You know there ain’t no rest for the wicked
Money don’t grow on trees
We got bills to pay
We got mouths to feed
There ain’t nothing in this world for free
I know we can’t slow down
We can’t hold back, though you know, we wish we could
Oh no, there ain’t no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good
– Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked, Cage the Elephant

---

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

General Hospital: Kate’s Room

Maxie peeked inside the room, then nearly did a dance of joy when she realized Kate was alone. Dictator Falconieri was probably making someone else’s life miserable, she thought, then came through the door.

“I just talked to Genie at the office,” Maxie said, sliding her phone out of her purse. “And everything is going smoothly—”

Kate winced, fumbling for the controls on the bed. Maxie scurried to help her. “I want to know what else my cousin has been keeping from me.”

“I don’t know everything she’s told you, so like, I’ll just tell you what I know, and we can go from there. You had a few surgeries, and there was something about your spine and physical therapy—”

Kate tugged at the thin, scratchy white blankets to reveal her toes, then wiggled them. She exhaled in a rush of relief. “I can move them.”

“Yeah, no paralysis—you’re all good there. I think Patrick was handling your case, so I can page him—”

“Yes, do that. But what about Sonny? Did you find him?” Kate rarely looked her age, but without makeup, in the harsh lighting of the hospital room, Maxie could believe she’d grown up with Sonny.

Maxie glanced over her shoulder, and when she was sure Olivia wasn’t on her way. “I called him, but I’ll call again. And I’ll call Spinelli, and we’ll get Sonny right over here now that you’re awake and Benito Falconieri can go home—”

“I can’t decide whether to be appalled at the comparison or impressed that you know a historical figure,” Kate said dryly, and Maxie almost burst into tears because Kate sounded like her old self. The reign of terror was over. “Yes, call Spinelli—”

“On it.” Maxie fished the phone from her purse.

“Maxie.”

“Yeah?”

“Is…I didn’t think about it. The shooting. Did it upset Lulu?”

Maxie froze, her finger hovering over the speed dial, then raised her eyes to Kate’s. “Oh. Oh. Right. You, um, you don’t know.”

“Oh, no. She had a setback?” Kate’s hands fluttered. “How bad?”

“Bad. They couldn’t—” Maxie cleared her throat. “They couldn’t…she went, like, deep inside herself, I guess. And they couldn’t get her back. She’s—her brothers took her to a treatment place in California.”

Kate closed her eyes. “Oh, no.”

“It’s okay. It’s okay. Well, it’s not. But it will be okay.” Maxie had to believe that. “She’ll get help, she’ll come back, and I can make fun of her for her terrible fashion again. For now, let me track Sonny down so at least one thing can go right.”  She pressed the speed dial and raised the phone to her ear. “Sonny is going to be so happy to see you—Spinelli! Hey! Awesome news. Kate is finally awake and back in control, so you get Sonny up here—” She stopped, then looked at her boss.

“Maxie?” Kate prompted when Maxie closed the phone without another word. “What did Spinelli say?”

“Um…there’s been a development. About Sonny.” Maxie took a deep breath. “He’s already at GH. As a patient.”

General Hospital: Conference Room

Spinelli shoved his cell phone back into his pocket, then slid into the seat next to Patrick. “Sorry about that. Maximista wanted to relate that the Glacial One is awake and asking for Mr. Sir. I, uh, I had to tell her…” He gulped then looked down.

“I should go talk to Kate,” Patrick muttered. The list never seemed to get any shorter, especially today. “What about you?” he asked Jason. “Are you ready to get Elizabeth out of here?”

“Yeah, I made a few stops when I left earlier,” Jason said. “I’m going to get Epiphany now and try to make sure Elizabeth is comfortable enough to travel. I was thinking about the machines you talked about. The dispensary ones that are acting up. Spinelli might be able to help.”

Spinelli perked up. “You have a job for me?”

“I—” Patrick hesitated. “I don’t know—”

“There’s…” Jason grimaced, stared down at his hands. “I know you said this doesn’t seem like it was tied to me, and maybe you’re right. The thing is…” He hesitated. “This needs to stay between us.”

Patrick dragged a hand through his hair. “My hospital almost murdered Elizabeth, Jason. I’m not in a position to cast any stones—do you think there’s something that can help us?”

“It’s the timing. You said it started last night. Last night, Andrei Karpov showed up at Greystone with someone he claimed was Kate’s shooter.” Jason met Patrick’s eyes. “And then when Sonny brought that to me, instead of being able to do anything with it, I got called to the hospital. Sonny decided to handle it on his own. He went after Johnny Zacchara on the docks.”

“Oh, damn.” Patrick sat back, stunned. “Johnny shot him?”

“He came straight to me,” Jason continued, “and I believe him. Sonny’s had it out for the kid all year. Since Michael—” He closed his eyes. “Since Michael went missing the first time. He’s blamed Johnny for everything. I was able to keep him from doing it this time because of Lulu, but Karpov’s guy claimed to be hired by Johnny. And Sonny was too furious to think clearly. Johnny says he was on the pier, and Sonny shot at him first. Johnny only shot back in self-defense. I called a source at the PCPD. There were definitely shots fired from Sonny’s gun.”

“You think someone sabotaged Elizabeth’s medication to distract you,” Patrick said.

“I don’t know. But it’s a strong enough chance that we can’t rule it out. Spinelli, whatever Patrick needs. This is the top priority. Find out if it’s a bug in the software or deliberate. Fix it. Okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Spinelli cleared his throat. “The Jackal is so sorry, Stone Cold. For Mr. Sir and for the Fair Elizabeth. He will do his best.”

“You have suspicions about other patients,” Jason said to Patrick, “but it was Elizabeth that really made you worry. Let’s make sure we know what we’re dealing with before we jump to any conclusions. Either of us.”

“Are you going to tell her?” Patrick wanted to know as Jason rose to his feet. “About the medication switch?”

“When she wakes up, yeah. But I want her out of the hospital first.” He exhaled slowly. “About Johnny — I’m not just asking you to protect him right now. Nadine Crowell was with him—”

“Noble Nurse Nadine?” Spinelli jerked to attention, blinking rapidly as Patrick looked to the sky and muttered a curse.

“Of course she was. Burning clinics, dead bodies, mob shootouts on the docks—if there’s chaos, Nadine isn’t far away. Is she okay?” Patrick wanted to know. “What can I do?”

“Right now, they’re safe. And they’ll stay that way until they figure out how to deal with her being a witness to a shooting in broad daylight.” Jason made a face. “I’ll let you know what they decide.”

“I’ve lived in Port Charles long enough to know where that conversation is going to end up,” Patrick muttered, following Jason to the door. He pulled it open.

“Where?” Spinelli asked, but the tech closed his mouth abruptly when they found Mac Scorpio standing on the other side.

Penthouse: Living Room

Nadine stared at Johnny, waiting for the punchline, but he said nothing, only staring at her with a dark, brooding, intense gaze.

“Spousal.” Her tongue was thick in her mouth, and the word sounded strange. “Relating to the Latin word sponsus? The past participle of spondere? It means to bind oneself—”

“How do you—” Johnny’s brows drew together, bewildered. “Is that true?”

“Yes. I think. Latin’s the root of most of the words in the English language. Also Greek, but Latin—never mind—” Nadine threw up her hands. “Spousal privilege. Are you kidding me? You’re actually joking, aren’t you?”

“No. Look, okay—” He raised his hands in front of him. “Hear me out. I know neither of us woke up today thinking this was the plan, okay?”

She folded her arms. “This is so far from what my day was supposed to be, and it’s your fault for looking sad, and mine for being a schmuck—”

“Right. Right. And if this were a better world, none of this would be necessary. You’d tell the PCPD what happened, I’d still be a free man, and we’d all just…” Johnny swallowed. “Look, I’m not asking you to do this for me. I can handle myself. But unless you’re willing to let Jason make you disappear—in a good way,” he added when her eyes widened, “you need to consider this plan.”

“Spousal privilege,” Nadine repeated. “That means marriage.”

“Yes—”

“As in you and me.” She pointed at him, then jabbed the finger into her own chest. “Man and wife. Husband. Wife—and you know, that’s a really sexist part of the vows, almost as bad as obey—damn it.” Nadine turned away, put her head in her hands. “No. The answer is no.” She whirled back, and now she jabbed him with the same finger.  “Okay? There’s another way. You just have to think harder! You’re not even trying!”

“I did think of something! I said you should go back to Nebraska!”

“Ohio!”

“Same thing!”

“If you think I’m going to marry you just so you can stay out of jail—”

“It’s to keep you out of jail, you lunatic! Scott already hates you! He’s never going to believe it was self-defense. He’ll think you’re sticking up for me again! Or worse, that you helped! Nadine, you don’t—” Johnny scowled, stalked away. “What, do you think I woke up today and thought, let me go drag the first woman I see into a situation where I have to marry her?”

“Well, no, but you sure came up with the marriage thing pretty fast,” Nadine shot back. “No one is going to believe this!”

“That’s not—look, do you think I give a damn about me?” Johnny demanded. He charged back towards her, his face flushed. “I nearly went to jail to protect Lulu because I knew what Logan did to her! I knew the cops wouldn’t believe her! They never believe the woman! So don’t tell me I’m trying to get myself out of trouble! I’m trying to save you!”

Nadine pressed her lips together, wanting to argue with him, but he wasn’t wrong. He’d gone on trial, knowing all along what had really happened that night. He’d tried to protect Lulu until the bitter end. “So what if Scott thinks I’m lying? He can’t prove it—”

“He’ll arrest us both,” Johnny said flatly. “We were both there. Fine. Fine.” He grimaced, took a deep breath. “I’ll talk to the cops. They want me anyway. I’ll tell them I shot Sonny. And I’ll make them promise to keep you out of it.”

Nadine blinked at the sudden reversal. “But you just said they won’t believe you—”

“It doesn’t matter.” His shoulders slumped, and he exhaled slowly. “I can make a deal. They keep your name out of the report, I’ll cop to whatever they want—”

“I don’t care about being a witness—”

“I told you about my family,” Johnny said, his voice almost empty, and she closed her mouth. “My father made…he was unhappy I tried to protect Lulu. He…made threats. And you know…” He met her worried eyes. “You know what he tried to do to her last year. What he nearly did to you. He wasn’t even targeting you, Nadine. And he nearly killed you. If he finds out you’re a witness, and you can put me in jail…that’s why I brought you to Jason. He can keep you safe.”

Nadine rubbed her arms, a bit disconcerted now. It had seemed so clear just a few minutes ago. “How does marrying me stop that part?” she asked. “I mean, I get, um, how it works for the cops. I can’t testify against you. Or you against me. But—if your dad would have hurt Lulu, someone you cared about—”

“Because then maybe we can keep it all quiet. The cops can’t drag me in, and I’m not in danger. Maybe my dad won’t care if I’m not in danger of being arrested,” he added. “I’m not saying it’s perfect, Nadine—” Johnny leaned against the back of the sofa.

She chewed on her bottom lip, then went to him, leaning against the sofa, too. “It just seems like a really dramatic solution. There’s so many questions. How long would we have to be married? And won’t they know why we did it? I mean, it’s not like we’re dating, and we hopped a flight to Vegas. We only sort of know each other, and you…there’s Lulu.” She swallowed hard, and their eyes met again. “Everyone knows about you and her. And then there’s me and Nikolas. Well, there’s not now, but there was, and people know there was—” Nadine closed her mouth. “How do you know this would work?”

“I don’t,” Johnny admitted. “But it’s the best idea I got right now that keeps us both in Port Charles, preferably breathing. Do you have a better one?”

General Hospital: Hallway

“Jason.” Mac stepped back so that the trio could exit the conference room. “How interesting to find the three of you together.”

“I was updating them on Sonny’s condition,” Patrick said smoothly, and Jason glanced at him. “Spinelli, you’re going to want to let Maxie know and, uh, make sure she breaks it to Kate gently. You know how she can be. I’ll be along to check on her soon.”

“The Jackal will see his duty completed.” Spinelli edged away from the commissioner’s pointed gaze and darted down the hallway.

“I need to check on a few post-op patients, which include Kate—” Patrick raised his brows at Mac. “Unless there’s something you need?”

“No. Just keep me informed if Sonny’s condition changes.” Mac’s curious eyes followed the doctor as Patrick left in the opposite direction as Spinelli before he focused on Jason. “I’ve been looking for you.”

Jason folded his arms. Said nothing.

“Elizabeth doing better? Carly told me there was a setback.”

“She’s fine.”

Mac waited a moment, then nodded. “When was the last time you talked to Sonny?”

There was no point in lying or avoiding the question, Jason thought. He’d done nothing wrong, and he had no doubt that if he turned Johnny Zacchara over to the cops, all of this would just get worse.

“This morning. He came by the Towers. You can ask the security guards, the time he got there,” Jason added, having already told the front desk to confirm as much. “And when he left. We were talking when I got the call about Elizabeth needing more surgery. And that’s the last time I saw him.”

Mac tipped his head. “According to Patrick, there’s a pretty big chance Sonny isn’t going to wake up. You don’t have a reaction to that?”

Jason tensed. “A reaction?”

“Well, he’s been your business partner and best friend for more than a decade. You just found out he’s been shot in the head and won’t be walking around again, probably ever.” Mac waited for a beat. “Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Bother me,” Jason repeated slowly. He looked away, towards the large windows that would have offered a view of the hospital hallways if not for the shades drawn. He waited for the irritation, for the anger, for the frustration that came with talking to the police.

There was nothing.

He looked back at Mac. “Would it make you feel better if I put my fist through a wall? Lost my temper with one of the doctors?”

“I just—”

“Does my reaction have something to do with your investigation? Do you think I shot Sonny?”

“No. No. You have a clear alibi, it’s just—”

“Then I don’t have anything else to say to you.” And standing here would waste time Jason didn’t have. Elizabeth had survived the attempt on her life, and every minute she was in this hospital was one that only increased the likelihood that someone would try again.

“You don’t even want to know what we have on the shooter? That’s strange,” Mac said as Jason passed him. Jason stopped, looked back. “Unless you don’t have any questions—”

“Do I need a lawyer, Mac?”

“No, but—”

“Then we’re done with this conversation.” Jason brushed past him and went into the hall.

“I’m sorry, do you have something more important to do than find out who all but murdered your best friend or shot his fiancée?” Mac demanded, following.

Jason turned. “You want me to do your job for you?” he bit out, and Mac scowled. “You know, it’s not my fault you don’t know who shot Sonny or Kate,” he added. “You should be used to that by now. You weren’t the one that found out Ian Devlin put Michael in that coma—and you sure as hell weren’t able to find out who was killing people last year before Elizabeth nearly went over that bridge—”

“Hey—” Mac’s eyes flashed now, because of course he’d lost his own stepdaughter in Diego Alcazar’s murderous rampage, but Jason was out of patience.

“Let’s not forget that you couldn’t get anyone out of the damn hotel before Alan had a fatal heart attack—I know you’ve gotten used to me doing your job, Mac, but you’ll have do it yourself this time. If you have any other questions, you know how to contact Diane. We’re done.”

GH: Patrick’s Office

Patrick stared at the stack of files on the corner of his desk — each one representing a patient that had died in the ICU in the last month. He would be breaking all the laws if he made copies of these files and let them leave the hospital but if he didn’t use all his resources, and someone else got sick or died this time—

He’d never forgive himself.

There was a light knock on the door, and Patrick glanced up, jerking to his feet when he saw Robin. “Hey. You’re supposed to be at home. Resting.”

“Light rest, Kelly said. I just saw her today, and she said everything was fine. ” She came in, closing the door behind herself, then crossed the office to kiss him. “It’s been all over the news what happened to Sonny—”

“Yeah, I meant to call you. To see how you were doing.” Patrick avoided her gaze.

“We’ll talk about that. Were you going to tell me you were in the operating room?”

He looked at her now, frowning. “Did Epiphany call you?”

“No.” Robin paused. “Matt did.”

“Matt—this is none of his business.” Patrick turned away, picked up the files. “And I’ll make sure he knows it—”

“Don’t do that. He didn’t sound happy about it, and tried to get me to promise not to tell you it was him.” Her lips curved into a smile. “He reminds me of you.”

“Don’t start with that—”

“It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it?” she said softly. She rested her hands on the back of the chair. “Elizabeth has a horrible setback, and then Sonny—” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. “It almost doesn’t seem real, you know? If you even knew how many times someone has tried to kill him—”

“He’s not dead.” Patrick stared blindly at the desk blotter. “But he might as well be. I can tell the family all I want about the possibilities, but I saw—I know better. And I don’t give a damn about Sonny Corinthos,” he bit out. Then winced. “I’m sorry. I know you do—”

“But you don’t. And you’ve lost patients before. Is it because of Michael? Because you had to tell Jason and Carly that there was little hope again?” Robin came to his side, stroked his shoulder. “On top of almost losing Elizabeth.

“It’s part of it, yeah. But—” Patrick shook his head. “I can’t get into it.”

“Because I’m pregnant?”

“Because you’re almost nine months pregnant. It’s not fair to keep putting more on you—”

“Would you tell me if I weren’t pregnant?” Robin asked. When he just sighed, she nodded. “Okay, so tell me. Is it Jason? He’s not the type to sue over missing the internal bleeding if that’s the concern—”

“There’s a chance—” Patrick grimaced, then sighed. “Do me a favor? Sit down first, okay?”

“Okay,” Robin said slowly. She lowered herself into the seat in front of his desk, rubbing her belly absently. “Is Elizabeth not out of danger? I thought—”

“She is. And she isn’t. There’s a chance this was deliberate. That—” Patrick sat down behind the desk, rested his elbows on the surface, then roughly combed his hands through his hair. Leo didn’t miss the bleed. He looked through the footage — that kidney was bruised. Not bleeding.”

Robin frowned. “But—”

“And when Jason got the call about Elizabeth crashing, when you called him, he was standing in front of Sonny demanding he deal with something. I can’t get into what. If Jason wants to tell you, he can do that.”

“It’s fine—keep going.”

“Jason left, came to the hospital. And Sonny went out to deal with the problem on his own.”

“Oh.” Robin’s eyes rounded. “Oh. But how could someone know that Elizabeth was going to crash—”

“When we ran the toxicology reports, Elizabeth tested positive for warfarin, and not a single trace of the pain medication I prescribed. She had three doses of medication that absolutely would have caused the bruising in that kidney to start bleeding and overnight—”

“Medical sabotage. You’re saying someone in this hospital tried to kill Elizabeth so Jason would be distracted from Sonny.” She pressed two fingers to her lips, took a deep breath. “Let’s go over it again. Start from the top.”

Zacchara Estate: Living Room

“On a scale of one to ten—” Trevor paused, leaning against the door frame of the room. “How ruthless would you say Jason Morgan is?”

Ric glanced up from his newspaper at the sound of his father’s voice. Then folded and set it on the side table next to the sofa. “Judging from the expression on your face, that’s not an idle question. Johnny hasn’t checked in yet?”

Trevor made a face, then came into the room more fully. “No. And Anthony is starting to make threats. Real ones,” he added. “I know the difference after all these years. Should I be worried that the boy is already sleeping with the fishes?”

Ric considered the question, thought about screwing with his father, but then sighed and rose. He crossed to the mini bar, poured himself a whiskey. “That’s not a simple question, you know. Jason’s not necessarily a predictable man.”

“I ask because you’re still breathing,” Trevor said, “and we both know you probably shouldn’t be.”

“Well, as you were so fond of telling me all my life, I have my mother’s eyes.” Ric lifted the whiskey to his lips. “It seems Sonny agrees with you. Funny how it didn’t do much to endear me to either of you.”

“So, Jason is under a mandate not to lay a hand on you.”

“Oh, no. He’s laid plenty of hands on me. I’ve been thrown against walls, over the hoods of cars, dangled over a railing—but he’s not allowed to kill me. Not while Sonny breathes.” Ric took a long swig of his drink. “So, yes, in his way, he’s an extremely ruthless man who’s created his own moral code. If you violate that code—well, you don’t live to tell the tale. Unless you’re related to the boss.” He lifted his glass in a mock toast.

“It’s likely that John put Sonny in that coma. Overdue,” Trevor muttered. “And of course, he couldn’t do the job properly. The bastard still breathes. But he’ll never wake up.”

Ric let that roll around in his head — it was strange to think of a world without Sonny. He’d tried so hard to get in his brother’s good graces, and when Sonny had rejected him, Ric had tried to destroy him. And now…there would never be another battle between them. “Do you think Johnny hunted Sonny down and pulled the trigger?”

“What?” Trevor scowled. “No. Of course not.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about. If Johnny did this, it was almost definitely self-defense. Jason’s gone out of his way to protect Johnny from Sonny. You know that,” Ric added and Trevor nodded begrudgingly. “This won’t be any different.”

“Why? What’s the point? John’s nothing to him—”

“Well, Jason would never admit this, but he probably identifies with the kid. Johnny doesn’t want any of this. He’s told you and his father that over and over again. You know Claudia does, but it doesn’t matter. Johnny can’t escape this. No matter how much he wants to. He wanted a different life. A different future. And if it weren’t for Anthony Zacchara, he’d have it.”

“I do what I can to keep Anthony off his back—”

“And because you know the second Anthony is out of power, you’re out of luck, but sure, you’re just being kind,” Ric said sardonically, and Trevor scowled. “At any rate, it’s the same for Jason. If it weren’t for Sonny Corinthos taking advantage of a kid with brain damage who didn’t know any better, Jason’s life might look very different. Tell Anthony Johnny’s probably laying low until things cool off.”

“That’s not going to be enough this time, Richard.” Trevor came over, poured his own drink. “He’s talking crazy. Wants to send someone up to Port Charles and snatch one of those kids.”

Ric’s hand tightened around the crystal glass. “Those kids?” he said.

“The nurse’s. The older one probably. He’s the one in school. Anthony knows exactly how to get to him. Which troubles me,” Trevor muttered. “How could he know that when the nurse has only been on the radar for a few days?”

“For you. But not the rest of the world.” Ric swallowed hard. He’d told Anthony about Elizabeth. As proof that he knew things. He’d gone after her on the stand, forced her to lie about the younger boy’s paternity. He’d delighted in showing off how valuable he’d be if Anthony found a place for him. He exhaled slowly. “Anthony needs to give Johnny more time.”

“I told Anthony that the older kid doesn’t even belong to Morgan, so it won’t even work—”

The older kid. Cameron. The little boy that had nearly been Ric’s. “Oh, it’ll work,” Ric murmured. He poured himself another drink. “It’ll work but Jason will burn this place to the ground again—and this time, he’ll make sure Anthony’s inside it.”

Trevor frowned. “What?”

“I know it’s hard to understand that a man could love another man’s child—if you’d managed that, maybe my mother would still be alive,” Ric bit out, and Trevor’s eyes flashed, “but I’m telling you it’s a mistake to go after those kids. Not over something like this. Because you hurt a hair on Cameron’s head, and Johnny will be dead. So, tell Anthony if he wants to see Johnny again, he’ll find some patience and wait.”

Trevor tipped his head to the side. “All right. I’ll pass that along.”

“You do that.” Ric paused. And if Anthony laid a single finger on Elizabeth or her kids, Ric would help Jason light the match to burn it all to the ground, but he kept that to himself.

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Audrey rose to her feet when Jason came in, Epiphany on his heels. “Are we ready?” she asked, moving out of the way.

“Yeah. I just got the call that the last of what we need has been delivered.” Jason folded his arms, watching Epiphany give Elizabeth another dose of her pain medication, mixed with a sedative that would be sure to keep her out until they were home. “Carly still has the boys. She, uh, went home a little while ago,” he added when Audrey parted her lips in surprise.

“I’m sure she needed something to distract her.” Audrey touched his arm. “As do you. Well, we’re all set. I’ll feel much better once Elizabeth is out of here.”

He hadn’t told Audrey about the possibility someone had tried to kill Elizabeth as a distraction for Jason — before he broached that uncomfortable conversation, he wanted some actual proof. Either way, Elizabeth wasn’t safe at General Hospital and getting her out was the only thing he could think about right now.

Later, he’d let the news about Sonny sink in. And maybe then he’d try to think about what to do about Johnny Zacchara and Nadine Crowell. And Kate’s shooter.

But that was later, Jason thought, as Epiphany and an orderly came in wheeling a gurney. Eventually, he’d have to think about everything that had happened in the last five days.

But not yet.

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