I don’t know how much longer I can fake it
That it’s all alright, that I can do this alone
And I know that life is what you make it
But it’s hard to see stars when you’re always caught in the folds
– Won’t Stop Running, A Great Big World

---

Tuesday, December 30, 2003

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

When Jason saw his phone light up with Johnny’s name flashing on the Caller ID screen, he hesitated before reaching for it. He’d told Justus and Bernie he wasn’t handling business today unless it was an emergency, and he knew Johnny would have called one of them first with any news before passing it on to him.

Elizabeth was trying to keep her mood upbeat and focus on diagnosis and treatment of whatever was wrong, but Jason could see it was taking a toll on her. He planned to spend the entire day to focus on her, even though he knew it was going to irritate Sonny if it got back to him Jason still wasn’t going to be at the warehouse.

He heard the shower click off in the bathroom as his phone continued to ring. Finally, Jason answered it—

“Johnny—”

“Hey, sorry to bother you,” Johnny O’Brien began, “but Justus wanted you to get this from me instead of passing it to Sonny directly.”

Which meant it was about Ric. They hadn’t anything since the sighting a few weeks ago in Venezuela, and Jason had wanted it to be the end of it, to get back to normal— “What happened?”

“Last night, one of my guys saw Lansing here in Puerto Rico. Outside one of Sonny’s clubs in San Juan.”

Jason exhaled slowly, rubbed the back of his neck, and turned when he heard the bathroom door open. Elizabeth emerged, wrapped in a terry cloth towel, her dry hair pinned up on her head.

“Should I go back—” she started to offer, but he shook his head. She slipped past him to walk over to the closet and open it.

“What happened after that?”

“Gabe tried to catch up with him, called it in to get more eyes, but lost sight of him. I’m sorry, Jase—”

“It’s okay. Just—just keep your eyes and ears open, and I’ll deal with it on our end. Thanks.”

“No problem. I’ll call you if anything changes.”

Jason closed the phone, then turned to force a smile at Elizabeth as she dressed in a pair of jeans and a sweater. “Sorry about that—”

“It’s okay.” Elizabeth bit her lip as she played with the end of her sleeve. “Everything okay? I mean—do you have to—”

“I have to make one call.” Jason crossed over to her, kissed her forehead. “But that’s it. You’re stuck with me today.”

Elizabeth smiled up at him, then sighed, leaning her head against his chest. “I’m trying not to be scared,” she admitted softly. “We’re catching it early, you know? Before it can get as bad as it did last time.”

“Exactly.” Jason tipped her face up to look at him. “We’ll get through this. No matter what happens.”

Elizabeth touched her belly. “He’s the size of a mango this week,” she told him. “That’s what the book says.” She exhaled slowly. “Monica wouldn’t be asking for this test unless she was worried. There are other ways to diagnose a clot—but if she thinks the risk to the baby is worth it—”

“Hey.” Jason leaned down, brushed his mouth against hers. “It’ll be okay—” He sighed when she just shook her head because they both knew he couldn’t promise that.

“Make your call,” Elizabeth told him. She kissed his cheek. “I’m going downstairs to get started on the water I need to drink, especially since I’m starving and can’t eat before the test.”

“I’ll be down in a minute,” he promised. He watched her leave, then picked up his phone again to dial Ned and pass on the Puerto Rico tip. He couldn’t keep this from Sonny forever, but there was no way Jason was telling him today.

General Hospital: Kevin Collins’ Office

“Carly.” Kevin squeezed her hand as she came into his office. “How are you? How was your Christmas?”

“It was okay,” Carly said hesitantly as he closed the door and gestured for her to take a seat. “Thanks for fitting me in. I know things are busy with the holiday—”

“I’m just sorry you felt the need to come back at all. You were doing so well,” Kevin said. He sat down behind his desk. “You said you had a pretty serious episode?”

“Yeah. Um, a few weeks ago. December 9.” Carly fidgeted in the seat. “I don’t know if you were paying attention to the news, but the Vinnie Esposito case—”

“There was a hearing in Syracuse,” Kevin said. “Mac’s a friend of mine,” he added. “I know Elizabeth testified. Did you go?”

“Yeah, Sonny and I both went. Um, it was the first time I’d really been out of the house since Morgan was born. Since Ric disappeared.” Carly tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and briefly told Kevin about separating from Sonny, returning for safety reasons, and their arguments about her security and returning to work.

“On the day I was supposed to go back to work in December,” Carly continued, “it became very clear that he’d either forgotten or never intended to keep his promises. He never hired Leticia back—and she took another job, so my son lost the nanny he’d had since birth.” That stung the most — she’d always known her boys were safe with Leticia, and you couldn’t have that comfort with everyone. “I mean, even AJ let me keep the nanny Jason hired for him, and AJ hated everything Jason did for Michael.”

Kevin nodded, made a note with his pencil. “So, what happened when you realized that?”

“Sonny had already gone to work, and he was ignoring my calls. He knew I’d be angry—” Carly cleared her throat. “But I didn’t know what I was going to do. There was no one to stay with Morgan, no way for me to get in and out of the building with the new security because I didn’t have a key or a driver—I knew—” Her mouth felt dry as she forced the words out. “I felt trapped.”

When Kevin drew his brows together, Carly hurried to continue, “but Jason and Elizabeth came over. She offered her guard that day, and Jason gave me his key.”

She paused, remembering that moment. “I thought—well, that’s it. He broke his promise. He’s—it’s not different. And I can’t live like this. So I went to work, went to Jason’s because he’d picked up Michael for me, and they’d watched Morgan all day. I was planning to leave. Thinking about how to tell the boys.”

“But you didn’t leave.”

“No, I didn’t. Because Sonny had ignored my calls all day, and it must not have occurred to him that I’d find a way out. He came home, couldn’t find me, and came to Jason’s place, flipping out. He couldn’t breathe—he almost collapsed on the floor—and I knew—”

She stared at the floor as if Sonny were in front of her, that pale, sickly expression on his face. “I couldn’t leave him like that.” She looked at Kevin. “I stayed. I tried to make a compromise with him, and I know he was sorry. He said he was, and he agreed to do better. I just—I thought maybe if I tried harder, if I gave in more, maybe they’d find Ric, and it would be over.”

“What changed on the day of the hearing?”

“I don’t really know,” Carly admitted. “I think—I think it was knowing that while I was feeling locked up and trapped, Elizabeth was just living her life next door. Going to support meetings, organizing that hearing, preparing her testimony—and I was barely able to move a muscle without getting permission from my husband.”

Her lips twisted in a sour smile. “She’s probably who Ric would come after. He was obsessed with her, not me. She’s actually pregnant with medical issues that put her health at risk, but Jason let her set her own limits.”

Carly took a deep breath. “It was such a hard day, listening to her testimony. Listening to what she’d been through the day Vinnie attacked her, but I just kept watching her be strong, and then I watched Jason watching her. He was so proud of her—scared out of his mind—but so goddamn proud of what she was doing. And I thought—”

Carly closed her eyes. “I know how it sounds. I know it sounds like I’m jealous, that maybe I’m still in love with him, and I’m not. I don’t know if I ever was. I don’t want Jason. I just—I want that feeling.”

She opened her eyes to see Kevin looking at her, his head tipped slightly to the side. “What feeling is that?” he asked.

“Of knowing that no matter what happens—no matter what life throws at you—there is always one person who will always be on your side. Who will always, always believe in you. Who will hold you when you need it. I just—to Jason, Elizabeth is the most important person in the world. And maybe it’s selfish, but I just…I want that. I want to be the most important person to someone.”

She swiped at her eyes. “And I came home to the penthouse, and I looked at Sonny—and I just—I knew that while I had been putting him at the center—while I had been twisting myself in and out to give him what he needed—he never—not once—did the same for me. And I just…in that moment—it just stopped being enough.”

Carly exhaled slowly. “After that, it’s pretty straightforward. I told him I was leaving, I went up to pack, and he came upstairs and locked me in the bedroom. It’s not a big room, and it has no windows.”

Kevin leaned back, the corners of his mouth turned down. “And that sent you into the episode.”

“I was screaming for him to let me out, screaming for someone—and after that, it’s harder to remember all of it,” Carly admitted. “Everything is just flashes. Elizabeth was there, and I thought maybe she was—maybe Ric had locked her in with me—or then I thought I was watching her drink that water—I remembered Jason—I thought it was on the monitors, watching him—I just—” She looked at him. “I didn’t know what was real or what was in my mind.”

Kevin stood up, rounded the desk, offered Carly a box of tissues. “How did you get out?” he asked softly.

“Jason and Elizabeth,” Carly told him in a soft voice. She took a tissue, dabbed her eyes. “They could hear me screaming from the other penthouse, and they—Jason broke down the door, Elizabeth took me to their place so my mother could come get me. They—” Her voice broke. “They got me out. Again. But it was Sonny who locked me up this time.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “And would you believe he’s angry at me for not letting it go?”

“Is he?” Kevin asked, his voice laced with steel. She looked up to find that he’d taken his seat again, his jaw clenched. He forced himself to relax. “Why do you think that is?”

“Because—in his mind—he did something terrible in a moment of weakness. And because I mostly understand how we got to that point, I should be willing to overlook it. To forgive it.”

Her hands were trembling slightly, so Carly laced them together. “And what terrifies me is I might agree. Because I love him. Because I want my boys to have a family—because when things are good between us—like they were last year for a while—I do feel like I’m the most important person in the world. And I know—God, I know this is about how scared he was when Ric kidnapped me. I do understand how this happened—how he could think even for a second that locking me up to keep me safe made perfect sense.”

She picked up another tissue. “And if it were just me—I think I would go back,” Carly admitted in a small voice. “How stupid is that?”

“It’s not stupid, Carly, for you to recognize that Sonny’s actions make a terrible kind of sense.” Kevin paused. “In fact, it shows a great sense of empathy that you didn’t just write him off as a monster, that you’ve attempted to understand it. Having listened to you talk about his past, I know that you’ve accepted Sonny has a mental illness that has been untreated and undiagnosed for many years. That’s not stupid, Carly.”

“I can’t go back,” Carly told him, her chest tight. “I can’t live like that. It’s not just me. My boys can’t do it. I found out later that when Elizabeth tried to help me, he pushed her—and if he could do that to an adult woman, if he could lock me up after everything I’ve been through—he could turn on anyone. And I need to protect my family. My boys.”

“And yourself,” Kevin finished.

Carly exhaled slowly, nodded. “Yes. And myself. I can’t go back to that panic room ever again. I won’t survive it. Even if it’s just in my own head. I can’t sleep—I’m having concentration issues again—it’s like—all the work we did last summer—it didn’t matter. It’s back, and I don’t know if I can make it stop.”

“Well, last time we were able to concentrate on behavior,” Kevin told her. He scribbled something on a pad of paper. “But I think this time—in addition to continuing to meet, it might be time to try some medication to ease the anxiety.”

Carly bit her lip. She hated the idea of taking pills, but — “All right. I just—I’ll do whatever I need to do to stop it. I don’t want to live like this.”

PCPD: Locker Room

Lucky stripped off his t-shirt and tossed it in his locker, pulling out his white undershirt and uniform shirt. He glanced over to his left at his quiet partner who was buttoning his shirt.

“How was Bensonhurst?”

Dante blinked at him, then sighed as he sat on the bench to pull on his shoes. “Quiet. No one really knew what to say to each other. My aunt didn’t come—she was mad that my Uncle Frankie had invited me and my mother. That my grandmother allowed it.”

“But that’s good,” Lucky said. “That your grandmother let you guys come.”

“Sure.” But Dante’s kept his lips pressed together firmly. “She apologized for slapping me after the hearing—” He hesitated. “But I think that’s because it was caught by the newspaper and my Uncle Frankie was mad at her. She’s not really sorry about doing it. Or for—” He stopped. “For anything else.”

“You never really told us what happened,” Cruz said from behind them. They both turned. “You didn’t even tell us you’d seen her until it was in the papers.”

Dante shrugged, pinned his badge on, then closed his locker. “What’s the point? It happened. It’s over. Vinnie was sentenced, and he’s starting his fifty to life at Attica now.”

“C’mon—”

“I’ll see you out there.”

He stepped away from them, and a few minutes later, they heard the locker room door close. Lucky looked at Cruz. “‘I’m not crazy, am I? I feel like something else happened.”

“Maybe,” Cruz admitted. “Or maybe it’s not that complicated. His cousin is going to prison for brutally raping a lot of women, one of whom Dante loved like a sister and committed suicide. And Dante’s part of the reason Vinnie couldn’t claim he was framed. You need more?”

“No, but he was handling all of it until the hearing—and then—” Lucky sighed. He closed his locker. “But you’re right. Maybe that’s enough. Sorry you got stuck with the holiday shifts. Was your family okay with it?”

“I don’t mind the overtime,” Cruz said. He flashed Lucky a half-grin. “How was your Christmas? I heard Lulu burned dessert.”

Lucky snorted as he pinned his badge to his shirt. “I’ve never seen food turn to ash that way, to be honest. Christmas was good—it was probably the first time in…” He exhaled slowly, trying to remember. “Actually, it was the first time Nikolas had been invited to our place for Christmas dinner. I just wish Kelsey could have convinced her mom to come up from Buffalo.”

“Maybe next year.”

“Maybe.” Lucky hesitated, then squinted, realizing Cruz hadn’t answered his question about his family. “What’s your usual thing on the holidays? You go to your parents?”

“No,” Cruz said shortly. He closed his locker. “We’re not close, and they don’t live in Port Charles. I gotta go meet Taggert.” He walked out, leaving Lucky alone in the locker room.

General Hospital: Procedure Room

Jason folded his arms and stepped back as a nurse checked Elizabeth’s IV, then her vitals. As part of the angiography, Elizabeth needed to be lightly sedated, and her eyes were already drifting closed.

“Jason—” Monica touched his arm. “She’s out, and we need to get started. Come with me into the room with the tech—”

He grimaced but followed his mother out of the room, looking over his shoulder one more time at Elizabeth on the gurney, her eyes closed, and her face pale. He hated seeing her in the hospital.

He and Monica went into a smaller room with a few techs and monitors. His eyes on the window that looked out into the procedure room, Jason said to his mother, “You wouldn’t tell us why you wanted this procedure. Why?”

Monica hesitated, then looked at him. “I told you—I was concerned—”

“Monica,” Jason said quietly, then took a deep breath. “Mom,” he continued, her eyes flashing to him at that term—something he hadn’t said to her more than a handful of times since the accident. “You never lied to me last summer. You never sugar-coated or gave me false hope.”

He nodded back towards the window where Elizabeth lay motionless, and an X-ray tech began to take the first pictures of her lungs. “You never would have asked her to take an X-ray if it weren’t serious. If it weren’t worth the risk. You know how important the baby is to her. To us.”

Monica cleared her throat, watched the monitor as the first results came in. “A pulmonary angiography is more accurate in finding a possible embolism,” she said, “but the catheter also would let me treat it right away. If it is a clot, I’d like Elizabeth to walk out of here today with it resolved.”

Jason frowned. “But why not—” His throat tightened. “You don’t think it’s a clot.”

“No,” she said softly. “I have some suspicions, Jason, but I don’t want to worry Elizabeth until I have a reason to. And I don’t want to worry you either. I know you can handle it. I know how strong you are.”

Monica exhaled as pictures began to move on the screen—Jason knew it was reflecting the dye that had injected into Elizabeth’s veins via the catheter that had been inserted. “Until I’m sure, until I’ve had time to look at all the test results, I’m not comfortable telling either of you what the possibilities are.”

“You could just tell me—”

“You could never keep it from her,” Monica told him, with a light touch on his arm. “I’ll know within twenty-four hours, Jason.”

He swallowed hard, searched his mother’s eyes, saw that she wasn’t going to be moved on this, then nodded and looked back at Elizabeth. “Can you tell me if it’s serious? If—” Jason almost couldn’t form the words. “If it’s—if I might lose her? Or the baby?”

“We should leave that conversation until we know more. I’m not trying to be cryptic, Jason,” Monica told him. “Or purposefully vague. It’s just—there’s no point in thinking of the worst-case scenarios until we need to.”

“I can’t—” Jason shoved his hands in his pockets, had to force the words out. “Whatever she needs. Whatever treatment, whatever doctors—you know the cost doesn’t matter. Wherever I have to take her, if we can’t handle it here—I just—I can’t—” He couldn’t finish the statement. But his mother seemed to understand what he couldn’t say out loud.

“Let me finish the procedure, Jason. Let me study the results, and I promise you, as soon as I can tell you something definitive, I will.”

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Hallway

Justus nearly made into his office without running into Sonny. Bernie wasn’t in today to run interference, as he had done since that terrible night, and Jason hadn’t been in very much since Elizabeth’s health had taken a turn for the worse.

Justus had nearly quit then and there, but after talking it over with Tamika, they’d both agreed he should stay on to see how Jason handled it—and because Justus wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if something happened to Elizabeth or Carly because he’d left his job. Jason needed someone he could depend on, at least right now, but that didn’t mean Justus was happy about any of this. This was not how this job was supposed to turn out, but he was going to try to make the best of it.

For more than two weeks, he’d managed to avoid Sonny, but as his boss was waiting in front of Justus’s office—it looked like that reprieve was over.

Justus slowed his steps as he approached him. “Uh. Hey, did we have a meeting?”

“No, but we’re going to. Where’s Jason? He wasn’t home when I left, and he’s not picking up his calls,” Sonny said shortly as Justus unlocked the office. Sonny followed him inside.

Not sure if he should be surprised that Jason was keeping Sonny out the loop, Justus sighed, set the briefcase on the desk, then stripped off his jacket. “He had a doctor’s appointment with Elizabeth. Some tests. She needed to be sedated for one of them,” Justus said as Sonny’s scowl deepened, “so he’s not leaving her alone today.” If Jason hadn’t told Sonny about the tests, it wasn’t like he’d passed on the Puerto Rico tip from Johnny either, so he wasn’t going to say anything either.

“Why didn’t I know this? Why does she need to be put to sleep? What’s wrong?” Sonny’s questions were delivered in quick succession, like a round of bullets from a machine gun. “Why didn’t he tell me?”

“I don’t know. To all the above,” Justus added when Sonny opened his mouth again. “Jason didn’t want to get into it. If we need to know, we will. Is there anything else?”

“Yes.” Sonny lifted his chin. “Carly took my kids to the Brownstone almost three weeks ago. She won’t let me see them. Not even on Christmas.”

Justus pressed his lips together, bit back the smart ass remark he’d been about to utter because it certainly wouldn’t help them right now. “Okay.”

“I need you to get me into see them,” Sonny continued, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Carly obviously needs more time to calm down—”

Calm down? Justus turned away from Sonny so he wouldn’t see Justus’s scowling expression. “I can ask Carly if she’d be open to it—”

“I don’t need you to ask—they’re my children. What’s between me and Carly—that’s—” Sonny took a deep breath, and his expression slipped slightly—less controlled. “It’s between us. I should be able to see my kids.”

“Okay,” Justus said. He stepped behind his desk, put his hands on the chair, then looked at Sonny, point-blank. “You want my honest opinion? I mean, you pay me to give you the truth.”

“I do,” Sonny said, suddenly wary.

“If I contacted Carly and asked her to set up a meeting for you to see the kids, she could say no. Then you have two choices — one, accept it. Do what she asked you to do to make it right—I’m sure she’s given you some idea—” Justus waited, and Sonny grimaced, looked away, confirming Justus’s suspicion. “Or two, you can file for custody and demand a court give you visitation. A demand which would be rejected.”

Sonny’s glower was thunderous. “Why?”

“Why?” Justus repeated. He widened his eyes. “Sonny, you locked Carly in a room, then refused to let her out. I heard her screaming myself. You understand there were witnesses—and maybe you think Jason won’t say anything against you—but I’m telling you that Bobbie Spencer will make sure that Elizabeth gets on that stand. And how is that going to go for you?”

Sonny pressed his lips together in a thin, mutinous line. “Not well,” he said in a clipped tone.

“Because Carly’s lawyer will ask Elizabeth if she thinks you’re a danger to the kids—”

“I would never—”

“And all Elizabeth has to do is tell that court that you shoved her when she tried to get your wife free. Then Jason had to break down the door. You are lucky Carly didn’t press charges—that all she did was go to her mother’s and keep the kids away from you.”

Sonny exhaled slowly, but the anger didn’t dissipate. “You’re telling me that Carly can just keep my kids from me, and there’s nothing I can do?”

“There’s plenty you can do,” Justus told him flatly. “You can do whatever Carly told you to do. Or you can find another lawyer because there is no way in hell I am going to demand that woman let you see her children after what you did to her—”

“You’re supposed to be my lawyer—”

“I’m also Jason’s lawyer,” Justus said, “which makes me Elizabeth’s lawyer. I told Jason if it had been my pregnant fiancée you shoved, you’d still be drinking out of a goddamn straw—”

“You have no right to talk to me like this—”

“You pay me to tell you the truth,” Justus cut in sharply. “The truth is that if you think what you did to Carly can somehow be waved away and dismissed without you having to do something to redeem yourself, you’re wrong. No judge in this state is going to give you anything other than a supervised visitation of those boys, if you’re lucky.”

Sonny stared at him for a long moment, then slowly, at his sides, his fists unclenched as he nodded. “All right. You—you’re right. I can—” He cleared his throat. “I can see that a court wouldn’t understand how things—how it built to that point—why I could—what I did was wrong—”

“Not just wrong, Sonny. Monstrous,” Justus corrected. “Carly had a dissociative episode, triggering the acute stress disorder she’d mostly resolved because you forced her to relive her trauma. It’s not just that she was upset about being locked up—she literally thought she was back in that room. Do you know what it was like for me to stand in that room and watch that happen? Do you even remember it?”

“I—” Sonny cleared his throat. “I understand—Thank you.” He met Justus’s eyes. “I appreciate the honesty. I need to do more to fix this.”

He left then, and Justus released his first easy breath in weeks. He didn’t think for one minute that Sonny would be willing to do what it might take to actually fix this, but at least he’d been able to stand up to Sonny and get out of it with his self-respect intact.

Harwin Movie Theater: Concession Stand

“Um—” Lulu folded her arms, scanned the menu. “I’m gonna get popcorn, ooh, and those little Raisinets—”

“The movie is going to start in like five minutes, Lu,” Dillon said, checking his watch. “Can you just order already?”

“Why don’t you go in and get seats?” Lucas suggested, seeing the irritation flare in Lulu’s blue eyes. He didn’t know what was up with Lu and Dillon these days, but it felt like they were constantly fighting. He wished they’d just break up already.

“Because I can’t save six seats on my own, and Lulu is holding up the entire line—”

“I’ll go save seats with you,” Maxie volunteered quickly. “Come on—” She grabbed Dillon’s arm, started to steer him towards the theater.

“God, you’re so frustrating sometimes,” Lulu muttered. “It’s not like you haven’t seen this stupid movie a thousand times. Who cares if you miss the first five minutes?”

Lucas winced as Dillon turned back with an irritated scowl. Lulu was the reason they were running late in the first place after a shift had run over at Kelly’s that morning, and they’d been lucky to get tickets to the matinee at all. It was the last chance they’d have to go to their monthly movie, and it’d been Dillon’s turn. He’d gone for a Joan Crawford movie Lucas had already forgotten the name of.

“Why can’t you ever care about the things that are important to me?” Dillon demanded, yanking his arm away from Maxie. “I told you—”

“It’s a movie, Dillon. It’s not that serious, and it’s not my fault! I told you I needed the tips from today’s shift, and I can’t just hope another waitress will give them to me—I had to wait—” Lulu stabbed a finger at him. “You don’t have to work for anything, so you don’t get it!”

“Oh, here we go—‘I don’t understand money’—” Dillon rolled his eyes. “Your brother is a prince, Lulu—when have you ever wanted anything?”

“Are you serious right now?” Lulu all but screeched. “That’s it! That’s the absolute last thing I’m going to take—”

She spun on her heel and stalked out the door, leaving a crowd of interested parties behind her. Maxie’s face paled as she watched a friend walk away from them at the movies. “Dillon, go stop her—”

“No, I’m tired of her acting like she’s the only one with problems—”

“Dillon, look where we are,” Kyle said quietly, touching his shoulder. Dillon stopped, looked at him, then looked around them.

The same group of people they’d been six months earlier, except it had been Brooke storming off, and Georgie noticing she’d left. It was broad daylight, but—

“I forgot,” Dillon said, almost numbly. He looked at Maxie, with panic in his eyes. “How did I forget? I have to get her—” He started forward, but Lucas put up his hand.

“We’ll go—” Lucas said, grabbing Felix by the elbow. “No offense, not really into Joan Crawford. Go to the movie. I’ll text you when we catch up.”

“I’m sorry,” Dillon said again, but Lucas and Felix were already leaving the theater. When they got to the sidewalk, Lucas scanned the area—then sighed in relief when they spied Lulu sitting sullenly on the iron bench by the theater, her arms wrapped around herself. They walked towards her.

“Hey. Uh, we’ll give you a ride home—” Lucas said.

“I almost ran into the park,” Lulu said. She looked at them, a bit blankly. “The bus stop—I’ve done it a thousand times. I’ve been shopping on this street my whole life, and I’ve taken the bus home from Central Avenue like…I’ve always crossed through the park.” She scrubbed her hands over her face. “But I didn’t go in.”

“Good—” Lucas looked at Felix, who took out his phone, started texting Maxie. “We just—we had the same thought.” He sat next to his cousin. “What’s up with you two? You were getting along before—”

“I don’t know,” Lulu said with a sigh. “We just—we’re arguing over everything. He doesn’t get it sometimes—sure, Nikolas is my brother, but it’s not like I have a credit card from him. Last year—you know when my parents were gone—I didn’t—I couldn’t ask your mom for things—”

“I know.” Lucas rubbed her arm. “Hey. Come on, I know.”

“I mean, no, I never starved, but it’s not the same thing. I like buying my own clothes, and like, being sort of on my own with money. I work hard. I hate that stupid job, but I try so hard and—” Lulu cleared her throat. “He’s just been mad lately that I’ve been working more, and he has this stupid idea that I’m, like, into Lucky’s partner.”

Felix lifted his brows. “You mean that fine-ass Italian cop always sitting in your section at Kelly’s?”

Lulu peered up at him with a frown. “What?”

“You’re nineteen, Lu. It’s okay to be into other guys. You’re not married.”

“I’m not—” Lulu’s cheeks flushed. “You’re both stupid, and I’m not talking to either of you anymore.”

“You can not talk to me all you want,” Lucas said as he pulled her to her feet. “As long as you let me and Felix drive you home.”

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Elizabeth pursed her lips as Jason set the tray with the soup and cup of herbal tea in front of her. She tried to sit up more on the bed, and Jason helped move the pillows. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Feeding you soup?” Jason’s smile was genuine as he met her eyes. “I’ve been waiting to get you back for years.”

She sighed, reaching for her spoon. “I wish I could eat something else,” she admitted, “but everything hurts, and I think if I put anything else in my stomach, it would not be pretty.” Elizabeth ate a few spoonfuls, then set the utensil down to let herself settle a bit. “How long did Monica say I’d feel like this?”

“A few more hours,” Jason told her. “Your appetite should be back to normal tomorrow.” He crossed to the other side of the bed, then stretched out next to her, sitting up against the headboard and picked up the remote. “You want to find something to watch? A movie?”

“You hate my movies.” Elizabeth peered at him suspiciously. “What did you and your mother talk about while I was asleep? Am I dying?”

“No,” Jason said, bit a shortly. “And that’s not funny.” He grimaced, setting the remote back on the bedspread. “I’m sorry—”

“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth said quickly. “I didn’t—I’m just—this is stupid,” she muttered. She closed her eyes. “I’m just trying to pretend like I had a normal test, and things are fine. But they’re not.”

“I shouldn’t be irritated with you,” Jason said. “And I’m not,” he added. “I just—” He couldn’t get Monica’s face out of his head, this nagging feeling that his mother was just trying to protect him from something devastating.

“It’s okay.” Elizabeth reached over, squeezed his hand. He met her eyes. “I know you’re not mad at me, and you know that I’m not mad at you. Isn’t that the point of marrying someone? So you can be cranky with each other when you wanna be without it being the end of the world?”

“Is that why you’re marrying me?” he asked, with a hesitant smile. “So you can be cranky with someone?”

“I mean, it’s a nice side benefit.” Elizabeth lifted her tea mug to her lips. “But you know I’m marrying you for your money.”

“Oh, right.” He grinned at that, and she snickered. “Guess it’s a good time to tell you about the prenup.”

Elizabeth laughed at that, and he was relieved to see that her eyes sparkling with genuine amusement. “Oh, you are so lucky I’m not actually a gold digger. Justus told me at Christmas he was going to have something for me to sign in a week or two.”

He winced. “I’m sorry—I forgot—”

“Don’t worry.” Elizabeth sat up a bit more. “Justus told me it was for my protection, too. Because a lot of your property and whatnot is all wrapped up with Sonny’s, it would be—he said it would help make things clearer in case we ever need to worry about…” Elizabeth grimaced. “Your estate,” she said quietly. “That if you wrote it down in two places legally, it couldn’t be questioned by the courts or the authorities.”

Jason exhaled slowly. “Yeah. I mean, you get everything, you know that, right? I—” He scratched his forehead. “I have some stuff for Michael, for Emily. I need to update it for Morgan and the baby,” he realized, “but everything else—” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I know you don’t want to talk about any of this.”

“But we should,” Elizabeth told him. She squeezed his hand. “I asked Justus to put together a will for me, too. I don’t have a lot,” she reminded him, “but my grandparents left me a trust, and I wanted to make sure it can go to my children without any issues. Jason—it’s just—it’s responsible for us to talk about this kind of thing. With my health and your line of work—”

“I know.” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “I just don’t want to think about it.”

“Me either. And we won’t. Justus will put together the prenup and my will, we’ll sign it. And that’ll be it. We won’t have to talk about it again.”

“Okay.” He leaned over, kissed her forehead. “Besides. I know why you’re marrying me.”

Elizabeth smirked. “Yeah, for your bike.” He laughed at that—because of course, that was exactly what he’d been about to say.

And if even if they were both still worried about her test results, at least they could forget them for a little while.

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