Written in 49 minutes. I don’t think I would have finished another scene, and my elbow is starting to get a little sore. See you on Friday!

Don’t hit him.

Drew’s face might look appealing enough to rearrange, but no one would win if Jason gave into this particular impulse and knocked him out cold.

Instead, Jason said nothing and started towards the doorway, not stopping even as Drew’s smile fell and he hastily backed up, clearing the way for Jason to leave the room.

“Would it kill you to say excuse me?” Drew demanded, following him back to the entrance hall. Jason rubbed his temple, and turned back to face him.

“Do you have something to say to me or can I go?” he demanded. “If I go out the door, are you gonna follow?”

“Don’t think that I’m gonna help you with your case,” Drew sneered. “I might not agree that the best place for my daughter is with Alexis, but there is one thing she and I agree about—you’re not fit to be a father. You never were.”

Useless. Waste of time, Jason thought. He turned away, reached for the door.

“Jake can already barely stand the sight of you. It won’t be long before Danny feels the same.”

Jason just slammed the door in response, and a few minutes the sound of a car ignition could be heard.

Drew grinned, turned and stopped dead when he saw Jake standing there. “Uh, Jake. Hey. Hi. How—”

“Don’t bother.” Jake folded his arms. “You know, when Dad first came home from Russia, I hated him. I wanted you to stay my dad.”

“I know—”

“But you weren’t interested in that. You stopped coming around long before you dropped off the face of the Earth.”

Drew hesitated, cleared his throat. “I have a lot of regrets, Jake. There was never enough time with any of you. We found out about Oscar, and—”

“My dad’s not perfect. Far from it. But you don’t get to use me or my brother in whatever fight you’re having. Me, Danny, Scout, all of us. We’re not pieces on a chess board, Drew. If you do anything that hurts them—”

“Jake, I’m sure you think you’ve got the whole story, but you really don’t know everything. There’s a lot about your father you don’t know.”

“Sure. Like why he kicked your ass the night before the funeral.” Jake smirked. “But I bet you deserved it. Dad doesn’t usually throw a punch otherwise. Like said, keep me and Danny out of this.  You’re not my father. You never were.”

“That’s not far, damn it.” Drew reached for Jake’s arm as the teenager brushed past him. “I was there for you—”

“For five minutes. I don’t give a damn. The man I knew, the man I thought you were—” Jake pressed his lips together. “I don’t see him anymore. Let me go.”

“Hey, Jake, did you find—” Rocco leaned over the railing, then hesitated when he saw the scene below him, Drew’s hand wrapped around Jake’s arm. “You good, dude?”

“Yeah. I’m good.” Jake wrenched his arm out of Drew’s grip. “You think I’m some dumb kid and you don’t have to listen. But I’m not going to let you hurt my brother. Stay out of my dad’s custody fight with Ms. Davis, or you’ll regret it.”

“You are just a dumb kid if you think you can threaten me, Jake. I’m a Congressman—”

“Whatever.” Jake rolled his eyes and headed up the stairs. Drew watched him go, his mouth unsmiling. The last thing he needed was some snot-nosed kid with an attitude watching his every move.

He might need to do something drastic before it all fell apart.

—

Alexis scowled, then slapped a hand on Sonny’s desk. “I don’t understand why you’re refusing to help me!”

“Not refusing, Alexis. Unable to help.” Sonny got to his feet. “Jason hasn’t returned a call since the funeral. And every time I try to catch him at the warehouse, somehow he’s never available. I told you, he’s ticked off at me.” He shrugged and left the office, heading for the bar where he poured himself a drink. “And what do you think I’m gonna do? Call him and tell him to get another lawyer? Even if he’s being difficult, I still think what you’re doing to him isn’t fair.”

Alexis pressed her lips together. “Jason has never been a full-time father for more than a few weeks. Not since he gave up custody of Michael, and that was nearly thirty years ago, Sonny. We both know he’s incapable of putting anyone first but you and Carly. Sam left him because of that—”

“Sam left him because Danny was nearly blown into little pieces at the Floating Rib. By your ex-husband and her father, by the way, so not entirely sure how that was Jason’s fault. But she did play hypocrite—”

“Don’t talk about my daughter that way—”

“I’ll talk about Sam any damn way I please, Alexis. She was an adrenaline junkie who only made it as long as she did because Jason saved her over and over again. He was stupid enough to make a baby with her, and now you’re going to make him pay for it.” Sonny shook his head, took a long sip of bourbon. “Worst mistake I ever made bringing her home. Should have paid her off.”

Alexis narrowed her eyes. “Are your meds being screwed with again? How can you talk about Sam like this? My daughter is dead!”

“And that makes her a candidate for sainthood?”

The door opened behind Alexis before she could manage a comeback, and Carly came in. She  made a face at Alexis, before looking at Sonny. “Don’t tell me you’re so mad at Jason you’re switching sides.”

“She wants me to talk to Jason about getting a different lawyer.”

“Oh. Well, that won’t work.” Carly dumped her purse on one of the bar chairs, draped her coat over the back of it. “Jason won’t talk to Sonny.”

“Why? What happened?”

Before Sonny could open his mouth, Carly held up a finger to stop him, before looking at Alexis. “You’re out of your mind if you think either one of us is going to help you take Jason’s son from him. And if Molly’s determined to help him, you should ask yourself why your daughter hates you so much she took this case.”

“I—” Alexis took a deep breath. “I’m thinking about my grandchildren. You know you would feel the same if something happened to Michael or Joss and they had children. Danny and Scout have been through enough. I’m trying to stop them from being separated—”

“Then convince Drew to leave Scout in Port Charles so she can be with her family. She can stay with Monica, and I can almost guarantee Jason would let Jake stay at the mansion. Hell, he might even move in. This isn’t on Jason, and you know it, Alexis. Danny loves him. He’s not the one moving hundreds of miles away.”

“Drew won’t listen to me, and even if he would—”

“It’s not good enough because you still wouldn’t be in control. Shocking.” Carly rolled her eyes, looked at Sonny. “Don’t do anything stupid that pisses Jason off even more. You’re already on his shit list.”

“He’ll get over it,” Sonny muttered, taking another swig of bourbon. “I’m letting him cool off and realize I did the right thing—”

“Really? Hey, Alexis—” Carly focused on her nemesis. “How do you think Kristina would feel finding out that you lied about her dad for two years, and lost custody of her when you faked DID for murdering Luis Alcazar, so she had to live with Ned for months? A man who wasn’t her father, and now barely acknowledges her existence. You think Kristina would find that interesting?”

Alexis looked at Carly for a long moment, then looked at Sonny. “What did you do?”

“I am not the villain in this story,” Sonny complained. “All I did was tell Elizabeth that she needed to encourage Jason to go after custody since it’s her fault Jason doesn’t believe he should have kids. She started this, it’s on her to finish it.”

“So lucky Jason let you live,” Carly muttered, shaking her head, and looking back at Alexis. “No one is going to help you, Alexis. Your daughter took Jason’s case because it’s the right thing to do. Because it’s what Sam wanted.”

“When have you ever given a damn about what my daughter wanted?” Alexis demanded.

Carly furrowed her brow, considering the question. “Probably never. But hey, better late than never, right?”

“You two are insufferable and impossible. I don’t know why I even bothered with either of you.” Alexis snatched of her purse, and slammed the door behind her so hard it rattled in its frame.

Carly sighed, then looked at Sonny. “You really screwed up, you know that, don’t you?”

“If Jason can’t handle the truth about Elizabeth, then—”

“Hey, if this was about insulting Elizabeth Webber, he’d already be over it. I’ve been doing it for….well, more years than I’m going to count. You know that’s not why he’s pissed, Sonny. You did whatever you did in front of Jake.”

Sonny sighed, then dragged a hand down his face. “Yeah, I know. I just—I wasn’t thinking.”

“He never, in a million years, would have done that to you with Michael or Morgan. Or any of your kids. Or any of mine. You screwed up,” Carly repeated. “And until you really get it, there’s no chance you can fix it.”

—

Elizabeth checked her watch again, wondering how long the conversation with Danny would take, or if she was wasting her time waiting for Jason at Bobbie’s. Maybe he wouldn’t come right here afterwards. They should have set something up—

“I’ve been trying to talk to you for two days,” Lucky said, plopping into the seat across from her in the deserted courtyard. She sighed, then leaned back. “You’ve been ignoring my calls. So has Aiden.”

“I never told him to do that. And you and I have nothing to say to each other,” Elizabeth said, swirling her straw in her water. “I warned you Aiden had questions, and you decided not to handle it—”

“No, thanks to Jason, Aiden found out everything—”

“You aren’t going to blame Jason for this. I told you Jake knew something. You chose to ignore Aiden’s questions—”

“He wouldn’t have had questions if Jason hadn’t—” Lucky hissed, then broke off. “It doesn’t matter. There’s no point in blaming each other. Damage control is necessary.”

“So do it—”

“I’m not going to doing this alone. Aiden’s your son, too. He knows about Maxie, damn it.”

Elizabeth sighed. “He asked me something about that, but I didn’t engage in the conversation. And I’m not happy Jake told Aiden anything. I don’t even know how he’d find out about Maxie. There’s not really a lot of people left that would even remember that.”

Lucky flushed. “It doesn’t matter how he found out. He did. And Maxie’s pissed—”

Elizabeth lifted her brows. “Waiting to hear how this is my problem. I do whatever I can to ignore Maxie’s existence, and she does the same for me. It’s worked wonders for two decades, Lucky. I don’t see why we can’t keep doing it. Aiden’s not going to scream it to the mountain tops — or tell Maxie’s kids. What damage control are you worried about?”

“Well, Aiden’s asking questions about his birth,” Lucky said. “Don’t you think we need to figure out a story—”

Elizabeth tipped her head. “What story do we need? It was none of Jake’s business what happened, and it’s none of Aiden’s. Am I supposed to tell Aiden what Helena did to those paternity tests? I didn’t knowingly lie about him, and you damn well know it.”

“It doesn’t really matter in the end, does it? I was lied to, and missed almost a year of Aiden’s life—”

“And you were so broken up about it, you went on to miss another eleven.” Elizabeth tossed some money on the table. “If you’re threatening to tell Aiden about Nikolas just so you feel like we’re even, I can’t really stop you, can I?”

“I didn’t say—”

“But that’s what you’re trying to get to, isn’t it?” Elizabeth got to her feet. “We need a story, you’re telling me. But we don’t need anything. Aiden’s already backed down. He flew a little close to the sun, and decided he’s better off not knowing anything. Or whatever scene the two of you had here last week was enough for him. Let it die, Lucky.”

“You think it’s fair that my son thinks I’m some worthless drug addict? It’s not right.”

“Well, it’s a good thing Aiden has so many great memories of you to balance that out—oh, wait. He doesn’t.” Elizabeth looped her strap over her shoulder. “You walked out on him a decade ago, Lucky. How or what he thinks of you is not my concern.”

“If you’d been a faithful wife—” Lucky started, and she looked back at him.

“I was. I was faithful, dedicated, and devoted until it almost destroyed me. You had an affair, Lucky. You chose drugs and that woman over me and Cameron, and all of that happened before that night at Jake’s. You kept choosing drugs and Maxie until the moment you thought you were going to be a father. A real father. Because obviously, Cam and I weren’t enough. The only mistake I ever made was thinking you were good enough for my boys. For me. We’re down now, Lucky. If you want to be vindictive and tell Aiden about Nikolas, I can’t stop you. You’ll have to live with it.”

+24

Written in 59 minutes.

Stopping by after school to talk. Jake’s coming with me.

Danny read the text from his dad three more times, but the words didn’t reveal anything new, anything groundbreaking. Just the same ten words. It was a good sign, wasn’t it, that Jake was coming with their dad?

“It must mean that they’re good again,” Danny said to Rocco as his sort-of stepbrother sorted through a stack of laundry and dumped some into the open suitcase. He ignored the implication of the suitcase, the reminder that this situation was temporary. That Rocco and his dad weren’t planning to live at the Quartermaines.

“Yeah, maybe. Or whatever your dad has to say is bad enough Jake wants to be here anyway.” Rocco sat on the bed, glumly. “Like my dad signing a lease on the place downtown. He’s doing that right now.”

Danny folded his arms, swallowed hard, looking down at the thick cream carpet. “I don’t know why we can’t all stay here. Your dad, mine —”

“I asked Dad, and he’s like—” Rocco jerked a shoulder. “His mom lives here, but that doesn’t make it their house. I don’t know. It’s stupid. And your dad, well, he gave Drew a black eye, so—”

“Drew didn’t like him before that,” Danny muttered. He wandered over to the window, trying to find the lake beyond the trees. “But yeah, it doesn’t help. Still we should all stay, and Drew should leave Scout here. We should be together.”

“That went out the door when your mom died, Danny. You know that. We don’t have any choices here. We’re the kids, no one gives a damn about us.”

“Yeah—” Danny stopped when he saw Scout peeking around the corner. “Hey. Hey. I was gonna come check on you. How was school?” He went to the door, ushered her into the room. “Do you have homework?”

“No.” Scout wrinkled her nose, then climbed up next to Rocco. “We’re out of school for a whole week ’cause of Thanksgiving. I hate it. I wanna go back. I don’t wanna sit around this stupid house for a whole week.”

“We’ll try to make it fun,” Danny said. “We’ll watch movies or go out into the garden before it gets too cold—”

Scout looked at Rocco. “I was downstairs, and your dad was telling Uncle Michael you guys are leaving. Why do you gotta leave? Uncle Michael said he can stay. You should stay.”

“I’m not charge of this, okay? No one asked me if I wanted to move. They never do.” Rocco flopped onto his back, stared at the ceiling. “Dad didn’t ask me if he wanted us to move to the penthouse or here and now he doesn’t care if I wanna go to some stupid apartment. He doesn’t care about any of it. Just like your dad doesn’t give a damn about you.”

Danny jolted at that. “Hey, don’t tell her that—”

“Tell me I’m wrong—” Rocco said, jerking back to a sitting position, his dark eyes hot. “He’s dragging her to DC, isn’t he? New school, new friends. It’s like he doesn’t even care Sam died. Does he even talk to you, Scout? Did he ask you if you wanted go?”

Her mouth trembled, and tears welled up. “I’m a good girl. He said if I was a good girl, we could stay.”

Danny furrowed his brow. “What?”

“Stay where? In PC?”

Scout pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I’m not supposed to say. Daddy said I can’t tell any lies, even if I don’t think they’re lies. They might be and that’s enough. Lies hurt people. So I’ll be a good girl and we can stay. He promised.”

Rocco opened his mouth, but Danny sent him a dark look. They weren’t going to talk about this with Scout any more. She was only seven. “Okay. Then he promised. Let’s go find something to watch on TV.”

“Yeah, do that. I’ll come find you guys after my dad leaves,” Danny said following him out of the room. “We’ll figure this out, okay? I know it.”

“Sure,” Rocco said, but rolled his eyes and they parted ways with Rocco and Scout heading for the upstairs TV room and Danny for the entrance hall.

He knew his dad would figure this out. He’d find a way to fix things. And then Danny would figure out what the hell his sister was talking about.

—

Kristina jogged over to the door, wincing only slightly when she pulled it open and found TJ standing on the other side. She and her sister’s partner hadn’t been in the same room since Adela’s funeral, since that horrible scene at the graveside. She sort of remembered TJ coming to Sam’s services, but they hadn’t spoken.

And now he was here, in front of her. “Uh, I guess you were looking for my mom. Not me.”

TJ took a moment to answer, and she wondered if he was swallowing a more insulting reply. “Yeah. I know things are…not going well with Molly right now, and well, I wanted your mom to hear it from me. Or I guess you should since you weren’t at the hearing today.”

“Hearing?” Kristina’s heart skipped a beat. “They couldn’t possibly have a hearing in family court yet — Mom only just filed, and Molly just got the case. I talked to her two days ago!”

“Not—not the custody situation. Ava. The motion for a continuance?” TJ prompted, and Kristina froze.

Ava. The woman who had murdered her child. How could Kristina have forgotten— “I didn’t—”

“It was granted. The trial won’t start until March.”

“March—that’s—” Too far away. Too long for a woman like Ava to walk the streets. Kristina tightened her grip on the door. “Why the hell did the judge allow it?”

“I didn’t—the DA’s office didn’t fight it, so I guess there must be a good reason.” TJ made a face. “Well, I came. I told you. You can pass it to your mother or not. I guess you were all too busy for the hearing—”

“Hey—” Kristina reached out, snagged TJ’s arm as he was about to leave. “Don’t you dare suggest I don’t care about what Ava did. She did it to me, remember? I’m the one who went flying out the window, I’m the one who nearly died.”

“And it was my daughter who died, but sure, let’s talk about you. It’s your favorite topic, isn’t it?” TJ snapped, turning back to her. “You don’t want to start with me, Kristina. You really don’t.”

“Why? You gonna throw my daughter’s death in my face the way my sister does?” Kristina demanded. “Ava pushed me, TJ. She killed that little girl before she ever took a breath—”

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about Irene, about what she’d be doing if things had been different. But you don’t care about my relationship with my daughter. You were going to sue me for custody—”

“I—” Kristina took a deep, careful breath. “I was doing that to protect her. To protect the baby—”

“To protect Irene, Kristina. Not the baby, not your daughter. Use her name when you talk about her, damn—” TJ dragged his hands down his face. “I can’t do this. I can’t believe I thought I could come over here and find some common ground—”

“Why? Molly having second thoughts about betraying my mother? About taking the side of a deadbeat father over the woman who’s been with Danny and Scout for their whole lives? No, Molly knows exactly where she can find us if she wants to make peace. She chose to take Jason’s case instead of advocating for Sam’s kids.”

“And the longer I talk to you, the more I know she was right. You and your mother if she goes through with this, you’re being nothing but selfish and arrogant,” TJ retorted. “But that’s nothing new for you. We have nothing to say to each other.”

“Damn right we don’t.” Kristina stepped back and slammed the door.

—

Jason had picked Jake up at Elizabeth’s after Danny’s school had finished for the day, and the ride to the estate on Harborview was a silent one. He didn’t know what to say to his son, not about all the things that had happened since Jake had come home, or about the conversation they needed to have with Danny.

Danny was waiting in the entrance hall for them, his eyes lighting up when Jake came in after Jason. “Hey. It’s so good to see you guys together. I knew you’d figure things out, didn’t I say it would be okay?” he told Jake.

“Yeah, we’re…” Jake offered his father an unreadable look. “We’re figuring it out. But we need a quiet place to talk. Is that possible in this place?”

“Yeah, yeah, come on back to the—” Danny gestured, and they followed him down the short hallway to the library. It was one of the few rooms in the mansion that hadn’t been heavily redecorated in the last few years, Jason thought, one of the last ones that still resembled what it had looked like after the accident.

How many tense confrontations and arguments had this room seen? He didn’t know if he had any good memories in here, other than with his grandmother. Or his sister, both of whom were long gone from this house.

“You guys look like—um, well, you don’t look like you have good news,” Danny said, watching Jake close the door. “What’s wrong?”

“Let’s—” Jason gestured to the sofa. “Let’s sit—”

“I wanna stand.” Danny swallowed hard, folded his arms. “Are you leaving again?”

“What?” Jason asked, thrown. “No—”

“Because the last time you looked like that, you were going to leave again. In July, remember? Before Aunt Carly was arrested—”

“You were going to leave again?” Jake demanded, coming back into Jason’s view. “What the hell?”

Jason grimaced, dragged his hands down his face. “It was going to be for a short time,” he told Jake. “And it wasn’t like before. It wasn’t going to be like before,” he reminded Danny. “I told you that. It would have been like Africa.”

Jake clenched his jaw, shoved his hands into his pockets. “Just fantastic,” he muttered. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked his brother.

“You were gonna leave for Spain, I figured you didn’t need another reason to be pissed at Dad, though I guess I gave you one anyway,” Danny said, heaving a sigh. He dropped into the old armchair. “Whatever. Tell me whatever you need to tell me. But it’s gonna be that me and Scout can’t stay together, isn’t it?”

Jason exhaled slowly, then perched on the edge of the coffee table, waiting for Danny to look at him. “That was never going to be a possibility, Danny. I know what you wanted, what you hoped. But that was never something in my power to give you.”

Danny pressed his lips together. “Why didn’t you just say something? Why didn’t you say it before?”

“Maybe I should have. But it’s…none of this is easy, Danny. This was never the plan. Your mom…she’s supposed to be here.”

Danny swiped at his eyes, looked at Jake. “You happy? This is what you wanted, isn’t it? Dad didn’t save the day.”

“If you mean I wanted you to be unhappy, no.” Jake dropped onto the sofa, leaned over. “And maybe I was an asshole about it, but I didn’t want you to get your hopes up. I wanted to avoid this. This sucks.”

“At least you still have your mom,” Danny said, his chin dipping until it touched his chest. “You get to go home to her and I never do. So you don’t know anything, okay? You don’t get to say this sucks.”

Jason hesitated, trying to think of the best way to continue. “We need to talk about what happens next. You can and should stay here until Scout…until Scout isn’t here. You should have each other as long as you can. But I’m looking for a place for us. If you want to be involved, have a say, then we can do that. But it won’t be just you and me.”

Danny furrowed his brow, looked at Jake, then back at his dad. “I don’t understand.”

“I’m staying. At least until next fall,” Jake said. “Dad asked me to come live with you guys. So I’m gonna be there, too. I know it’s not as good as Rocco or Scout, but we…we haven’t ever gotten to live together. It might…it be cool, right?”

Danny was quiet for a long moment, and Jason wondered if maybe they’d rushed this conversation. Or maybe he’d committed a fatal mistake when he hadn’t been up front with Danny days ago.

“I don’t want anything to change,” Danny said finally, his voice shaking slightly. “I just want my sister and my mom. But I don’t get to have that, do I? I n-never get to have it again.” His lips trembled. “It’s not fair. It’s not fair. Rocco’s mom is alive, but she’s in a stupid coma, so it wasn’t even worth it. She should have died, and my mom should be alive. It’s not fair.”

“I said that when Dad…when we thought Dad was gone,” Jake said, and Danny looked at him. “Remember? Our moms sat us down to tell us he was gone in Greece, and they told us he’d been trying to save Drew and Dr. Westbourne and a lot of people in those tunnels. And I was pissed. I said it should have been that doctor because I didn’t like her. And then she died anyway, so what was the point, right? Now they were both died, and if she died back then, I’d still have my dad.”

“It’s not the same,” Danny muttered. “Our dad is here—”

“Rocco’s mom might wake up one day. That still doesn’t make it fair that you lost your mom. Or that Dr. Westbourne ended up dying anyway. But you love Rocco. He’s like your brother. Do you want him to go through what you’re going through? Is that fair?”

“No. No. I just—” Danny swiped at his eyes. “I just want my mom. I don’t wanna live anywhere she’s not.” He sat up, his cheeks red, maybe from the embarrassment of crying in front of his father and brother. “But I don’t get to have it. Life’s not fair, Mom always said that. So if I can’t have my sister and my mom, I guess…I guess it’ll be cool being you both. But—” He looked at Jake. “You gotta stop being an asshole to Dad.”

“Danny,” Jason started, but Jake just shook his head.

“Whatever you need. That’s why I came home, so we could figure this out. I’m sorry about Scout. Maybe Drew will change his mind and let her stay here. I’m sure Grandma Monica wouldn’t mind.”

“Well, we got a couple of a weeks to work on him.” Danny sighed, got to his feet. Jake and Jason followed suit. “But I don’t gotta go until she does, right?”

“Right. You can stay here with Scout until she leaves. She’ll need her brother for as long as she can have you. And we’ll visit. I’ll—I’ll find a way to make that okay,” Jason said, though it was pained. Maybe Elizabeth would be able to help with that. Or someone in the family.

“Yeah. And we’ll video call,” Jake told Danny. “Where is she, anyway? I wanna catch up with my little cousin.”

“Upstairs watching TV. Can you—can you stay? For a while?” Danny asked.

Jake looked at Jason, who nodded. “Call me when you need a ride,” he told Jake. “I’ll come back out and get you.”

“We gotta talk about me getting a car if I’m gonna be back home,” Jake said, but he always already heading out the door with Danny.

Jason sighed, then looked around the room, at the many photos of his family. He went to the  desk where Monica had kept their last family portrait, taken before the accident. He picked it up, looking at the familiar faces.

He didn’t remember being the man in this photo, with his smiling face and arm slung around his older brother’s shoulders, but it wasn’t so hard to admit to being him anymore.

“Remembering everything you threw away?”

The taunt washed over Jason like acid, and he bristled, turning to find Drew in the doorway.

+27

Written in 54 minutes.

Elizabeth switched off the kitchen faucet, dried her hands, and reached for her phone, scrolling through the notification that had caught her attention. She grimaced at Lucky’s tersely worded call me we have a problem and debated ignoring him entirely.

While still making that decision, she heard the thud of footsteps on the carpeted steps, and looked towards the threshold of the kitchen, realizing it was more than one set. She’d tried very hard not to think about the conversation happening upstairs, knowing this needed to be Jason’s conversation to control, but it hadn’t been easy.

Elizabeth tossed her phone aside when Jake and Jason stepped into view, Jason hanging back behind their son a step or two, though she wondered if he realized how they’d mirrored their stances. The resemblance between them had only grown as Jake had matured, his features chiseling, the angles on his face sharpening until. They were both dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, Jason’s shoved above his elbows. Both had their hands tucked into the pockets, legs set apart.

Jake took a deep breath and slowly raised his gaze until it met his mother’s. “Uh, I guess you know why Dad came over.”

She stepped from behind the island, folded her arms because she didn’t know what else to do with them. “I do.”

Jake opened his mouth, closed it, made a face, then tried again. “Did…did you call him because of what I said?”

Elizabeth furrowed her brows, tilted her head. “What?”

“About…about not wanting to be here. Do…” He let out a rush of breath. “Do you want me to live with Dad because I called you a liar? A-and that I didn’t want to be anywhere near you?”

Behind him, Jason scowled but remained silent, and Elizabeth sighed, rubbed her temple. “I called him because I knew he wanted to talk to you about living with him, and with Danny, and well, you don’t seem very happy here right now. But if you’re asking me if I don’t want you here — if I called him to get rid of you, the answer is no.”

“Oh.” Jake pressed his lips together. “I know I should say I’m sorry. And I guess I am. But it’s…I don’t know how to make it not true.” His eyes glittered with resentment. “You are a liar.”

“Jake—” Jason stepped forward, but Elizabeth held up a hand to stop him.

“That situation exists with or without the question your father asked you. You need space and having me around right now isn’t making it easier, so that’s a bonus. But that’s not why your father asked you or why I agreed.”

“Don’t tell me you care about Danny,” Jake said with a roll of his eyes. “You wanted me to abandon him and go back to Spain, okay—”

“That’s not—” Elizabeth stopped, shook her head. “There’s no point in having this conversation with you. Everything I say just makes it all worse, so do whatever you want.” She turned away, scooped up her phone, and replied to Lucky’s message. We have nothing to talk about.

—

When her father had suggested Kristina take over Charlie’s pub, and return to running the bar, she’d agreed without hesitation. Something else to think about. To fill her hours, her head, and maybe eventually, her body would forget what it felt like to be pregnant, to carry a life, to—

Her sister dropped a phone on the bar and slid onto the stool, but nothing about the look in her dark eyes suggested Molly was in a good mood. “You left a message for me to come by. You said we needed to talk.”

Kristina nodded, reaching for a wine glass and setting it in front of Molly. “Yes. Yes. I know—I know we’re not—we’re not handling anything of right. You and me. Since I woke up in the hospital—”

“Since before that. Since I found those papers,” Molly said flatly. “When it was clear you were making plans to cut me and TJ out of Irene’s life.

Irene. What a horrid name for a little girl. Just more proof that Molly wouldn’t have been the mother her precious angel needed, but Kristina swallowed that. She was the big sister now, the oldest who had to take charge. Sam was gone, and there was no one else to stop Molly from screwing up her life.

“We’re not going to agree on what I wanted. You have your perspective, and it’s not changing,” she said carefully. “I want you to think about what you’re doing to Mom—” She poured her sister’s favorite white wine into the glass. “It’s been awful for her, what happened to me and—and the baby. And then those charges, and the—”

“Charges she wouldn’t have to deal with if you hadn’t stolen your father’s gun,” Molly interrupted, and Kristina nearly snarled in response, but swallowed it.

Big sister. Have to make her see reason.

“Losing Sam dropped the bottom out of her world—”

“And she’s the only one?” Molly asked, ignoring the glass Kristina slid towards her. “No one else is living with the Sam-shaped hole in our lives? Me? Danny? Scout?”

“She’s doing her best—what’s best for Danny and Scout. Can you see Drew and Jason actually being fathers?” Kristina snorted, turning away and not seeing the fury flash across Molly’s face. By the time she turned back, Molly had organized her features back into neutrality.

“Yes. I can. Drew was amazing before the Cassadines kidnapped him. And he’s done his best since he came home from prison. And Jason rebuilt a relationship with Danny. I know he’s working on it with Jake. He’s done that before — after the Cassadines kidnapped him, too. Both of them have had years stolen from them, Kristina. By Mom’s family. By our blood. And you want me to step back and forget everything Jason and Drew have done for us?”

“You’ve always had a hero worship,” Kristina said scornfully. “You think you’ve come so far from the silly girl who wrote romance novels—”

“I think that Jason and Sam nearly died to save you from the mess you got yourself into with Shiloh. Sam sacrificed her freedom for you.” Molly slid off the stool, her lips pressed together. “They lost time with their kids because of you. For you. Sam’s dead. She wanted her kids with their fathers. What right do you or Mom have to break her wishes? To say she was wrong? To steal more time from Jason or Drew? Haven’t you stolen enough from all of us?”

Kristina gripped the wine bottle more tightly. “There’s no talking sense into you. You’re going to break Mom’s heart and you’ll lose any way. Mom knows what she’s doing.”

“Mom hasn’t practiced law in years. I have a solid case, and I have right on my side. Legal and moral.” Molly lifted her brows. “Don’t worry, Krissy. Pretty soon you’ll have Mom all to yourself.”

Kristina scowled, watching her go. “Ungrateful brat,” she muttered, moving down the bar to refill another drink, hesitating when she recognized Lucky Spencer. “Oh. I didn’t know you were here. Did you want another one?” She asked, gesturing at the empty bottle.

Lucky shoved his phone down, then looked at her. “Yeah, might as well. Not like I’m going anywhere.” He picked the phone up again, flicked at the screen. “It’s probably not a good idea to tell someone to call you or you’re going to show up on their doorstep anyway, is it?”

“Depends on who it is.” Kristina tipped her head. “Who’s avoiding you?”

Lucky’s lips tightened into a thin line. “Elizabeth. She started a huge mess and now she won’t help me clean it up. Well, she’s gonna regret it when I tell Aiden just what she did—” He exhaled in a low breath. “Except I can’t. Jason will put me six feet under if I even bother.”

Kristina stopped half-listening, and focused. “Wait. What’s that about Jason?”

—

Why couldn’t he ever say what he wanted to say? Why did the wrong words always exit his mouth?  All his mother was trying to do was help and be nice about the asshole things Jake had said, and what had Jake done?

Made it worse.

And he really didn’t want to turn around and see the look on his dad’s face who had made it pretty damn clear if he kept his mouth going around his mom, he was gonna regret it.

“That wasn’t a fair thing to say,” Jake mumbled, and Elizabeth looked up, her brows lifted. “About you…not caring about Danny. I know it’s not right. I know you do. You didn’t like his mom much, but you made it work. You both did so that me and Danny could be together.”

“Sam and I love our boys more than we ever hated each other,” Elizabeth said softly. “I was upset when you came home the way you did. You didn’t talk to us, didn’t run it past us. Especially when your father spent a lot of money on tuition and board—”

“I don’t care about any of that,” Jason started, but Elizabeth gave him that look again, and his father stopped talking. She was good at that, Jake realized, and again, he wondered at their relationship, at the truths his father had shared with him.

“But I will regret for the rest of my life that I was too scared to hold on to you. That we lost all those years.”

Did his dad regret that he hadn’t held on to his mom, too? Was she part of that we?

“I know you don’t, Jason, but money doesn’t grow on trees. And we don’t throw it around like it doesn’t matter. Maybe you can pause your attendance, but that’s a year of tuition wasted, Jake. Without a conversation. Without consideration. I didn’t raise you that way.”

Heat crawled up Jake’s neck. “I didn’t—I didn’t think about it. I just—” He looked at his dad, who had no reaction. Money really didn’t matter to Jason, Jake thought, but maybe because he’d always had it. But he knew his mother hadn’t. That if Cam hadn’t had scholarships to Stanford, things would have been harder. That if his dad hadn’t stepped forward, his mother would have taken out loans that Jake would be paying back for years. And there’d been times when money had been tight, he remembered. Especially when his dad had been gone, and her hours had been cut at the hospital.

“I’m sorry. I should have talked to you guys. I don’t know if any of that can be fixed now. I didn’t think about any of it. I just—” His eyes blurred. “I remembered when you got sick last summer, Mom, and we had to go stay with Grandma Laura. When she didn’t have enough room for us and Ace and Esme. Grandma Monica wanted me to come stay with her, and maybe you wouldn’t get better. Maybe we would have been separated.”

Elizabeth’s lips parted. “I didn’t know about any of that.”

“You were sick?” Jason asked. “What happened?”

“Later,” she said, almost absently. “It’s too much to—it’s too much right now. Jake—”

“Danny’s doing that now, only it’s worse. Me and Aiden, we were—we were old. But Scout’s just a kid. And she was supposed to be my sister. I was supposed to protect her, but I can’t because she’s not. And I know she’s my cousin, but she and Danny are gonna be separated. Not just by a stupid lake or a couple of miles. By states. They’ll never live together again. I didn’t think, Mom. I just came home. I had to.”

“Of course, honey.” Elizabeth came forward, and Jake didn’t even flinch when she wrapped her arms around him, and he felt the familiarity, the warmth of her hug. She stroked his back, then cupped his jaw as she stepped back, her eyes glimmering with tears. “You’re such a good kid, Jake. You always were. You took every hit the world threw at you, and just got right back up. Of course you should be here with Danny. This is going to be so hard for him, and I’m sorry we can’t find a way out for both of them.”

“It’s no one’s fault, I guess. Even if Dad hadn’t kicked Drew in the teeth or whatever, he’d still be moving away.” Jake took a shaky breath. “So I’m gonna live with Dad and Danny because he needs me.”

“I’m glad.” Elizabeth stroked his face one more time, then stepped back. “I really am. This is going to be great for you. All of you. I’ll miss you, but you’ll be in town, and hopefully—” She folded her arms again, forced a smile. “Well, you’ll decide how much you want to see me.”

Jake opened his mouth, then closed it. For a minute, she’d been his mom again, and the rest of it had fallen away. But it had passed, and he couldn’t force the words out.

“I’m asking Diane to find somewhere close,” Jason said, and Jake looked at him. “You’ll want to see Aiden. And Cam will be home for the holidays, maybe.”

“Yeah. Right. Right.” Jake cleared his throat, looked back at his mother. “You’re right. This is what is right for all of us. Thanks. For knowing that. For making Dad come over tonight. And I’m sorry. For what I said.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Elizabeth squeezed his hand, then turned away, not before he saw the tears on her cheeks. “I’m so glad this worked out. That you two are going to be there for Danny. Everything is going to be just fine. I know it.”

+29

Written in 58 minutes. Conversation took a direction I didn’t mean it, too so the part is a bit shorter than I planned because I wanted to get it right.

Jason hesitated in the hallway outside of Jake’s room. A few hours ago, he’d stood with Elizabeth at Vista Point, confidently telling her what he wanted and bracing himself for her reaction. He’d been sure what he wanted to do was the best way forward, but uneasy about hurting her. She’d been dealt enough blows the last few days.

But now, Jason realized that had been the easiest step. Because he knew that with Elizabeth’s generous nature, the moment he’d what he wanted, she’d support him. Giving people what they wanted, what they needed — hadn’t that always been her weakness?

Now he had to face the son that was unhappy with both his parents, maybe with some good reasons, and find a way to make peace. To convince Jake that living with Jason and Danny might be the best thing for all of them.

He knocked lightly, and waited. A moment later, Jake’s voice could be heard. “I don’t want to talk, Mom.”

“It’s not your mother.”

There was silence then, and Jason wondered if Jake might just ignore him altogether. He’d come back or maybe just wait him out. Jake would have to leave the room eventually.

But then the knob twisted and Jake pulled the door open, his eyes unreadable. “What?”

Jason lifted his brows. “Can we talk?”

Jake heaved a heavy sigh, but stepped back, jerking the door all the way open. The room was just a little bare, evidence that it had been mostly deserted since he’d gone to Spain in August. A suitcase lay by the suitcase, clothing spilling out of the unzipped top. Some of the shelves were empty, and the desk was bare.

But there was a table tucked over by the windows with a large sketchpad open, pencils laying strewn over the surface, and chunks that looked similar to the charcoal Jason remembered from Elizabeth’s studio once upon a time.

Jake’s hands were a bit dingy, and he hurried over to the desk, flipping the pad shut. “Did Mom send you up here to talk to me?” he muttered.

Jason shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “That depends. Would she have a reason to?”

Jake grimaced, flopped on the edge of the bed, then stared at the carpet. “That’s a trick question, and I’m not that stupid. If she didn’t send you, then why are you here?”

“She did call me,” Jason said, sitting carefully on the desk chair after turning it to face Jake. “Because she knows I wanted to talk to you about Danny, and thought maybe you might be in the right mood to have the conversation.”

Jake snorted. “Why? I’m already pissed off, so whatever crap you’re gonna say won’t make it worse? Whatever.”

Jason waited a long moment, just long enough for Jake’s cheeks to flush, for him to raise his gaze to his father’s before he spoke again. “I know you’re not happy with me for reasons I deserve. And that you’re angry with your mother. Whether or not she deserves that — you and I aren’t going to agree on that.”

“Tell me the truth,” Jake challenged, his eyes glittering. “Did you even get mad at her for a minute when she told you she lied? Or did you do what you always do, what she always does for you and start making excuses? She likes to say she didn’t try to make me feel bad for being mad at you, but I knew she wanted me to be happy you were back. Danny wanted me to be happy, and—” He shook his head, looked away. “I don’t understand either of them. I don’t understand you, either. How can you let people walk all over you—”

“Jake, the night your mother told me you were my son, we were trapped in an elevator at the MetroCourt,” Jason interrupted, and Jake closed his mouth. “The lobby had just exploded, and it was the best I could do to get her to safety. I couldn’t get her out. I couldn’t—” He took a deep breath. “A man took the entire lobby hostage by gunpoint, including your mother. My sister was there that night. Sonny and Carly. Robin was shot and nearly died. My father had a heart attack that he died from later in the hospital. It was a long, terrible night, during which your mother nearly went into early labor. You almost didn’t exist, Jake.”

Jake swallowed hard, but didn’t look away. “Are you trying to make me feel bad?”

“No. You asked if I was angry with her. And I’m explaining why anger wasn’t the first thing I felt when she told me. We were in that elevator, waiting for help. And she felt you move. For the first time in hours, you started kicking, and she was—” Jason had to stop, take a moment, the memory of that night rushing back, the relief that had flooded his body when she’d looked at him, the joy in her eyes when she realized her baby was still alive.

“I can’t make you understand or accept how I handled the situation. Maybe I should have been more angry. I think it would be easier for your mother if I had been. She knew how to handle anger better. She expected it. Expected me to be disappointed in her. Everyone already was. When I told you about Lucky’s problems, I didn’t—” Jason leaned back, realized Jake was still listening, that he hadn’t tuned him out.

It wasn’t why he’d come here today, but if Jason could do anything to ease the tension between mother and son, it’d be worth it. “I didn’t tell you so he’d be the villain. Lucky got clean after that, and has been ever since, at least as far as I know. That matters, Jake. He got hurt in the line of duty, got addicted, and it got ugly. But he got help.”

“I guess that’s good, but—” Jake paused. “I don’t get it. If Lucky was such a bad guy, why would Mom want me to be his kid? Why wouldn’t—didn’t she think you’d be a good dad? I don’t understand. She always defends you. But not then? It doesn’t make sense to me. It doesn’t…it doesn’t fit who I thought she was. And now I keep looking at other things—”

“Other things don’t matter. And I’m not going to speak for her. Why she made the choices she did. I didn’t used to believe in regrets. You make your choices, and you stand by them, good or bad. Even when they were mistakes.” Jason leaned forward, clasping his hands his between his legs. “You know I haven’t always lived a good life. That I was on trial for murder just after you were born.”

“They brought it up when Franco died,” Jake muttered. “But you were acquitted. You didn’t do it.”

“I was acquitted,” Jason agreed, ignoring the rest of the statement. “But I was arrested shortly after you were born. Any thought I had of claiming of you, of labeling you as my son, putting that weight around your neck—” He paused. “You could be a cop’s son or a murderer’s bastard. I’ll stand by the choice I made that summer, Jake. When I thought I might never be free again, the best place for you was in a home with two parents and your brother.”

“So you don’t regret it?” Jake asked. He furrowed his brows. “You said—”

“Later. Later, I made the choice for a different reason. Your safety—not just you. All of you. Cam, your mother, you—I couldn’t stand the thought of any of you hurt. After my sister was murdered…” Jason had to look away now, at the sweet thought of his beloved sister, gone now for longer than she’d been his little sister. “We almost changed our minds. Your mother and I. We…I asked her to marry me.”

Jake pressed his lips together. “Mom…she said something the day Mr. C was here. That Michael…he got hurt.”

“It was like the world reminding me I had no right to a life,” Jason said. He looked at Jake. “Your mother wanted us to be a family. There’s nothing I wanted more than to have all of you with me. To adopt Cameron. It’s all I thought about. I proposed to her, and then five minutes later, the phone rang. Michael had been shot in the head, a bullet that had been meant for Sonny. Michael had the bad luck to be standing next to him. After that—” Jason shook his head. “I couldn’t…it was never going to happen. We…we eventually had to stop even being in the same room. For almost a year, I couldn’t even look at your mother without remembering.”

“But…you—” Jake swallowed hard. “You got married to Danny’s mom. You had Danny—”

“I made a mistake. I was too scared to hold on, and your mother was tired of waiting,” Jason told him. “And by the time I realized it—she hadn’t put her life on hold. So I tried to move on. I did for a long time. I’m not sorry I married Sam because I have Danny, and I love him. But I will regret for the rest of my life that I was too scared to hold on to you. That we lost all those years.”

“Maybe all that’s true,” Jake managed. His hands, resting in his lap, clenched into fists. “You threw away two more of those years, so—”

“It was never supposed to be two years. If I had known it would take that long, I wouldn’t have done it. I thought it was the right choice, but it was a mistake. I’ve made a lot of them.  I tried to put someone else first, tried to do what I thought was right for them. But it was wrong for me. For you and your brother. I can’t go back, Jake. None of us can. I want us to go forward. But if you’re not ready, I can accept that. It’s my fault. And if it were just that, I would give you all the time you need. Whatever boundaries you needed to set, I’ll respect them. But there’s more at stake right now.”

“You want me to stop being an asshole to Mom, don’t you? I knew you were here for her—”

“If you’re being disrespectful to your mother, yeah, I want you to stop that,” Jason interrupted and Jake made a face. “You don’t have to like what either of us did, but she and I buried it. We forgave each other, Jake. You don’t have to like it, but it’s a fact. I’m not going to apologize for not meeting your expectations of anger or resentment. But that’s not what I was here to talk about. I’m here about Danny.”

“Oh. Right. You—” Jake exhaled in an irritated sigh. “You said that. I guess you want me to stop being a dick in front of him—”

“He isn’t going to be able to stay with Scout,” Jason said, and Jake stopped again, surprised. “He isn’t ready to hear that. He thinks—he thinks I can find a way. And maybe if things were different with Drew, I could. But Dante and Rocco are already making plans to move out of the mansion. Drew’s moving to D.C. after the holidays. He isn’t going to leave Scout here, and even if he would, it wouldn’t be with me.”

“No, not after you kicked his ass,” Jake muttered. Jason lifted his brows and Jake flushed. “Everyone knows, Dad. Did you at least have a good reason?”

“Yeah.”

“Do I get to know it?”

“No.”

Jake made another face. “Worth a shot.” He was quiet for a moment. “I guess I always knew you wouldn’t be able to, and it’s not your fault. I was just…really mad at you. And at Danny. For not being mad at all. But I knew it’d be like this. That’s why I came home.”

“I know. Your mother wanted you to go back to school, but I understand why you’re here. And I’m glad. If you can really put Spain on hold, then you’re right. Having you here will help Danny adjust.”

“Oh.” Jake narrowed his eyes. “There’s a catch. Somewhere. You’re letting me off the hook too easy for being a dick, and—”

“You know how I feel about the situation with your mother, and if you do it in front of me, you’ll hear it again,” Jason said, and Jake dipped his head. “But there’s no hook, Jake. You have a right to how you feel, and I can’t change it. But we both want Danny to be okay. He’ll come live with me. I’d like it…I’d like it if you did, too.”

Jake lifted his head again, met Jason’s gaze and frowned. “What? You mean like on weekends again, like we used to? Sure.”

“No.” Now or never, Jason thought. “I want you and Danny with me full-time. Together.”

+31

Written in 48 minutes. I knew if I started another scene, I wouldn’t finish it, so this was a good spot to leave it. Plus it was all the scenes I’d hoped to get to in this part, so —

See you sometime this week — maybe Tues/Wed for another update.

Carly stood there with that smirk on her face, a smirk she’d directed in his direction for more than two decades — the smirk that said she already knew how this conversation would end — that the choice she’d presented was nothing more than a lie. She’d given him no choice, and he’d have to tell her something if only to make her go away.

It was a routine they had repeated so often that he nearly fell into it again without thinking, a habit he wore like a second skin, and he’d already opened his mouth to reluctantly give her a morsel of truth when he caught himself.

What he just told Elizabeth that day? That he was going to stop reacting, stop sitting back, stop doing and saying enough not to make waves—

Jason shook his head, then walked away from her, heading for the stairs to the second floor. She must have been more surprised than he’d expected, because he didn’t hear the clatter of footsteps following him until he was nearly at his room.

“Jason Morgan! We were in the middle of a conversation—oof—” The door nearly hit her in the face when she tried to follow him into his room. She slapped a hand against the door. “Hey! Watch it!”

“You were in the middle of the conversation,” Jason said, still gripping the door knob. “I wasn’t.”

“What has gotten into you?” she demanded. She folded her arms, huffed. “First, you go after Drew for whatever insane reason, and now you’re stomping around, yelling at Sonny, walking away from me—I don’t understand what’s going on!”

“None of it concerns you,” Jason said. “So if you really want to know, go find Sonny. I don’t have time to talk to you.” He wanted to call Molly, check on her since he knew her notice of representation had been filed this morning, he wanted to think about how to present all of this to Jake and Danny —

He did not want to explain any of it to Carly.

“See! See, that’s how I know something is wrong!” She jabbed a finger in his direction. “You always make time for me—”

“No, you always take time,” Jason interrupted, and her lips parted in surprise. “There’s a difference, Carly. I don’t—”

“Okay, let’s try this another way. You’re supposed to be my best friend. I’m supposed to be yours. You just had a horrible argument with your other best friend—the man you love like family, and I’m not supposed to be worried?”

He grimaced, exhaled in a huff. And this is why she’d always won every confrontation between them. She just talked him into circles until he felt vaguely guilty for having not said anything in the first place. Until he was too tired to keep fighting.

“You really want to know why I’m angry at Sonny?” Jason said. “Fine. He told Jake that Elizabeth lied to me about his paternity.”

“He—” Carly actually fell back a step. “He what? Why? That is absolutely insane! Why would he do that? Why would he bring that—” She furrowed her brow. “No. There has to be more. It’s not even a secret that the whole world thought Lucky was his father—”

“This is why I didn’t want to have this conversation in the first place. I told you what the problem is—”

“I have no doubt that Sonny did this. And I can even imagine he wasn’t that delicate about it. But for you to cut him off—” Carly pursed her lips. “I don’t understand why he did it. Where? When? Why?”

“None of that matters—”

“Oh, I am sure that the delivery of the information has to have something to do with it.” Carly lifted her brows. “Like I said, I’ll go ask Sonny, and you know I’ll drag it out of him. You really want me to hear his side?”

“You don’t care what I want. You never have,” Jason snapped and she blinked. “I told you I don’t want to talk about this, but you don’t care about that, do you? You think you know what’s best for me. That’s what Sonny thought, too. That’s why he went over to start a fight with Elizabeth, and instead of shutting his mouth when the boys came in, he deliberately told Jake half-truths about what happened so he’d hurt Elizabeth. He didn’t care about my son, didn’t care what that information might to do with him. As long as he got the last word.”

Carly pressed her lips together, some of the righteous indignation fading from her eyes. “That…that is disappointing,” she said finally. “Especially given that he knows what Michael went through when AJ came home. How hard it was for Michael to know things about…before. I…it’s hard for me to believe that he’d do that to Jake—I believe you, I mean,” she added hastily. “I just—”

“I never would have done that to him. No matter how angry he ever made me. Or you. The kids were off limits.”

“No, you loved our kids like your own.” Carly exhaled a slow breath. “And he and I haven’t been as loyal to you. You don’t have to tell me that, Jason. I’m sorry. I’m sorry he did that. How’s Jake?”

“Angry. Hurt. Confused.” Jason dragged a hand through his hair, a bit rattled that she’d so easily capitulated. That she’d seen his point of view—or agreed with him. “He’s been struggling with what I did, the last thing he needed was to have doubts and anger towards his mother.”

Her lips twisted. “I’m sure Elizabeth is properly devastated.”

Just when he thought Carly had turned a corner— “And what does that mean?” he asked, his shoulders tensing.

She wrinkled her nose. “Nothing. Just that Elizabeth plays the martyr better than anyone I know.”

“And that’s where this conversation ends—” Jason stepped back, reaching for the door. “You never let me down, Carly—”

“Oh, don’t take it that way. Elizabeth and I are at peace, okay? I’m sorry Jake got hurt, but maybe it’s time he remembers that people are human. If he can forgive Elizabeth, he’ll forgive you, too. And Elizabeth is hurt, well, good. She should have thought of that before she lied to you.”

—

Jake heard the words leaving his mouth, but it was like they belonged to someone else. Like this entire conversation was happening between two other people —

“Maybe everyone should just take a deep breath,” Aiden said, stepping between the two of them. “We’re all upset. I don’t even know why anymore. Okay? Nothing—” he swallowed, looked at his mother. “Whatever happened back then, maybe I’m curious. Maybe I wanna know, and I won’t apologize for it. And you shouldn’t either,” he said to his brother.

“I—” Jake started.

“But you gotta knock this off, man,” Aiden continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “Mom’s still Mom. She’s been here every single day I can remember. When I was sick or upset, or whatever, she was there. My dad never wanted to be.”

“Aiden—”

“Mom—” Aiden shook his head lightly. “Don’t defend him. Just don’t. He doesn’t love me the way you love me. He chose not to be here. Chose it. Over and over again. He didn’t come home when you needed him. When I needed him. Ever. I guess maybe I wanted to know why. Why he doesn’t love us.” He was quiet for a minute, his throat working hard as he swallowed, then looked back at Jake. “Your dad loves you. He came here the second he could, remember? Got released from jail, and came right here.  Dad was in town for days before I saw him. But whatever, you get to be pissed at him. But not at Mom. Not like this. You’re better than this, dude.”

“That doesn’t make—” Jake exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry,” he said in a dull voice. He stared down at the carpet, the shame roiling through him like red hot lava. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “I can’t make it stop.”

“There are no magic words to make what happened right,” his mother said. Her voice sounded thick, like she was on the verge of tears and Jake just knew he couldn’t look at her, couldn’t see that he’d made her cry.

Just like everyone else.

“I made a terrible, awful mistake and what’s worse, I made it over and over again. For a long time. I had reasons, and they felt right at the time, but they never were. None of it was right, Jake. I can’t understand why your father forgave me, I’m only grateful that he did. But I understand if you need time to get there. Or to get somewhere close to it.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’m going—I need—” His voice crackled, and Jake turned, walked quickly to the stairs, charging up them before he’d found the words to fix what he’d broken.

When his door slammed upstairs, Elizabeth pressed the heel of her hands to her face. “Aiden—”

“You don’t have to tell me anything about when I was born. You don’t. Not if it makes you upset. Or makes you cry. It’s not important—”

The tears did spill then. Her sweet baby, made of sugar and light. He’d always tried to make everyone happy. “I just—it’s too big to talk about. Not like this. Your father and I need to talk. I will—” She lowered her hands, took a deep breath. “I will fix this. I will. But for right now, can we let it go?”

“Sure.” He smiled at her, shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m gonna go upstairs and play some video games. Call me when we’re talking dinner, okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

When his door had closed as well, Elizabeth reached for the phone.

—

“Elizabeth didn’t start the lie, did she, Carly?” Jason retorted, and his irritation only escalated when she rolled her eyes. “Who told me Jake wasn’t my son first?”

“Oh my God, are you still blaming me? Man, you say I don’t clean up my own messes, but you’re not much better, are you?” Carly planted her hands on hips. “You need to blame me for the mess she started and you let happened, whatever, Jase. But it doesn’t matter what I said. She still kept her mouth shut for months, and then when you did know the truth, you let her guilt you into keeping it. Or you didn’t want her enough to make a life with her, I don’t know. Pick whatever truth keeps you warm at night. But I didn’t give your son to another man, did I?”

Jason opened his mouth to snap back, then closed it when he had nothing to say. He knew she was wrong, knew that she was doing what she always did — turning him in circles until he agreed with her. But she’d stumped him for the moment.

Because maybe Sonny and Carly had guilted Elizabeth into thinking the baby would make Jason’s life difficult — but Carly wasn’t wrong. Elizabeth had been the one who’d crumpled under that weight, and he hadn’t been paying enough attention to see she was drowning until it was too late to do anything about it.

Fortunately, the vibrating of his phone saved him from having to say anything. He jerked it from his pockets, not even checking the notification. “Yeah?”

“Hey. It’s me. Can you come?”

—

Maxie opened the door, scowled and immediately slammed it.

Lucky sighed, then knocked again. “Maxie, come on—I know Aiden was here earlier—”

She jerked the door open three inches, with only her face visible. “What the hell is going on? Why was he here? Why is he asking questions?”

“Because Jason Morgan has a big mouth,” he muttered, and her eyes widened. “We need to talk—”

“No! No! I made a mistake, okay? Like three times, I made that mistake, and I was nineteen years old, Lucky! I grew up! I have a right for all of that to be in the past! I did nothing wrong! You were the one who was married!”

“We made that mistake more than three times, Maxie. And let’s not pretend I seduced a virgin,” he retorted. Her face was red. “You and I can come up with a story, or you can shove your head in the sand. Make your choice—”

“No! You tell your nosy kid to stop asking me questions and come up with your own story! This has nothing to do with me!” She slammed the door.

—

Elizabeth was waiting outside in the driveway when Jason pulled the SUV to a stop, her arms wrapped around herself, the fading twilight casting her expression into shadows.

“What happened? What’s wrong?” he asked, hurrying up to her. “I meant to call you, to tell you what happened at the diner—”

“Oh. Something—” Elizabeth nodded. “Well, whatever it is, it explains the mood Jake came home in. You can catch me up on that, but I—I think if you want to talk to Jake about living with you, about Danny too, now is your best chance. He’s upset at me, but also mad at himself for…it’s not important.”

It was, but Jason would come back to that. “Are you sure?”

“I don’t think there will be a better time.”

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