It turned into something bigger
Somewhere in the haze, got a sense I’d been betrayed
Your finger on my hair pin triggers
Soldier down on that icy ground
Looked up at me with honor and truth
Broken and blue, so I called off the troops
That was the night I nearly lost you
I really thought I lost you
– The Great War, Taylor Swift

---

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Morgan House: Driveway

Elizabeth stalked towards the driveway, then scowled.

She’d moved her car to the other side of the driveway after they’d gotten back from breakfast, and Laura had parked behind her, blocking her in. There was no way in hell she was going back inside—

She took a deep breath, then started down the driveway and the sidewalk.

“Elizabeth, wait—”

She ignored Jason’s call and continued down the sidewalk, shoving her hands into the pockets of her coat. She’d stomped out without her hat or her gloves—

“You’re not going to walk all the way home—”

The hell she wouldn’t. She could do three miles in her sleep—

“Hey—” Jason’s hand closed over her elbow, tugging her to a stop and she whirled around, scowling at him. “Come back inside—”

“Not in a million years—” She fisted her hands at her side. “You just sat there. You said nothing—because you agree with them.” Tears stung, blurred her vision. “You think I’m weak—”

“Don’t put words into my mouth,” Jason cut in, then took a deep breath. “Look, let’s talk about this—”

“I’m not going back in there. Not with all of them—” She glared past Jason and he turned to see Laura standing on his porch, wringing her hands, Drew and Sonny behind her. “They feel sorry for me,” she spat. “And you’re here to talk me down. You can all go to hell—”

She whirled back around and started walking again. Jason charged after her.

“Okay, we won’t go back until they’re gone. Let’s take my car. We’ll go anywhere you want—”

“I want to go to Turkey,” Elizabeth muttered, “but that’s not on the table, is it?”

“Let’s go talk and if at the end of it, you want to go, you can go.”

“Hey—” She jabbed a finger in his chest. “You don’t get to give me permission. I can book my own flight. I could call Luke up tonight and get him to pick me up at the airport. Do you think I can’t?”

“No, I know you can. I didn’t mean it—”

“If I want to go to Turkey, I’ll go. Do you get that? I can take myself anywhere I need to go. Anywhere I want to go.” She shook her head. “This is a stupid argument, and I don’t want to do it anymore.”

“Then come with me and we’ll talk. Please.”

“Fine. But only because it’s cold.” She turned and ignored the trio on the porch as she followed Jason to the SUV he’d left at the curb. She slid into the passenger seat, and ignored Jason as he went to talk to the trio on the porch. He returned to the SUV, switched on the ignition.

“Where do you want to go? And don’t say the airport—”

“Don’t do that.” She looked at him. “Don’t you ever treat me like Carly. You think I don’t know what you’re doing? I’ve spent decades watching you talk her down. You think you’ll take me somewhere quiet where no one can listen, so I’ll feel comfortable, and then you’ll explain to me why I’m an idiot and why my plans are stupid, and—God, no wonder she’s unhinged,” Elizabeth muttered and glared out the window. “I think I’d lose my mind being stuck with you and Sonny.”

“Is there anything I can say right now that isn’t going to piss you off?” Jason asked, the engine idling.

“I don’t know. Can you go back about ten minutes, and give me a little support?” She folded her arms. “You just sat there while people who have no right to tell me what to do patted my head and told me to stay home like I can’t help.”

“That’s—” Jason exhaled slowly. “Okay, yes. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well, you might as well just drive me home. I’m good enough to use as a sounding board and read useless, boring files, but God forbid you let me do anything that might actually help. Some things will never change,” she said, bitterly. “Take me home and then go pack for your damned trip. I’ll get my car later.”

For a moment, she thought he might argue, but then he pulled away from the curb, and the pit in her stomach only grew. They were always good when it was just the two of them, but as soon as the rest of the world got involved—

It always fell apart.

Morgan House: Porch

“We should go,” Laura said, as they stood on the porch watching the SUV drive away. “We should go, right?” she asked Drew.

“Yeah, I don’t want to be here when she gets back,” Sonny said, going back through the open door. Spinelli hadn’t followed them outside — he stood at the table, packing his laptop up. “I don’t envy Jason that conversation—”

Drew frowned, looked at Sonny. There was something in the tone that put his back up. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” Sonny replied, a bit defensively. He shrugged. “But Spinelli, you know what I’m talking about. You were around the last time Elizabeth was involved — she always seemed to want more than Jason could give—”

“Now wait a minute,” Laura said. “That’s not fair—”

“I think you do Fair Elizabeth a great injustice. All of you.” Spinelli’s quiet words had Laura closing her mouth. The younger man slid the laptop back into the bag. “She, more than anyone, has changed her entire life to support Stone Cold as he rebuilds his. And she’s put in more work than anyone else in this room.” He finally looked up, met Sonny’s gaze. “She reads the files. She sits with this in her mind every moment. Her children are part of this.”

“Spinelli, I think—” Sonny began.

“I find myself very surprised, Laura, that you didn’t offer Elizabeth support. I’ve read of your bravery, your dedication—” Spinelli shrugged. “You participated in the Ice Princess adventure. You survived what happened to you on Cassadine Island. Has Elizabeth somehow proved weaker?”

Drew dipped his head. “That doesn’t mean she should go to Turkey—”

“That doesn’t mean she should be told she can’t,” Spinelli interrupted. He put the bag over his shoulder. “This isn’t one of your mob rivals,” he told Sonny bluntly. “This isn’t the Zaccharas or the Russians. And Stone Cold never gave Elizabeth the chance to prove herself.  I’m disappointed in everyone. Including myself. I should have spoken up for her. I won’t make that mistake again.”

He left, closing the door quietly behind him. Drew nodded. “He’s right. Maybe I don’t think it’s a good idea for Elizabeth to go, but—”

“She’s needed here—”

“That doesn’t matter,” Laura said, cutting off Sonny. “Spinelli’s right. We handled that badly. There are no leaders here. It wasn’t a discussion, and she deserves better. ”

She followed Spinelli out the door, leaving Drew and Sonny alone in the room. Sonny’s expression was still pinched — Spinelli’s words lingering.

“You have Jason’s memories,” Sonny said slowly. “You know that Elizabeth has always struggled with the secrets—”

“What I know is none of your business or mine,” Drew cut in. He shook his head. “You’re wrong, Sonny. You just are. And no, I don’t envy the conversation Jason is about to have. Because I think Elizabeth has had it with being ordered around. This isn’t about you. It’s not the mob,” he said. “Spinelli’s right. This is different. Like it or not, Elizabeth and Laura are the only ones who’ve gone up against the Cassadines and been able to claim any kind of victory. You’re not in charge.”

“I’m not trying to be—”

“Good. Because it won’t happen. I don’t know what problem you have with Elizabeth right now, but it’s going to stop. Because while I appreciate your help and the use of your resources—” Drew lifted his brows. “We don’t actually need you.”

Vista Point: Parking Lot

Elizabeth said nothing when Jason ignored the turn to her neighborhood, and instead took the road that led up into the hills, towards the cliff roads they’d driven just that morning. He took that as a good sign, hoping that the worst of her hurt and anger had swept through, and he’d have a chance to fix things. To find the words to make her stop looking at him that way.

He switched off the ignition, then stared out over the snow covered landscape. “I don’t want to ever think of you in danger.” When her head snapped around, her eyes flashing, Jason held up his hand. “Let me finish.”

“I can walk home from here, too,” she muttered, but then looked back out the window.

“It never occurred to me you’d want to go to Turkey,” he admitted. “So when you suggested it, it took me a minute. No, I don’t want you to go—damn it—” he muttered when she shoved the door open. “Don’t do that—” He got out of the car and stopped her as she rounded the back end of the SUV, heading for the road back to town. “Why can’t you ever just listen—”

“Because I’m tired of hearing the same thing over and over and over—” She threw up her hands. “I have spent years listening to you tell me that the best place for me is somewhere where you’re not! It just—” Her hand, curled into a fist, hovered between them as she forced out the words. “Every time you said it then, I wanted to scream, but I didn’t. I swallowed it. I let you control everything—”

“That’s not fair—”

“You’ve been trying to shield me from danger almost since the day we met, and let me tell you, it finds me anyway.” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “You never said no to Sam,” she finally said, and he stared at her, stunned. “Yeah, no answer for that, huh? I guess she was more useful. Maybe give her a call and see if she wants to hop a plane to Turkey—”

“That’s not fair,” Jason called as Elizabeth started for the road again. “And that’s not what this is about—”

“Really? Because there’s two options. One, you don’t trust me enough to handle this and that’s why I can’t go. Or two, you let Sam help because you didn’t give a damn if she died. I don’t think either one of them reflects well on you—”

“No, it doesn’t.”

His words were nearly lost in the wind, but Elizabeth heard them. She whirled around, her eyes wide. “What?”

“And it’s not—” Jason exhaled slowly. “It’s not that simple. You’re asking for answers to questions I never asked myself. No, I didn’t think much of letting Sam help when I needed it. She had experience and she knew how to take care of herself. I worried about her, you know I did. And I never liked her in danger either.”

He hesitated. “But the thought of you at risk—of being hurt— I can’t breathe. I can’t think. The bomb in your studio, I nearly ripped doors off the hinges trying to get to you—when you were trapped in that crypt and unconscious—” He shook his head. “And then you were shot, and I watched you bleed—” He stared down at his fingers, the memory still a vivid one even after all this time. “I had your blood on my hands. I promised myself I’d never put you in that position again. Because I didn’t need you with me nearly as much as I needed you alive.”

Elizabeth stared at him for a long moment, and he wasn’t sure if he’d found the right words. If she could understand the difference. Snow began to fall around them, the flakes large and icy.

“I’ve had your blood on my hands, too,” Elizabeth said, her voice devoid of emotion. “You never seem to remember that. I dragged you out of the snow with a gunshot wound. I took care of cuts and bruises when we were at the penthouse. And I saved your life again when I found you at the church. But I guess it doesn’t matter that I need you alive, too. Do I get to tell you to sit at home and twiddle your thumbs because I don’t want you to be hurt? Or is that just reserved for you? Are you the only person who gets to be scared enough to use it as an excuse to run?”

“Elizabeth—”

“You need me alive,” she echoed. “So that’s enough for you. None of the rest of it means anything—”

“I didn’t say that—”

“You didn’t have to. You never had to. Message received.” She swiped at her cheek, and he flinched. “Go to Turkey. Whatever. I’m tired, and I don’t want to do this anymore. Eighteen years and we’re still having the same fight. I’m tired. I’m tired of standing in front of you and begging you to love me. To respect me. I just—” She looked away, towards the summit of the hill. “At least the others—God, at least their reasons make sense. But you—” Her voice faltered.

He’d screwed it up. They hadn’t been the right words, and now he’d pushed her even further away. “You’re right. You’re right,” he said roughly. She didn’t look at him. “I’m sorry. But I’m not letting go. I can’t fix all the times I didn’t do this right, but I made you a promise. I’m keeping it.”

She sighed. “I can’t fix it either,” she said softly. She met his eyes. “But what are we holding on to? It just—it all feels like a constant battle, and I’m tired. Maybe it’s me. Maybe I just can’t do this again.” She started to walk again, but this time she didn’t head for the road — she walked towards the summit and the view over the lake. After a moment, Jason followed.

—

Elizabeth sat on the bench, ignoring the way the cold bit through the denim of her jeans and the wind swirled past her frozen cheeks, the icy snowflakes soaking her hair.

Jason sat next to her, his hands tucked into the pockets of his leather jacket, but he said nothing for a long time.

“You’re not the only one who’s tired,” he said finally, and she sighed.

I know this is the second huge fight I’ve started in two days—I’m sorry—I don’t mean to pick apart every word you say and turn every conversation into a minefield where you have to worry you’re saying something wrong.”

“We’ve made a lot of mistakes,” Jason said. “Too many of our problems started with me telling you it wasn’t safe. Once you divorced Lucky, I knew you were all in. I’m the reason we didn’t stay together. That we didn’t get the future we planned.”

“I could have kept fighting. I could have pushed through.” She bit her lip. “I can admit that. I wasn’t always fair. We lost so much in just, God, barely two years. You lost your father, and then Emily, and Michael—Jake was kidnapped twice.” She swiped her cheek. “We just kept lurching from crisis to crisis, and we never got to breathe. I never let you breathe. I kept pushing—”

“I wanted that life with you. I never stopped wanting it. It’s just—by the time I realized I’d made a mistake, you’d moved on. And I didn’t have a right to pull you back.” Jason reached for her hand. “I don’t get to decide this is too dangerous. If you want to go—”

Elizabeth sighed. “I spent most of the ride up here thinking about Christmas. About that fight with Lucky,” she added when Jason turned, surprised. “He fed us some crap that didn’t tell us anything, but before we had a chance to really think about it, he decided to leave. He knew it would upset me. He was breaking another promise to Aiden. And I think he was—no, I know he was lying to me about Cam and Jake. Because Cam doesn’t look like Zander. God, he looks more like you than he does me or Zander. But Lucky knew it would distract me and make me glad he was leaving.”

Elizabeth pushed herself to her feet and Jason hesitantly followed. “Lucky can still do that because I feel guilty. I picked him for my boys, Jason. I picked him for our son. I chose him over and over again, and he turned out to be the worst kind of father. Because I think he does still love the boys. He just doesn’t love them enough. He’s my parents,” she added. “The work was more important. Whatever he’s doing with Luke, it’s more important to him than being here. You didn’t do that. You came home, and you didn’t run off to Turkey at the first mention of it. It hurts to know I was so wrong. That I threw away a life with you for a man who didn’t love me or my children enough to stay. You were always the better man.”

She started to walk away then, back towards the parking lot. She could hear Jason’s soft footsteps behind her. He opened the passenger side for her, and she climbed in. When he got into the driver’s side, he switched the car on but didn’t pull out. The snow was falling more thickly around them now.

“Everyone just…pushed me aside so fast,” Elizabeth continued. “Everyone was ready with a reason I couldn’t go, and I just—it doesn’t matter that they’re right. Or I understand your worries,” she added. “This happened because of me. You and Drew were targeted because of me—”

“We don’t know that for sure—”

“We know,” Elizabeth said, and Jason fell silent. “And Helena only went after Jake because I lied about who his father is. I did this. I need to fix it. I need to be part of making it right.” Her voice trembled. “You have to let me be part of this. I can’t sit on the sidelines.”

“You won’t. Turkey—it’s not a good idea for the reasons we’ve talked about—and Drew isn’t wrong about us being watched. He and I don’t work in a public job. We can make it look like we’re still here. But you’re part of the community. You and the boys are attached. If all three of them go to stay at Laura’s or somewhere else for a few days, if you don’t show up at work—”

“Yeah. Okay. I get it.” She laid her head back against the head rest. “But it needs to be a discussion. Not an order. I’m part of this. This is my fight, too.” She looked at him. “You promised you wouldn’t let go. Even if I wanted you to.”

“I did. I’m not breaking that.”

“Then you have to do let me hold on, too.”

Greystone: Living Room

Sonny gripped the phone in his hand, tapping a pen against the desk. “Yeah, yeah, Wally, just make sure the flight stays under the radar. File the official flight plan to—” he paused, wondering what a safe destination might be. What was near Turkey that might explain—

Carly wandered in from the kitchen, a cup of coffee in her hand, and he tensed, turned away. “Rome,” Sonny finally decided. “Yeah, file the flight plan to Rome. And then when you’re in the air—” He nodded as his pilot finished the statement. It wasn’t the first time they’d needed their final destination cloaked, and there were ways around it. It wasn’t easy, Sonny thought, not with all the airline regulations shifting, and the war zone that had opened up over the Ukraine in the last four years, but— “Great. Great. I’ll call if anything changes but expect that departure time to hold. Thanks.”

“Going somewhere?” Carly asked, sitting in the arm chair, sipping her coffee. “I’ve been thinking about maybe the island. You know, a quick weekend. Like we used to—”

He ignored her, dialed Jason’s number.

“And you could fix the tables,” Carly continued, and he rolled his eyes, his back safely turned. She had a one track mind, he thought. Which was useful at times but could be irritating at others.  Jason’s voicemail picked up

“Hey. Wanted to let you know that I made the arrangements. You’re good to go and take off tomorrow—” Sonny checked his notes. “Wally said around five. Know that’s later than you wanted, but it’s the best I could do. Puts you in Turkey around eight in the morning in that time zone. You can sleep on the plane.” Sonny turned and saw that Carly had fallen silent now but was pretending to read a magazine. “Call me if you need anything.”

Sonny set the phone down. “So, uh, what did you do today?” he asked Carly. “You still working on the garage?”

“Yeah.” Carly forced a smile. “I need to track Jason down to get his opinion on the colors—if he has time,” she added quickly. “Maybe I should just send him the pictures—”

“He won’t have the time, so just pick something. Didn’t we just talk about this?” Sonny demanded. He headed for the beverage cart, poured water instead of the bourbon he really wanted. “Do whatever you want.”

“I will if he doesn’t get back to me—” Carly folded her arms. “Why did you ask if you didn’t care about the answer? You just making conversation? Distracting me? Pretending that you weren’t calling Jason?”

“What did I tell you about eavesdropping—”

“Jason isn’t working for you,” Carly interrupted and he fell silent. “I know he isn’t. So whatever you’re arranging for him — it’s about the Cassadines. I’m not asking about that. I’m doing what I promised at Christmas. I’m staying out of it. I’m waiting for him to come to me. You can ask him if you don’t trust me.”

“Yeah? What about Michael? You leaving that alone, too?” he tossed at her.

“Yes. I haven’t talked to him since New Year’s. And for me, a week is a good record.  He’s going to make this mistake with Nelle, and I have to let him as hard as that is.” She paused. “I’m staying out of it. Just like we talked about. But it doesn’t stop me from worrying or wishing I could do more. Maybe Jason asking me to help with the garage is just a way to distract me from getting involved. And maybe it’s silly to be excited about it, to be happy he asked me for help.”

Sonny winced. “Carly, that’s not—okay—I’m sorry—”

“No. You’re not. You’re sorry you hurt my feelings. But you’re not sorry that you think it. After all, I can’t be useful to Jason any other way, right? And Michael doesn’t need me. They’ve both made that clear.”

She sighed. “I don’t know why you’re mad at me. Maybe it’s because Michael isn’t talking to you either or Jason isn’t around much. But that’s not my fault,” Carly continued as he scowled at her, “Jason never avoided you even when I annoyed him. And Michael knows where to find you. Maybe you can’t face the fact that neither of them need you either—”

“That’s not true,” Sonny snapped, even though, of course, it was. Jason wasn’t having problems with the organization, with the mob—he was chasing Cassadines and super villains. Sonny didn’t know anything about that. Elizabeth did. Hadn’t Sonny known that in the beginning? Hadn’t Sonny pushed for Elizabeth to answer their questions?

But Jason still needed him. They were still friends. Carly was wrong.

“And maybe you can’t face that this time you went too far,” Sonny retorted, and Carly fell silent. “Just like we’ve been telling you for years. Well, you get what you deserve, don’t you?”

She said nothing at first, just looked at him for a long moment. “I guess I do,” Carly said. And with that cryptic remark, she went back to the kitchen, leaving Sonny alone in the living room.

Morgan House: Street

Dusk was just beginning to fall as Jason put the car into park. The other cars had cleared, leaving Elizabeth’s the only one in the driveway.

“I should get home to the boys,” Elizabeth said. “I told Cam I’d be a few more hours, but Jake and Aiden will be home from their sleepovers and there’s school tomorrow.” She rubbed her hands together. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “I really don’t mean to turn every disagreement into a huge fight.”

“I started this one,” Jason reminded her. “I should have realized talking about you being safe would upset you.” He nodded to the house. “Come in for a little while. We can call Cam, make sure everything is okay at the house.”

“Probably should stop while I’m ahead,” Elizabeth said. He shook his head, then came around her side of the car, opened the door for her. “Really. We made it almost twelve hours before I lost my mind—it’s a record—”

“Hey.” He caught her hand and drew her close, brushing his mouth against hers. “I love you.   I don’t want you to be afraid to tell me what you’re thinking.”

“You’re going to regret that.” But she dipped her head against his jacket. “It was nice yesterday, though, for a while.”

“It was one of the best days since I’ve been home,” Jason replied, and was rewarded with the smile that stretched across her mouth and reached her eyes. “We’ll have more of them, I promise.”

They picked their way up the walk, careful over the icy sidewalk. The snow had continued to fall, but it hadn’t hit this part of Port Charles as badly as it had in the hills around Vista Point. “How long do you think you’ll be in Turkey?”

Jason unlocked the front door. “I don’t know. A day for travel. I need to double check the time difference, but it’s at least nine hours. I don’t want to be away longer than I have to. Maybe a few days.” He closed the door behind her, stripped off his jacket, watched as she pulled out her phone to send Cameron a text. “Valentin could fly back any day. Spinelli’s watching the flights, but he slid out under the radar the first time.”

“I’ll keep the boys going to the garage after school. Spinelli can work there,” Elizabeth said. “Make it look like you’re still here.” She grimaced at her phone. “Cam said Jake and Aiden are fighting about the last bag of frozen nuggets. I need to get home and order pizza.”

Jason caught Elizabeth’s hand as she moved to find the hat she’d left behind and swung her back against him. “I’m glad you came over yesterday,” he told her, kissing her again. She wound her arms around his neck, sinking into the embrace. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I don’t like being away from you.”

“I’ll miss you, too. I’ve gotten used to ending the day with you,” she admitted wistfully. She brushed her fingers through his hair, the tips of her fingers trailing down his jaw. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He kissed her again. “Go save Cameron from his brothers. I’ll call you when I get my flight info.”

“Hurry back.” And then she left. He watched from the window as her car pulled out the drive, and then he went to pack. One day, if he held on, if they both did, and they managed to keep navigating through the wreckage of their past, one day, Jason wouldn’t have to watch her go home without him. They’d have a life together.

Webber House: Living Room

“Play until I get back.” Cameron tossed the controller at Jake who laughed maniacally, then he grabbed the empty pizza box, heading for the kitchen where his mother was cleaning up after dinner. “Hey, uh, this is the last one.”

“Oh, thanks—” Elizabeth gestured towards the trash can where two other boxes had already been stacked. “We can take it out tomorrow. We’ve been eating a lot of that lately.”

“Well, you know, you can’t go wrong with pizza.” Cameron took a stool at the island, watched his mother wipe down a counter. “Um, I was thinking about the Spencer thing.”

“Spencer?” Elizabeth echoed. She washed her hands, then came to sit next to him on the other stool. “What about him?”

“The files. I feel bad because he told me he couldn’t read them, but I didn’t say anything when he asked Jason.” Cameron traced the outline of a nick on the counter surface. “I didn’t think it was a big deal, and I should have. Because Grandma Laura was really upset, and Jason got mad at her which he never does, and then you and Jason argued.”

“None of that is your fault or something you need to worry about—”

“I could have done something to stop it. I thought about telling Jason, but I wanted to work on my car, and I didn’t want to distract Jason.” Cameron jerked a shoulder. “I’m sorry. You and Jason are okay, right? I mean—”

“We’re fine. We just…” Elizabeth paused. “Jason remembers the trouble that Emily and I used to get in when we weren’t much older than you. Emily was being blackmailed by a photographer, and instead of going to the police, she teamed up with Nikolas, and then Lucky and I got involved, and it ended up—well, Emily and I got locked in the art studio and held hostage.”

Cameron’s eyes widened. “Whoa. What?”

“It ended okay. He went to jail, and um, well, that was that.” Elizabeth made a face. “And I wish it was the last time Em and I got into trouble together. And we usually waited until it was too late to ask Jason for help. When I think about you and Spencer, and God help us all, Joss getting involved—because you know she wouldn’t be far behind—it worries me. Because I know exactly what a kid can get up to if someone isn’t paying attention. And I’m trying to stop it.”

“Okay, yeah, but it’s not—” He hesitated, wondering how to phrase the next part without it sounding like a criticism. “You and Grandma want us to go be normal kids, and that’s fine, but we’re not.” His mother opened her mouth, but Cameron continued. “Spencer’s parents are both dead, and the guy who killed his dad is just walking around free. And Jake got kidnapped and messed with. Emma’s mom was kidnapped by the Cassadines, too. We’re not normal teenagers, Mom. And I don’t know if it’s fair to ask Spencer to act like he is.”

Elizabeth nodded, her eyes pensive. “Maybe not. I know we haven’t always had the easiest time. Some of that is on me. I’ve tried really hard to keep those kinds of things from affecting you, but what Jake went through —”

“I’m not mad about it or anything,” Cameron said, quickly reassuring her. “And things have been better lately, you know? Since Jason got back and you ditched Franco. It’s nice. You’re around a lot and you’re happy. And I don’t know. Things are okay. But I feel guilty sometimes because I got my little brother back, Emma got her mom back, and now her whole family is better. Spencer doesn’t get to have that. I mean, unless you think Spencer’s dad isn’t actually dead.”

“Nikolas wouldn’t have let us believe he was dead for this long. Not Spencer or his mother.” Elizabeth frowned. “And Valentin would never keep him alive, not with the will, so—” She shook her head. “But I get what you mean. Of everyone affected, Laura and Spencer are the only ones who can’t get their family back. It’s why your grandmother is working so hard to protect Spencer.”

“But if Gram had tried to stop you from helping Aunt Em, would you have let her? I mean, you told me you ran away once because she wasn’t supporting you. And didn’t you move out—”

“I regret telling you so much,” Elizabeth muttered, and he grinned. “Is it really that important to Spencer?”

“I think so, yeah. It’s messing him up not to be able to help. He was doing okay in London, but then he got home, and he sees a way to contribute, but Grandma is blocking him. He’s mad at everyone. He and I got into a fight, too, but that’s okay. Because I get it. If Jake were still gone, and I knew the Cassadines were the reason? I’d want to help. I don’t need to because my brother’s out there—” he jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Messing up my scores on Zelda like usual. What does Spencer get to look forward to?”

“I’ll talk to Laura.” Elizabeth squeezed his hand. “You’re a good kid, you know that? I don’t know what I did right, but it must have been something big.”

“You’re a good mom.” He gave her a one-armed hug. “Now, excuse me, I have to go reclaim my throne.”

Elizabeth watched him go, a bit sad. Her baby with the curls and crooked smile was growing up so fast. Before she knew it, he’d be heading to college and leaving her. She wasn’t ready. And Jake wasn’t that far behind him. Cameron was right — it was easy for Elizabeth to take Laura’s side. Jake was home, and Jason was alive. But Spencer couldn’t hope for his father to return, and he’d never known his mother.

She heard Jake and Aiden both shouting for Cam to pick options or choose a different game. The sound of their bickering was like music to her ears — her three rambunctious boys were healthy and safe. Happy.

She picked up the cell phone when it started to ring, her smile broadening when she saw Jason’s name. The last two days had been wonderful—and exhausting, but she thought they’d really turned an important corner, and she was looking forward to what happened next.

“Hey,” Elizabeth said. “I was just thinking about you.”

“Hey. I hope it was good.”

“It was. Did Sonny call with arrangements?”

“Yeah, we can’t go until tomorrow, but I just—” he paused. “I wanted to hear your voice one more time.”

She waited a beat. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. See you tomorrow.”

“See you later.”

← Chapter 58 | Chapter 60 →