Even if the sky is fallin’
And the sun don’t wanna shine
If the stars we used to wish on disappear into the night
Well, I can move a mountain
But only by your side
Just say you’ll always be there
I know you’ll always be there
And so will I
– So Will I, Ben Platt

---

Saturday, February 21, 2004

General Hospital: Vending Machines

Kelsey slapped at the machine, refusing to just let her have her damn candy. “All I want,” she said through clenched teeth, “is a fucking Three Musketeers!” She slapped it again, hard. “Damn it—”

“You know—” Kelsey whirled around when she heard someone behind her. Cruz put up his hands. “I come in peace.”

“Sorry.” Kelsey sighed and looked back at the machine. She pressed the button again, and this time—her candy bar slid to the bottom, where she scooped it out. “It’s so stupid, isn’t it?” she muttered.

“Trying to kill a vending machine?” Cruz said dryly as she wandered over to the bench. “Well, it’s easier than punching a wall. I should know—I had to figure out how to patch the walls at our place, or I was gonna lose my security deposit.” When Kelsey frowned, he clarified, “Dante had a lot of feelings after Vinnie was arrested.”

“Have you seen him?” Kelsey asked. She unwrapped the bar—then just stared at it, her appetite all but gone.

“I thought he was supposed to come here, but maybe he went to the station instead.” Cruz tilted his head. “How you holding up?”

“Fine. Lucky’s—the doctor said he’ll be fine. We’re just waiting for him to be moved from recovery to his own room.” Kelsey said. She offered him the candy bar, but he shook his head. “I had to get out of the waiting room. His entire family is in there, and you know, they’ve been through this. I mean—the dying part. They buried him once. He told me about it—”

“Yeah, the kidnapping and brainwashing. Our boy has lived a wild life.” Cruz grinned faintly, stretched his legs out. “So are they doom and gloom or optimistic—”

“I don’t know. They just—they just have this experience, I guess, of a world where they think he’s gone, and they keep looking at each other—” Kelsey re-wrapped the candy and shoved it in her purse. “I can’t. I don’t have it. I wasn’t supposed to—” She dug her hands in her hair and squeezed her eyes shut. “I wasn’t looking for someone who’d matter like this.”

“Kelse—”

“I was just—I’m just starting my job, and then he was—a cute guy with a great smile, and he’s—he worked so hard to take care of his sister—and then I saw him on the job—”

“He’s a good guy. Which you deserve. You came in and whipped the DA’s office into shape. And you keep Lucky on his toes. You’re good together.” Cruz put an arm around her shoulder. “This sucks, but he’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, but he’s—he’s a cop. He’s a cop in Port Charles.” Kelsey swallowed a lump in her throat. “This might not be the only time I’m waiting for him to come out of surgery—”

“Hey, you’re an ADA, and he had to wait on you,” he reminded her. “Just a few months ago, you got cracked over the head. He had the same thoughts—but he dealt with it. And so will you.”

“And if it happens again?” Kelsey bit her lip. “What if the next time—”

“And what if he ends up being one of those cops that never has to pull his gun? He and I are both taking the detective’s exam this summer. We’ll be off the street this time next year. Don’t be dumb, Kelse.”

She laughed then—her laughter breaking into sobs. Cruz hugged her more tightly to his side. “I’m sorry, I was just—I was sleeping, and then the phone rang, and it was Bobbie—and she said he was shot—and I can’t seem to get out of that—I can’t make that moment stop—”

“I know. I got the call on the scanner at home. I know his unit number. I heard him, Kelse. He called in his own damn shooting. He’s too tough to go out like this.” He pulled up. “C’mon, let’s go get you cleaned up. When Lucky comes out of surgery, you don’t wanna look like you were plannin’ his funeral.”

“I know, I know.” She dragged her hand through her hair. “I called my mom, and she refused to come to Port Charles. Even now. Can you believe that?”

“I’m sorry. Family can be—” Cruz’s smile was tight. “Maybe she’ll change her mind.”

“Yeah, well, I screamed at her, so maybe.” Kelsey rolled her shoulders. “After all this time, she says Port Charles still brings back bad memories of my dad. That’s insane—oof—” She turned a corner, slamming into someone else. “Oh, sorry, Mr. Spencer.”

“That’s okay.” Lucky’s dad gently put hi hands on her shoulder, then stepped back. “I was coming down to get you. Cowboy is in his own room.” He furrowed his brows. “Did I hear you say your mom wasn’t coming?”

“Yeah. She hates Port Charles.” Kelsey offered him a half smile. “She can’t get over my dad.”

“Sure, sure. Well, let’s go up. You, too, Cruz,” Luke told the other cop. “He’ll want to see you both.”

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Jason’s Office

“Jordan is going to start in about a week,” Justus told Jason as he tossed some paperwork onto his desk. “She’s taking Sonny on as a favor to me, but she’s wrapping up a trial—”

“That’s fine. Where are we on the criminal charges?” Jason asked, glancing over the retainer agreement. “I know Ned isn’t backing down—”

“No, and neither is Baldwin. No one wanted this kind of case to be the reason Sonny gets brought down,” his cousin added, “but I think Baldwin will take what he can get.”

“What about bail?” Bernie asked.

“It’s a nonstarter right now. I filed the appeal, but right now, I don’t have anything to work with as long as he refuses an evaluation.”

Jason grimaced. “Carly said he looked bad when she saw him. Mostly lucid, but still having trouble staying in the present. He didn’t always make sense.” He leaned back. “Will we win on appeal?”

“Maybe. They don’t like to keep people locked up for anything short of murder,” Justus said. “I’m hoping that a few more days in lockup will make Sonny change his mind about an evaluation, but I won’t hold my breath.”  He paused. “I’ll defend you,” he clarified to Jason. “But I think it’s best if Jordan takes point on anything to do with Sonny—”

“I can live with that,” Jason promised.

“Uh, I guess that’s my cue to mention that the rumblings are getting worse, and you were right—Tommy’s behind the issues.” Bernie cleared his throat. “He feels that he and Sonny are pretty equal, you know. They sort of came up—well, not together because Tommy’s been around longer—”

“But they came up through the clubs,” Jason finished. “Tommy started with the Jeromes, but Sonny came to Port Charles through Joe Scully’s connections to Frank Smith. Tommy’s always kind of looked down on Sonny because of it.”

“He let Sonny take control after Frank fell because Tommy didn’t want the headaches or the pressure of power,” Bernie said. “Benny used to worry about him, but Tommy didn’t seem to be much of a threat because things ran smoothly. Even when you transferred things over to Moreno—”

“The clubs were stable,” Justus finished. “And that’s where Tommy’s money is. But that’s not happening now. Since the PCPD started to put more of their resources into Major Crimes, they left Capelli in charge of Organized Crimes.”

Jason clenched his teeth at the mention of the cop that had splashed Elizabeth’s name all over the papers and led to everything blowing up that day. “He’s why we’ve had more club raids—”

“Say what you want about Taggert and his tunnel vision,” Justus offered, “but he didn’t screw up nearly as much as Capelli. Capelli’s been spamming the court with search warrants, most of which are trash but—”

“But just enough have come through to disrupt profits.” Jason dragged his hands down his face. “And Sonny’s not around to handle things. Who are our people inside the department? What do we know?”

Bernie paused, flashed a look at Justus who made a face.

Jason frowned. “What’s going on? We still have sources, don’t we?”

“Sonny was actually taking point on this,” Justus told Bernie quietly. “It was one of the few things he didn’t want Jason in on, and I decided—well, I agreed at a time.” He focused on Jason, who scowled. “We have a guy in the OCU who does what he can, but our main source in the PCPD used to be Vinnie Esposito.”

Jason stared at him as the name sank in. “What?”

“He was a low-level contact back in his patrol days,” Justus said. “Gave Sonny heads up a few times but was never that useful, but Sonny kept him on the payroll because he’d lost a big source, I think, around that same time. He never gave tips directly to Sonny. He gave them to Tommy or—”

“Sometimes he gave them to Luke through the club,” Bernie added. “Uh, when he moved back from Buffalo, he called Tommy to make new arrangements. He was a detective now with more access. Tommy handled him until the Alcazar case. Then Sonny started to use him as a source.”

“Sonny always meant to loop you in, but there never seemed to be time, or it didn’t come up. That’s what he told me in October when he said we needed to get new sources. But yeah, some of Vinnie’s bankroll and cover came from us.”

“Cover,” Jason repeated. “What kind of cover?”

“Christ, Jason, do you really want to get into this?”

“Yeah.  I really want to know what kind of cover Tommy and Sonny gave the man who raped my wife and tried to kill her in our home,” Jason bit out. “Did they cover up any of the rapes?”

Justus looked pained. “Jason—”

“It’s not—” Bernie said at the same time.

“Did they cover before 1998? Before this summer? How many times did they let him off the hook—”

“Jason.” Justus got to his feet, holding his hands up. “I wasn’t here for any of this—and by the time I knew, I agreed with Sonny. I didn’t think there was a point in telling you. But now that we’re talking about needing a new source—”

“I want to know every single goddamn time this organization covered for Vinnie Esposito,” Jason said. “Did Sonny know? We have two rules in this territory. We don’t run drugs and women. We don’t have pimps on the payroll—”

“You’re not that clueless, are you?” Justus demanded. “You think because you and Sonny said it, everyone listened? Christ, Jase—one of Tommy’s strip clubs is a glorified brothel. How the hell do I know that, and you don’t?”

“Tommy runs a prostitution ring?” The blood in Jason’s veins iced over. What the hell else didn’t Jason know about his own organization? “What exactly did he cover up for Vinnie?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t know if Sonny ever knew the details,” Justus told him. “You have to know, on his worst day, Sonny never would have covered up what happened to those girls—”

“No, but Tommy might. He pretends to be an old school guy, and he thinks he’s being generous giving me time with Elizabeth and the baby—but he’s not also not ready to go after me yet. Elizabeth gives him cover with the people pushing at him.” He looked at Bernie. “You agree, don’t you?”

“He doesn’t have enough people to go at you,” Bernie continued, “and he’ll need more to avoid the kind of civil war we saw ten years ago with Smith and Sonny. He needs you to really fuck something up.”

“Like letting Sonny get arrested repeatedly and covering for him,” Justus said. “If Capelli gets something through the system because we’re distracted dealing with Sonny, and one of the clubs gets hits hard—Tommy would point to that as evidence of weakness, and people would listen. People respect you, Jason, but they’re losing patience.”

“I know what everyone wants me to do,” Jason bit out. “I know that if I eliminated Sonny, everyone would shut up, and my problems on that front would disappear.”

“Sonny’s a liability, Jason. He’s not the man he was once—” Bernie began.

“He’s in jail right now, and nothing is getting screwed up while he’s there. When he gets out, I will make things clear to him.” His chest tightened. “He needs to step down and go to the island where he gets a psychiatric evaluation and treatment. It’s his only chance to get to be with his kids one day and avoid someone going after him on the streets.”

“He’s not going to agree—” Justus began, but Jason shot him a look. “Oh.”

“He’s not getting a choice. Elizabeth lied to me about her health because she didn’t want to create issues. Because I’m distracted by Sonny, and there are people who depend on me here. That doesn’t get to happen again. I gave him months of choices, and he chose wrong every time.”

“Sonny isn’t the issue anymore. Justus—” He looked at his cousin. “You’re going to find out about every single person who reported a sighting of Lansing. I want to know who they know and who they owe. I want to find out who the hell was feeding this info to Sonny from the inside. As soon as we know that, I’m going to stop it. I can’t focus on finding Lansing if I keep getting pelted with lies.”

Then he focused on Bernie. “And you are going to find out everything about Vinnie Esposito’s relationship with this organization. When did it start, what did we cover up, and when? I want to know if anyone in this organization knew about the rapes—”

“Jason, do you really want to know that?” Justus pressed quietly. “If you find that out—God, what if they covered up the original rapes? What if someone knew about Elizabeth back when she was a kid—you’d have to tell her that—”

“I would.” And that was the last thing in the world he wanted, but there wasn’t a choice. “I think it’s more likely Vinnie went after prostitutes working for Tommy, and that got covered up. I want to know what blood is on our hands. I’ll deal with the consequences.”

General Hospital: ICU

Kelsey sniffled as she sat down next to Lucky and took his limp hand in hers. He’d been sleeping for a few hours, so his parents had gone home briefly to change and get something to eat. This was the first time she’d been alone since he’d been moved here.

She traced the inside of his palm. “I just—I wasn’t expecting to get that call, you know? And it’s stupid. I knew you were a cop—”

He stirred in the bed, and his face turned towards her. His eyes opened, and she could see just a sliver of the blue beneath the lids. “Kelse? Is that you?”

“Yeah, baby, it’s me.” She kissed his hand.

“Don’t cry…” His voice slid over the words and then faded at the end of it. He forced his eyes open a bit more. “Love you.”

“I love you, too.”  She exhaled slowly, forced a smile on her face. “Can I get you anything?”

“Don’t think I can have a beer,” he mumbled.

She laughed, but a sob bubbled up. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I know you’re okay, I just can’t keep myself from thinking—”

“S’okay,” he told her. “Cried, too.”

“W-what?” Kelsey swiped at her eyes. “When?”

“When you…” Lucky forced his eyes open again as his voice drifted. “In the head. Scott…couldn’t punch him. So…”

She laughed again, and this time she could keep herself together. “So you cried instead.”

“Lil bit,” he slurred. His eyes closed again. “Don’t leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she promised him. She tightened her grip on his hand. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Portia craned her neck to peer over the bustling room and the cluster of officers. She sighed in relief when she spied Marcus exiting a hallway and heading towards a desk.

“Excuse me,” she murmured, brushing past another detective. “Marcus—”

“Portia—” Marcus snapped back to his feet, his shoulders straightening. “What are you doing here? Didn’t you get my message?”

“I did, but I wanted to drop off some food. I knew you wouldn’t bother grabbing much, and those vending machines—” She dropped the bag on the desk and fought the urge to reach for his hand. To touch him. To give him comfort. She knew he’d take this too hard. “They said on the news that the cop who was shot—that he’s okay.”

“Yeah. Yeah, he’s in recovery. At least for now.” Marcus scrubbed a hand over his face.

There was something terribly wrong. More than just a cop down. She could see it in the set of his shoulders, the lines on his face. “Marcus?”

“I can’t get into it right now,” he murmured, but he reached for her hand. “We’ll talk later?”

“Of course. Stop by tonight. Or whenever you’re done. It doesn’t matter what time,” Portia added. She jerked a key out of her pocket and closed it into his hand. “Okay?” They’d exchanged words about love, but giving someone a key to the apartment—that felt like a big step. Was he okay with it? Was it too fast—

He brushed his mouth over her knuckles, and she smiled. His eyes had warmed, and she could almost see the smile in them. “Best invitation I’ve ever heard.”

“Good. Take care of yourself, okay? I’ll see you later.”  She lowered her voice. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Emily perked up at the reading from the pulse oximeter. “That’s really good—” She handed the meter to Bobbie, who leaned over. “It’s staying above 95.”

“Yeah, Monica was happy. The extra oxygen therapy is doing what I need it to,” Elizabeth said. “I’m back in the normal range, and I’m feeling better, too. Still tired, but not the same way.”

“What I’m wondering,” Bobbie said, “is whether or not this improvement means you’re going to backtrack on early delivery.” She lifted her brows. “Since it was what made you change your mind—”

“That wasn’t—” Elizabeth shook her head. “It wasn’t what changed my mind, and no, I’m still checking in around March 6 as long as these levels stay stable. Monica feels a lot better about waiting, and everyone always agreed that as long as my vitals were good, it was okay to wait.” She paused. “But I’ve listened to Emily and Jason, and I’ve toured the NICU. Gail and I also talked about why I was pushing so hard for Cameron to avoid the NICU.”

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I know things have been crazy for everyone. There’s tension for Jason at work, all this worry about Sonny and what he’s going through—then the Ric sightings. I didn’t want Jason to feel like he’d have to make a choice—”

“A choice?” Emily repeated. “What kind of choice?”

“If Cameron’s in the NICU, I know Jason will want to be with him as often as possible. But if things are insane here—” Elizabeth bit her lip. “It was never that I didn’t believe how much he loved us—it was knowing how much he does. People depend on Jason to keep things safe.”

“Elizabeth—”

“Lucky used to talk about his dad being in the business when he was a kid, and how bad things got when Sonny and Luke went after Frank Smith.” Elizabeth sipped her tea. “People went missing—some of them have never been found. There were explosions and shootings—Laura had to defend her home with a shotgun when men broke in—”

“You’re a bit too young to remember,” Bobbie said to Emily. Then she squinted. “Or maybe it was before you moved here. Lucky was shot back then, too.”

“He told me. It was before I lived here, but I’ve lived here through Moreno and Sorel, Elizabeth—”

“Frank Smith wasn’t anything like them,” Bobbie cut in before Elizabeth could. “And you didn’t know Sonny and Luke back then. The only way Luke could be sure that Laura and the kids were safe was to eliminate Smith. They’d been running from him for almost a decade by that point. And Frank Smith wanted to hold onto power at all costs. Sonny took advantage of that and ended up in charge. Elizabeth’s right—Sorel and Moreno were smaller threats, but Frank and Sonny? That was an all-out civil war, and everyone got caught in the cross fire.”

Bobbie focused on Elizabeth. “So, you know how bad things are.”

“I didn’t know some of it until Jason and I talked last night, but I knew enough that I didn’t want Jason to have any distractions.”

“But that can’t be your problem—”

“It has to be,” Elizabeth insisted. “He’s my husband, and this is his life. I chose this, Emily. I know who Jason is—”

“Elizabeth—”

“And it is my responsibility not to create problems for him. I think about the stunts Carly pulled—nearly getting Sonny arrested when she tried to help Mike, the feds—I don’t want to ever be a liability for Jason.”

“You couldn’t be—”

“If Cameron had been born at twenty-weeks, Jason and I would have spent all our time in the NICU. What if someone took advantage of his distraction to go after Sonny and the business—” Elizabeth pressed her lips together. “I was healthy enough to keep going and give him the space to get closer to a resolution. We both won, Emily. I wanted to give Cam extra time, and Jason needed the space. Can you imagine if I’d listened to Monica weeks ago, and these sightings and the paternity scandal had hit with Cam in the hospital?”

She fisted a hand and pressed it against her chest. “I didn’t do it just for Jason. Please don’t think I’m insane, okay? But when Gail asked me why it was so important that Cameron’s time in the NICU was limited, I couldn’t just say it was the complications. It’s part of it, and I’m still afraid. But, yeah, I want to protect Jason from having to make that choice. Because I know he’d choose me, and look what happened when he did that for our honeymoon? Sonny became wildly unstable and even angrier—”

Emily exhaled slowly. “I still want to say that’s not your problem. That’s Jason’s business, and you know he doesn’t want you to be part of it—”

“And I don’t plan to get involved. But that is not the same as being unaware and in the dark. I love him, Emily. I want to support him. I didn’t even know how much of it was about not wanting him in the middle of that until I talked to Gail, but maybe I would have known if Jason and I had talked to each other. We weren’t really talking at all.”

“Because he didn’t want to push you on the baby,” Bobbie said. “So you both shut down.”

“Exactly. I’m not planning to do that again. Jason and I understand each other better now. I toured the NICU, and we’re going to talk to a doctor who specializes in everything else. I will feel guilty about losing that baby last year for the rest of my life, and I may never truly accept there was nothing I could do to save her.” She paused. “But I can try my best to protect Cameron and Jason.”

“So you are still checking into the hospital,” Emily said.

“I talked to Monica, too. We’re all agreed. As long as my vitals are stable, making it to week thirty-two gives Cameron a much better outlook and lessens long-term complications.”

Luke’s: Back Office

Luke had planned to stop by the club to check on things, make sure Claude hadn’t burned the place down, and then head back to the hospital. No more than ten minutes. When Jason stalked through the office door, Luke had a feeling his night was going to take a different turn.

“At some point,” Jason said, flatly, “were you planning on telling me that Vinnie Esposito was a source for you and Sonny?”

Luke absorbed those words, trying to make sense of them. It was a curveball he hadn’t seen coming, and had to take a minute. “I didn’t—I didn’t make the connection. Don’t give me that look—I wasn’t home when this case blew up. I saw the papers, and Lucky mentioned his name, but I didn’t make the connection. This was years ago—”

Jason stalked towards the desk. “When did he start turning tips over to you? And why did he turn to you and not Tommy?”

“I don’t—” Luke’s head buzzed. “Oh, Christ. It was after. After the attack on Elizabeth. He came to me after he’d gone after her.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “The cop showed up at the club here. He said he needed to pass something on to Tommy, but he couldn’t get in touch. He didn’t know you much yet—you were still handling things then—” he reminded Jason. “So, uh, he knew I was in the loop.”

Luke got to his feet and went over to the bar, his fingers trembling. He’d taken information from the monster who’d raped Elizabeth. Her face with those large, haunted eyes, flashed in Luke’s head.

“How long after her rape did he come to you?”

“I—” Luke frowned. When exactly had that meeting happened? How soon after Lucky had left? Christ.  He didn’t want to think about this. “I think it might have been April. Or even late March. Why?”

“Because Lucky went with Elizabeth to make the report in mid March,” Jason said. “Which is why he started giving you the info. He knew Lucky was involved in the case.”

“And he might have hoped to run into her a time or two. God, I wonder—” Luke rubbed a fist against his chest. “They were caught trespassing here. Elizabeth ran away from Audrey’s, and they were coming here to wash up and use the kitchens. Security caught them and called the cops, not me. I wouldn’t have called that in. He’s my kid.” He sat down. “Vinnie was one of the officers that took them in.  He mentioned it later when he slipped me some info.”

And then Luke looked at Jason.  “The thing is the security wasn’t tripped from the codes. Lucky knew those codes. Company said they’d had a call that someone witnessed a break in.”

“Vinnie called it in so he could respond.”

“He stalked her,” Luke murmured. “Looking to get her alone again, you think?” His hand was still shaking as he lifted the whiskey to his lips. “If I’d thought for a minute— but he didn’t give off that air. I thought he was just a dirty cop—”

He looked at Jason. “He liked the club, he said, so if it was okay, he’d give me the info for a while. Then you sold off to Moreno, and I told him that I wasn’t gonna pass on info anymore. Wasn’t interesting in helping Moreno.”

“But the info you fed me that spring and summer—when the cops were gonna raid the clubs—”

“Came from Vinnie.”

Jason sank into a chair and put his head in his hands. “Oh, man.”

“I never dealt with him again after you sold out. I cut ties with you and Sonny after that fire—but Vinnie was still a regular at the club—”

“He ever cause any trouble?”

“No. No. Came in, drank some beers. Listened to the music. Until I read his name in the papers, I wouldn’t have figured him for this. He faded in the background. You didn’t notice him.”

“Yeah, I know. Elizabeth waited on him in Kelly’s and never got a weird feeling.” Jason looked at him. “I didn’t know. I never asked where you got the information. I should have.”

“Why would you? You trusted me, and dirty cops are a dime a dozen.” Luke hesitated, because it was more than that. Jason had been able to stay one step ahead of the police because of the man who’d raped Elizabeth. It was horrifying. “We didn’t know. We couldn’t have. You can’t blame yourself.”

“I know,” Jason repeated. “I just—I found out he was a source for us back then. And he kept on being a source. Until October.” While he was terrifying and raping all those other girls—

“Jase—”

“You’ve known Tommy longer than me.” Jason met Luke’s eyes. “If Vinnie worked over one of Tommy’s girls—I mean if he—”

“Would Tommy have covered up Vinnie abusing his girls to protect the source?” Luke asked. He sat back. “Yeah. Yeah, he would have. He’s old school.”

“Old school—” Jason snorted. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Old school in that he separates women into categories. Madonnas and whores,” Luke clarified. “Sonny knew Tommy ran girls under the table. He’s always known that, Jase. As long as it stayed that way, he let it go. You remember that Sonny came up through the strip clubs. He used girls a time or two himself.”

“I—”

“Sure he’s changed, but not that much. Tommy would have seen the girls as whores good for nothing but making him money. He wouldn’t have covered up any other kind of attack. Not those other rapes. But if Vinnie went after a hooker?” Luke nodded. “It wouldn’t have been an issue for him.”

“How do I—” Jason exhaled slowly. “Elizabeth knows who I am and what I do. She’s always known. But I have to tell her about this. She should know.”

“Jase—”

“How do I tell her that my business—my partners—men she invited to our wedding—protected the animal who raped her?”

Kelsey’s Apartment: Living Room

The knock at her door jerked Kelsey out of a restless sleep. She’d come home from the hospital just to grab a shower and a few hours of rest but had no sooner dozed off on the sofa when there was a hesitant knock.

She reached for her phone, worried that she’d slept longer than she thought and had missed some news about Lucky. He’d come out of surgery, but people got infections—

“Stop it,” she reminded herself, shuffling towards the door. “You’re insane.” She peered through the peephole, then hurriedly unlocked the door.

“Mom?” Kelsey said, opening the door to reveal Angela Joyce standing in front of her, looking hesitant. “Mom!” She threw her arms around the other woman. “What are you doing here?”

“I felt awful after we hung up the phone earlier.” Angela gently steered Kelsey back into the apartment. “I never meant to hurt you or make you feel like I didn’t care—”

“Mom—” Kelsey sighed. “I know you don’t want to bring back memories of Dad, and I get it, I do, but—” She led her mother into the kitchen area and started to put together a pot of coffee. “I live here now, and I like it. I’m dating someone who’s tied to this city. This is where my life is.”

“And I wish you’d gone anywhere else after law school.” Angela set her coat over the counter. “But Scott offered you the job, and I don’t blame you for snapping it up. I’m allowed to worry about you. You’ve been here six months, and look what’s happened.”

“Mom—”

“And when you said Lucky had been shot—” Angela closed her eyes. “It just brought back that moment. That terrible moment when the officer called to tell me they’d found your father, that he was dead—” Her voice broke.

Kelsey set down the coffee mugs then frowned at her mother. “Found Dad?” she said. “You mean, they called from the accident scene. You said Dad died in the hospital.”

“What?” Angela stared at her, then shook her head. “Oh. Oh, course.” She cleared her throat. “I think I’m just pushing the memories together. The hospital and the phone call. It all seems like a blur.” She smiled weakly at Kelsey. “You understand.”

“Right. Yeah.” Kelsey shook her head as if trying to clear it. “I got the call this morning, and it feels like a fog—” She waited a moment. “Mom, it’s been almost ten years since Dad died, and you’ve been back to Port Charles twice. Don’t you think it’s time that you put it behind you?”

“I told you if you came to Port Charles, it would be a cold day in hell before I followed.”

“Mom—Dad died in a car accident—”

“I know that! Why are you saying it like that?” Angela scowled. “You don’t understand. You’ve been with this boy for all of twelve seconds. I loved your father!”

“I know you did, Mom, but—”

“But what? I came here because you said you needed me.” Angela shoved off the stool. “But if you’re just going to judge me for the way I’ve lived my life—”

Kelsey reached for her. “No, Mom, please. Please. Stay the night. Come to the hospital and meet Lucky and his family. I told you they knew Dad, right? Laura was Scott’s ex-wife. She has so many stories about him. Please.”

Angela tensed. “I don’t want to meet his father. I know all about Luke Spencer—”

“Mom—”

“I’ll stay here. We’ll meet at another time.” She squared her shoulders. “Now, where is the bathroom? It was a long drive.”

Baffled, Kelsey gestured towards the door, and Angela disappeared behind it.

Morgan Penthouse: Hallway

Jason  found Elizabeth across the hall from their bedroom, in one of the empty rooms. She had a sketch pad in her hands and was looking around. “Hey.”

“Oh. Hey.” She flashed him a bright smile. “I came in here to take measurements. We haven’t even really talked about where Cameron is going to sleep — I mean, at first, he’ll be with us, but I don’t want him that far, you know?”

He leaned against the door frame. Should he even bother to bring this up tonight? She was in such a good mood and feeling so well that she’d taken the stairs herself. The last thing Jason wanted to do was bring back any of those memories she’d worked so hard to resolve.

“We have time,” he reminded her. “Cameron will be in the hospital for at least six weeks after he’s born.”

“No, I know. But I read that if he gains weight quickly enough and passes certain tests, he can come home as soon as a month after he’s born—” Elizabeth sighed happily. “Wouldn’t that be great? The sooner he’s home, the sooner I can start prepping for surgery. I think maybe the summer. I want to wait until Cam doesn’t need one of us all the time.”

“I thought you’d want the surgery as soon as possible.” Jason folded his arms. “I saw the manila envelope downstairs from PCU. If you have the surgery this spring, you’ll be all set for classes in the fall.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth turned to face him fully. “That came today. Um, I wasn’t—I mean, I feel like we planned that in another lifetime—”

“Nothing’s changed. You want to get your license for counseling. We were always planning to work around that schedule—”

“But Cameron might need so much more than—” Elizabeth paused. “It feels weird to think about it now.”

“You can defer admission for a year,” Jason told her as he straightened and approached her. “Do you not want to be a counselor anymore?”

“No, I do—I just—I don’t know. I looked at the acceptance letter, and I just—” Elizabeth frowned. “I just felt strange. I’d forgotten that I applied with everything else going on. It feels odd to plan for the future. We were avoiding that—”

“But we’re not now. Your health is better than it’s been in weeks, and you’ll be even better after the surgery.” Jason rubbed her shoulders. “You should get to have everything you wanted.”

“Yeah.” Wistfully, she turned to look around the room. He drew her against him, an arm hooked around her chest. “I never had a baby shower,” she murmured. “I feel stupid saying that, but—”

“It’s not stupid.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry. I know a lot of this hasn’t gone the way you planned.”

“Well, maybe not, but I’m not too mad at how things ended up.” She turned in his arms and leaned up to kiss him. “I ordered pizza for dinner. Cam craved pepperoni. There’s some left.”

“Cam did, huh?” Jason leaned down to kiss her again. “I’m not that hungry, but thanks.”

“Hmmm…” Elizabeth pulled back slightly and frowned at him. “What’s wrong? And don’t tell me nothing. I know that face.”

“I just—” Jason slid his fingers down her arms until he was clasping her hands. “I found out something today that I know I have to tell you, I just…don’t want to.”

“Jason—”

“You know that in order for things to go right at work, we need sources,” Jason told her. “Inside the PCPD.”

“Is this is about Ric? Did they—”

“No, no—it’s not. I found out that the source we’ve been using the most over the last few years was Vinnie.”

Elizabeth stilled as she met his eyes. “Vinnie.”

“He passed tips about search warrants and cases to Tommy and to Luke for a little while before I sold out to Moreno.”

She stepped out of his arms, then folded her own. “I don’t—Luke?”

“He went to the club after you reported your attack to the PCPD. I don’t know a lot about any of it—I never handled any of that, even after I took over. I never asked where Luke got his information,” Jason told her. “The sources reported to someone else under Sonny, and he dealt with it. And he found out after we—he didn’t want to tell me. Or you. He thought it would be too much to deal with. I don’t know. Justus told me today.”

“He went to Luke after Lucky took me to the PCPD to file a report.” She closed her eyes. “God, how many times did I walk past him? How many times did he arrange it—” Her face paled. “Oh my God. He arrested me and Lucky at Luke’s.”

“I know, I talked to Luke. He doesn’t know much else. He only dealt with Vinnie for a few months, and then all of this happened while he was gone—” He paused. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s—” Elizabeth paused. “It’s okay. You didn’t know, and I think Sonny meant well. I really do. I don’t know how I would have felt in October when this was fresh. Or when we were preparing for the hearing. God, my skin is crawling just thinking about it now. And if Sonny had said something, you would have told me. You need sources in the PCPD who are willing to break the law.He fits that profile.”

“I wish that was the end of it,” Jason said. “But there are rumors that he got some cover from Tommy and his guys. Maybe for roughing up a prostitute or two—I’m looking into it—”

“I don’t want to know,” Elizabeth cut in sharply. “I understand if you need to know, and that’s fine. Okay? But I can’t—” She held up a hand, then curled it into a fist. “I thought you didn’t deal with that kind of thing—”

“I don’t,” Jason said, knowing exactly what she was going into. “But Sonny ran things up until six months ago, and there are pockets of the business that I never knew about. Even when I was in charge all those years ago. I think Tommy kept a lot from me. I’m dealing with that, but—”

“I just—I can handle what you do, Jason, and I do a pretty good job,” she added.

“I know—”

“But if you find out that someone in the organization covered up one of the rapes—I don’t want to know that, okay? Please. I get why you might need to know, but I don’t. I don’t want to know.”

“All right.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry—”

Elizabeth sighed, then tilted her head to the ceiling for a long moment. Then she focused on him. “I’m fine. It just—it hit me harder than I was expecting, but I appreciate that you told me. I know that was hard for you, and thank you for not protecting me. I just—I think anything past this—I don’t need to be in on it.”

“All right,” he repeated.

She kissed him again. “I love you.”

Relieved that the strange tension in the air had faded, Jason kissed her back. “I love you, too.”

“And since you’re not hungry, I’m gonna go finish the pizza.”

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