I build myself up
And fly around in circles
Waiting as my heart drops
And my back begins to tingle
Finally, could this be it, or
Should I give up?
Or should I just keep chasing pavements?
Even if it leads nowhere
– Chasing Pavements, Adele

---

Monday, September 29, 2008

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Spinelli padded out from the kitchen, a glass of orange soda clutched in his hand. If anyone had pointed out to him that it was barely eight in the morning, he’d only look at them in confusion. What was the difference really between orange soda and orange juice?

Spinelli had spent the night before in his own bed, a pleasant upgrade from the plastic chair in the waiting room at General Hospital the night before, and he was ready to move on to his next task: assisting his guru in locating the dastardly villain who had ruined everything, sending Kate Howard to the operating room, the Original Blonde One to California — and possibly responsible for the Fair Elizabeth’s car accident.

It was that crime he was investigating now, having finally laid his hands on the traffic lights at the intersection in question, and he was absorbed in watching them when he heard a key in the lock.

Spinelli leapt to his feet, a bit confused but delighted when Jason came in, his hair disheveled and his face worn. “Stone Cold! You’re home! And just in time—”

Jason closed the door, dropped his keys on the desk. “Yeah. I’ve got some things to take care of.” He furrowed his brow. “Did Cody come by?”

“All systems are a go, and I followed your directive to prepare one of the rooms for the Littlest of Dudes and Stone Cold the Sequel.” Spinelli beamed. “The Jackal is delighted that the little tykes will be joining us—”

“I don’t know—” Jason paused, shook his head slightly. “I don’t know yet if they will. But I wanted to be ready.” He paused at the knock on the door. “Were you expecting anyone?”

“No.” Mystified, Spinelli closed his computer. “And there was no call from the front desk—” That meant it was someone on the allowed list. Not so many people left there, Spinelli reflected.

Jason pulled open the door, his eyes widening when he saw Carly—and in her arms, Jake. He hadn’t seen his son since before it had all gone horribly wrong—since before the church, the accident— He itched to take him in his arms. “What—”

“I dropped Morgan and Cam off at preschool, and I knew you wouldn’t close the door in my face if I had this adorable boy with me.” Carly grinned at Jake, and the little boy grinned back at her. “He’s just the sweetest, Jase. Most people don’t like me right off, but Jake and I are the best of friends already.” She looked back at him. “Um, you know—I mean, do you—”

“Yeah, Jake and I know each other, don’t we?” Jason asked, holding out his arms, and Jake immediately lifted his. Carly completed the transfer, and Jason stroked Jake’s back, touched his hair. “How were the boys last night?”

“Good as gold. And just what Morgan needed. All three of them fell asleep in Morgan’s bed—don’t worry, I put Jake in the portable crib, but I left him in the room with his brother. I know I say a lot about their mother, but she’s got some great kids.”

“Mommy?” Jake looked back at Carly, then at Jason. “Where Mommy? Miss Mommy.”

“Gram told you that she was sick, didn’t she?” Jason asked, walking over to the sofa. He looked at Spinelli. “Can you go—”

“I will locate something for the, uh, sequel to play with,” Spinelli said, saluting Jason with two fingers. Then he bounded up the stairs.

“Mommy’s sick but Gram’s taking care of her, and tomorrow or maybe the day after, we’ll go see her, okay?”

“K. Snelli!” Jake said, raising both arms when Spinelli returned with a few choices. Jason sat Jake down, and Spinelli got him settled.

He focused back on Carly. “Not that I’m not happy to see him, but—”

“Less happy to see me, I know. And I know helping out for one night or even a few isn’t going to fix what I did wrong.” She folded her arms, looked to Spinelli who stood up, returned to his laptop. “Hey. How’s Maxie?”

“Bearing up bravely. Should the Jackal leave Stone Cold alone with the Valkyrie—”

“No—did you ever get your hands on those videos we talked about? And no offense, Carly—” he looked at her. “You can wait.”

“What videos?” Carly asked.

“Traffic.” Spinelli fetched his laptop, placed it on the desk, and flipped it open, making sure to angle it so that Jake couldn’t see even a little sliver of the screen. “The Jackal was investigating when you arrived. The PCPD has the driver in custody according to their reports—”

He pressed play, and the trio watched as Elizabeth’s car approached an intersection with a red light. It switched to green, and her car began to travel across. When she was midway, a car blew the red light at the cross street. Not just a car, Spinelli thought, but an SUV which explained why Elizabeth’s smaller car hadn’t just been hit—the hood had been demolished, and the speed of the crash had sent her car careening into oncoming traffic where it was hit by another SUV moving at full speed.

Carly pressed her hands to her face watching wordlessly as the smaller car flipped over once, twice, then a third time before coming to a rest mercifully right side up which had made the rescue much easier.

“The Fair Elizabeth was wearing her seatbelt,” Spinelli said, drawing Jason’s attention. “And the other vehicle hit the hood of her car. Small mercies. That’s what the preliminary crash investigation states.”

Carly exhaled slowly. “She’s lucky to be alive,” she murmured. She touched Jason’s arm. “You okay?”

Jason cleared his throat, then nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. Uh—you said the driver was in custody—” he looked to Spinelli.

“The Jackal is waiting for full reports — a background check, financials — but right now, there doesn’t seem to be a link to anyone suspicious. Just a guy who wasn’t paying attention and didn’t see the oncoming car. So he says,” Spinelli added. “Right now, Stone Cold, the Jackal doesn’t see any connection with what happened at the church.”

“You thought they were—” Carly closed her mouth. “Of course you did.”

“Thanks, Spinelli. Let me know if you find anything else. Or if the PCPD gets any leads on Kate’s shooting.”

“The Jackal is eager to serve.” He scooped up the laptop, then headed over to keep Jake occupied, leaving Jason with Carly.

“Are you all right?” Carly asked softly, and Jason looked at her. “I didn’t know how bad the—I mean, I knew it wasn’t a fender bender,” she added. “But—” She wrinkled her nose. “If that SUV had hit her head on instead of just the hood of the car—”

“Did you want something, Carly?” Jason interrupted, not needing the reminder that it had been a matter of inches that had kept Elizabeth in his life. “Do the boys need anything? I have to get back to the hospital—”

“I wanted to apologize. To really apologize. Um, I think sometimes I’m a little irrational when it comes to Elizabeth—okay, more than a little,” Carly admitted when he just lifted a brow. She folded her arms. “I’ll work on that part. I really am sorry that she was hurt or that I added to it. I know that helping like this—that’s a drop in the bucket in making it up to you—”

“Carly—” He rubbed his face, exhausted already. “I know you’re sorry. I know you regret it. But it’s not the point, okay?”

“No, I know that, too, right? Because I always do this. I do the terrible thing, and then I regret it. And I apologize. This is our cycle, and you’ve been annoyed at it forever. I need to stop doing the terrible thing. I wish I could promise that’s going to happen. I will say I’m going to make a better effort. For a selfish reason. Morgan—oh, he had such a good time yesterday. He had someone to play with, someone to chase, and I just—I feel like Elizabeth did me the favor, you know? So I want to protect that friendship. I want to do right by Morgan when we both know that I did so much to screw up Michael.”

Jason exhaled, looked over at Spinelli and Jake, listening to the sound of his son giggling. “This is my family, Carly.”

“I know. And I should have listened when you told me that it was all you wanted. Last year, when you screamed it at me,” she added, when he just looked at her. “I was angry at you when you said it, but I should have listened. I can’t fix that. I can just promise to do better, then actually do it this time. I promise. I’m going to try.”

“Okay. Thank you for looking after them. Audrey’s amazing, but I know Elizabeth is happier with her there more.”

“You’ll see, Jason. I can help and not make things worse, I promise.”

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

Nadine exited the elevator, frowning when she spied Nikolas at the nurse’s station. “I thought Lulu had already been transferred,” she said, stepping up behind the counter. “I saw her name on the discharge papers this morning.”

Nikolas lifted the papers on the counter. “Paperwork,” he said. “It never seems to end.”

“No kidding.” Nadine tapped a few keys, then glanced over at him. “Is there anything you need? Anything I can do for Lulu before you guys go?”

“No. No. Thank you.” His eyes found hers. “For everything. I didn’t—I wish I’d handled things better.”

“There’s no handbook for any of this, Nikolas. You’re putting your family first. Before Saturday, when Lulu was still…” Nadine chewed on her bottom lip. “I might have had a problem with what you’re doing but seeing her that way — I want you to do whatever you can to bring her back.”

“Thank you.” Nikolas tipped his head. “But I know that look, and you’re not done, are you?”

She made a face. “It’s just — you said you guys put your mom in a hospital in London not long after this happened to her. And she’s only come back with medication. Maybe doing the same thing to Lulu isn’t the best idea.”

“I’ve—I’ve wrestled with that,” Nikolas admitted. He slid the paperwork across the counter. “But this facility has researchers looking at this specific condition. If there’s a chance it’s genetic, we need to know. And we need to be right there. I hate that it’s right now. With everything going on with Elizabeth—will you keep me in the loop?” he asked her. “How she’s doing?”

“I mean, I can tell you what we know publicly, but why can’t Lucky just—” Nadine closed her mouth. “He’s still going with you?”

“He went ahead of me yesterday to arrange for temporary housing. To talk to the facility and make sure everything is ready. I, uh, don’t expect Elizabeth to be all that happy with him when she gets a chance to talk to him.”

Nadine pressed her lips together, looked at her computer screen. She didn’t know what to say to any of that. “Yeah, I’ll pass your message to Elizabeth. If she wants you informed, I’ll take care of it.”

“Nadine—”

“I know you think you’re doing the best thing for your sister, but I just can’t shake the feeling that you and your brother are creating more problems than you’re fixing. He just walks out on his kids and their mother while she’s still recovering in the ICU, you’re ripping Lulu away from everything familiar in her life, and she can’t even fight back about it. She won’t even know it’s happening. There’s something so sad about all of it.”

Nikolas sighed, slowly twisting the cap back on the pen, setting it on top of the forms. “This is what’s right for my family—”

“Are you going to let Johnny have a chance to say goodbye? You let Maxie and Spinelli in to visit Lu, but I can’t help but notice his name was never on the list.” Nadine lifted her brows. “You were so kind to him the other night, I thought you knew this wasn’t his fault—”

“Is he your next project?” Nikolas wanted to know.

“That’s an awful thing to say. He’s a friend—”

“Since when?” Nikolas challenged. “You got tossed into jail over him, and now you’re angry at me on his behalf—”

“On your sister’s,” Nadine snapped back. “Because you know this isn’t what she would have wanted. I don’t understand how the right thing to do is to leave people behind. One day your sister is going to wake up—she is—and she is going to be so angry at what you and Lucky have done. The people you’ve hurt and abandoned in the name of saving her. I hope she kicks your asses.”

“The people I’ve abandoned? What, Elizabeth? Or are you talking about yourself?” Nikolas wanted to know. “Because if that’s what this tantrum is about—”

Nadine closed her mouth, looked down, tears stinging her eyes. She took a deep breath, then lifted her gaze to his, not even bothering to blink them back. “You don’t think very much of me, do you? I like Lulu, Nikolas, and I know how she feels about her brothers. I also know how much she loves her nephews. What is she going to think when she wakes up and Lucky’s abandoned them? Walked out while Elizabeth is recovering from major surgery? What is she going to think when she finds out you won’t even tell Johnny where you’re taking her?”

“I don’t have the luxury of worrying about a day that may never come. What part of that is so difficult for you to understand? If my sister wakes up and is furious with me over how I chose to save her life, if she never talks to me again, it will be worth any price I had to pay to see it done. And if you have such an issue with my brother’s decision, take it up with him—” Nikolas shook his head. “I don’t understand why you’re so damn angry with me! I thought you understood! That I have to do whatever I can to bring Lulu back!”

Nadine inhaled a shaky breath, returned her gaze to the computer screen, the words blurry. “You’re right. You’re right. None of this is any of my business. You’ve made it very clear that I don’t have a say in what happens to you. That I don’t matter.”

“That’s not—” Nikolas stopped. He rubbed his forehead. “It’s not that I didn’t think about you, it’s just that—”

“I wasn’t important enough to factor into the decision. I shouldn’t be. I know that much. I’m being stupid. We’ve barely even started to—” She cleared her throat. “You have to do what’s right for your family. I understand that. I hope this works. I really do.”

She snatched charts from the counter and hurried away from the nurse’s station. And he didn’t try to stop her.

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s ICU Room

“What happened to going home and getting some real sleep?” Elizabeth asked when Jason came in. She smiled, though, resting her cheek against the pillow. “I finally got Gram to go home—”

“I know, I talked to her this morning. To give her an update on the boys.” Jason set a brown bag on the tray that hung over the bed. “But if you want to me to go, and take the food I brought with you—”

“Well, that depends on what you brought me.”

“Ruby’s chili. You’re not allowed to have more than a few bites because it’s spicy,” Jason warned, removing the container from the bag. “I cleared it with Patrick first to make sure, but I thought you’d be tired of hospital food.”

“I eat it for a living, so I am beyond tired.” Jason helped her raise the bed, and she winced only slightly when she reached for the small takeout container he handed her. “I feel like I slept most of yesterday.”

“It…was a long day. You needed the rest.”

“It all seems surreal, you know? I got in my car at the airport, and my life was one way, and then I woke up, and it was like the world changed while I was in surgery.” She swirled the spoon in the chili. “You’re communicating with my grandmother, bringing me food, the boys spent the night with Carly—” She bit her lip, looked at him. “I like that part of the change, by the way. Well, jury’s out on Carly, but the rest of it—it’s good.”

“I—I like it, too,” he confessed, then made a face. “Not where I’m visiting you in the ICU, but—yeah.” He paused. “There’s…there’s something I have to tell you.”

Elizabeth paused, the spoon halfway to her mouth. “What’s wrong?”

“I told you that I’d—that I talked to Lucky on Saturday. After you were brought in. Do you remember that?”

“Yeah, a little bit. It’s a little hazy. So much happened yesterday,” she admitted. “Waking up to all of that, Lucky, talking to my grandmother—did Lucky say something about California?”

“Not—not that. No. He—” Jason grimaced, rubbed the side of his face. “When I told him about the accident, he was irritated. And he started to call Sam.”

Elizabeth dropped the spoon back into the chili, her appetite drained. “Sam. Why?”

“To pick the boys up from Audrey’s.” Jason met her eyes. “I took the phone from him, hung up, and told him he couldn’t play games like that with you in surgery. He—” He paused. “He didn’t take me seriously. He was going to do it anyway, even though I know you’d made it clear she couldn’t be near them.  So I told him if Sam went near the boys, I’d have Diane file an injunction to stop him. And that Amelia would be part of it.” He waited for a beat. “And that I’d file paternity papers today if that’s what it took.”

“You—” She opened her mouth, then closed it, processing that information. “You told him—”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that without talking to you, I just—I knew what you wanted, and maybe I should have waited—”

“I need a minute. I need—” She set the container on the tray. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting any of that.”

“I know. I’m sorry—”

“No, don’t—that’s not what I meant. I’m just—my head is swirling a little, and that’s—that’s a lot to take in. This happened Saturday?” she asked.

“Yeah. Uh, right after they took you up to surgery. I’m sorry—”

She laid her head back against the pillow. “Don’t ever apologize to me for protecting the boys. For protecting your son. You’re right. I didn’t—and still don’t—want that woman anywhere near my son. Our son. And after the stunt she pulled in the park—” Her lips thinned as she pressed them together. “I told him if he did that, I’d have him in court, too, so you didn’t do anything I wouldn’t have.”

“Oh.” Jason furrowed his brow. “I don’t think you—I told him in the middle of the emergency room. I didn’t—I didn’t think about everyone who might listen—”

“I don’t care about any of that. I’m sorry.” She closed her eyes, tears stinging the lids. “I’m sorry I put you in that position.”

“Hey, don’t—you didn’t do anything—”

“You’ve always wanted Jake,” Elizabeth managed, the tears spilling down her cheeks. She looked at him. “From the moment I told you in the elevator. I know it’s been me—”

“It’s been me, too.” He reached for her hand, kissed the inside of her palm. “We’ve both made this decision.”

“But I started it—”

“I’m the idiot who listened to Carly and told you it was for the best,” Jason interrupted, and she laughed, swiping at her tears with her free hand.

“Okay, well, we can sit here taking the blame for a terrible decision no matter who made it,” she said, “or we can just…be so glad we’re ending it. That we’re telling the people who matter. My grandmother. You should tell Monica.”

Jason looked down at the bed, at the hand he still held. “Yeah. Yeah, I will. I just—I’m sorry.”

“Jason—”

He lifted his gaze to hers, and she was caught by the intensity.. “I keep thinking—if I hadn’t been in the Emergency Room when they brought you in, would I know? Would anyone have told me? Waiting until it’s the middle of the night to visit you in the hospital, until no one can see—I can’t do it anymore. I don’t want it for either of us. You—you and the boys. You’re everything.”

Her throat tightened, and the tears started again. “Okay. Okay. I’m just—God—it’s stupid to cry when it’s exactly what I want to hear, and you have to know it’s the same for me. I hope you know that. Please—”

“I do know that—” He leaned forward, cradled her face with his other hand. “I do.”

“B-Because I made so many stupid mistakes, you know? And I was scared, and I thought you wouldn’t love me the way I loved you, so I hurt you and I stayed with Lucky and I just—God. I hate it. I’m so mad at myself, and I don’t know why—”

“Don’t—don’t. Hey.” His voice faltered, and he took a breath, steadied himself. “If you get too upset, those monitors are going to start beeping, and then you can’t have your chili.”

She laughed, the sound slightly choked, then winced when the movement put pressure on her stitches. “Okay. You’re right. You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Don’t take away the chili, okay? You have no idea how terrible this food is.” She paused. “Well, actually, you do.”

“Yeah, I’ve spent more than enough time here.” He handed her back the chili. “You can finish this, but only if you promise not to cry again.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

“You said you knew about California. When did he tell you?”

She waited to finish the last bite of chili, then put it aside. “Can you—” She gestured at the water cup, and he handed it to her. “Thanks,” she said, after washing away the spicy aftertaste. “I was going to talk to you, actually. Once we got to Italy. Lucky sprang the whole idea on me when he picked the boys up. He was planning to go out there—with Sam—and he didn’t plan on coming back until Lulu recovered. He thought I’d put the boys on a plane to him at Christmas, summers. Vacations. So they could fly out there and spend time with him and Sam. I told him no.”

“Because of Sam?”

“As a starting point, yeah. But I just—I knew what would happen next. The same thing he’s done for the last year. How long before he’d make the first excuse, cancel the first visit? If I thought there was a chance he’d still be in Cameron’s life in any way that mattered, that’d be different. He’s always been Cameron’s father. The only one my baby has ever known. But my sweet boy wasn’t enough for him. Never enough. Not enough to stay clean for, not enough to keep his vows—he loves Cameron, but not the way Cam deserves to be loved, you know?”

She cleared her throat, took a deep breath, focused her gaze on him. “Jake is yours, and I never had a right to take him away. To ask you to give him up, to pretend that you aren’t the best choice, the only choice. So if you hadn’t done it on Saturday, I was already going to ask.”

Jason nodded. “Okay. That’s settled. What—what about Cameron?”

“I—I know what you’re going to say. It’s just—I don’t know how to handle that. I know that Lucky’s type of love isn’t what he needs or deserves. But he’s four. He knows who his father is supposed to be, you know? I don’t want to do anything that hurts him.”

“Neither do I. I just—I can be in his life however you want. I love him, you know that. I always have.” He took her hand, brushed his thumb over her knuckles. “We don’t need to formalize it with titles or labels. I’ll treat him exactly the way I treat Jake, and we’ll just see where it goes.”

“I really love you,” she murmured. “You always know exactly what to say—”

“I wish that were true, but we both know it’s not.” He waited for a beat. “When you get released, you’re going to need someone around. You know that. The concussion, the stitches—but—”

“But my house isn’t secure the way it would need to be secure if you were also there,” she added. He grimaced, then nodded. “Well, we can talk about that, but—I don’t want you to worry about that right now. We haven’t even talked about what’s happened with poor Kate. And Sonny—I can’t imagine how he’s struggling—”

“It’s—not great. Kate’s been in and out of consciousness since it happened. And Sonny’s been barred from the room. Which he isn’t handling well.” Jason grimaced, stared down at her fingers. “He was arrested twice that night, and I left him in jail so I could focus on you.”

“Oh, Jason.”

“He calmed down a little, I guess. But the investigation is stalled, and I haven’t really gotten into it. I’ve been a little preoccupied.” He paused again. “And that brings me back to where I started. I want the boys to stay with me at the penthouse. I want you to come there when they release you.”

Elizabeth opened her mouth to reply, but Jason continued. “I understand if it’s too soon or if you’re not ready for it, but you need to know it’s what I want, what I’ve always wanted. We—I can find someone to help out while you’re getting better, but I want to be there. I want to be with you and the boys. And—”

“Jason—” She squeezed his hand, and he closed his mouth abruptly. “You don’t have to sell me on this. I don’t want you to miss one second more of Jake’s life. And it means so much that you’d bring it up. I want the boys with you. At the penthouse, where I know there are layers of security, and no one can get to them. My grandmother’s house—there’s only so much you can do.”

She smiled. “And I actually have a great idea to go with yours. Instead of hiring some stranger the boys don’t know, let me ask my grandmother to come stay with us or come over during the day when you can’t be there. I want her to know you.”

Jason opened his mouth, then closed it. “What are the chances she’d actually go for that?”

General Hospital: Lulu’s Room

Maxie finished the topcoat on Lulu’s last finger, then gently laid the hand back against the bed. She capped the bottle and returned it to her kit. “There,” she told Lulu. “I can’t send you off to California with chipped polish. What will those doctors and nurses think? We have standards, you know.”

She waited a beat, watching Lulu’s face, the eyes that seemed to do nothing but stare straight ahead, like those of dolls Maxie had once played with. Maxie fiddled with the edges of the blanket.

“I talked to Sam before she left, and she promised to make sure that someone was looking after you. I mean, I know medically, you’re all solid. But your hair and your skin—we’re only young once, and we have to take care of ourselves.”

She heard footsteps behind her and forced a smile on her face. “And look, here’s Spinelli. He probably thinks this is all foolish because boys don’t know how much work any of this is.”

Spinelli stepped up behind her, rubbed Maxie’s shoulder. “The Jackal thinks the Blonde One and his Maximista are perfect just the way they are, but he also knows when to shut up.”

“I’ve never seen any evidence of that,” Maxie said. “And I know Lulu would agree with me.” She looked back at Lulu, half-hoping that somehow, somehow, the blonde would wake up and begin to argue with her.

But Lulu remained quiet. Empty.

“Well, you’re all set for your trip. Just as long as no one messes with your hands for at least thirty minutes.” Maxie got to her feet. “I hope—I hope we see you soon. Even though this is my chance to show Kate once and for all I could have done this all by myself—” Her voice faltered. “Except I can’t. Okay? I need you to push me. Because I could never have been as good as I am without you telling me I couldn’t do it. What’s the point of being the best if you’re not going to be there so I can rub your face in it?”

The taunts didn’t work anymore than the friendly chatter. Nothing worked. Lulu was locked inside of herself, and they couldn’t dig her out.

“Maximista—” Spinelli began, but she shook her head.

“No, it’s okay. It’s okay. It’s your turn to do this part, okay? You can have some time to v-visit and I’m going to go check on Kate. She had to go in for more surgery a-and well, someone has to keep the Bensonhurst Mussolini in line.”

Maxie looked back at Lulu, her vision blurred. “I really hated you for so long, everything you did to hurt my sister. I never could understand how or why Georgie could forgive you. She was a better person than both of us, you know. And it’s not fair that of the three of us, I’m the one that’s left. You need—you need to come back, Lulu. You just—you just need to come back.”

Jacks House: Living Room

Carly darted ahead, catching Jake just as he toddled towards the steps. She picked him up and planted him in the opposite direction. He offered a sunny smile then wandered towards his brother and Morgan —

She folded her arms, smiling as she watched the two older boys playing with Morgan’s Lego set. She should have done this a long time ago, she thought. After all, her mother had spent time with Cameron. Bobbie had always considered the little boy part of her family because Lucky had been raising him.

But Lucky was gone now. Carly’s smile slipped, and she winced at the memory of how she’d handled that conversation. Probably should have let someone else be the one to tell Elizabeth her ex-husband had taken off without even bothering to wait for her to wake up from surgery.

She heard footsteps behind her, but didn’t have to look to see who it was. Morgan told her everything she needed. His face lit up, and he got to his feet. “Daddy!”

He hurled himself across the room, and now Carly turned as Sonny scooped Morgan up. “Hey, buddy. How are you?”

“I’m good. I’m playing with my cousins. Did you know I had cousins?” Morgan asked.

“Uh—” Sonny lifted his brows to look at Carly. “Can’t say I did.” He set Morgan down and the younger boy ran back to play with Cameron and Jake. “Those are Elizabeth’s kids.”

“I have Jake during the day, and I picked the boys up from preschool while Audrey is at the hospital with Elizabeth.” Carly went closer to Sonny so that the kids didn’t hear. “And I don’t know if you know this, but we’re going to be seeing a lot more of the Webbers around Jason.”

“Yeah, I got that feeling when I couldn’t peel Jason from her side even when they knew she’d be okay.” Sonny exhaled slowly, rubbed his cheek. “Sorry I didn’t, uh, return any calls.”

“Yeah. Well, you’ve been busy.” Carly glanced back at him. “Have you been able to see Kate yet?”

His expression darkened. “No. Her cousin still refuses to let me in, and when I tried to get more information from Maxie, your husband cut it off.”

She winced. “He’s—he’s just being protective, Sonny. He loved Michael—”

“Michael was my son—”

“Is.” When he just looked at her, Carly clenched her jaw. “He is your son. He’s not dead, damn it. And the doctors said there’s little hope that he’ll wake up. Not zero. And until that day comes, no one is going to treat my son like he’s already dead and buried, including you! What are you even doing here? Looking for sympathy? Do you really think you’re going to find it here?”

Sonny scowled. “You know, Kate and I were getting married—”

“And when she wakes up, maybe you still will. She’s not dead, Sonny. You just have to be patient. That’s it. You wait a few days, Kate wakes up, lets you in, and bam! You’re right back on track! That doesn’t get to happen for everyone!”

“Mommy. Are you and Daddy fighting?”

Carly looked over to see that Morgan had stopped playing, but Cameron had his head down, continued playing with the blocks, handing them to Jake. “No, baby, you know Daddy and I are just loud, right? Grammy’s always saying that. I’m sorry.” She looked to Sonny. “I’m sorry this happened, okay? I really am. But this can’t be my problem. I have enough on my plate—”

“Taking care of Elizabeth’s kids,” Sonny said. “Yeah, I can see how actually caring for more than one kid would be tough on you since you’ve never parented on your own in your life—”

“No, I was married last year when our children’s nanny was murdered,” Carly cut in sharply, pitching her voice at a low hiss, and Sonny winced. “And don’t start walking around acting like father of the year. Because we had two children until you took one of them into a warehouse and got him shot in the head—”

“You know what, I’m not doing this with you. I don’t know why I even bothered to come here. You’re watching the kids, good. That means Audrey’s at the hospital, so Jason won’t have to be.” He scowled. “He can focus on what the hell is going on.”

“Or he’ll keep delegating it just the way you would have. The way you always did. You sent Jason out to do the job while you concentrated on your family.” Carly’s stomach tightened. “And you’re expecting him to do the same thing now. Aren’t you? To focus on your family. On Kate. Just like you did that day. ”

“That’s not fair—”

“You left Jason in charge, so now he’s at the top. He’s sending his guy out to deal with the dirty jobs so he can focus on his family.” She pressed her lips together. “Maybe Elizabeth isn’t who I would have picked for Jason, but that’s what we’ve got. And she’s in the hospital. I saw the car accident on the little traffic camera. Did you?”

“No—”

“It was awful. I could see him running it through his head over and over again. She almost died. And that didn’t have to happen. So Jason is focusing. Stop being angry because he just isn’t doing it the way you want.”

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