcome — and wished she had the courage to rage at the world as Maxie had.

She knew what it was like to grow up without her parents, to wonder if her father loved her—and if he did—how could he have left her behind?

But Robin wasn’t Maxie. And the time to rage would have to come later.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

“It’s so awful.” Emily embraced Elizabeth, then took Jake into her arms for a cuddle. “How’s Spinelli?”

“He’s—he’s awful,” Elizabeth admitted. She closed the door. “He’s  upstairs with Cameron, watching a movie. Jason—he’s at Sonny’s if you were looking for him—”

“No, I stopped by your grandmother’s but she said you were here.” Emily gave Jake back, then stripped off her jacket, tossing it over the side of the desk. “I guess you’re sticking close—”

“You could say that. Let’s—let’s sit down.” Elizabeth gestured at the sofa. “Um, I’m staying here. With Jason. Me and the boys.”

Emily lifted her brows. “I didn’t realize things had progressed this far—”

“They hadn’t. I mean, they wouldn’t have. But—” Elizabeth bit her lip. “Some things happened yesterday, and then this morning—it’s—at the park yesterday. Jason and I were there with the boys. Lucky walked past, and when Cameron tried to hug him, to talk to him—” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Lucky shoved him away. He walked away—”

“What?” Emily’s eyes widened. “What did you say?”

“Cameron was so upset, inconsolable. Screaming for his daddy.” Elizabeth cleared her throat. “I brought him here because—because he’s happy here. And because I needed to take care of him—we stayed the night. I wanted Cameron to feel safe. And I knew Jason and Spinelli—”

“You don’t have to say anything else. My God, I knew Lucky was pushing things with Cameron, but I never thought—” Emily pressed a fist to her mouth. “My God.”

“It was awful. And I never want Cam to go through this again. He woke up back to his old self, I think, but I can’t risk another scene like that. I’m having Diane revise the custody petition.”

Elizabeth rose to her feet, crossed the room to set Jake down in the bassinet. “I’ve been kind, I think, to Lucky. Understanding. Patient. I knew he was threatening to walk away from Cameron because he saw it as leverage. As a negotiation tactic. The moment you told me what he’d said—or what Georgie overheard—or even after that mediation meeting—I knew I should have walked away then. Rejected any visitation at all. But I didn’t.”

“Elizabeth—”

“I felt guilty. This was all happening because of me. I set all of this into motion years ago when I decided Lucky was my problem to fix. I thought Jason could take care of himself. That it was better to keep choosing Lucky because he needed me, and Jason didn’t.” She rubbed her arms, chilled. “Somehow, I convinced myself that the right thing to do was to lie to Jason, to take away his son—that Lucky needed Jake more. This was my fault, Emily, and I would have kept taking the hits. I would take anything Lucky or Nikolas threw at me. Because I started this a lifetime ago, and I kept going last year—”

She broke off, turned to focus on Emily. “But it stopped being my fault after the trial.  I told the truth when it would have been safer, easier for me to keep lying. To keep demanding more from Jason than I had a right to—to keep protecting Lucky’s world. To make myself unhappy.” Tears burned as they trickled down. “When did I decide Lucky was worth more than me? How could I have done this myself—to Jason—to my boys—” Her breath was shaky as she forced herself to continue. “The things I’ve done will haunt me for the rest of my life. But everything that happens now isn’t my fault. Lucky listened to my little boy screaming for him and still walked away.”

Emily slowly stood, her eyes shimmering. “I can’t believe. I can’t accept it. It’s not right. I—”

“I’ve spent my life begging, cheating, and destroying myself and the people around me so that Lucky Spencer would love me.” She met Emily’s eyes. “Even with the divorce, even with the mediation, and the custody demands, I couldn’t stand to go for broke. To play anything but fair. Because I needed Lucky to love Cameron.”

“And he doesn’t,” Emily said softly.

“He doesn’t. And my son will never have to beg anyone to love him. I won’t allow it.” Elizabeth wrapped her arm around herself. “So whatever happens next, Lucky is out. Cameron doesn’t need a father who puts conditions on his love.”

“No, he doesn’t.” Emily approached, hugged her tightly. “I’m so sorry, Liz. I’m so sorry.”

“I’m not. I’m not—” Elizabeth stepped back, found a smile. “Because he ripped off the blinders I’ve been wearing. The love, the family I want for myself, for my sons—it’s right here. Jason and I were talking before last night—but then Georgie—” Elizabeth paused, as the horror stole over her once more. “Spinelli was shattered, and Cam is good for his spirits. And Jason was shaken, too, I could see that. She was just a baby, Em. Just starting out her life. Just making her own mistakes and choices.”

“It’s brutal,” Emily agreed, winding her arm though Elizabeth’s and walking back to the sofa. “I can’t wrap my head around it.”

“I realized I was just treading water. Staying with my grandmother, only being here for visits. Jason deserves to live with son, and Cam—”

“Cameron deserves my brother,” Emily said. “You don’t have to tell me what I already know. I’ve seen it, haven’t? With my own eyes. I know Jason loves Cameron. They deserve each other.”

“They do. Jason—he offered. Cam’s not there right now, but he will. And I was reminded, terribly, that life is too short to wait until the perfect moment. I’ve waited long enough.”

Greystone: Living Room

Jason should have paid more attention to the car clustered in the front drive, he thought, as he strode past Max, and into the living room to find Carly speaking with her ex-husband.

“Jason!” Carly’s eyes lit up and she came to hug him. “You’ve been impossible to find these days—” Her mouth twisted. “Someone’s keeping you busy—”

“Yeah, my son,” Jason said, and she scowled. “I see him every day,” he added, hoping it would quell her ire, and give her peace a mind. There was part of Carly, he knew, that had been genuinely angry that Jason had been lied to, that he’d had watch Lucky claim Jake. How she handled it—who she blamed—well, that was different.

“See him—you should have him. All the time. At night. Morning.” Carly put hand on her hips. “But you won’t—”

“I do,” Jason repeated. He looked at Sonny. “That’s why I’m here.”

“What? What? Don’t tell me that mealy-mouthed—” Jason snapped his head around, and Carly stumbled. Tried again. “I mean, did Elizabeth give you visitation?”

Jason ignored her question, focused on Sonny. “Elizabeth and the boys are living with me now—”

“I knew it!”

“Shut up, Carly,” Sonny said blandly, then to Jason, he continued, “What kind of protection are you looking for?”

“That manipulative—”

Irritated and beyond his patient, Jason turned, took Carly by the arm and lightly shoved her  back a few feet — into the foyer. Then he closed the door, locking her out.

“Yeah, she’s not going to handle any of this well—” Sonny started, but Jason scowled. “I’m not saying that should be a problem for you—”

“It’s not. And Elizabeth can handle Carly. I don’t care about any of that.”

“No, of course.”

“I need you to sign off on a security upgrade for the Towers,” Jason said. “We haven’t overhauled it since you were living there with the kids. I need—”

“Done. I’ll call our guys. Guards?”

“Do—I didn’t think we had any cause for—” Jason frowned. He was out of loop, had been for months. “Do we—”

“I wasn’t sure if Elizabeth was more anxious after the kidnapping,” Sonny said gently. “Relax. Things are quiet. Everyone is lying low after the publicity from the trial. So, no personal guards. Do you want someone to trail after? Just in the area. Elizabeth could keep driving. Just a presence.”

“Maybe when she has the boys,” Jason said finally. “Thanks. I appreciate—I appreciate all space you’ve been giving me.”

“You’ve earned this,” Sonny said simply. “If I need you, I know how to find you. Take this time for yourself. And for your family.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

For his family. He liked the sound of it, and it put him in a good mood—good enough that he was able to deal with a short Carly confrontation after leaving Sonny. She’d been filled with complaints and worries—but he’d smoothed them over and left without breaking a sweat.

Then he’d gone home, thinking about what they might make for dinner—he didn’t cook much, but he’d liked breakfast that morning. Maybe—

There was laughter coming from the kitchen when Jason arrived at the penthouse. He followed the sound to find Spinelli and Cameron at the kitchen table, Jake in a bouncy sweat, and Elizabeth at the stove. Her hair had been piled on her head, pieces trailing down,  sticking lightly to the side her face, damp from the steam rising from the stove. She held a metal spoon in her hand, traces of red sauce clinging to the edges.

She was turned away from the pot, laughing with a flushed Spinelli covered in dinosaur stickers, Cameron giggling another ready in his hand, and Jake gurgling, his tiny fist wrapped around a cloth rabbit ear.

Elizabeth turned at her entrance, her smile remaining in place. “You’re home!”

“Stone Cold—” Spinelli’s desperate eyes found his. “You must assist the Jackal. He’s under attack from the Little Dude—”

“I think you can take him,” Jason said lightly, crossing the space to press his mouth to Elizabeth’s. Her smile widened under his lips, and she wrapped one arm around his neck. “Hey,” she said softly when he drew back.

“Hey,” he echoed. “I’m home.”

+38

Written in 57 minutes.

PCPD: Squad Room

In the margin of his autopsy report copy, Lucky scribbled a note to himself to investigate just how common the type of cord found around Georgie’s neck was. The cord itself had be a signature, didn’t it? Whoever had murdered the girls had brought with him — the only question was —

“What do you have?”

Lucky clicked back into the room around him and found a red-eyed Mac standing by his desk. He gestured for the commissioner to take a seat. “The preliminary autopsy report is in,” he said. When Mac flinched, Lucky cleared his throat. “Are you sure you want to do this, Mac? I can ask the lieutenant—”

“No. No. She was my baby. You understand, don’t you? If this happened to your boys, it wouldn’t matter about blood—”

“No, it wouldn’t. All right. Preliminary autopsy came back for both victims. And I have a prelim from the crime scene tech. I have some more interviews to do with the partygoers, but I have a basic picture. Georgie and Chelsea went to a party at a fraternity. Spinelli met them there. They hung out for a few hours, but Spinelli left early—”

“Did he?” Mac said, his eyes narrowing. “Where did he go?”

“Home. I got complete cooperation from him Mac — and from Jason, including the security tapes from the Towers. Spinelli is logged in hours before the last sighting of the girls. And nothing of him leaving—”

“He’s a computer hacker—”

“I know that. And I’m sending the tapes for more analysis to be sure, but my gut says no. I told him myself, Mac, because I needed to know. And he was shattered. I’m not saying he’s not acting, but I have nothing at this point to say otherwise.” Lucky paused, but Mac said nothing, only clenched his jaw. “While the tox screen is going to take a bit more time to be sure, both girls had alcohol in their bloodstream—”

“What—” Mac swung back, his eyes wide. “My—Georgie never drank.”

“I don’t think she had more than a beer, Mac. Maybe just to be social. Chelsea was over the legal limit — some of the wits say she was drinking heavily which wasn’t like her. Neither of the girls had a reputation for that. They were well-liked and known for having a good time, but not for being partiers. My sense is that until last night, they were both just social drinkers. But Chelsea drank more.”

“That’s something.”

“It is. The campus hasn’t turned over their security footage yet, but the security doesn’t think there’s an angle that will help us. That corner is a dead spot. Still, we want to pinpoint the time better so I’m waiting on that.”

Mac dragged his head down his cheeks. “What about other injuries?” he asked. “Was it just—”

“No signs of a sexual assault,” Lucky said gently. “Georgie was first — and that makes sense. Chelsea was likely too drunk too realize someone had grabbed her. There were drag marks on the jeans —we think they were both grabbed from the path and dragged into the bushes.”

Mac exhaled slowly. “What else?”

“Georgie had more defensive wounds. She fought hard, Mac. I don’t know if that brings you comfort—but she got a piece of the guy. There’s skin under her nails. We’re sending it away from analysis. Chelsea has some broken nails which means she fought, too, but not as hard.”

“Too drunk,” Mac murmured. “God, maybe it’s a blessing. She might not have even realized. But Georgie—she fought. She knew—” He drew in a sharp breath. “She knew.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Is that it? Is that all?”

“After four days, yes,” Lucky said. “We need more canvassing. More testing. But a DNA profile is a good sign, Mac—”

“Why haven’t you finished the canvassing?” Mac demanded. “What else do you have to deal with? You should be out doing that now—” He jerked to his feet, his eye catching the corner of some other paperwork. “What is this?”

“Mac—”

The commissioner snatched it up. “A custody petition—you’re working on your damn divorce? What about my daughter?”

“It’s—”

“Are you too distracted?” Mac demanded.

“No.” Lucky took the petition back. “That’s been there since Friday. Since before.” And he’d scarcely given it much thought outside of that tense scene with Jason after interrogating Spinelli. “I’ve done what I can for that — it’s the hands of the lawyers. Georgie and Chelsea have my focus, Mac.”

The older man closed his eyes, the flush of anger fading, leaving him pale and wan. “I want her back. I just—”

“I can’t imagine what you’re going through. And you know I can’t make promises about finding this guy. But I will do everything I can. I knew Georgie, Mac. She was a great kid. And she deserved so much better than this.” He set the papers on his desk. “Go home. Be with your family.”

Queen of Angels: Chapel

“Thank you, Father Coates.” Robin shook the priest’s hand. “I appreciate everything.”

“Of course. My condolences to your family. Everything is arranged for tomorrow.” The priest disappeared into the backroom, and Robin turned to find Patrick in the double doorway separating the main chapel from the anteroom.

“What are you—” She drew her brows together. “What are you doing here?”

“I stopped by the house, and Anna told me you’d be here.” He tipped his head. “When did your parents get in?”

“Late last night.” Robin rubbed her arms. “They didn’t know Georgie very well, but they were close to Frisco and Felicia, and of course, my uncle—” She rubbed her arms. “I still don’t—”

“I wanted to see if you needed anything, but Maxie was fighting with a woman I assume is her mother, and Anna was trying to mediate everything — and then I found out you were here arranging the funeral.” He paused. “Alone.”

“It’s easier this way.” She moved past him, into the anteroom to retrieve her coat and purse. “Maxie grieves wildly, you know. And she’s got a right to be angry with her mother. I love Felicia but she’s barely been around the last few years. And Frisco has never been a factor for her.” She smiled grimly. “I know what that’s like. To have parents who love you and put you at the center, then disappear without a trace.” She sighed when Patrick helped her on with her coat. “Mac went to the police station—and, well, someone has to do this.”

“You could have called me.”

“Patrick—”

“Or Emily. Elizabeth. Lainey or Kelly. Anyone.” With a finger under her chin, he tilted her face up so their eyes met. “We broke up, but that doesn’t mean you can’t count on me.”

“I think,” Robin said delicately, stepping back. ‘That’s exactly what breaking up is supposed to mean.” Her voice trembled. “You didn’t want to be counted on, Patrick. Remember?”

“That’s not—”

“I appreciate you being around the last few days, but it’s not fair to make it harder for me. You don’t want forever, Patrick.” Her eyes burned. “And that’s your choice. But I can’t get used to leaning on you. I can’t rely on you. I can’t turn to you to make things okay. One day, you won’t be there. I don’t want to wait for one day. Wasn’t that what we decided?”

“Robin—” He dragged his hand through his dark hair, leaving it disheveled. “I wanted—” He broke off, looked away. “You’re hurting. I can’t stand it.”

“And I’ll hurt for the rest of my life. My little cousin, this precious, beautiful girl I watched grow up—she’s gone.” A hot tear streaked down her cheek. “Someone ripped her out of this world, and I don’t know why. There will never be an answer good enough to explain it.” She took a deep breath. “Thank you. For thinking of me. But it hurts too much to keep doing this. I need you to leave—”

“So you can keep doing this alone? You won’t call anyone. You won’t lean on anyone.” He scowled at her. “Let me call Lainey or Kelly—”

“There’s no reason. I’m done here. I’m going home to be with my family. You didn’t want to be my family—”

“That’s not true—”

“You didn’t want to make that family bigger, Patrick. And you get to make that choice. You get to not want children.” She pressed a fist against her heart. “It makes this harder, you see. To know that we love each other. To know that you love me but not enough to take a chance—”

“I—”

“And you’re here, worried about me, because you love me. And now all I can think is why can’t you see how much it hurts? You don’t want children with me, Patrick. You don’t want the dream I had for us. I need to do this without you.”

He cleared his throat, then nodded finally—a short jerk of his head. “Fine. Fine. Do it without me. But promise me you won’t do it alone. You’ll call someone. You’ll give yourself space to feel.”

“I promise.”

GH: Nurse’s Station

“How does it feel to be back at work?”  Emily stepped into the nurse’s station, reached for a chart. “I see they have you on scut work.”

“My favorite thing,” Elizabeth murmured, checking off another box for a blood test. “Epiphany said it was just for a few days—the new schedule comes out in a week. And it’s fine — I need to get back into the swing of things.” She tapped her pen against the form. “It was harder than I thought to leave the boys. I barely let Jake out of my sight longer than a few hours.”

“Well, of course not. You could always put them back into daycare downstairs—”

“I will probably at some point—” Elizabeth reached for another form. “But until the custody hearing is resolved, it’s better for them to be at home. I don’t know what magic Jason performed, but Sonny and Carly never call him. He’s basically—” A smile flitted across her face. “He’s basically a stay at home dad.”

“I bet he loves it,” Emily said, propping her elbow on the counter and resting her chin on her first. “You know, my brother was his happiest playing with Michael as a baby. I’m glad he gets to do that for good now.”

“Yeah, me, too. I feel a little less guilty knowing that Jason gets all this time with Jake — it won’t give him back the months he lost—”

“But he was in jail for most of that time, which has nothing to do with you,” Emily reminded her. “So give yourself a break. You made a mistake, and  you’re fixing it.” She hesitated. “But  you’re—things are good? I mean, it’s  been a few days since you moved in—”

“Things are good. Mostly. Um—” Elizabeth bit her lip. “We’re not—I mean, we share a bed. But we’re not—not yet. Which feels stupid, I guess.”

“It doesn’t.” Emily tilted her head. “Are you not ready for that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, it’s also—Kelly wanted me to wait after Jake—after all the complications, you know? I didn’t even get clearance until last month. But—” Elizabeth touched her abdomen. “I guess it’s silly, really. I’ve got a scar—”

“He’s got them, too. And you know Jason is the last person to worry about that.”

“I know he is. It’s just a mental thing. I’ll get past it. But it’s great, you know. Waking up, having breakfast with the boys. When you stop thinking about the custody and the divorce and poor Georgie, there’s a lot to be grateful for. More than I thought I’d ever get.”

“Then concentrate on that.” Emily squeezed her hand. “You got a second chance. Enjoy it.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Jason hadn’t realized how indomitable toddlers were until he’d met Cameron Webber. He’d lost custody of Michael before that, and he hadn’t been around Morgan every day — he hadn’t been responsible for bedtimes and meals and keeping him alive—

Cameron had begged for his motorcycle to be dragged down from his bedroom, and Jason thought it was a simple request. But then Cameron had run over Jason’s toes three times, nearly knocked over the bassinet where Jake fitfully dozen, jarred awake every time — and then he’d taken a turn too sharply and the bike had tilted over, spilling Cameron to the floor — which wouldn’t have been a problem except Cameron hit the side of his face on the wall—

Jason scooped him up as the toddler exploded into tears, crying for his mommy and then his daddy—that last one cut hard. Jason couldn’t deliver on either, of course, but especially on the second. And it killed him to hear Cameron crying for a man who’d walked away.

Lucky regretted it, of course — Jason had seen as much in the other man’s eyes at the PCPD, but Jason didn’t care. Kids didn’t understand adult issues and they didn’t care about your regrets. They just knew how you’d made them felt.

Jason stroked a hand down Cameron’s back. “You’re okay, buddy,” he said. “Do you want some ice?”

Cameron sniffled, laid his head on Jason’s shoulder. “Ice?”

“Yeah. Your cheek is red—” Jason touched the soft skin. “It might help.”

“No Mommy?”

“She’s at work.”

“D-Daddy—”

Jason grimaced, went into the kitchen. Said nothing. What could he say? Cameron was a smart kid — he knew he’d had a father, someone who had been there from the start. Just because Jason was ready to throw the asshole off the cliff, Cameron wouldn’t understand that.

He reached into the freezer for a miniature ice pack stuffed inside a covering shaped and colored like a pig’s face — a boo-boo pack, Elizabeth had called them, when she’d stocked the fridge. He pressed it to Cameron’s cheek.

“Is that better?” he asked.

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Good.” Jason sat at the kitchen table, holding the pack to the toddler’s cheek. “You know, Mommy says you have to slow down and watch where you’re going.”

“Want Daddy.” Cameron sniffled. “Where’s Daddy?”

Jason exhaled slowly. Tricky, this. And he wished like hell Elizabeth was here. She always knew what to say. “He’s at work,” he said finally, because it was likely true.

“Never see him. Daddy don’t like me no more.” Cameron sniffled, then pressed his nose into the crook of Jason’s shoulder. “Snelli don’t have dad either. He said.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“No mommy, too. Sad. Mommys are good.”

“They are.”

“Snelli said it okay. He got you.” Cameron looked up then, his blue eyes wide, damp, his cheeks stained with tears. “I got you, too?”

“Yeah.” Jason kissed his forehead. “Yeah, you got me, too.”

“Kay.” Cameron snuggled back into Jason’s arms. “I got Jake. I gots Mommy. Snelli, Grams, you. I okay.”

“We’re all okay. Let’s go check on your  brother.”

+39

Written in 61 minutes.

Robin’s Apartment: Bedroom

Robin reached inside her closet and drew out a hanger with a black sweater. She set the hanger into a bag where she kept them until she did her laundry and slid the sweater on, one arm at a time.

Then she slowly buttoned it halfway and went to the mirror to brush her hair and check the circles under her eyes. Maybe she should use some concealer — but why bother to pretend she’d managed more than a handful of hours of sleep since—

Her fingers brushed over her makeup brushes — she never wore much anyway. Just the concealer for occasional blemishes, eyeliner and mascara when she wanted to highlight her eyes for a nigh out —

Robin met those eyes now in the mirror, took a deep breath to brace for the day ahead of her.

Time to go.

Time to say goodbye.

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Living in Port Charles meant you had more than one black dress, Elizabeth thought idly. She had one for every season now, though they didn’t all fit. She still had the dress she’d worn to Lucky’s memorial service, though that was tucked away in a closet at her grandmother’s house. That had been in the spring, so it had short sleeves and a sweetheart bodice, made a lightweight cotton.

There was the winter dress she’d worn at Alan’s service the year before with long sleeves and heavy material. It was a maternity dress, so it was packed away with all the others. She had another winter dress from the quarantine deaths—one that she’d repeated more than she liked to remember — for Tony, for Courtney, for a nurse on her floor— That dress hung in her closet now.

The sleeveless jersey black dress she’d worn to Kristina’s funeral in August. She’d stood on the pier in that dress with Jason, she thought, and it had remained in her wardrobe. She’d chosen the sleeveless for the hot temperatures and because it didn’t rub against the bandage she wore from the ricochet bullet wound she’d received the night Kristina had died in the warehouse explosion. She’d worn it again to Lila’s funeral two years later.

She didn’t reach for any of those dresses on this occasion — the temperatures weren’t low enough for the wool winter dress, but not hot enough for the sleeveless dress. She pulled out the dress she’d worn to Chloe Morgan’s funeral — it was made of lightweight cotton blend, but the skirt fell to her knees and the sleeves were three-quarter.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go?” Elizabeth asked Jason. She set the dress on the bed and went to the dresser to sort through undergarments, plucking out a set in black.

Jason stopped, his hand on the handle, and turned back. “Mac will have a lot of officers there,” he said. “I don’t want to make him uncomfortable. I’ll be fine with the boys. It’s good you’re going with Spinelli. And your grandmother wanted to go. So—”

She sighed, went into the bathroom to change. It was silly, she thought, but she was still conscious of the fading red scar across her middle. She touched it now. The baby had been in distress and they’d had to perform an emergency C-section. And while she’d lost the baby weight, there was still evidence of the pregnancy—the thin, twisty stretchmarks, the scar—they’d all fade in time, she knew that. But—

There was a knock at the door, and she jerked out of her thoughts, whipping her robe closed. She opened the bathroom door, found Jason there, with a curious look in his eyes. “I’m going to get the boys up,” he told her. “You don’t have to change in here.” Then he tipped his head. “You know, you can have the guest room if—”

“God. No.” Elizabeth sighed, because she was really stupid, wasn’t she? What an insane thing to worry about, as if Jason would be disgusted. “It’s just—” She tugged her robe aside. “The scar from Jake—”

Jason furrowed his brow, pulled the door all the way open so he could see her better. “What about it?”

Elizabeth bit her lip. “I haven’t—I mean, since he was—I haven’t—in front of anyone.” And her fingers were already itching to pull the robe back over herself, to cover it up. “It’s stupid.”

He said nothing for a long moment, then reached for her hand. Elizabeth let him take it and draw her out of the bathroom, into the softer light of the bedroom. “Is that why you’ve been changing in the bathroom? Or going to bed before me?”

“Yes.” Her cheeks were hot.

Jason was quiet again, just studying her—his eyes on her face. Then he put his hands at her shoulders, sliding one thumb under her robe on either side, gently pushing it back. It pooled at her feet and she fought not to fold her arms.

His fingers brushed over the scar. “I remember that day,” he murmured. “They put this curtain in front of you, so you were blocked from the observation window. I couldn’t see anything but your face. You were so pale. Your eyes closed. And the doctors were behind that curtain. They lifted the baby away and I knew they’d needed to cut you.” He exhaled slowly. “And then there were alarms, and I didn’t know if you were going to wake up again. You nearly died again later.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “Jason.”

“It doesn’t feel real sometimes,” he said, his fingers sliding over her skin, over the stretchmarks she hated so much. “That you carried him all those months. You’re so small. Delicate. Not fragile,” he clarified when she scrunched her nose. “It’s amazing really,” he continued, dipping his head down to kiss her lightly. She sighed, closing her eyes, relaxing against him, his t-shirt rough against her bare skin. “What women can do. What you did. You made both of them out of nothing. And you kept them safe until they were ready to survive without you.”

“Jason—”

“Did you think it would you less beautiful?”

Her eyes fluttered open and her breath caught at the expression in his. “No. But—”

“I love you.” He brushed his knuckles down her cheek. “All of you. Every scar, every stretchmark. Jake and Cameron. They came from you. Why would you want to hide that?”

“I really love you.” Elizabeth wound her arms around his neck, sinking into another long, lingering kiss that slid through her like a warm, bubble bath.

“You need to get dressed,” he murmured, pressing his forehead against hers. “And the boys need breakfast.”

“You let go first then.” But his arms didn’t move from her waist, his long fingers tickling the skin of her lower back. And she didn’t move either.

“Together,” Jason said. “On three.” She grinned, and finally released each other. She stooped down, picked up her robe. He took another long look, shook his head, and left.

PCPD: Squad Room

Lucky scribbled the date October 25 in his notepad. The custody hearing had been merged with Jason’s paternity suit and would be held in just three short weeks. He set aside his pencil, and took another long breath.

Everyone in his life wanted him to drop the fight. To let Elizabeth take the boys and walk away with a clean break. He’d read every word of her revised custody petition in which she rejected visitation for both boys. Not just Jake, but Cameron.

His insane moment of rage had cost him the last modicum of respect she’d held, Lucky knew, and Cameron’s cries still echoed in his head like the relentless beat of a drum. He’d been selfish. He’d wanted more than she was willing to give, but he’d also been arrogant. How many times had she sacrificed what she wanted for herself to give Lucky what he needed? What he wanted?

She hadn’t backed down this time. Nothing had worked, and now Lucky was poised to lose everything.

He dragged his hands down his face. He should just end it. Sign the paperwork that made it go away. Like last year — the quick and easy divorce where they walked away with what they’d brought to the marriage. Maybe they could have salvaged something, a piece of the friendship that had saved both their lives when they’d been teenagers.

That wasn’t possible now. When Lucky Spencer made a mistake, it was never just a simple one with an easy solution. No, he had to make destructive choices that set his whole life on fire.

But he couldn’t do it. Couldn’t walk away. Couldn’t walk away from the boys he’d loved. He wanted a chance to prove to Elizabeth that he could fix this. That he could be the fatherCam and Jake deserved.

Even if he knew he’d lose —

Lucky set aside the custody papers and reached for the report from a cell phone provider, hoping against all hope that there would be some hint of the mysterious stalker who had left her with dead flowers and mysterious hangups.

But the company had nothing. He could pinpoint the hangups — but the phone numbers were never the same — a series of burners that could only be traced back to a batch of phones sold to a convenience store. He’d follow that lead, but it had probably been cash and they would have recorded over any security tape.

He had nothing. Two girls were dead, brutally murdered, and Lucky had nothing but the faint hope that there would be DNA and a match in the system.

Queen of Angels: Chapel

Patrick slid into a pew next to Elizabeth and Spinelli, both of them sitting in the back. Elizabeth’s grandmother was closer to the front, with Bobbie and other nurses from the hospital.

In the front pew, Georgie’s parents were sitting with Mac. Robin’s parents had made it in te day before, and sat in the opposite pew, grim-faced. Next to them, Dillon Quartermaine was shattered, with Lucas Jones. The chapel was filled with a mixture of cops, doctors and nurses, college students, and others Patrick couldn’t place.

For a girl who’d lived barely long enough to drink, Georgie’s death had left devastation and havoc in its wake. What kind of justice would there be for such a crime? Nothing would even the balance, Patrick thought. Nothing, not even finding the murderer and choking the life out of him would do anything to bring a sense of order back into the world.

Robin was standing in the front — she looked so tired, he thought. So exhausted — he knew she wasn’t sleeping, and he’d checked with others. Emily and Elizabeth hadn’t heard from her, and her other best friend, Brenda, had missed her flight out of Rome because of a storm.

Was there anyone thinking of Robin? Anyone who was making sure she ate and slept and took a minute to breathe? She wouldn’t let it be him, and he understood that. But it didn’t change anything. He wanted to take care of her, to put an arm around her, to make this okay.

It wouldn’t because nothing would.

Robin stepped up behind the podium. “Thank you, Father Coates, for your lovely words of comfort and wisdom at a time like this,” she said to the priest who touched her shoulder, then drew away to fade into the balance. Robin took a deep breath, then looked out over the crowd, her gaze slightly unfocused. She met his eyes, then took a deep breath.

“Georgie was sweetness personified,” Robin began, and he heard the slight rustle of a paper—her hands were trembling, and he tensed, leaning forward as if to be ready if she needed him. “Light and good and wonderful. Kind to everyone she met. Compassionate. Fierce.” Her voice trembled just for a moment. “Loyal. She was—”

“I can’t do this.”

Maxie shot up from her place between Mac and Felicia. Her blonde hair shimmered in the light of candles on the altar as she strode towards Robin. She whirled around, her hands at fists. “We can’t do this.”

“Maxie—” Robin went to her, Mac started to rise, but Maxie put up both her hands.

“No! No! You can’t stand here and talk about how amazing my sister is—because you’ll just ask for someone else to speak and they can’t do it!” Maxie turned those determined, furious eyes on her parents. “They have no right. You have no right to be sitting up front with family. With people who loved  Georgie, who actually knew—”

“Maxie,” Mac hissed, getting to his feet. “No—”

“Dillon—” Maxie jabbed a finger at the Quartermaine, who was already half on his feet. “Dillon gets to stand here. He gets to talk about her, and cry for her, and weep. He loved her—” Her voice broke, and she looked at him. “Thank God you did. Thank God she got to have that before—”

“Don’t do this,” Dillon said, his voice rusty. “She wouldn’t want this—”

Robin came up behind Maxie, tried to put her hands on her cousin’s shoulder. “Honey—”

“No!” Maxie shoved her back and Robin stumbled back into the podium. Now Patrick did stand, ready to do something.

“We’ll go.” Felicia Jones got to her feet, her ex-husband along side her. “We’ll go—”

“No—” Mac shook his head. “This isn’t the way—”

“No, because that’s what they do, isn’t it?” Maxie spat. “They leave. They can’t handle the truth—”

Felicia turned away, and even from his space in the back, Patrick could see her ravaged face, the emptiness in Frisco Jones’s expression, the grief in their postures. Frisco swept his eyes over the gathering, put a hand at Felicia’s back and they made their way out of the chapel.

Maxie stood there, tears streaking her face, her breathing heavy, and the strangest look in her eyes — as if she hadn’t actually expected her parents to leave. Despite the horror of the last few minutes, she looked so alone, so devastated that a stirring of sympathy swirled in Patrick.

Robin had recovered and this time, when she put her hand on Maxie’s shoulders, the younger woman let her guide her from the room, taking a back entrance.

Patrick itched to follow, to take care of Robin but he sat down instead as Mac took over the service, attempting to get things back on track.

Elizabeth squeezed his hand, and he cleared his throat. “You’ll call her, won’t you?”

“Yes. Patrick—”

“Good. Someone should.” And she didn’t want it to be him.

+36

Written in 60 minutes.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Elizabeth pushed the door open with one hand, the other on the phone at her ear, frowning slightly when she realized the room was empty. “What? No, sorry. I just walked in. Let me know when you hear from her, okay? I want to call Patrick. No, I know she doesn’t—Lainey, the guy is worried and trying to respect her feelings about keeping his distance.” She dropped her keys and the small black clutch on the desk. “He didn’t stop loving her—I’m not taking his side—”

She heard sounds in the kitchen, the clinking of plates and Cameron’s giggle, her shoulders relaxed. So that’s where her guys were. She refocused on on her phone conversation. “Lainey, there aren’t sides here, okay? He doesn’t have to want children. It doesn’t—okay, I’m not doing this with you. Don’t tell me when Robin calls back. Whatever. Let Patrick worry for nothing because you’re a narrow-minded bitch—” She stopped mid-sentence and snapped her phone shut.

There was no point in letting her old frustrations with Lainey Winters spill out when it wasn’t even about this. Lainey and Kelly had landed firmly on Robin’s side in the  break-up, while Emily and Elizabeth had tried not to take sides at all. And after Lainey had tried to paint Elizabeth as a crazy post-partum mother who’d hurt her child, she wasn’t in the mood for any of this.

She kicked off her black heels, then padded into the kitchen, her stocking-clad feet making no sounds on the hardwood.

In the kitchen, she found Cameron in his booster seat, a study plastic fork in his hand as he dug into a bowl of Spaghetti-Os, his face covered in the red sauce. Jake in a green plastic seat, belted in on top of the table, shoving a plastic ring in his mouth.

And Jason crouched on the floor, cleaning up what looked like more Spaghetti-Os on the floor.

“Well, it looks like we had ourselves quite the afternoon,” Elizabeth said, leaning against the  door frame.

“Hi, Mommy!” Cameron waved his fork, sending small circle-shaped noodles flying through the air. Jason just sighed and wiped at the floor where they landed. He got to his feet and tossed the towels in the trash.

“Maybe I should have just fed him in the tub,” he decided, and she laughed, crossing the kitchen, avoiding the remnants on the ground, and slid her arms around his waist, leaning up for a kiss. “Hey. How was it?”

“Terrible,” Elizabeth admitted, closing her eyes as he folded her into his arms. “Robin was barely managing to get through it, then Maxie went crazy. Insisted Frisco and Felicia leave. It was so bad. And Patrick was worried about her, but he promised he wouldn’t call, and then Lainey just—” She made a face. “Anyway. It’s over.”

“Where did Spinelli go?”

“Dinner with Lulu and Dillon while he’s in town.” Elizabeth went to the table to unbuckle Jake and lift him in her arms. He reached for the necklace she wore, trying to put it in his mouth. Now that he’d figured out how to use his hands and fingers, he loved grabbing everything. “He said he’d be home later.” She kissed the top of Jake’s head, cuddling him close. “I felt so bad for Georgie’s parents, and for Robin—but you know—” She looked at him. “It wasn’t the time or place, but I’m not sure I blame Maxie. I’ve lived in this town for almost a decade, and I don’t think her dad has ever been back. And Felicia went away years ago. It’d be like, God forbid, something happening to me and my parents showing up.”

Jason leaned against the counter, his arms folded. “I think Robin told me the last time Frisco was around was when Maxie was sick. When she needed the heart transplant. He was never really around with Georgie. I know in all the time we were together, I never saw him.”

“I don’t think causing a scene was the right way to handle it, but I guess Maxie just couldn’t take one more minute of the hypocrisy. They can have their regrets, I guess, but sitting up front, especially her dad—” Elizabeth shook her head. “Don’t let my parents do that to me—”

“Elizabeth—”

“Sorry. I know it’s morbid, and terrible. But I don’t want Jeff or Carolyn Webber anywhere near me in death when they couldn’t be bothered in life.” She paused. “Let’s change the subject Jake needs a diaper change, and Cameron—” She looked down and he grinned up at her sunnily. Somehow he had noodles in his hair. “Cameron needs a deep cleaning. Wanna draw straws?”

General Hospital: Hallway

Emily made a notation on a chart, then turned a corner stopping short when she barreled into someone else. “Oof, sorry—” She drew her brows together. “Nikolas? What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.” Nikolas stepped back. “Are you on all night?”

“Yeah, I’m on nights until Thanksgiving. I drew the short-straw,” she said, moving past him. “What did you need?”

“You haven’t really been returning my calls or texts. I mean, I know you’re angry with me—”

“Because you’re funding Lucky’s desperation and giving him the means to drag Elizabeth and the boys into court? Yeah, I’m avoiding you.” Returning to the nurse’s station, she dumped off the charts in her arms.

“We said we wouldn’t take sides—”

“You know, we’ve said that before, but we’ve never been good at it. Somehow we always manage to fall on Lucky’s side.” Emily shook her head. “You and I both encouraged them to get married again. To give it another shot. Why would we do that?”

“Because they love each other. Or I thought—”

“Lucky had an affair. Repeatedly,” Emily said. “I knew that. I knew he’d had that affair and had accused her of having one with Patrick—”

“No, it was just with Jason—”

“No. No, don’t you do that—” Emily jabbed a finger at him. “You don’t get to decide that months of Lucky emotionally abusing Elizabeth and accusing her of having an affair with Patrick is retroactively okay because she slept with Jason after she found Lucky and Maxie together. You don’t get to do that, and neither does he.”

“Two wrongs don’t make it right—”

“And sleeping with another woman while your wife is struggling with trauma isn’t a good choice either, but you did that, too.”

Nikolas grimaced. “We’re not back to that, are we?”

“We are. Because I can’t, for the life of me, understand how you can stand there and help Lucky do this to those kids. You know what he did to Cameron in the park the other day, don’t you?”

“That—” Nikolas nodded. “Yes. It was a mistake—”

“A mistake that devastated that little boy. How could you stand by and let him continue this—and don’t tell me you can’t stop it. Cut off the funds.”

“He’s my brother—”

“And she’s my sister.” Emily tipped up her chin. “She’s my best friend. It’s time I acted like it. There isn’t a middle ground here. He’s objectively wrong for what he did—”

“And she was wrong, too—”

“She’s the only one trying to fix her mistakes. All I see Lucky doing is making new ones. And  your support isn’t just financial. You agree with him. Don’t you?”

“I think,” Nikolas said, carefully, “that there’s an argument to be made that Lucky doesn’t deserve to be cut out of Jake’s life overnight—”

“And what does Cameron deserve? Because Lucky had no problem cutting Cam out of his life overnight. Don’t talk to me about what a grown man deserves when that little boy was crying for him, and Lucky walked away. You want to take his side, fine. But don’t be surprised when you’re the only one who does.”

Scorpio House: Maxie’s Bedroom

“It’s not fair!” Maxie wailed, curled up in a ball, facing away from Robin. Her shoulders were shaking as she continued to sob. “It’s not fair. Why isn’t she here? Why—”

“I don’t know, honey.” Robin stroked her cousin’s shoulder. “Life isn’t fair. But Georgie wouldn’t want you to be so angry. So torn up—”

“Well, Georgie isn’t here,” Maxie said bitterly. “And you can’t make me apologize. I won’t.”

“All right. Why don’t you get some rest? I’ll send Cooper up, okay?”

“Okay.”

Robin went downstairs and did just as she’d promised, sending Maxie’s confused and exhausted boyfriend up to take over comforting her. She spent a few minutes with her parents and uncle, reassuring them that Maxie would be okay. Then she went to the front porch where she found Felicia on the porch swing.

“Where’s Frisco?” Robin asked, taking a seat next to her. “He could have come over—”

“He went to get a hotel room.” Felicia closed her eyes, the tear stains on her cheeks shimmering under the porch light. “She’s so broken, my baby. I’ve failed her so much. I’ve failed them both—”

“Felicia—” Robin fell silent, and the blonde smiled sadly.

“You can’t even defend me.”

“Maxie shouldn’t have done that in front of everyone.”

“But you don’t necessarily disagree with her, do you?”

“I think,” Robin said slowly, “that I understand why you came back. Why Frisco came with you. But Maxie hasn’t been doing all that well for a few years. Since last year, when her boyfriend died. She’s gone off the rails, and losing Georgie—it’s not going to make it any easier. Seeing her parents—particularly you—when she’s already feeling abandoned by the world, no I don’t disagree with her.” Robin exhaled slowly. “I know how it felt when my father showed up after all those years, without any really good excuse for why he’d been gone. Frisco didn’t raise Maxie or Georgie. Mac did. And to see him sitting in the front row—I think it was more than she could handle.”

“Seeing me there—”

“Seeing you there hurt more. Because you were here, Felicia. Until you weren’t. You and Frisco—” Robin got to her feet. “You’re not much different than my parents. You deliberately chose a life that was dangerous and meant you had to leave your families behind. Uncle Mac told me you’re at the WSB with Frisco now. You left before the girls were finished growing up.”

“I know it. And I’ll regret it for the rest of my days.”

“You should.” Robin winced when Felicia flinched, but couldn’t find the energy to be sorry for what she’d said.

She left the porch, went down to the driveway and got in her car, staring blindly at the steering wheel.

What did she do now? Where was she supposed to go?

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Elizabeth tugged the tie on her robe more tightly, listening on the baby monitor as Jason tucked Cameron in for the night, then a murmur as he checked on Jake.

She heard a soft click as the bedroom door at the end of the hall closed, and then Jason had walked down the short hallway, already in a pair of sweat pants and t-shirt he’d changed into after soaking his jeans earlier bathing Cameron, cleaning off his dinner.

“Spinelli’s still not home. Should I—” Jason cut off in mid-sentence as he closed the door, and saw her standing by the bed, wearing a silky black robe that just skimmed the tops of her thighs. He cleared his throat. “Uh. Hey.”

“Spinelli has his phone,” Elizabeth said, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “And you already called him after Cameron had his bath. He’s fine.”

“I’m just—” Jason shook his head as she approached him, losing the thread again. “You—”

“This morning, we didn’t have a lot of time,” Elizabeth said, sliding her hands up his chest. “But I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind if we finished our conversation.”

“Were we having a conversation?” he asked, his hands at her shoulders. “That’s not how I remember it.”

“Well, then—” Her smile deepened. “Feel free to correct me.”

Jason tipped her head up, leaning down to brush his mouth against hers. “I didn’t see this when you unpacked,” he murmured, slowly untying the sash of the robe and pushing it from her shoulders.

“It’s new. I bought it after I moved in.” She sighed when his lips found the pulse at her throat. “If you like it, I can get it in more colors—”

“It’s nice,” he replied, his voice a bit rusty. His thumbs plucked at the straps, lifting them off her shoulders so that the negligee pooled at her feet. “But I like what’s under better.”

She laughed as he lifted her and carried her to the bed.

Patrick’s Condo: Living Room

Patrick paced the length of the room, glaring at his cell phone, willing it to ring — for someone to tell him that they’d  caught up with Robin after the service and that she was all right—

Lainey had refused to take his call, Kelly had told him she’d deal with it and to drop dead. Emily was at work, and Elizabeth hadn’t heard anything yet—

At this rate, he could either call her uncle or break his promise and track her down himself. He hated this. He hated wondering how she was, if she was with her family,  or alone so they wouldn’t see her grief, or maybe she was with Lainey and Kelly and they were just being assholes about it—

He picked up the phone, brought up Robin’s contact information, then hissed, tossing it aside. He didn’t want to hurt. Didn’t want to force himself on her, but honestly, he was coming out of his skin, worried that she was taking care of everyone but herself—

There was a knock at his door and Patrick leapt towards it, hoping that it was Elizabeth or Lainey, Kelly—someone who would give him some relief—

But it was Robin.

He stared at her for a moment, his jaw slightly dropped — was he hallucinating? In his worry, was he actually having a fever dream?

“I’m sorry to just—” Robin fiddled with the strap of the bag she wore over one shoulder. “I’m sorry to just show up.”  Her voice broke, and he snapped out of his stupor. “If you’re busy—”

“No,” he said immediately. He put a hand under her elbow, drew her inside. “No. I’m not. I’ve been—” He took a deep breath. “I’ve been worried about you.”

“I—” Her eyes shimmered and she squeezed them shut. “I didn’t want to be alone. Or to be with people. I just—I don’t know. It’s too much. It hurts too much, it’s drowning me, and I can’t breathe—”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” He embraced her, wincing at the chill through the light fabric of her dress. Where was her coat? How had someone let her go out in October without a damn jacket? Why wasn’t anyone taking care of her?

“I can’t stop thinking about it how scared she was, or how terrible the world is now—” Robin’s breath hiccuped, a sob escaping. “They stole her away, they broke our world into pieces and we don’t know who, or why, and she’s gone. And knowing won’t fix it. Nothing fixes it.”

Her body was trembling violently, and he just hung on, his fingers stroking through her dark hair as her sobs wracked her body.

“I don’t want to feel this way anymore. I don’t want it. It has to go away. I can’t breathe.” Robin drew back, her hands flat against his chest, and her eyes damp with tears as they met his. “I want to feel something else. Can you—please. Can you make it go away?”

He swallowed hard. “What do you want me to do?” He knew, of course, but she needed to say it. He needed to hear it.

“I know it’s not fair, but—” She dragged in a shuddering breath. “I just want to be with you. I want the world to stop, and you—” Her fingers curled in his white dress shirt. She licked her lips. “You always make the world stop.”

Patrick nodded, then kissed her, lightly at first because she might still change her mind, but she exploded against him, deepening the kiss, her hands racing to tug his shirt out of his pants, to rip off the buttons. He wanted to slow it down, to savor it, but that’s not what she needed — and after her hands reached the buckle of his belt, it’s not what either of them wanted.

He only hoped she wouldn’t regret it in the morning.

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