Well if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand
I’ve seen your face before my friend, but I don’t know if you know who I am
Well I was there and I saw what you did, I saw it with my own two eyes
So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you’ve been
It’s all been a pack of lies
– In the Air Tonight, Phil Collins

---

Monday, March 20, 2006

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Elizabeth sighed as she hung up her cell phone and looked at Cameron, seated in his booster seat and smearing applesauce on the plastic tray in front of him. “Well, Aunt Em says she can’t come.”

“That dumb.” Cameron sighed, then shoved his applesauce covered fingers in his mouth and licked them. “Miss Em.”

She sighed. She and Emily hadn’t seen each other outside of the hospital in weeks, which is why she’d decided to spend her day off having breakfast with her best friend. But Emily had called at the last minute — something had come up. Just like every other time they’d tried to make plans.

This was not a good sign. Emily was in the middle of something and not telling anyone. Not that Emily couldn’t have a secret, but Emily’s secrets had a way of blowing up on a person.

Or being stored in a freezer on Spoon Island.

“Elizabeth?”

She looked up to find Skye smiling at her, a cup of tea in her hand. “Do you mind if I join you for a minute?”

“Oh, not at all.” Elizabeth gestured at the empty seat in front of her. “Go ahead.”

“Thanks. And thank you for catching Alan on his way out of surgery. He called later to apologize.” Skye sipped her tea and smiled at Cameron as he examined his applesauce-covered fingers.

“He’ll be two in May.” Elizabeth used one of the wipes she carried with her to clean Cameron’s hands.

“I can’t wait to have those moments,” Skye said. She sighed. “For a long time — I’m sure you know this—I didn’t think I could have children. This—” She rested a hand absently on her abdomen. “This is a miracle I never could have asked for.”

“I know what you mean. Cameron—” Elizabeth couldn’t fight the grin that spread on her face as her son gave her a wide smile with his baby teeth shining at her—then immediately plunged his hand back into his applesauce. “I had a miscarriage just before I got pregnant with Cameron, so he felt doubly precious.”

“The reason I wanted to…” Skye bit her lip. “And please, if I’m being rude or prying, really, I’ll back off. But you just—I feel like you might be the only person I could ask this question.”

“Oh?” Elizabeth raised her brows. “Is everything okay?”

“It is. I’m just…” The redhead hesitated. “You know that this baby—that it’s fathered by Lorenzo Alcazar.”

“I do.”

“And…it’s not like I didn’t know who he was before I got involved with him. And I’m not exactly some innocent civilian.” Skye laughed, her eyes twinkling with a bit of mischief. “I know how to make trouble, but my kind of trouble…well, it’s different from Lorenzo’s.”

“I bet.” Elizabeth pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side. “So…what can I do?”

“It seems silly, but…I don’t know, having a child with a man who…leads a life like this…I suppose I’m thinking about my choices. And…this is so intrusive—I’m sorry—”

“Skye…if you’re thinking about Zander being Cameron’s father, I mean…Zander died before Cameron was born—”

“Oh.” Skye shook her head. “No, I guess I was thinking about you and Jason Morgan. You…I remember that you were dating for a while. Before…” Her lips tightened. “When Lorenzo’s brother, Luis, was in Port Charles.”

“Ah.” Elizabeth leaned back. “Well, I mean, I guess you could call it dating, but we never…we never talked about family.” She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. “I never knew I wanted to be a mother until I got pregnant the first time, so it wasn’t in my head at all, to be honest. Honestly, Skye, Sam or Carly might be a better person to ask—or Robin.”

“Right. I’m sorry. I never should have—” Flustered, Skye started to stand, but Elizabeth sighed and put out her hand.

But none of those women would probably ever answer Skye’s question, even if she mustered the courage to ask it again. And maybe she wished someone had been there for her back when she’d been asking herself similar questions.

“Listen, I guess if I was honest with myself, the way Jason lives his life never bothered me the way it should have.”

Skye sat back down. “Oh?”

“I mean, yeah, it’s not…you know, my first choice. But it’s what he does. It’s what he did before we ever met. Before we were friends. And, I don’t know…” She bit her lip. “The worst things my life — they never had anything to do with Jason. I was…I was raped when I was a teenager.”

“Oh—”

“I’m married to a cop. And I believe in the law. I really do. I believe in the legal system. But the cops never caught my rapist. And he never paid for what he did to me. He went to jail for something else, but they couldn’t get me justice.” Elizabeth jerked her shoulder. “And look at Manny Ruiz. What did the system do for us there?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“I guess the question you ask yourself, Skye, is if you’re pretending that the life Lorenzo leads has nothing to do with who you are when you’re together. Because you can ignore it for a long time, but not forever. And walking into a relationship with a man like Lorenzo…” She shrugged. “He’s living that life for a reason. What he does is a part of who he is. Otherwise, he’d be doing something else. It’s not all of it, but it’s part of it. So don’t ignore it. You have to be okay with it.”

Skye tilted her face to the side. “Is that what went wrong with you and Jason?” she asked softly. “You ignored it?”

Elizabeth exhaled slowly, looked at Cameron, who grinned at her, then looked back at Syke. “No, I accepted it. I mean, I fell in love with him taking care of him while he was recovering from a bullet wound. His enemies knew who I was, and they put a bomb in my studio. I’ve also been kidnapped and shot at.”

She pressed her lips together. “I never let my face change. I never flinched. But, you know, sometimes, it doesn’t matter what you do if the other person—” She sighed, slowly. It had been a long time since she’d thought of any of this. “It doesn’t matter how much you love someone. Not if they don’t love you back.” Her voice faltered slightly. “And he didn’t.”

“Oh,” Skye breathed. “Oh, I’m sorry—”

“No, no—” Elizabeth shook her head. “It’s okay. I mean, it was terrible for a long time, and I wish—God, I wish he’d told me. I had to figure it out on my own. But we’re okay now. We’re friends again. And I’m—I’ve got my little boy. And I’m…” She stretched her fingers out as if to emphasize her wedding ring. “Things turned out the way they were supposed to, I guess.”

She frowned slightly, looking back at the ring. That was the second time she’d said that this week.

Things had turned out the way they were supposed to. There was something wrong with that phrase. She didn’t know what exactly—

“I really am sorry to have pried, but—”

“But you’re about to become a mother,” Elizabeth finished. She smiled at Skye, a bit sadly. “There’s no question you shouldn’t ask if you want to be a good one. Being a mother—sometimes it makes you braver.” She looked at Cameron. He offered her a handful of applesauce, and she smiled.

And sometimes it made you even more of a coward — but that she kept to herself and Skye mercifully let the topic drop, and they talked for a few minutes about the hospital, about the charity benefit Skye was planning—

And then Elizabeth saw a flash in the window of Kelly’s. A face that disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared.

Skye didn’t see him, her back to the door, but Elizabeth had seen him. And it was the second time in three days she’d seen Manny Ruiz watching Skye. She swallowed hard.

That wasn’t a coincidence. And she couldn’t let it go.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Sam crossed her arms protectively in front of her as she stepped off the bottom step. She approached Jason as he sat at his desk — how much paperwork did a mobster even have? She wrinkled her nose over the thought as he turned to look at her.

“Hey.” She perched on the edge of his desk. “So, I, um, feel bad about Saturday. You’re right. I was…trying to pick a fight. And I’m sorry. I really am.”

Jason sat back in the chair and looked at her. “I’m sorry, too. But I can’t go back and…I can’t undo it.”

“No, I know. And, like, most of me gets it, you know? Like, you were trying to protect me. Why even bring it up if it wasn’t true? It’s just your bad luck…” She pursed her lips. “I don’t know. I guess being mad at you means I don’t really have to think about it? I like…not thinking about it.”

“I know.”

“And maybe it does bother me that Elizabeth Spencer knows. That she knew before me. I don’t know why. I guess I don’t want anyone to know.”

“I shouldn’t have—” Jason turned, took her hand in his. “I just—she told me the results were positive and I guess—I don’t know—I knew I was going to have to tell you, then I thought maybe I wouldn’t—I knew this would hurt you, Sam. That’s the last thing I wanted.”

“Yeah, so I guess I have to be a little grateful to Elizabeth for knocking some sense into you. It’s nice that you have someone that can do that for you. I guess….you know, I didn’t realize you were really friends. I mean, I knew you were once, but I thought it was over.”

“We’re not close,” Jason offered with a shrug. “But we used to be. And I don’t know, sometimes we can still talk to each other.” He frowned when she just pressed her lips together. “Why—why does that bother you?”

“I guess I don’t like thinking there’s a woman out there that gets you. It’s stupid, I know. But, like, she used to have a thing for you.”

“Uh, yeah, well…” Jason cleared his throat. “All of that was a long time ago.” He hesitated, wondering if he should add more because he could see that Sam was upset. He also knew it wasn’t true that Elizabeth had had a thing for him—not the way she meant it. She made it sound like it had been one-sided.

But he didn’t. He didn’t know how to describe his relationship with Elizabeth. He never had. And this wasn’t the time to start.

“What are you going to do about Alexis?” Jason asked finally.

Sam pursed her lips and frowned at him. But she allowed the change of subject. “I don’t want Alexis to know. And I don’t need any answers. Not anymore. Because, you know, they don’t matter. She didn’t want me. And it doesn’t matter why Cody McCall did. He took me from someone who threw me away like garbage—”

“Sam, she was sixteen. Her father must have done all of that—”

“She still did it. And she never looked for me. All those connections—” Sam shook her head. “She could have found me. She didn’t want me then, she doesn’t want me now. It just—none of it matters. I guess—”

She tilted her head to the ceiling. “I don’t know what I expected when I found my birth mother. I think…maybe I thought it would…all snap back into place, you know? Like I’d get the name, and I’d just—I’d feel like myself again. But knowing doesn’t change anything.”

Sam looked at him, met his eyes. “And if doing this job with Paulie makes me feel like myself again, then that’s what I have to do.”

“Okay.”

“I just need to have a win, Jase. That’s it. Just one win. I can do this. I’m good at this, you know. And I’ll just—I need this.”

“Okay,” Jason repeated.

“But you’re still not happy about it.”

“It doesn’t—”

“C’mon, yeah, it does.” Sam slid off the desk and folded her arms again. “It matters that you don’t want me to do it. Why can’t you just let me have this?”

“I’m not telling you that you can’t,” Jason told her. “You’re the one making this a big deal. You said you need this. So go do it. It’s not my job to approve of what you do, Sam. You’re the one that has to live with it.”

“And I’m doing just fine,” she snapped. “I can sleep at night. And so can you. You’re no better than me—”

“I never said that I was—”

“Sure, but you think you are. You’re an honorable mobster, but I’m just a dirty con artist.” She scowled. “It’s bullshit. We’re both criminals. That’s what makes this work—”

“It’s not that simple—” Jason bit off his protest as his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, then answered the phone. “What’s up? Yeah. Yeah, okay. Stay there. I’ll meet you.” He hung up. “I have to go.”

“Jason—”

“We’ll—” Jason sighed. “We’ll talk later.”

When he’d left, she sighed and let herself drop like a stone onto the sofa. Talking later wouldn’t change anything. One way or another, Sam would get him to admit this damn double standard and figure out how to make him understand that she didn’t want to keep closing off a part of herself.

Not for anyone.

After another moment, she got up to get changed. She needed to take a walk and clear her head.

General Hospital: Patrick Drake’s Office

Lucky winced as he lowered himself into a chair and faced Patrick sitting at his desk, his face carefully blank—

As if he knew exactly why Lucky had called for an appointment a week sooner than Patrick had suggested.

“How’s your physical therapy going?” Patrick asked blandly as he opened Lucky’s file and pulled a pencil from a cup on his desk. “Did you want to schedule another MRI?”

“No, I—” Lucky took a deep breath. “I’m following the schedule my therapist wanted me, but it’s—it’s hard.” He leaned forward slightly to take the pressure from his back. Every inch of him felt like he was on fire.

“I know, but it’s necessary if you want to get back to full and active duty sooner rather than later.” Patrick sighed, then looked down at the file. “How’s the pain?” he asked finally, but he didn’t look up.

Because he had to know. Of course, the asshole knew exactly how bad Lucky felt.

“Unbearable,” Lucky told him. “I—I ran out of my prescription.”

Patrick sighed. “I…thought you might have. Look, Lucky—”

“I get why you’re—I get it, okay? And it pisses me off that I’m even doing this. This isn’t who I am, Patrick.” Lucky leaned forward even more, his voice pitched low, almost a growl. “I’m angry all the time because of the pain. I’m snapping at Elizabeth—I’m a terrible husband, a shitty stepfather—I’m in pain all, Patrick. And I just—I need some relief. Just a little bit.”

“I hear you, but the fact is…we have new dosage guidelines for opiates from the board, and I’m just…I’m not comfortable continuing to keep you on pain meds. You’ve developed a tolerance for the recommended dosage, and I’m just—I’m not going to increase it. You’ve also gone through this prescription too fast. I warned you—”

“I just—I’m working hard. I’m doing the program—”

“Did you call the pain clinic?” Patrick asked. When Lucky just glared at him, his doctor sighed. “They can help you manage the pain, get through the bad days. Get you through the therapy. You’re in a bad mood, Lucky, not just because of the pain, but you’re probably going through withdrawal.” He tipped his head to the side. “When did you run out?”

Lucky scowled. “Two days ago, but—”

“Yeah, that makes sense. It’s been four straight months of opiates, and two days without—”

“I’m not a fucking drug addict—”

“People rarely choose addiction,” Patrick said. His tone was kind, but Lucky just heard the asshole patronizing him as if he were a child. “And the number one way people develop one is through abuse of pain prescriptions.”

“Abuse?” Lucky shot his feet and grunted as fire danced up his spine. He took a deep breath, bracing his hands on the desk. “I took them the way I was told to—”

“If you took the recommended dose, Lucky, you’d still have half the bottle left. But you’re taking them when you feel pain. Not when the body can handle it.” Patrick also stood. “I’m sorry that you don’t agree with me. I really am. But it’s not responsible for me to continue giving you pain pills when you’re clearly developing a dependence. We need to get a handle on it now—”

“Fuck you. I’m a goddamn cop. I was injured in the line of duty, and you’re telling me I have to suffer just because I took a few extra pills now and again.” Lucky shook his head. “I’m not an addict. I’m just trying to get my life back—”

“I know. The pain clinic can help—”

“Fuck the clinic. I’m going to another doctor—”

“That’s your right. And maybe another doctor will see it differently. But they’ll be wrong. And they won’t be doing you any favors.” Patrick sighed. “Did you tell Elizabeth about the pain clinic—”

“No. And don’t you be telling her any of this bullshit about me being a drug addict. I’m the patient; don’t I have any goddamn privacy?”

“As your wife, she was allowed access to your records during your hospitalizations, but if you’re revoking that—”

“I am! I don’t need you filling her head with any of this. You’ll be getting a call from my next doctor. Because this is bullshit. Tony would have done this for me—”

“That’s probably true,” Patrick allowed with a shrug. “But he would have been wrong. But you’re free to get another opinion.”

“That’s exactly what I’m gonna do!” Lucky slammed the door behind him as he stormed out.

Elm Street Pier

Restless, Elizabeth sat on a bench, crossed her arms and stared out over the water. She just—she needed to clear her conscience about this. She would have told Jason what she’d seen over the phone, but he’d insisted on meeting her in person.

She wasn’t sure if she really wanted to see him in person, which was crazy. She’d seen him a handful of times over the last few weeks—they could talk to each other like ordinary people again. There shouldn’t be a reason for her to dread seeing Jason, of looking at his face.

Except for all the ways looking at him, talking to him suddenly felt more complicated than it had even a day earlier.

It wasn’t just the fight with Lucky or the reminder from Emily that people still remembered that stupid Christmas party—and it wasn’t the conversations they’d had about his lying to her about Sonny or that he’d taken her seriously about Manny—

None of that helped, but it was the conversation she’d had with Skye that morning, the mistake she should have stopped herself from making. She shouldn’t have let herself remember the pain she’d felt at the end of their relationship or the agony of knowing her love for him hadn’t been returned.

Remembering at all that she’d been in love with him, and he’d never felt the same way was something she didn’t want or need in her life. Once this stuff with Manny was over, Elizabeth very much wanted to go back to pretending Jason Morgan was nothing more than her best friend’s older brother.

“Elizabeth?”

She looked at the sound of Jason’s voice as he stepped up from Pier 52; he must have parked at the Corinthos-Morgan warehouse. She got to her feet. “Hey. You really didn’t need to come all the way down here—”

“I needed to get out of the house,” Jason said but didn’t elaborate. “You said you wanted to talk to me about Manny. What happened since yesterday?”

“I mean, I could be overreacting—I probably am—”

“Elizabeth,” Jason interrupted before she could really pick up steam. “I told you. Whatever you see, you tell me. You let me decide if it’s important.”

“Right.” She dragged her hand through her hair. “I was at Kelly’s today—it’s my day off, and I was supposed to have breakfast with Emily—she canceled again, by the way, so something is really wrong there—but Skye came over to ask me—” She stopped. Flushed. “To ask me something. It’s not important.”

Jason squinted. “It’s not?”

“No.” Absolutely not. “Anyway, we were talking for a while—I was facing the door, her back was to it—and I just—I saw Manny in the window. He was looking at us—at Skye, I mean. Not me. He has no reason to look at me. But then he disappeared. It’s just—it’s the second time—”

“Yeah, it’s the second time you’ve caught him around Skye.” Jason grimaced. “Are you sure it’s…just Skye? That he’s not letting you see him?”

“Oh.” Elizabeth blinked. “I—I hadn’t thought about that. Oh. Do you think he’s…maybe he saw us at the hospital last week, and he’s just—he wants to annoy you? Aren’t there easier ways?”

“Yeah, but Manny plays games. It’s his thing.” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t like the idea of him using you to get at me. I mean, I don’t doubt he’s planning something against Skye.” He paused. “He’s not watching you any other time?”

“Uh—” She stared at him, her mouth dry for a moment as her heart began to race. “Wait. Wait. You think Manny—you’re not kidding. There’s—Jason, there are easier ways,” she repeated. “Emily works at the hospital. Monica works there. They’re actually—” She crossed her arms again, hiding her sweaty palms. Was she really having this conversation?

“Hey.” He stepped forward, pitching his voice low. “I told you. I have guys on Manny. And I—” He grimaced. “I’d send one of my guys in to watch over you, just to make sure, but that’s—Manny would know. And so would anyone else—”

“Which is a whole other problem.” Elizabeth released a long breath. “Listen, I’m overreacting. It’s about Skye. It has to be. I’m just—she’s just talked to me twice. That’s all it is. He’s probably around her a lot more, and no one else is noticing.”

“Yeah, probably.” Jason hesitated. “I don’t like taking the chance though that he’s doing something on purpose. Promise me you won’t confront him.”

“Not unless Skye’s in danger or someone else,” Elizabeth told him. Jason scowled, but she shook her head. “Look, if he, like, pulls out a knife or goes after him where I can see him—I’m—I can call you all I want, but it won’t be fast enough. I can’t let her—or anyone—get hurt—”

“It’s not that I doubt you’re brave enough to do something—”

“Don’t say brave when you really mean stupid.”

“I didn’t say you were stupid.” He hesitated. “Reckless, maybe—”

“Oh—” Her scowl deepened. She folded her arms and arched her brow. “You’re going to want a different word.”

Jason pinched his lips together. “Elizabeth—”

“You always do this—” She took a deep breath. “You always did this,” Elizabeth corrected, a bit more softly. “I’m not stupid, Jason. I’m not reckless. I know how to take care of myself. When Manny grabbed me last fall, I kept my cool, and I got myself out of that.”

“Elizabeth—” He exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to get hurt. I know how much you care about other people. That’s all I meant. You care too much, and, sometimes, you jump in without thinking.”

“I—” She winced. “Okay. Yes, I do that.”

“That’s all I’m saying, Elizabeth.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “Just—Look, maybe it won’t come to that.” Jason shifted. “I’m gonna go over Sonny’s ask him to do something.” He gestured to the bench. “Sit down for a minute. I don’t want anyone to overhear us.”

“Yeah, okay.” She sighed and sat down. She attempted to keep a few feet of space between them, but clearly, Jason didn’t seem to understand what she was trying to do. He slid closer, almost so that their thighs were pressed together.

This was more than she needed today. Not after that walk down memory lane with Skye.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why Manny is…” He sighed. “Still around.”

“The thought has crossed my mind,” Elizabeth said slowly, understanding that they were talking around something that Jason never ever spoke to her about. “But I figured…people are still watching him. If…he got hurt, you’d be the first…you and Sonny, I mean. So there’s no point in doing…anything…until you’ve got a reason. You know, imminent danger or something.”

Jason squinted at her. “Uh, yeah. I didn’t—I didn’t think—I mean—”

“Look, we don’t have to say what we’re talking about. We don’t need to.” She met his eyes. “But I get it, Jason. And you don’t have to worry about me…saying anything.” She stared down at her wedding band. “To anyone.”

“I—” Jason pulled back slightly. “Thanks. But…” He trailed off and frowned at her.

“Why?” Elizabeth finished. She sighed. “I know it’s insane, and I’m sure Lucky would think I’m…a bad wife, or whatever. But it’s…I’ve always known who you are, Jason. And I know what I’m doing when I call you to tell you about Manny. I’m not an idiot.”

“I never thought you were—”

“And it’s—we haven’t really had to have this conversation in a long time,” Elizabeth said after a long moment, “but you don’t have to worry about me. You can trust me, and I know that you’ll handle the Manny situation. That’s why I called you. You’re taking me seriously. I don’t want to be involved. He scares me.”

She bit her lip, broke their eye contact, and looked back out over the lake. “Honestly, I’m terrified of him. And I’m terrified he’ll hurt Skye. Or someone else. But I know I can trust you to take care of it. To care of her.”

“And you,” Jason pressed. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you either. I don’t know if Manny is letting you see him on purpose, but I won’t take any chances. Not with you.”

“I know that.” She looked at him again, their eyes holding. “Some things never change.”

“No.” A corner of his mouth hitched up in a slight smile. “No, they don’t.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt.”

A flat voice from the top of the stairs broke into their conversation, and Elizabeth blinked. She drew back, first just her head, then her entire body as she slid to one end of the bench.

Jason sighed and got to his feet. “Sam.”

“Talking about me again?” Sam demanded as she sauntered down the steps. “You looking for some more gossip?” she shot at Elizabeth, who slowly stood up.

“No,” Elizabeth said calmly. “I need to go. I dropped Cam off with my grandmother,” she told Jason, “but I want to spend the rest of my day with him.”

“I’ll call you,” he told her as she walked away, crossing over to Bannister’s Wharf before dropping out of sight. He turned his attention back to his fiancée. “We weren’t talking about you.”

“Oh, then why were you all curled up?” Sam demanded. “Practically drooling all over each other—”

Jason scowled. “What does—we were talking about Manny Ruiz, and I didn’t want anyone to hear us.”

Sam blinked, and some of the flushed color left her cheeks. “Manny? Oh. Elizabeth—is she watching him for you at the hospital?”

“Not officially. But she’s passing me any info she thinks I need to know. We’re friends, Sam. And I don’t want her to get hurt while she’s trying to help.”

“Oh,” she repeated. “I’m sorry. I just—”

“Yeah, well, I need to go. I need to go talk to Sonny. I’ll see you at home.”

“Jason, wait,” Sam called.

Her words were lost on the wind as he walked away from her and didn’t look back.

Greystone Manor: Living Room

Jason was still irritated after his brief encounter with Sam and more worried about  Elizabeth than he had been already when he arrived at Sonny’s. Then he was told by Max that he had to wait in the foyer because Sonny was busy.

He was tired of Sonny ditching meetings and avoiding him. It was one thing when it was penny-ante shit like the Escobars, but Manny Ruiz was a real threat. People were in actual danger.

Jason frowned at the guard. “Didn’t you tell him what it was about?”

“You know…” Max cleared his throat, rubbed his hand over his chest, then tugged at his tie. “You know I did, but, ah, maybe I didn’t do it loud enough. Or you know, I’m not good at remembering things—”

“Max.”

The guard offered a sheepish smile. “I told him, Jase, but he said he was in the middle of something—”

Something more important than the psychopath that was currently stalking the halls of the hospital. Maybe Manny wasn’t threatening anyone Sonny gave a damn about, but if there was even the slightest chance the asshole was going to go after Skye or Elizabeth—Jason wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

Skye wasn’t part of his family, but she mattered to Emily. His grandmother had adored her. And she was still considered part of the Quartermaine family.

And Elizabeth—

Well, her protection was non-negotiable. She was taking a chance to keep them informed about Manny, and Jason wasn’t going to let her dangle in the wind. She had a little boy that depended on her.

And she just mattered. He wasn’t going to let her down.

Finally, after nearly five minutes, Sonny jerked open the foyer door and gestured for Jason to come in. Jason stalked past him as his partner dragged his hand through his hair, the usually meticulous strands disheveled.

“What the hell were you doing?” Jason demanded as he spun on his heel to glare at Sonny. “I called you twenty minutes ago. I told you it was about Manny Ruiz.”

“Yeah, but you said it wasn’t an emergency—”

“Not an imminent one, but—” Jason shook his head. “Never mind. Elizabeth told me yesterday that she caught Manny following Skye around the hospital. And then I just saw her a little while ago. She saw Manny hanging around Skye again today.”

Sonny stared at him for a long moment before arching a brow. “And? This is what you came over for? To tell me Manny is staring at a woman? I’ve seen Skye. She’s good looking.”

Jason squinted. “And she’s carrying Lorenzo Alcazar’s kid. The same guy Manny blames for his father’s death. For his brother’s death. He hates Alcazar more than he hates us. So yeah, it matters that Manny is following her around.”

“Maybe he’s looking for Alcazar’s weak spot.” Sonny shrugged as he walked past Jason to pour himself a drink. “And what is Elizabeth calling you for? She’s married to a cop. She should be bugging him.”

Jason didn’t know what to do with Sonny’s reaction. “There’s also the problem that he might be letting Elizabeth catch him on purpose.”

“Well, why would that matter? How would Manny know that would do him any good?” Sonny shook his head. “I get it. You’re worried about her. But Manny doesn’t know the two of you were friends. And that was ages ago.” He smirked as he sipped his bourbon. “There’s like five people left that remember, and none of them are our enemies.”

“Why…” Jason hesitated. “Why are you brushing this off? Even if it’s nothing, we need to stay on top of it. We’ve been wondering why Ruiz stuck around Port Charles. Maybe he’s going after Skye. And I was at the hospital last week. Manny saw me with Elizabeth—”

“Yeah? That’s weird. What’re you doing hanging around a cop’s wife?” Sonny wanted to know. He sat on the sofa, leaning back and lounging. “Did you break up with Sam, and I missed it?”

“No—but Lucky already told her there’s nothing he can do about it. Elizabeth is worried. She knows Skye. And Skye is pregnant.”

“Tell Elizabeth to stay out of it. And Skye can get Alcazar to protect her. It’s not our problem. Manny comes for us, that’s different. But we don’t need to be bringing problems down on us right now. Not when things are running smoothly.”

“You mean because the Escobars are sticking to Courtland Street? You think that’ll last?” Jason scoffed. “And if Manny goes after Skye, people are gonna notice. Maybe he’ll come after us next.”

“And maybe he’s just hanging around for revenge. Look, if it bothers you so much, but another guy at the hospital. Maybe someone to just follow Elizabeth around. You seem to be mostly worried about her.” Sonny lifted his brows, then stood back up. “Is there something I should know there? Why are you hanging around her again? I repeat. She’s a cop’s wife, and her loyalties are different now. How do you know she’s not trying to get you to do something Lucky can arrest you for?”

“Are you…” The word crazy lingered on Jason’s tongue, but he swallowed it before he said it. “That’s not something Elizabeth would do. She came to me, Sonny. And I don’t like the idea of Manny using her. Yeah, most people don’t know—” He hesitated. “Most people don’t remember—”

He simply didn’t know how to put it into words. People didn’t know that he and Elizabeth had been close? That she’d once been the best way to get to him? For several years, only she, Emily, and Michael had mattered to him.

“Most people don’t remember,” Jason said finally. “But most isn’t no one. And all Manny has to do is ask the right person.”

“So, stay away from Elizabeth.” Sonny shrugged. “I’m not saying you’re wrong about Manny going after Skye. I’m saying I don’t know what you want me to do. We agreed that going after Manny while the PCPD is still watching him so closely will just bring crap on us we don’t need. Right now, he’s laying low.”

“So what? We wait for him to hurt someone—”

“I’m not in the business of saving people who don’t matter to me,” Sonny said flatly. “Skye is Alcazar’s problem. Not mine. Elizabeth gives a damn so much, maybe she should call him.”

“Fine.” Jason waited a moment before he turned to leave. “I don’t know what the hell has been distracting you lately, but I need you to get it together.”

“What does that mean?” Sonny demanded.

“It means that you’re not paying attention. You broke at least two promises to be with the boys, and you haven’t been showing up to meetings with me.”

Jason shook his head. “Skye doesn’t matter to you, fine. But she matters to people in my life. To Emily, to my grandmother—she didn’t ask for a psycho to target her. I’m not going to abandon her—or Elizabeth—because they don’t matter to you. Manny Ruiz and his crazy family came to Port Charles because of us. Because of Alcazar. That makes it our problem.”

“Then go solve it. What do you need me for?”

Jason didn’t answer that question out loud as he left Sonny in his living room and left the estate. But he was starting to ask himself that same question.

Lucky & Elizabeth’s Apartment: Living Room

“Cameron, for the last time, you are not supposed to climb the walls,” Elizabeth said as she dragged her toddler off the back of the chair he’d pushed against the wall. “What did you think you were going to do?”

“I tape my hands.” Cameron showed her his little palms and grinned. “I climb like Biderman!”

“You fall like a human boy—” Elizabeth grimaced as someone knocked on her door. She tossed Cameron onto the sofa as he giggled. “You try to climb those walls again, buddy, I’m gonna tape you to your bed.”

She opened the door, frowning when she saw Sam in the hallway. “Hey. I—” She frowned. She didn’t even know Sam knew where she lived. “Hi.”

“Look, Jason told me you’re helping him with Manny.” Sam pursed her lips. “That’s fine. I’m glad. I hate him. But—” She looked away, then met Elizabeth’s eyes again. “But that’s all, okay? I don’t want you talking to him about me.”

“We—we haven’t—”

“Really? Because I know you know.” Sam folded her arms. “Don’t tell anyone.”

“I wasn’t going to—” Elizabeth shook her head. “Sam, we haven’t talked about it since that first day—and I’m—I’m sorry. I never would—”

“Whatever. You and Jason aren’t friends. You weren’t before any of this, and you’re married to a cop. So you should just remember that.”

“Uh, okay—” Elizabeth frowned as Sam stalked away.

“Mommy? Who that?” Cameron tugged on her pant leg. “Can I have popsick?”

“Yeah.” Elizabeth shook her head, then smiled down at her son. “Yeah, let’s go get some Popsicles.” She closed the door and put Sam out of her mind entirely.

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