Now he sits on his throne in his palace of bones
Praying to his greed
He’s got my past frozen behind glass
But I’ve got me
That old familiar body ache
The snaps from the same little breaks in my soul
I know when it’s time to go
– It’s Time To Go, Taylor Swift

---

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Davis House: Living Room

Sam sighed when she saw the trepidation cross her mother’s face. “Don’t look so excited to see me,” she murmured, sliding past her.

“I’m always happy to see you. Where’s Scout?”

“I hired a nanny,” Sam said, removing her coat and hanging it up. “It’s time I get back to work and to my life.”

“Work? Back to private investigations?”

“For now.” She folded her arms. “I, um, wanted to talk to you about Sunday.” She licked her lips. “I know you must be mad. I hired someone else.”

“I know.” Alexis stepped off the landing and moved towards the sofa. “Martina Morales sent a messenger to get your files yesterday.” She sat down, crossed her legs. “She is a deeply unethical shark of a lawyer, so I can guess that you haven’t changed your mind about any of this.”

“I…” Sam sat in the armchair, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. “I don’t know what I want to do anymore,” she admitted. “I keep thinking it’s clear but then I get cold feet, you know? Because maybe it’s wrong. Martina sent over a copy of the custody petition I told her I wanted to file…”

She stared hard at the floor. “We talked about how Drew isn’t technically Scout’s legal father. Biological, yes, but on paper, no. And it’s a simple solution, right? Doesn’t even need a hearing.”

“No, not if Drew files jointly with Jason, and you don’t oppose it.” Alexis’s tone was cool. “Of course, you opposing Jason terminating his legal rights to a child that was never his in the first place would keep him in court longer.”

“Yes. I thought about that. I told Martina yesterday I didn’t know what I wanted to do.” She closed her eyes when she heard her mother sigh. “And then I called her this morning to tell her no. Because it’s punishing Drew. A-nd I don’t think that’s fair.”

“You don’t think it’s fair,” Alexis echoed. “Do you want me to jump for joy, Sam? Because you’ve stated the obvious. Drew did nothing to merit you even considering dragging him into court just to take a jab at Jason,” she added. “You resent him for taking Jason’s side. And maybe I think you resent him for not being Jason in the first place.”

Sam hesitated. “There’s some truth in that, maybe. I was happy, you know. Before Carly burst into that stupid church and told everyone Jake Doe was Jason.” Sam tilted her head to the sky. “I had Patrick, and I had a future. I really loved him, Mom.”

“I know you did.”

“But Jason was alive, and I couldn’t let it go. He chose Elizabeth which made sense, I guess. Until we found out she’d been lying to him. But it drove me crazy. He chose her and Jake when I was right there with Danny. And I couldn’t stand it. And I threw away everything. I threw away Patrick. I mean, he’s probably fine with it,” Sam muttered. “He’s back with Robin after all of that. I worked so hard to get Jason to love me again. To choose us. And then he remembered me, and we were happy. But he was never Jason. And it’s stupid to be angry with him for that. He didn’t do any of this. He didn’t tell Carly to blow things up, he didn’t tell Elizabeth to lie about his identity, or Maddox to shove those memories back into his brain—”

Sam swiped angrily at her eyes. “Drew didn’t ask for any of this, but if he’d just stayed Jake Doe, if we’d never thought he was Jason, I could have been there. Jason came home from Russia, and he came home to me, but I wasn’t there. I made all the wrong choices, Mom. At every step. And now I can’t fix any of them.”

“So you wish you’d believed Jason that night at the police station,” Alexis said. She tipped her head. “You wish you’d taken his side.”

“Yes. I d-don’t know if that means I wanted him back. Or if I still want him now. But I messed up. I lied. I knew Drew wasn’t Jason. The moment I was in the room with both of them. But I wanted the life I’d fought so hard for. I lied to myself, too. And I kept on doing it. Until Jason asked me for the divorce, and I realized while I’d been lying to myself, he’d given up and was moving on without me.” Sam raised her eyes, looked at her mother. “And I can’t let him do that. He should have waited. He should have given me more time.”

“And for that, you’ve sentenced him to legal torture,” Alexis said, dryly. “If you’re looking for my sympathy, Sam, that ship has sailed. You’ll lose in court. You’ll drag yourself and him through all of this—”

“If I don’t, he’ll just keep moving on. I ignored him, and he thought I didn’t love him anymore. That’s how she works, you know. She waits for a crack in our relationship, and moves in.”

“I don’t have to ask who that is. So the grand plan today is that you need to keep Jason thinking about you, so he’ll leave Elizabeth and come back to you. This is exhausting, Sam, and I’m just a bystander.”

“You don’t understand—” Sam shook her head. “But that’s okay. You’ll understand when it’s over. You’ll see it had to be this way.”

“Oh, I doubt that.”

“I just came over because I wanted you to know that I understand where I went wrong. And how I’m going to fix it.” She rose. “I know how to get Jason back. I’ve always been able to before.”

“Sam. This is a mistake—” Alexis followed her to the door.

“No. He left Elizabeth five years ago and came home to me. He only thinks that was a mistake now because I hurt him.” Sam took a deep breath. “I can forgive him for that.”

“You can—” Alexis put a hand on the door frame, blocking Sam’s exit from the house. “You can’t honestly think you’re going to get him back by dragging him into court and calling him a bad father, and potentially putting him at legal risk over financial disclosures.”

“He’ll want it to go away, Mom. He knows that I only lash out like this when I’m hurt,” Sam told her mother. “He’ll want Diane to make it go away, and then I’ll let him win.” Bolstered by this strategy. “And when I let him win, he can be in Danny’s life. And Jason will see how it could be with us.” She frowned. “But you can’t tell anyone. Because you were my lawyer. And if you do—”

“As soon as you walk out that door, Sam, I’m going to forget this conversation ever happened. Because tomorrow you’ll have another plan.” Alexis stepped back, letting her arm fall to her side. “For your sake, Sam, you realize that you need to let Jason go. Legally and emotionally. Because until you can do that, you’re doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. You threw away Lucky the moment you thought you could get Jason back. You threw away Patrick, and now you’ve thrown away Drew. How many times are you going to destroy your life before you get it?”

General Hospital: Hub

“Amy, I understand your schedule conflicts, but—” Elizabeth grimaced when the always perky and irritating Amy Driscoll interrupted to explain why Elizabeth simply had to find someone to switch Amy’s night shift with because dates like this simply didn’t come along every day, and didn’t Elizabeth understand that you only had so many opportunities to find the love of your life—

“If he’s really that interested,” Elizabeth cut in sharply, “he’ll reschedule. You’re an adult, Amy, who gave me your availability a week ago. I’m your charge nurse, not your friend. It’s not my job to fix your life. Find someone to switch with. This isn’t my problem—”

“And what happens if I get sick?” Amy planted her hands on her hips. “You’d have to find someone to cover then, wouldn’t you? This isn’t fair. You get to do whatever you want with your schedule—”

“Because I paid my dues, Amy. I worked the night shifts and the doubles. I took the shifts no one else wanted.” Elizabeth picked up her chart. “I worked my ass off for almost fifteen years to get this promotion. You want power? Earn it. Until then, find someone else to complain to and ask yourself why can’t you find someone to switch with you. Seems like a you problem, and I’m not interested in solving those.”

“Stuck up bitch,” Amy muttered as Elizabeth walked away, but Elizabeth chose not to engage further. She had plenty of problems to solve, and there was zero room for Amy Driscoll on that list, thank you very much.

“Oh, I know that face. Who pissed you off and do you need any help?” Felix stepped inside the hub. “Because I’m pretty bored.”

“Nothing much. Just Amy thinking she’s the center of the universe again.”

“That girl has main character syndrome something fierce,” Felix muttered. He picked up a chart. “How are things? Any news from Turkey?”

“Nothing I can talk about here,” Elizabeth said. “But…” She bit her lip. “I found Jake’s files. From Helena’s records.”

“Oh, yeah? Anything that helps?”

“I didn’t go through most of it yet. I’m waiting for Jason. He doesn’t know yet. I didn’t think it was fair to tell him and have him worry about me when he’s six thousand miles away.” She sighed, leaned her back against the counter. “But there was a video from that night on the island, I told you about it right? Helena let me see Jake when I had a fever. Knowing I’d never be believed.”

“A video. Oh, that must have sucked.” Felix scowled. “What a cold bitch.”

“Yeah. Yeah, um, it was bad. And Andre’s notes — Jake sort of remembered it. At least he did then. He remembered loving me.” Elizabeth’s voice faltered and she dipped her head. “Andre used that. He built a failsafe into the Chimera programming. That’s why I could stop him. Drew and me. We stopped him, but it was mostly me. Andre used Jake’s love for me.”

“I don’t know whether to be angry or a little bit happy. That he could hold on to that even after a few years—that’s something, isn’t it? But then I’m pissed because he’s just a baby.” Felix shook his head. “I’m sorry. There always seems to be another smack around the corner.”

“Yeah, well…” Elizabeth sighed, picked up her charts. “It just keeps reminding me that Andre knew more than he was willing to tell us, and now he never has to.” She paused. “Do you…maybe I should have told Jason.”

“Nah, you’re right. He’s an ocean away.” Felix paused. “Unless there’s another reason you’re not telling him.”

“No, not really. It was just — I found out, and then we got some other news that seemed more important, and I didn’t really want to have the conversation over the phone,” Elizabeth continued. “I was going to call him back later, but Sonny came by the garage, and…” She stared at the charts. “Jason’s divorce from Sam. Sonny brought it up.”

“Why does he care?”

“He didn’t want me to worry,” Elizabeth murmured. “Because of what Sam’s putting him through. Even though Jason’s having second thoughts, Sonny said it shouldn’t bother me. Because he had similar thoughts with Carly, and they still got divorced. This was years ago,” she added when Felix frowned.

“Second thoughts about what? I’m confused.”

“Me, too. Because until yesterday, I didn’t think there was anything to talk about with the divorce. The last I heard, Jason had received the papers and was planning to respond to ask for joint custody. But maybe he’s just not talking about it with me. Which I could understand,” Elizabeth said. “Sam’s a little bit of a sore subject between us.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Felix muttered darkly. “You don’t think he’s really having second thoughts, do you?”

“No.”

“Now why did you say that like maybe there’s a question mark afterwards,” Felix said. “Elizabeth.”

“Maybe it’s more that I don’t want to know. And I’m trying to remember that Jason’s relatively honest. He hides his emotions sometimes to protect himself, but after last weekend, I really felt like we connected, you know?”

“So there you go. Sonny probably read too much into something Jason said, and he ran with it. He’s married to Carly, that kind of thing is contagious. Jason will come home, you’ll jump his bones to welcome him back, and you won’t even remember what the hell Sonny said.”

Quartermaine Estate: Family Room

“I see we’re lounging like a king,” Tracy snapped as she came into the room and saw Michael at the breakfast table, reading the newspaper. “Don’t you have work to do?”

“Ignore her,” Ned advised, taking a seat next to Michael at the table. “You’ll just feed the fire.”

“Not that it’s any of your business—” Michael folded the paper and set it aside. “But I’ve already been to the office. I had a morning meeting. I came home to grab some papers I forgot and decided to eat breakfast—which I skipped.” He lifted his brows. “Any other complaints, Aunt Tracy?”

“Well, you’re still breathing, so there’s one.” Tracy sniffed, then sat. “I saw the construction budget for that damned eyesore you’re planning on the pier. Just like your father. Pie in the sky plans that are only going to bankrupt and humiliate this family—”

“You don’t get to talk about my father,” Michael said tightly. “You need to shut the hell up about him—”

“Please. I knew that waste from birth to death. I can say what I like, and you’re following in his footsteps—”

“Mother,” Ned said, seeing Michael’s knuckles turn bright white as they clutched a butter knife. “That’s a little much for a Wednesday morning. Don’t you have a small baby to make cry?”

“I penciled that in for after lunch,” Tracy said sweetly, before flicking her eyes back to Michael. “It’s funny seeing you be so damned defensive. Don’t you call his murderer daddy—”

Michael shoved back his chair abruptly and stalked out. Tracy followed him with her eyes, then turned her attention back to her cup of coffee. She glanced at Ned. “What?”

“Why do you suddenly dislike Michael so much?” Ned asked. “You were in favor of appointing him as CEO. You retired, saying the company was in good hands. You’ve said nothing for months. Now you’re home and you’ve done nothing but needle the kid—”

“You don’t think he’s overcompensating just a little on this pier project?” Tracy demanded, and Ned hesitated. “I knew it. You agree.”

“I think he’s nervous because it’s his first major project. But—”

“And he chose the waterfront. The same piece of property his worthless sperm donor tried to make work for years.” Tracy shook her head. “As soon as I saw that project on the agenda, I knew something was up. And you clearly have the same reservations.”

“That doesn’t mean you should be shoving AJ in his face all the time, Mother. Even you usually have more tact than that.” Ned hesitated. Though his mother had a point. Michael was getting a bit too emotionally attached to this project. “I’ve told you, I’m keeping an eye on him.”

“Well, do a better job.”

General Hospital: Stairwell

Elizabeth pushed open the stairwell door and started to jog down to the third floor for a meeting. She stopped short when she saw Franco on the landing below, lurking near the doorway of the third floor. Just what she needed today.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Elizabeth asked coolly, taking the final steps more slowly.

“What makes you think I’m waiting for you?”

“Good. Then let me pass—” She huffed when he slid in front of the door. “Are you really going to do this? It’s been two months, Franco—”

“And eleven days, but who’s counting?” he said. He folded his arms. “Does Jason know we were still together when he showed up? Or does he think I was a one-time mistake? Does he know I lived with you? With your children?”

Her stomach tensed. “He knows everything he needs to know. Which, if you don’t let me go to my meeting, will include today and the elevator—”

“Oh, you haven’t told him about our delightful meeting the other day?” Franco’s lips curved. “Why not?”

She pressed her lips together mutinously. “If you don’t let me pass, Jason isn’t the only call I’ll make. One word from me, Franco, and you’re gone from this hospital.” She crossed her arms. “So make your choice—”

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll be telling anyone about this, including Jason.” He stepped aside. “After all, don’t you want Jason to forget I ever existed?” As she reached for the door, he grabbed her arm, yanked her against his body. “Does he know about the beauty mark? Maybe he and I can compare notes—it’s a small one—just below your—”

Elizabeth drove her knee into his groin, and Franco released her on a grunt and scowl. “Leave me alone,” she said flatly. “I won’t warn you again.”

“I’m not worried.” Pain twisted his expression, but he still found the ability to look smug. “Jason will be disgusted, and you know it. That’s why you’ve said nothing. Go ahead, Elizabeth. Keep living in delusion as long you can. I wonder how long he’ll last before he runs back to Sam—”

The door swung closed before he finished his tirade, and Elizabeth leaned against the wall for a long moment, closing her eyes, and exhaling slowly.

Then she went to her meeting, resolving to keep Franco on the list of problems she’d solve herself.

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