I walk this empty street
On the boulevard of broken dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I’m the only one and I walk alone
My shadow’s the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart’s the only thing that’s beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
‘Til then I walk alone
– Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Green Day

---

April 2011

 Spoon Island: Cassadine Lab

“I’m not sure what you want me to do,” Liesl Obrecht said with a sniff. She trailed behind Victor from the laboratory’s large common area to a hallway with a series of closed doors. “This is very different than the work I carried out for you before—”

“Not so different,” Victor mused as he paused, squinting at the numbers. “My apologies, dear. Our newest patient hasn’t been with us very long, and I’ve forgotten which room is his.”

“Victor—”

“Darling,” he drawled, removing his glasses. “You experimented on Alex and Anna when you knew even less about the human brain or memory. Why should you be so squeamish now?”

“Because of who my patient is,” Liesl began, but then a door opened down the hall, and Helena Cassadine stepped out, one brow arched.

“Are you going to wander all night?” she asked. “I have places to be.”

“Ah, there you are. I’d quite lost track of the room. Come along, Liesl.” Victor strode down the hallway, leading Liesl into a room that had been organized like a hospital room with a stretcher and IV lines. A small little boy was lying among the linens, his face pale and eyes closed.

“How is the little prince today?” Victor asked as he picked up the chart. “Recovering nicely?”

“He’ll be making a full recovery, thanks to your doctors.” Helena lightly smoothed the blonde hair out of the child’s face. “I suppose we should be grateful that General Hospital did not have the same caliber of medicine—”

“Well, they are hamstrung by that pesky FDA and medical ethics,” Victor reminded her. He turned to Liesl. “Now, you read over the prospectus—”

“Yes, but—I’ve never worked on anyone this young,” Liesl murmured. He reminded her of Nathan when she’d last seen him. Small and defenseless. “Who is he?”

“Does it matter?” Helena demanded.

“If I am to do the work you’ve asked of me,” Liesl said slowly, “then I will need his trust. I will not be able to call him Patient Three. He will fight me. Victor—”

“I trust Liesl. Without question,” Victor continued. “Liesl, this is Jacob Webber, the son of Elizabeth Webber and Jason Morgan. The swelling around his brain suggested that he would not recover. His parents took him off life support—” He paused, looked at Helena. “I’m still not entirely sure what we’re planning to do with him.”

Helena eyed Victor coldly. “I’ve told you the Spencers are not my only target. This is only the beginning of the torment I plan for his mother.” She focused on Liesl. “Can you do what we’ve asked?”

“I will do what I can,” Liesl said, shifting uncomfortably. “There’s still so much we don’t know—this will be the first time we’ve put this theory into practice.”

“I know you’re up to the challenge,” Victor said kindly. “I could always count on you.”

Saturday, November 4, 2017

Penthouse: Living Room

Drew ran a hand over his face as he sat next to Sam, settling Scout in his lap. “I didn’t tell you what happened when I went to Kelly’s to pick up dinner,” he said.

Sam frowned, looking up from the paperwork in her lap. She set it on the coffee table. “No,” Sam drawled. “You didn’t. What happened?”

“Kim Nero was in the parking lot.” Sam’s mouth tightened as Drew continued, “From the background that Curtis put together, I know that I met her in 2009, and we got married in 2010. She’s lived in San Diego her whole life, and we met on the base.” He paused. “We talked about Oscar.”

“Right. Joss’s boyfriend is your son.” Sam sat back. “And he’s her stepson. So, what, does she want to pawn him off on you? That’s pretty cold—”

“What—no—” Drew shook his head. “No,” he repeated. “But I think it’s important that I not forget about the life I had before. If I had been single, we could just—we could just keep going on the way we were, I guess. With new names. Or—” He scratched his temple. “I don’t know. We’ve been using my money—but it’s not my money—”

“It’s my money,” Sam insisted. “I’ve been on the accounts—”

“But that’s as Jason’s wife. Not mine,” Drew reminded her quietly, and Sam looked away. “We bought Aurora with his assets. Is it even ours? And, yeah, Kim does have custody of Oscar. But is it legal? Are we even really married? And what about Danny—”

“Does all of this have to be solved today?” Sam demanded. “I mean, we just found out a few days ago—”

“What does waiting do?” Drew asked. “I’m not Jason Morgan. It doesn’t matter that I have these memories—” He handed Scout to her and got to his feet. “They’re not mine. But if I get rid of them, does everything go—including the last three years—” He tipped his head back. “I can’t sit back and wait for things to happen, Sam.”

“No. I guess that’s something you don’t have in common with your brother,” Sam muttered. When Drew sent her an irritated look, she sighed. “Fine. My mother’s been offering to help us with that stuff, and, honestly, yeah, she said the marriage thing was gonna be a problem. She said we should clear the deck legally. You and I should file for divorce from Kim and Jason—and from each other.” She paused. “But that means I’m owed a divorce settlement from Jason, and since this is a community property estate—”

“I don’t want Aurora as part of your divorce,” Drew muttered.

“What if I do?” Sam insisted. She stood and crossed the room to set Scout in the playpen. “It’s my company, too. Carly used her divorce money to buy the hotel. Why can’t I use mine for Aurora?”

“Because then I did nothing—” Drew bit out. “I don’t know what to do about Aurora. But what about Danny?”

“What about him? I already asked my mom to draw up name change papers for Scout and Danny—”

He put up a hand. “You can’t change Danny’s name,” Drew said, slightly scandalized. “He’s Jason’s—” He took a deep breath. “He’s Jason’s son.”

“So? What does blood matter? Jason didn’t raise him. You did—”

“For the last year and a half, yes.” Drew shook his head. “But Danny knows Jason is his father—”

“He knows you are—your face. Jake is older, so fine—let that go. But Danny—Danny loves you, Drew.” Sam lifted her chin. “So we’ll get the divorce, we’ll figure out Aurora, but the only thing I want to change our about family, Drew, is our name. Everything else stays the same.”

Drew stared at her for a long moment before slowly shaking his head. “It can’t, Sam.”

“It can if you just want it—”

“It can’t stay the same. I am not Jason Morgan!” He walked away from her to the closet to take out his coat. “I have a meeting at the office—”

“On a Saturday?”

“I’ll call you—”

“Drew, just wait—”

But he couldn’t. He left the penthouse, left his wife and daughter behind, and went to the elevator. Nothing in his life was really his. His name, his wife, his sons, his business, not even the penthouse —

All he had was Scout. And Oscar.

The sooner Sam understood that everything had to change, the better they all would be.

General Hospital: Hub

“Are you always working?”

Elizabeth didn’t even have to look up from her paperwork to register the identity of the irritated woman in front of her. “Some of us didn’t get huge divorce settlements, Carly.”

“Oh, so now I’m a gold digger?”

Elizabeth sighed and looked up at the unhappy blonde. “No, I’m sorry. I’m tired. What can I do for you?”

“I want you to leave Jason the hell alone.” Carly folded her arms. “You’re distracting him when he needs to be thinking about his family.”

Elizabeth furrowed her brow, shook her head. “I don’t—I’m sorry. I don’t understand what’s happening here. How am I distracting—” She pressed her lips together. “If you have a problem with Jason’s priorities, you need to take it up with him. I don’t run his life.” She picked up the file and started down the hallway towards a patient’s room.

Unfortunately, Carly followed. “You think I don’t know what you’re doing? You shoved Franco out the door the same night Jason came home, and you’ve been using Jake to get close to him. Now you’re going to use this crap with Michael and AJ—”

“I didn’t tell Jason about AJ,” Elizabeth reminded her. “In fact, Jason came to me about Ava, and I went out of my way to avoid mentioning AJ because I knew it was going to be a problem for Michael.”

“Oh, aren’t you a goddamn saint?” Carly snarled. “You’re always playing the martyr—”

Elizabeth very nearly snapped back but took a moment to take a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Carly. I know you hate when the stuff about AJ gets dragged back up. Everyone, including Michael and Monica, is much better when that’s left in the past. I’m sure there was never going to be a good way for Jason to find out, but I know you wouldn’t want it the way it happened.”

Carly stared at her, then looked away. “I just didn’t want him to think Ava was a good person,” she muttered. “But no one ever listens to me. I told Michael Nelle was a disaster, that she’d hurt him, and he’s not listening to me either. Morgan refused to listen to me about Ava—” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I just got Jason back. I can’t lose him again.”

“I don’t know how Jason feels about any of this, and even if I did, that’s for him to figure out and tell you,” Elizabeth said, not feeling unsympathetic. What had happened with AJ’s death was one of the worst and darkest moments in Carly’s life, in Sonny’s life—and now it was being dragged back into the light because Carly couldn’t control herself. It had to be hell knowing you were your own worst enemy.

The problem with Carly is that she didn’t actually know that. She didn’t see that she caused ninety percent of her own issues. She just lashed out and blamed the person nearest to her.

“I know I don’t really have a right to talk about this,” Elizabeth continued, “but you hate me anyway, so I might as well. I know I got a miracle with Jake, but that doesn’t change the four years I grieved him. And that first year, Carly, I was a mess. You know that. I thought I saw him everywhere. I had to commit myself to get through it. And there were times I wasn’t sure I had.”

Carly bit her lip. “He should still be here,” she managed in a voice that sounded like a sob. “And he’s not. And it’s Ava’s fault. And I see you with Jake—and I hate you for it. I know that’s terrible, but I can’t stand it. I hate you for getting a miracle.”

“It’s not terrible,” Elizabeth said. “When Robin came home, as happy as I was for Patrick and Emma—and I was—I was so angry. So unbelievably furious with the world. Because Jake was gone. And so was Jason. And I wanted them both back.” She made a face. “I know that’s not better because it happened, but I understand that hatred, Carly. I’ve felt it, too.”

Carly hesitated, her eyes darting around as if she didn’t know what to say. “If you weren’t around, Jason could focus on what matters,” she said, returning to her original argument, and Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

“He is focusing on what matters, Carly. His family. His life. And whether you like it or not, Jake is his son. And Jason gets to be with him. If you can’t deal with that, well—” Elizabeth shrugged. “You’re going to live with that, not me.”

Pozzulo’s Restaurant: Front Room

Jason glanced around the room with its dark colors and furniture with a bit of trepidation, taking in the unfamiliar building and surroundings. He turned towards the back office where he knew Sonny would be.

His partner and best friend looked at him with a squint and frown before rising to his feet. “Jase—I, uh, wasn’t expecting you.”

“No, I guess you wouldn’t,” Jason said, closing the door behind him. He exhaled slowly. “I’m not going to ask what happened with AJ,” he said finally. “I don’t think I really need the details.”

“I—” Sonny’s hands were limp at his side as he stared at Jason. “I thought it was over,” he said after a long moment. “I thought Michael had moved on. But I was wrong. And he made sure Carly and I both knew that last night. Did—have you spoken to him?”

“Briefly,” Jason said. “I wasn’t here, Sonny. I’m not holding anything against you or Carly. I wasn’t here,” he repeated. “I need to talk to my mother. Talk through some things with Michael. But this isn’t about you or me, Sonny. And it’s not why I am here right now.”

“It’s not?”

“No.” Jason took a seat, and slowly, Sonny did as well. “I’ve been back a week,” he said. “And I’m trying to wrap my head around the things that have changed. The people who are gone. The ones that are here now. It’s been…” He looked away. “It’s been harder than I thought it would be,” he admitted.

“Jason—”

“But Elizabeth took me to a dealership last night, and I got a bike. We took a ride, and I—” He met Sonny’s eyes again. “I’m gonna be okay. It’s going to take time, but I’m going to be fine. You don’t need to worry about information overload or what happened while I was gone.” He hesitated. “We got distracted, I think, waiting for Spinelli, and while you and Carly were worried about Ava Jerome. I did, too, getting to spend time with Jake.”

“Distracted,” Sonny repeated. “You’ve been back a week, Jase. You deserve to be distracted by your kid. I’m so goddamn glad that’s working out. And grateful that Elizabeth thought of the bike. I should have—”

“I’m glad it was her,” Jason said, with a shake of his head. It wouldn’t have been the same, he thought, if it had been anyone but Elizabeth. “It’s something—it was better it was her. Anyway, Spinelli is here now. And he’s putting together a profile of the finances from the clinic. And you said you were tracking down Luke about Faison.”

“Right, and we were going to see what we could do about the WSB part of it—” Sonny exhaled. “Why is this back in your head?”

“Because I don’t think this is over,” Jason said. “They hunted me every step of the way from St. Petersburg to Port Charles, and then he gave up as soon as I revealed myself. That doesn’t make sense. I always knew he was working for someone else.”

“Someone had to tell him to stand down,” Sonny said with a nod of agreement. “So what do you think?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I think we need to know more about Victor Cassadine. About why Cesar Faison would go after me. And I want to know more about Andre Maddox. Could he have pulled this off on his own?”

“You don’t think Maddox told you everything at the PCPD?”

“No, and I think most of what he told us were lies. Elizabeth is going to the lockup to see him on her own,” Jason told Sonny. “She knows him better than either of us, and she arranged it with Jordan. That detective—Nathan West—is going to be there to make sure she’s okay.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of this, Jase. And you and Drew—and your families—we’ll make sure everyone is safe.”

Aurora Media: Drew’s Office

Drew’s footsteps slowed when he reached his office’s reception area and saw the woman sitting in one of the chairs. “When they said downstairs someone was waiting for me—” he shook his head. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

Elizabeth rose to her feet, a cardigan sweater over her pink scrubs. “I thought you might be more willing to talk today than you were a few days ago—”

“I’m sorry,” Drew said. “For—” He sighed, then went over to his office. He pushed it open and gestured for her to enter. “I was angry, and I was desperate, and I took it out on you. I shouldn’t do that.”

“It’s okay,” Elizabeth said, putting her purse down, turning to look at him. “I understand—”

“It’s not okay,” he pushed. “And you need to stop excusing people treating you like dirt. I may not be Jason,” he continued with a half smile, “but I still have the memories. And I know how much you’ve forgiven from people who’ve done worse.”

“I didn’t do right by you two years ago,” Elizabeth said softly. “I should have. And that makes it harder for you to trust me—”

“We all got screwed on that one, and, hey, in hindsight—” Drew dumped his coat on a hook and went over to the window that looked over the park. “You gave me six more months of Jake Doe. Six months where I didn’t live with a lie. And if you’d told me earlier, maybe Andre just would have come to Port Charles sooner.” He peered at her over his shoulder. “Curtis got me the rest of his statement. I know what he did. That he came here and transferred the memories again.”

“Drew—about Jake—” Elizabeth paused. “He loves you. And he wants to be part of your life. He knows the truth, but it doesn’t change how hard you’ve fought for him. Jake knows who was there for him last year when he went through all of that. Who held him while he cried. He may not be your biological son—but he is your nephew.”

Drew rubbed his chest, turning back to face her fully. “But Jason’s his father. And he should have a chance. The chance I know he never did before.”

“And he’ll have it. There’s so much about this that sucks, Drew. So much,” she repeated, “but I think we should also focus on the good. Monica has buried three children. But now she gets to have you and Jason. You are still her son. Have you talked to her yet?”

“I’ll call her,” Drew said. “I’m trying, Elizabeth—”

“But there’s no manual for something like this. I just—I wanted you to know that this doesn’t have to be a tragedy. You and Jason—you were brothers,” she said softly. “Twins. Separated for all these years. And when someone found out the truth, they didn’t bring you together. They didn’t give you a family, Drew; they stole from you.”

“What are you asking me to do?” Drew said with a frown.

“Jason isn’t sure this is over—that whoever was holding him doesn’t have more damage to do,” Elizabeth said. “I’m going to see Andre now to find out if there’s anything else he can tell us.” She hesitated. “You know what he did to Jake. What he did to you and to Jason. I hope you can see that Jason isn’t the bad guy here. You’re both victims. And he wants to make sure that it’s over. I hope you can think about helping us.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Kristina swirled her straw in her milkshake, staring down at her phone.

“Hey.”

She glanced up to find Valerie Spencer frowning at her. “Oh. Hey. Sorry. I didn’t see you come in.”

“It’s okay.” Valerie removed her coat and tossed it on the other chair. “What’s up? You sounded weird on the phone.”

“Ever since Jason Morgan came back—since all of this started,” Kristina began slowly, “the news has been obsessed with him. And his past. And my sister. And, just like, everything. The last time he was on trial, it was for this murder. He got acquitted, and I don’t really remember it. I was a kid, and Mom really tried to keep me and Molly out of all of that because my step dad was prosecuting him.”

“Your step dad? Molly’s dad, right? I remember him. The one that pulled that crap with Nina?” Valerie asked. She took a fry from Kristina’s plate. “When did he and your mom get divorced?”

“I couldn’t tell you when it was final, but Mom kicked him out a few months earlier. It was weird, and I didn’t understand it. Ric was—he was great. I barely knew my dad—his brother—but Ric was great. He never treated me different from Molly. He was more of a dad to me at the time because of everything Dad was going through.” Kristina paused. “I never knew why.”

“And I’m guessing you know now,” Valerie said. “What happened, Krissy?”

Kristina shoved her phone across the table. “Someone sent that link to me. Through an anonymous Twitter account. It’s a YouTube clip of my sister testifying at Jason’s trial.”

Valerie lifted her brows, then picked up the phone and pressed play. She listened to Sam stumble over her testimony, then to Diane’s vicious cross-examination that painted her sister as scorned, gold digging ex-fiancée who had—

Valerie’s eyes bulged and she jerked her head back up to look at Kristina. “Oh my God.”

“She slept with my stepfather. That’s why my family broke up.” Kristina’s eyes blurred and she sucked in a shuddering breath. “I kept asking Sam which one was real—the cold woman who was, like, keeping Jason out of his kid’s life, or the amazing sister Molly and I have grown up with.”

“Krissy—”

“I always knew Sam had a dark past. Like, I knew she was a con artist. She must have tricked my step dad—”

“Krissy,” Valerie said gently. “Your stepfather tried to trick Elizabeth Webber into marrying him and then did the exact same thing to Nina, trying to get her money. It’s not like he’s a shining moral example. You don’t know the whole story—”

“I know. I know it’s stupid to get mad over this. It was years ago. And I know it’s not just her fault. It’s just—” Kristina swiped at her eyes. “Jason kept me out of trouble my whole life. At least until the pier. I know he wasn’t always super good to my sister, but you never know what’s going on in people’s heads, right? I listen to this testimony—and I just—do I even know who my sister is?”

“You should talk to her.” Valerie returned her phone. “Maybe she can explain herself.”

“How do you explain sleeping with your stepfather?” Kristina demanded. “Ruining your mother’s marriage and your sisters’ lives?”

“And maybe she can’t,” Valerie admitted. “But the point is—you won’t know unless you ask.”

PCPD: Lockup

Nathan unlocked the door that led to the holding cells but didn’t open it right away. He looked back at Elizabeth. “Are you sure? You know you can’t trust anything he tells you.”

“I know.” Elizabeth sighed, looked past him to the cell where her son’s psychiatrist was being held, at the man sitting on a bench, his head in his hands. “But I have to try.”

“Fair enough. Jordan said you could have five minutes.” He pushed open the door. “I’ll be right here to let you out.”

“Thanks.” Elizabeth stepped into the hallway, the sound of her work sneakers quiet as she walked towards Andre. The man in question slowly sat up as she approached the cell. Gone was the smooth and urbane man who had so seamlessly won their trust and even their affection. He wore an orange jumpsuit, his eyes tired, his face lined with exhaustion and what she hoped was regret.

She was counting on that, hoping for a glimmer of the man she’d known. The quiet desperation he must have felt to do something so reprehensible. She knew the story of his wife, understood his motives, but she could never bring herself to forgive him.

She’d brought her damaged child to him in hopes Andre could give Jake peace and security. To give Jake back his mind and his sense of self after the damage Helena had wrought. And Andre had used Jake, had been part of the scheme that stole his father away from them.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you again.” Andre rose to his feet. “I want to apologize—”

“You destroyed the lives of two men,” Elizabeth cut in. She folded her arms across her chest. “You may not have arranged their kidnappings, but you knew that the man who came home to us three years ago was not Jason Morgan. You stood by and let Drew build a life here. You used my son to hide your secret—” She shook her head. “But I’m not here to rage at you. Or to listen to your excuses.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Because you did more than lie to Jake this last year. You put the trigger in his brain that nearly killed us all.” She paused, made sure his eyes were on hers. “And that makes me wonder how much more you know about Jake’s history. Jason was taken to Spoon Island after they found him in the water the night he went into the harbor. You were there. Was Jake?”

“Elizabeth—” Andre pressed his lips together and looked at Elizabeth. “Yes. Jake was there for a time.”

Elizabeth let her arms drop to her side. “I had terrible hallucinations after I nearly drowned a few years ago. They found me on Spoon Island, and I’m told in the hospital, I was convinced my son was alive.”

Andre shook his head. “I—” He frowned. “When was that?”

“October 2011.” Her eyes burned. “They told me I was wrong. That it was the fever. But I knew my son was alive. I felt it, I knew I’d seen him. I’d held him.”

“I—” Andre looked away. “I can’t get into it, Elizabeth.”

Oh, God. She’d seen Jake. She’d seen him, and he’d been alive, and she’d let everyone talk her out of it. She’d thought she was crazy. She’d checked herself into Shadybrooke—Helena had taunted her—She swallowed it. This wasn’t about her—wasn’t about that terrible hallucination—she shouldn’t have even asked—but, oh, God, that dim memory of Jake screaming for her, of Elizabeth fighting to get to him—

It had been real.

“Who else?” Elizabeth asked. “Who else was at the lab?” She wrapped her fingers around the bars, leaning in. “Damn it, Andre—”

“Ewen Keenan,” Andre said with a sigh. “He found you on Spoon Island and brought you to the lab where you saw Jake. Then left you on the shore where Spinelli found you. I don’t know—”

She absorbed the knowledge that Ewen had betrayed her in this as well—that he’d known her little boy was alive, and he’d let her twist in the wind for all those months. She was glad now that Jason had shot him.

She’d wished she’d done it herself.

“Helena kidnapped Jake to get back at Luke. That’s what we’ve always believed,” Elizabeth said, watching as Andre’s eyes darted away. “But I don’t understand why Jason was taken. Or why Jake came home. Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re lying—” she insisted. “Who else is involved, Andre? Is it over? Who was chasing Jason home from Russia? Damn it, are my children safe? Is Jake safe?”

“As safe as they can be,” Andre said after a moment. “I can’t say more—”

“You won’t say more,” she realized. She stepped back, tears burning her eyes. “You’re hoping to make a deal with the WSB or something. You’re holding back because what you know is valuable to them.”

Andre exhaled slowly, looked down. “You’d do the same—” He bit off the words. “Damn it, Elizabeth, it’s the Cassadines. I have to make sure I’m safe and secure. When I can tell you everything, I promise you I will—”

“Then tell me something,” she begged. “Tell me something I can use to make this over. To give Jason, Drew, and the kids some peace. Please.”

Andre closed his eyes. “Elizabeth—”

“Who were the other patients? Where are Drew’s memories?”

“I told you the patients I knew. Jake, Jason, and Drew—”

“I don’t believe you don’t know who Patient Four was,” Elizabeth insisted. “Do you just not want to tell me? Damn it, Andre—”

“I can tell you this.” Andre waited until Elizabeth was looking at him. “You’re right. This isn’t over. You make sure you know where every Cassadine on this Earth is. When you can answer that question, you’ll be safe.”

“This isn’t some fucking riddle!” she exploded. “You’re playing with my son’s life! Andre—”

But he turned away from her and returned to his cot, taking a seat.

Frustrated, Elizabeth stormed away, returning to the main hallway where Nathan was waiting, his expression worried.

“Did you get what you needed?” he asked as he led her back to the squad room and opened the door for her.

“You were right,” she said, her head spinning. “He can’t be trusted.”

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