Go ahead as you waste your days with thinking
When you fall, everyone stands
Another day, and you’ve had your fill of sinking
With the life held in your
Hands are shaking cold
These hands are meant to hold  
– Move Along, All-American Rejects

---

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Johnny flipped the coffee cup right side up and plucked the plastic menu from beneath the white ceramic saucer to consider the brunch specials. He had some time to kill before heading back to the hotel, getting dressed, and picking up Lulu.

Should he do the waffles or the omelet? Still considering, he didn’t notice the blonde taking the next stool over, but he recognized the voice. He lifted his gaze from the menu to offer Nadine Crowell a grin. “Hey, I haven’t seen you since you were hauled off in cuffs.”

Nadine wrinkled her nose at the reminder at being held in contempt at his trial a few weeks earlier. “Glad one of us can laugh about it. I’m the one who ended up with a record.” She held out her cup when the waitress came over with the carafe of coffee, filling both their cups. She took both their orders. “Actually, I’m kind of glad I ran into you because I’ve been sitting with this for, like, over a day, and I hate it, but I didn’t know who to tell, and here you are, so—”

“Do you ever take a breath?” Johnny stirred sugar into his coffee, then slid the canister towards her.

“Oh, you’re in a good mood.” She sighed. “Man, I really know how to ruin someone’s day, you know?”

“I don’t, but I have a bad feeling I’m about to find out.”

“It’s what Nikolas told me the other day. I would have already done something, but he blocked me from going to see Lulu, and Maxie is, like, stupid busy with all of this wedding stuff. Plus, she really doesn’t like me because she found me hiding in Matt’s room—”

“I lost track of the conversation again. What does this have to do with Matt Hunter?”

“Nothing. Nothing.” Nadine blew out a breath. “Sorry, I tend to ramble and go off on tangents when I’m nervous or I have bad news — it’s always on all of my performance reviews—” She stopped. “I’m doing it again, I know, I know. Nikolas is negotiating with the DA’s office so Lu can make a deal.”

“Yeah, I know that—”

“The deal is putting Lu in a treatment facility in California,” Nadine interrupted, and Johnny closed his mouth. “He just told me, and, like, he’s planning to make it a permanent move. He’s going with her. They’re going to relocate their mother — it’s a whole thing.”

“What? No. No. She doesn’t need all of that — and as soon as Lu is better, she’s going to be able to tell her side of the story. She’s going to tell them what happened and how it was self-defense. That was the plan.” Johnny’s mouth was a thin, mutinous line. “He’s doing it to get her away from me.”

“I think so, yeah. That’s definitely an element in play. I told him that Lu was going to hate him when she got better, but Nikolas doesn’t care. He blocked me from visiting and telling her myself, but he forgets how determined I can be. I was going to track Elizabeth down before my shift, or I don’t know, tell Spinelli. But I needed to do something. Someone has to know that can stop this.”

Johnny dragged a hand down his face. “I hate this, I hate it. I can’t tell her this today. She’s been so happy, looking forward to the wedding. Being around her friends. I’m supposed to pick her up at Kate’s. They’re getting ready together. She’s going to be pissed that Nikolas is doing this. But I’m going to tell her tomorrow. Or after the reception. Something. I don’t know if we can stop it, but she deserves to know.”

“That’s what I thought, and you’ve got a direct line to Lu, so I’m glad I ran into you.”

“Yeah, that’s lucky—” Johnny paused, dug out the cell phone vibrating in his pocket and saw his sister’s name on the screen. “My sister,” he told Nadine before sending it to voicemail. “She’s a pain in the ass when I’m up here. Why couldn’t I have a normal sister?”

“Yeah, you might be the one person in the world who can actually win the competition for worst sister, or at least give mine a run for their money. Who do you think is worse, Claudia or Jolene, the Angel Without Mercy?”

Johnny winced. “I forgot—I forgot about your sister—”

“Then you’d be different from, like, ninety percent of Port Charles.” She smiled when the waitress returned with her bagged order, then took the last sip of her coffee. “That last name, you know. Infamous.”

“Yeah, I know all about that. Thanks for passing on the information about Lu. I’ll take care of it.”

“I hope you do. Have a good time at the wedding.”

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Elizabeth pulled into the parking lot just as Nadine slid into her car. They exchanged a wave, then Elizabeth headed towards the diner. She stopped short when she saw Carly coming from the opposite direction. “Carly,” Elizabeth said hesitantly, remembering Jason’s words from the other day.

“Surprised to see you here.” Carly lifted her brows. “I thought you had travel plans.” She smirked. “Oh, wait, I’m not supposed to know anything, right? Isn’t that how this works?”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and decided not to engage. She reached for the diner’s door, stopping when Carly’s next barb was launched. “I guess you weren’t invited to the wedding either, huh?”

Elizabeth turned to face the blonde. “”Did I do something to you? We just saw each other last week, and everything was fine. I mean, you literally walked in on me with Jason, and you were apologetic, offering to leave—”

“I was upset,” Carly snapped. “Obviously not in my right mind.”

“Not even going to touch that. I have things to do—” Once again, turning back to the door, Elizabeth pulled it open.

“Why are you acting like he’s your dirty little secret? Where do you get off making Jason beg for scraps with his son?”

Elizabeth let the door close, took a deep breath, counting to five, then turned back around. “He says the word, this all changes. You know that, don’t you?”

Carly pursed her lips. “You don’t really think you’re getting away with this, do you? You and Jason both disappearing for a week? I mean, how dumb do you think people are?”

“I think the people who are closest to us likely know everything. You do. Sonny does. People in my life do. The guards. I think maybe the only person who doesn’t know this isn’t a secret is Jason,” Elizabeth said, and Carly dropped her gaze to the ground. “I’m going to ask you again, Carly, what’s changed this week? You hate me again, and I just want to know if there’s a specific reason. If there’s something I actually have to apologize for.”

The other woman avoided the question again. “If everyone knows then what’s the point—”

“It took me time to get to this point again. I was scared. You know that, Carly. We were both in agreement on this very subject a few months ago.” Elizabeth sighed. “But Jason is the point. This is where he’s comfortable, and I think I owe him the time and space to work through it, too. You’ve both been through hell, Carly, and I don’t pretend to know what that’s like. All I’m doing is trying to be what Jason needs me to be. He’s lost so many people—”

“Michael’s not dead, okay? Don’t act like he is—” Carly closed her mouth, her voice trembling on the final words. She folded her arms. “It’s none of your business why you bother me,” she finally muttered. “But you do. And that’s just how it is.”

Elizabeth figured that was the best she was going to be able to get and nodded. “All right, then. Have it your way.”

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

Patrick put the phone in the crook of his shoulder and rubbed his brow with his free hand. “They’re denying the maintenance request again? Damn it. No, no, it’s not—it’s not your fault. Just put that with all the others, and I’ll be by later.” He caught Epiphany’s eye as the nurse passed the counter, gestured for her to wait. “Yeah, thanks.”

“Do you need something?” she asked. “Because I’m busy—”

“The board—”

“Anytime you start with those words, it always ends in misery for me,” the nurse interrupted. “Let me guess. We have to make do with the equipment we got—”

“Apparently, whatever measures you put in place to minimize mistakes—” Patrick grimaced, glared at the phone. “You did it too well. They think there’s no point in spending money when we can make the adjustments for free.”

“Oh, so my nurses have to keep putting in the orders three times until that machine gives them what they asked for? What’s gonna happen when one of our overworked, exhausted employees gets a pill that looks exactly like the one they requested—and it’s OxyContin, not acetaminophen?” Epiphany demanded. “You know a lot of our older veterans took the retirement buyout. I don’t have the time or money to train my staff, and it’s not like I’ve got student nurses filling in the gaps since they closed the damn program—”

“I know, I told them that in the request — but they’re just interested in the bottom line. Look, I’ll get together some information on the most common mix-ups. I’ll hold the training myself—”

“And when are you going to find time to do that?” Epiphany wanted to know, fisting a hand on her hip. “You got meetings, paperwork, that baby will be here before you know it—”

“Damn it.” Patrick winced. “I’m supposed to meet Robin down at Kelly’s office in five minutes for another check-up.” He dragged his hands down his face. “I’m doing everything I can, Epiphany. But short of finding about three million dollars a year in permanent funding that is earmarked for staff and equipment, I don’t know what you want me to do.”

“Even if we got that money, that board would just find a way to pocket it. Bunch of crooks no better than the last. Sooner or later, someone is going to get seriously hurt.” But her expression softened. “I know you’re doing your best. This isn’t on you. You’re just—you’re the guy who has to deliver the message, and it sucks.”

“If I quit and go back to my patients—” Patrick looked away, sighed. “They’d just bring in another Ford to do it. I can’t do that again, you know? I’m picking up a shift in the ER tonight just so I can feel like a doctor again. To remember why I’m dealing with this crap at all.”

“I’ll put together some notes, get an informal survey from my people — what’s the most common problem we’re having with the machines,” Epiphany said. “Neither one of us has the time to do this separately, but we’ll figure it out. You’re not on your own in this, Drake Junior. Don’t forget that.”

Coffee House: Office

“I talked to Frankie down on the Rochester docks,” Cody said, closing the door and crossing the room to set some paperwork in front of Jason. “You were right. After that little meeting last week, Karpov contacted him. He’s their problem now.”

“Maybe,” Jason said, scribbling his name at the bottom of another contract. “But I think he went away too quietly.”

“I don’t know if three months of constant harassment is quiet, but you made it clear. You weren’t going to do business with him, and Sonny wasn’t interested in getting involved. ”

“Maybe I’m too used to the warehouse being blown up to make the point.”

“Maybe. Or maybe the word is finally getting out that you’re not in the business for new clients.” Cody lifted his brows. “Isn’t that what we’ve been working towards the last few months? We only have a few more shipments, and then—”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Jason leaned back, exhaled slowly. “But if it was common knowledge, don’t you think Karpov would have said something to Sonny?”

“You mean when he was trying to get Sonny back in the business? Maybe Karpov doesn’t realize why you turned him down, but your regular guys do.” Cody paused. “You planning on telling Sonny?”

“I was waiting until it was done. Until after the wedding.” Jason got to his feet. “He worked hard to get to this level— he’s going to be pissed that I’m closing it down.”

“It’s not like you’ll be out of the business all the way,” Cody pointed out. “You’ve got the clubs, the gambling—”

“That won’t matter to him. He never could understand how someone wouldn’t want the power. But it’s never brought us anything but headaches. As soon as Sonny got into the South American trade—” Jason grimaced. “It never ended. Someone always wanted these routes and didn’t care how much damage they had to do to get it.” He turned back to Cody. “I’m not having second thoughts. Another couple of months, this will be done.” And just maybe he could finally have a life with Elizabeth and the boys.

As if she knew he was thinking about her, his phone on the desk lit up, her name on the screen.

“Hey. Everything okay?” Jason turned away from Cody, lowering his voice slightly.

“It’s fine,” she said. “I was just wondering if you had maybe twenty minutes. I grabbed some lunch at Kelly’s, and I thought—I just wanted to see you before the airport. Maybe you haven’t eaten yet?”

Even if he didn’t have the time, he would have said yes. “Yeah, come by the coffee house. I’m in the back.”

“Great. I’m already in the parking lot.” He could hear the smile in her voice, and his own lips curved. “I’ll be right in.”

When Jason ended the call and turned back to Cody, he said, “Elizabeth is on her way here—”

“I figured,” his enforcer said, dryly. “You tell her what you’re planning?”

“Not yet. I wanted to—” He hesitated. “I wanted to be sure.” He’d already broken so many promises to her — if he couldn’t get it done, then he wouldn’t have to let her down. They were so close now — just a few more weeks, maybe months, and he’d be partially free. It was part of the reason he’d stopped pushing her away, why he wanted to take her to Italy. Jason needed her to know how much he loved her, how much he wanted to be with her.

“All right. I’ll leave you guys alone, but we need to head over to the church in about an hour—” Cody stopped at the knock on the door and tugged it open. “Hey, Miss Webber.”

“Hey, Cody.” Elizabeth came in, a brown bag in her hands. “I’m not interrupting anything?”

“Wouldn’t matter if you were,” Cody said, slipping past her. “But I was on my way out. I’ll see you at the church,” he told Jason.

Elizabeth winced when the door was closed. “I’m interrupting—”

“Never,” Jason said. He tugged her towards him, tipping her head back for a kiss. “We were done.”

“I really didn’t want to bother you—”

“You’re not,” he interrupted, almost impatiently, and she looked away. He hated that — hated that he’d made her feel like every minute he spent with her was one stolen from something else more important. “I’m sorry. I just—I would tell you if I didn’t have the time.”

“Okay. I just…I guess I wanted to see you before the airport. I’m going home to finish packing.” The smile bloomed on her face now. “Five more hours and we’ll be boarding our flight to Italy, and then I’ll have you all to myself.”

“Nowhere else I’d rather be.” He cupped her jaw, kissed her again. “The ceremony is supposed to be over a quarter after five. Sonny knows I’m leaving as soon as it is. Twenty minutes to the airport. Ten minutes through security—I know I’m cutting it close.”

“It’s okay. I’m jealous of you getting to skip that long line,” Elizabeth said with a wrinkle. She slid her fingers down his chest. “No frisking, searching your bag.”

“Sorry I didn’t know anyone at the TSA to bribe to get you on the list, too,” he said, and she grinned. “I’ll work on that.”

“Or, like you said…we’ll travel more, and I’ll get pre-clearance legitimately.”

“Sonny—” Jason hesitated. “He told me I didn’t have to go. To the wedding. He knows we’re leaving tonight, but—”

“But if something happened and you weren’t there, you’d never forgive yourself. It’s okay. I know.” She kissed him one more time. “And he’s your best friend. You should be there.”

And she should be sitting next to him, Jason thought, but that couldn’t happen. Not yet. “As soon as they say their vows, I’m out the side door,” he promised. “Cody will take over from there.”

“See? You’ve thought of everything. Tomorrow, we’ll wake up in Venice, and everything will be perfect.” Elizabeth bit her lip, her eyes sparkling. “Just like we always dreamed it would be.”

Crimson Pointe: Study

“This cheap son of a bitch—he thinks he’s going to cut off my credit cards—” Claudia shoved the door open, her heels clicking against the hard wood. “You’ve got a lot of nerve—”

She stopped, then scanned the empty room. “Daddy?” she called. She walked over to the terrace, scanned the view of the garden from her perspective. Nothing.

She left the room, went down the hallway towards the kitchen, then went in the other direction towards the living room.

No Anthony Zacchara in sight.

Claudia stopped, pursed her lips. “Well, that can’t be good.”

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