Someday, somehow
I’m gonna make it alright but not right now
I know you’re wondering when
You’re the only one who knows that
Someday, somehow
I’m gonna make it alright but not right now
I know you’re wondering when
– Someday, Nickelback

---

Sunday, September 28, 2008

General Hospital: Hallway

Jason furrowed his brow, considered the information Cody had shared in a hushed voice. “It could be a trick,” he said. “How easy is the ammunition to get?”

“Not difficult at all,” the other man said. “But you don’t see it used much outside of hits made by the Russian mob.”

“It’s still not enough,” Jason said, “but, okay, yeah it might point back to Karpov. That’s all we can get?”

“PCPD doesn’t have much to go on either,” Cody said, almost apologetically. “The gun wasn’t left behind, so the shooter obviously had an exit plan or was able to blend in with the wedding guests who were running from the building. Honestly? Whoever pulled this off knew what they were doing.”

“Sonny’s not going to want to hear that,” Jason muttered. He glanced back into the ICU room to make sure Elizabeth was still sleeping. “Okay. Everything else?”

“Running smoothly. You were planning to be gone for a week anyway, so we’re all good. Really,” Cody said when Jason looked skeptical. “I’d tell you.”

“Okay. Uh—” Jason rubbed the side of his brow with his thumb, trying to order his thoughts. He would need to get some real rest soon. “The penthouse. I need a security audit of the entire floor. We haven’t done an upgrade since Sonny moved out.”

“Yeah, sure. You, uh, thinking of moving in some small humans?” Cody asked, attempting a smile. Jason just raised his brows. “Okay. I’ll ask it straight out then. Are we done pretending Jake isn’t your son?”

Jason’s jaw clenched, and he looked away.  “I’m not getting into that right now.” At least not with Cody. Not before he told Elizabeth about Lucky and their confrontation in the emergency room. “But get Spinelli to do whatever he needs to with one of the guest rooms for Cameron and Jake. Crib, toddler bed. Whatever.”

He didn’t wait for Cody’s answer, but returned to the room, taking the chair next to the bed. His eyes felt gritty, throbbing with a dull ache from lack of sleep. He leaned over, resting his elbows on the bed, putting his head in his hands.

There was too much swirling, too much to keep straight. Kate had been shot less than twenty-four hours earlier, and they didn’t know a damn thing. Sonny could be making everything worse. Lucky had dumped the boys with Audrey, quit his job, and left for California because Jason had dared him to make a choice. And Cody was asking him about Jake, making it clear that no one had actually bought the fiction he and Elizabeth had spent the last year trying to sell.

He didn’t remember closing his eyes or even drifting into a light doze. Only vaguely became aware of someone touching him, lighting combing through his hair. He sat up, blinked, and saw Elizabeth looking back at him. “You’re awake. How—” He looked around. “When—how long?”

“A few minutes. You look so tired,” she said. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

“I don’t—” He squinted. “I don’t remember. A little. I don’t need a lot of sleep—”

“But you still need some,” she said gently, and he sighed, looked down at the bed, his hands still laying atop the thin, scratchy white blanket.

“I’ll sleep tonight. I promise,” he added when she looked skeptical. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay. I think. Patrick gave me some of the stuff that makes you fuzzy. Like—” She lifted her hand just a few inches off the bed. “I’m here, and I can sort of think. But I feel like I’m floating.”

“But no pain?” he pressed.

“No. No. Um—Patrick and Carly—they’re gone?”

“Long gone. It’s been a few hours.”

“I hate that,” she muttered, shifting slightly, and fumbled in the sheets for the bed controls. He found it, handed it to her, and helped her to slowly raise the bed. “We—were arguing, Carly and me. I think.”

“No. Should I get Patrick? Do you want him?”

“No. No.” She licked her lips. “Can I have some water?”

“Yeah, sure. Okay.”

When she’d sipped a little, he set the cup back on the table, the straw dangling. “What do you need now? Something to eat? I can—”

“I need to understand what’s going on.” Elizabeth waited until he looked at her. Her brows were drawn together. “You’ve been here all day. Carly said you were here all night—”

“Don’t worry about that—”

“People will see—” Elizabeth turned her head, looked through the clear walls of her room, at the bustle of the hospital. “They can see you.”

“I know. I don’t care.”

“You—” She looked back at him, licked her lips. “You don’t?”

“No.” He took her hand in both of his, brought it to his lips. “All that matters is that you’re okay. That’s it.”

“I feel like there’s—” She stilled, then her eyes sharpened, and her head jerked back towards the door, then to him. “Carly. She was here. She said Lucky went to California.”

Jason winced. He’d hoped she’d forgotten that. “Don’t worry about that just yet, okay?”

“I can’t—”

“I called your grandmother last night, and I’ve spoken with her a few times. She has the boys, and they’re fine. Bobbie went over to help, and she’ll stay with them so your grandmother can come see you.”

“Right, but California wasn’t—” Elizabeth swallowed hard. “I was going to tell you. In Italy. B-Because Lucky told me yesterday. But we were supposed to have time. He wasn’t supposed to go yet—”

“I know that, too. I—” Jason hesitated. “I talked to Lucky yesterday. There was a setback with Lulu. The wedding—”

Elizabeth’s expression crumbled. “Oh. Oh, no. I didn’t even think about that—is she all right? What happened?”

“She’s—I didn’t get a lot of the details, but Spinelli can find out more. I’ll call him. I just know that she’s…”

“Is it like Laura? Like her mother? They can’t get her back.”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Elizabeth closed her eyes. “I’ve known her since she was a little girl, you know. Constantly on the move, and then when Laura got sick, she was passed around to relatives until Luke was forced to deal with her. And now she might be…”

“I’m sorry.”

She looked at him. “Carly said Lucky resigned from the PCPD. So he’s just…gone. Like that. Without talking to me.”

“I—I think so,” Jason said carefully. “He stopped by your grandmother’s with the bags you packed for the boys.”

Elizabeth turned away from him, closing her eyes, but he could see the tears slipping past her lashes.

“But they don’t know anything yet,” Jason said quickly. “They just think they’re staying with your grandmother while their aunt is sick. They don’t even know you were in an accident.”

“I hate it. I hate that this is happening. That he did this in a way so that I can’t fight him—” Her voice faltered.

This was the moment — the time to tell her that Lucky might have had a slight push out the door, but Jason didn’t say anything. She was upset enough, and he remembered Patrick’s warnings.

So, instead, he stroked the back of her hand, the inside of her wrist, and waited for her to look at him. To open her eyes—even if the tears still shimmering nearly broke his resolve.

“I’m so sorry,” she managed.

Startled, Jason shook his head. “Why are you sorry?”

“B-Because I p-picked him. I asked you—God, I ask you to let that man raise your son a-and he j-just left—”

“Hey, we made that decision together. For Jake’s safety. His happiness. And he is happy,” Jason told her. He kissed the inside of her palm. “He’s smart, happy, and healthy. He’s perfect. He’s such an amazing kid, and you did that. Both of them. That’s what you promised me, Elizabeth, and you’ve kept that. You promised to give my son a family and he has that. You and Cameron and Audrey—”

“He should have you,” Elizabeth managed. “I want him to have you.”

“I want him, too. We’ll talk about all of it. I promise.” He kissed her hand again. “But you can’t get upset because your monitors will start beeping again and Patrick will kick me out this time.”

She smiled then, and the tightness in chest eased. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of Patrick. Not Stone Cold Jason Morgan.”

“He’s not impressed by that,” Jason told her, and her smile just deepened.

“Someone who isn’t cowed by the infamous stare? That never happens.”

“Not very often,” he admitted, and was rewarded when she laughed. “You never were.”

“You’ve never used it on me.” She closed her eyes. “And I don’t think you could pull it off on me now.”

“Definitely not.” He pressed another kiss against her knuckles. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

“Oh, thank God.” Carly rushed up to the counter, catching Bobbie’s hand when her mother reached for a brown bag on the counter. “I was hoping I’d run into you. I need your help.”

“I can’t—I have to get this back over to Audrey’s. I promised I’d pick up some food and sit with Jake and Cameron so she could finally get to the hospital—”

“Oh, that’s perfect. That’s perfect. Because that’s what I need help with.”

Bobbie hesitated, looking at her daughter more closely. “I don’t understand.”

Carly grimaced, then folded her arms. “I made a small mistake. I took Jason some clothes at the hospital, and he asked me to sit with Elizabeth for a minute while he dealt with Sonny, and don’t make that look, Mama, I was nice to her, that’s not where I messed up.”

“Carly—”

“I didn’t mean to do it, but I just—I was so irritated because she was already talking about Lucky, and Jason was the one sitting with her—”

“Stop—” Bobbie held up her hand, glancing around them. The diner wasn’t crowded, but it wasn’t empty either.  “Stop. Let’s take this conversation somewhere else.” She grabbed the bag and headed for the courtyard, then the parking lot. She reached her car, then turned to level an irritated glare at her daughter. “I really shouldn’t be the one telling you not to do this where people can hear you. You know better, Carly. Do you really think Jason wants his business blasted everywhere?”

“No. No.” Carly dragged her hands through her hair. “And I know you’re right. Damn it. I keep doing this. It’s exactly what happened at the hospital. I overheard about Lucky and California. When Elizabeth started talking about Lucky and the boys, I messed—”

“You told her? She just woke up from major surgery—”

“I know. All those machines started to go wild, and Patrick came in. She had to be sedated. I guess she got upset.” Carly bit her lip. “Jason’s really pissed at me. He told me to get away from him. I have to fix this.”

“You fix this by going home and spending time with your son. Morgan’s been through enough—”

“But that’s what makes this perfect! You’re going to go hang out with Elizabeth’s kids! Morgan already knows Cam. They’re in the same preschool class. I can take the boys. And you, of course, you, too. And I can get Cam to school tomorrow, and Audrey won’t have to worry at all.”

Bobbie hesitated.  “It’s not the worst idea you’ve ever had,” she admitted. It would solve a few problems, and it would actually be good for Morgan to be around the boys. He was lonely with his brother gone. It would take the pressure off Audrey— “I don’t think Jason would complain since it solves a few problems at once—and keeps you away from the hospital. But if Audrey says no, then we shut it down. No arguing.”

“Got it. I won’t even say a word. Thank you. I just know Jason is going to appreciate this, and he’s going to realize that I can think about someone other than myself. You’ll see. This is the best idea for everyone.”

General Hospital: Hallway

Maxie darted a look over her shoulder, then hissed at Spinelli. “You keep watch, okay?”

“The Jackal is here to serve.” He offered her a two fingered salute, then Maxie ducked inside the conference room and closed the door.

She took a deep breath and flashed a harassed smile at the man waiting for her. “Sorry. I just have to make sure Benito Falconieri doesn’t find out that I’m giving you any information—”

Sonny’s brows creased together. “Benito—” Then a smile curved his lips. “That’s not a bad one, actually. I’m not looking to get you in trouble, Maxie—I just want to know what’s going on.”

“Totally. It’s just—there’s not much of an update. Kate spent most of the night in spinal surgery.” Maxie rubbed her arms. “They said it was successful — removed the bullet and all, but there’s still, like, swelling in the cord. And that she might be unconscious for most of the day. I’m sorry. I wish it was better news.”

“Yeah, me, too—” Sonny closed his mouth when he heard the door behind them, the twisting of the knob.

Maxie spun around, bracing herself for the full wrath of Olivia Falconieri, but was instead confronted with Jax—though the Australian didn’t look happy either.

“I thought I might find you in here,” Jax said blandly. Behind him, Spinelli looked miserable.

“You had one job, Spinelli,” Maxie hissed.  She held a finger up at him. “Just the one!”  Then she flashed a bright smile at Jax. “Listen—”

“Sonny was just leaving,” Jax interrupted. He stepped aside, held the door open, and Maxie shivered from the tension in the air.

“Was I, Candyboy?” Sonny said, tilting his head. “I’m not so sure.”

“You can leave now, or I’ll make sure that Olivia knows what Maxie is up to.”

Stricken, Maxie looked at Sonny, and the other man sighed, rubbed his face. “Kate would not want me locked out of this,” he muttered. “And you damn well know it—”

“Well, we don’t know that for sure, not since she’s been shot for the second time because of you” Jax’s scowl deepened. “I suppose we should all be grateful that it wasn’t worse. That she’s not the next resident of Silver Water.”

Sonny flinched, then looked away. “When she wakes up, I’ll be the one in the room, and you’ll be the one on the outside looking in.”

“I look forward to having that argument with her. Until then—”

Sonny stalked past Jax and disappeared from Maxie’s view. Then Jax looked at Maxie. “I find you passing information to him again, you’re out, too—”

“Does it make you feel good to throw Michael in his face?” Maxie demanded. Jax grimaced. “Are you so perfect, have you made so few mistakes that you can stand here and act like you’re in the right? Kate is going to be furious when she wakes up and realizes what you and Olivia did—”

“But we both know you’re going to do exactly what I’ve said,” Jax cut in coolly, and Maxie glared at him. “Because you’re too selfish to risk losing your access to Kate. Do what you do best, Maxie, and think about yourself. Leave the rest of it to the adults in the room.”

Hardy House: Living Room

Audrey pulled the door open, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Bobbie, carrying the promised dinner from Kelly’s. “Oh, thank goodness. The boys were getting hungry, and—Carly.” She forced a smile on her face when she realized Bobbie’s daughter was hovering behind her on the porch. “Ah, it’s so nice to see you.”

“You too, Mrs. Hardy.” Carly clasped her hands behind her back.

“Well, come on in. Thank you so much for getting dinner, and for agreeing to stay with the boys for another hour or so.” Audrey closed the door behind the women, then gestured towards the sofa. Cameron was laying in front of the coffee table, staring up at something on the television and next to him, Jake was building a tower from plastic blocks. “I just know that I would feel so much better if I saw Elizabeth, even for a little a while.”

“Well, Carly thought—and I agreed—that we might be able to go a little further.” Bobbie set the bagged dinner on the table. “Cameron and Morgan are in the same preschool class this year.”

“Oh.” Audrey looked at the boys blankly for a second. “I’d forgotten about school tomorrow. I didn’t even—I’m not even sure what the drop off process is—”

“I can help,” Carly volunteered. “Um—I know Cam and Morgan get along well. He talks about him sometimes. I can do the drop off. I’ll come by tomorrow morning and pick him up. Or—” She swallowed hard. “Maybe you’ll let me take the boys overnight, at least tonight so you can get organized with everything, you know? This—you weren’t planning to have them, and I know firsthand how much little boys eat—” Her voice dropped slightly, and she looked away.

“It’s a lovely offer,” Audrey said slowly, “but I wouldn’t feel right without talking to Elizabeth. You and my granddaughter aren’t exactly friends,” she said to Carly.

“That’s true. But Jason and I—ow—” Carly flinched when Bobbie elbowed her. “What? Oh. Um, well, then Mama and I will hang out here while you go see Elizabeth and you can ask her. It’s really cool whatever you guys decide. It’s just—once I thought of it, I really thought it might be a good idea. Because—Morgan—he could use some kids around.” She cleared her throat. “He’s…not used to being an only child.”

Audrey exhaled slowly, her heart aching. Of course. Michael had been gone for six months. “I’m so sorry, Carly.”

“You’d really be doing me the favor. So, like I said, you can run it by Elizabeth. I’m up for whatever makes things easier. I can do the drop-off, the pick-up. Anything.”

“Well, I can certainly suggest it to Elizabeth,” Audrey said after a minute, then nodded. “All right. I’ll go see Elizabeth, and I’ll call you as soon as I have an answer. Thank you. For thinking of me. I just—I need to see my granddaughter.”

“Of course, Audrey. Whatever I can do.” Bobbie squeezed Audrey’s hand. “We’ll get through this.”

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Elizabeth winced as she sat up, smiling gratefully when Patrick put another pillow behind her. “Thanks. I’m tired of lying flat on my back. I keep falling back asleep—”

“Good. You’re supposed to rest,” he said with a grunt. “What is it with women and not listening to their doctors?”

Elizabeth smiled faintly. “Problems with Robin?”

“No. No. She’s great—” He rubbed his face. “She’s supposed to be taking it easy. That’s the whole point of reducing her hours, cutting back on patient load.”

“Oh, you’re not going to comment on someone not respecting a work-life balance, are you?”

Patrick made a face. “If this is a judgment about my schedule, I’m not the one carrying a second person—”

“No, just the weight of an entire hospital, in addition to a pregnant fiancée—and did I miss the part where you cut back on patients when you took the desk job?”

Patrick opened his mouth, then made a face. “I don’t like that you have a point.” He picked up the control for her bed. “Thanks for not mentioning the other thing.”

“The other thing?” Elizabeth frowned, then made a face. “Oh, you mean finding out about Matt.”

Patrick stared at her blandly, then wrinkled his nose. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“But you did.”

“Because I thought you were avoiding talking about it. Not that you’d forgotten,” he muttered.

“Concussion, it took me a second,” she reminded him, and he rolled his eyes. “Let me just say one thing—”

“You have never, not once, in your life, been able to limit yourself to one thing.”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, then pouted slightly. “I was going to argue that you haven’t known me that long, but you’re not wrong. So—okay, stop distracting me.”

“Caught on to my clever plan.” When she didn’t smile, Patrick sighed. “Okay, say your one thing, and then you’re cut off from this topic.”

“Don’t worry, I’m mostly on your side about this. If you don’t want to talk to Matt or your father, that’s your choice, and I support you.”

“That’s not your one thing, is it?” Patrick asked.

“Nice try. No. But not seeing or talking to either of them doesn’t actually make this go away. We both know it’s in the back of your mind whether you want it to be or not. I just know as someone who’s kept that kind of secret — it’s not an easy one to live with. Even if it seems like it might be. Or should be. Because ignoring it won’t change the fact that you know. And until you find a way to deal with it, it’ll keep popping back up.”

He was quiet for a long moment, then exhaled. “It just messes with everything I ever thought about my parents. My father dove into the bottle after we lost my mother, and I hated him for it. It wasn’t easy to get past that, but after meeting Robin—” He looked at Elizabeth. “I could understand loving someone so much that losing them that way, blaming yourself, could destroy you. But now I know that’s not what happened. Because how could my father love her like that and have an affair? He had another child that he knew about and walked away. What kind of man does that?”

He played with the threads of the frayed blanket. “I didn’t know if I wanted to be a father, but Robin went out of her way to make sure I had a choice. Lied to me to make sure I had that choice,” he added, and Elizabeth smiled. “I had to force my way in, you know? Fight to be part of it because she was so sure I didn’t want it. I can’t blame her for that. I’m the one that convinced her I didn’t want kids.”

Patrick looked at Elizabeth. “You said you lied to Jason about Jake. And Lucky. Jason let you do that—I don’t know, maybe that’s because of his job—but how do you let go of that? How do you ever look at Lucky in the face knowing that he’s left for California without telling you?”

“I think,” Elizabeth said carefully, “it’s not a good idea to compare the situations. What Lucky’s chosen — it’s not the same. Initially, I didn’t exactly give Jason the choice either. I kept the secret for months. And after I told him, when we were trapped in that elevator—oh, he was upset, disappointed. But then he was happy.”

She closed her eyes. “I asked Jason to give Jake up. Because I thought Lucky and I could get back to where we’d been before the drugs. Before Maxie. I asked him to let the lie stand. Because of how hard it would be for Sam, because of his job—I threw all of that at him. I knew he’d agree. I knew he didn’t want to, but I asked anyway. Jason agreeing to do it is on me, and never him. He has nothing to atone for. Nothing to forgive.”

“That’s…” Patrick sat up. “Okay. Okay. Yeah, I guess when you layer it up that way, maybe it makes sense that he agreed. Can I say that was a shitty thing for you to do?” he asked. “Because—”

“Absolutely, without a doubt, one of the cruelest conversations I’ve ever had with Jason, and I wish I could tell you there weren’t others. I’ll regret that choice for the rest of my life. For taking those final months of my pregnancy from Jason, from taking this first year from him — I can’t ever take any of that back, Patrick. I don’t know if Noah’s haunted by what he chose. Only he does.”

She shifted, wincing at the pain flashing in her temple. “As for Lucky, I have less sympathy. He’s the one that decided that the baby was his reason to be sober. He tied his sobriety to that little boy, a weight no child deserves, and I think less of myself for allowing that to happen. I wasn’t enough. Cameron, that little boy who adores him? Wasn’t enough. But a biological child, that was enough. But I didn’t see it then, and I’ll regret it every day for the rest of my life. He found out after the ball last year, and if he’d decided to walk away from them both, I’d have understood. He had every right to be furious, to never speak to me again. What I did was horrible, to him and to Jason.”

“But he stayed,” Patrick said.

“He did. And I would never, ever take Cameron away. Jake is more complicated — I want Jason to have that relationship with Jake, and if he chooses it now, I’ll be glad. But until Lucky started talking about leaving for California and just seeing the boys on holidays, putting them on planes to go see him and Sam—” Her mouth pinched. “I was already furious and planning how to respond. But this? Walking away from them without even speaking to me? I can’t understand that.”

“Especially since he didn’t have to go right away,” Patrick said. “Lulu isn’t even being transferred until tomorrow. Yeah, I’m with you. He can kick rocks. Cut him out. What he did to your poor grandmother is ridiculous. So you get it. You get why I can’t forgive my father.”

“I do. I think if you and Matt decide to never speak to Noah Drake again, he’s more than earned that. But—”

“Oh, man—” He scrunched his nose.

“I’m just going to say one thing and you have to let me because I’m injured and my head hurts,” Elizabeth said.

“This is like your third thing, but fine.”

“I was building up to this part. You don’t have to pretend you love him or even like him. You’re not obligated to be his brother in anything other than name. All you share with him is a biological relationship. And you are not required to give him more than that. He’s not required to do more than that. You could have grown up together and walked away with nothing but that tie. I mean, do you see my siblings in this room? My parents? Loving each other—that’s a choice. And no one should force you or Matt to make it.”

Patrick dipped his head, took a long breath. “But you have an opinion on the matter.”

“I’m sure looking at him is hard right now. Maybe it’s hard for him to look at you, too. He knew the truth and said nothing, right? He sees the son your father chose, and you see the proof that your father is a terribly flawed man—of someone who lied to you, to your mother maybe, to the woman he was with, and to that boy he threw away. That’s a lot of resentment and hurt to carry. Maybe the two of you will never be more than colleagues. But I think you might want to think about giving yourself permission to forgive Matt for existing. Because he never asked to be, and he’s certainly not begging you for more.”

“That—” Patrick lifted his gaze to hers, his mouth curved in a half smile. “Is not terrible advice actually.” He cleared his throat. “So, uh, where’s Prince Charming? This is the longest he’s left you alone since you came in—”

“I told him to go home and take a shower. Sleep. That was a few hours ago, so I hope he’s doing it.”

“Good, then that gives me time to move on to my next topic.” He rubbed his hands together. “How soon can we get together with your divorce lawyer and cut the damn cord with custody?”

“I like how your priorities are always in order,” Elizabeth said dryly. “You don’t even want to say anything about Jason?”

“No, because now you have me feeling sorry for the lousy bastard. I’m more interested in the good stuff. We get to eliminate Lucky completely. Best news all day. Seriously.”

She rolled her eyes, then looked towards the hallway, her breath catching a little as she realized Jason was walking with her grandmother, talking. Gram was smiling, then Jason—

“Huh, you know I always thought if I actually saw his mouth make a smile, it’d be creepier,” Patrick said. She shot him a dark look but said nothing before the door slid open, and Gram was there.

“Darling.” Gram came across the room, kissed her forehead. “I ran into Jason in the hallway—but you didn’t tell me she was sitting up—” she said to Jason.

“Because she’s supposed to be resting.” Jason studied the pillow behind Elizabeth’s head, then looked at Patrick. “You’re not concerned with the concussion?”

“I’m sorry, you’re telling me you know how to tell her what to do? Because, please—” Patrick got to his feet. “Share. We could all use that information.”

“Oh, that would have been very useful when she was a teenager.” Audrey eyed Jason meaningfully. “Though she ran away or moved out every time I tried.”

Jason scratched his temple and went around to the other side of the bed, avoiding her grandmother’s scrutiny, and Elizabeth was startled to see some amusement in Audrey’s expression. Were they—was Jason getting along with her grandmother? What had happened while she was unconscious?

“I think this is a good time for me to head out. Thanks, by the way. For the advice.” Patrick kissed Elizabeth’s forehead. “Do me a favor, and actually rest.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Patrick left the room, and Elizabeth was left alone with her grandmother and Jason.

It was time to take her own advice and learn from her own experience. “Gram. I’m so glad you’re here. There’s something I need to tell you.” She looked at Jason, then back at Audrey, remembering Carly’s words, annoying though true. It’s what you decide, and you damn well know it.

“We need to talk about why Jason’s here. And Jake. We really need to talk about Jake.”

Crimson Pointe: Foyer

Sonny might have left the hospital without further argument, but he wasn’t willing to just let the situation sit idle. Or go home to sleep. How was he supposed to lay his head down and close his eyes knowing that Kate was in the hospital — knowing that someone was getting away with trying to kill her— maybe Jason could sit back and wait for information to come to him, but Sonny sure as hell wasn’t built that way.

And so Sonny found himself commanding Max to drive him to Crimson Pointe to confront Anthony on his own turf, letting his fury build every minute of the long drive.

He stalked past the guard who had let him in, through the foyer into the front parlor where Anthony was waiting, reclining in his wheelchair, flanked by Ric and Claudia on either side. Johnny was by the windows, his jaw clenched.

Refusing to meet Sonny’s eyes. Damn it. The kid didn’t have a poker face — he knew something.

“How’s the stick?” Claudia asked, fisting a hand at her hip, a smirk on her lips, painted a deep, dark red. “Last we heard, she was bleeding out in the chapel—”

“Claudia, that’s not helping, ” Ric said. “Sonny—”

“You don’t get to speak,” Sonny told his brother with a jab of his finger. “You’ve done more than enough. I came here for one reason and one reason only—”

“Because you’re a moron?” Claudia offered. Sonny glared at her.

“She may be a lying bitch, but she’s not wrong,” Anthony said. Claudia rolled her eyes, barely taking offense at her father’s barb. What a twisted, horrible relationship. “You come here on your own, and what? We parlay or something? Trade information—”

“No. I know you’re involved. You know you’re involved. And you’re weak enough that you dragged your own son into this—”

“You leave my brother out of this.” Claudia stepped forward, shrugged off the arm Ric tried to grab. “Haven’t you blamed him for enough? He didn’t shoot your little waif this time or the last — ”

“Your days are numbered, old man,” Sonny said, ignoring the furious woman. “Make your peace with God.”

“He won’t have me.” Anthony sneered. “Anything else? You got more threats?”

“Why would anyone want to hurt Kate?” Ric said, still attempting to broker a peace. “Sonny, you’re out. You made that clear when you turned down Karpov a few months ago. Why aren’t you looking at the Russians—”

“You think I’m stupid. You don’t have a clue what you’ve started, you crazy bastard. But you will.”

He stormed out, slamming the door in his wake. Johnny stared after him, then looked at his father. “Is he right? Were you involved?”

“Why would any of us want to harm sweet little delicate Kate Howard?” Anthony said with mock concern. “Sonny doesn’t have the juice anymore. Morgan’s got the power. Though my people tell me he’s not moving much on this. I hear he’s distracted.” His lips curved into a smile. “It’d be a shame if someone took advantage of that.”

Ric tensed, and Johnny straightened. Even from the sofa, Claudia’s smile faded. She sat up, suddenly looking less combative.

“What exactly does that mean?” Ric said.

“Oh, relax—” Anthony made a face. “I know my limits. I go after the nurse Morgan thinks none of us know about, and I might as well write my own obituary. Especially right now. Your ex-wife is safe,” he told his lawyer.

“Anthony—” Ric began, his tone warning.

“But there’s lots of other ways we could have a little fun. I should go find the other useless lawyer I’m paying. I’ve got some thoughts.” He wheeled himself towards his study, and Ric reluctantly followed.

“Do you think he did it?” Johnny watched Anthony disappear from view. “Claudie—”

“What we know and what we’re going to tell anyone are two different things.” Claudia rose to her feet. “But you may wanna stay out of Port Charles right now. It’s a little too hot up there.”

← Chapter 12 | Chapter 14 →