There’s no one in town I know
You gave us some place to go
I never said thank you for that
I thought I might get one more chance
What would you think of me now?
So lucky, so strong, so proud?
I never said thank you for that
Now I’ll never have a chance
– Hear You Me, Jimmy Eat World

---

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

General Hospital: Sonny’s Room

She was still furious after arguing with Jason and watching that bitch simper over him like he’d hung the moon — why couldn’t Robin Scorpio have just disappeared from the world completely? Why had she ever returned to Port Charles?

Carly stood at the end of the bed, her blood running hot. “It’s your own fault you’re in this bed,” she said. “What happened to Michael—that’s your fault, too. Jason can’t see how everything would have been better if you’d just never come home all those years ago—” She dipped her head, her voice breaking. “If you’d never come, I’d never have loved you. I’d never have driven myself to desperation to keep you—”

She brushed at her tears. “I thought we were in a better place. We were. I was trying to be. For Morgan’s sake. But for the last month, I’ve been sitting in this damn room, waiting for a miracle, and you know what? I’m glad I didn’t get one. Because you don’t deserve it. Michael does. And if he can’t wake up, then neither should you.”

Carly shook her head. “I don’t even know what the point of any of this is. It’s not like you can hear us. If you’d cared at all about any of us, you wouldn’t have gone to those docks with a gun. Without a guard. How could you make the same mistakes you made with Michael? My God, Sonny, did you really learn nothing?”

She dragged her hands through her hair. “We’re better off without you,” she muttered. “All of us. We always were. I just wish I didn’t have to lose my son to learn that.”

General Hospital: Hallway

“Thanks, Gram. No, I don’t know how much longer we’ll be. I’ll see you when we get back.” Elizabeth slid the phone in her back pocket, then caught sight of Nadine turning down a different hallway. “Nadine!”

The blonde turned back around, smiled. “Hey. I didn’t think you were on the schedule today.”

“I’m not. I’m here with Jason.” Elizabeth walked towards her. “Thanks again for helping with his transfer. I couldn’t, and well—”

“Johnny mentioned, um, it might be related to him,” Nadine said, biting her lip. “I would have done it anyway, but—”

“Well, there was an element of that,” Elizabeth admitted. “There’s not a lot I can do to make Jason’s life easier, but there are these little things, you know? How’s that going, with Johnny, I mean?”

“Oh. It’s fine, I guess. Mostly. The heat’s all died down, so….” Nadine waited a long moment. “It just feels so strange, I guess. Being involved when I already—I mean, I was there that day. I know what happened to him—”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Elizabeth said, lifting her brows, and Nadine flushed, looked away. “You have nothing to feel guilty about. You’re doing a favor for a friend.” She squeezed Nadine’s arm. “Carly and Jason are going to say goodbye to Sonny, so the paperwork is ready, right?”

“Yep. And the ambulance is downstairs, so whenever you guys are good, we’re all set. I, um, I’m going to sit with my sister for a while. Seeing Sonny has me thinking about her. So if you need me—”

“Thanks. We’ll have to catch up later. I’m sure there’s a lot we can talk about,” Elizabeth said, “but I really do need to get back.”

General Hospital: Waiting Room

Elizabeth returned to the waiting area just as Carly did, and she was struck by the tension in the air despite Robin’s absence. “Gram says Jake is fine. We can pick Cameron up when we’re done if you want.”

“Yeah.” He slid his hand in hers, squeezed it. “I would. Maybe we can work on the paper chains for Christmas. Your grandmother could stay, maybe add some chains.”

“Can you go say goodbye and get this over with?” Carly asked sourly, drawing both their attention. “Obviously you have better places to be.”

“That’s not what—” Elizabeth started, but Jason just shook his head, and she fell silent.

“You can be as angry with me as you want to be,” Jason told Carly, who just folded her arms, stared at the floor. “But Robin telling the truth was the best thing that ever happened to either of us—”

“You don’t get to decide that—” Carly’s head snapped up. “It was—”

“Fine. Then it was the best thing for me,” he retorted. He looked at Elizabeth. “Do you want to come with—”

“No, I’ll stay out here.”

Jason released her hand, ignored Carly as he went around the corner, and Carly’s irritation faded away. She scrubbed her hands down her face, then sat in the chair, staring at the floor again.

Elizabeth sat across from her, reached for a magazine, and waited.

“I can’t believe he still doesn’t see her for what she is,” Carly muttered. “After what she did to us, he wants me to be nice to her?”

“I don’t think Jason thought nice was on the menu,” Elizabeth said, flipping to another article. “I think he was hoping compassion was. But you know, Jason, the eternal dreamer.”

Carly scowled. “Shut up—”

“You started it. You always start it. Don’t shake your head at me.” Elizabeth slapped the magazine down. “Jason’s not here to protect you or make me feel bad. You didn’t have to pick a fight with Robin. You did it to make yourself feel better. You didn’t care about Jason. You never do—”

“You don’t know a damn thing, you never have. Jason’s picked you for now, and I’m putting up with you until he sees you for what you are—”

“And what am I?” Elizabeth drawled with an air of amusement that only caused the flush in Carly’s cheeks to deepen. “An unfeeling bitch who picks fights to make herself better? Who throws stones when she’s the queen of a glass castle?” She snorted, looked back at the magazine. “You’ll never change, Carly.”

“Don’t think you’ll be able to get rid of me, okay? I know you’ve been trying to edge me out. To spend time with Morgan and my mother, and not me. I—”

“I don’t have to do anything but wait, Carly.” Elizabeth met the blonde’s angry gaze. “Because this is what you do. You pick and poke at everyone else until we’re as miserable as you are. Before you know it, you’ll be alone.”

“Jason will never abandon me. And if you make him choose—”

“You make him choose,” Elizabeth cut in and Carly closed her mouth. “Every time you insult me. Every time you throw a comment at me, every fight you pick, you make him choose. But I’m not going anywhere. You’re going to have to figure out how to make your peace with that.”

“I’d rather eat battery acid.”

General Hospital: Sonny’s Room

There was no sound save the beeping of machines, and for a long time, Jason didn’t know what to do. What to say or even if there was a point to standing here. He’d avoided this room for more than a month, wishing it away, pretending it wasn’t happening.

He and Sonny had lived separate lives after the warehouse shooting—even before that, Jason acknowledged. Since Emily’s death, Jason had closed himself in, focusing really on Elizabeth, thinking about Jake. Going through the motions in the rest of his life. Sonny had been on his own journey, building a relationship with Kate—

And then that terrible day at the warehouse when Sonny had broken a lifetime of protocol, taking Michael to the warehouse without guards. When the bright beautiful boy Jason had held as a newborn had been struck by a ricochet bullet, and all the life had gone out of him. Enough remained to leave a thin layer of hope somewhere beneath despair, but for Jason, after losing his sister so brutally—

“I’m supposed to say goodbye,” Jason said, his voice sounding strange, almost echoing off the walls. “Or tell you what you meant to me. How much I’m going to miss you. Something like that. Elizabeth would know. She could probably put it into words for me.”

There was a hospital tray hanging over the edge of Sonny’s bed, one used for meals. Jason gently pushed it away, then tugged it closer, then away again.

“Maybe because this is the last time I’m going to look at you unless you wake up, the last words I’ll ever say to you—” He paused, clearing his throat. “But I already said those. I told you to take care of your own problems, and then you went out and got shot in the head, so I guess…” Jason scrubbed hand down his face. “I don’t remember the last thing I ever said to my sister. To Alan. Or my grandmother. I don’t remember what I said to Michael. But you? I won’t be able to forget it.”

There was no response, of course not. Only the beeping, the signal that his heartbeat was regular and steady.

“Because what happened to you is my fault. And yours. But mostly mine. Because I knew you were out of control, I knew you were on the edge, and it didn’t matter to me. Nothing about what you were going through mattered enough to me that day. And I can’t apologize for that. I won’t. You always wanted me to put your family first, and I did that. I did that until it almost cost me everything. And that day? You wanted me to do it again. I chose her. I chose myself, and now that’s the last thing we’ll ever have.”

He scratched the skin above his upper lip. “I’m sorry our last moments were angry,” Jason said. “You…were a friend to me for a long time, and I learned a lot from you. But since Jake—I’ve started to resent you. To blame you for the choices I made. And it’s not fair. You tried to talk me out of it. I just…couldn’t see what I was giving up, and now it’s too late to stop it.” He fisted his hand, rested on the tray. “I don’t know who I’d be today if I hadn’t met you. I don’t know who I’m going to be now that you’re not here anymore. I guess we’re going to find out.”

Jason sighed, stepped back from the bed. “Goodbye, Sonny.”

General Hospital: Jolene Crowell’s Hospital Room

Jolene’s shining blonde hair was limp, laying like strings of noodles against the flat hospital pillow. Her cheeks were slack and pale. Her arms laying perfectly still at her side. A physical therapist came in to work her muscles, to make sure she wouldn’t get any blood clots from remaining in one place for long.

“Sorry I haven’t been here in a while,” Nadine said, taking a seat next to the bed. “I’ve been…busy, I guess.” She twisted the diamond on her finger. “I got married. Bet you weren’t expecting that, huh? You always told me no one liked a girl who spent all her time in the books, but then again, no one likes a girl who commits murder—” She wrinkled her nose. “Sorry. That’s not fair. Shouldn’t take shots at you when you can’t fight back.”

Jolene would have, Nadine thought. Her sister always had something cutting to say when they saw each other. Maybe that’s why they so rarely saw each other when they lived in the same place, and why Nadine only visited rarely, and hadn’t bothered in months.

“You’d like him, probably. He’s a night owl, though we’re working on that. He doesn’t really know what he wants from life. I guess maybe he’s never needed to know. You always did,” Nadine said, almost wistfully. “You knew you wanted to have as much money as you could and find someone to keep you in style. Honestly, if you met Johnny, you’d probably try to sleep with him and get him to leave me for you.”

She smiled faintly. “It wouldn’t work. I know it probably sounds weird—I mean, you don’t know this, but Johnny’s loyal, you know? He’s still in love with Lulu, and you probably think I’m some kind of doormat because that doesn’t bother me, but it really doesn’t. I think it’s human to have contradictory feelings for people. You know, like be in love with a woman three thousand miles away and care about someone a lot who’s right in front of you. I think he cares about me,” Nadine said, furrowing her brow. “He’s hard to read sometimes. But I think maybe he just doesn’t open up to anyone. They always end up leaving. Or trying to kill him. Except his sister, who’s pretty scary. I think you might have some competition in that area.”

The door opened behind them, and Nadine twisted to see a nurse entering, an IV bag in her hand. “Oh,” the nurse said, startled. “I didn’t realize anyone would be here—”

“I’ve been lax in visiting. I can get out of your way—”

“No need.” The nurse smiled, then turned to switch out the fluid bags. “See, all done. You have a nice chat with your sister.”

“Thanks,” Nadine said, already forgetting the nurse as she closed the door behind her.

The woman kept walking down the hallway, heading for the elevators, stopping only to grab a purse she’d left just behind a planter. Once on the elevator, she quickly shed her nurse’s scrubs, pulled on a sweater, jeans, and boots, and a red wig to cover the black hair.

Ten minutes later, she was sauntering out of General Hospital.

General Hospital: Waiting Room

When Jason returned to the waiting room, both women were silent, sitting on opposite sides, but the air seemed thicker, stuffier than when he’d left it.

Elizabeth noticed him, started to rise but grimaced when Carly bolted out of her chair, coming to him first. Elizabeth settled back into the chair, picked up her magazine.

“I’m sorry,” Carly said, immediately. Typical of Carly — to make a scene, throw a tantrum, and wish she could take it back when the smoke settled. “Really, Jase. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Jason said. He didn’t want to hear more empty promises from her. She always felt sorry in the moment, but it would never stop her from repeating the insanity later. “Let’s just—”

“No, I do. I do.” She forced a smile. “How many times did you look after us, Jase? Take on all the weight of our problems and put your own to the side. Too many to count,” she added when he just sighed. “You’ve got the boys now, and I—I desperately want you to have that. You deserve it. Not that it’s mine to grant or anything. That’s not what I meant—””

“Carly,” he said, holding up a hand to stop her rambling. “It’s okay. You’ll call if you need anything?”

“Sure. Sure.” She pasted a smile on her face, laced her trembling fingers together. “Thanks again for taking Morgan. I’ll go get things started. Get it over with.”

She headed towards the nurse’s station to get things started. Jason sighed, looked at Elizabeth. “I’m sorry if she started a fight—”

“I think maybe I started this one,” Elizabeth said. She set the magazine aside, came to him, and slid her arms around his waist. He drew her against him, his arm around her shoulders. He just let himself stand there for a long moment, breathing her in. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I wish there was more I could do. Something to make this better.”

“Going home with you, to the boys—that’s all I need today.” He drew back, took her hand. “Let’s go home.”

General Hospital: Jolene’s Room

Her pager vibrated against her waistband. Nadine tugged it loose, saw the notation. “Well, time to help Sonny Corinthos take his last trip,” she said, getting to her feet, reattaching the pager. “I promise I won’t—”

There was a beeping on one of the machines—the heart monitor began to spike wildly—and then Jolene’s body jolted—and began to seize.

Nadine raced for the call button, pressed it, but then there was another sound—

A flatline.

Nadine yanked the door open. “Code Blue! Code Blue! Code Blue!”

Let me know the way
Before there’s hell to pay
Give me room to lay the law and let me go
I’ve got to make a play
To make my lover stay
So what would an angel say the devil wants to know
– Criminal, Fiona Apple

---

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

 Nadine’s Apartment: Living Room

Johnny had been pacing the length of the apartment for what felt like hours — he’d tried to distract himself with movies, with television — hell, he’d even gone for a run which he hated. But he found himself right back where he started, going from the bedroom door at the far end of the apartment to the edge of the living room wall.

He wanted to call Nadine, wanted to go see her, but couldn’t for the life of him think of a good reason to just show up at the hospital and bother her at work.

But—

The ring of his cell phone jerked him out of his circular thoughts, and he all but dived for the phone charging on the table next to the sofa. “Hello?”

“You sound out of breath, my friend.”

Johnny’s fingers clenched the phone more tightly. “What the hell do you want?”

“Oh, just wondering why you’re still at home and not at the hospital with your wife.”

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

 General Hospital: Hallway

Nadine sat stiffly in the hallway, her arms wrapped around her upper body, staring down at the linoleum tiled floor. She knew. She knew what was going to happen even before the code team had shuffled out of the room.

A doctor—an intern she didn’t even know—had looked at her with puppy dog brown eyes and told her they’d done all they could, but her sister was gone. Someone would be there shortly to discuss what was next.

And then the code team had gone, leaving her alone in the hallway. She sat down, waited.

She felt the weight of someone sitting beside her.  “Nadine.”

She looked over, wondering if her eyes looked as empty as she felt, and recognized the doctor with whom she’d clashed with so often over the summer. But none of that hostility was in his eyes, only warmth, compassion — pity. She took a deep breath. “Matt.”

“Your sister was on my service. I didn’t—” He looked back towards the room, his eyes squinting slightly. “I don’t know what happened.”

“She died.” Nadine licked her lips. “My sister. She just…” With an empty, helpless gesture, she lifted her hand in the air, then dropped it again. “She coded.”

“I know, it’s just—” He shook his head. “Never mind, that—I’ll look into it. Do you—is there someone I can call? Did you call your husband already?”

Her husband. Because that’s what you did when things went wrong. You called your family. She didn’t have any of that, not really. Nothing real. Nadine lifted her head, looking at him. “Did you ever go to see Robin?”

Matt drew his brows together, thrown by the change in topic. “What?”

“Last week. I saw you—you kept walking up to her door and walking away. Did you ever go in?”

“No. I didn’t—” He closed his mouth when Jolene’s hospital room door opened, and a pair of orderlies rolled a gurney out of the room, a sheet drawn up over the figure.

Over her sister’s body.

“She killed people, did you know that?” Nadine looked at him. “My sister. She came here and took money to tank the hospital. Make them look worse, drive their stock price down.”

“Do hospitals have stock?” he asked, and she smiled lightly.

“I don’t know. I don’t even really understand what Jolene was asked to do, but she’d have done anything for money. But then she got hurt,” she murmured, staring at the empty hospital room where her sister had lived for the last year. “She threw herself in front of Spinelli and ended up in a coma. Now she’s dead.”  That was it. Her sister’s entire history, all that would be featured in the obituaries. If anyone still cared enough to write one.

“Let me call someone. Epiphany or — Spinelli.”

“I grew up with her, Matt. We shared a room. Argued over clothes, boys, the car, anything you can think of. She was my family. All the family I had.” Nadine got to her feet. “You should have gone in the room, Matt.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to call—”

“I don’t feel anything. I know that’s shock, how grief can hit you, but there’s just…nothing.” She furrowed her brow. “I wasn’t prepared for what it would feel like to be empty.”

“It’ll hit,” Matt said. He stood, a bit awkwardly, his body already angling towards the hallway. Towards escape. “Nadine—”

“I’m okay. Just—” She held out a hand. “Give me the paperwork. Whatever I have to sign.”

Crimson: Lobby

Maxie jumped to her feet when Kate stepped off the elevators, her large blue eyes wide. “You’re back. I thought—”

“I didn’t wait for them to—” Kate stopped and took a deep breath. “I didn’t wait for the transfer.” The thought of standing there, watching Sonny being rolled past her towards an elevator— She couldn’t bear it. Couldn’t manage it. She sailed past Maxie, into her office. “How did the conference call go with New York?”

Maxie followed her. “Mina handled everything. Really, Kate. I can handle things from here if you—”

“Want to go home to my empty house and wallow in the emptiness of my future?” Kate asked dryly. She sat behind her desk, reached for the mail Maxie had already sorted. “I suppose if I were really the widow, I could drive behind the ambulance to Manhattan, wailing into my—” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m a bit on edge. You’re only expressing concern, and that’s kind of you.”

“You don’t need to apologize. Really.” Maxie twisted her fingers together. “Everyone deals with things however they want. And you know, it’s not—it’s not like he’s…”

“It’s not like he’s dead,” Kate murmured. “It felt like a funeral. His loved ones gathering. I think his father came up yesterday. Jason was there. I saw Robin Scorpio as I was leaving, and I know she was close to Sonny once.” She tipped her head. “All of us, saying our goodbyes, standing by his bed as if life support were being removed. I suppose that’s why I didn’t wait for the transfer. It would have been like watching pallbearers.”

Maxie smiled weakly. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I get it though, you know, why everyone is doing that. Before, um, before Lulu went to California, I gave her one last pep talk. But mostly I just wanted a chance to talk to her. Even to argue. I wish…I guess maybe when you’ve lost someone, you don’t want to leave the words unsaid. Sonny’s not dead, but it’s kind of like he is. Even if he comes home one day—”

“He’ll come back to a different world.” Kate tipped her head. “I suppose that’s fair enough. With what Jason and Carly have lost this year. You never know when it’s the last time.”

“I don’t remember the last thing I said to my sister.” Maxie looked down at her nails, cleared her throat. “It used to keep me up at night, wondering if maybe I’d said something awful or teased her about Spinelli. You’d think—” Her voice faltered and it seemed thinner when she spoke again. “Georgie and Coop, they’re not even the first people I’ve lost. Three years ago…my boyfriend, Jesse. He was shot in the head. Died on the table.”

Kate laid both her hands flat on her desk, considered her assistant in an entirely new light. “That’s an awful lot of loss for someone so young,” she told Maxie. “I’m so very sorry—”

“I’m not, like, saying it because I wanted pity. Because I don’t. I’m fine now. It’s just—I kind of admire how you’re holding up. I wish I’d been able to do that. To just…not…” she smiled grimly. “Spiral out of control, but maybe it’s the only way I know how to do anything.”

“And how am I holding up?” Kate rose to her feet. “Like a pillar of strength?” Her tone was cool now, but Maxie wasn’t deterred.

“You came back to work. You didn’t decide to make everyone else’s life miserable, too. I did that. When Jesse died. I kind of went insane for…maybe a year, I guess. But your way is better—”

“Better.” The older woman reached for her purse. “To go through life never feeling anything? You think that’s better?”

“No, but—” Maxie bit her lip. “It’s better than getting involved with a married man and feeding his pill habit, then faking a pregnancy, then a miscarriage so he’d feel bad for you.”

Kate blinked. “Well, I suppose that’s…the other side of the coin. A bit extreme, I’ll grant you.” She waited a moment. “Working at Couture was everything I always wanted. And I had to let go of that dream. Create a new one. I never thought Sonny would ever come back into my life, and then he did.” Her lip trembled slightly, and she closed her eyes. “Just like when we were kids. He burst in, broke me to pieces, and then left.”

“I thought you were the one that left him back then.”

“He left first. Working for Joe Scully. He wouldn’t even think about a real future. All he ever wanted was enough power so no one would ever lock him in the dark again. But it was never enough for him.”  She looked away, took a careful breath, a glimmer of tears in her eyes. “And now, well, all he has is the dark.”

General Hospital: Waiting Room

Nadine stared at the clipboard, the tip of her pen resting just above the paper. Name of decedent. Jolene Leigh Crowell.

Her sister was dead. Her superficial, shallow, greedy, homicidal sister was dead. She had to decide whether to bury her here in Port Charles, bring her home to Ohio, or cremate her. What would she even do with the ashes? Did Nadine take her home, put Jolene on the mantel or something?

Maybe she should just bury the ashes or spread them. Where? In the fields back home? In the cow pastures?

She set both the clipboard and the pen on the table in front of her, putting her head in her hands.

Behind her, the elevators opened and Johnny skidded out, whipping his head back and forth, scanning the entire area, and then he saw her, turned and saw her on the sofa– relief that flooded every cell of his body was nearly overwhelming—he braced one hand against the wall—Christ, what did he really expect? Was Jerry Jacks just fucking with him, or—

Johnny took a deep breath, then went over to her. “Nadine—”

Her head jerked up, and she shot to her feet, her cheeks pale, her blue eyes too wide for her face. “Johnny. You—did Matt call you? I told him not to, but he must have or someone else— and you came—” She lifted one hand to her lips, and it was trembling. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t—”

“Hey. Hey.” Johnny stepped forward, pulled her into his arms. “We’ll figure it out. Okay? We’ll make it okay.”

“I don’t know if you can—” Nadine drew back slightly, and her lower lip quivered, her beautiful eyes suddenly welling with tears. “I didn’t even like her. She did terrible, awful things to good people who didn’t deserve it, but she never gets to wake up again. She’s dead, Johnny. You can’t fix that.”

His mind raced as he processed Nadine’s words—the only person in her world that fit all those facts—that would explain why Nadine was at the hospital, looking like her world had crumbled—

Jolene. Her sister. Nadine’s sister was dead.

And it was his fault.

General Hospital: Break Room

“Sorry—” Matt scooped a stack of folders from the floor, and flashed a half smile at Epiphany who just leveled a glare at him. “I didn’t mean to bump into you—” he held them out. “I was reading and walking, and I know better.”

“Yeah, yeah—this one isn’t mine—” Epiphany shoved a folder back at him, but her eye caught the label, and she tugged it back. “Why do you have Jolene Crowell’s file?”

“Oh. She, uh, she coded a little while ago. I was actually going to ask you about her case—”

“She—she coded?” Epiphany blinked. “She’s been stable for months and you’re telling me she went into cardiac arrest today?”

“Yeah, I thought it was weird. You don’t see that much in long term coma patients.” Matt took the file back from her, flipped through it. “I wanted to look through her results, see if maybe we missed something, you know? Like maybe some functions were low. Usually a long-term patient goes, there’s some signs of decline.”

“And?”

“Nothing. I asked Nadine to sign for an autopsy. She might not think of it now, being in shock and all, but—” Matt shrugged. “Later, she’ll be glad she knows for sure. I’d hate to think we missed something.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’d hate that.” Epiphany followed him out of the break room and down the hall where they saw Nadine by the elevators, hugging Johnny.

“Oh, good, she changed her mind,” Matt said.

“What?”

“She didn’t want me to call anyone—” He gestured with the file in hand. “But she must have called Johnny after all. Or maybe he came to see her. Good timing if that’s true. I better get back on my rounds.”

“Yeah—” Epiphany watched Matt disappear around another corner, then looked again at the couple by the elevator. Nadine was crying, and Johnny was holding her, his face pale, and eyes hollow. Could he be that upset about a sister-in-law he’d never met? “Some excellent timing,” she muttered. “Or maybe someone has a guilty conscience.”

Vista Point: Observation Deck

The drive up the cliff roads wasn’t the same in the SUV, not even with the windows down, but Jason hadn’t been ready to go home, and there was still time before Cameron had to be picked up at school. He’d ignored the turn off to Harborview Drive, and kept going, climbing the familiar hills until they’d reached the summit.

Now he stood by the railing, his hand wrapped around the bar, welcoming the wind that whipped around. But he’d forgotten how bitterly cold the November air already was until he saw a shiver roll through Elizabeth’s body, and she pulled the ends of her sweater more tightly around her. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking,” he told her, turning towards her. “We’ll go—”

“I can stand it for a few minutes.” She leaned against the railing, looking out over the lake, out to the mists that surrounded the hulking mass of Wyndemere. “I wonder if he’ll sell the place,” she murmured. “I can’t understand how he’d want to live there again.”

“Should be burned to the ground,” Jason bit out, and she looked at him. “I’m okay.”

“I know.”

“I said what I needed to say to him, and I’m okay.”

She didn’t answer this time, just watched him, and he had to look away, to return his gaze to the gray waters that stretched forever, eventually fading into the horizon at the world’s end.

“He was always there,” Jason said. “Even when he wasn’t. When he was gone from Port Charles or I was, I knew I could call him. If there was something…” He looked at her. “I’ve never really been on my own. Not since I met him. I hate him for letting me into this life, for not stopping me.” He looked down at the guard rail, picked at the peeling paint. “But if he hadn’t, I’d probably be dead. I was reckless, impulsive. Stupid. Driving too fast, getting into trouble in all the worst ways. I did what I wanted when I wanted. He gave me something, I guess. Even if it was just looking out for him. Taking care of him. Proving to myself and anyone who looked at me wrong that I could take over for him.” He lifted his eyes to hers. “I’m standing here with you because of him.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” she teased lightly, and the corner of his mouth tugged up. “We met in a bar that had nothing to do with Sonny, and Emily was my best friend even without you. I kind of like the idea that we were inevitable, don’t you?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

“It’s hard,” Elizabeth said, “to lose your best friend. It doesn’t matter that I still have you and I have so many people who love me. Losing Emily, my best friend, my sister, my other half, it changed me, Jason. And I’m still learning all the ways that I’m different now. You don’t have to have all the answers today or even tomorrow.”

And of course she’d understand. Jason reached for her, tugging her close by the sleeve of her sweater. She lifted her face to his and he kissed her, just briefly because he could feel her shivering.

He wrapped her in his arms, and she sighed happily, sliding her arms around his waist, beneath his coat. “If you could think of one thing you wanted to do tonight,” Jason began, “what would it be?”

“Mmm…paper chains.” Elizabeth tilted her head back to grin at him. “Christmas will be here before you know it, and I want to make paper chains with the boys. All of us. Or did you have something else in mind?”

“No, that sounds perfect. Let’s go home and make paper chains.”

Drake Condo: Nursery

Robin handed the freshly diapered and powered newborn to her father, smiling as Patrick cradled her against his shoulder, stroking his hand up and down their daughter’s back. “You’re a natural with her, I knew you would be.”

“Glad one of us did.”

“I’m glad I went today,” Robin said, following him to the living room as he walked the laps they’d already learned were necessary to lull Emma into taking her afternoon nap. She leaned against the sofa. “Even though it meant dealing with Carly. I’m just sorry if it made harder for Jason.”

“I’ve noticed she doesn’t have much of a chill factor.” Patrick squinted. “Does it bother you that I’m friendly with her?”

Robin wrinkled her nose. “Maybe in the beginning, but it’s not like you’re best friends. I don’t have to constantly deal with Carly in my life and my business. I don’t know how Elizabeth hasn’t thrown her out a window, but I give her until Christmas.”

“That’s cheerful—” Patrick’s phone vibrated on the charger where he left. “Can you check that?”

“Sure—” Robin picked it up, flipped it open to see the caller id. “It’s Epiphany, do you—” When Patrick gave her the nod, she lifted it to her ear. “Hey, is everything okay?”

“I’m sorry, Dr. Scorpio, to disturb you both at home. But I think there’s something Dr. Drake needs to know. Immediately.”

It seems like every day’s the same
And I’m left to discover on my own
It seems like everything is gray
And there’s no color to behold
They say it’s over
And I’m fine again, yeah
Try to stay sober
Feels like I’m dying here
– Fine Again, Seether

---

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

 Drake Condo: Living Room

Robin met Patrick at the door, her eyes wide, her teeth slightly clenched. “Hey, isn’t it great that my mom dropped by?”

He glanced past her, saw his future mother-in-law by the window, then looked back to Robin. Talking about what he’d learned would have to wait until they were alone. “Oh, yeah, that’s great.”

“I do hope that’s all right. Robin said you’d stopped out to pick up dinner, but I assured her I’d eaten—” She eyed the files in his hand. “I thought you were taking some time from work.”

“I am, but you know how it is when you’re the one in charge. Always a form to sign. It’s just something for the board meeting in a few days. Sorry,” he told Robin. “I promise I didn’t talk to one patient—”

“You’re fine. Mom’s just nosy,” Robin said, shooting her mother a look.

“You say that as if it’s a bad thing,” Anna teased. “Did you want any help with that?” she asked, gesturing at Patrick who still held the takeout bag from Kelly’s in one hand, the file in the other. “You can go to the kitchen, I’ll put that over by your desk—”

“No, we’re good—” Patrick tightened his hand on the file, started for the kitchen on his own. “I’ve got it.” He passed Anna and missed the determined set of her face. “Just an issue with a patient.”

Robin furrowed her brow, confused by her mother’s offer. “Hey, you know Kelly’s portions are huge, and I’ll never eat all those fries. Why don’t you split mine in half? Patrick can help me with Emma’s diaper.” She lifted her brows. “Unless you want—”

“No, no, I’ve already done my turn, thank you.”

Once inside the nursery, Robin handed Patrick the baby and closed the door. “What is it? I’ve been dying since Epiphany refused to say anything on the phone. I don’t know why she thinks we’re being bugged—”

“‘She was worried about being overheard on her end.” He laid Emma on the changing table, the newborn batting her fists in the air, kicking and making it difficult for her father to wrestle with the snaps of her onesie. “Jolene went into cardiac arrest and died today. Epiphany had some questions.”

“Jolene?” Robin repeated. She leaned against the door. “She’s been stable for more than a year, hasn’t she?”

“According to her records. Her last lab results were normal. Other than the coma, she’s in—she was relatively healthy.” Patrick disposed of the used diaper. “Epiphany got wind of it from Matt. She’d been transferred to his service when I took the chief position. He ordered an autopsy.”

“Oh. Well, that’s lucky, but why? I mean you and I might be curious as to what would have happened, but Matt doesn’t know any better. And Nadine—” Robin folded her arms. “We never brought her in with the misfires.”

“No. I might have, but then she got mixed up with the Zaccharas and I thought she had enough on her plate.” Patrick laid a freshly changed Emma against his shoulder, stroking her back. “Epiphany might not have really thought much about it, but she thought Johnny was acting strangely at the hospital. I put a rush on the autopsy, so I guess we’ll see what happens.” He looked at her. “I didn’t call Elizabeth or Jason. I figured…”

“It was hard today,” Robin admitted, and he came to her. She slid an arm around his waist, cuddling into his side so that he had Emma in one arm and Robin in the other. “But I’d feel better if we told him. Just in case.”

“You know him better than me.”

“I’d rather keep him looped in than have to catch him up later. It’s sad for Nadine,” Robin admitted. “They weren’t close, and Jolene was a difficult person. Still — that was her family.” She flicked her eyes towards the door, then back to Patrick. “I’m gonna make the call in here. I don’t want Mom to overhear. The last thing we need is for her to get curious and start asking questions.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

It wasn’t so long ago that Jason had to resort to brooding over a beer at Jake’s or riding for hours on the bike just to keep himself distracted, and if he was feeling particularly miserable, he’d pick a fight to have someone to punch.

It was easier now, he thought, guiding Jake’s tiny fingers to fold the strips of construction paper and create a link in their paper chain. He could come home to the boys and just let Cameron talk about anything or everything. He could read to Jake or pretend not to see Elizabeth picking up her pencils and sketch pad.

And a distraction was exactly what he wanted for himself tonight, and he was glad that he hadn’t had to worry about Carly being on her own tonight. She’d be in Manhattan with her mother, not alone. She’d been prickly at the hospital, and Jason knew her mercurial mood would shift from picking at Robin to picking at him or someone else in her way, and if that didn’t give her the relief she’d need—well, that’s when things could get hairy.

But he’d wanted a night for just their family, including Audrey who had been happy to remain after watching Jake that morning. She was perched on the edge of the armchair happily cutting strips of paper for the boys to curl into links, talking about the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays. Jake needed help to make the links, but Morgan and Cameron had no issues — except they kept getting glue on their hands and chasing each other with their sticky fingers.

“I was so hoping I could convince Steven and Sarah to join us this year,” Audrey was saying when the phone on the desk rang. Jason lifted Jake from his lap and set him on the sofa next to his brother. “But Steven is working, and Sarah said she and your parents have made a commitment to some friends in Napa. They said we were welcome, but—”

“Well, that’s not going to happen,” Elizabeth replied, rolling her eyes. “Which they knew which is the only reason they invited us. Can you imagine packing the boys up, flying across the country to have dinner with them?”

“Well, I can keep trying to make your parents at least pretend not to play favorites,” Audrey said with a sniff.

Jason picked up the phone, half-listening to the conversation, wondering why Audrey bothered reaching out to the family members who couldn’t be less interested. “Hello?”

“Jason? Hey. It’s Robin. Is this a bad time?”

“No. It’s fine. What’s up?”

A few minutes later, Jason placed the phone back on the receiver, angled himself away from the rest of the room, absorbing Robin’s news. Or lack of news.

“Is everything all right?”

Jason looked up, found Audrey and Elizabeth watching him. “What?”

Elizabeth set down the glue stick she’d been using and stood. “Gram, can you—”

“Of course. Cam, why don’t you get a piece of this construction paper and show your brother what you learned to draw in school.”

Elizabeth came towards him, and Jason took her by the arm and led her towards the hallway. But he didn’t stop there — he went around the corner and into the other penthouse. He flipped on the light, then closed the door.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, folding her arms. “You’re kind of freaking me out.”

“Jolene Crowell died today.”

“Jolene—Nadine’s sister?” Elizabeth furrowed her brow. “I don’t understand. Nadine said she was going to visit with her sister today while she was waiting for us. She didn’t say anything about her condition changing.” She exhaled in a slow breath. “Was it sabotage?”

“They don’t know. Whatever it was, it wasn’t worrying enough to escalate it to Patrick through any official channels. Matt Hunter ordered an autopsy, but according to Robin, Epiphany thought Johnny was acting weird at the hospital.” Jason scrubbed a hand down his face. “I thought we were done with this. Either it was a coding glitch or Karpov using you to screw with me. Or maybe it was just some hacker screwing around. Either way, Spinelli’s firewall fixed the issues, and I got rid of Karpov.”

“Well, we don’t know anything for sure. Just because Jolene wasn’t in critical condition, that doesn’t mean there wasn’t an underlying problem. And long-term coma patients—” Elizabeth hesitated. “This happens sometimes,” she said softly, and Jason looked away, thinking of Sonny and Michael. Would that happen one day to them? Would they wake up and find they’d lost one in the night?

“I know, but it’s—it’s the timing. Sonny is transferred today, and Jolene, who’s been stable the entire time, goes into cardiac arrest?”

“You’re thinking of what happened the night I got the first warfarin doses. You said Karpov brought someone to Sonny’s house, framing Johnny for Kate’s shooting. I was targeted to distract you.”

“Yeah.” Jason nodded. “Yeah, I am. I thought I got rid of Karpov, but I just got him tangled up in red tape. Maybe it wasn’t enough. Maybe he was laying low—”

“But what’s the connection to Nadine? I thought Johnny wasn’t involved in any of this. Does it make sense to go after his comatose sister-in-law?”

“Johnny’s not involved, but his father is. The Russians—they go after families. They feed on the terror. Karpov using you to hurt me? To make sure I wasn’t focused on Sonny — yeah, I believe that. It’s why—”

“Why you pushed me away even harder when Karpov showed up,” Elizabeth said softly. He looked at her. “Because before, maybe I get hurt in the crossfire. Maybe I’m in a car meant for you, like Lily. But with Karpov, I was the weapon. And the boys could be.”

He exhaled slowly. “If they wanted to use Jake or Cam, they would have done that. No one was surprised when we told them I was Jake’s father. People knew. They didn’t believe you last year. But I never left them unguarded. After Michael, there was always someone on you. On Jake and Cam. They couldn’t get close, but—”

She nodded. “I knew that. There was always a car outside the house,” she added when he looked back at her. “And Lucky saw them, too. He figured after Jake’s kidnapping, as much as he hated the truth, he wasn’t going to turn down extra security. I think most parents wouldn’t mind a bodyguard just trailing after their kids.” Elizabeth waited a beat. “But that wouldn’t have been enough. Especially when they were with my grandmother. They didn’t use Jake or Cameron. They went after me in the hospital.”

“Because they already had the system in place,” Jason said slowly. “Spinelli said that he couldn’t pinpoint which patients had their medications screwed with, but he could confirm that they had. You couldn’t have been the first. You were just the only case with a complication that couldn’t be explained away.”

“Spinelli said that it would be difficult to figure out exactly what happened, but he didn’t say it was impossible.”

“I’m going to call him. I don’t want to wait for the autopsy to come back. I want to know anything that happened to Jolene Crowell as soon as possible.”

Nadine’s Apartment: Living Room

“You’re sure we filled out those forms right?” Nadine asked, as Johnny closed the door and flipped the locks behind them. “I didn’t know we had to make all those decisions right away. Did I make the wrong ones?”

“Who decides it they’re wrong?” Johnny asked. He reached for her hands, clasped them between his own. “I think cremating her and taking the remains back to Ohio to be buried with your aunt is a good idea.” And since Nadine had looked at him in horror when he’d suggested he’d cover the costs of transporting Jolene back to Ohio to be buried, cremating her first was less expensive.

“I don’t even know how Epiphany talked me into having a service,” Nadine muttered, dragging her jacket off and hanging it up. She ran her fingers through her hair, took another deep breath. “No one is even going to come. She was a killer, Johnny. There are going to be people who think she got what she deserved—”

“There are people who will want to show you support,” Johnny said, hoping like hell that was true. He put his arm around her shoulders, steering her towards the bedroom. “It’s okay. We made the decisions we needed to tonight, and the rest can wait—”

Nadine spun around at the doorway, planting her hands against the door frame on either side. “Matt said we needed an autopsy. To understand what happened to her. I said yes. Because if I’d told him the truth, he’d have thought I was crazy.”

“The truth?” Johnny echoed.

“It’s me. My fault. I’m cursed.”

“Nadine—”

“I lost patients in the ICU this summer, and I tried to help you and Lulu, but I failed at that. I tried to help Nikolas, and he just got annoyed at me. I volunteered at the clinic, and it burned down—” She squeezed her eyes closed. “And Sonny? I was there, too—”

“That was not your fault,” Johnny cut in sharply, and she closed her mouth. “That’s on me. On Sonny. Never you. None of this is your fault. Tell me you know that.”

“I—” Her face crumpled, and the tears started again. He felt like a real asshole. Great job, he told himself, taking her in his arms, her body trembling. Yell at her. That’ll fix everything.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I don’t want you to blame yourself, okay?” He rubbed her back. “You’re a good person, Nadine. All you want to do is make people better. Heal them. You’re not cursed.”

“That’s—” She hiccupped. “Bad things keep happening, and I don’t know why.”

“Because you’re a nurse,” Johnny said, the lie sour in his throat. “You’re not going to win every battle. Jolene was in a coma. They never thought she’d wake up. Matt will get the autopsy, and you’ll know it wasn’t your fault. Okay?”

She dropped onto the bed, scrubbed her hands over her eyes. “I know you’re right. I know it’s stupid to think any of this is on me. But I fix things, okay? And when I can’t fix a problem, I try to understand why, and I don’t like that I can’t. The universe being a bitch isn’t really something I want to accept.”

He should tell her. He should absolutely tell her that he was responsible for her sister’s death. He’d had a chance to stop this. If he did what Jerry Jacks wanted— but what would she say if he’d turned on Jason, the man that had protected them?

What would Nadine think if she knew Johnny had protected his sister—that he knew who’d put that ten-year-old boy in a hospital bed for the rest of his life?

“Let’s wait for the autopsy results,” Johnny said finally. “You’ll feel better when you have answers. Do you want dinner or something?”

“God. No, I couldn’t eat right now. I just want—” Nadine bit her lip, her eyes swimming with tears again. “I know this is going to sound stupid and weird, but I just—could you just lay here and hold me?”

The weight was crushing, but he couldn’t say no. Couldn’t refuse her. Not when he was the reason that any of this was happening in the first place. He’d come to Port Charles, and Sonny had treated Johnny like the root of all his problems. He’d thrown Johnny into that asylum, and everything that had happened since then was Johnny’s fault. Because his sister had been avenging him, Michael was in a coma, Sonny had followed, and now Nadine’s sister was dead.

The least he could do was give Nadine the comfort she deserved, even if he wasn’t worthy enough to touch her.

“Yeah. Sure.” He kicked off his shoes and crawled into the bed next to her. She came into his arms, and he curled her close, fitting their bodies together as naturally as they did every night. This was his wife, Johnny thought. They’d taken those vows to protect each other, and he hadn’t done a good job honoring them.

That had to change. He would make sure none of this ever touched Nadine again if it was the last thing he ever did.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

“Careful, Cam—” Elizabeth steadied his hands as the little boy swiped the glue stick awkwardly on the ends of his neon yellow strip of construction paper. “We don’t want to get glue in your hair again—” She glanced over at the door, biting her lip, wondering if Jason was all right.

Audrey stepped off the bottom stair. “Jake’s down for his nap,” she told her granddaughter, returning to the sofa and reaching for a strip of paper to make her own link in their growing paper chain. “Jason isn’t back yet?”

“No.”

Audrey watched Elizabeth look at the door again. “If you want to just check on him, I’ll be here with the boys.”

“I—” She shouldn’t. It was business, and she wanted him to know that he could trust her. But what if he’d finished his calls and was sitting over there by himself, in the penthouse where Sonny had lived, where Jason had raised Michael— “I’ll just pop over real quick and see if he needs anything. Morgan, Cam, I’ll be right back.”

She crossed the hallway and lightly knocked on the other penthouse. When there wasn’t a response, she twisted the knob — it turned easily in her hand.

Jason was inside, sitting by the fireplace, the closed phone in his hand. He looked over at her entrance, got to his feet. “Sorry—I—I lost track of time—”

“Maybe it’s not a good idea to use this place for business while we’re at the penthouse,” Elizabeth said, catching his hand as he passed her. He paused, sighed, then turned back, his eyes shadowed. “There’s too much history—”

“It’s just a place. Four walls. It doesn’t have to—” Jason exhaled slowly. Looked back at the fireplace. “We were sitting there the day Sonny told me he was leaving. That he wasn’t going to take Brenda with him. He asked me to make sure she hated him so that she wouldn’t follow and get hurt.”

Elizabeth rubbed his shoulder. “It was a horrible thing he asked you to do. I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t want to. I asked him not to make me, but it was an order.” He grimaced. “Not the first I regretted following, and not the last.” Jason exhaled, shook his head slightly. “It’s just a place,” he repeated, a bit more softly. “I lived here for a little while, and now I don’t. It won’t matter after we go back to the house. I’ll keep this all away from you—”

“Maybe—” She bit her lip. “Maybe I don’t want you to.”

Jason frowned, looking at her again. “What?”

“I mean, I’m not saying that I want to be in the business, but we both agree that there’s no way out for you. Not right now. Not without leaving everything and everyone we love. You’re in it, Jason. And I’m with you. I don’t want to pretend that you get up and go to work as a coffee importer. I don’t want you to ever think I don’t see you.” Her voice faltered. “Because I love every part of you. Even the ones you think I can’t.”

He exhaled, his breath a bit shaky. His fingers tightened on hers, then he stepped forward, cupped her face, and kissed her, slowly, lingering. “I love you.”

Manhattan, New York: Silver Water Rehabilitation Center

Carly sat next to the bed, took a deep breath. “You look taller,” she murmured. “I don’t know if that’s possible, but it feels like it could be. It makes sense. You’re supposed to be hitting puberty, right?”

She stroked his blond hair back from his forehead, noting that it was a bit shaggy and would need to be cut. “I’m sorry I haven’t been here more often. I’ve been distracted back at home. Your…your father’s here now. Down the hall from you. I wish I could say it’s just a visit, but he’s here to stay.”

Carly waited, trying to force words out over the lump in her throat. “We miss you so much, Mr. Man. Your dad and I—we love you so much, and when you’re not with us, it feels wrong. It is wrong. You should be awake, running around. Terrorizing your little brother. You deserve the whole world, baby, and it kills me I can’t give it to you.”

She leaned back. “A lot’s happened since I came here a few months ago. Um, Jax and I had a fight. Not surprising, I’m sure. I don’t know if we’ll be able to fix it. I don’t know if I want to. I think sometimes…sometimes he’s in love with an idea of me. And I can’t ever measure up to that. Maybe for a little while I make it work, but I mostly fail. That’s not your problem, but I know you care about him. So does Morgan. But it’s not really enough.

“What else? Let’s see. Morgan started school this year. Pre-school at Saint Andrew’s. He has a new best friend. I guess he’s sort of your cousin, depending on how you look at it. Grandma Bobbie claims him as part of the family, so there’s that. You probably don’t remember him—Cameron. You know Elizabeth, though. She was always…” Carly rubbed her chest. “She was always kind to you. Anyway, Morgan and Cam get along really well, and it’s helping your brother cope with not having you anymore. But if you could just…if you could wake up, baby, and come home, I just know you’d be the best big brother and cousin a couple of boys could ask for.”

She waited a long moment, but nothing changed. Michael’s chest still rose steadily, assisted by the ventilator. His eyes remained closed. His arms still at his side, laying against the gray blanket she’d brought from home.

“Uncle Jason’s doing okay. I know you’d be worried about him. He…wasn’t for a long time. What happened to you scared him, baby. But I think he’s handling it better. He’s…” Carly bit her lip. “Elizabeth is back. You remember when she lived across the hall for a little bit when you were younger? Well, she’s with your uncle now. And her son, Jake. He’s Jason’s son. Which makes him your cousin. He’s part of the family. Another reason I’m glad Morgan and Cam have each other.”

Carly ran a hand through her hair, sighed. “We’re okay back home. I don’t want you to worry about any of that. We miss you. We want you to come home. When you’re ready.” She reached into her bag, pulled out a comic book issue. “I brought the new Batman. I’ll try to describe it all to you, but any time you want to wake up and look at the pictures, you do that, baby.”

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Jason sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at a text notification on his phone. “Carly. She said Sonny’s checked in and settled. She and Bobbie are at their hotel for the night.”

Elizabeth sighed, then sat next to him, resting her chin on his shoulder. “That’s good.”

She reached for his phone, closed it. “You’ve spent enough time on that today. It’s been a long day, and I have a bad feeling tomorrow isn’t going to be better.”

“Probably not.”

“Come on.” Elizabeth scooted back towards the headboards and pillows. Jason rose, then came around to his side of the bed, sliding beneath the covers and pulling her into his arms. She snuggled against him, and he stroked her hair. “Morgan and Cameron went through our entire pack of neon construction paper. We need to get more.”

Jason’s lips curved as he thought about the colors that would decorate their first Christmas tree as a family. “How many pieces ended up as links on the paper chain?”

“Twelve. He’s getting better. Morgan made eight. He wants to give us half and take the rest home to his mother.”

“You were right. About the penthouse. I finished my calls in ten minutes, but then I just sat there. Thinking about Emily.” He closed his eyes against the burn of tears that never seemed to be far away. “I was on the island. I was looking for her. I wanted to bring her to you, to make sure she was safe, and I couldn’t.”

“Jason—”

“Diego came after her because of me. He nearly killed you because of me. And now Nadine has lost her sister because of—”

Elizabeth leaned up on her elbow, her hand resting against his heart. “Don’t do this to yourself, Jason. If there was a chance to save Emily, you would have taken it. You would have given your own life to save her. You know that. You nearly let a madman push you off a roof on the small chance that I would be able to live.” She grimaced when he didn’t say anything. “I think that place just absorbs negative energy. It’s so dark, and even when the sun is out, it feels like there are shadows everywhere. It never did Sonny any good to live like that, and I don’t want it for you. You carry enough guilt. You don’t need to sit in a room that just puts more of it on you.”

Jason sighed. “I’m sorry. We were talking about Cameron, and you were trying to distract me. Maybe we should just go to sleep.”

Elizabeth sighed and rolled way to switch off the light. The room sank into darkness, and he closed his eyes, willing his brain to switch off. To just slide into sleep and let all of this go away for a little while.

“Well, this isn’t working,” Elizabeth said, sounding wide awake at his side. He heard the rustle of sheets, felt her wiggling next to him.

“What are—” Jason leaned up on both elbows, then stopped when Elizabeth popped back out above the covers and tossed something off the bed. “Was that—”

“Quiet. I’m distracting you.”

“I’m—” He took a deep breath when she slid one leg across his middle, and he realized she’d tossed her sleep shorts out of the bed. “I’m distracted.”

She leaned over him, feathering kisses from his collarbone down to his chest, and then she kept going—when she reached the top of his sweats, Jason caught her elbows, dragged her up, and rolled them over so that she was beneath him, smirking. “I was just getting to the good part—”

“You’re not the only one who knows how to distract.” He captured her mouth, pinning her wrists above her head so her hands couldn’t wander. “But you go there, and this is over too fast.”

“Fast is fun.” Elizabeth hooked a leg over his waist. “You usually like it that way—”

“That…” He leaned down, nipped at the soft skin beneath her ear, nibbling his way down her neck. “That was when we didn’t have a lot of time. We have all night now.” He slid his thumbs beneath the strap of her tank top and slid it down her arms. “So if we’re going to distract each other, let’s do it right.”

Nadine’s Apartment: Living Room

Even after Nadine fell into a troubled sleep, Johnny couldn’t follow suit. Couldn’t turn his mind off. He carefully closed the bedroom door and went to check the phone he’d left charging. There was a single text message from an unknown number.

The same number that had called him earlier that night.

You should call me.

With trepidation, Johnny pressed the redial button, then lifted the phone to his ear. When the call connected, he didn’t bother with a greeting. “What do you want?”

“Is that any way to greet someone?” Jerry asked. “I just wanted to see if you understood my message.”

Johnny’s free hand curled into a fist. “Yeah, I got your message, and you can—”

“If you’re taking that tone with me, I don’t think you do. I could have sent my little friend in there at any time and no one would know she existed. I have eyes everywhere, my friend. As easily as I took one Crowell sister, I could have had the other.”

His heart thudded, and Johnny turned to look at the bedroom door where Nadine was safe, still asleep.  “What?”

“Oh, you didn’t know? Perhaps dear Nadine doesn’t know either. My message was delivered while she was in the room. With just a whisper from me and a syringe to the carotid, you’d be burying a wife, not a sister-in-law.”

Johnny blindly reached out for the sofa, his knees buckling. The murderer had been in the room with Nadine. Jerry had chosen to have Jolene killed, but it easily could have been—

“I trust you understand me now. I’m willing to be a little patient for you to get into Jason Morgan’s good graces. But the clock is ticking.”

Looking so innocent
I might believe you if I didn’t know
Could’ve loved you all my life
If you hadn’t left me waiting in the cold
And you got your share of secrets
And I’m tired of being last to know
And now you’re asking me to listen
Cause it’s worked each time before
– You’re Not Sorry (Taylor’s Version), Taylor Swift

---

Friday, November 14, 2008

General Hospital: Conference Room

Anna paused at the threshold of the room, then pursed her lips when she took in Robin and Patrick sitting on one of the side of the table, Alexis at the head. “Oh, you can’t really think you need a lawyer present. Robin—”

Alexis lifted a hand. “I’d rather if you addressed me and not my clients directly.”

“Robin,” Mac said, coming in behind his former-sister-in-law. “I know you’re upset, but there are some questions that need to be answered. I got a call from the Port Charles Herald. They’re running a story in the morning that the Angel Without Mercy died a few days ago.” He tipped his head. “That would be Jolene Crowell. Sister to Nadine. Former nurse.”

“The hospital doesn’t comment on patient records,” Alexis said coolly. “My clients did not agree to have a conversation with anyone other than a representative from the WSB. If that’s changed, we’ll have to reschedule this meeting after I’ve had time to confer with them on local concerns.”

“Robin, no one’s looking to get you in any trouble,” Mac said, exasperated. “We know that this is about the Zaccharas and Jason Morgan. Something happened to Elizabeth all those weeks ago, didn’t it? That’s why Jason was so distracted the morning of Sonny’s shooting. Now something’s happened to Jolene, too. Is Anthony Zacchara coming after Jason? Was he behind Elizabeth’s accident or her complications?”

“You’re no better than Scott,” Robin said with some disgust. “Either of you. All you ever see is the mob. Alexis—”

“We’re done here—” The lawyer began.

“I’ll leave,” Mac interrupted. He jabbed a finger at his niece. “But I’m going to be investigating Jolene. Unless you give me a damn good reason, my first stop is going to be Nadine—”

“So you’re going to question a woman who’s just lost her sister with nothing but your best guess. This is ridiculous.” Robin took a deep breath, scrubbed her hands down her face. “I am so angry at you,” she said finally. Though she didn’t look up and kept her eyes trained on the table, everyone knew who she was talking to. “So unbelievably furious.”

Anna leaned forward. “Robin, you have to understand. I never meant to hurt you. I had no idea you were involved—”

“And you still don’t.” Robin lifted her eyes, shimmering with tears. “You have nothing but your best guess about any of this. But that doesn’t matter to you. Patrick, Elizabeth, Jason, our families, GH, none of that matters. You were going to haul my fiancé into the interrogation room and toss Jason right after him, and why? Why? Because you have suspicions? Why did you have to do it this way? Why couldn’t you just tell me the truth?”

“I wish I had, but—”

“But your cases are secret.” She scrubbed her cheeks. “And you, Uncle Mac. You knew why she was here, didn’t you?”

Mac hesitated, traded a glance with his niece, then nodded. “I did. I’m sorry—”

“Whatever. Whatever. I don’t want this. I don’t want this,” she told Patrick. “We’ve done nothing wrong.”

“No, we haven’t.” Patrick took her hand in his, held it tight, then looked at Alexis. “Go ahead. Give them the statement we prepared. But we’re not answering any other questions. You want something from us or the hospital, you’ll go through the legal channels.”

“This isn’t how I wanted it,” Anna said, but she sat down. “I hope you’ll see that in time.”

“If you wanted something different, then you should have told the truth. But that’s done now.”

Alexis slid her on her reading glasses. “All right. I’m going to read a prepared statement, and remind you both that any further questions should be submitted to me in writing and I will confer with my clients. On Wednesday, October 1, Elizabeth Webber’s vitals crashed. She went into cardiac arrest and was rushed into emergency surgery. She was suffering from internal bleeding caused by the car accident she’d suffered a few days earlier. At the time of her original surgery, the medical report diagnosed her with a bruised kidney that would heal on its own. However, it began to bleed with no warning or immediate cause. The original surgeon, Leo Ramsey, and the chief of staff, Patrick Drake, ordered a toxicology report and learned that rather than being given three doses of fentanyl over a period of twelve hours, Elizabeth was given warfarin, a blood thinner that induced bleeding.”

Anna pursed her lips. “Medical sabotage,” she said to Mac. “It’s what we suspected.”

“To distract Jason,” Mac said with a nod. He looked at Patrick. “Why wasn’t this reported to the authorities?”

Alexis answered instead, looking back at the statement. “It was reported to the hospital board of directors and investigated internally to ascertain whether it was a mistake or deliberate. It appears that a known glitch in the dispensary coding was to blame. This glitch had been dutifully noted and reported repeatedly between July and September of this year. The nurses would put in their codes for a specific medication, and the machine would dispense the wrong meds. Systems were put in place to prevent any medications being administered to the patients by mistake, but this particular floor hadn’t experienced a glitch prior to this. As Elizabeth was the first known patient to have a complication, with some worry that her family would sue the hospital, the investigation continued. The dispensary machines were investigated thoroughly. The glitch was fixed, and new machines have been installed. A cyber security expert has secured the entire mainframe.”

Anna narrowed her eyes, then looked across the table at Patrick and Robin. “And you still didn’t report it to Mac? Someone tried to kill Elizabeth—”

“My client reported it to the board of directors, and it was handled internally to the satisfaction of everyone, including Elizabeth and her family. No further incidents have occurred, and a database is being built to investigate all prior glitches to ensure there were no patients affected that have slipped through the cracks.”

Robin watched her mother consider that answer, and knew they’d covered their bases thoroughly when Anna just made a face. “What about Jolene Crowell?” her mother asked.

“Jolene Crowell died this last Tuesday from a cardiac arrest. She was a long-term coma patient with a slim chance of revival. An autopsy was ordered, as the hospital worried about their liability with regards to pending litigation from last year’s events. The preliminary report suggests there was a digoxin toxicity that led to a seizure and cardiac arrest.”

“Digoxin—” Anna straightened. “Now how—”

“This can occur from any number of things, including some long-term therapies. With a comatose patient who is not able to report some of the symptoms, more investigation is needed. A more extensive toxicology report has been ordered. This has been authorized by the patient’s family. If this report suggests that there was any malfeasance, it will be reported to the proper authorities.” Alexis set her statement down, removed her glasses. “That concludes our statement.”

Anna tapped her fingers impatiently. “You must have investigated more than just that—”

“That concludes our statement,” Alexis repeated, and Anna closed her mouth. “Any further questions should be directed in writing.”

“Keeping me in the dark about what’s happening—” Anna leaned forward. “Robin, you must see that if you don’t tell me the truth, you’re only prolonging this. Someone could get hurt—”

“The only person to blame in this room is you.” Robin slid her chair back, wincing slightly as she climbed to her feet, Patrick holding her steady. “You told us Karpov was in pharmaceuticals. You knew that when you came here. You could have come to us. Asked us for information. But you wanted to play spy. You wanted to be undercover, to ask Patrick questions when he was too tired to think. To wait until I was out of the room—” Her voice faltered. “To ask me questions about my friends, my family, the people who loved me when you couldn’t or wouldn’t — you made me think you cared about me. But you were investigating us all along, Mom. Someone did get hurt, but don’t worry. I know exactly where I rank for you. And for my father. You notice that he’s not here either, don’t you?” She looked Patrick. “I want to go.”

Coffee House: Office

“You asked for more time?” Cody frowned, folded his arms. “What’s there to wait about? You say yes.”

Jason shook his head, closed the office door, then went over to the desk, leaned against it. “I need to talk to Elizabeth. I’m not going to agree to something on her behalf without talking to her about it. But even then, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Because it involves her or because Ric Lansing is the one who asked? Don’t scowl at me,” Cody said. “It’s my job to push you when you’re being an idiot, remember? You told me that if I disagreed with you, I needed to say something. Well, I’m saying something. We thought something was up with Johnny Zacchara after the sister died. You know someone killed Jolene to get to Johnny. Now Johnny’s trying to make peace with his father, and Anthony is coming to us to add on to that. So either Anthony’s worried, too, or maybe he also wants to be sure the kid is safe up here. How is this anything but a good idea?”

Jason grimaced, then rubbed the back of his neck. “When you lay it out like that, okay, there’s sense there. If we were dealing with a normal person. But Anthony Zacchara is a psychotic animal who only keeps his power through fear. His promise isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Did I tell you what he did to Elizabeth during the ball last year?” he demanded.

“Not in detail, no, but—”

“He kidnapped her from the ballroom where my sister was laying dead,” Jason said flatly. “Dragged her up to the parapet and put her on the ledge. When I got there—” He looked away. “He told me if I didn’t get up there, too, he’d push her. And he didn’t know Elizabeth, who she was, that she was connected to me—”

“That part—” Cody said, jabbing a finger at him. “That’s the part you need to let go. You gotta stop thinking there’s a man alive who works on the East Coast who does not know who Elizabeth Webber is. I’ve been around a year, Jason. I came on after the trial, and I thought maybe we’d be asked to guard her. And we were — but we weren’t supposed to let her know. Not to be seen. I asked Francis why.”

“This isn’t relevant—”

“I asked Francis why,” Cody said again, speaking over Jason who just glared at him. “And he told me it’s because you’re an idiot who’s been pretending for eight years that our side of the world doesn’t know about her. They know you threatened to take Joseph Sorel apart just for looking at her. They know Sonny put guards on her when Sorel got too close. They know Roscoe’s men kidnapped her, that Luis Alcazar shot at her, that Ric Lansing targeted her because of your relationship, that you rescued her from Manny Ruiz—”

Jason exhaled slowly. “Look—”

“You need to stop pretending you can keep her out of this world,” Cody said bluntly. “She’s not running away. You are. If you go home and you tell her you have a way to keep the peace, to keep her children safe, and to bind Anthony Zacchara in the eyes of the rest of the syndicate to that peace — and you’re not taking it because it means she has to walk across a goddamn room and talk to a woman she already knows and works with—she’s going to think you’re an idiot. My job is to keep you safe. Which means keeping your family safe. You have to let me do that job, Jason, or there’s no point to any of this.”

Jason straightened, went around to the other side of the desk, sat down, and took a long deep breath. “Are you done?”

“No, have you told her you’re trying to get out?”

Jason hesitated. “No. Not yet.”

“Why?” Cody demanded. “It’s been six months since we started to shut down the routes. You haven’t pushed through a single shipment since the shooting. You’re out—”

“I’ll never be out. Not all the way, and you know that.” Jason shook his head. “And there’s no way to know for sure if it’ll hold. I don’t want her to get her hopes up until I know—”

“Why? Because if you fail, she’ll leave? This just goes back to the same place. You think you can keep her separate, and you can’t. You still expect her to walk away, and it’s just bullshit.” He stopped. “Now I’m done.”

Jason dipped his head considered all that Cody had said, wanting to reject it—and not finding a single false statement. “It’s not comforting to know,” he finally said, “that choices I made years ago kept Elizabeth tied to me. To think that it’s been out of my control all this time.”

“Well, if you want comfort, you’re in the wrong business. And it’s not one single choice you made years ago. It’s all the choices you made. And that’s before we even talk about the trial and what everyone and their mothers have known since Lansing asked that question. Everyone knew she lied. You just have to look at your kid and know the truth. So go home, and ask Elizabeth to do this. Tell her what’s going on. All of it. Then let me talk to Lansing. I’ll arrange the details so you don’t have to deal with him again.”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.” Jason scrubbed his hands over his face. “Thank you, I guess. For calling me an idiot.”

“Don’t make me do it again.”

General Hospital: Chief of Staff’s Office

Elizabeth leaned against the open door frame and folded her arms. “You’re doing paperwork, so am I allowed to hope that the meeting went well?”

Patrick scribbled his name at the bottom of a contract, then glanced up at her before turning his attention to the paperwork. “Just trying to clear the back log before I get hauled off to jail.”

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose, came forward, and closed the door. “Should Jason and I be worried?”

“No. Not yet.” Patrick leaned back, tossing the pen on the desk blotter. “But Anna brought Mac, and he’s probably already putting together an investigation on Jolene. Going to Scott for a subpoena—” He shook his head. “Maybe we shouldn’t have given them anything. Maybe I should have called Mac months ago.”

Elizabeth perched on the edge of the chair. “We wanted to protect the hospital, and you covered yourself by making sure my grandmother and Jason knew what happened to me. They supported the choice to keep this internal. Patrick—”

“Jolene was murdered in this hospital, and whoever killed her is in the wind. We don’t know who, we barely know how, and I still haven’t told Nadine.” He looked at her. “And I don’t know if I’m allowed to ask this, but is Jason doing anything on his end to deal with Johnny? Is he looking into what the hell Johnny’s got himself into? Matt confirmed what we thought — no one called him. How did he know to be at the hospital?”

“I don’t know much about Johnny,” Elizabeth said after some hesitation. “Jason knows him better. He’s made choices this last year to protect Johnny, usually from Sonny. We haven’t really talked about it much because like Jason said, this isn’t about him.”

“You don’t think that’s strange? Jolene Crowell gets murdered down the hall from where Sonny is a patient? In the same hospital where you come to work every day? Jason’s not the least bit curious about how that happened? This is the same man who traveled halfway around the world to find the vaccine during the encephalitis outbreak. That wasn’t really about his business either. The Metro Court? He didn’t sit back and let that happen either.”

“People that mattered to Jason were involved. Sam’s brother was sick, Sonny was sick. I asked him to find Lucky. And the Metro Court? Come on, Patrick. I was inside. So was Sam. His father, his mother, his best friend. Of course Jason was going to get involved there. Do I think it’s strange Jason isn’t jumping at the bit to stop this? To hunt Johnny down for answers? I don’t know. Maybe.”

“I think he knows something—”

“Whoever did this to Jolene wanted to send a message to Johnny. And we can guess that Johnny got the message. How do we know that someone isn’t watching? Waiting for Jason to get involved? What if that triggers something? I don’t know, Patrick. Maybe Jason isn’t in a hurry to bring down chaos and violence again. It’s been quiet since Sonny’s shooting.” Elizabeth hesitated. “Do you want me to talk to Jason? I can do that, Patrick. If that makes this easier for you, I will.”

Patrick picked up the pen again, tapped it against the blotter. “I don’t know. I just want this over with. What am I supposed to say to Robin? To fix this for her?”

“I wish I knew. I’m so sorry that her suspicions were right, that her mother came here to investigate. All you can do is be there for her. She’s dealing with a lot — and I know my emotions were a complete mess after I gave birth. Right now, you’re probably doing everything you can. She wanted to take the legal route and call in a lawyer, and you’re doing that.”

Elizabeth got to her feet. “I’ll talk to Jason tonight, all right? You’re not wrong. If Johnny’s into something, if he’s in trouble, it’ll find its way to our door. It always does.”

Metro Court Hotel: Carly’s Office

 “With the prenuptial agreement signed prior to the marriage, it’s really just a matter of drawing up some paperwork. And deciding whether you want to keep the house or sell—” Diane continued to speak, but Carly had stopped listening. She stood at the window in her office, watching the grounds crew working in the gardens.

“Carly?”

“Whatever you think is fine,” Carly said, absently. When Diane said nothing else, she turned,  furrowed her brow at the lawyer. “What?”

Diane capped her pen and laid it down on the paperwork she’d set on the desk. “There’s no hurry to deal with this paperwork. If you’re not ready—”

“It’s not even my first divorce,” Carly said. She turned, went to the desk, and picked up the petition. “I should be able to do this in my sleep by now.” She looked at her lawyer. “Have you ever been married?”

“Oh, absolutely not. I can’t imagine sharing my living space with a man.” Diane shuddered. “He might want me to clean out my closet, and well, I won’t part with my shoes for just anyone.” Her lips twitched. “But I’ve been tempted a time or two.”

“I don’t know why anyone gets married. Why I even bothered.” She flicked through the pages of the prenuptial agreement. She’d barely read it before signing, so sure that this time it would be different. Jax knew her, inside and out, and he loved her anyway.

It was the anyway that was sticking these days — Jax knew who Carly was and was willing to put up with her flaws. Sonny had been the same. Lorenzo and AJ had been means to an end —

Jason had loved her, but he hadn’t wanted to and he’d never been happy about it. And it was never the way Carly wanted.

“Carly, we really don’t have to do this today,” Diane said again. “I haven’t heard a peep from Jax’s attorney—are you sure there isn’t a chance that you might be able to work things out?”

“I thought so. I thought maybe he’d forgive me, that he’d understand that I’d done something terrible, that I knew it, and that I wanted very badly to undo it. I thought if I just waited, he might come around.” Carly lifted her eyes from the paperwork to Diane. “Did you know he and Olivia kept Sonny from seeing Kate?”

Diane pressed her lips together, then nodded. “Yes. Sonny called me a few times that week. He wanted me to fight it. I put together something for the board, but it didn’t get very far. Carly—”

“The day he was shot, before he went to the pier, he was at GH. Trying to see Kate. And Jax still refused.” Carly rubbed her temple. “He did it because he’d been angry at Sonny for years, because of what I did, and he did it because he could. And now Morgan’s lost his father. I know it’s not fair to hold that against him. I know he never meant it to happen this way. I know all of that, but I can’t stop being angry.”

“It’s been a very difficult year.” Diane reached across the desk for the divorce paperwork, and Carly released it. “Let me reach out to Alexis. Let her know we’re talking about this. Maybe we can set up some sort of mediation. I’d be very sorry, Carly, if you and Jax lost each other after everything else.”

“I thought time would fix things, that letting everything settle would give me some peace. Some time to think and calm.” Carly sat down, reached for some other work on her desk, something to keep her busy. Distracted. “But maybe that was a mistake. I feel like I’m still frozen, like there’s a part of me, still standing in a hospital hallway, listening to doctors tell me my son will never wake up.”

“Carly—”

“I need to update my will,” Carly interrupted, and Diane pressed her lips together. “Morgan. I want Morgan to go with Jason. Can you do that?”

“Of course. I’ll call you when the paperwork is ready to sign.”

Drake Condo: Living Room

Matt crossed the threshold hesitantly, his hands in the pockets of his trousers, his dark eyes scanning the room.

“He’s not here,” Robin told him, closing the door. He turned to face her, and she smiled faintly. “I thought that would be easier for you.”

“Oh. Uh, I thought maybe he had more questions about my conversation with Nadine.” Matt rocked back on his heels, cleared his throat. “Or Jolene’s case. Is everything okay? Did you touch base with your mom?”

Robin exhaled carefully. “You could say that.” She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, then crossed the room where Emma lay in the bassinet. She lifted the baby and turned back to Matt. “I’ll update you on how that went, but I invited you over to meet your niece. Officially.”

Matt’s hands remained in his pockets, and some of the color drained from his face. “What?”

“I know you and Patrick are still uneasy around each other, and I don’t imagine that will go away overnight.” Robin stopped a few feet from him. “But you really stepped up, Matt, and came through for him in a big way. For both of us. You don’t know either of us well, and you’re new to GH. I want you to know that I appreciate what you did.”

“I’m just doing what’s right. You don’t have to—oh, okay—” Matt winced as Robin laid the newborn in his arms. “You always forget how little they are, don’t you?” he wondered. “I have textbooks from med school that are heavier.”

“Seems impossible, I know.” Robin stroked her daughter’s cheek with the back of her knuckle. “Something so small and perfect was created from nothing, and she’ll grow up to be a person with thoughts and actions and mistakes.” She lifted her gaze to his. “What Noah did to you is awful. And you never, ever have to be okay with him. I promise that no one in this family will ever encourage you to think of him as anything other than a terrible person.”

“I don’t want to think about it anymore,” Matt said, with a quick shake of his head. “Since I came to Port Charles, since I realized what hospital this is, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I appreciate what you’re doing here, but—”

“My mother did something awful, too. Not as bad, I guess, but it sure feels like she broke something,” Robin said. Matt closed his mouth. “She came to Port Charles because she suspected Andrei Karpov was up to something. She thought he was messing around in the clinic where you and Nadine were working. She lied to me, Matt. And used my connection, my friendship with Jason to pump me for information. And when she suspected something was wrong at GH, she didn’t say anything. Didn’t offer to help. She kept lying, kept using me to question Patrick. I thought she was here to be my mother, to be Emma’s grandmother. Maybe part of her was—” Robin looked away, rubbed a fist against her chest. “But it doesn’t change what she did. How much it hurts. That’s the update. I went to tell my mother what we knew, and well, she was already planning to drag Patrick and Jason in for questioning.”

Matt frowned. “That’s—I’m so sorry. That sucks. It more than sucks, but I just can’t think of a word awful enough—”

“Parents disappoint us. I guess we have no choice but to let them be human. Terrible, flawed humans who make mistakes. They make choices that hurt us. I don’t know if I can forgive her. If we’ll ever get back what I thought we had.” Robin touched Emma’s fuzzy hair, then smiled at Matt. “We don’t have to keep the family we were born with. Sometimes we’re better off making our own. Noah’s mistakes made you and Patrick related. That doesn’t have to make you family. But if you want it, if you want to be part of it, we’re here.”

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Elizabeth emerged from the bathroom, towel drying her hair and wrinkling her nose. “It’s going to be impossible to get the spaghetti sauce out of their clothes.” She watched Jason strip off his shirt. “And ours.”

“I should have cut up the meatballs,” he told her. “I didn’t expect them to start throwing them at each other.”

Elizabeth laughed, then sat on the edge of the bed. “No, they definitely do a great job pretending to be angelic, perfect boys, don’t they? You never expect chaos.”

Jason set his shirt next to hers. “I’ll soak them before we do the laundry this weekend.” He tossed his jeans into the hamper — they’d escaped the mayhem and went to the dresser for a pair of sweatpants.

“We haven’t really had a chance to talk about what happened when Patrick and Robin met with Anna.”

Jason tugged the sweats over his hips, furrowed his brow. “No, we haven’t. I can understand why they’re reluctant to turn over everything we know about Jolene’s death. The way Robin said it, she overheard her mother threatening to pull me and Patrick in for questioning. Doesn’t seem like Anna is as friendly as we hoped.”

“I talked to Patrick afterwards, and he’s supporting however Robin wants to handle this right now, but he’s frustrated. He wanted to hand this off and be done with it. I know we wanted the same thing. Instead, it just keeps going.”

He sat next to her. “Yeah, and since we’re on that subject, I heard from Anthony Zacchara today.” He paused. “He sent Ric to talk to me.”

“I’m sure you loved that,” Elizabeth said, and Jason made a face. “What did Ric have to say?”

Jason reached for her hand, pulled it into his lap, lacing their fingers together. “Johnny’s looking for some extra reassurance of Nadine’s safety. I think we can say for sure now that we were right. That Jolene was a message. I don’t know what he told his father, but coming so close to what happened—”

“Sounds like he understood the message they were trying to send.”

“Yeah. Looks like Johnny is hoping he can make Nadine untouchable. No one would go after a Zacchara kid—”

Except Sonny, he thought, but he left that unspoken, and mercifully, so did she. “What does he need from you?”

“It’s…an old tradition,” Jason said after a long moment. “But with all the bad blood between the Zaccharas and us this last year — we can show a united front to people who matter. Anthony’s going to have dinner with Johnny and Nadine at the No Name. He wants us to go. Not to eat with them. But to be in the same room.”

“Well, that sounds easy enough. What’s the catch?”

Now came the tricky part. He wasn’t ready to talk to her about his future plans. No matter what Cody said, Jason knew he wasn’t ready to put the idea in Elizabeth’s head, to make her think there was a chance that their life could be safe. Not until he was sure. But he’d have to tell her that he’d delayed giving Ric an answer—and she’d want to know why.

“The catch is that you have to go to the table alone and talk to Johnny and Nadine. Wish them well on their marriage. Tell Nadine you’re sorry about her sister, probably. And loudly enough so the next table can hear it.” Jason grimaced. “I hate it—”

“But you told them yes, didn’t you?” Elizabeth said. “Jason, you agreed, didn’t you?” When he remained quiet, she sighed, stroked his cheek with the tips of her fingers. “No, of course you didn’t. Let me guess. They requested it. You said no the minute you heard my name, and for some reason, now you’re having second thoughts.”

“I said no but then I told them I’d think about it.” He grimaced. “You’re mad.”

“No. Not mad. Not surprised either. Just frustrated.” She pushed lightly on his chest until he slid back, and she climbed onto the bed, planting a knee on either of his body, resting her bottom on his thighs. “Are we in this together or aren’t we?”

“We are.”

“This seems like such a small easy thing I can do. I’m going to guess that it might not be a tradition anymore because Sonny used to be in charge, and he’d never agree to something like this.”

“No. He wanted Carly out of this. Thought she was loose cannon. But it used to be—” Jason paused. “Common, I guess, for some socialization. At least among some of the organizations. I hate this—”

“I know you do. And it’s not like I want to do it. But maybe it gives you a chance to talk to Johnny. You’ll have leverage against him. Because sure, this kind of thing puts Nadine under Anthony’s protection, but doesn’t it also mean you can’t touch them either? Since everyone sort of knows what happened to Sonny, even if they can’t prove it.”

“Yeah. It’s a mutual thing.”

“So you can use this to get answers from Johnny, maybe. Or at least let him know you’re on to him. And it’s a way that I can help. An acceptable way. All I have to do is get dressed up, have dinner with the man I love, and talk to someone I already like?” Elizabeth shrugged. “Easy yes for me. You have to be open to letting me do these small things, Jason.”

“I know. Cody yelled at me earlier. Apparently—” He felt the flush of embarrassment rising in his cheeks. “Apparently, no one believed you at the trial last year. And they thought I was an idiot for trying to pretend all this last year that you weren’t…that Jake wasn’t…”

“I figured when no one was really surprised by Jake’s paternity. Even Lucky, who maybe wanted to believe it.” Elizabeth combed her fingers through his hair, sliding her fingers down his cheek. “Cody’s not wrong. You always thought it would be enough to walk away from me, and it never was. We always circled back to this. We were kind of inevitable,” she teased, and he smiled at her. “Call Cody or whoever else you need to talk to. Tell him to say yes and get it over with sooner rather than later. Johnny’s in trouble, and I don’t want anyone else to get caught up in what’s going to happen.”

Would you catch me if I fall out of what I fell in
Don’t be surprised if I collapse down at your feet again
I don’t want to run away from this
I know that I just don’t need this
‘Cause I cannot stand still
I can’t be this unsturdy
This cannot be happening
– Somewhere in Between, Lifehouse

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Friday, November 14, 2008

 General Hospital: Chief of Staff’s Office

“Is it wrong to be relieved that this killer nurse doesn’t work here?” Leo asked, flipping through Jolene’s preliminary autopsy report. “What do we think caused the digoxin toxicity? The mysterious IV fluids?”

“Yeah.” Patrick rubbed his forehead. “I’m on my way to meet with my lawyer. Just to make sure I’m covered before we make any official reports.”

Epiphany pressed her lips together. “I don’t know if I’m on board with going to the WSB. I understand that we’re trying to protect the hospital, but Jolene Crowell didn’t exactly have family who is going to raise a stink. Nadine works here.”

“Yeah, that’s a good point.” Leo set the report aside. “We’re still within a reasonable amount of time to make an official report. We call the PCPD, make a report, and turn this over to them. We can point to an issue with security — that’s not a medical situation. You’re not liable. Nadine won’t sue. With any luck, it doesn’t escalate further.”

“And Anna might suggest that we make an official report. But that could still lead back to the problems in September.” Patrick leaned back against the desk. “I asked Spinelli to start databasing all the code misfires he could find in the system so we can match to patients. I want to be assured that we caught the majority of those issues before they were passed on to the patients. I’m just looking to limit our liability.”

“Plus, the board could want your head as a scapegoat. This happened after you took over,” Epiphany said. “It won’t matter that you inherited a faulty network of machines.” She looked at Leo. “I’m comfortable with waiting to see if maybe the WSB is willing to look into this quietly. But Nadine, she needs to know what happened to her sister.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Let us know how things go with Anna,” Leo said, handing the report back to him. “But believe it or not, this is good news.”

As he and Epiphany left, they passed Matt on his way in. “Sorry I’m late,” he said, closing the door behind them. He turned back to Patrick. “Car accident in the ER.”

“You didn’t miss much.” Patrick handed him the autopsy report. “Something caused a digoxin toxicity which induced cardiac arrest. It’ll be a couple of weeks before we know specifically which medication did it, but we have what we need. And, uh, I’m meeting with Anna later to go over what we know so far. Did Nadine add anything?”

“Not that would help you, I don’t think. But she thinks I called Johnny Zacchara to come to the hospital. She thanked me for it,” Matt muttered.

Patrick sighed, dragged a hand down his face. “Yeah, we need to bring her into the loop, but I was hoping we could do that after we talk to the authorities. I want her to have answers. And I don’t like that there’s a possibility her own husband is involved. Because unless someone else called him — and I doubt that —  he showed up on his own. He knows something.”

“Do we think Nadine’s in danger?” Matt asked, flipping through the report, lingering on the toxicology report.

“No. If I thought that, if any of us thought that, we’d do something now. But there’s too many unknowns involved.” Patrick folded his arms. “Thank you. For keeping this quiet. I know I’m asking a lot.”

Matt handed the file back to him. “If you wanted to keep it quiet and make it go away, I wouldn’t be on board. But we’re trying to get answers and protect other patients. That’s something even we can agree on.”

Coffee House: Jason’s Office

Cody knocked on the open door. “Uh, Jase, Anna Devane is out front — asking if you have a few minutes.”

Jason shifted, moving Jake to the side and closing the book they’d been reading. “Yeah. Tell her she can come back.”

His second hesitated. “Do you want me to call Diane or something? You know she’s from the WSB—” When Jason just stared at him, Cody nodded. “Right, of course, you knew that. Uh, okay then.”

“Hey, Jake, I have to talk to someone for a few minutes, and then we’ll go back to reading, okay? Do you want to color while you wait?”

“I make pic for Mommy.” Jake happily settled at Jason’s desk, standing in the chair so he could reach the surface.

Anna appeared in the doorway, pausing when she saw the toddler behind Jason. “Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you’d have your son with you. I can come back— ”

Jason folded his arms, leaned against the desk. “You have five minutes right now or nothing at all. Your choice.”

Anna pressed her lips together, then stepped over the threshold. “You really want to discuss this where your son could hear? I thought you were a different kind of man.”

“Robin told me stories about you,” Jason said, “so I guess we’re both disappointed now that we’ve met.”

She flinched, looked away briefly, then returned her attention to him. “I understand that you and Robin have remained close. I was hoping that you might want to make all of this go away. For the sake of your family as well.”

Jason’s expression didn’t change. “Don’t pretend to be concerned for my family. We both know you don’t care. I have nothing to say to you without my attorney. Cody will give you her contact information.”

Anna bristled. “I simply want the best outcome for everyone, including my daughter. I know that Elizabeth Webber nearly died in the hospital six weeks ago. Was that hospital negligence or Andrei Karpov? You can answer that question now or in an interrogation room.”

“Now that Robin knows you were just using her, I guess the gloves are off.” He straightened. “Cody?” he called, raising his voice. The other man appeared in the door way almost immediately, clearly waiting. “Agent Devane is leaving now. And she’s not coming back. Make sure she has Diane’s information.”

“Got it.” Cody turned to Robin’s mother. “After you, Agent Devane.”

“This isn’t over, Mr. Morgan. When I find out what you and my daughter are hiding, you’ll wish that you’d cooperated,” Anna warned. She stalked off, followed by Cody.

Jason just shook his head, then looked at his son. “You ready to get back to our book?”

Crimson Pointe: Study

Anthony steered the chair towards his desk, smoothly rolling behind and locking the brakes. He considered the men standing in front of him — each of them worthless in their own ways, he thought, but today, well, today, one of them should prove to be quite useful.

“I’ve arranged for flowers to be delivered to the funeral home,” Trevor said, taking a seat in front of the desk. “Have you decided if you want to make the trip?”

“Oh, I think we have to,” Anthony said, with a smirk. “Because Morgan and his little nurse will be attending, won’t they? We can’t let them outshine us.” He steepled his fingers in front of him. “In fact, I think we should make a little trip of this excursion. Arrange for a suite of rooms at a hotel not owned by that blonde harpy,” he told Trevor.

To Ric, he said, “And you—make contact with Morgan’s lieutenant. I have a proposition for them that you’ll deliver.”

Ric hesitated. “You want me to make the contact? I’m not sure that’s—”

“You wanted more responsibility,” Anthony said, irritation lacing his words. “You telling me you can’t negotiate with Morgan’s people? Then you’re basically worthless—”

“I’ll do it,” Ric interrupted. “What’s the proposition?”

“Well, my boy says there’s some unrest in Port Charles unrelated to Jason Morgan. Someone’s making threats against his wife. He’d like me to cloak the little missus with my protection.” Anthony tipped his head. “Interesting this request comes only days after his sister-in-law dies under somewhat murky circumstances.”

Trevor pursed his lips. “You think he’s lying about Morgan?”

“No,” Ric said before Anthony could, then winced. The older man just lifted his bushy brows at the lawyer. “I’m sorry. But this isn’t Jason’s style. Killing an innocent bystander, even a comatose one, to send a message? He wouldn’t threaten Nadine, either. He’d just eliminate Johnny and move on.”

“You have a high opinion of the man—”

“I don’t. I just know him better than either of you. Jason’s no altar boy,” Ric continued, “but he operates under a code which is what makes him a reliable, trustworthy partner. It’s why the rest of the syndicate have left him alone. No major threats since the Ruizes, and even that was mostly Manny on a personal rampage. He doesn’t attack families, and he doesn’t create unwanted attention.”

“He doesn’t enjoy chaos. It makes him boring but dependable,” Anthony agreed, with a disappointed sigh. “I’m going to miss Corinthos. We had a better shot of him screwing up and making mistakes, but I suppose that kind of reckless living was always going to end up with him in a body bag or out of power.” He nodded. “Okay, so it’s not Morgan behind these threats.”

“There are still some small time gangs in the city, mostly on the waterfront.  The drugs, the small guns sales — that’s all from groups like the Hernandezes and—” Ric furrowed his brow. “Courtland Street used to be the Escobars but I don’t know who’s taken that over since Jason eliminated them.”

“John’s in trouble. Why doesn’t he just come home?” Trevor demanded. “Tell him that’s how you make his nurse safe. Put her in this house until that murder case goes cold, and then pay her off in a divorce—”

“He said that was a possibility, but he couldn’t commit to it just yet. The nurse needs time to grieve, to bury her sister back on whatever farm they came from.”

“Then no deal until he’s back—”

“I think that’s short sighted,” Ric interrupted his father, and Trevor sent him a scathing glare. “It just is. Johnny hasn’t given any indication that there’s a time limit on this marriage, and Nadine Crowell hasn’t given you any reason for concern. In fact, I think it’s a good sign that Johnny’s coming to you for help. He easily could have asked Jason. Jason’s there, he knows the players. He’s protected Johnny before. But Johnny’s asking you. When’s the last time he did that?”

“Never,” Anthony admitted. He leaned back, stroked his chin. “I was already inclined to grant his request, but I think we should go a step further. Ric, when you meet with the lieutenant, tell Morgan I want to put an offer on the table.”

“And it’s one he shouldn’t refuse?” Ric said dryly, rising to his feet, fastening his suit jacket. When Anthony just smirked, Ric sighed. “Yeah, all right. I’ll take care of it.”

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

“She’ll call,” Mac reassured Anna, rounding his desk and taking a seat. “She said she and Patrick would talk to a lawyer, then call you—”

“She doesn’t need a lawyer to speak with me. I’m her mother.” Disgusted, Anna folded her arms. “I don’t understand why she can’t simply understand that I was multi-tasking. I took advantage of this assignment to spend time with her—”

“And investigate her fiancé behind their backs,” Mac said dryly.

“Well, I didn’t know that at the time. I thought Karpov was involved with the clinic. I didn’t even suspect anything was happening at GH until you told me that Elizabeth Webber had been discharged shortly after surgery.” Anna stood, began to pace the length of the office. “He’s an international crime lord, Mac. I had no choice but to use what I knew.”

“Sure.”

She scowled. “Don’t say it that way.”

“What do you want me to do, Anna? Do I look happy that Robin and Patrick might have gotten themselves mixed up with Jason Morgan? They just had a baby. I don’t want to arrest either of them—”

“You won’t be arresting anyone—”

“You don’t get to decide that. You’re here unofficially. The WSB can’t just walk in and take over my cases. You have to go through the channels. Anna—” Mac leaned forward. “It’s only been a few years since she learned Robert was still alive and that he chose to stay away. She had the two of you together, as a family, for only seven years. She’s just had her first child, she thinks her mother is here to spend time with her, and instead she overhears you threatening to haul her fiancé in for questioning.”

Anna pursed her lips. “I suppose when you consider it from that perspective, there’s an argument to be made that I could have handled this better.”

“You think?” When Anna just glared at him, Mac smirked and reached for the ringing phone. “Commissioner Scorpio.” He listened to the voice on the other line, then took a deep breath. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m definitely interested in that. I’ll call back with a statement.” He set the phone down, looked at Anna. “A reporter got wind from their obituary department. Seems like a funeral home is holding services for Jolene Crowell next Tuesday.”

“Jolene Crowell? That’s Nadine Crowell’s sister.” Anna tensed. “The Angel Without Mercy. When did she die?”

“Tuesday, middle of the day. Good news, Anna. I finally have a reason to talk to Patrick.”

Coffee House: Office

Cody knocked on the ajar door, then pushed it all the way open. “This isn’t going to make your day any better,” he told Jason, “but Ric Lansing is out front. He says Anthony sent him.”

Jason set aside the invoices, then made a face. Anthony Zacchara knew Jason hated Ric almost more than any other man alive, so of course he’d sent him as a messenger.

Should have killed the asshole years ago.

“Yeah, fine. Can you call Bobbie and tell her I won’t be picking up Jake when I thought I would?” He made a face. “And—”

“And I’ll ask her to grab Cameron. You might want to rethink the nanny thing,” Cody pointed out before disappearing down the hallway to give Ric the message.

A few moments later, the bane of Jason’s existence strolled through the doorway. He set a briefcase down, then removed his coat.

Jason leaned back in the chair. “Don’t get too comfortable,” he said flatly. “You’re not staying long.”

“Always a joy to see you,” Ric said coolly. “Anthony has a request, and I think you’d be wise to say yes.”

The impulse to say no just because it was Ric asking wasn’t a mature one, so Jason forced it down. But the day would come when Ric would go too far and without Sonny around—Jason would finally be able to make this animal pay for what he’d done to Carly and Elizabeth.

“You’ve got five minutes.”

“All right. Johnny is eager to secure his father’s public approval for his marriage to Nadine Crowell,” Ric said. “With the recent events — what happened to Kate Howard and—” Here, he paused, took a deep breath. “To Sonny, even Michael—”

“This isn’t making it quick,” Jason cut in. “Get to the point.”

“Anthony intends to have dinner at the No Name Restaurant with his son and his daughter-in-law. Likely Claudia will be in attendance as well, though I’m not sure. Anthony thinks this is a good opportunity for the world to see that the bad blood between your family and his has been resolved.”

Jason exhaled slowly, looked away. “What does he want from me?”

“He’d like you and…” Ric grimaced. “You and Elizabeth would be having dinner that night as well. She’ll come over to the table, greet the newlyweds. Extend your well-wishes, and then she’ll go on her way. It’s a bit of an old tradition,” he admitted, “but you know Anthony’s an old-school guy.”

The no was fully formed on the tip of his lips and Jason had to physically swallow to prevent it from being spoken. The thought of Elizabeth being in the same room as Anthony Zacchara after what he’d done to her last year—he fisted his hands in his lap, out of sight from Ric.

“I’ll let you know the answer by the end of the day,” Jason said. “Anything else?”

“You don’t have to like me—”

“Good, because I don’t.” Jason got to his feet, and Ric took a step back. “But it’s not about you. If you demand an answer right now, it will be no, and somehow I don’t think you want to go back to Anthony with that. So, Ric, I’ll let you know by the end of the day.”

“This is an olive branch,” Ric said, picking up his briefcase, tossing his coat over one arm. “Like it or not, you chose to make Elizabeth part of your world. If she’s seen congratulating Anthony’s son, the protection goes both ways and you know it. Anthony can’t touch her either. Or those boys. You’d think you’d jump at that chance.”

“Anthony Zacchara is a ticking-time bomb whose promises mean nothing to me,” Jason said. “He needs me more than I need him and he knows it. So either leave and wait for my answer, or take the no now.  Your choice, Ric.”

Spin around and fall down
Do it again
You stumble and you fall
Yeah why won’t you ever learn
Spin around and fall down
Do it again
You stumble and you fall
I wonder if you will ever learn
– Everything to Everyone, Everclear

---

Thursday, November 13, 2008

 Drake Condo: Hallway

Patrick eased the door to Emma’s nursery closed, then headed into the living room for the stack of paperwork he’d picked up on his way out of the hospital. With any luck, Robin would have tracked down her mother by now and they could toss this entire mess into someone else’s lap. And if Matt had anything useful to add after talking to Nadine, then that would just be a bonus.

He wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about including Matt in all of this, but just like so much of this situation, it was out of his hands. But he had to admit, even if it was just to himself, it was a relief to leave the animosity behind.

Patrick reached the living room just as the door blew open and Robin came in, her face red, tears staining her cheeks. “Whoa—”

Robin turned to slam the door, but her mother was right there, holding it open. “I told you, I don’t want to hear it! There’s nothing you can say!”

“What’s going on?” Patrick wanted to know.

Anna slid through the open door, causing Robin to lose her balance and grip on the door. She fell forward and the door slammed. Patrick winced, glanced back towards the nursery, but nothing happened —

“Robin, you must let me explain. You’ve taken everything out of context, and you don’t understand—”

“Are you kidding me? I should have known. What made me stupid enough to believe that you’d come here for me?” Robin demanded, her voice hitching. She whirled on Patrick. “She’s here because of Karpov. And we’re not telling her a damn thing because she wants to arrest you!”

“What?” Stunned, Patrick focused on Anna. “What?”

“That’s not entirely accurate—”

“Really? You didn’t tell Uncle Mac that you wanted to drag Patrick in for questioning? That you didn’t care that Jason has a family now—all you care about is the job! You don’t care about me! About Emma! About my life!”

“Oh, that’s just not true. Please. Please—” Anna came forward, her hands up. “Darling, you know that isn’t true. I love you, and I adore Emma. I came here—”

“No, no. Don’t say another word.” Robin turned her tearful eyes on Patrick. “Call Alexis. Call Diane. Call a lawyer. We’re not talking to her without one. No one is. She can’t be trusted—”

“Robin!”

“All right, let’s just—” Patrick stepped between them. “Let’s all take a deep breath. First, just answer yes or no,” he told Anna. “Did Robin hear you right? Do you want me to come to the PCPD for questioning?”

Anna pressed her lips together mutinously, then nodded. “Yes. I did say that to Mac, but—”

“Okay. Then that’s all I need to hear. I can’t use Diane,” he told Robin. “She’s going to conflict out.”

“Then call Alexis.” Robin crossed her arms, glaring at her mother.

“Oh, I’m not threatening to arrest anyone! Or press charges! Will you both calm down and let me explain—”

“We’re going to let you explain,” Patrick said, holding a hand out when Robin opened her mouth to protest. “But it’s a one-way street. You do the talking, and after that, I’ll call Alexis and run it past her.”

“And I suppose you’ll trot right over to call Jason Morgan,” Anna said sourly.

“You’re damn right I am,” Robin seethed. “How dare you come here and use my child, use my life and my friends—all those questions, every conversation—all of it was just to get information—” Her face crumpled again, and she faltered, pressing her hands to her face.

“Robin, hey—” Patrick went to her, took her in his arms, and she sobbed into his shoulder. “It’s okay. We’re okay.” He kissed the top of her head and looked at Anna. “You’ve got five minutes to explain yourself, and then you can get out.”

Anna exhaled carefully. “Then I’ll cut to the chase. No, I was not planning to make Port Charles my base before the WSB asked me to use my connections here to investigate Andrei Karpov. When the DEA raided his freighter, we were brought in to discern what he’d been doing here in Port Charles, if it was similar to what he’s done in other places, and what, if any, danger was still on the ground. But once I received the assignment, I decided it would be a good opportunity for us to spend more time together—”

“I don’t believe you.” Robin pulled out of Patrick’s arms. “I just don’t. Because you’re targeting Patrick and the hospital. You came here to use me. Admit it.”

Anna hesitated, then rubbed her temple. “Yes, that was part of it, but your connections and my own — it’s why the WSB gave me the case. Can’t you understand—”

“No, I can’t. Stop making excuses. Finish explaining or go now. Why do you care about GH?”

“All right. All right. He’s an arms dealer,” she said, “a former KGB agent turned into a backer of Putin. They quite desperately need connections in South America and shipping routes to trade weapons on the black market. We’ve been trying to get inside his organization for some time. But his legal business? He’s in pharmaceuticals in Russia. And he has a few clients stateside.”

“Pharmaceuticals?” Patrick echoed.

“Yes. It’s a front for drug laundering as well. Once we learned Karpov was here, it was only natural to focus on General Hospital. It’s the largest in the region, and the most prestigious. And Port Charles was, until the last few months, a very lucrative smuggling hub for shipments going into Canada. You’ve hinted that there are issues at GH,” Anna said. “I was hoping to learn more about them, to connect something to Karpov. I would imagine Jason was an obvious explanation. Robin, you must believe that I really do want to spend more time with you, with my granddaughter—”

“Your five minutes are done. If and when Patrick and I want to talk to you again, you’ll hear from our attorney.” Robin stalked to the door, yanked it open. “Now get out.”

Crimson Pointe: Living Room

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the prodigal son.” Anthony steered the wheelchair to a rolling stop a few feet from Johnny at the arched doorway. “What brings you all the way down here?”

“Can’t a son come to see his father?” Johnny wanted to know. He headed for the mini bar but only poured himself a glass of water. After the confrontation outside with his sister, he needed a minute to calm down. To find his cool. He’d meant what he said — at the moment, he had no interest in throwing Claudia under the bus to get his father to agree to help, but he wasn’t going to let Nadine get hurt again for what his sister had done. What Johnny had kept quiet.

“He can. He hasn’t.” Anthony clasped his hands in his lap. “But my reports tell me you seem…” He pursed his lips. “Dare I say….happy with your new wife?”

“Your reports.” Johnny looked back at the old man. “You could have called.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Anthony wanted to know. “Not that there’s been much fun to be had. You’re not very interesting, John. She goes to work, you stay inside. And you mostly only leave together. A little homemaker, are you? Keeping the place spic and span for the missus?”

“Looking for something to do with my time. You were right, Dad. A graduate degree in art and literature isn’t really useful.”

Anthony narrowed his eyes. “You must want something. You haven’t told me I was right about anything since you were a kid.”

“You haven’t been right since I was a kid.”

“Where’s the wife? Trouble in paradise?”

“She’s in Port Charles planning her sister’s memorial,” Johnny said, almost tonelessly. “Don’t tell me you didn’t know Jolene Crowell died two days ago.”

Anthony was quiet for a long moment. “Your wife’s sister has died, but you’re here and not with her. So I’ll say it again. You want something.”

“There’s been some…” Johnny grimaced, looked down at his water glass. “Just some unrest. Not from Jason’s side. He doesn’t give a damn what I do as long as I stay out of his hair. But he’s not the only guy up there.”

“He ought to just exterminate all the little roaches, but I figure with what happened to his partner, he’s not looking for more pressure from the PCPD. Smart. Boring,” Anthony said with a sigh, “but smart. Some of these guys making pests of themselves?”

“Just some rumblings. I’m an easy target, being your kid. That’s always been true,” he said, and Anthony tipped his head. “But no one goes after me.”

“Ah. Some rumblings about the bride. So now we come to our purpose. What are you looking for?”

“No one goes after me because of you,” Johnny told Anthony. “So just do whatever you need to do to make sure that extends to Nadine.”

“You want me to cast the loving, protective arms of my reputation over your wife, a woman you barely knew before giving her your name without the benefit of a prenuptial agreement to protect yourself.” Anthony lifted his bushy brows. “What makes you think I’d do that? She keeps you up there. Maybe if you’d think about relocating — coming back home where you belong.”

“That might be possible now,” Johnny said slowly, though the lie felt like sawdust coating his throat. “Nadine’s lost her sister. And she’s not…marrying me isn’t making her popular. Maybe not right now, Dad. You gotta give her time. We’re having services for her sister, and in a few weeks, we’re going to fly out to Ohio, bury her with Nadine’s aunt.”

Anthony sighed, looked away, and was uncharacteristically quiet for a long time. “This was the sister who killed people, huh? The one in the coma.”

“Yes.”

“And your girl, she came to New York because of it? She moved here after, didn’t she?”

“Yes. She wanted to put some good into a place where her sister did so much evil.” A corner of his mouth tugged in a reluctant smile. “You probably think that’s stupid.”

“I do. But your mother wouldn’t.” Anthony studied him for a long moment. “If I told you moving home was a condition of my protection, what then?”

“I can’t do it right now.”

“Because she’s not ready to move.”

“Nadine’s still going through it. But, yeah, making sure that no one hurts her is important to me.” Johnny’s mouth was dry, but he forced himself to continue. “You always told me what happened to my mother was the worst thing you ever did. That losing control and hurting her would haunt you forever. Nadine’s never done anything bad in her whole life. All she’s ever done is stand by me even when I don’t deserve it. You liked her when I was on trial. She told the truth, even when it got her in trouble. She doesn’t deserve to be hurt because she’s married to me.”

“I suppose there are things I could do,” Anthony said reluctantly. He looked at Johnny. “This one is different from the crazy one. From LooLoo.”

“Dad—”

“You never asked me for my help with that one. You thought you knew better. You thought I was the enemy—”

“You had a psychotic break and tried to kill Lulu last year, Dad. And you tried to kill Nadine. You shot that other nurse—” Johnny pressed his lips together. “You were the enemy. But you went to Ferncliffe. They said you were better. I’m asking you as my father to help me. Please.”

Nadine’s Apartment: Living Room

Nadine frowned but stepped back to allow Matt to enter the apartment.  “Uh, hey—”

“Hey.” Matt entered, then turned in a slow circle until they were facing each other. “I, um, wanted to check in. See how you were.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his long black jacket. “Your, um, husband around?”

“Oh. No.” Nadine closed the door, scratching her temple. “He went to see his father. I appreciate it, but I really—I’m fine.”

“Sure. Sure. I just…um—” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “I just feel bad. I would have waited with you until your husband got there yesterday, but I had patients.”

“No, I wouldn’t—” Nadine folded her arms across her middle. “Listen, I know we got off to a rough start.”

Now Matt smiled, some of his discomfort fading. “Rough start? That’s one way to put it. You broke into my room and got caught searching it. Did you really think I was stealing drugs from the clinic?”

She wrinkled her nose, some of the embarrassment washing over her again. “Oh, man. No, I mean, in hindsight, that was such a crazy thing to do. Reckless. And I appreciate you for not making things difficult. It’s nice that you came by and thank you—I don’t know what made you call Johnny, but I’m glad you did.”

“What?”

“On Tuesday.” She walked past him towards the kitchen, missing the surprise in Matt’s eyes. When she looked back, it had cleared. “I told you I didn’t want you to call anyone, but when he got there, I really—I needed to see him. Thank you,” she repeated.

“Oh, sure. Sure. Like I said, I didn’t feel right about letting you be alone with all that. I’m glad it worked out. I hope it’s okay, but we ordered an—we ordered an autopsy.”

“An autopsy?” Nadine tipped her head. “Why? I mean, I’m not asking questions. I’m a nurse. I know long-term coma patients can have all kinds of complications.”

“Yeah, sure. But, well, she wasn’t just a patient.” Matt made another face. “Patrick said something about some lawsuits and pending litigation.”

“Oh.” That stumped her for a minute, but realization dawned. “Oh, of course. Because she’s a patient at the hospital, and a liability. No, of course, the hospital has to cover itself. And I obviously don’t want any more harm to come from my sister. She did enough when she was alive,” she muttered. “Run any test you want, and Patrick can see whatever he needs. Anyone can. Please.”

“I’m sorry to bring it up like this—” He looked away. “It’s probably the last thing you want to think about right now—”

“I wish I could forget it.” She folded her arms again, leaned against the counter. “Jolene and I weren’t close. We haven’t been since high school. And now—” she looked at him. “All I have left is the damage she caused. What a terrible legacy.”

General Hospital: Conference Room

More than twenty-four hours, six bottles of orange soda and hours of footage later, Spinelli didn’t have much more to offer in the way of information. He’d been able to track the mysterious nurse from the moment she entered the hospital until she’d left, but she’d come in posing as a visitor, then changed once she was inside.

And despite all the traffic cams he searched, he couldn’t find any trace of her once she’d disappeared into the parking lot.

He knew Stone Cold was right — that finding the assassin wouldn’t give them much to work with. That’s how such people worked, but it did not leave Spinelli with any sense of accomplishment to offer nothing but confirmation of what they’d already suspected.

He hadn’t been able to find out who’d tried to kill the Fair Elizabeth, and now he couldn’t help them find the villain who’d taken Nadine’s sister, too. What good was a hacker if he couldn’t provide answers?

The conference door banged open, and Maxie stalked in, planting one hand at her hip. “All right, Dingus, you’ve ignored five calls and six texts. You either better be dying or in the middle of a psychotic break—” She broke off, looked at the stacks of files surrounding the laptop, and the discarded bottles of orange soda. She narrowed her eyes, returned to her focus to Spinelli.

“You’ve got one minute to tell me what’s going—”

Spinelli made a face and got to his feet. “The Jackal apologizes for his lack of communication, but he knows—”

“You only slip into that third-person speak when you’re nervous,” Maxie accused. She stabbed a finger in his direction. “What’s going on?”

Spinelli opened his mouth, then closed it. “How did you know where to find me?”

“Oh, that is the wrong answer—” She fisted her hands at her side. “Why are you lying to me? Why are you avoiding me?” Tears glimmered in her eyes. “Is it because of what I said about Elizabeth?”

“Uh, no, but—” He winced. That would have been a perfect excuse. He really was a dingus. “No,” he said again. “But you ask a lot of questions,” he said, opting for a version of the truth. “And I don’t like to tell you I can’t answer. So I…” He made another face. “Avoid the conversation.”

“It’s something for Jason?” She looked around, at the files, then back at him. “Something for Jason and the hospital?”

“I just said I can’t answer—”

“No, you wouldn’t be here if it weren’t about the hospital, and you only don’t answer questions if it’s about Jason. So what do they have in common? Elizabeth.” Maxie scowled. “What did she do now?”

Spinelli went to the door, opened it, and gestured. “As the Jackal has already established, he cannot answer questions. Next time—”

“Oh, you think there’s going to be a next time, you jerk? Fat chance.” She stalked out. Spinelli dragged his hands down his face and hoped the day wouldn’t get any worse.

Harborview Towers: Hallway

Having been told that Robin had been crying when she’d checked in at the front desk, Jason was waiting for her in the hallway, the baby monitor in his hand. The elevator door slid open, and she simply stood in the car, staring at him for a long moment, her mouth trembling.

His heart sank. “What happened? What—” He slapped a hand against the side of the elevator to hold it open. “Robin—”

She swiped at her tear-stained cheeks, stepped into the hallway, and Jason let his hand fall back to his side. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry—it’s—you’re fine. I mean, it’s fine. It’s not—” She sucked in a deep breath. “No one’s in trouble. I should have called, but I didn’t want to take any chances—”

“Let’s go inside. Talk—”

“Mom doesn’t know anything, but you need to call Diane. We’re calling Alexis—”

None of that sounded good, but Jason kept his thoughts to himself until they were in the penthouse, and he’d closed the door. He set the monitor back on the desk, then focused on Robin again. “What happened?” he asked again.

“I—I had this feeling, you know—thanks—” She took a tissue from the box he held out. “I had a feeling my mom was up to something, and I talked it over with Liz earlier today, but I had it confirmed. I caught her at the PCPD with my uncle, talking about taking you or Patrick in for questioning—she’s here to investigate Andrei Karpov.”

Jason exhaled slowly, set the tissues on the desk, then dragged a hand down his face. “I don’t know what that means.”

“She said she came here after the DEA seized his freighter. The WSB chose her because of me. Because—” Robin cleared her throat. “Anyway. She doesn’t know anything. She was arguing with my uncle because she has all these suspicions but nothing she can prove, and nothing he can work with. She doesn’t know about Elizabeth’s complications or what happened with Jolene.”

“Oh.” Then it dawned on him. “Oh. She came here to investigate Karpov. And me.”

“Not to be with me,” Robin said. She squeezed her eyes shut, clenched her fist, then took another deep breath. “I told Liz that I was going over my conversations with her, and I realize now she was pumping me for information. Asking about you and about Elizabeth, and just later about the hospital. I never gave anything she could use, and neither did Patrick. But—”

“But she was using you,” Jason finished, and Robin nodded. “That’s why you’re upset.”

“Yeah, I should have waited until I’d calmed down more, but I knew I’d have to tell you, and I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry that my mother tried to use me, and she tried to use Liz. I can see that now. I’m sorry—”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t worry about any of that. I’m just—I’m sorry,” Jason said, a bit uselessly. “I don’t know what to say.”‘

“There’s n-nothing. Not really. It’s just—” Robin looked away, pressed her lips together, then looked at the tissue in her hand. “We’re talking to Alexis to make sure we’re covered. You should loop in Diane.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that. Whatever you need, Robin.”

“I think you’re still in the clear. I mean, she came here to investigate Karpov, but if they’d had anything, they’d have used it already. You’re good. Patrick and I think we’ve handled most of the ethical concerns.” Robin forced herself to smile. “It’s going to be okay. It’s not the first time I’ve been part of my mother’s job. Not even the first time she’s lied to me about it. I’ll get over it.”

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

Elizabeth checked her phone again, but there was still nothing. No call from Robin updating her on the conversation with her uncle. Nothing from Patrick or Jason. Maybe no news was good news, she thought.

She flicked through another stack of insurance forms, searching for any last-minute mistakes. The last thing any of them needed was issues with their insurance partners.

“Oh, of course. Why wouldn’t this day get worse?”

Elizabeth glanced up at the words spoken in such disgust and rolled her eyes. “Oh, look at that, it’s the first thing you and I can agree on. Go away, Maxie. The adults are working.”

“Listen, you insufferable know-it-all,” Maxie hissed, charging forward. She jabbed a finger at her. “You think because you got Spinelli and Jason thinking you’re freaking Snow White that I still don’t remember what an absolute bitch you really are—”

“Looking in the mirror again?” Elizabeth asked, and the blonde nearly growled. “Go away, Maxie. I’m working.”

“No! No! I demand to know what you’ve got Spinelli doing in here that he can’t even tell me! Why is he here holed up like some sort of shut-in—”

Elizabeth dropped the insurance and charged around the counter of the nurse’s station so quickly that Maxie closed her mouth abruptly and actually backed up a few steps, her eyes widening. “Whoa—ow!” she yelped when Elizabeth grabbed her arms and pulled her towards the elevator.

Elizabeth pressed the button, tightening her grip on Maxie’s elbow. “Sometimes you really don’t know when to shut up.”

“Let go of me you lunatic—” Maxie struggled, but she was no match for two years of pent-up resentment and fury.

The elevator doors slid open and Elizabeth all but threw her inside, then followed. Maxie hit the back wall, and could only watch in stunned disbelief as Elizabeth hit the doors close button, and as soon as they did, slapped the emergency stop button.  “What—”

“Shut up! I am done with you and your snide remarks! I felt sorry for you,” she snapped. “Losing Jesse that horrible way and then lashing out at the world. I’d been through it, and I was trying to have a little grace, a little compassion. You thought Lucky could fix what was broken, and you did what you thought you had to do to keep him.”

Maxie’s throat tightened. “You don’t know what you’re talking about—”

“We’re not that different, you and me. I thought Lucky was worth saving, too. I destroyed my life to keep him, and I thought I’d learned my lesson. But I hurt the people around me, lied, and walked out of it feeling like a horrible person. I could have told everyone where Lucky got those drugs.”

Maxie pressed her lips together, tears welling in her eyes. “Oh, you think you did me a favor—”

“I didn’t have the time or energy to be angry with you, Maxie, and then I didn’t have the heart after Georgie.”

Maxie closed her eyes, looked away, the tears burning. But she refused to give Elizabeth the satisfaction. “Don’t talk about her.”

“I lost my sister, too. I still don’t know how to live without her. Emily was my touchstone, my anchor. So I swallowed that hurt and anger at you, Maxie. I thought we’d both been punished enough for the horrible things we’d done. For living even though maybe I didn’t deserve to. Because Emily was a doctor who could save people, when it seemed like all I could ever do was hurt them. It’s hell, Maxie, feeling like the wrong girl died.” Her voice shifted. “The wrong sister.”

Maxie stifled a sob, pressed her fist to her mouth, started to shake her head. “She was so good, she was so pure and special, and she loved me and, oh God—” Her knees buckled, and she slid to the floor. “Oh, God. Why? Why did he take her? Why wasn’t it me? Why Jesse? Why Georgie? Why isn’t it me?”

Elizabeth exhaled slowly, then crouched down. “Because as unfair as it sounds, that’s not how it works. Emily would be so angry at me for feeling that way. Do you think Georgie would want it for you?”

“Don’t, don’t—”

“She was a good person, and the world is worse for her loss. For Emily and for Jesse, and for everyone else we’ve lost.”

“You d-don’t understand—” Maxie looked at her, tears staining her cheeks, her voice shaking. “You don’t understand. It’s always me, and it shouldn’t be.”

“Maxie—”

“I w-was in that park, but J-Jesse’s the one who’s gone. And I was—” She heaved a sob. “I was sick, and BJ died, and then she saved me. And Georgie. Georgie, God, I’m Mac’s family, too, but Diego went after her because of him. Lulu—” Her shoulders shook. “Lulu was trying to help me, and now she’s locked in her head, and I can’t fix her, and I can’t bring them back, and I can’t do anything, and I’m so mad and angry and I want to hurt someone—”

Elizabeth drew Maxie against her, curling an arm around her shoulder. “I know.”

“But it doesn’t help! N-Nothing h-helps—” Maxie clung to her, and Elizabeth rocked slightly, as the sobs continued to wrack her small frame. When they finally slowed, the younger woman slid away, started to wiping at her face, averting her eyes.

“It won’t until you forgive yourself for living.”

“How did you do it?” Maxie asked glumly.

“Remembering that Emily loved me. That I loved her. But it’s not easy, and some days I get angry all over again. Spinelli loves you,” Elizabeth said softly, and now Maxie looked at her. “And you’re afraid the universe will take him next. You’re picking a battle you know he can’t fight. He can’t tell you the things Jason asks him to do. You know that. You knew that before you ever started to care about him. So why are you angry about it now?”

When Maxie just stared at her, Elizabeth sighed. “Spinelli is Jason’s family, and he’s lost enough of them over the last few years. He deserves your respect and your trust. You keep pushing him away, he’ll stay gone. And I think that would be sad for you both.” She hit the emergency button again, and the doors opened. There was a small crowd around the elevator, and Maxie immediately hurried out of the car, and away down a hall.

Elizabeth stepped out, and the doors slid closed behind her.

“You finally pop her in the mouth?” Epiphany wanted to know, stepping up beside her.

“No. I don’t like her,” Elizabeth added, folding her arms and sighing. “But there’s no point in hating someone who hates herself more than I could.”

And everything I can’t remember
As fucked up as it all may seem
The consequences that I’ve rendered
I’ve gone and fucked things up again, again
Why must I feel this way?
Just make this go away
Just one more peaceful day
– Been Awhile, Staind

---

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Drake Condo: Living Room

Robin pulled the door open just a little and offered a tight smile. “Hey, so slight adjustment to our plans. Patrick’s brother is here.”

“Oh, damn it, I forgot,” Elizabeth said at Jason’s side. He looked at her, frowned. “I sort of pushed Matt into being mad at Patrick, so they’d argue and, you know, make some progress. I wasn’t thinking that we’d have to talk to them tonight—”

“It’s fine, though. Matt’s going to help us.” Robin opened the door all the way, revealing the other doctor standing by his brother. Jason tensed, never a big fan of new people. Or just people in general.

“He was Jolene’s doctor,” Patrick said, grimly. “I was hoping to keep him out of it, but—”

“—but she’s my patient, and I want to know what’s going on,” Matt said. “Why do you all look so worried, and—” He hesitated. “Do I get to ask why Jason Morgan is involved with all of this?”

“No,” Patrick said shortly. “You want to help, okay, but you’re on a need-to-know basis. For your protection,” he added, and Matt made a face. “Get used to it.”

“Anyway,” Robin said, ignoring the scowl on Matt’s face. She stepped between the brothers and Jason. “You said you had something from Spinelli.”

“Yeah. He found footage of a nurse going into Jolene’s hospital room, about eight minutes after Nadine.” Jason turned to Elizabeth who was already scooping the folder out of her tote bag. He handed it to Robin, and she extracted the black and white photos. “The time stamps have her in there for a few minutes. She goes in with a full bag of IV fluids, and leaves with an empty one.”

“She wasn’t scheduled to have her fluids changed at that time,” Matt interrupted, then colored when everyone looked at him. “I—I know her routine. It gets changed every seventy-two hours.”

“And we do every long-term patient at once,” Elizabeth added. “To preserve the routine. It’s one of the safety checks we implemented when we started floating nurses everywhere. I was on that rotation right before my accident. We change them in the morning. First thing when the shift starts.”

“Whoever did this wouldn’t know that,” Patrick said. He gripped the back of a chair. “There’s always a hundred little routines that are unique to every hospital staff. So she’s not one of us.”

“Spinelli kept tracking her,” Elizabeth said, and Robin continued to flip through the photos. “She went to the elevator, grabbed her purse from a plant by the waiting area, and she changed on the elevator. Then walked out of the hospital.”

“So, the security,” Matt said. “Do they, uh, do anything? Or can anyone just—” He gestured. “Walk in and out?”

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose with some distaste. “I really thought we’d picked up the security since the time Helena Cassadine built an entire medical lab in the sublevel basements under everyone’s noses. That was when she brought Stavros back from the dead,” she added to Robin, who just nodded as if that was a perfectly normal thing to say.

Jason opened his mouth, but Elizabeth continued. “That was before you came back for good,” she clarified. “Listen—”

“Kind of a miracle GH has stayed open this long,” Patrick muttered. “Medical labs built by villainous psychos — that’s great.” He rubbed his forehead. “Okay. So security. That’s something new and terrifying to worry about. Did Spinelli see anything else?” he asked.

“He’s still looking through traffic cameras,” Jason said, “but there’s no point. It’s a professional hit.”

“I was gonna say that,” Robin said. She looked at Matt. “My parents are with the WSB, so I grew up with all of this.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, so we know that a nurse came in and did something. We won’t know exactly what until we get the autopsy back, but I guess now we know for sure something happened to Jolene, Epiphany’s suspicion about Johnny is back on the table.” She looked at Matt. “You talked to Nadine after her sister. You’re sure she didn’t call him?”

“No. I asked a few times,” the younger man said. “I didn’t want to leave her alone, but I had other patients. She told me she was fine. But then I saw them, so I figured she changed her mind.” He frowned. “We still don’t know that she didn’t.”

“No, I guess we don’t. And that’s something to think about, I guess. What I’m more concerned about is the timing.” Robin closed the folder of photos, set it on the coffee table. “This nurse could have picked any time. But she chose to go in while Nadine was visiting.”

Jason nodded. “Yeah, I was thinking about, too.”

“What?” Patrick asked. “Why does that matter?”

“Why leave a witness?” Elizabeth asked. “That’s a message, right?”

“Look how close I can get,” Matt said, and they looked at him. His cheeks reddened. “Sorry, it just—”

“It’s textbook. Whoever did this wanted to make sure Johnny wouldn’t miss it,” Robin said.

“That…” Patrick squinted. “Am I allowed to say that’s a little bit of a relief? Look, I’m not happy that it was Jolene, obviously, but they’re using a professional assassin. They didn’t try to hide it. I don’t have to worry about every single damn patient that goes through my hospital or needs medication. We don’t need Spinelli going through layers of code—”

“No, they’re taking advantage of hospital security which has never been great—”

“And isn’t under my control,” Patrick said, with an exhale of relief. “Not my fault. I mean, still bad. All of it—” He wiggled a hand. “But it’s someone else’s bad. Hell, we don’t even have to worry about Jason. Not that I was,” he added, with a wince.

“Matt’s not going to say anything,” Robin told Jason. “He and Patrick just figured out they’re brothers, and he doesn’t know this yet, but if he messes this up for us, I’m going to kick his ass.” She looked over at her future-brother-in-law. “And I have connections, Matt. Everything in this room—”

“Yeah, yeah, cone of silence.” Matt rolled his eyes. “Look, I’m a new member of this conspiracy, and I’m only here because Patrick can’t cover his own tracks—”

Patrick opened his mouth, but Jason interrupted before the conversation could get anymore derailed. “I’m not worried about anything,” he told the doctor, waiting until their eyes met, waited until the other man swallowed hard. “So now that we’re on the same page, Patrick’s right. This isn’t like what happened to Elizabeth. Someone used the hospital to kill Jolene because she was a patient here. They didn’t use the system in place.”

“Because we dismantled that system,” Robin interjected. “It wasn’t available.”

“Either way, it’s not anything more than a liability suit for the hospital. It doesn’t involve me. So if you want to go to the authorities,” Jason told Patrick, “you should do that.”

“Well, this might shock you, but I wasn’t entirely keeping quiet just because my best friend likes you,” Patrick said dryly. “You might be in the clear, which, sure, yay for you, but my hospital is still in the cross hairs. Maybe I’m not responsible for the security department, but—”

“It still makes GH look awful. We really need to gut the place,” Robin muttered. “How much money does it cost to buy out a hospital board? Because half of this is cost-saving measures to pay off the lawsuits, and the other half is those cheap ass bastards trying to turn a profit—”

“Let’s put a hostile takeover plan on hold,” Patrick told her. He looked at Jason. “I get if you want to be out of it, and I don’t blame you, but—”

“But it’s still the hospital, and my reasons for helping haven’t changed,” Jason said. “I just thought—”

“It’s time for us to make some decisions. We can get away with not telling anyone about Jolene for a little while because we’re conducting an internal review. And with Elizabeth, we covered our bases by telling the family,” Patrick said. He looked to Robin. “What about your mother?”

Robin lifted her brows. “What about her?”

“Well, she’s WSB, isn’t she? They don’t report to the federal government, so we might be able to keep this quiet.”

“You want to turn this over to my mother?” Robin wanted to know. “I don’t know. I just—” She chewed on her bottom lip, looked at Jason. “Is that something you’d be comfortable with?”

“I’m surprised they aren’t already sniffing around Port Charles,” Elizabeth said. “Andrei Karpov is an international Russian crime lord. Isn’t that literally the kind of thing the WSB was built to handle? His freighter getting seized by the DEA made national news.”

“We don’t know if it’s Karpov,” Jason pointed out. “It could be Anthony Zacchara’s enemies. He has his own long list of people who want him dead—”

“But Karpov wanted to make trouble,” Elizabeth interrupted, and he looked at her, not sure what she meant. “He wanted to drive Sonny crazy by framing Johnny for what happened to Kate. Maybe he’s trying to push Johnny into something by going after Nadine.”

“That’s…” A good point, Jason thought, though it wasn’t exactly a cheerful thought. Getting rid of Karpov had been one of the few things he thought he’d managed to handle. “That might be something worth considering.”

“I guess I can talk to my mom. See if the WSB can help,” Robin said. “Maybe it gets us nowhere, but if Karpov is tied to Jolene, then we can turn it over to her, and the WSB will keep it quiet.” She grimaced. “The thing is—”

“Nadine should know what happened to her sister,” Patrick said and Robin nodded. “But if we tell her the truth, she might tip off Johnny.”

“I was thinking maybe, if Matt agrees—” Elizabeth looked at the doctor. “Maybe this woman said something to Nadine. Maybe you could tell her you’re running the full toxicology, maybe hint that there’s some question as to what happened to her. But if you’re not comfortable—”

“No, I—most of this is going over my head,” Matt said. He leaned forward, clasping his hands on the table. “And it’s obvious I’m walking in near the end of the movie, but if someone killed my patient, I want to help make it right. If we can do that in a way that keeps the hospital in the clear, then I support that. The rest of this — that’s all for you guys to handle. Yeah, I’ll talk to Nadine.”

Jason realized that he was really the only one in the room that hadn’t been assigned a task. Matt would question Nadine, Robin would bring her mother up to speed, and Patrick and Elizabeth would likely take on anything related to the hospital investigation.

It was the first time in a long time that the crisis didn’t center on the business or him. Or Sonny. It was concerning that Johnny Zacchara had been targeted by someone, and that Nadine might be in danger. She’d gone out of her way to keep things calm and peaceful, and she didn’t deserve what had happened to her. But if someone was targeting Johnny because of his father — there was only so much Jason could do to deal with that.

He pushed himself to his feet. “I’ll put out some feelers to see if anything is going on with the Zaccharas. If this isn’t Karpov, it’s going to be hard to get Anna involved, and I don’t want to tip whoever is pressuring Johnny off by confronting him. Not yet.”

“No, that’s definitely a good idea. Because once Anthony Zacchara gets involved,” Patrick said with a grimace, “you can’t really unring that bell.”

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Sweeney’s Funeral Home: Office

Nadine dragged a hand through her hair, then flipped to another page in the book. “We really don’t need all of this,” she told the funeral director. “I’m not expecting a lot of people. I don’t want a priest or religious person to speak. I’m not even going to talk—” She tossed the book aside, looked at Johnny. “Can you finish this? I’m tired of repeating myself.”

She stalked out of the office, leaving the director sputtering. Johnny dragged a hand down his face, faced him.

“Her sister is dead,” he said flatly. “You’re giving her exactly what she asks for and one more offer to upgrade for a discount, you’re going to regret it. Any questions?”

“I really don’t see how—”

“Sounds like a you problem.” Johnny got to his feet and went after Nadine.

He found her in the parking lot, leaning against the side of the car, her eyes closed, face tilted up to the ceiling. “It’s handled. And I’ll deal with him going forward.”

“Thank you. I just—I don’t want to do this in the first place, you know? But it feels wrong—” Nadine looked at him. “It feels wrong to just go pick up a box of ashes and that be it. Maybe if I do something that’s…that’s official, I’ll feel…I don’t know. Some sense of closure.” She sighed. “Stupid really. No one’s going to come.”

“I’ll be there,” he said, leaning next to her. She flashed him a half-smile, but it didn’t do much to make him feel better.

He didn’t know what he was supposed to do anymore. How could he go to Jason and ask to work for him, betraying his own father? But if he didn’t, Jerry Jacks had made it clear he didn’t consider Nadine untouchable. And he’d proved that Johnny couldn’t keep her safe on his own. He’d have to find a different way.

“I don’t blame people for not coming,” Nadine said with a sigh. “My sister wasn’t a good person, and any goodwill I’ve managed to create since I got here went out the window when I married you.” She winced. “I’m not blaming you—”

“This was my idea, wasn’t it?” Johnny reminded her, and she wrinkled her nose. “All of it. I came to the hospital that day, dragged you into my problems with Lulu and her brothers, and if I had just left you alone, you’d have gone home to sleep—”

“And maybe you would have been the one being sent to Silver Water. Tell me how that’s better, Johnny. Maybe Sonny catches you alone, and you’re not so quick,” Nadine said. She folded her arms. “I hate that it happened. I hate that we couldn’t just be honest about it. But it was him or us, Johnny. I’m not sorry it was us.”

In another place or time, they could have told the cops their story and gone their separate ways. Instead, six weeks later, he was standing with her in the parking lot of a funeral home after his family’s sins had caused the death of her sister.

And Nadine didn’t have the first clue about the truth about his family, or how he was to blame.  It was time to make some decisions. To grow up and stop running. If he couldn’t tell her the truth, he really only had one choice.

“I’m going to drive down to my father’s today,” he told her. “I want to tell him about Jolene, and, well, I haven’t seen him in a few weeks. He gets antsy. You okay to hang out here or…you could come—”

“No. I don’t think I’m up to dealing with your family right now. No offense,” she added, when he pulled open the passenger door for her. She slid inside.

“None taken,” Johnny replied, relieved. It had been an empty offer — he’d known she wouldn’t come.

He’d go see his father and do whatever Anthony wanted to keep Nadine safe.

General Hospital: Break Room

Elizabeth dumped the remnants of the morning coffee in the sink and switched on the faucet to refill it. “You sure you don’t want a cup?”

Robin made a face. “No. One of the benefits of maternity leave is not having to drink that poor excuse for coffee.”

Elizabeth smirked, finished setting a new pot of coffee to brew, then joined Robin at the table. “Well, if it wasn’t our award-winning beverage bar, what brings you to GH? I thought you were going to talk to your mom today.”

“I am. I’m going to call her.” Robin bit her lip, looked down at her engagement ring, twisting it. “I need a second opinion. From another mother.” She lifted her gaze to Elizabeth again. “You’ll tell me if I’m overreacting or just being hormonal. Because I might be, and if Patrick says so, I’ll deck him.”

Elizabeth tipped her head. “Is it about Emma?”

“No. Sort of. Yes. No.” Robin made another face. “It’s about my mother. And Emma. And me. And maybe I’m seeing things that aren’t there.”

“Or maybe you’re seeing things you don’t want to be there,” Elizabeth said, and Robin nodded. “Well, tell me what’s going on, and we’ll figure it out. It’s about your mother, so are you having second thoughts about the WSB being involved?”

“No. The WSB is perfect for this. They don’t give a damn about local laws, so Mom’s not going to care about Jason’s involvement. But I’m sure you noticed it was Patrick who brought up telling my mom, not me.”

“I didn’t, but since you’re pointing it out, that must be significant. Why didn’t you think you of talking to your mother about this before?”

“My mother…” Robin paused, twisting her ring. “You know our history right? Or maybe you don’t. I didn’t know she was my mother for the first few years of my life.”

Elizabeth blinked, sat up straight. “What? No, I didn’t—”

“I thought she was my aunt, and she didn’t tell my father about me, either. She had her reasons, and it’s not that I blame her or hold a grudge,” Robin added quickly. “She wanted to keep me safe—she was a double agent for DVX. The Lex Luthor to the WSB.”

“Luke told me about them once. I’m sorry — I didn’t know—”

“I found out when I was just a kid, and I was upset. I ran away, got into a lot of trouble, but it turned out okay. I got both my parents, and we were really happy for a while.” Robin bit her lip, picked up an abandoned water bottle and picked at the label. “But then the boat explosion happened, and I thought they were both gone. Mom—she didn’t have a choice to leave me, I know that. Dad—I mean, he had sort of a choice, but I get that he didn’t feel like there was one. They both ended up back in the WSB over the last few years.” Her smile was faint. “Mom tried to do the normal person thing again. Got married and everything. But then she had a little girl who passed away after birth, and well—” Robin took a deep breath. “Anyway. Mostly that’s not relevant other than to say I’ve spent more years apart from my mother than with her.”

She looked up, met Elizabeth’s eyes. “When she came to Port Charles last month, I was really happy. Excited. She said she was coming here to be closer to me. To be part of Emma’s life, and I really wanted it. It’s been great, and I thought, well she’ll get bored eventually maybe, but I’ll have this time. She came here to have this time with me.”

Elizabeth’s throat tightened. “You don’t think that’s true anymore?”

“I think—” Robin tensed. “If I think back, if I really think about it, there have been times when my mother’s seemed a little too interested in a few things. She asked questions about you — and I thought it was just idle curiosity at first. Because you came over, and we talked about your kids. And she asked about Jason, but it was always like connected to something else. Being glad that I was friends with an ex, you know? There always seemed to be a reason.”

She sighed. “I wanted to think I was overreacting or just being really sensitive, but yesterday, when Patrick got home from talking to Epiphany about Jolene, my mother was…asking him questions. And it just seemed…I don’t know. Pointed. And she looked interested. Curious. I thought maybe it was just that boredom. She was looking for something to do.” Robin pressed her lips together. “But then last night, you pointed out that Karpov seems like something the WSB would be into, and that thing about the freighter making national news—I realized that I had it wrong. My mother isn’t bored, looking for something to do. I think she came here because of Karpov.”

Elizabeth stilled. “What does that mean?”

“She showed up a week after Sonny’s shooting. Days after the freighter was in the news. I think the WSB sent her here to investigate Karpov, and that she used me as an excuse. A cover. No, worse, I think she was sent here because of who I am and my history with Jason. I think she’s been using me all along.”

Elizabeth inhaled sharply. “Oh, man. Robin—”

“And I don’t know if I’m just putting it all together under this umbrella and overreacting because I don’t know anything for sure. I don’t know. I’m feeling all this stuff all the time, you know? I cry a lot now. Emma just looks at me —” Robin took the tissue Elizabeth offered her. “And then I see Patrick and Emma together, and I’m just gone. So I know my emotions are really close to the surface, so maybe it’s nothing.”

“Maybe. But being emotional, Robin, doesn’t make things not true. You’re smart, and you know when you’re being played. I watched you duck and weave every trick in Patrick’s book until he was so crazy in love with you, he couldn’t function. If you feel like your mother’s questions pushed too hard, maybe they did.”

Robin closed her eyes. “Thank you. Maybe I’m wrong, but I feel better knowing that you don’t think I’m crazy.”

“I hope you’re wrong, obviously. I hate the idea that your mother came here to investigate Jason. I hate the idea that she used you.”

“It kills me, it really does. I just…I was so happy,” Robin murmured. “To have my mother back, to have my family around me.” She sighed. “But there’s only one way to find out.”

“What are you going to do? Ask her about it?”

“Maybe. Or maybe I’ll tell her about Jolene, and she’ll come clean. Or maybe I’ll find out it’s nothing.” Robin dug through her purse, picked out her phone. “Better to get it over with now.”

“Right.” Elizabeth watched Robin lift the phone to her ear.

“Hey, Mom. No, everything’s great. I was hoping we could get together for a late lunch. Maybe take Emma out for the first time to Kelly’s—oh? Okay. No, that’s fine. I’ll see you then.” Robin closed the phone, tightened her first around it. She looked at Elizabeth. “She said she was a little busy, but she’d be able to meet me later.”

“That’s good, but—” Elizabeth furrowed her brow. “You don’t look like it’s good.”

“I heard my uncle in the background. Why—why wouldn’t she just tell me she was with him?” Robin bit her lip. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Well, Mom thinks we’re meeting at Kelly’s in an hour. So she won’t expect me to show up at my uncle’s office in ten minutes, will she?” Robin slid her phone into her purse. “I’ll call you later.”

“Robin—” Elizabeth stopped her as Robin headed for the door. “I really hope it’s nothing.”

“Me, too.”

Crimson Pointe: Drive

Claudia sauntered out of the front entrance, a glass of wine in her hand as usual. Johnny slammed his car door and stood in the gravel driveway, glowering.

“This is a surprise, little brother,” she said, planting her free hand on her hip. “Where’s the wife—”

“I’m not in the mood for your games, Claudia.” He stalked towards her, his long legs angrily eating the distance between them. “You know damn well where Nadine is. At home, grieving the murder of her sister.”

“Have they determined murder?” she asked, lifting her chin. “I hadn’t heard—”

“Shut up.”

Claudia closed her mouth, taken aback by the fury mixed with disgust in her brother’s eyes. She swallowed hard, fumbled for her characteristic nonchalance. “You seem angry—”

“Jerry called me. Did you know that? He wanted to make sure I knew just how close I was to losing Nadine. She was in the damn hospital room,” he bit out. “Sitting right there when someone posing as a nurse gave Jolene the meds that killed her. He could have killed Nadine right then.”

“That…is unfortunate,” Claudia said delicately. “But I told you they were making threats—”

“Don’t you dare stand there and tell me that if I had just taken the deal from Jerry, Nadine would be safe. The man is a sociopath, Claudia. He’s using what you did to that little boy to control our lives, and I’m not going to let it happen—”

“What are you going to do—” The glass of wine fell to the ground, shattering on the concrete as Johnny charged past her and Claudia rushed after him. “John, John, wait—”

“I’m going to agree to whatever Dad wants so that Nadine is safe—”

“But are you going to tell him why?” Claudia demanded, jerking him back just as he reached for the front door. “John—”

“You mean am I going to tell him that you’re responsible for putting Michael Corinthos in a coma? No. Dad would kill you, and I’m not having any more blood on my hands, damn it.”

“Then—”

“But just remember, I know your secrets. And if it comes down to choosing Nadine’s safety over yours?” Johnny leaned in, his eyes dark and fierce. “You’re not going to be happy with the outcome.”

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

Anna paced the length of the office, then whirled back to face her former brother-in-law. “They’re getting nervous. Something happened yesterday. Patrick went to the hospital, he came back and closeted himself in the nursery with Emma—”

“Anna—”

“And after I left last night, they had visitors—”

Mac blinked. “Wait. How do you know that?” When Anna just lifted her brows, he scowled. “You’re having the building watched?”

“Jason Morgan and Elizabeth Webber came to see them—”

“To see Emma maybe—”

“Matt Hunter came over first. Another doctor from the hospital. He and Patrick are not close, so don’t try that—”

“Anna.” Mac took a deep breath. “We have been over this. Again and again. Just because you think there’s something going on at the hospital that might be connected to your case, that doesn’t give me probable cause to do anything.” He shook his head. “I really think you’re barking up the wrong tree—”

“Am I? How about this? My usual sources can’t get into the hospital records. What kind of encryption level does a hospital need? The best minds at the WSB can’t get in—”

“If you’ve hit roadblocks at the hospital because of the computer security, then that’s Spinelli. Maxie said he was working on something for Patrick—”

“Well, that’s proof right there—”

“That Patrick put his security in the hands of a qualified computer tech? So talented that even the WSB can’t break his firewalls? Yeah, let me haul him right in.” Mac sat back, sighed. “Anna—”

“Robin’s meeting me at Kelly’s in a little bit, but I don’t want to keep pushing her. She’s too smart for her own good,” Anna muttered. She tapped her fingers along the top of the chair. “You’re telling me that you’re not the least bit suspicious about anything I’ve put together in the last month. I find that hard to believe—”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t suspicious. I said that I didn’t know what I could do with what you gave me. Not legally. I could maybe get Jason in here on a pretext. He was taking meetings with Karpov and his lawyers before the DEA raid. But I don’t know what good it would do since he wouldn’t say anything to me, and you told me you didn’t want me to tip Jason off that we were looking into Karpov. Has that changed?”

“No. The WSB’s never been interested in Morgan,” Anna replied, then furrowed her brow. “Though he might be useful in other ways. Perhaps if I offered him some sort of deal — we can make arrangements with the government, layers of protection, if he agrees to cooperate with WSB operations. We don’t have much use for his smuggling routes — though he’d have to start them back up again.”

Mac blinked. “What?”

“You haven’t noticed the lack of international shipments running through the warehouse in the last few months?” Anna asked, her brows lifting. “We keep tabs on it, but it’s never been of much interest since it was mostly South American products. That’s CIA territory. In July, it started to trickle down from a few shipments every week to one or two. Then in September, around Kate Howard’s shooting? Nothing. It looks like those routes have shifted to Buffalo and Rochester.”

“That—would explain the decline of some petty crime down near the waterfront. What are you saying? With Sonny out of the picture, Morgan’s looking to get out?”

“Robin said he did it before. Now, he may continue with the gambling, I wouldn’t have a way to know that. All I can tell you is what our research is showing.” She tipped her head. “You think he’d be interested in a deal?”

“I—” Mac paused. “Maybe. But if he’s closing those things down and getting out, it’s because he’s got a family now. Elizabeth Webber, her boys. It tracks. Are you really going to drag him back into it so you can get to Karpov?”

“I’m not ruling anything out. Andrei Karpov is dangerous,” Anna said, getting to her feet. “If we can’t get to him through Patrick and GH, then I’ll use anything else I’ve got. If Jason has a family, then he has something to lose—”

“I knew it.”

Mac jerked to his feet, and Anna whirled around, her eyes widening when she took in the angry expression on her daughter’s face. Neither of them had heard the door open.

“Robin—”

“I knew it. I knew you were only here because of your job. And now you want to force Jason to put his kids in danger? You wanted to go after Patrick?” Robin’s eyes filled with tears. “How could you?”

“Robin—”

But she was already gone.

Help me carry on, assure me it’s okay to
Use my heart and not my eyes to navigate the darkness
Will the ending be ever coming suddenly?
Will I ever get to see the ending to my story?
– Crawling in the Dark, Hoobastank

---

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

 General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

Elizabeth set the file down with a heavy sigh. “I hate that the choices are sabotage or sudden cardiac arrest with no warning. I mean, obviously one of them is better for the hospital, but…” she trailed off.

Epiphany nodded, but mercifully didn’t mention why Elizabeth didn’t want to think about the possibility that Jolene, a relatively stable long-term cardiac coma patient had just suddenly died. Not when Sonny had only just been transferred.

“It’s not just what’s in the file,” Epiphany said, “but it was what I saw with my own eyes.” She gestured towards the elevators, though no one was there today. “Matt said Nadine didn’t want to call anyone, but Johnny Zacchara was here anyway. I don’t think there was enough time for her to change her mind. And then I saw the look on his face—” Troubled, she returned to her computer screen. “I don’t like it.”

“I get it. I set Spinelli up in the conference room to go over the tech stuff. I just hope we get answers sooner rather than later.” Elizabeth closed the file, set it on the counter. “Did they say how long it would be?”

“Prelim sometime tomorrow probably. Longer for toxicology. Junior Drake put a rush on it, so hopefully—” Epiphany closed her mouth when Matt came up to the counter, a scowl on his face. “That’s not your nickname, so don’t make that face at me.”

Matt scowled. “Why do you have the Crowell chart? I’ve been looking everywhere for it. Who gave you the right to sign it out?”

“Who are you talking to that way?” Epiphany demanded, fisting a hand at her hip. “I will send you into next Tuesday if you don’t fix your tone and that look on your face.”

“You have no right—”

“I signed it out for Patrick,” Elizabeth interrupted before the head nurse could slap the grimace from Matt’s face. “He wanted to put a rush on the autopsy—”

“Well, he has no damn right to do that either,” Matt said. “I didn’t do anything wrong—”

“No one said you did. Patrick’s thinking about the hospital and about Nadine. Jolene was his patient, and Nadine’s a friend. As well as a co-worker, and before you open your mouth to complain again, you don’t have the pull to put a rush on a cup of coffee,” Elizabeth retorted. Matt made a face, looked away. “The faster Nadine gets answers, the better she’ll be. And that’s before we even talk about who Jolene was. There are pending lawsuits, you know. The hospital attorney needed to be looped in. These are all things you would not know being new to the hospital.”

Matt shoved the file under his arm. “Well, he could have told me. Anyone one of you could have,” he accused. “I’m the doctor on the file, and I damn well shouldn’t be last to know.” He stalked off.

“You know, a good friend would warn Dr. Drake that little angry man is on his way to be a pain in the butt,” Epiphany noted.

Elizabeth smirked. “Yeah, but a best friend knows they need to yell at each other so the rest of us can stop being annoyed. Trust me, putting Patrick on Matt’s shit list is the best thing I can do for them both.”

Coffee House: Office

“Hey, Cody said I should—” Carly froze at the threshold of the office when she saw Jason sitting with Jake on the sofa, an open book spread out on Jake’s lap. “Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

“It’s okay. Come on in—” Jason helped an already squirming Jake off the sofa, and he rushed towards the now familiar blonde.

“Hey, honey.” Carly swept him up in her arms, squeezed him tight. “You hanging out with Daddy?”

“Jake time,” Jake told her, then squirmed to get down again. “Mommy go work. Me and Daddy have Jake time. Then Cam ‘n Jake time.” He flashed his tiny baby teeth at her, then clambered back towards the sofa. Carly watched as he easily settled back in his spot, curled up next to his father.

Had Michael been that happy at Jake’s age? He’d been six months into his new life as AJ’s son, and Carly hadn’t spent nearly as much time with him after they moved into the mansion. How much of her son’s life had she wasted?

Swallowing the bitter thought, Carly cleared her throat. “I won’t take up much of your time, but thanks again for taking Morgan. It’s…it’s such a relief to know he’s in such good hands when I’m not here. I mean, Pilar’s great, but she’s still…” She rubbed her arm. “We’re still getting used to each other, and I’m not ready for overnights without me, so you really made that easier.”

“You made it easier for me last month,” Jason told her simply. “You handled everything so I could focus on them. I appreciate that. And we like Morgan, don’t we?” he asked Jake who grinned at her.

“My best cousin,” Jake said. He giggled, looking at his father. “Only cousin.”

Jason flinched just slightly, then tousled Jake’s hair and got to his feet. “Sit here for a minute, I need to talk to Aunt Carly,” he told Jake. “Look at the rest of the pictures.”

He took Carly aside as she grappled with the sad truth of Jake’s statement. Morgan was Jake’s only cousin. Alexis wasn’t bringing Kristina around anymore, and…

Jake had never known Michael.

“Cam used that on him last night,” Jason told her in a hushed voice. “Said Jake was his favorite brother, but then laughed, because there’s only one brother, so it doesn’t count, and Jake got upset, so we had to explain, and now he’s okay with the joke which is probably why he remembered—”

“No, no—” Carly exhaled a short breath. “No. Of course. And you don’t have to explain. You don’t. He’s a child. A baby. I’m so happy he loves Morgan, so happy they have each other. I never had anyone, and you don’t remember being a kid, but you only had AJ then—” She closed her eyes. “I’m babbling because it hurts. It hurts, and I wasn’t expecting it, and it’s no one’s fault. Least of all that perfect child over there. So, I’m here to thank you, and to apologize for losing my cool when Robin came around. She just—” Carly made a face. “It was too much, okay? Just too much.”

“Yeah, it’s fine—I wasn’t even thinking about it anymore.” He squeezed her elbow. “Relax.”

He was letting her off the hook because of the cousin comment, so she seized it. “Great. Great. Good. Um, I’ll go so you can have your Jake time—”

Jason caught her elbow again. “Hey. Elizabeth wanted to know if we could have Morgan again one night this weekend. There’s some movie they all want to watch, and Morgan was making paper chains with us for Christmas—”

She wanted this for him. She absolutely wanted this happy version of her best friend, who had his son and a real life at home, and there was the bonus of Cameron who was the best friend her little boy could ever want—

Except she wanted to scream and throw something out the window.

Instead, Carly pasted a smile on her face. “Yeah, sure. That’s fine. And I’ll take them next weekend. We’ll start a tradition. It’ll be great.”

Drake Condo: Bathroom

Robin rinsed the remnants of diaper cream from her hands, dried her hands, and left the bathroom, heading down the short hallway that connected the two bedrooms to the main living area. Just before she turned the corner that would reveal her presence to Patrick and her mother, she heard her mother’s voice.

“Is everything all right at the hospital? You seemed a bit frazzled when you came in.”

Robin leaned against the wall, hoping it was just an idle question from her mother, or maybe a reminder that Patrick wasn’t supposed to be going into the hospital at all. Anything other than being right about the flare of curiosity she’d seen in her mother’s eyes earlier.

“Oh, no, it’s all good.” Patrick’s voice sounded vaguely distracted, which was a dual-edged sword. He wasn’t paying attention to her mother and wouldn’t say much — but he also wasn’t paying attention and didn’t know her mother well enough to recognize the warning signs.

She ought to reveal herself right away, Robin thought. Nip the conversation in the bud. But there was a voice in the back of her head remembering all the times Anna had chosen work rather than motherhood. Anna hadn’t seemed interested in shifting her home base from London for the duration of Robin’s pregnancy, so why now?

And even if it was just a coincidence, would her mother seize an opportunity to get back into the field? What if Anna started investigating and tipped off less friendly authorities?

Was her question idle curiosity or a foreboding omen?

“It still seems impossible to me, I suppose, that anyone other than Steve would ever be running GH. He seemed like such an immortal figure.”

“Yeah, he casts a long shadow. So does Alan. A lot to live up to.”

“You seem to be doing admirably enough, but I was surprised when Robin told me you’d taken the position. I’d think with the baby coming along, you’d want to spend less time at work.”

Okay, so that could be criticism, Robin thought. Personal criticism, which was good, meant Anna was just looking out for her daughter. As long as Patrick didn’t feed the flickering embers—

“I felt a responsibility to the hospital,” Patrick said. “The hospital’s important to the community, and to Robin.”

Robin nodded. Okay, that was a good answer. It was a safe response and had the added benefit of being true.

“General Hospital has always been the shining crown jewel of Port Charles. It was such a shame last year, when I read about that nurse who caused trouble. Oh, what was her name? It’s on the tip of my tongue. It must have been quite the mess to clean up.”

Robin pressed her lips together, closed her eyes. Anna was fishing for information, for Patrick to fill in the blanks. Oh, this was not good.

Patrick muttered something Robin couldn’t quite hear, then his voice became more audible. “Uh, well, it wasn’t that bad, um—”

“Emma’s down for her nap,” Robin said breezing around the corner, plastering a bright smile on her face. “What are my other two favorite people up to?” She kissed Patrick’s face and looked at her mother. “Hey, did you ever get hold of Dad? Please tell me he’s on his way.”

“I did. He expects to be extracted by Thanksgiving. He’s sorry, but—”

“It’s just the way things are, I’m used to it. But at least I have you.” Robin turned away, reached for the door of the fridge, ignoring the clear irritation in her mother’s eyes at the interruption.

“Always, darling. Well, I suppose I should get going and let you two enjoy the rest of your dinner.” Anna got to her feet, kissed Robin’s cheek. “I’ll call you tomorrow. We’ll do lunch.”

General Hospital: Conference Room

Spinelli dutifully wrote down every single person who walked past Jolene Crowell’s hospital room, noting the time frame and their manner of dress. He ignored the vibrating phone to his side with Maxie’s name illuminated on the notification screen, and also deliberately refused to let him associate the name on the file with the woman he’d fallen for so hard the previous summer.

Ignoring Maxie and the specter of Jolene might have been difficult tasks on their own, but somehow they cancelled each other out, and Spinelli happily focused on nothing more than times and people. He was under strict orders to keep Maxie in the cold as much as possible because there was no telling what she’d do with the information. Commiserate with Nadine about lost sisters or throw it in the nurse’s face.

Hence the ignoring.

Spinelli clicked the arrows to move through the footage frame by frame, noting the time that Nadine had ducked in to visit with her sister. He’d spied the nurse in earlier footage, speaking with Elizabeth. What a terrible, sad day, he thought, for Nadine to lose her sister so tragically, and for his beloved Stone Cold to have said goodbye to Sonny.

Another pair of legs in scrubs came into frame, and Spinelli clicked forward watching a nurse clad in the familiar uniform come fully into frame, carrying a bag of fluids he remembered well.

Then the nurse stopped, paused for a few frames—

And went into Jolene’s room.

Spinelli scribbled the information down, then continued to click through the frames. She’d stayed only a few minutes — just long enough to change out the bag because when she’d emerged, she had only the deflated remains of a previous bag.

She left the way she came, disappearing out of focus.

Spinelli wanted to send up the smoke signal immediately, but Stone Cold would want more information. Would want to be sure that no one else went into the room before Nadine emerged, calling for the Code Blue.

No one else came near the room. Spinelli reached for the list of expected people that had been in and out of Jolene’s room, though he knew it by heart already. He just wanted that confirmation. He wanted to be wrong. Wanted the Falsely Fair Jolene to have simply died suddenly, but naturally. No mystery for Nadine, who’d been through enough. No guilt for the Septic Son whose family was insane. No chaos for Stone Cold and the family—

But he wasn’t wrong.

The nurse that had changed Jolene’s IV fluids just before the code, while Noble Nurse Nadine was in the room, had not been on the schedule — and she did not match any nurse that was authorized to be on the floor.

And Spinelli couldn’t be positive — would need to consult the notes — but he’d studied the profiles of the nurses when the Fair Elizabeth had been in danger. He didn’t think he’d find their possible assassin anywhere in the file.

Tragedy had struck them again.

With a heavy heart, he picked up the cell, flicked aside Maxie’s messages, and dialed Stone Cold.

Drake Condo: Living Room

Patrick carefully laid Emma back in her bassinet, wrinkling his nose. “I’ve smelled a lot of things,” he told his newborn daughter, “but the stuff that comes out of you is a new category of nasty. You’re lucky you’ve got my dimples.”

Emma fluttered her eyes, batted her hand still tucked in their protective mittens, then closed her eyes and fell asleep. “Yeah, your mother ignores me, too,” he murmured, stroking the back of his knuckle against her cheek, overwhelmed suddenly by the life Robin had created, nurtured, and delivered into the world.

There was a knock at the door, and Patrick hoped it wasn’t Robin’s mother again. He liked Anna well enough, but she never seemed settled. Always up and moving, trying to clean things, moving files around — didn’t she ever hit the pause button?”

Patrick flipped open the deadbolt, and tugged the door open, startled when Matt shoved his way past the threshold, stalked inside. “Hey, what—”

“Where do you get off going anywhere near my patient files?” Matt demanded. “I could have you hauled up before the ethics committee on HIPAA violations—”

Patrick grabbed Matt’s arm and dragged him across the room, far from Emma’s bassinet. “Hey, jackass, there’s a baby here, so maybe you watch your volume, because whatever problem you have, it’s gonna be double if you wake her. Now, what the hell crawled up your ass?”

Matt’s cheeks colored and he looked over at the bassinet. “I—I didn’t think—I’m sorry—”

“Yeah, well, now you’re thinking. What’s the problem?” Patrick repeated. “Because I’m running on three hours of sleep and if you want to keep pushing me, I’ve got a biological weapon or two in that diaper pail—”

“Oh, ew.” Matt wrinkled his nose, then seemed to find his irritation again. “You don’t have the right order a damn thing for any of my patients—”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard that part. Skip to the end or next chapter.” Patrick swirled a finger in the air. “And put it on double speed. I wanna sleep when she does.”

“Jolene Crowell. You put a rush on her autopsy and when I looked at the rest of the file, you ordered a full toxicology report. What the hell is that—”

“She was my patient first, and she’s a former employee of the hospital. I didn’t look at her file so there’s no HIPAA violations or anything. I just put a rush on the autopsy.” Patrick folded his arms. “She’s also the subject of several pending lawsuits, so it’s in the hospital’s best interests to do a full investigation and workup. I don’t want any insurance companies or their mouthpieces accusing me of anything. Anything else?”

“You should have run it past me. If anyone went over your head like this, you’d be ticked off, too, and you know that.”

Patrick dragged a hand down his face, counted to five in his head, then doubled it. “No, you’re mad because I went over your head. Not your chief of staff, but me, Patrick son of Noah. If you’re gonna stomp over here like a toddler, use your big words and be honest.”

Matt’s scowl deepened. “That’s bullshit. This isn’t the first time you’ve gotten involved in a case that should have been mine. Elizabeth Webber was scheduled to come onto my service with her concussion protocol, but you kept her on yours. What, I’m good enough for random strangers but not your friends?”

“No—”

“Because if it was just about covering your ass with the board and the lawyers, you’d have just told me to order the damn extra testing. You also added yourself to the report — you don’t have a right to see that report. That’s a violation—”

“You really think Nadine’s going to give a damn?”

“She wouldn’t if you asked her. But, hey, you’re a big shot chief. You don’t need to ask anyone for everything. You just walk around doing whatever you want to whoever want, and who gives a damn about the rest of us—”

Patrick scrubbed his hands through his hair, squeezed his eyes shut. This was the last thing he needed. It really was. Running on almost no sleep for the last week, a possible murder in his hospital— “Shut up. This has nothing to do with you. You’re not the center of my universe. Three months ago, I didn’t even know you existed, okay? I don’t give a damn about you or your patients.”

Some of the fury faded from Matt’s expression, and there was a flash of something in his eyes that almost looked like hurt. But then they went flat and cool. “Then you won’t care if I take you off the report and you don’t get shit about Jolene’s cause of death.”

Damn it. Patrick exhaled. “Look, I didn’t mean that the way it came out. I just meant—”

“Yeah, I know what you meant. You walked around life thinking you’re an only child. Don’t worry, that’s not changing. You keep your hands off my patients and we can go back to ignoring each other—”

Patrick grabbed Matt’s arm as he turned away, but the younger man yanked himself out of Patrick’s grasp. “Give me a minute okay? Because there’s a reason that I need those results, and I don’t know how much I want to tell you.”

Matt frowned. “What does that mean? If I’m not under investigation for screwing up her case, then why can’t I know? Don’t jerk me around—”

“I’m not. But if I tell you, you can’t go back to not knowing. And I don’t—” Patrick looked past him, cleared his throat. “I don’t know what you’ll do with what you know. You just got here, so GH—it doesn’t mean as much to you as it does to me. Hell, maybe you’ll want to see it go down in flames.”

He pressed the heels of both hands against his eyes. “It’s a mess, and it was supposed to be over. I thought I fixed it. I thought we were done, but it’ll never be over.”

Matt furrowed his brow, seemed to hesitate before he spoke again. “Is this about the dispensary problems we were having? The nurses haven’t complained in weeks. I thought you fixed them.”

“We did. I thought I did. But it’s also about what might have caused those dispensary problems.” Patrick looked up, and met his brother’s eyes. “This hospital, it’s not just a place. A building. It’s…it matters, okay? This place — what it means to Robin, to our family. To Elizabeth and her family. It’s not just a place,” he repeated. “It’s in trouble. Financial, sure. That’s not a surprise. But—”

“You think because I just got here, I can’t care?” Matt asked. “Or because of you? You think I hate you that much—”

“I don’t think you hate me at all, which is the problem, isn’t it?” Patrick waited, but Matt just looked away. “Look, this is your chance to get out of this and not know anything. Just go home, wait for the results. I promise it’s nothing illegal. But if you stay, if I tell you what’s going on, you don’t get to go back to not knowing. There’s no closing the door, Matt. So either you’re in or you’re out.”

Matt dropped his eyes to the floor, remaining quiet for a long moment, realizing Patrick was asking for more than just his trust. Then he raised his dark eyes, so similar to the father they shared. “It’s my hospital, too, and if it’s in trouble, I want to help.” If you’re telling me that you need Jolene’s autopsy report to fix things, I can let it go. I just don’t understand why. If the problem is the dispensary, this should get the board to fix it—”

“The problem was the dispensary. We fixed that. Now it’s whoever caused those problems in the first place—” Patrick’s eyes were grim. “And what they might have done to Jolene Crowell. Someone is sabotaging General Hospital. I don’t know why or who. Only the how. And if I tell you more than that, you’ll be in the middle of the mess, too.” He straightened. “I don’t know much about being an older brother, but I don’t think my first act should be putting your license at risk.”

“Then I guess I’m going to be the stereotypical annoying little brother. Because I’m not walking out of here until you tell me what’s going on and how I can help.”

Patrick opened his mouth, but a door creaked open down the hall and Robin came out a minute later. “Hey, I thought you were going to try to take a nap—”

“I was, but I heard the two of you idiots yelling,” Robin said. “Then my phone rang. Um—” She glanced at Matt, then looked back at Patrick. “Jason and Elizabeth are on their way over.”

“Both of them?” Patrick dragged a hand through his hair. “That can’t be good. Damn it.” He returned his attention to Matt. “This is your last chance, Matt.”

“I told you,” Matt said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

No one will ever see this side reflected
And if there’s something wrong, who would have guessed it?
And I have left alone everything that I own
To make you feel like it’s not too late, it’s never too late
– Never Too Late, Three Days Grace

---

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Morgan Penthouse: Kitchen

“How come Stone Cold never cooked such delicious flaps of jack before the Little Dude and the Sequel came to live with us?” Spinelli demanded, bringing his syrup-stained plate to Jason at the dishwasher.

“Because you’re an adult who can cook for himself, and Jake and Cameron are my sons who can’t use a stove,” Jason said, almost absently. He rinsed the plate and stowed it with the others. “Just be grateful I made extra for you.”

“The Jackal never complains, he only inquires why Stone Cold hid the domestic side of his nature. But perhaps he needed just the right influence to draw it out of him,” Spinelli said, beaming as Elizabeth joined them in the kitchen. “Has the Fair Elizabeth cleansed and renewed to her satisfaction?”

“No trace of syrup anywhere. The boys are in the living room arguing about which cartoon to watch,” Elizabeth told Spinelli.

“Then the Jackal must offer his sage advice. They have the worst taste.”

Jason just rolled his eyes after the tech disappeared. “I think sugar makes him worse,” he said. He frowned. “How is Jake arguing with Cam about what to watch?”

Elizabeth grinned, slid her arms around his waist. “He slams the remote out of Cam’s hand every time Cam stops on a channel he doesn’t want. He’s like his father. Actions, not words.”

“Is that right?” Jason kissed her, careful to keep his sticky hands away from her face or hair. “Don’t you think that’s going to start a fist fight?”

“Sure. That’s why I sent Spinelli in. They always do what he wants. He’s their favorite older brother.”

“Oh, don’t—” Jason winced, then rinsed his hands and switched on the dishwasher. “Don’t call him that.”

“Okay, fine. Favorite uncle.” Elizabeth set the tea kettle on the stove to boil and went searching for her favorite tea in the cabinet. “He’s part of your family, Jason. Whether you like it or not. And you have to admit, he’s amazing with the kids.”

“That’s because they have the same level of maturity—” Jason exhaled slowly. “You’re right. And he’s worked hard for me. I just—” He leaned against the counter. “He’s like a fungus. He annoys you and keeps growing until you look around and can’t imagine him not being there.”

“Accurate.” She set her tea to steep and went to the table to wait. “Plus, he’ll keep the boys occupied long enough for us to talk about the call I just got from Patrick. He and Robin are having Alexis meet with Anna tomorrow. She’s still not ready to completely talk to her mother, but we’re turning everything over.”

“Why are we waiting until Monday?” Jason wanted to know. He poured another cup of coffee. “Why not today?”

“I asked that, and Patrick says the official line is that Robin thought we should wait until we go to dinner tonight in case something happens with the Zaccharas.”

“And unofficially?”

“Robin just wants to let her mother stew a little longer. There’s no hurry, unless you think there should be.”

“No. I mean, whoever did this to Jolene is probably getting impatient, but I still don’t know who it could be. I know Anna is interested in Karpov, but I don’t see how this could be him. Whoever is doing this is going after Johnny, probably to get to his father. But I don’t know why.”

“Well, wouldn’t it be the same reason he wanted to go after you?” Elizabeth asked. She bit her lip. “Unless you don’t want to get into it—”

“No, it’s—” Jason set his coffee aside, debating just how much to tell her. “We have international routes between South America and Canada. He came to me first, and I said no. For a lot of reasons, but mostly because I didn’t want to deal with the Russians. Anthony doesn’t have those routes, so I don’t understand why Karpov would be interested in Johnny.”

“Well, let’s say Anna’s right to suspect Karpov. She’s got connections we don’t. You said Karpov brought that guy to Sonny’s the night before the shooting.” Elizabeth sipped her tea. “He thought you’d be too distracted by me, and Sonny could take back the business and he’d agree to the deal.”

“If you’d…” Jason was quiet for a long moment, listening to the sounds of cartoons from the living room, the maniacal high-pitched giggling of Cameron and Jake mixed with Spinelli’s slightly deeper tones. “If Patrick had been even a little bit later getting you into surgery, you’d be dead. And I’d be no good to anyone. So it could have worked.”

She reached over, covered his hand, using her thumb to stroke over his skin. He was comforted by this reminder that while tragedy had struck that day, it hadn’t been the nightmare Karpov might have envisioned.

“He also didn’t know Sonny would go after Johnny like that in broad daylight,” Elizabeth said softly. “So he’s ruthless but he doesn’t know the players as well. He’d have been better off bringing that shooter to you. Didn’t you say he had the guy tell you it was Johnny?”

“That’s what Sonny told me that morning. Karpov brought the guy to him, the guy delivered the story, and Karpov executed him on the spot. No way to double check, to know the identity, nothing. Sonny was too angry to consider that at the time, but it seemed too convenient that Karpov would be able to produce the shooter, and he’d give up Johnny.”

“He could find the shooter if he hired him in the first place,” Elizabeth said.

“Yeah, maybe. But—” Jason hesitated. “I keep coming back to why Karpov would have Kate shot. He had a clean shot at Sonny, at me, but he went after Kate. If he’d taken me out, Sonny would be back in the business. He’d have no choice. And Sonny would have made the deal.”

“Okay, well, I hate this conversation,” Elizabeth muttered, rubbing her cheek. “Okay, so it sounds like you don’t think Karpov went after Kate.”

“I don’t know for sure, but the more time passes, the more I don’t think so. I don’t know if Karpov heard everything we knew and figured Sonny would come after him, so he was trying to get in front of it. Maybe he was framing Johnny.”

“Everything you knew?”

“Russian shooter. Russian gun and ammunition. But maybe—” He frowned. “It’s hard to know because I wasn’t there, but maybe it was the shooter. And Karpov got to him first, twisted him to use him against Sonny.”

“But if Karpov didn’t go after Kate, Jason, that doesn’t leave anyone except the Zaccharas.”

“No, it doesn’t.” And he’d already made the deal for peace. He grimaced. “It was Anthony. Had to be.”

“But Johnny was there—he had to know Sonny would blame his kid—” Elizabeth closed her mouth. “Did Anthony know you’d been holding Sonny back all year?”

“Ric and Trevor knew, so yeah. And Claudia damn well did.” His fingers curled into a fist. “He had to know I wouldn’t blame Johnny. Not with Lulu there. What did he think would happen—”

“Exactly what did,” Elizabeth said, her eyes somber. “You and Sonny at odds. Not trusting or talking to each other. Karpov here to keep making problems for you.” Her breath was a little shaky. “He wanted to cause chaos. Like he did last year. And he didn’t care what happened to his son.”

“He thought I’d protect Johnny.” Jason’s smile was grim. “And he was right. I left Sonny in lock up, and the only reason I wasn’t there that day was because you were in emergency surgery, and I didn’t give a damn what happened to any of them. That’s not Anthony. That’s Karpov. I had them both coming at me from opposite directions at the same time, not even working together.”

He dragged a hand down his face. “And now I’m taking you to a dinner where you have to walk over to their damn table, smile at them—”

Elizabeth pulled his hand away, waited for him to meet her gaze. “We already knew that something was happening on their side. And you can’t tell me you ever really crossed Anthony off the list.”

“No—”

“You told me that this dinner was about making sure that everyone knows you don’t blame Johnny for what happened to Sonny. And you don’t. It’s not about Anthony.”

“No. No, it’s not.” He sighed. “No, and he has few allies in all of this.” Jason gripped her hand more tightly. “You were right, you know. About letting you in. I don’t like it, I never will. But…”

“You don’t have a lot of people you trust anymore. Who know you and Sonny,” Elizabeth said. She smiled, tipping her head. “I’m not looking to be your consigliere or whatever that Tom guy was in The Godfather, but I’m the one person in the world whose loyalty and trust you will never, ever have to question.”

He tugged on her hand, pulled her into his lap to kiss her lightly. “The Godfather?”

“It’s the one movie I know you’ve seen,” she teased, nipping at his lips. “You’re safe with me,” she murmured, some of the humor fading from her expression. “Always.”

“I know.” He stroked her cheek. “I’m just sorry I fought it for so long. I’m better with you.”

Nadine’s Apartment: Bedroom

Nadine sifted through her closet, looking at her meager collection of semi-formal outfits. There was a dress she’d worn on her one real date with Nikolas, so obviously — no on that. The white dress she’d worn at the Black and White Ball the year before — and one that Anthony Zacchara had tried to murder her in, so that was out—and it was too formal, she thought. Basically a wedding dress.

She shoved the garment bag aside, making a note to donate it. The dry cleaner had restored it to wearable, and some other woman could have better luck in it.

Johnny strode in, the ends of a tie loose around his neck. “We can back out,” he told her, and she looked at him. “If you’re not up to going.”

“They’re driving all the way up here,” Nadine said. She pulled out a green dress — the top layer was a filmy, floating material that gave it an extra sense of formality. She held it against her, checked herself in the mirror over her dresser. “What about this one?”

“You look great in everything,” Johnny said, his mouth pinched. “And if anyone says anything—”

“Johnny.” She sighed and sat on the bed. “Look, we’re in this for at least…another six months. Maybe a year, right? How long before you think the PCPD can’t bring a case against you?”

“At least that long,” he muttered. He whipped the tie from around his neck.

“I don’t want to create problems with your father. You already have enough baggage with him,” Nadine added when Johnny just looked at her. “I don’t want to add to it by refusing to have dinner with him. And don’t act like backing out now would be easy. I didn’t realize you didn’t want to go when your sister brought it up. I’m sorry I agreed.”

“It’s not—” Johnny just shook his head. “Never mind. Never mind. I just—” He rubbed his mouth. “I hate that you’re worrying about what to wear to impress my father like it matters, that’s all. You’ve…you’re going through so much, and I don’t want to make it worse—”

“It’s a relief,” Nadine admitted. She removed the dress from the hanger, laid it out on the bed, then shed the robe she’d put on after her shower, leaving her clad in a plain white bra and panty set. After weeks of sharing such a small space and bed with Johnny, her self-consciousness had faded entirely. She went to her small jewelry box, looking for some gold pieces. “Something else to think about other than the memorial that no one is going to come to.”

“People are going to come—”

“You. Your family. Epiphany. Elizabeth. Probably Jason because he’ll go anywhere Elizabeth asks him to.” Nadine sighed. “I don’t want to keep wallowing in this. Jolene killed people. I married Lulu’s boyfriend a week after she had a breakdown—”

Johnny came behind her, pulled her against him, encircling her shoulders with his arms. She leaned against him, letting the heat from his body slide through her, surprised when there was tingling low in her belly. She bit her lip, then slowly turned in his arms, his hands sliding down her skin to rest at her hips. She rested hers on his chest, looking up at him. “This is going to sound insane.”

His breathing had quickened, and his eyes were darker, the tips of his fingers sliding over the top of her panties. “We’re supposed to leave in twenty minutes.”

“I know.” She smiled ruefully. “Maybe when we get back—” She stepped back to get dressed, but Johnny yanked her back and kissed her hard, fast, and intense, fisting his hand in her hair. Nadine shoved his suit jacket off his shoulders, his free hand twisting the strap of her bra until he could palm her breast in his hand.

“We can be late,” Johnny decided, tossing her on the bed. “They’ll deal with it.”

For the time in a week, Nadine grinned, dragged him down so she could feel the weight of him against her. “We’re supposed to be newlyweds, we have a built-in-excuse.”

Cosmopolitan Hotel: Suite

The hotel wasn’t nearly as luxurious as anything she’d find in Manhattan, Claudia thought, pausing in the foyer area of the suite to check her makeup in the gilded wall mirror, but she’d stayed in worse.

“We’re really going to go to this viewing on Tuesday?” Ric said, sidling up to her side, straightening his tie. “Your father thinks that’s a good idea?”

“Daddy is eager to keep Johnny happy,” Claudia said. She reapplied her lipstick, then tossed it in her clutch. “Plus, he figures Jason Morgan will be there, so why not?”

“Your father thrives on chaos. It doesn’t make you nervous he engineered this whole evening when he tried to kill Jason and Elizabeth last year? Or is likely behind Kate’s shooting?”

Claudia paused, met the lawyer’s eyes in the mirror. “You must be very sure of yourself, Ricky, to be making those kinds of statements out in the open.”

“Your father and Trevor already went down to the lobby which you know. And since you set up the hit that landed Michael Corinthos in a coma, I’m not worried about you.”

A chill slithered down her spine, but she kept her expression in its characteristic smirk. “Like I said, very sure of yourself.” She raised an eyebrow. “If you think I’m the reason your nephew is a vegetable, then why not tell Jason? Oh, right. Because he hates the sight of you. Didn’t you do something terrible to Carly once upon a time?”

“You’d think it was about Carly, wouldn’t you? But I’ve always known Jason’s hatred is rooted in something much more…personal. Visceral. I managed to get Elizabeth to the altar before he did.”

“But couldn’t keep her, could you, Ricky?” She turned and patted his cheek. “She’s not a fond, loving ex-wife, is she? Neither of them is. Daddy must have loved sending you to Port Charles as the messenger. Jason couldn’t lay a hand on you—”

“I have no doubt that in the event I’m murdered, the last face I’ll ever see is his,” Ric said dryly. “But enough of my checkered past, Claudia. My crimes are well known. Yours? Not so much.”

Claudia lifted her brows. “All I hear are words. Not a single ounce of proof.”

Ric laughed, long and rich, making her clench her jaw. “Oh, and Anthony Zacchara is going to require evidence? You think Jason will? No, it would just be confirmation of what they both probably suspect, and you know that. You live because Jason, while capable of violence, likely thinks there’s been enough blood shed in this war between your families. But he could always change his mind.”

“Is there a point to this little tête-à-tête?” Claudia asked, tightly. “Or are you just having fun?”

“I’m enjoying myself, to be sure, but I thought you might want to know that your deep, dark secret — the one you’re protecting so hard? Everyone already knows. And one day, it’s going to be worthwhile to use it. If I were you, I’d make sure I’m the one pulling the strings, not waiting for the ceiling to crash down. Since you’re the reason Johnny’s looking for protection in the first place.”

Her smile faded entirely. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I love my brother—”

“Sure. So did I.” Ric strode to the door, opened it. “Shall we meet the others, or do you want to keep having this conversation?”

“I love my brother,” Claudia repeated through clenched teeth. “And I will do anything to protect him—”

“Sure,” Ric repeated with that infuriating smile. “And I’m sure Johnny appreciates your efforts.”

She hissed, then stalked past him. Little bastard didn’t know what the hell he was talking about.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Audrey beamed when Elizabeth and Jason came down the stairs. “Oh, don’t the two of you look so nice!” She lifted Jake in her arms. “Jake, doesn’t Mommy look pretty?”

“Pretty Mommy,” Jake echoed with his slow, sweet smile so like his father’s. Elizabeth laughed, then took her son from her grandmother, cuddling him.

“Thanks for coming tonight,” Jason said to Audrey. “We really appreciate it—”

“As soon as Elizabeth told me you were taking her out to dinner, I couldn’t say no. She doesn’t get to put on a pretty dress enough,” Audrey said. She went over to the shelf where Elizabeth kept a digital camera to take photos of the boys. “I think we need one to add to the album—”

“Gram—” Elizabeth’s cheeks heated, and she looked at Jason with a little mortification. “It’s just dinner—” She set Jake on his feet, and the toddler made a beeline towards his older brother, playing with his Legos.

“I know, but it’s my job to embarrass you,” Audrey said, lifting her chin. “Now—in front of the fireplace, I should think—”

“I am so sorry about this,” Elizabeth told Jason when he just laughed and pulled her across the room to stand in front of the unlit fireplace. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”

“But you look beautiful,” Jason told her, pitching his voice low so that only she could hear him. He adjusted the thick strap of the lavender floral print dress she’d chosen for that night, with its sweetheart neckline, and full skirt that ended just above her knees. “This reminds me of the dress you were wearing at Vista Point.”

“You—” Her eyes widened. “You remember what I was wearing?” The night he’d kissed her so senseless she’d had to sit down and try to remember her own name. She brushed his suit jacket, the flush in her cheeks deepening.

“The straps were thinner, but yeah, I remember. It was the last time—” Some of his good mood faded. It was the last time he’d kissed her until that night in his penthouse. Almost exactly four years later.

“No regrets,” she murmured, resting a hand on the crisp black shirt beneath his suit jacket. Their eyes met, held. He’d left off the tie at her request. In fact, she’d chosen the suit he’d been wearing the night he’d carried her up to his room and they’d been interrupted by Carly. She knew he’d be distracted and tense after the meeting, and she had a plan to take his mind off things.

But she’d never dreamed he’d bring up that night at Vista Point.

The flash of the camera startled them both, and they looked at Audrey who’d taken a photo without their knowledge. “Gram!”

“Now this time, let’s try looking at me, and smiling.”

Jacks House: Kitchen

“Oh, good, pizza.” Carly kissed her mother on the cheek, then went to take plates down from the cabinet. “I should really hire a chef or something. This kitchen is too nice to only be used for the microwave and toaster oven.”

Bobbie smiled, rubbed Carly’s back as she passed her on the way to the fridge. “Where’s Morgan?”

“Watching some new Disney movie. His current favorite one, so we’re good for maybe thirty minutes before I should check on him. He never takes his eyes off it.” Carly sat at the island. “Mama, do you think I’m a good person?”

Bobbie set the bottle of iced tea on the counter. “That depends on your definition.”

“I bet you wouldn’t ask for a definition if Elizabeth or Robin asked you.”  Her mother sighed, and Carly made a face. “I’m right, aren’t I? You’d say yes without thinking if it were them.”

“I would. But they’d never ask me, and I think if you have to ask, well, maybe you already suspect the answer.” Bobbie poured two glasses of tea, set one in front of her daughter, and sat on the other side of the island. “What are we really talking about?”

Carly sighed, rotated the glass halfway to the left, then to the right. “The day we transferred Sonny to Silver Water, Robin showed up to say goodbye. And I…was annoyed. Because she hasn’t been around in years, but she wants to come in like the perfect angel in the end—”

“She and Sonny were close for a long time, Carly. It doesn’t take anything from you to let that be true.” Bobbie tipped her head. “But you also mentioned Elizabeth, so this is about Jason.”

“Jason hated Robin after what happened. He was so angry, and I felt so vindicated that he’d finally seen what I always had — but he was nice to her. And mad at me when I said something bitchy like she didn’t matter. We had a fight because there’s no way I will ever forgive that bitch for what she did.”

Carly looked away from her mother’s gaze, seeing the same exasperation she’d seen in Jason’s. “Robin came out from talking to Sonny, and she and Jason were just so—God, so nice to each other. And he was smiling at her, like she hadn’t come through our lives like a wrecking ball—and Elizabeth, she pisses me off because she knew why I was really mad — because all of this — me and Sonny and Michael — it can be traced back to Robin blowing things up with Michael and ruining any chance Jason and I ever had—”

“Is that really bothering you right now? Not being with Jason?” Bobbie wanted to know. “I thought you’d put that away—”

“I did, too. And I have. Mostly. But Elizabeth came over yesterday, and I was just angry with her all over again because she and Jason—Jason talks to her. He never talks to me. I never know what’s going on unless Jason has no choice. But she gets to be in the inner circle. And I’m watching them — and Jason—he’s so happy, Mama. Even with all the sadness around him — he makes time for those boys, and he’s making time for Elizabeth and I’m jealous—”

She took a long, slow breath. “I’m so jealous I can’t see straight. Because all I ever do is sabotage my life. I slept with Sonny and destroyed Jax’s trust in me. And when he tried to reach out to patch things up, I slapped his hand away. I love him. Why did I do that? Why do I care that Elizabeth is the one that makes Jason happy? Or that she’s given him a son? He deserves that, doesn’t he? If I’m really his friend, then wouldn’t that be all that matters?”

She picked at one of her nails, left jagged from nervous biting. “But I’m not his friend. Not really. He can’t rely on me. Can’t trust me or count on me. The one thing he’s ever let me do is watch the kids because, well, sure I can screw that up, but I have a nanny, so it probably won’t be that bad, right? Do you know how much it hurts to know he doesn’t trust me? That I’m not as important to him as he is to me?”

“Do you want to be with Jason?” Bobbie asked gently. Carly looked at her mother. “Is that what this is all about? Watching Jason settle down with someone he’s loved for a long time. With children of his own. A family that doesn’t have you at the center the way Sonny’s did. That must be hard if somehow, deep down, you always thought he’d come back to you.”

“I don’t—” Carly exhaled slowly. “Maybe I did. Did I ever tell you how the lie about Jake got started?” She smiled faintly at her mother. “Me. I hovered around Elizabeth, waiting for those results. She got them, read them, and kept doing her job. And I assumed if she wasn’t rushing to tell Jason, that it must be Lucky’s. And she wouldn’t tell me—and I figured, oh, of course she’d tell me. She’d have lorded it over me that she was giving Jason a child—”

“Oh, Carly—” Bobbie closed her eyes.

“That’s right. I rushed over to Jason because I wanted to give him the good news, and, God, he looked devastated. He’d wanted it so much and I took it away from him. I don’t know what he said to Elizabeth when she got there, but he told me he said something stupid and made Elizabeth think he didn’t want the baby, so she didn’t correct him. Do you know why I leapt to that conclusion?”

“Because it’s everything you would have done if you’d been pregnant with Jason’s child,” Bobbie said.

“That’s right. I would have shouted it from the mountaintops.” Carly smiled thinly. “And Elizabeth didn’t play the part I wrote for her, so I got that ball rolling. I know they picked it up and ran with it, but I started it. Because I couldn’t stand that Elizabeth of all people might get what I wanted. Because you’re right, Mama. There’s a piece of me that’s always expected Jason, and I to circle back around to each other. Because I thought we loved each other so much that he’d have to admit he still did. But he doesn’t love me, does he?”

“No. And he didn’t back then, Carly. You know that, don’t you? It was about Michael for him. He cared about you, but it was always about that little boy. I doubt he knew that, but I could see it. Because I knew he was falling in love with Elizabeth that winter. Which is why you can’t stand her. Jason chose Robin instead of you, and then he fell in love with Elizabeth when it was supposed to be you. And you’ve never let either one of them forget it.”

What are the things that I want to say
Just aren’t coming out right?
I’m tripping on words
You got my head spinning
I don’t know where to go from here
– You and Me, Lifehouse

---

Sunday, November 16, 2008

No Name Restaurant: Lobby

The restaurant was decorated with dark wood paneling and muted earth tones, just as it had been a decade earlier when Elizabeth had last visited. A man waited just inside, divesting Jason and Elizabeth of their coats. At the archway leading into the dining room proper, a woman with stones glinting at her ears and around her neck waited.

“Mr. Morgan, your table is waiting just as you requested.” She gestured for them to follow her, and Elizabeth slid her arm through Jason’s.

“No waiting in line or checking for a reservation,” she murmured as they weaved through a medium-sized dining room with tables covered by thick, white tablecloths, lit by candles, and tableware that looked like it might have paid the rent on Elizabeth’s studio.

“It’s one of the very few perks,” Jason said, and she smiled.

The hostess led them to the opposite side of the room where there were semi-private tables, each sectioned off with its own paneling on each side, leaving only the front open to the dining table. Of course — Jason wouldn’t want his back to anyone in the restaurant, Elizabeth thought as he pulled out a chair for her. She sat down, and he took the other seat, pulling it closer to hers so that they were close together, both their backs mostly facing the wall.

“Shall I bring your usual?” the hostess asked, “or would you like to see the menu and wait for Ricardo?”

“Ricardo is fine,” Jason said, accepting the single sheet of heavy, embossed paper the woman handed him.  He ordered a beer and Elizabeth asked for a wine after scanning the list at the bottom.

“You know, I came here once when I was sixteen,” Elizabeth told him. “You arranged for Lucky to bring me for dinner.”

“I remember that.” Jason stretched an arm across the back of her seat. “He wanted to take you somewhere nice.”

“Sorry, I probably shouldn’t bring him up—” She adjusted the napkin on the table, then the gold charger beneath the white plate.

“It doesn’t bother me when you talk about him. Especially before the fire. It was different,” he told her. “He was different.”

“He was,” Elizabeth said with a wistful sigh, then she smiled at him. “I only brought it up because it was the first time I’d dressed up since…well, since that night. It was a really good memory, and I think it’s just interesting like so many of the good things in my life, you played a part.”

Jason shifted slightly. “I made a call,” he muttered, and she smiled again.

“All right, fine I won’t embarrass you. Talk to me about what to do once the Zaccharas get here. Is there a certain time I should go over—towards the beginning, middle, end—” She broke off when a tuxedo-clad waiter came to take their orders and set down their drinks.

“Dessert,” Jason said when they were alone again. “Going over any earlier suggests nerves. We’re going to sit here, pretend to have a good time—”

“Pretend?” She lifted her brows.

“You know what I mean.” She just smiled, and Jason continued. “And then you’ll get up and go to the ladies room. You’ll pretend to just notice them.”

“Ah, because it shows that you’re not worried about them. Not thinking about anyone being here you have to watch for.” She picked up her wine glass. “You absolutely hate every second of this.”

“Yeah, I do. It’s all…surface. Pretense.” His fingers were tight around the green glass bottle of Rolling Rock. “Like the men in here aren’t violent—”

“Don’t forget the women,” Elizabeth said. “Claudia Zacchara will be here, won’t she?” When he just sighed again, she slid her hand under the table, touched his leg. “It’s one night, Jason. We can do this. It’s just a date. You and me, right? The boys are at home. No spaghetti sauce to clean out of hair or clothes. Or noodles in strange places—”

“I like all of that,” he interrupted.

“I know that, and so do I. But we didn’t…we didn’t get to do any of this,” she said. He frowned, met her eyes. “You know, most of what we have, it’s been in hotel rooms and studios and places people can’t see. I don’t know, I kind of like that I can sit here with you and people can look at us, and I don’t have to worry anymore. We get to eat food neither of us had to cook or pick up — I get to see you in a suit. You hate it, I know. But—” She stroked one of the lapels of the black jacket. “I don’t mind it once in a while.”

“You like this stuff?” He asked, nodding at the candles on the table, the fancy tables. The glass of wine. “I can do more of this—”

“Special occasions once in a while, sure. I want to make sure we always remember that the life we have, it starts with us. I don’t just want to be a parent. I want to be Elizabeth. Not just Mom.” She smiled again. “And next time, it can be a private dining room where you don’t have to talk to or see a single person. So until I have to get up and put on a show, why don’t we try to have a good time?”

No Name Restaurant: Parking Lot

Johnny switched off the ignition, but didn’t reach for the handle of the door. In front of them, the restaurant loomed large. It had few windows (avoiding those pesky drive by shootings) and no exterior sign to advertise itself to anyone who didn’t have a membership.

“You really don’t want to do this, do you?” Nadine asked from the passenger seat. He glanced at her, then away.

He never should have touched her.

He’d been able to avoid it since her sister’s death, telling himself that he could give her comfort because she deserved that, but he had no right to anything else. He was lying to her, keeping secrets, and making a mockery of every reason she’d married him in the first place.

But Johnny realized he’d only been fooling himself. Instead of congratulating himself on finally learning self-control, he’d realized Nadine had really been the one holding back. It was she who hadn’t reached for him, and the second she’d initiated anything—hell, all she’d done was look at him, he’d jumped her with the impulse control of a high school boy fumbling with his first girlfriend.

“No, I really don’t,” Johnny said, finally. “But we don’t have a choice.”

“I’m sorry that it’s like this with your family. Dreading being around them, I mean.”

Johnny looked at her and her eyes were on him. Even in the dim light from the lights in the parking lot, her blue eyes glinted with empathy and warmth. Sorrow. For him. His throat was tight, and he tore his eyes away again, staring hard at the window shield.

“There are worse problems to have,” he muttered.

“There are,” Nadine confirmed. “But that doesn’t make them any less yours. Or awful.” She touched his face, her fingers soft and cool against his skin. He closed his eyes, let himself enjoy the sensation for just a moment before reaching up to pull her hand away, pressing the inside of her palm to his lips.

Sometimes he almost hated her for being a good person. For having an open heart and the impulsive need to share it, to leave it undefended and unguarded so that worthless men like him could come along and drain every ounce of warmth and love she offered, leaving nothing but a shell behind.

Because that’s all that would be left when this marriage was done, Johnny thought. He’d kill everything that made Nadine who she was, and he didn’t want that. He wanted to protect her from the world, from his family, from himself—

But before he could keep her heart safe, he had to protect her life and make her untouchable. “I don’t want to do this, but they’re already here. They came all this way, and you’re right. Pissing them off is the last thing I need.”

“Then we’ll go inside, get it over, and go home.” She smiled hesitantly. “It’s just dinner, right? No big deal.”

“No big deal,” he echoed. He kissed the palm of the hand he still held, then released it. “We’d better go in.”

No Name Restaurant: Dining Room

Johnny and Nadine arrived late, nearly halfway through the main course. Jason had watched the Zacchara table out of the corner of his eye, noting Anthony’s impatience climbing as the chairs at the table in the center of the room remained empty. Anthony and Claudia had been joined by Trevor and Ric, a fact that hadn’t been communicated to Jason in either conversation about the damn evening.

As soon as Ric had walked into the room, Jason had tensed, and he’d felt Elizabeth’s hand on his thigh again, reminding him that the point of this damn farce was to act like he didn’t notice the Zaccharas at all.

It was nothing more than a sick joke, this whole night. But it was necessary, Jason thought. He knew that. But to be in the same room with a man who had nearly killed Elizabeth the year before, and another man who had locked Carly in a panic room and hurt Elizabeth over and over again—

There had to be a way to exterminate both men from the planet, but until then Jason forced himself to do as Elizabeth had suggested. Focus on her. On just being with her. She liked being out in the open with him, though he’d never understand why.

“You look like you want to murder someone,” Elizabeth said. She slid her chair a bit closer so that they were nearly pressed together.

“I do,” he muttered. He stretched his arm across the back of her chair again. “Not you.”

“I figured. Everyone else?”

“Pretty much.” With his other hand, he scratched his eyebrow. “I’m sorry. You wanted me to think about you.”

“No, I wanted you to focus on me because if you’re looking at me, you’re not thinking of all the ways you could dislocate Ric’s thumb without breaking a sweat,” she said dryly, and now he did look at her with a half smile. “I know the difference between general discomfort and plotting Ric’s demise. I’ve been looking at that face for a few years now.”

“I should have tossed him in the harbor the first time I saw him near you,” he muttered. ” I saw you on the docks, smiling at him, and there was no reason to distrust him then. Except he was near you.”

“Well, then maybe you understand why I tried to slap Courtney so hard her teeth would fall out,” Elizabeth retorted. “I should have yanked her by that straw she called hair.” She wrinkled her nose. “Sorry.”

“We made a couple of mistakes,” he said. She lifted her brows. “More than a few,” he admitted. “But we’re back here, aren’t we?”

“We are.” Elizabeth smiled, her eyes glinting in the candlelight. “And we’re stronger for it. Because I know exactly what I have with you, and I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect it.” She sat back as their main courses plates were cleared away. “Including going over there and standing in front of the man who kidnapped me from a room where I was standing over my dead best friend’s body and then threatened to push me over the edge of a parapet.”

“Elizabeth—”

“Dessert’s being served,” she said, setting her napkin on the table. She leaned over to kiss him lightly. “That’s my cue.”

Jones Apartment: Living Room

Maxie had planned to spend the night forgetting the wrecking ball she’d taken her to life that week — Spinelli had called a few times, but she’d refused the calls, and she’d called out sick from work on Friday, not wanting to look Kate in the face. Not wanting to look anyone in the face after that humiliating breakdown she’d had in the elevator.

To think Maxie had lost her mind with Elizabeth Webber of all people — how absolutely mortifying. Maxie would never be able to show her face again around the hospital or around that woman who would absolutely never let Maxie live it down.

Instead, Maxie had decided to wallow for just a few more days, spending the weekend watching television, snacking on terrible food, and thinking about nothing more than the godawful interior designs on the home makeover shows. She tossed more kernels of popcorn in her mouth, mentally reworking every room.

And then the show changed to a drama, one Maxie never remembered to keep up on, but enjoyed when she could. She liked watching other people screw up their lives. It was much more fun to live in someone else’s misery. She almost forgot her terrible week and the meltdown—

Until a fire broke out on the show, and people were screaming, trying to get out—

Maxie stared down at the popcorn in her hand, her stomach suddenly roiling. It wasn’t the same. Wasn’t the same at all. It hadn’t been a fire that took Georgie. But they’d been trapped on Spoon Island all night, trapped in Wyndemere with a crazy Anthony Zacchara—

And a killer. Diego Alcazar had been there that night. Had he always planned to hurt Georgie? Had he looked at them that night and chosen Emily instead?

It should have been me.

The wrong sister died.

Maxie curled her hand in a tight fist, feeling the greasy popcorn against her skin, the sharp edge of the kernel digging in.

You’re afraid the universe will take him next. You’re picking a battle you know he can’t fight.

…until you forgive yourself for living.

You keep pushing him away, he’ll stay gone.

Maxie looked at the phone, sitting silently on the charger next to her. She could call Spinelli. He’d probably forgive her. He probably already had. He was sweet that way. He knew that she didn’t mean what she’d said, that she wasn’t even angry at him. Not really.

She should call him.

But instead, she left the popcorn bowl on the coffee table, turned off the television, and went to bed.

No Name Restaurant: Dining Room

The entire evening had been miserable, from the irritation in his father’s eyes when he and Nadine had been nearly a half hour late, to the tension radiating from his sister’s uncharacteristically quiet frame. Claudia must have drank at least a bottle of wine on her own. Ric kept pretending he wasn’t looking at the table across the room where Jason was sitting with Elizabeth, his fingers tightening every time Jason leaned closer to Ric’s ex-wife.

Trevor filled the silence with obnoxious stories and terrible, offensive jokes, while Nadine picked at her meal.

Mercifully, Elizabeth finally rose from the table and made her way towards them. Anthony’s bad mood fell away, and he was grinning like a Cheshire cat. Nadine’s eyes were wide when the other woman finally reached them.

“It’s so nice to see a few familiar faces,” Elizabeth said, resting one hand on Johnny’s chair and leaning in to kiss Nadine’s cheek. “Mr. Zacchara, we don’t see you often in Port Charles. Must be a special occasion.”

“It is indeed, Miss Webber,” Anthony said, wiggling his bushy eyebrows. “It’s not easy to travel with this contraption, you know, so I wouldn’t do it for just anyone.”

“Of course, you manage so well, one might completely forget the plunge you took from the parapet at Wyndemere,” Elizabeth said, and her smile had changed slightly, the look in her eye slightly more fierce. “But you’ve risen above the tragedy of the circumstances. It’s a testament to your…willpower, I’m sure.”

“Naturally. I thank you for your kind words, Miss Webber.” Anthony’s smile had also shifted, but it was almost admiring. Johnny knew something had happened with Jason, Elizabeth, and Anthony the night of the ball, and he knew his father was surprised Elizabeth would refer to it. And a little impressed.

“And Nadine, it’s so good to see you. It’s nice to be out of our scrubs, isn’t it?” Elizabeth asked, squeezing Nadine’s hand. “Jason and I wanted to offer our condolences for the loss of your sister. I know you and Jolene weren’t close, but it’s always hard to lose family.”

“Thank you.” Nadine smiled gratefully, a sheen in her eyes. “Thank you.”

“Jason and I are coming to the services on Tuesday. You’re not alone,” Elizabeth told her. She looked at Johnny now. “Nadine’s one of my favorite people, Johnny. You couldn’t have chosen better. I hope you know that.”

And now he read the warning in Elizabeth’s eyes. He’d only met the nurse a handful of times, but he remembered her fierceness that night in the stables. “I do.”

“We’ll have to do something soon. Just the four of us. Jason and I don’t know many couples our age.” Elizabeth looked at the rest of the table, as if thinking of greeting the other three members of their party. Ric straightened, began to smile, but then Elizabeth looked at him, then directly at Anthony. Ric’s smile fell.

“Mr. Zacchara, I hope you’ll let Jason and I pick up the bill for dinner tonight as a belated wedding gift to your son. It would be our pleasure to pay for your family to celebrate Johnny and Nadine. Family is so important. It should be treasured.”

Anthony lifted just one brow. “Of course. I look forward to returning the favor one day, Miss Webber. Perhaps when you and Mr. Morgan decide to make it legal?”

“Oh, don’t worry. Jason and I have wanted to return the favor you did us last year when you gave us that speech about love at Wyndemere. It was…” Elizabeth paused. “Unforgettable. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”