Cut me down
But it’s you who has further to fall
Ghost town, haunted love
Raise your voice, sticks and stones may break my bones
I’m talking loud not saying much
– Titanium, Jasmine Thompson

---

Mykonos, Greece; December 2014

Cassadine Estate: Nursery

The boy was clearly too old to be cooped up in the suite of rooms that had served as the estate’s nursery for more than a century. Andre didn’t know a lot about the little boy that Helena Cassadine had kidnapped almost four years earlier, but he knew the child was approaching the age of seven.

He was a bright and cheerful little boy with sandy blonde hair, kind blue eyes, and a smile for anyone who offered him one first. He seemed somehow untouched by his time in Greece—almost as if Helena had kidnapped him, set him up in this room with a tutor and a governess, then had forgotten about him until the time came when he would be useful.

That day had finally come.

“Hi.” The boy waved at him and got to his feet, pushing aside the truck he was playing with. “My name is Jake. Who are you? Does Tana know you’re here?”

“Yes,” Andre said. He took a chair from the table and sat down. “I’m a doctor working with Mrs. Cassadine. Can you sit down, talk with me for a minute?”

“Sure. I haven’t seen Mrs. Cassadine in forever,” Jake said. He joined Andre at the table, taking a minute to climb into the adult-sized chair. “She’s nice, though.”

“Is she?”

“Tana says she’s very busy looking for my family.” Jake squinted at Andre. “Do you know where I came from?”

“No,” Andre said, slowly. This was mostly true. He didn’t know much about the boy in front of him, other than the fact he was the son of Jason Morgan and a woman Helena obviously loathed. She wanted to make this woman—Elizabeth Webber—pay for some slight, for some crime she’d committed. “Do you know?”

“Tana says I used to have a mommy, but not a daddy. She says my daddy left.” Jake furrowed his brow. “I don’t know what happened, though. Tana says I shouldn’t ask questions.”

“How long have you been here?”

“With Mrs. Cassadine?” Jake paused, clearly thinking over his answer. “A few years. I think. I don’t know. I didn’t always live here because I remember what my room looked like before. I had lots of posters. And trucks. I like trucks. And motorcycles. And cars,” he added.

“You remember your old room? What about your mother?”

Jake paused, then dipped his head. “I sort of remember her,” he said in a small voice. “But Tana said it was a dream.”

“What do you remember?” Andre asked gently.

“She was crying, and I missed her, and then someone took me away.” Jake rubbed a hand over his eyes. “She tried to come after me, but—I don’t remember anything else.” He pinned Andre with his bright blue eyes. “Do you know my mommy? Why are you asking all these questions?”

“I don’t know your mother,” Andre said, “but I’m here to help you get ready to go home. Mrs. Cassadine—'” He closed his eyes. He’d done so many terrible things in his search for answers—what he’d done to this little boy’s father and uncle was beyond anything else—

But Andre knew what he was about to do to this child—the lies he would tell—the things he was supposed to put into his brain—

It was too late to get out. Too late to turn back. But maybe he could try to help. Maybe he could—

He was the expert, after all. Helena didn’t have to know—

“You missed your mother?” Andre said quietly. “So you remember loving her.”

“It’s weird,” Jake admitted. “Because I can’t really remember what she looked like except she had shiny brown hair and a nice smile. But I remember that I loved her. And I know she loved me. It’s like—” His face scrunched up. “You know how you can remember a feeling?”

“Yes,” Andre said slowly. “I do.”

“I’m going home to her?” Jake asked. “They found her? Where is she? Where has she been all this time?”

“We haven’t found her yet,” Andre told him. “But Mrs. Cassadine thinks we’re close, so she wants you to be ready.” He smiled at Jake. “And that’s my job.”

If Jake could remember the feeling of his mother’s love after all this time, then maybe Andre could use that love as a failsafe.

If Helena was determined to use this little boy to trigger a biological weapon, then it was up to Andre to do whatever he could do to protect him. There was obviously no one else who could.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

PCPD: Squad Room

Sam didn’t know what she was expecting when she and her husband arrived at the department that evening — but she certainly was not expecting Elizabeth Webber with the other man.

She felt her husband stiffen as he saw the two of them standing by Dante Falconieri’s desk, talking with the detective.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Sam told her husband, tugging on his coat sleeve. “Let’s find Jordan—” Then her eyes widened when she saw Dante’s partner, Nathan West, strolling out of the back room with Andre Maddox in handcuffs. “Andre? What the—”

The doctor looked away, and Elizabeth glared at her colleague. “How could you?” she bit out. “How could you do that to Jake?”

“Elizabeth—” Andre began.

“He trusted you—we all trusted you—”

“I swear, since I started treating him—”

“What the hell is going on?” Her husband declared, shoving his way forward. “What happened to Jake? What did you do to my son?”

Andre stared at the other man, then closed his eyes, and fear licked at Sam’s throat. Oh, God, oh God—

“You didn’t tell him the results yet?” he asked, turning to Dante. Her husband’s face stilled, and Sam pressed her fist to her mouth. Oh, God, she’d known, but she hadn’t wanted to—

“No, not yet,” another voice sounded from the other side of the room. Jordan Ashford strode forward, her boyfriend just behind her. Curtis’s eyes were averted, and Sam turned to look at the man who was about to lose everything.

“I love you,” she told him. “Please remember that.”

“What do the fingerprints say?” her husband asked, ignoring her. He swallowed hard, nodding at the file in Jordan’s hand. “You have them, don’t you?”

“I do,” Jordan said. “And advanced DNA results. I know which one of you is Jason Morgan, and we can say—for certain now—that the other man is Andrew Cain, his twin brother.”

Greystone Manor: Kitchen

Carly charged into the kitchen, waving her phone. “Look at this text message!” she told her husband.

Sonny frowned, stepped back from the stove, and wiped his hands on the dishtowel hanging over the oven handle. “What?”

“Just read it—”

Sonny squinted at the text.

hey mom gonna go to cams hes got leftover cake and his mom went with jason to pcpd to resolve the whole jase-face drama will prolly make curfew unless something interesting happens.

Sonny knew exactly why his wife was irritated, but he really didn’t want to have this argument. “Jason will probably let us know what happens when he gets a chance—”

“Why didn’t he call us?” Carly demanded. When she didn’t take the phone Sonny held out to her, he tossed it on the island counter and went back to the simmering sauce. “Why is he with her?”

“Because he probably got the call while he was at her house. You knew he was going there to do cake with the boys—” Sonny reached into his own pocket, then nodded. “Okay, yeah, he sent me a text a half hour ago. PCPD called, he’s going with Elizabeth. They arrested Andre. Well, that makes sense—”

“How—”

“Jason told us that Andre was involved up with the Chimera situation,” Sonny reminded her. Carly pressed her lips together, mutinously. “Elizabeth probably wants to hear Andre’s reasons or something.” He shrugged.

“Fine, then why didn’t he also call us? He called you, but he didn’t ask you to go. And he didn’t call me—”

“Maybe because he didn’t want to have this argument,” Sonny muttered, wincing when he realized he’d spoken loud enough for Carly to hear him. “Carly—”

“He came home four days ago,” she said. “I am the same person I’ve always been, but it’s like he hates me. He refuses to talk to me, to let me be there for him—” Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I thought I was getting my best friend back—”

“Maybe,” Sonny said, reaching for patience, “he’s not interested in the same friendship you had before. He’s been spending time with Elizabeth, and that always gets you mad. You have no idea how much time he used to spend with her because he kept you out of that.”

Carly stared at him. “But—”

“He’s not pretending anymore, Carly. And you and I can’t be everything he needs. We never could.”

“I’m not trying—” She squeezed her eyes shut. “We should be able to do this. We should be there for him when he finds out out the truth about what happened to him. Why is it her? Why isn’t me or you? Or Sam? Spinelli—anyone else—”

“He’s known Elizabeth almost as long as he’s known the two of us,” Sonny reminded his wife. “And you haven’t liked her since the second you realized she was competition.”

“That—” Carly squeezed her hands into her fists at her side. “Yes. At first. But later—”

“Later, she never did anything to either of us to deserve the way you’ve treated her. No, Jake didn’t donate the kidney that saved Joss’s life, but Elizabeth did not know that. She thought he was dead.”

“I know—”

“Jason buried his son. We have buried a son,” Sonny said roughly. “It could have broken us, you and me. It nearly did. We don’t get a chance at a miracle with Morgan. And part of me—yeah, maybe part of me is angry that I don’t get to have another chance with Morgan. To save him this time. Maybe it’s not Elizabeth you resent Jason spending time with—”

“Sonny—”

“Maybe it’s Jake. Maybe it’s the son Jason gets to have in his life when he wasn’t supposed to. I don’t know what’s worse, Carly.”

“It’s neither of those things,” Carly said tightly. “Why do you always think the worst of me? Of course, I don’t resent Jason for getting to be with Jake. I want him to have his son. Both of his sons—”

“Right now, he can’t be with Danny. Sam isn’t opening that door. It might change after the truth comes out, but Jake—Elizabeth is not only opening the door, she’s pulling Jason through it. After all the sacrifices Jason made for our family—for Michael—” Sonny paused. “He went to jail to protect Michael, Carly. He couldn’t even see Jake around town. You don’t like his mother. Fine. But whether you like it or not, Elizabeth Webber is here to stay.”

“You’re telling me it doesn’t hurt that Jason didn’t want you with him when this happened today?” Carly demanded. “That you’re not upset he pushed you out—”

“No,” Sonny said, honestly. “Because I already know the truth. I know who he is. And everything else, Jason can tell me later. Jason has been through hell, Carly. He lost the first twenty-two years of his life to his alcoholic brother, then sixteen years later, someone else stole five more years. I think Jason gets to handle this whatever way he wants. And right now, he wants Elizabeth to be the one standing next to him.”

“It should be me—”

“Why?” Sonny challenged. He switched off the sauce. “Why?” he repeated. “You can’t be first in his life. I’m tired of this argument, Carly. I’m not doing this again. Every time you complain about a woman taking your place in Jason’s life, I—” He stopped, biting back the angry words.

“What?” Carly retorted. “Finish it—”

“It makes me wonder if maybe the only reason you and me are still here is because Jason doesn’t want you.”

Carly stared at him, her eyes wide. “Sonny—”

“I’m going to the restaurant to wait for Jason to call me. Don’t wait up.”

“Sonny—”

PCPD: Squad Room

It felt like forever before Jordan spoke again, but it was probably no more than a few seconds. “According to the DNA tests, the fingerprints in our archives and what the Navy sent over—”

She turned to Sam’s husband, and Jason thought he could see the truth in the other man’s eyes even before she spoke.  “You are Andrew Cain,” Jordan said.

“Are you sure—” Drew began, his face blanching. He stopped abruptly.

Jordan looked at Jason. “And you are Jason Morgan,” Jordan said. “But—” An ironic smile played on her lips. “You already knew that.”

Jason tipped his head to that, then looked at Drew. “I’m sorry—”

“Don’t—” Drew put a hand, looked away from his brother, focused on Jordan. “How can you be sure?”

“The DNA was performed by GH and the outside lab. The outside lab isn’t back yet,” Jordan said, “but combined with GH’s results, the marker tests, and these prints—the two of you are twin brothers. GH’s testing says that you’re Oscar Nero’s father and that—” Jordan nodded to Jason. “He is Jake Webber’s father.” She held the folder out to Drew. “This is a copy of your military file with the prints and the tests. If you want to do an independent conformation.”

Drew stared at the folder but didn’t take it. Instead, he slid his hand into the pocket of his pants and drew out a wallet. He flipped it open, and one by one, he dropped plastic cards onto the ground. A driver’s license. Two credit cards. A bank card.

“Am I going to be arrested for desertion? They told me that’s what happened to Drew Cain. He went AWOL in Afghanistan,” Drew said flatly, his eyes staring at the ground, at the cards.

“No, I’ve been in contact with the Navy. They might send a JAG officer to wrap things up,” Jordan said, “but I assured them that whatever happened, it wasn’t voluntary. Drew—”

“Don’t—” Drew bit off whatever angry words he’d been about to say. He looked at Sam. “Well, he’s right over there. Isn’t that what you do when Jason Morgan shows up? You drop everything and run?”

“That’s—” Sam’s voice faltered. “That’s not fair—”

Drew turned and stalked out. After a moment—a moment longer than Jason expected—Sam looked at him, their eyes met. Then her eyes drifted to Elizabeth before she turned and followed Drew, only pausing to take the folder from Jordan.

Jason exhaled slowly, ignoring the ache in his chest as he turned to the other man in the room—the one in handcuffs. “Did you do this to us?” he demanded. “Why does he think he’s me?”

Andre closed his eyes, looking vaguely ill. “Because I put your memories in his brain,” he admitted.

“You played with his mind,” Elizabeth said, vibrating with anger, her voice shaking from the fury. “Just like Jake. And you must have done it to Jason. How else could you get the memories? Why?” she demanded harshly. “Why did you do this to them?”

Andre sighed, and Nathan shook him slightly when the doctor said nothing. “Talk,” he ordered, “or you’re going back to your cell—”

“Detective West,” Jordan said, but Andre shook his head.

“I’ll tell you what I can,” he said finally.

Webber House: Living Room

Joss refreshed her Twitter feed again, scowling. “How much longer is this going to take?”

“What makes your dumb ass think it’s going to be on social media?” Trina demanded as she sat down with a slice of cake. “It’s not like the launch party where everyone is gonna start sharing—”

“Cam said you weren’t supposed to fight at our house,” Aiden told Trina very seriously as he sat on the sofa. “He said you gotta have neutered ground, but I don’t get that because when Mark’s dog got neutered, he got this cone—” He peered at Joss. “Which one of you wears the cone?”

“Neutral ground,” Cam corrected. “It means they don’t fight here because this is a safe place.” He handed Jake the bowl of popcorn before perching on the arm of Trina’s chair. “Won’t your mom tell you?” he asked Joss.

“I don’t think Mom got invited,” Joss said carefully. “She called me when she got the text demanding to know how I knew Jason was at the PCPD and how long ago he was called—”

“Whoa, your mom wasn’t asked to go?” Oscar shuddered. “I’m glad we’re hanging here and not at your place.”

“Right?” Joss repeated, her eyes widened. “When Carly gets left out of things, it’s drama city. I mean, maybe we could have been there because it would have been fun to see her flip out, but she usually just insults Cam’s mom, so, like, I’ve heard it before.”

Trina shrugged. “Then I guess we’re waiting on your mom and Jason to come back.” She leaned back in the chair. “I wonder how that’s going.”

“Maybe,” Oscar said. “But I mean, I guess we already know, don’t we? Your mom seems so convinced,” he said to Cam and his brothers. “I mean, she told Jake the new guy is his real dad.”

Jake made a face. “I know Mom is right, and the new guy is nice, but I like my other dad, I mean your dad, I mean my uncle—” He scowled. “This is annoying. Why can’t people just be who they’re supposed to be? Why does everything gotta be all weird?”

“I wish I could tell you it would get better,” Joss said with a sigh, “but as long as you live in Port Charles, this is pretty much the way things are.” She frowned at Oscar. “But why didn’t you think it was Jason yesterday at the hospital? I mean, he looks just like your dad.”

“I know, and that was weird, but the more I thought about it, the more I just didn’t feel it. And I think I’d feel it. He’s my dad. And he didn’t know me—”

“But the other guy—Drew—” Cam said, “he won’t know you either. Not until we figure out what’s wrong with his brain—”

“He’s my dad,” Oscar argued. “Maybe he won’t know me like he remembers teaching me to throw a baseball or whatever, but he’ll know me. You know? Like he’ll feel a connection once we know the truth.” He focused on Jake. “Didn’t you feel it with your dad?”

“Well, no,” Jake said slowly. “He doesn’t feel like my dad yet. I’m sorry,” he said when he realized Oscar’s expression had soured. “That’s not the right answer.”

“It’s fine—”

“Oscar,” Joss began.

“No, I know you guys think I’m insane, but it’s like—you said your mom knew Jason was who he was supposed to be,” Oscar said to Cam. “So did your mom and stepdad,” he said to Joss. “That’s what I mean. He’s gonna know me. He’s gonna see me, and part of him will recognize me. I know it.”

“Maybe he will,” Trina suggested, shooting a glare at Cameron as if to remind him not to argue. “I mean, brains are weird, right? Maybe seeing you will trigger something. But it also might not, Oscar. We just—” She bit her lip. “We like you, you know. We don’t wanna see you get hurt.”

“I won’t be,” Oscar said confidently. “He’s my dad. I’m finally gonna get him back.”

PCPD: Squad Room

“Well?” Jordan said sharply when Andre didn’t continue speaking. “What did you do? And why?”

Andre looked away from his ex-girlfriend, but if he was hoping to avoid the bitter disappointment in someone’s eyes, he shouldn’t have looked at Jason and Elizabeth standing to his left. Jason’s expression was carefully controlled, but anyone could see from the way his hands were clenched into fists at his side that he was furious — and Elizabeth’s rage was written all over her face.

If he told them everything he knew right now, there was every chance that this man would end his life. Even if Jason Morgan could be convinced to show him mercy, Andre would lose any and all leverage.

He’d never be able to finish his work.

“I don’t have all the answers that you want,” he said slowly. “I worked for the people who did this—”

“You’re a doctor,” Jordan snapped. “How could you—”  She stopped when Curtis put a hand on her arm.

“Who?” Elizabeth demanded. “Was it Victor? Helena? Faison? Someone else?”

“Victor brought me into the experiments because of the research I had suggested in mapping memory.” Andre paused. “My wife,” he said after a moment. “She suffered from young-onset dementia. We hoped we could slow the disease, but by the time she was thirty-eight—” His voice faltered for a minute. “I needed to find a way to stop it from happening to anyone else. I changed my research focus to the development of memory. I thought—if we could map memories, maybe we could reverse—”

“And the Cassadines were the only people crazy and unethical enough to give you live patients,” Elizabeth hissed. “Is that it?”

“Victor wanted to experiment with a set of twins,” Andre said dully. “He brought you to me. You and Drew. I never knew the names or histories. You were just—” He closed his eyes as Jason Morgan’s blue eyes burned into his. “You were numbers. Five and Six.”

“Five and Six,” Curtis repeated softly. “And Patients One through Four? Were there any after Jason and Drew?”

“What was the plan, Andre?” Elizabeth demanded. “What did you do to Drew? Can he get his memories back?”

“I don’t know,” Andre lied. “I couldn’t finish the project. Not at first.” He looked at Jason. “I could map both of your memories, but the transfer—it failed with you. The brain damage—” He shook his head. “You shouldn’t be alive, much less walking around—”

“But you went ahead with Drew,” Jason interrupted, drawing Andre’s focus. “You gave him my memories—”

“How was Helena involved?” Elizabeth cut in. “When did she get there? And what about Jake?”

“Maybe if we stop interrupting,” Curtis suggested gently, for which Andre was reluctantly grateful. Jordan and Elizabeth were liable to rip him into shreds, and if anything was left—he avoided Jason’s eyes—he still wasn’t convinced he would survive a run-in with Jason Morgan.

“I don’t know much about Helena’s involvement,” Andre lied. “She was interested in the work I was doing with the memory mapping. And she and Victor were…I think collaborating on some other projects I wasn’t part of. She wanted me to implant subliminal suggestions into Jake’s head. I didn’t want to do it, at first—” He grimaced. “But I didn’t have a choice.”

“There’s always a choice,” Elizabeth bit out.

“You’re right. I just didn’t have a good choice. I didn’t know Jake. He was Patient Three. And no,” Andre said with a shake of his head. “I didn’t run the other experiments. I can’t tell you anything about them. I was barely involved with Jake, but once Helena decided to return him to you—to Luke—” he corrected, wincing as Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed.

“What about me?” Jason said quietly. “Who put me in that clinic in Russia?”

“I don’t know,” Andre said. “When I told Victor I couldn’t complete the experiment, he was supposed to end it. That was maybe eight months after I started. Originally we were supposed to put Drew here in Port Charles and send you to San Diego. To get a sense of how much memory implantation could actually affect the people you were,” Andre said.

“And that’s why Drew got Jason’s memories after you came to Port Charles?” Elizabeth said, lifting her chin. “Is that what you did? Why did anyone let him walk around without those memories for a year?”

“I wasn’t part of that,” Andre said, choosing his words carefully. “I just know that it suited Helena’s plans. After Victor died, Helena called the shots, and she didn’t tell me very much. She wanted to return Jake, so I finished the work. She wanted me in Port Charles—and I thought—”

“Well, you’d come this far,” Jordan growled. “You might as well finish your experiment.”

Andre closed his eyes. “Yes,” he admitted.

“And that’s all you know,” Elizabeth said, lifting a brow. “You don’t know what else Helena and Victor were doing—but Helena’s been dead for two years, Andre. She was dead before you put those memories into Drew for the second time. Who were you taking your orders from then? Who are you taking them from now?”

“No one. There’s no one.” He stopped. “I didn’t realize how wrong I was until I came here. Until then, they were just numbers, but then they became people—you showed me those pictures of Jason before the accident—”

“You treated my son,” Elizabeth said in a low, dangerous tone. “You looked at him every day, trying to make his nightmares and trauma go away, and you were the one that put the trigger in his head that nearly killed him. That nearly killed my entire family—” Jason put a hand on her shoulder, and she stopped to take a breath. “Spare me your newfound regret and remorse,” she retorted. “You knew exactly what you were doing—what I was up against last spring with Jake, and you stayed silent. You left town instead of coming to me. I am sorry for what happened to your wife, but you had no right to destroy Jason and Drew’s lives for research. To destroy my son.”

“I know,” Andre said. “I wish I could take it back.”

“You can’t.” Elizabeth turned to Jason. “I’ll wait outside—”

“I don’t have any questions he’ll answer,” Jason said with a shake of his head. He leveled one more look at Andre that made it clear Jason didn’t believe that Andre was telling them everything.

Which meant Andre would live a little longer.

“Take him back into lockup,” Jordan told Nathan. When the two of them had left, she turned to Jason and Elizabeth. “You should know he’s only here on loan from the WSB. They want to debrief him about the research he did with Victor.”

“So he’s not even going to pay for what he did,” Elizabeth said. “How is that fair?”

“It’s not, but my hands are tied. The DA already agreed to extradition, and if we hadn’t signed the paperwork—” Jordan nodded at the door through which Andre had disappeared. “You wouldn’t have had that much.”

“Then thank you,” Jason said, taking Elizabeth by the elbow. “We can talk to Anna and Robert,” he reminded her. “If Andre was still working for the WSB with Jake—”

“They might be able to find out more,” she murmured. “I just feel sick to my stomach. I want to go home and see the boys.”

“Then let’s go.”

Penthouse: Living Room

When Drew stormed into the penthouse and yanked off his coat, Alexis stood up from the sofa, her eyes going to Sam behind him, closing the door more quietly. “Well?”

“It’s true,” Drew bit out. “I’m Andrew Cain. Not—” He closed his eyes. Scrubbed his hands over his face. “Not Jason.”

“I’m sorry,” Alexis said. When he just scoffed at her, she just sighed. “I am. You didn’t deserve this. Any of this.”

“Mom—” Sam sighed. “Maybe you should—”

“I’ll call you in the morning.” As she grabbed her coat and passed her daughter, Alexis kissed her cheek. “Good night.”

When her mother was gone, Sam turned to her husband—to Drew—and waited. “It doesn’t change anything for me,” she told him, even though she wasn’t entirely convinced that was true. It felt true. She knew she loved the man in front of her, and she knew they’d been through hell in the last two years—in the last year, they’d pulled their lives together—rebuilt their family— had their little girl—

And yet—it also felt like a lie. And Sam didn’t really know what to do with that. How to handle it. Since she didn’t really know what she was feeling, she decided to focus on what she could do. She could figure out what her husband needed and do that.

He’d just had his entire life ripped apart, and he needed someone to help him get through it. He needed her.

“You know what really kills me?” he murmured, so quietly she almost didn’t hear him. Sam shook her head wordlessly. He focused on her, his eyes rimmed with red and exhaustion. Neither of them had been sleeping well. “I knew.”

“You knew,” Sam repeated, frowning slightly. “What—”

“A voice in my head,” Drew continued. He turned back to the fireplace, unlit and dark. He stared into it blindly. “At the church. Carly told me who I was, and I turned around to look at Elizabeth, and by the time I’d gotten all the way around—my brain was on fire. Screaming at me that it wasn’t real.”

“Jas—Drew,” Sam said, testing out the name on her lips. “Drew,” she repeated. “This is…a lot. And it’s okay not to know what you’re feeling—”

“I refused to be him,” Drew continued. “Remember? I wanted to know what happened to me, but I wasn’t going to be Jason Morgan. I wanted Jake Doe. That felt right. I almost hated you for forcing it on me—”

Her stomach twisted, and a sour taste rose in her throat. “What—”

“But then—” He exhaled slowly. Shakily. “Then the memories started. And the voice just got louder. Because the memories were just…there. They didn’t feel right. I thought it was just all the trauma, all the things I’d been through. I drowned it out. I ignored it. But it never went away.”

“I—”

“And now I know I was right. That I should have listened to those voices. I’m not Jason Morgan. Jake is not my son. Danny is not my—”

“Yes, he is,” Sam snapped. “Jason didn’t want him! You know that!”

“I—he—” Drew squeezed his eyes shut. “He changed his mind—”

“He felt guilty,” Sam retorted. “You’ve loved Danny. You’ve been his father. He knows you. Not Jason. You’re not losing Scout or Danny. Or me. And you’ve got friends. Friends who love you,” she reminded him. “Curtis. We have Aurora—”

“How much of that is really mine?” he asked roughly. “I can’t—” Drew shook his head. “I can’t deal with this right now. I have to—I’m sorry.” He exhaled slowly. “I can’t. I need to go.”

“Drew—”

“Don’t—” He turned back to her, his hand outstretched. He drew it back, curling it into a fist. “I need to be alone. I’ll call you in the morning.”

Sam watched him leave, the door closing behind him, and had no idea what she was supposed to do next.

Webber Home: Living Room

Elizabeth was unsurprised to find all three boys up when she came home with Jason that evening. Oscar and Trina must have gone home because only Cam and Joss were sitting on the sofa. Aiden and Jake were lying on their stomachs in front of the television. “I thought you were supposed to watch Hocus Pocus last night,” she said, making a face.

“Mom.” Cam jumped up, and Jake rolled over into a sitting position. “Hey. What happened?”

“Basically what we thought,” Elizabeth said. She and Jason exchanged a look. They had already decided to keep what happened with Andre to themselves for the moment. “Jason is Jason…and Drew is the other man. Jason’s twin brother.”

“And Oscar’s dad,” Joss said with a sigh. “Well, that’s good, I guess. Do you know what happened yet?”

“Not all of it,” Jason said.

“Jake?” Elizabeth asked. “What are you thinking?”

Jake paused, then looked at his father. “I’m glad you came home,” he told him. “It was really mean what they did to you. And you seem nice.” He paused. “I just…I really love my other dad.”

“I know,” Jason said with a nod. He crouched down so that he was at eye level with Jake. “And it was really mean what they did to him. I told you, Jake, I don’t want you to lose anyone that matters to you. I know he’s been important to you. He should keep being important if that’s what you both want.”

“And hey,” Cam said. “He’s still your uncle, Jake. He and Jason are brothers. Like us. Well, not like us,” he corrected. “But maybe like—”

“Like Charlotte and Rocco?” Aiden suggested. “Rocco hates his sister—”

Cam eyed him. “Uh, yeah, maybe not so much like Charlotte and Rocco. I just—”

“Drew and I are brothers. We have the same father,” Jason told Jake. “The same biological mother. But we didn’t grow up together like you and Cam and Aiden. We don’t know each other yet.”

“Oh. Well, sometimes, I wish I didn’t know my brothers either,” Jake admitted. “But he’s a nice guy.” He got to his feet. “Maybe I could help you guys be okay if he still likes me now that he’s not my real dad.”

“I’m sure he’s still going to love you,” Elizabeth assured her son. “It’s just hard right now. Because everything is changing for him, and we need to be patient with him.”

“Right.” Jake smiled at Jason. “But I’m glad everyone knows the truth.” He stepped forward and gingerly wrapped his arms around Jason’s waist. “Welcome home…Dad.”

“Thanks,” Jason said, his voice a bit rough as Jake stepped back with his shy smile still intact. “It’s good to be home.”

← Chapter Thirteen | Chapter Fifteen →