Get up, get out, get away from these liars
‘Cause they don’t get your soul or your fire
Take my hand, knot your fingers through mine
And we’ll walk from this dark room for the last time
– Open Your Eyes, Snow Patrol

---

Sunday, September 28, 2008

PCPD: Front Desk

Carly scribbled her name on the paperwork, then slid it across the desk along with a check. Behind her, Diane was handing Sonny back the property the police had confiscated overnight.

Her ex-husband was disheveled, his eyes red, the tuxedo wrinkled beyond repair. He shoved his wallet back into his pocket, gripped his watch in his hand. “Where’s Jason? Why the hell didn’t he get me out last night?”

“Ah, well—” Diane hesitated, looked at Carly, unsure what to tell Sonny. Or maybe how much.

Carly folded her arms. “He’s at the hospital. Not with Kate. I don’t know anything about her condition, so don’t ask. Elizabeth was in a car accident last night.”

Sonny squinted. “What?”

“I don’t know how bad it was, and I haven’t seen Jason yet. I just know she’s in the ICU. He called me to bring him clothes, so he didn’t go home last night.”

“Damn it. Damn it. What the hell is going on? A car accident? You’re sure?” Sonny demanded. “Where’s Lucky? Or Audrey Hardy? Why is Jason there?”

“I—” Carly opened her mouth, but behind them, the interior door to the rest of the station opened and Mac exited, Harper on his heels. The commissioner’s expression hardened when he saw the trio. “Mac. Hey. Um, maybe you know how Kate is. Sonny hasn’t been able to find out—”

“Maybe if he kept his hands to himself,” Mac interrupted, “he’d know. He’ll have to check with the hospital. And no, I’m not telling you a damn thing about the investigation.”

Sonny scowled at the other man, then stalked out of the lobby, the doors swinging wildly behind them.

“I’m going to be doubling that retainer,” Diane muttered before taking off after him.

Mac watched them both go, then looked back at Carly as she folded her checkbook, returned it to her purse. “Aren’t you divorced?”

“I’m sure I’ll regret bailing him out by the end of the day.” Carly hesitated. “Can you tell me—just me—if Kate’s all right?”

“All I know is her condition hasn’t changed since last night,” Mac reluctantly offered.

“Thank you. Um, Elizabeth. She was in an accident last night. I just—I wondered if she was okay.”

“I don’t know anything about that case,” Mac said, “but she’s in for one hell of a time when she finds out Lucky resigned this morning, effectively immediately so he can move to California. Today.”

General Hospital: Waiting Area

Sonny stalked past the security desk at the hospital, ignoring how they started whispering into their damned radios or picking up phones. He waltzed straight onto an elevator, Max scurrying behind him to keep up.

He was going to get some fucking answers.

There was a cluster of people in a small waiting room outside of the ICU — and if Sonny had taken a minute or two to assess the situation, he might have had more luck. Olivia had changed from her blood-spattered gown into a pair of sweats, and had washed her face clean but clearly hadn’t slept. Her eyes looked haunted, her mouth pinched.

Maxie wasn’t much better, though she wouldn’t be caught dead in sweats. She was pacing the small area, stopping every few steps to say something to Spinelli, hunched over a laptop.

Olivia saw him coming a few steps away and lunged to her feet. “Don’t you take one more step. You’re not gettin’ anywhere near my cousin—”

“I have every right to see my fiancée,” Sonny retorted.

“You have no right. You didn’t marry her which means I get to make the decisions,” Olivia spat back. “And don’t try none of that godfather bullshit on me. You know it don’t work.” She stabbed a finger at his chest. “Connie can’t do a damn thing for herself right now so until she says otherwise, you stay the hell away from her—”

“We’ll see about that,” Sonny snapped. He’d call Diane. He’d make Jason call in a favor. He would see Kate. He focused on Spinelli. “You. Tell me where Jason is.”

“Ah—” Spinelli clutched the laptop to his chest, his eyes wide. “The Fair Elizabeth was injured in a car accident last night.”

Sonny scowled. “I’m not an idiot. I know he’s with her. I don’t know her room number.”

“Oh, well, she’s in the ICU. Stone Cold has appointed The Indomitable One as his second, so I report to him right now. Maybe—”

“Cody,” Maxie said quickly when Sonny’s expression turned thunderous. “Cody’s kind of the big guy right now or something. I think. He came down to check on us and all that. Um, I think Jason wanted to stay with Elizabeth until she woke up. She needed surgery.”

Sonny pressed his lips together. “But she’s stable now?”

“Oh, don’t tell me you care about someone else,” Olivia said, rolling her eyes. “That would be new—”

Sonny hissed, whirled around. “You don’t know a damn thing about me, Liv, so why don’t you just shut the hell up?”

“Elizabeth was stable the last time Cody came down,” Maxie interjected, before Olivia could respond. “That’s all we know.”

“Fine. I want to know when Kate wakes up,” he said to Spinelli, then left.

“Good. Now he can go be Jason’s problem.” Maxie exhaled in relief, collapsing into a chair. “Don’t look at me that way, Spinelli. It’s literally Jason’s job to handle him—”

“I just think Stone Cold is dealing with enough.” Spinelli plucked out his phone to put his mentor on alert that trouble was coming.

“Well, tell him to get in line,” Maxie said with a huff. “We all have problems.”

Hardy House: Living Room

“Thank God you’re here.” Audrey stepped to the side, allowing Bobbie to walk past her. She closed the door, pressed a hand to her forehead. “I’m simply beside myself, and I thought you would be the best person to talk to.”

“I’m sure it’s been a rough morning. Let’s sit down—”

“No, no—” Audrey sighed when she heard the patter of footsteps. A few minutes later, a giggling Cameron raced past, Jake just behind, much slower, but no less determined to catch him.

“I thought—” Bobbie exhaled in a quick breath. “I thought Elizabeth dropped the boys with Lucky. I know he’s probably worried about Lulu, but surely with her accident—he didn’t come back to get them yet?”

“I see he didn’t communicate to the family at large.” Audrey’s lips were pressed in a thin line. She closed the door. “He dropped their things off—everything Elizabeth had sent over for the week, apologized, and told me that he was heading to California.”

“California—” Bobbie set her purse on the desk by the stairs. “But Nikolas is doing that. He told me he was working out a deal with the DA’s office to get her transferred. He can do that — he has a nanny for Spencer, and can pick up and go so much more easily. The boys are here. Elizabeth’s job is here—”

“Yes, well, though that might seem logical to you or I, apparently your nephew has decided to wash his hands of the whole thing.” Audrey took a deep breath. “I simply just want to see my granddaughter. All I have are short phone calls with Jason Morgan of all people, and I just—I thought you might have some insight being Carly’s mother. Why is Jason involved at all?”

“Oh, Audrey.” Bobbie sighed, picked up a photo of Elizabeth and her boys. “Are you really asking that question?” She handed the frame to Audrey who traced Jake’s smile with her fingers.

The older woman walked towards the sofa, sat down. “How long have you known?”

“I’m not sure I can claim to know anything and certainly, last year when I watched her testify, I accepted her answer at the time. Though—” Bobbie bit her lip. “I suppose I wondered. Didn’t you?”

“I tried not to. I thought it was best not to linger on that terrible year. But—”

“I came home from Seattle, and I saw him, and, oh, Audrey, isn’t it like looking at the past? You certainly saw Jason at that age more than I did, with how often you and Steve socialized with the Quartermaines.” The boys raced past them again. Audrey’s eyes followed him. “As to why Jason’s involved with Elizabeth’s medical treatment right now, well, that I can answer. They were going away together.”

“Ah,” Audrey nodded. She rubbed her forehead. “Travelling internationally, so she gave him power of attorney—”

“I can only assume, though I don’t know for sure.” Bobbie hesitated. “I hope Jason stepping up right now means that we can all stop speculating about that little boy and move on to whatever comes next.”

“I encouraged her to stay with Lucky last year. To focus on that child, to see this little boy as a new beginning for them because her pregnancy had brought Lucky back from the brink of addiction.” Audrey looked at Bobbie. “That wasn’t a very fair thing for me to say, was it? I know she felt pressured to stay, to see him through it all.”

“I don’t think I was much better, though in our defense, we had no idea that there was a possibility Jake was anything but Lucky’s son.” Bobbie looked at the photo, then back at Audrey. “Now tell me what happened this morning.”

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Jason rose to his feet when Carly appeared at the door of the ICU room. He glanced over, making sure Elizabeth was still dozing before joining his friend in the hallway. “Hey.”

“Hey. I stopped by your place and brought the change of clothes you asked for.” Carly swept her gaze over his wrinkled pants and shirt. “You should have called last night—”

“It was the last thing on my mind until this morning.” He dragged a hand over his face, digging the heel of his palm into his eye, wishing he could wipe away the vestiges of exhaustion so easily. He’d caught a few minutes of sleep here and there, but the chair wasn’t that comfortable, and he hadn’t been willing to leave.

“Is she okay? Or is that why you’re still here? Because she’s critical?” Carly asked, looking past him. “Because I thought you were keeping this all quiet—”

Jason grimaced, then reached for the tote bag emblazoned with the Metro Court logo on it she had looped over her arm. “She has a concussion,” he said tightly. “And there was internal bleeding. Thanks for caring—”

“Oh, don’t—” Carly stepped in front of him before he could go back inside. “Don’t be like that. It wasn’t that long ago you were telling me that you could never have the life you wanted, and then—” Shadows crept into her eyes. “After Michael—I just—I’m not judging you. Maybe your choices,” she said, then put up a hand when he scowled. “That was a joke—”

“They lost her pulse in the ambulance, Carly,” Jason retorted, and she pressed her lips together. “I stood her up at the airport, and she got into a car accident on the way home. If she’d been with me, that wouldn’t have happened.” If he’d called her, if he’d done any one of a thousand things, things would be different.

“Yeah, I get that. I do. It’s just—you’re making a really big decision, and you can’t take it back once everything calms down. I mean, it’s probably already too late—” She brightened. “Does this mean you’re going to be with Jake? Because you know that’s the part I care about the most. I want you to have your son.”

Jason winced, thinking of the confrontation with Lucky. “That’s something Elizabeth and I have to talk about.”

“Why should she get to stop you—”

“It’s not that easy, Carly. And I don’t want to talk about this with you—”

“Well, since Lucky’s going to California, I don’t see why you can’t be with Jake—”

“How the hell do you know about that?” Jason demanded.

Carly made a face. “Mac said something when I was bailing Sonny out. So you know already. Lucky’s already gone, so she can’t keep you away from Jake now—”

“Stop. Just stop—” He rubbed his forehead. “Wait. Can we go back to the part where you bailed out Sonny?”

“Oh. Yeah, I went down to the PCPD to bail him out before I went to your place. Don’t look at me like that,” Carly said when Jason just stared at her.

“Forget it. I—” Jason stopped, plucked the vibrating cell phone from his pocket, and sighed when he saw the text from Spinelli. “I have other things to worry about today. Because thanks to you, Sonny’s on his way here.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to help. And I told Sonny about the accident. We didn’t have details, so maybe he’s just coming to check on you.”

Jason just looked at her, and Carly scrunched her nose. “Yeah, okay. He’s probably coming to yell at you about Kate. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about that, just how terrible Sonny is in small spaces. Diane was right behind me, so don’t tell me you weren’t going to do the same.”

Maybe, but Jason couldn’t help but think his life would be easier if Sonny weren’t on his way down, probably demanding action or answers. Sonny expected miracles, and Jason didn’t have any for him. His priorities were simple. Elizabeth, Jake, and Cameron came first, then Carly and her boys, and Sonny was third.

A very distant third after the last few months, Jason thought, spying Sonny down the hall. He’d been stopped by the nurses at the main ICU desk, wanting to know what patient he was visiting. Carly had permission — Jason hadn’t left the same for Sonny.

“Can you stay with Elizabeth in case she wakes up? I don’t need him hauled away on charges for a second night in a row. And if she does—”

“I promise to be nice.” When Jason just looked skeptical, she rolled her eyes. “He’s almost here, so make your decision quick.” Carly gestured towards the end of the hall, and Jason reluctantly went down the hall where he exchanged a few short, terse words with Sonny before they both disappeared.

Carly looked back at the ICU room and went inside. Her stomach twisted a little at the evidence of Elizabeth’s injuries — the pale, nearly translucent skin, the dark bruise on her face — she’d never be Elizabeth’s biggest fan, but that didn’t mean she wanted to see the other woman lying in a hospital bed.

“You know, Jason’s been through too much. You really have to get better,” Carly said. She sat gingerly on the edge of the plastic chair. “First, there was Alan. And then Emily. And—” Her voice cracked. “Michael.” She stared hard at the linoleum floor, gathering herself. “Anyway.” Carly looked back at Elizabeth. “So even though I don’t really like you, I think you should get better just to spite me, you know?”

“When you put it that way.” The words were slightly slurred but audible, and Carly jumped. Elizabeth’s eyes fluttered, and she licked her lips. “Is there…water?”

“Yeah. Yeah, um—” Carly looked around for anything, found a pitcher and went to fill it in the sink. She returned and filled a glass. “Careful, okay?” She held the glass to Elizabeth’s lips. “Don’t drink too fast.”

Elizabeth laid back after she’d drank a little, then opened her eyes again. “Did I…Did I dream Jason being here?”

“Oh. No. Um, he went to handle Sonny who’s not really having a good day. Or week. He was here until five minutes ago,” Carly added. “All night. Didn’t even change his clothes.” She leaned forward. “And while I’ve got you at my mercy, I’ve got some questions.”

General Hospital: Conference Room

Jason shoved open the door. “Get in here, and let’s deal with this—” He waited for Sonny to stalk in ahead of him as his phone vibrated again with a message from Cody asking for a meeting. He punched in a short response, then focused on Sonny. “What did they charge you with?”

Sonny scowled. “That’s how you want to start this? Did you find out what you screwed up last night?”

Jason folded his arms, his patience worn down to nearly nothing after the lack of sleep and worry over Elizabeth. “You want to know what I screwed up?” he bit out. “Let’s start with agreeing to run security for you at all when you wouldn’t let me do the job. I wanted to do one more sweep. You refused. I wanted people at the door. You refused. How the hell do you think the shooter got in with a gun?”

Sonny opened his mouth, but Jason wasn’t done. “You ignored all the protocol, every single plan we’ve made in all the years we’ve been doing this — and you did it barely six months after your decisions put Michael in that coma—”

“Don’t you—”

“You took him to the warehouse without guards, Sonny. What the hell do you want me to say? You want to be out of the business? Fine. Be out. But that means you’re out. I’ll deal with the shooting—”

“You’re not dealing with anything—”

“Look at where I am, Sonny! I’m in the ICU, waiting for the woman I love to wake up. Exactly where you should be!” Jason shot back. He sliced his hand through the air. “And I’m not leaving until I know Elizabeth’s stable. You chose to run around like a madman yesterday instead of sticking by Kate—that’s on you—I’m handling things.”

“The hell you are! Nothing is happening! You just let that little bitch go home last night like none of this is his fault—”

Jason dipped his head, forced himself to count to five. And then to ten because he still couldn’t find the calm he needed to have this conversation. “We have no evidence that Johnny Zacchara had anything to do with this. I don’t see the motive for him to put a shooter in the church, then bring his emotionally fragile girlfriend to attend. You do know that Lulu had another breakdown? Her family is taking her to some treatment facility in California—that she’s slipped away just like her mother—”

Sonny exhaled slowly, some of the flush fading from his face. “No. No. I hadn’t—” He dragged his hands down his face. “Christ.”

Jason saw that he was finally breaking through Sonny’s brick wall of fury and softened his tone slightly. “You want Zacchara to be guilty because it’s easy. It’s simple. But he’s not. And the cops were there too fast for us to find out anything. We’re stuck with running behind them and trying to get info from the PCPD we can follow ourselves. No one’s said that Anthony or Claudia are clean, just that I don’t have enough to go after them—”

“We have plenty—”

“We have suspicions,” Jason cut in sharply. “And there’s too much at stake for me to make a mistake, okay? I can’t—I can’t keep doing this, Sonny. Elizabeth is lying in the ICU, and until she’s well enough to move to a normal room, that’s my focus. It has to be. Lucky took off to California, dumping Jake and Cam with Audrey, and Elizabeth doesn’t know any of that—I shouldn’t have to explain this, Sonny. My family has to matter more right now.”

“No. No, I get that—” Sonny dragged a chair out from the conference table, dropped into it. “It’s a goddamn mess, and there’s no way out, is there?”

“I’m sorry about Kate. Spinelli’s keeping me in the loop. I know the cousin is making things hard right now.” Jason sat across from him. “The only reason I get to be in that room is because Elizabeth and I signed power of attorneys the other day. We were supposed to be in Italy right now—”

They were supposed to wake up in the hotel he’d booked, have breakfast on the Grand Canal in Venice—

Instead, Elizabeth was lying in an ICU room, battered and bruised.

“I thought you were still keeping it quiet,” Sonny said, a bit dully. “That’s over now?”

“Yeah, it’s over.” Patrick’s words had echoed all night. Life was too short, and you never got what you really deserved. Hadn’t Jason learned that the hard way? There hadn’t been enough time to repair his relationship with Alan. There would never be another day with his sister. Michael would get older but never know it.

Jason wasn’t going to have one more regret on his conscience. If Elizabeth still wanted him, if she really wanted to choose him, then he was going to hold on with both hands and keep her as safe as he could. No more letting the guilt swallow him whole.

“I’ll keep looking into things. I’ll use all my connections, Sonny. But I’m not doing it personally. You wouldn’t be either,” Jason reminded him, but more gently now. “You wanted me to take over. That’s what I’m doing. I have to trust that Cody and Spinelli and anyone else I ask to handle things will do their jobs. Just like you trusted me. Can you give me time?”

“Yeah.” Sonny rose to his feet. “I’m sorry about Elizabeth,” he offered almost absently. “She’ll be okay?”

“She’s been upgraded to stable condition. They’re still monitoring her concussion, so she’s in the ICU for a few more days.” Jason went to the door and opened it. “Go home, Sonny. Get some rest.”

“Take your own advice. You look like hell,” Sonny advised, and then left.

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Everything still felt just the slightest bit fuzzy, and her head was killing her — so of course, the universe was going to put Carly Jacks in front of her with that pinched expression.

“You’ve got questions?” Elizabeth said, closing her eyes, blocking out the light. “Good. Go ask someone who cares.”

Carly scowled. “Hey, I’m being nice here—”

“Because you want something.”

“Jason sat by you all night,” Carly said flatly, and Elizabeth opened her eyes, but continued to stare up at the ceiling. “Did you even hear me say that?”

She had, but Elizabeth still couldn’t quite make herself believe it. He’d stayed with her when Jake had been born but that had been before — when the whole world hadn’t known about their night together, when Jake’s paternity hadn’t been up for debate. Before Michael.

But Jason sitting in her hospital room all night? Where anyone could have seen him? On the same night that Kate Howard had been shot in a church? No, Elizabeth couldn’t let herself trust that Carly wasn’t confused or that Jason didn’t have a cover story ready—

“What do you want?” Elizabeth asked, slowly rolling her head back to Carly, forcing her eyes open.

“I want to know if you plan on keeping Jason’s son from him forever,” Carly said. Elizabeth sighed. “And don’t you dare bring up Michael—”

“I wouldn’t do that, Carly.” Elizabeth closed her eyes again, her body feeling heavy and sore. “We’ve been through this, and what Jason and I decide to do about Jake—”

“No, it’s what you decide, and you damn well know it. If you told him today that you wanted the world to know Jake was his son, he wouldn’t argue with you.” Carly folded her arms. “Six months ago, I was…upset. I wasn’t thinking clearly. When I told you I thought you’d done the right thing—”

“He was going to leave me anyway.” Elizabeth looked towards the transparent walls of her ICU room, down the hallway of other rooms like hers. Wanting to focus on anything except Carly. “I saw his face when he came over to my house after he’d been to the hospital. I let him think I agreed. That I wanted it. I thought it would make it easier for him.” She squeezed her eyes shut, the tears burning. “He asked me to marry him, Carly. Just before we got the call.”

“I—”

“You didn’t know, sure. But I was all in. I was ready, and he took it back the first chance he had. I don’t know what you want from me. What you expect me to do?”

“I’m—I just want to give him something back, okay? After everything—” Carly closed her mouth, and Elizabeth opened her mouth at the sudden silence. Jason was coming back down the hall, though he’d changed now into a pair of blue jeans and a dark grey T-shirt. “Never mind.”

Jason stopped at the doorway, his expression so starkly relieved that Elizabeth almost couldn’t breathe. “You’re awake.” He rounded the bed and Carly jumped out of the seat just before he reached the other side — he didn’t even seem to notice his friend. “Do you want the doctor? Should I call the nurse—”

“No. No.” Elizabeth cleared her throat and caught Carly’s anxious expression. Clearly the other woman was worried Elizabeth intended to tell Jason what his friend had been up to. “No. I just—I want to know what’s going on. Um, I don’t really remember anything after…” She bit her lip. “I remember being in the car, and then nothing.”

“A car ran a red light and hit you.” Jason took her hand, stroked the back of it, then held it between both of his own. “You have a concussion, but I think the pain meds they gave you are blocking you from really feeling it. There was some internal bleeding, and bruised ribs. But you’re okay. Patrick said you’d be okay.”

“Car accident,” Elizabeth repeated, exhaling slowly. Then she looked back, furrowed her brow. “You were here the last time I woke up, and Carly said you were here all night.”

Jason twisted to look back at Carly whose cheeks flushed. He frowned, then focused on Elizabeth. “Yeah. I was. I was just taking care of something before—”

“What about Kate? And Sonny?”

“It’s being handled,” he said. “I don’t want you to worry about any of it. Okay?”

“I’m not—” She bit her lip. She just didn’t understand what was going on — or how long it would last. Jason was here right now and the whole world probably knew it. But that had never stopped Jason from leaving her before. “Um. The boys? Does Lucky know the trip is canceled…oh, and my luggage—” She closed her eyes again. “I filed the papers to get it back from Italy, but I need to follow-up.”

She didn’t see Jason wince or Carly raise her eyebrows. “I’ll handle it. Lucky knows,” Jason said, and Elizabeth focused on him again. “I, uh, talked to him.”

“I should still call him—”

“He’s probably somewhere over Iowa right now, so good luck.”

Jason scowled, turned back. “Damn it, Carly—”

“What does that mean?” Elizabeth winced as she tried to sit up. “Oh, damn—”

“He resigned from the PCPD this morning and the way Mac was talking, it was like he was already leaving, so like I said, stop keeping Jason from his son—”

“Carly,” Jason growled, heading for his friend. Carly’s eyes widened and she stepped back. “Shut up!”

“He’s going to California now—” A monitor began to beep.

“Hey. Take a deep breath—” Jason came back to her side and squeezed her hand.

“He wasn’t supposed to do that yet—” Elizabeth’s chest felt tight and she shook her head. “He just told me yesterday—what the hell happened? What’s going on—”

The door to the room slid open, and Patrick came in, his brow furrowed. “Hey. They said your vitals were sending up alerts at the nurse’s station—” He glared at Carly and Jason. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Nothing. Just telling her about Lucky.” Carly folded her arms. “Shouldn’t we tell her the father of her kids has made a run for it—”

Jason got up, took her by the elbow. “Go home.”

“I was just trying to help—” She almost yelped as he shoved her out the door, then closed it. Unfortunately, the walls were transparent — and she could still be seen scowling on the other side.

“Patrick—”

“Take a deep breath, okay?” Patrick held a syringe in his hand, checked the dosage. “You need to keep your blood pressure down.”

“I didn’t mean—” She closed her eyes. “I didn’t mean—”

“Yeah, I know. That’s on whoever let Carly within ten feet of you.” He shot Jason a dirty look. He injected the medication into her IV. “You need to rest. Take it easy.”

“But—the boys.” Elizabeth felt her body growing heavier, her eyelids pressing down. “Jason—”

“They’re safe. I promise.” Jason watched, worried, as she slid into sleep. “I thought you said she was stable—”

“Outside. Now,” Patrick ordered when Jason didn’t immediately obey. “And just remember that I can restrict all visitors if I want—this is my hospital—and don’t try that stone cold shit on me—” The doctor waved a hand in front of his own face. “You don’t scare me, okay? You touch me, and Elizabeth and Robin will kick your ass. Now get out of my patient’s room and let’s go talk in the hallway.”

Jason wanted to deck the arrogant asshole, but a glance over at Elizabeth, whose cheeks were stained with tears, drained some of his irritation. And Patrick was right — he couldn’t lay a goddamn hand on the son of a bitch.

Especially when he was only looking out for Elizabeth.

Especially when he was right.

Jason reluctantly followed Patrick outside, folded his arms, and glared at Carly. “I asked you for one favor. One. Sit next to her and not start anything. You couldn’t even manage that when she’s lying in a hospital bed, Carly—”

Carly winced. “All I did was tell her what was going on. She should know—”

“Don’t do that. Don’t pretend you gave a damn about what she’s dealing with,” Jason cut in and Carly closed her mouth. “You were thinking about yourself. Like you always do. Go home.”

Her face fell. “Jase—”

“Get away from me.” Carly flinched, but Jason didn’t have the patience or energy to feel bad. She swallowed hard and left without another argument. When she was gone, Jason turned back to Patrick who was still scowling. “I’m sorry. I won’t let her back in. Is Elizabeth okay?”

“She’s stable if that’s what you mean, but stable doesn’t mean normal. She just had major surgery, you moron. We cut her open and repaired her liver. Do you have any idea how many complications hypertension could cause? And that’s before we get into the concussion and bruised ribs—”

Jason put up a hand, then curled it into a fist. “Okay. Okay. I get it—”

“No, you really don’t. You think sitting by her side for one night makes you the good guy? Her vitals went haywire when she found out the last moron she trusted just dumped her young children on her eighty-year-old grandmother without even waiting for Elizabeth to wake up from surgery. You don’t think that could have waited?” Patrick demanded.

“I wasn’t—” Jason exhaled slowly. “I wasn’t trying to tell her about that,” he said finally. “How did you know about it?”

“I’m the Chief of Staff,” Patrick bit out. “I had to do the paperwork for the transfer, and Nikolas filled me in. Lucky went ahead of them, and Nikolas and Lulu are following later. Good riddance to a piece of garbage if you ask me. Why the hell did you tell Carly?”

“I didn’t. She heard from somewhere else. I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to tell Elizabeth anything right now.” He dragged his hands across his face. Damn it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for her to know. Not like that.”

“Yeah, well—” the other man looked away, took a deep breath. “It’s been a bad night all around,” he said finally. “So maybe you get a pass on what just happened. I know Carly can’t be controlled. I can’t believe that son of a bitch just left like this. Dumped her kids on her elderly grandmother—what kind of father walks out on their kids?”

Jason blinked, thrown by the turn in the conversation. “I—”

“And I’m not talking about you. I’m not talking about anyone.” But Patrick looked a bit shame-faced, and maybe startled by his own reaction. “Let’s just put that away for right now. Because as far as I’m concerned, Lucky doesn’t matter anymore. He’s out. Maybe he figured it was your problem to handle now. What are you going to do about it?”

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