Dive and disappear without a trace
I just wanna be someone
Well, doesn’t everyone?
And if you feel the great dividing
I wanna be the one you’re guiding
‘Cause I believe that you could lead the way
– Someone To You, BANNERS

---

Monday, January 8, 2018

General Hospital: Hallway

Elizabeth set a chart back into the slot outside the patient’s room and closed the door — and then ran straight into Jason. “Oh. Hey.” She stepped back, confused. “What are you doing here?”

“I knew you were working, and I didn’t want to leave a text.” Jason brushed his hands down her upper arms, stopping when they cupped her elbows, then he dipped his head to kiss her briefly. “Hey,” he murmured.

He’d remembered, Elizabeth thought and smiled. “Hey,” she repeated. “Not that I’m complaining, but you hate the hospital—”

“Not like I used to—do you have a minute?”

“Sure.” She led him down the hallway to a supply closet. “Did you get your flight information?”

“Yeah.” Jason leaned against the closed door. “Today at five, so I’m on my way to the airport now.”

“Okay. So—”

“We’ll land in Turkey in the middle of the night your time,” he continued, “but—”

“Call me anyway.” Elizabeth gripped the edges of his leather jacket. “I’d rather get a voice mail than to wake up in the middle night and worry.”

Jason covered her hands with his own. “We’re okay, aren’t we?”

“You mean after this weekend when I drove you absolutely insane?” She made a face. “Yeah, we’re okay. I’m sorry—”

“I don’t want you to be sorry,” he said, with a quick shake of his head. “I just wanted to be sure. Yesterday—” Jason paused. “Yesterday, I think we both said a lot of things—”

“Yesterday, you said the word danger, and my head exploded. And I poured out everything I should have said you to a million times a decade ago,” Elizabeth said. “And I’m sorry for that. You don’t deserve to have all my baggage shoved at you with both barrels every time you open your mouth—”

“Yesterday, I treated you like Carly,” Jason cut in, and she sighed. “You’re right. And it’s not fair. You’ve never done anything to deserve that.”

“Well, maybe a few things. I think we can both agree that pretty much the entire Zander debacle was a bad idea.”

“Except for Cameron, the only reason to be grateful Zander existed,” Jason replied, and she grinned. “I just assumed it would be me and Drew if we went to Turkey, and that was wrong. We’ve been in this together every step of the way, since the day I came home. You probably should be going with us today—”

“It’s just a trip to smack Luke and Lucky around. You don’t need me for that. You’ve always been able to handle them both.” She tugged him down so that their lips met again. “I just don’t want to sit home every time. Not when I can help.”

“You won’t.” Jason kissed her forehead, his mouth lingering for a moment, holding her tight against him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Kick some Spencer ass over there, and I’ll see when you get home.”

Port Charles Airport: Parking Lot

Franco switched off the engine, having parked several cars down from Jason and across the aisle. In his rearview mirror, he watched Jason retrieve his duffel from the back of the SUV. When Jason had driven in the direction of the airport, Franco had wondered if he was picking someone up.

But no — it looked like Jason was heading out of town — and if he was traveling by plane, it was at least for a few days. That is an interesting development. Maybe this would be a good time to dip back into Elizabeth’s life and take stock of how she felt about Franco after a few weeks of silence.

Maybe with some time to cool down and reflect, she’d remember how he’d been the one to stand by her, taken care of her, been her friend when she needed one. No harm in making sure she knew he was still around — and if he could plant a few seeds of doubt about Jason…

Well, that would just be the cherry on top.

General Hospital: Hospital Administrator’s Suite

 Elizabeth knocked on Laura’s open office door. “Hey, do you have a minute?”

“For you, always.” Laura smiled. “What’s up?”

Elizabeth closed the door. “Well, Jason and Drew are off to the airport. Jason sent Lucky a message that he and Drew were going to help with the list of addresses, but nothing else. He didn’t want to tip them off or anything.”

“Is it wrong to hope that they get all the way to Turkey and find out that Luke and Lucky have a perfectly adequate explanation?” Laura asked. “Or am I just being naive?”

“I don’t know why Lucky and Luke would be working with Britt Westbourne and not telling us,” Elizabeth said. “What innocent explanation could there be for that?”

Laura wrinkled her nose. “I hate the idea that they’re lying to us. Why would they do that?”

“Why did Luke ever lie about anything?” Elizabeth asked. She sat back. “Because he knew better. Because he was protecting you or someone else. And I feel stupid because Jason and Drew both said to be more suspicious. We should be on the same side. What do we need to be protected from that’s worse than what we’ve already been through?”

“How can there be something worse than having your children kidnapped and brainwashed. Worse than a forced marriage?” Laura’s mouth pinched. “I’m so disappointed in them. So angry.” She paused. “I’m sorry about yesterday.”

“It’s okay—”

“It’s really not. I’m glad that you’ve sorted things out with Jason—you have, haven’t you?”

“We did. But—”

“Spinelli was very unhappy with how we handled it, and he made an excellent point.” Laura tipped her head. “You’ve changed your entire life for this. You made room for Jason in your life. Welcoming him into the boys’ life before you even had proof of who he was. And you’ve been reading those files, dealing with all the little bits and pieces that I don’t get to see—I really didn’t get involved until we found the thumb drive.”

“Laura—”

“And I know you’ll tell me that it’s not a big deal. That you did what had to be done. And that’s true. You’ve always been that way. You don’t complain much about how things are — you just roll up your sleeves and get to work. Which makes how I handled yesterday even worse. I expect that kind of thing from Sonny — and maybe from Drew and Jason. They’re protective of you. But I should have realized it sounded like we were telling you what was going to happen. And that’s not fair.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Jason and I talked about it, and we’re okay now. It’s hard for him to shift into seeing me as a partner. I was never involved in anything like this with him before. You know, I hid him in my studio, I kept secrets. But that’s not the same thing as actually playing a role. It’s an adjustment for both of us. I’m used to sitting back and letting him set the tone. I don’t want that this time.” She paused. “And everyone had perfectly good reasons why I should stay home. Which I agreed with when I talked to Jason about it. I just want this to be a discussion.”

“And I promise you, I’ll do better.”

“And that brings me to the reason I stopped by.” Elizabeth paused. “Last week, when you and Jason clashed over Spencer reading those files, I stayed out of it. Mostly because I was on your side,” she added.

“Spencer is still a little frosty with me,” Laura murmured. “But I know I’m making the right decision—”

“And I still agree that the safest place for the kids is away from all of this, but Cameron reminded me last night that…” Elizabeth spread her hands out. “They’re already in this. Spencer’s lost his family, his inheritance. And my boys — Cameron had to mourn Jake, and then he had to take a backseat when Jake came home and demanded so much of my attention. Then last year —” She pressed her lips together, forming a thin line. “I want them out of this, Laura, but it’s too late. They’re already living with the reality of what’s happened.”

Laura sighed, looked to the side, where a window overlooked the city. “I still think they should be kept out. If you want Cameron to be involved—”

“It’s not a question of what I want, Laura. It’s thinking about who the boys are. Cameron doesn’t need revenge. Jake came home. But Spencer… he doesn’t get to have his family back. Nikolas isn’t coming home.”

Laura exhaled slowly. “Elizabeth—”

“I’m not telling you what to do. I’m really not. I’m just—I promised Cam I’d talk to you. Lucky and I got into so much trouble at that age, and Jason reminded me that there’s nothing you could have said to me to stop looking for Emily’s blackmailer or helping her after that rave — or any of the thousand things that I got dragged into to help a friend. And Lucky? He never turned his back on Emily. If Spencer wants to be involved, Laura, he’s going to find a way. He’s like you. Like Lucky. And he’s like his father. Relentless when he believes he’s right.”

Laura smiled thinly, set down the pen she’d been toying with. “Well, you’re not wrong. Spencer has never given up when he really wants something.”

“If Spencer thinks he’s helping by sitting in a room and reading files, Laura, isn’t that so much better than him going out and finding out another way to help? Something that might be more dangerous?”

Laura sighed. “I suppose there’s some merit to that. And you’re right. Lucky and Nikolas always jumped in feet first to help a friend. I just—Lucky might be alive, but he’s not the boy he would have been. And I keep thinking about those videos — I can’t watch them. The description is enough. I imagine him screaming for us, begging us to rescue him, but we didn’t. We couldn’t. And Jake—” She shook her head. “You’re right. I wanted my grandchildren out of this fight, but it’s too late for that. I’ll talk to Spencer.”

Nero House: Kitchen

Kim tossed a stapled set of papers at Oscar as she passed him on the way to the fridge. “That’s really good for a first draft,” she said. She opened the door, pulled out a container of red spaghetti sauce. “I marked a few typos. Underlined some places where it felt unclear, but it’s good.”

“Thanks.” Oscar flipped through, searching for her red marks. “I’ll be glad when this semester is over with. I’m not looking forward to midterms.”

“You’ll ace them just like you always do. Pasta all right for dinner?”

“Yeah, it’s cool.” Oscar reached for his phone, scrolled through some text messages, grinning at a group chat where Joss and Trina were snarking at each other. He was glad some things were still normal.

Kim set some water on the stove to boil, then cleared her throat. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about. You were supposed to have dinner with your father Friday, weren’t you?”

Oscar’s fingers stilled, and he glanced up. “Uh, yeah. Something came up.”

“Mmmm,” she murmured. She sat next to him at the island. “For you or for him?”

He avoided her eyes. “Why does it matter?”

“I don’t want you to avoid your dad because I was upset the other night.” Kim rubbed his shoulder. “I’m an adult, and I can handle it.”

“I know. I just—” Oscar hunched his shoulders. “Felt weird going to dinner with him when I knew you’d be here alone. We used to do dinners together.”

“We did,” Kim said wistfully. “But that was a long time ago, baby. Drew’s been gone for five years—”

“You were crying.” Oscar straightened. “I saw you.”

“It’s been a lot to take in,” Kim told him. “And sometimes I’ll have bad moments. But I also know how much your dad loved you. And how much you loved him. I want you both to have that again, is that so bad?”

“No, but it’s—” Oscar sighed. “I don’t know. It’s like, I get it, Dad didn’t want to leave. And I believe that. But then we come here, and he’s here. He doesn’t know us. He got married again. And he had another kid. Cam knows him better than I do, you know that? Cam and Joss. He knows them better than he knows me, and he’s supposed to be my dad.” He shook his head. “I’m trying not to be mad about it, because it’s not his fault, but maybe it shouldn’t be so easy to forget your kid.”

“He didn’t forget you, honey. Not on purpose—”

“I know. I know. I know,” he said for a third time. “But just because you know something doesn’t make it true. Or—” Oscar grimaced. “I don’t know. I just—I thought maybe we could get things back the way they were if we just tried, but then I got reminded that he had a whole life here, and it didn’t include me.” He met his stepmother’s concerned gaze. “And you’re doing everything you can to make this easier for him. You could have gotten mad. You could have made it harder for him.”

“I could have. But that’s never been my style. I knew—” Kim rose, went to the stove to put pasta into the boiling water. “I knew from the moment they told us Drew went missing that my husband wouldn’t come home. He never would have deserted. He wouldn’t have left you. I’ve had a long time to come to terms with Drew being gone.”

“But he’s not gone—”

“He is.” Kim smiled faintly, turned back around and leaned against the counter next to the stove. “He’s gone, baby. Even if he gets his memory back, he’ll always have these years in Port Charles. He’ll always have started a new life. He’ll always have loved someone after me. My husband is gone, Oscar.” Her voice faltered. “And it hurts to say that. It’s hard to know he’s walking around but he’s not mine anymore. But he can be your dad again. He can get those memories back, you can make new ones — that’s a different relationship, baby. And one I want you to have.”

“But maybe I don’t get to have it,” Oscar muttered. “Maybe I don’t want it, either.”

“If you need more time, that’s fine.” Kim came around the counter, kissed the top of his head. “That works for me. Just don’t do it on my account, okay? I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Port Charles Airport: Departures Gate

 Jason watched as Sonny’s jet slowly rolled towards the airport. In a few more minutes, it would stop, the flight tunnel would attach, and boarding would begin.

He’d be on his way to Turkey. A ten hour, maybe more, plane flight with no one but Drew Cain.

He glanced at the man in question, still seated by the counter, scrolling through something on his tablet. They were easier around one another than they’d been before — Drew seemed more comfortable with who he was — and who he wasn’t.

And Jason was better, too. Not thinking so much about rebuilding his life, but actually living it. But He wished Elizabeth had come after all. She knew Drew. She could make conversation with anyone — but there was no buffer. Nothing to ease the way. It was just the two of them.

He sat by Drew, leaving a chair between them. “Uh, I told you about the message I left Lucky, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah. It’s a good idea. Telling them we just want to help. It’ll be interesting,” Drew said, setting the tablet in his lap. “What do they do? Do they give us a run around? Do they let us near Maslak?”

“Will they tell us about Britt Westbourne or where they’re staying?” Jason nodded. “Yeah. They might think something is up, but they don’t have any proof.”

“And I was thinking about that — they’re not going to want to push too hard or piss us off.” Drew shifted slightly so they were looking at each other. “Because Spinelli says every time he puts a batch of files on the drive—”

“Lucky downloads it immediately. And he’s been sending back questions and theories.”

“They need us more than we need them, to be honest.” Drew nodded. “Yeah, I think going in under the cover of just giving them a hand with the search is the best option. Pretending things are normal.” He rubbed his chin. “Uh, things okay with Elizabeth?”

Jason hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. We—it’s fine.”

“Good. Good. Spinelli kind of gave us a kick in the ass after you guys left. Elizabeth really didn’t deserve the way that went down.” Drew made a face. “And maybe it’s just because I got you still stuck in my head, but the second she wanted to go to Turkey, I just—” He waved his head. “I don’t know. My mind went blank and all I could think was hell, no. I didn’t want her anywhere near Lucky or Luke.”

“I don’t want her near Valentin,” Jason muttered. He shook his head. “But this isn’t business like usual. If this was Manny Ruiz or Karpov, it wouldn’t be a conversation. She wouldn’t have asked.”

“Spinelli pointed that out, too. Which didn’t make Sonny happy,” Drew added. “I don’t know what his deal is — I thought he liked Elizabeth.”

Jason frowned, straightened. “What do you mean?”

“Just that he said she always wanted more than you wanted to give — which is bullshit, because she never asked for a damn thing to do with the job,” Drew muttered, and Jason scowled because he knew Drew was dipping into his memories again for that. But while it was annoying — it was also a relief. Because Jason wouldn’t have to explain anything, Drew just knew.  “Anyway, I don’t know if something crawled up Sonny’s ass on the whole thing, but I just wanted you to know.”

“Thanks.”

The flight attendant at the counter opened the flight tunnel door, and Drew shoved the tablet into his carry-on. “All right. I guess it’s time to get the show on the road.”

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