I’m holding on your rope, got me ten feet off the ground
And I’m hearing what you say, but I just can’t make a sound
You tell me that you need me then you go and cut me down, but wait
You tell me that you’re sorry, didn’t think I’d turn around, and say (that)
It’s too late to apologize (it’s too late)
I said, It’s too late to apologize (it’s too late)
– Apologize, OneRepublic

---

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Crimson: Lobby

Kate stepped off the elevator, hesitating when she spied Carly standing near Lulu’s empty desk. The other woman was looking at a photo Lulu had left there — Lulu with her mother. “Carly?”

“Kate. Hey.” Carly set the photo down, slid her fingers over the desk. “You still…you didn’t pack up her things?”

“No. I suppose I still…” Kate slid her sunglasses into the case in her hand. “I want it to be here when she comes home. I don’t want her to think any of us gave up hope. Have you heard something?”

“No. No, unless something has changed since my mother spoke to Lucky last week.” Carly looked at her. “I didn’t come about Lulu, but I—I’m glad her things are here. That she has a place to come back to. She’ll get better. She has to. She’s too young, too strong.” She took a deep breath. “I’m here about Sonny.”

Kate carefully set her purse on Maxie’s desk, folded her arms to hide how her hands were shaking. “About Sonny.”

“I know we don’t…that we didn’t always get along. And most of it’s my fault.” Carly closed her eyes. “It usually is. And I should have…I don’t know…kept you in the loop better on his care the last month. But I know you were in recovery, and maybe I was just in denial. Hoping for a miracle.”

“He came to the hospital to see me that last day.” Kate’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “Olivia turned him away. It keeps me up at night, Carly, wondering what if he’d made it upstairs. Maybe I could have…maybe it would all be different.”

“I—” Carly looked down at her hands, twisted the ring on her finger. “I know. Jax—he told me. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry—He did this because of me—”

“He did it because he could,” Kate interrupted, and Carly looked up.  “You and Sonny did what you did, and Jax had every right to handle his relationship with you how he saw fit. But I also had that right, and Jax knew what I had chosen. He ignored my wishes. I’ll never be able to forgive him for that.” She took a deep breath, then flicked away the tear that had slid past her lashes. “I don’t imagine you’re here to commiserate about Jax. Has—” She pressed her fist just above her belly, seeming to brace herself. “Has Sonny’s prognosis changed?”

“No. No. He’s still in the same stable, but…comatose condition. The hospital is asking me about long-term care. They could keep supporting him there. He wouldn’t even be their only long-term patient,” she added. “But they’re not really equipped for the round of clock care he’d need, and he should have the best. If there’s ever going to be any hope—anyway.” Carly cleared her throat. “I talked to Jason, and we—I thought Silver Water was the best plan. He’d be with Michael.”

“Sonny spoke highly of the place when he told me about it. Of course he never thought—” Kate’s voice faltered, and she paused, gathered herself. “Thank you. For telling me.”

“I’ll let you know when the arrangements have been made. If you—I mean, you can—not that I’m giving you permission. We both know that it should be you making these arrangements. I mean, it’s supposed to be Jason, but I just—I’ll tell you when.”

“I appreciate that, Carly. Really. None of this has been easy. The last six months, since that terrible day, maybe even before that—I think we’ve all done the best we could have.”

“Maybe. I hope so. I want that to be the truth. Um, Morgan. He asks about you sometimes. He doesn’t really understand where everyone’s gone. Emily. His brother. His father.” Carly looked away, barely managed to force out the next word. “Jax.”

“Carly—”

“He’s lost so many people. If you ever—I don’t know. I just thought you should know. You mattered to Morgan. To Michael. To Sonny. He really loved you. I’m sorry that I—I’m sorry that anything I did—that it made anything harder.”

“It’s all right, Carly—”

“It’s not but thank you for saying otherwise.”

They both looked towards the elevator when the doors slid open and Jax stepped out. He looked back and forth between the two women. “Ah, Carly. I wasn’t expecting you here—”

“I hope you weren’t looking for me,” Kate said, lifting her chin. “I said all I wanted in the hospital.”

“Kate—” But by the time Jax reached her, she’d gone into her office closing the door in his face.

He grimaced, looked back to find Carly watching him. “I suppose that makes you happy.”

Carly pressed her lips together, looked towards the elevator, then back at him. “Kate wasn’t thrilled about you keeping Sonny away from her. Good for her.”

“I had every right—”

“Do you think it makes it any better that you were right about Sonny?” Carly demanded. “That being around him, letting him in our lives in any way was only going to make things worse? Do you think that makes what you did okay?”

“I just—”

Carly headed for the elevators. “Brenda chose Sonny a lifetime ago, and you’ve never forgiven the rest of the female species for it—”

“You slept with him five months ago!” Jax reminded her, a flush rising in his cheeks. “You want to blame Brenda for all of this—”

“No. I just—” The righteousness faded from her expression, and her voice. She lifted her hand to her temple, rubbing. “I don’t. I don’t want to argue with you, Jax. I did a horrible thing. And you took that anger and used it to punish Kate for not listening to you, too. You got what you wanted, Jax. A world without Sonny. I hope it was worth it. I hope blaming me for Michael, for the miscarriage—”

Jolted, Jax’s eyes widened. “I don’t blame you for that—”

“Don’t you?” She stepped onto the car, and the doors closed on his distraught face.

Nadine’s Apartment: Kitchen

Not long after the shower had switched off, Nadine emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her torso, the ends tucked in at her breasts. She had her head to the side, towel drying her damp hair, and nearly missed Johnny standing right in front of her, a mug of coffee extended towards her.

“You’re—” She flicked cautious eyes at him. She tossed the hair towel in the hamper still visible through the open bathroom door, then reached for the coffee mug. “Up early.”

“I wanted to catch you before you left for work.” Johnny stepped back, grimacing when she edged away, backing towards the bedroom door. “And it’s almost ten—”

“Early for you,” she said, bringing the coffee to her lips. “Is everything okay—”

“I talked to Maxie. She’s going to leave us alone.”

Nadine furrowed her brow. “What?”

“Last night. I ran into her at Eli’s, and I thought about what you said. About not wanting to have issues with her because she’s—” He scratched the back of his neck, uncomfortable. “She’s not entirely wrong.”

Nadine’s lips parted, and she set the coffee on the counter, tugging the towel closer to her body. “I didn’t—I wasn’t expecting—”

“You made some good points the other day.” He leaned back against the counter, crossing his feet at the ankles, his arms folded, and his eyes trained on the floor. “And maybe I don’t think enough about what you’re dealing with at work. You don’t say much, and I thought maybe it was getting better.”

“It’s not your problem—”

He lifted his eyes to find her looking at him, red staining her cheeks. “It’s my problem because we’re supposed to be in this together. And maybe we’re not doing enough to think about next week. Or next month. You’re right. We don’t exactly have an exit strategy.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it, biting down. “Is that what you want to do? Come up with an exit plan? I don’t blame you. The PCPD hasn’t done much since they arrested you, so you’re good there, and your dad’s been quiet—”

“I was thinking maybe we don’t worry so much about the exit part of this.”

Nadine broke off her ramble, blinked at him. “What does that mean?”

“You said this is as complicated as we want it to be. I didn’t know what to say to you,” Johnny admitted. “Mostly because I didn’t think about it that way. We kind of got most of the bad stuff out of the way right away. My dad, the PCPD, Jason—and the last few weeks, it’s just been—” He made a face. “I don’t know. Whatever passes for normal. I was thinking about getting a job or finding something to do all day when you’re at work. Or something. But I wasn’t thinking about what happens when this is over. But if you need to have that in your head—”

“Just—just wait—” Nadine held up a hand and he closed his mouth. “I don’t understand what we’re doing here. I haven’t really understood any of this since that morning in Vegas when I lost my damn mind, or—”

“Any of the nights since?” Johnny prompted, straightening, the corners of his mouth twitching. “I could explain it, but you’d just get mad at me again—”

“It’s all just this giant mess, Johnny. And—” When her voice faltered, the humor he’d feeling faded. She sighed. “I don’t know how to fix it without screwing up my life even worse. I still—no, I know we made the right choice. To do whatever we could to stop the violence. I—” She met his eyes. “I went to see Jason. The morning you got arrested, and I looked at him, and I thought he’s helping us even though Sonny’s supposed to be his best friend. Because Jason knows you didn’t want to hurt anyone, and he just wants to keep his family safe. I realized I could help. That keeping you out of jail might keep your dad from going crazy again—I’ve never regretted that I decided to help you. To keep what I saw that day to myself.”

“Oh.” Johnny cleared his throat. “Oh. Well, that’s good—”

“It’s just hard because doing the right thing meant taking a jackhammer to everything else I’d built,” Nadine continued, and he grimaced again. “You know, Lu and Maxie and Spinelli — I liked them. And Regina and Leyla were my friends at work. And you were just someone I knew because of other people. And now none of that’s true anymore. I go to work, and Leyla thinks I’m gold-digging white trash, and it shouldn’t hurt because it’s not true, but it does. And Maxie thinks I’m a home wrecking slut—”

“She’s angry at the situation, and lashing out—”

“Johnny. We’re right back where we started. Because what are we doing?” she asked again. “We slept together. Repeatedly. And I think maybe you’re trying to fix things because you want things to go back to how they were a few days ago.”

Johnny rubbed his chest, made a face. “And that’s a bad thing?”

“No. Yes. No.” She closed her eyes, the damp strands of her hair falling around her face. She gripped the ends of the towel more tightly. “I’m just tired of starting over. I came here because Aunt Rayleen was gone, and I needed something different. I thought I’d try to do some good, balance the scales here. But all I’ve done since I got here is make everything worse.”

“That is not true.” Johnny came forward, shaking his head. He laid his hands on her shoulders, stroking down to her elbow, then back up again. “It’s not. And no one thinks that. No one who matters anyway. Spinelli doesn’t. Nikolas is alive because you nagged him into getting treated. I’m not in jail because of you. I’m a pretty big fan of that part. And—” He curled a finger beneath her chin, lifted it so that their eyes met. “It’s not a crime to like each other, Nadine. We’re not hurting anyone.”

“Lulu—”

He shook his head. “She’s not part of this. She can’t be. If that day on the pier didn’t happen, maybe things would be different. Maybe I’d still be trying to get through to Nikolas, I don’t know. I don’t want to think about it—I don’t. But I understand if she’s the reason you don’t want to keep things the way they were going. I can respect that.” He stepped back.

“It really should bother me,” she said, then dragged a hand down her face. “It should. But you never pretended any differently. I’ve never resented you or her — it’s such an awful situation,” she murmured. “So terrible for her family, for everyone who loves her. And it’s awful, but I have to be practical, Johnny. If she gets better and comes home—how do we explain this? And where exactly does that leave me?”

“If—if she gets better,” Johnny said, “it really wouldn’t change anything. Because I don’t get to change my last name. I don’t get to stop carrying around the baggage that is my family. Dad, Trevor, Claudia—they’re not going anywhere.” He waited a beat. “I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep, Nadine. It wouldn’t be fair to you. So like I said, if you need us to take a permanent step back, then we can do that. The sofa’s not too bad—”

“I just wish I knew what you were asking me. I wish you knew. Because if it’s just sex—”

“It’s not,” Johnny said immediately, and she just wrinkled her nose. “And if it was just that, I’d be laying it on a lot thicker to get back in that room. I could do that.”

Nadine rolled her eyes. “Oh, sure. Okay, Casanova.” She started past him, towards the bedroom, but he got there first, blocking her. When she scowled, he reached for the edge of her towel, tugging her gently so that their chests brushed.

“You’ve been standing here in your towel for almost twenty minutes, water sliding down—” Johnny followed the trail of one of those droplets, sliding his finger from the curve of her jaw down her collarbone, to the top of her breasts. “If it were just about sex, Nadine,” he murmured, his breath hot against her neck as he dipped his head down. “You and I both know that towel would be long gone.”

“It’s a little bit about sex, or you wouldn’t be doing this little demonstration right now,” Nadine said, pushing lightly on his chest so that he’d give her some breathing room. But she looked up and their eyes met again. She licked her lips. “And you being good in bed doesn’t even factor into this. We don’t need to keep complicating this situation.”

“You’re right. So—” Johnny reached down, found the knob and twisted it, so that the door opened at his back. He moved to the side. “Like I said, I’m not looking to talk you into something you don’t want.”

“You’re not talking me into anything.”

“Nope. I made my case, and the ball’s in your court.”

“Good. So that we understand each other.” Nadine stopped at the threshold, leaning against the opposite door jamb, her fingers still holding onto the towel. “Because I don’t want you to take credit for this.”

Johnny frowned. “Credit for—” But then she dropped the towel, fisted her hands in his shirt and pulled him into the room. “Oh, so we’re done talking?”

“We’re done talking.”

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

Anna gripped the back of the visitor’s chair. “There’s something going on at the hospital, I’m convinced of it.”

Mac rifled through a filing cabinet, only half listening to his former sister-in-law. “I know Patrick’s had a lot of mess to clean up since the last chief of staff died.”

“And legal issues from a killer nurse,” Anna added. “All of that is interesting, but I’m talking about Jason Morgan.”

Mac frowned, looked at Anna with more interest. “Jason’s only connection these days is Elizabeth, and I don’t even think she’s back at work yet—”

“What about this accident after the wedding? You told me that Morgan was up to something on the day of Sonny’s shooting. That he was unavailable. I had a source get me Elizabeth’s records—”

Mac slammed the drawer shut, grim now. “I’m not listening to anything the WSB got from GH illegally, Anna, I’ve told you that.”

“But Elizabeth really did suffer a nearly fatal consequence that morning,” Anna insisted. “And yet she’s discharged the same day? You must know that doesn’t add up—”

“No, of course not.” Mac dropped a file on his desk. “But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. Jason was moving everyone into the Towers, and he’s got the connections to get pretty much anything he needs to handle Elizabeth’s care. Audrey Hardy moved in, Anna. Do you really think Audrey of all people would be involved with anything that would put her family at risk?”

“No, I must admit Audrey’s blessing has stumped me,” Anna said. She made a face, considering her thoughts. “I’ve told you that Karpov is in pharmaceuticals — he gets contracts with hospital in port cities to facilitate his smuggling. We had no notion he was in Port Charles until the DEA seized his cargo ship. You weren’t suspicious when that happened on the heels of all these shootings?”

Mac dragged a hand down his face. “No, because I’m an idiot, Anna, who can’t tie his own shoelaces.”

“I didn’t—”

“Anyone with two brain cells can see what happened. Karpov goes after Sonny, gets Kate instead. Sonny blames Johnny Zacchara immediately, which we know since Sonny got arrested that day going after the kid at the hospital. Jason leaves Sonny in lock up overnight so he’ll cool down and so Jason can concentrate on an unrelated accident that put Elizabeth in surgery—”

“Are you sure it’s unrelated?”

“Yes,” Mac retorted. “Elizabeth’s ex took off the same day, dumping her two kids on Audrey. Jason moved everyone into the Towers, Elizabeth had her complication, and as soon as she could travel she was discharged from GH. And I’m willing to bet that there’s an AMA form in her file, isn’t there?”

Anna pressed her lips together. “Yes,” she said tightly. “She was discharged against medical advice. But surely that was to cover Patrick and the hospital for liability. I’m telling you, Mac, something is terribly wrong at GH. Elizabeth’s complication does not make sense! Internal bleeding so many days after her accident? She would have bled out. And the toxicology—”

Mac held up a hand. “I don’t want to hear about one more thing you got illegally from the hospital, Anna. You get to color outside the lines, I don’t. Scott tanked that case against Johnny, made everything worse for Maxie, for Lulu and he did that because he blackmailed Floyd into naming him special prosecutor on his own son’s murder. I told you I’d work with you, I’d share information that was legally obtained, but I’m not interested in anything else.”

“Mac—”

“You bring me real evidence that something is going on at the hospital, something illegal, then fine. We can deal with that. But right now, Patrick Drake isn’t just a doctor at the hospital, he’s not just chief of staff. He’s your future son-in-law. Robin is happy, Anna. She thinks you’re here for her.”

Anna scowled. “I am.”

“Then be here for her. Stop digging into her friends, into her family. Robin’s pregnant, not stupid. She’ll figure it out eventually.”

“You act as if I’m undercover with my own daughter. I’ve missed so much time with her, Mac. Is it so wrong that I’ve wanted to learn more about her and the people who matter?” Anna demanded. “It’s just that she’s told me things that concern me. My grandchild will be born in that hospital, Mac. Have you given any consideration to that? If something is wrong—”

“If you’re right, then it sounds like Patrick is aware of it and will take precautions,” Mac said dryly, and Anna glared at him. “You’ve always been good at manipulating people into feeling guilty, Anna. Glad to see you haven’t lost your touch. Now, if you don’t mind, I have real cases to investigate.”

Crimson Offices: Lobby

 Maxie deliberately turned her back on Lulu’s empty desk, forcing a smile on her face when Spinelli stepped off the elevator, his expression hesitant. “You came. Good. I thought maybe you were still mad at me.”

“The Jackal always heeds a summons from Maximista,” Spinelli said, but the words didn’t sound as natural as they used to. Almost rehearsed. Rote.

“I, um, I’m going to do something I never do, okay? So you need to stand there and let me say it, and then we’ll never think of it again.”

Spinelli frowned, and reached up to draw off his beanie cap, holding it in both hands. “Okay, but—”

“I’m sorry. About that scene at your place yesterday. About what I said to Elizabeth. And about Nadine.” Maxie folded her arms. “I, um, I shouldn’t be saying things like that where you live. Jason’s your family, and he picked her, even though I don’t understand it. It’s just—” She stopped, scratched her temple. “I don’t want to keep blaming something else I don’t want to be that girl who uses her dead sister, dead boyfriends, and parental neglect as an excuse. I just—” She looked at him. “I’m sorry. You’ve been too good to me to deserve me putting you in the middle of people you live with. Jason’s your family,” she repeated. “And Elizabeth is part of that package.”

Spinelli squinted, then shook his head slowly. “We can agree not to speak of it again, but it will not change things. You’re not welcome at the penthouse.”

Maxie pressed her lips together, fighting the urge to scream. “Of course she probably couldn’t wait to forbid it—”

“The Fair Elizabeth made the point that it’s her home. But it’s also Little Dude’s abode. And Stone Cold Junior. She’s never been anything but kind to me. And I also—” He stopped. “Forget it. We’ll just leave it where it is—”

“No. No, we’re being honest here. Finish it.” She lifted her chin. “I can take it.”

“The Jackal was not present when Maximista and Detective Dingus—I wasn’t here. So I don’t know what happened. But I know that he was married.” Spinelli’s eyes found hers. “And that you knew that. That there was no affair with Stone Cold. Not until she learned of the betrayal.”

Maxie’s lips trembled. “So you think she’s right. I’m a homewrecking slut—”

“The Jackal would appreciate if Maximista did not put words in his mouth,” Spinelli said. “The characterization is beyond my power to grant. But there are facts, yes? Timelines? You know them now. Even if you didn’t know them then. And perhaps I can’t say for sure, but I suspect the Fair Elizabeth did little to deserve the way you treated her—beyond being married to the man you wanted.”

Maxie closed her eyes. “Spinelli—”

“I know you’re ashamed of the things you did then. You’ve told me so, and I believe you,” Spinelli told her. “I know that it’s easier for you to lash out, to put your anger somewhere so that you can ignore how hurt you are. I know that,” he repeated. “And I can look past it. I can take the time and see who you are underneath. But it’s not a requirement that everyone does the same. So until Fair Elizabeth says differently, you won’t be welcomed back.”

“Fine. Fine. I don’t even want to go there anyway,” she muttered. She sniffed, then went back to her desk. “Well, thank you for coming by. Glad we could get that sorted.”

She wanted him to argue, to apologize for not leaping to her defense, but instead she heard the squeak of his shoes as he headed for the elevators.

He’d left without another word.

Maxie sat at the desk, staring blindly at the photo of herself and Georgie, the last photograph they’d ever taken together the night of the Black & White Ball, then put her head down and wept.

Elm Street Pier

Claudia rolled her eyes and sat next to her brother on the bench. “I don’t know why we couldn’t have met in a more civilized place. What, does little Mary Sunshine not let you have any guests?”

Johnny shook his head. “It’s nothing personal, Claudia. I just—” Didn’t want a single member of his family inside of Nadine’s home. Not when things were going so well. Nadine had left for work after their morning together, and he wasn’t going to tempt fate. He wanted to keep Nadine away from his family. “Maybe next time. But this isn’t a social call. You made that clear on the phone.”

“It’s not exactly business either—all right, fine. Our esteemed father has sent me on a mission to check on you, though I think we both know he doesn’t handle it well when you’re not in his sight. Especially these days.” Claudia looked out over the blue-gray waters of the lake. “I know Daddy hasn’t exactly been the picture of perfect mental health over the years, but we had a good stretch there, didn’t we? You went to college, I was living in Italy. And Trevor wasn’t sitting on the sidelines, licking his chops to get his hands on the power.”

“Yeah. I know. What changed?” Johnny asked. “All I know is I came home from grad school two years ago and he’d just—” He shook his head. “The stroke, you think?”

“Yeah. Maybe. I kept thinking he’d bounce back, you know. Get himself together. But he was always paranoid. Always waiting for someone to go after him. And Trevor fed on that,” Claudia murmured. “I should have come home. Been with him. I was never his favorite, but I could have done more.”

“I tried to get away from him. Disappeared. He went over the edge last year, Claudie, and I don’t think we’re getting him back. Not all the way.”

“Probably not.” Claudia hesitated. “We’d be better off if you ditched the nurse and came home to Crimson Pointe. No one’s investigating this shooting, John. It’s cold. Dead. Not saying you need to file papers, but if you could just come back to the estate, Daddy could relax. And maybe if you were, I don’t know, we could figure out how to get rid of Trev. We could—”

“Live happily ever after? That ship sailed, and you know that. And besides, I’m okay up here—”

“Really?” Claudia asked dubiously. “Up here? In the sticks? What do you even do all day?”

Johnny rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t understand—”

“Ha! I knew it! You’re bored to tears—”

“That’s not what I said, and don’t put words in my mouth. At least here, I’m not looking over my shoulder. Not anymore. I didn’t—” Johnny pressed his lips together. “I didn’t plan it this way, but Jason’s in charge now. And he knows I want out.”

“He knows what happened, doesn’t he? He’s protecting you.”

Johnny tipped his head slightly to confirm it, and Claudia exhaled on a long sigh, looking back towards Spoon Island. “That’s interesting,” she murmured. “He must really want peace. He’s got a nurse of his own, doesn’t he?”

“Claudia—”

“Oh, chill. I’m not looking for intel. Just trying to understand the lay of the land.” She bit her lip. “But he does. The nurse and those kids of hers. That’s why he let you live. He wants them to be safe. Let me tell Dad. If he knew Jason was protecting you—”

“I don’t know if Dad had anything to do with what happened to Kate, so the last thing I want is to tell him anything about Jason. This is separate. A deal I made just with him to keep Nadine safe. You know what Dad would do if he thought there was a real witness against me.”

Claudia wrinkled her nose. “Why do you think we’re involved with that stick’s shooting—”

“I didn’t say you were, I said Dad. I don’t know if you’d go anywhere near all of that,” Johnny said. “After…last spring.” Which was the closest he’d ever come to mentioning Michael Corinthos’s tragic shooting.

She looked away, vaguely uncomfortable with the turn in the conversation. “But you think Dad might.”

“I think Dad likes chaos, and Trevor wouldn’t stop him. If he even knew.”

“Dad shooting Kate Howard just to see what happens.” He could see his sister testing that out in her head, and then she nodded. “Yeah, I buy that. I’ll keep my ears open, but you need to come down once and while to keep Dad happy. Bring the nurse. She amuses him.”

“Yeah, fine. I have to get going. I’ll call you.”

Claudia watched her brother leave, waited until he’d climbed the stairs and had disappeared around the corner. Then she turned around—only to see Jerry Jacks sauntering down a second pair of stairs.

He paused at the bottom, then strolled towards her. “Well, that was quite an interesting conversation—”

“Don’t even bother. I’ve tried to eavesdrop from that exact same spot,” Claudia interrupted. “You can’t hear a damn thing over the water. So instead of pretending to guess what we were talking about, just tell me what you want.”

“Fair enough. I didn’t hear the details, but I imagine you were discussing your brother’s hasty marriage. It doesn’t take a genius to realize he married a witness.” Jerry cocked his head. “Nadine Crowell. She’s that chippy little blonde who made the scene at the trial, wasn’t she? Quite amusing, her dedication to the truth. When I heard she’d married Johnny Zacchara, I thought—” He tapped his chin. “I thought, well, why would a girl like that marry a man who shot someone else in the head? Because she believes in the boy, of course. Self-defense, likely.”

Claudia stifled a yawn. “Are you going to get to the point?”

“How protective would she be of your brother if she knew what kind of family he was in? What kind of secrets he kept?” Jerry leaned in. “I have it on good authority that our nurse counted tragic little Michael Corinthos among her patients. Do you think she’d protect your brother if she even suspected he was protecting that boy’s killer?”

Claudia went very still. “Michael isn’t dead.”

“Do you think the nurse will care?” Jerry just smiled. “I wonder how quickly she’d run to the PCPD to turn him in. Or you.”

Claudia wasn’t pretending to be bored anymore. “What do you want?”

Coffee House: Jason’s Office

Jason reluctantly scrawled his name on the bottom of the page, then slid it over to Diane. “Carly and I haven’t made any decisions about Greystone.”

Diane filed the papers in her briefcase. “You could always move your brood there—it’s merely a suggestion, Jason, you needn’t get that look on your face,” she added with a sniff.

“We’re happy where we are. The Towers have what we need for security in an emergency, and the house is in a good neighborhood. Elizabeth likes the schools—”

“It’s ultimately up to you, of course,” Diane said with a shrug. “You could rent out Greystone, leave it in trust for Morgan and Kristina and let them discuss. That property will only become more valuable.”

“Like I said,” Jason said, getting to his feet. “We haven’t made any decisions.”

The door opened then, and Cody stepped in. “Spinelli’s here if you’re done with Miss Miller. And I’m gonna head over to the warehouse if you need anything.”

“Yeah, sure.” Jason looked at Diane. “Anything else?”

“Nothing you’re interested in.” Diane reached for her jacket. “Always a pleasure. Spinelli,” she greeted with a nod, passing the tech.

“The Jackal hates to interrupt—” Spinelli made a face, fiddled with the strap of the laptop bag laying across his chest. “About the argument yesterday with Fair Elizabeth and Maximista—”

“If you’re coming to plead Maxie’s case, Spinelli, it’s not happening.” Jason crossed the office, picked up his jacket, then turned to face the tech. “Look, the penthouse is your home, too, and Elizabeth didn’t say a word when Maxie came to her party. I don’t know exactly what happened, but—”

“Maximista is unhappy about the Sceptic Son and Noble Nurse Nadine,” Spinelli said in a rush. “She sees it as a betrayal of…” His throat worked hard, and he looked away. “She was venting her displeasure, and the Fair Elizabeth…she took exception. As she should. The Jackal is most uncomfortable by all of it. But—”

“You weren’t around when Elizabeth and Lucky’s marriage fell apart the first time,” Jason said slowly. “You don’t know what happened or how Maxie or everyone around Elizabeth treated her as if it was her fault. The drugs, the affair — they blamed Elizabeth.”

Spinelli pressed his lips together. “I can only imagine how painful that must have been for her,” he said, and Jason frowned. It was uncharacteristic of Spinelli to speak so directly and plainly. “And I’m not here to ask that the ban be lifted. On the contrary — I agree that it would be for the best if Maximista limited her exposure to the Fair Elizabeth. She…she is not handling the Blonde One’s fate very well. The Jackal worries.”

Jason exhaled slowly, then nodded. “I’m sorry Maxie is struggling with what happened to Lulu. It’s not easy for anyone, and I can see how Johnny and Nadine’s marriage would have made that more difficult. I’m glad we’re on the same page. After Elizabeth and I move the boys to the house, you’re welcome to stay in the penthouse and Maxie will have free reign again.”

Spinelli smiled slightly. “The Jackal will miss Little Dude and the Sequel when they go. They have superior taste in cartoons.”

Patrick’s Condo: Living Room

Patrick sifted through another set of minutes from the most recent board meeting, clenching his jaw when he reviewed notes on another budget request for upgrading equipment — denied. Just like the request to budget for more nurses—

He was drowning—the hospital was drowning—and if he didn’t get an infusion of cash soon, he’d find it difficult to recruit another crop of medical students—

“Uh, Patrick?”

“What?” he asked, almost absently, scribbling in the margins of the denial. “Is it time for lunch?”

“No. But it’s time for something else.”

He frowned, looked over to see Robin by the door, the handle of a duffel bag looped over her wrist. Patrick lunged to his feet. “It’s time?”

“It’s time.” She smiled tremulously. “Contractions are—” She winced. “Lasting one minute each, five minutes apart. And I just hit two hours.”

“What the hell? Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded, yanking the bag from her hand and snatching his keys from the table.

“Because you’re insane, so it was easier to wait.” She grimaced, reached for his hand. “But now we’re going to have a baby, so yell at me later.”

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